While it is absolutely true that the market has changed, It’s also true that not all businesses are struggling as a result. As I chat with clients and colleagues, I find that those who understand the intricacies of business and have done the work to build brand equity, solve SPICE problems and offer SPICE solutions aren’t concerned by the market changes, because their brand equity, strategy and systems are working. Yes, there are tried and true strategies and insights that can position you to build a business that is absolutely market agnostic, meaning it doesn’t matter what the market is doing, you will continue to grow and thrive. It’s important to understand how to operate your business accordingly, you will continue to see growth when others see constriction.
When sales cycle slow because buyers become more discerning, it’s important to understand how to navigate your business so that you don’t find yourself questioning if you’ll be part of the 10% that go out of business each year. To that end, it is always important to be fiscally responsible as a CEO of your own business and that’s why you’re going to love this episode.
In this episode, I am responding to another question that landed in my DM’s – When the market shifts and sales tend to slow, what should I make sure that I do NOT cut in an effort to reduce expenses and maximize profitability?
I love this question for so many reasons. If you’re ready to determine which expenses avoid the chopping block when sales slow down, grab your Move to Millions Podcast notebook and listen in to discover:
- The importance of expense management
- 5 keys to navigating the current market in your business
- 3 keys for optimizing your team during these market shifts
- How to create a market agnostic business
- And so much more
Powerful Quotes During the Episode:
- “One of the most important things you can do right now as an entrepreneur is to focus on maintaining profitability and cash flow by cutting unnecessary costs.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
- “While a recession is not yet confirmed, it’s crucial to prepare for potential market constriction and a slowdown in sales within the next year to a year and a half.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
- “You should have at least three months, ideally twelve months, of operating expenses in reserve to weather any economic downturns.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
- “Do not slash your marketing budget, even if the return seems low. Marketing is essential for long-term growth and brand visibility.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
- “Customer service is key. Retaining your customers and ensuring positive experiences will support business stability and reduce client acquisition costs.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
- “Automations and critical software should be retained to maintain efficiency. Only cut unused or unnecessary systems to save costs.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
- “Be cautious with team cuts; each team member should contribute to profit-generating activities. Focus on eliminating non-essential tasks rather than cutting staff.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
- “Being part of a community during market downturns can lead to valuable strategy exchanges and support.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
- “Make wise choices with investments—don’t over-invest. Ensure every investment adds value and negotiate where possible.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
- “Eliminate non-essential expenses, negotiate better rates with service providers, and optimize existing investments for better value.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
- “Reevaluate your tools and ensure they are essential and cost-effective. Optimize credit card processing fees and cut unnecessary fees.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
- “Don’t cut your marketing, customer service, essential software, automation, or team. These areas are crucial for maintaining business health during tough times.” – Darnyelle Jervey Harmon
These quotes capture the essence of the advice and insights shared during the episode, providing valuable takeaways for listeners.Resources Mentioned:
- Move to Millions by Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon – Get Your Copy
- Companion Guide for Move to Millions – Download for a detailed overview of the seven systems to seven figures.
- Join the Move to Millions Facebook Group for ongoing support and community engagement – Join Now
- Move to Millions 90-Day Business Growth Planner – Get Your Planner
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- http://www.linkedin.com/in/darnyellejerveyharmon
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Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:00:00]:
As you look at your current investments, I want you to ask yourself, is there a way for me to get more out of this particular investment? I want you to be wise in every area. Marketing, customer service, automation, team mentorship, all of those are investments. And I want you to be wise. And I want you to look for opportunities to make adjustments in your expenses that are actually going to support the bottom line without cutting anything that’s a absolutely essential to your business and the livelihood of your business. You’re listening to the Move to Millions Podcast with Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon, the place to be for high level conversations about all things millions. Your mission mindset methodologies, mandate movement, messaging, marketing metrics, and most definitely your money. I am your host, spiritual business growth coach, Dr. Darnyelle J. Harmon.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:00:58]:
Join me each week for inspiring stories, powerful interviews, and business growth strategy to help you experience abundance in your life because of your business. If you’re ready to move to your next level, everything let’s get this party started. Hey y’all. Welcome back to another episode of the Move to Millions Podcast. Listen, my mission is so clear. The world needs more entrepreneurs making millions with grace and ease instead of hustle and grind. And through my company, incredible one enterprises, we offer business education and consulting and advisory services that equip small business owners, CEO’s, C suite executives, leaders, corporations and governmental agencies to surpass their business growth. KPI’s we provide business strategy and consulting training, neuroscience backed mindset, coaching and leadership development consulting to help our clients scale companies that normalize millions of for their families.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:01:58]:
We believe that you deserve to have more money than you can give, spend, invest, or save because of your business. Y’all have heard me say this before. If you did not come from millions, millions should come from you. The truth is, we know that a low six figure business is small business poverty and you cannot live the abundant life God promised you when you are barely over the six figure mark. God is issuing a transference of wealth and entrepreneurs are primed and positioned to access it. And that is how we use this powerful, powerful podcast. Now don’t get me wrong. I do not seek to diminish the significance of hitting low six figures in your business.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:02:41]:
It is a big deal. It is a milestone. You and I both know that you could not stop there even if you wanted to. The truth is, there are times when I actually do hope that I’ve offended you so that you stop living beneath what God desires for you. And I believe that until you realize that, you don’t have to choose that you can love God and make millions. I want to be that nagging voice in your ear twice every single week when you come to this Move to Millions Podcast, willing you, calling you, taunting you to level up because there is more available to you. I believe that wealth and abundance is your birthright. I believe that your business is the vehicle that God intended to bring wealth into your life experience.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:03:26]:
I desire to shift the staggering statistics around small businesses because I believe that when businesses make more, the impact is felt by millions. So I am excited that you are here with me today. In this episode, I’m answering another question. I love it when these questions come in. It has been such an amazing first half of the year and now that we are moving into the rest of the year, at the time of this recording, it is important for me to hunker down on the questions. So keep the questions coming. My DM’s are open. You guys give me great material for me to really sit and think about how I can support you and providing you an answer that is going to move the needle in your business.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:04:11]:
So I’m excited. Just before we jump in, if you have not already done so, please do me a favor and rate and review this episode wherever you listen. We are in 130 countries around the world. I want deeper impact everywhere. We know that the move to millions is a movement. It is a call to change your life. And I need your help to be able to do it. If I could do it by myself, it would already be done.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:04:39]:
But I need each and every one of you who come back every single week and listen to this show to help me to expand our reach. And so I’m just gonna say thank you in advance for your rating, for your review, for you to share this with a couple of friends. I’m just gonna say thank you and I’m excited to jump into answering your question. Then this week, the question was simply this. At the time of recording this episode, we are in 2024 and the marketplace has changed. Now, I know, because I pay attention to the market, I have to, because we have clients in every industry, I know that we’re actually recalibrating into a mature market. So there are phases of market growth. And you probably, you might remember the episode I did called going through a phase where I talk about the phases of a business and the phases of growth that happens inside of a market.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:05:35]:
Well, right now we are in a mature market, but for the last four years, because of Covid-19 we went back into a growth market. Now, in a growth market you can basically say hello and make money. In a mature market, your buyers are more discerning and sales cycles tend to be longer. And for those people who were part of the money grab of Covid-19 they’re panicking right now because it feels like the market has dried up. There’s a tremendous amount of constriction, but there is not constriction. You have to truly demonstrate that you can solve problems and you have an expertise that is above and beyond the other expertise that are currently being exploited in the marketplace in order to make a difference and to make more money. I know this because we just held our annual live event move to millions, and in one and a half days, we generated more than a million dollars. And 80% of our new clients paid us in full.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:06:43]:
80% of them. So there is money. There’s money in the marketplace. It’s just you’re going to have to shift. If you weren’t already an expert that was putting real value in the marketplace, you’re going to have to start putting real value in the marketplace if you want to stay afloat right now. Okay. So that brings me to the question that I was asked that I’m answering for you today, Darnielle. As it reads in my DM’s, I feel like the market is changing and as a result, I need to look at ways to reduce expenses in my business.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:07:20]:
What are the things, no matter what is going on in the market, that I should not cut? Oh, I love this question. Let me tell you why I love this question. Because it shows me that the CEO who asked it wasn’t just going to start cutting everything. They want to be strategic and they don’t want to do their business harm. Many of you know, if you’ve been following me for a while, that I used to be a Mary Kay cosmetics consultant, sales director, Pink Cadillac independent executive sales director. And one of the things that we would do when we will host our monthly customer appreciation events, where we would recruit. They were our sales events. Y’all know why I love live events so much? It came before I got into true entrepreneurship in Mary Kay cosmetics.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:08:09]:
Every single month I held a live event. Actually, every single week I held a live event. But every single month I had a held a sales event. A leveraged sales opportunity. Hey God girl, have you attended event after event looking for an up leveled conversation and community, only to realize you’ve outgrown the rooms you used to frequent? For inspiration and implementation, I want to invite you to spend three days immersing yourself in a safe, aligned and significant space where you can have the deep, vulnerable and transparent conversations about what life beyond the money really looks like. For the first time, maybe ever, you can have the conversations that really shift the way you show up in every area of your life and focus on getting access to more. More freedom, more expression, more self care, more meaning, more alignment, and more connections. God, girls, making millions is the only room of its kind for you to finally unearth what is burgeoning for your next level.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:09:13]:
Learn more and submit your application [email protected]. i know what it feels like to get your business to a major milestone and still feel like something is missing. If you’ve gotten your business to $300,000 a year or more and it doesn’t make you feel all warm and fuzzy, I know exactly what you need. You need a business audit. And there is nothing that would bring me more joy than to look beneath the hood of your business to see what’s keeping you from the million dollar mark. There’s only one catch. You’re going to have to apply to learn more about a session that will allow me to explain, to expose your gaps and help you to understand what are the gateways to get you to the million dollar mark. Go now to move to millionsmastermind.com.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:10:01]:
and one of the things we would say is that when it looks like the economy is in a down turn, which some media would lead you to believe right now, we’re, we’re, we’re going into a recession. They’ve been saying that, by the way, for a minute, and we’re not technically in a recession just yet, but there are indications, there are markers that are showing up to tell us that there’s the possibility that we could slip into a recession. And they’re saying that for the next year to year and a half, this might be the case. So what that means for you as an entrepreneur is that there’s going to be constriction in the marketplace. You’re not going to be selling as superfluously as you were in Covid-19 times. It’s going to take a little bit more muscle in order to move the needle with new sales in this current marketplace that we’re in, in this economy constriction. And as a result of that, you’re going to be looking for ways to reduce your expenses so that you can keep your profit and profitability and cash flow at a point where you have enough to get you by in the event that there is a slowdown in your sales, right? You always want to be evaluating. Now, there are some who say you should have at least three months of business, operating expenses and cash reserves.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:11:22]:
I mean, at least. But ideally, I would recommend that you have twelve months. And I work with my clients to get them to the point where they have twelve months. Now, for many of them, it takes real work to make that happen, because we have to do work on their money mindset in order for them to understand what’s really happening with the cash that comes into their business and how, just because it’s sitting in the bank account, if it’s sitting in the bank account, it should not all be sitting in a bank account. You might need to do some things, create some strategies. This is where your CFO and your financial management team have a whole episode on the podcast about financial management will come into play to make sure that you’re maximizing the money that you do have and you’re making investments that will yield a return for you when you don’t need that money in this particular moment. And so as you’re evaluating what you adjust, there are five things, five things that I recommend that you do not touch, no matter what’s happening in the marketplace. And that’s what we’re going to get into in this episode.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:12:25]:
And I think this is timely and important because you guys are going to be making decisions as CEO’s about what expenses you need to cut. But let’s talk about what you don’t want to cut, no matter what. Number one, you do not want to cut your marketing. I don’t care what’s going on in the world. I know that it might seem like that makes the most sense. It’s not yielding at the level that we want or we can spend less. But you need to always be marketing, right. You’ve got to resist the urge to slash your marketing budget.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:12:57]:
Listen, you want a very clear, very smart, very targeted marketing strategy because it’s essential for long term growth. We are not just trying to survive the next three months, we’re trying to survive the next 30 years of your business and being marketing, being visible for people to know who you are and have the awareness of you, it is absolutely essential. So don’t slash your budget. When companies make the mistake of cutting their marketing, they really do cut off their lead flow. And I don’t want you to cut off the potential for leads consistently coming into your business. What I want instead is I want for you to accelerate your lead furlough. And I want you to accelerate your brand’s positioning because there are going to be companies that cut their marketing and that creates a nice entry point for you in order to get more market share. If you were to cut your marketing, it makes it impossible when you really need the leads for you to have enough because you haven’t been spending your money on marketing.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:14:00]:
Instead, what I want you to do is I want you to look at which marketing strategies have been the most effective and do more of that. Do more of what has yielded the results that you want to experience for your business. You want to continue to build your brand, you want to continue to elevate your positioning and you want to continue to grow your audience even if it means you have to do more of these things on your own. So maybe the way you cut your marketing budget I don’t want you to cut your marketing budget, but this is an example if you feel like you must is you bring your marketing in house instead of using an agency. Agencies fees over and above your ad spend can be a lot, especially when you are looking at how you can reduce some of the expenses. So some of these things you may need to do it on your own. It might seem like it’s an easy idea to go through and cut your marketing, but don’t be tempted by that. It’s actually going to cut the potential of your business and minimize the effectiveness that you could have in the future if you cut your marketing.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:15:08]:
So don’t mess with your marketing. Number two thing I don’t want you to cut don’t cut your customer service. Are you ready for God? Girls making millions 2024 GGMM is an amazing, luxurious, high end experience for the woman entrepreneur small business owner who is about their birthright, their business and their bank accounts. If you’re looking for a safe, significant and aligned space to finally unearth what your next level looks like when you no longer have to focus on making money, this is for you. Learn more and submit your application [email protected]. want to know what it’s like to work with me and the incredible factor university coaching team? You can get started today with the move to millions 90 day business growth planner. 90 days at a time, you’ll be setting your business on a trajectory that will make the move to millions happen much faster for you. It’s got everything that you need to track every strategy, every sale, all of your KPI’s as well as your self care and life transformational needs.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:16:16]:
We made sure we left nothing out of this amazing planner and by accessing the planner you’ll get a behind the scenes view of what it’s like to work with me and my team. Go grab yours [email protected]. dot again, I know it’s tempting. You’ve got a couple people on your team that all they’re doing is making sure that your clients are okay. They’re not necessarily selling anything, they’re not bringing any new revenue in. And when you think about the edict that I know I give out all the time, that every one of your team members, you ought to be able to see where three to ten times their salary is coming into your business. It might feel like it’s not coming into your business because they’re customer service, but I promise you it is. If they are keeping those customers happy, if they are resolving their concerns in a very short service delivery standard, listen, they are worth their weight in gold.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:17:06]:
So do not cut your customer service. Make sure that you continue to pour on the experience for your customers. You know why? Because a customer that is retained means you don’t need to have to go acquire a new customer. And your client acquisition costs will go up when there’s a marketplace constriction. So in order to avoid that, serve the clients that you have by not cutting your customer service. 2nd, 3rd thing I don’t want you to cut, no matter what is your automations. Listen, we all use lots of software that when we’re doing an audit of our expenses, we come across this system or that system and we are questioning whether or not we really need that system. Now, is it possible that there are some that you can get rid of? Absolutely.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:17:54]:
And get rid of those if they should go, if you’re not using them, if they’re not centrifugal to your operations and your operational infrastructure, let them go. But the ones that are holding the automations together for your business, that reduces the amount of man time that needs to be spent on a process, a process flow or a procedure. Again, it is worth its weight in gold. So do not cut any software from your business. Next up, do not cut your team. I’m going to put a little asterisks here, but in general, I don’t want you to cut your team because this is another area where people will think that it is. Just let me cut my team. So don’t make any rash decisions.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:18:37]:
Instead, you want to look for ways to maximize their output and their contribution and making sure that you find a way to align their role with at least one profit producing activity, one PPA every single person should be having to help with profit coming in inside of your business. Keep in mind, you cannot grow, you cannot scale and sustain a scaled position without team. And if you get rid of team, that’s either going to create more on the team that you do create, which means your productivity is going down or you have to step back into function of the business that don’t move the business forward. So instead you want to think about how you can get to make your team more productive. If you can cut anything, cut out the fluff, cut out the things that they’re doing that are not adding value to the business every single day. You want to make sure that the things that they are focused on day in and day out are going to move the needle and produce revenue. So if there are some things that you can let go of that they are nice to have, but they’re not actually affecting the bottom line, get rid of those things. Now.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:19:52]:
This is my little sidebar, my little caveat, my little asterisk is if you have people on your team who are underperforming, they’re not hitting their KPI’s and you’ve been holding on to them too long. This might be the time for you to cut them loose to free up some of that revenue that you can reappropriate into the areas that are going to keep the company growing during this time. But you should not let your producing team members go because you need to find a way to cut expenses. Don’t do it. It’s not a great idea. All right, so do not cut your team. So far we’ve talked about not cutting your marketing, your customer service, your software and automations or your team. The last thing that I don’t think you should cut is business advisory services, mentoring or coaching.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:20:44]:
You need people who have gone before you that can see the blind spots that you don’t even know to look for. That can help you to evaluate how to keep your business moving. So this is not the time to say, oh, I’m going to sit this, this next season out and I’m not going to have a coach. I’m not going to have a consultant. I’m not going to have a mentor. I’m not going to be a part of a mastermind or in a community. I do not recommend it. The amount of ideas and innovations that come out of being surrounded by like, heart and spirit minded people can give you a strategy that you can ride all the way to the bank.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:21:21]:
We recently had a person in our community who was experiencing a downturn in her business. You know, many, many people are and posed a question inside of our Facebook group which led to another member of the community getting on a 30 minutes call with her and breaking down a strategy that she has been using that has been working like gang busters. They had this conversation in March. We just finished the second quarter. The second quarter for this client whose businesses was going down, had their best quarter ever, leveraging a strategy that they wouldn’t have heard of if they weren’t in community with us. So don’t cut your community, don’t cut your coaching. Make sure that you keep it as a viable option to help you to continue to grow, continuing to invest for yourself and for your team, because you might also need to be able to get coaches for your team. We’ve done that.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:22:18]:
Where the entire team had access to coaching support, it would be not wise to cut out any of this type of support. Now, I’m not talking about over investing. Like if you are in four or five paid communities, but only one paid community is really adding value and giving you what you need, then you might cut those others loose. Now, honor the agreements that you’ve signed. Right. And or have a conversation with that community to see if there’s a way for you to effectively buy yourself out of the agreement. Right. There might be a settlement opportunity available.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:22:58]:
Let’s say, you know, you joined at the top of the year. It’s not really adding value. You have six more months to be in the community. Maybe you can come to a settlement arrangement, which means you pay for two more months and then you’ve released. You’re going to need to have that conversation. So I don’t want you over investing, but I also want you to make sure that you don’t cut something that you’re going to need in order to get you through what’s happening right now. During a market constriction, it’s critical that you and your team be your sharpest, that you have access to those who can evaluate and identify your blind spots and your gaps relatively quickly so that they can turn those gaps into gateways, as I like to say. So as you look at your current investments, I want you to ask yourself, is there a way for me to get more out of this particular investment? I want you to be wise in every area.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:23:55]:
Marketing, customer service, automation, team mentorship, all of those are investments. And I want you to be wise. And I want you to look for opportunities to make adjustments in your expenses that are actually going to support the bottom line without cutting anything that’s absolutely essential to your business and the livelihood of your business. So here are a few things that you can do if you are looking to make sure that you are being fiscally responsible over your business right now. Number one, I would evaluate eliminating anything that is not absolutely mandatory. If there are expenses that you have that are not mandatory, cut them. Especially if they do not contribute to your ability to grow your business. In the bottom line, this can come in a lot of different forms and shapes.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:24:48]:
So it’s going to be important that you really evaluate where it is, making sure that if it’s your team development, your marketing, your customer service and your automation and software, and it is essential you keep it. But anything else that does not impact your ability to keep your business moving at the highest of levels, let that go. The reviews are in. Move two millions. The proven framework to become a million dollar CEO with grace and ease instead of hustle and grind is a best seller. With thousands of copies sold, we are raising a generation of million dollar CEO’s. You got next. Grab your copy in our bonuses today at movetomillions book.com.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:25:37]:
number two, I want you to look at where you can negotiate. I alluded to this a moment ago. See where you can renegotiate with some of the service providers that you use. Now, if they’re not flexible and you sign an agreement, you have to be in integrity and honor that agreement. But you never know, you might be able to see whether or not you can make some kind of arrangement, right? I also want you to evaluate your like. For those of you who accept credit cards, I want you to evaluate your credit card processor. Like this is something that we have personally done as recently as last week. At the time of this recording, I literally had a conversation with the company that charges a fraction of what Quickbooks and stripe charge to process payments.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:26:26]:
So we are going to be moving to this processor. Last year, we spent. Now, all of our clients do not pay us on credit card. We have a portion who pay credit card. We have a portion who do Ach or wire transfers as well. When clients pass in full, we accept that payment through a wire. So we spend money with Quickbooks for fees and we spend money with stripe for fees. That was the equivalent of $40,000 last year.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:26:54]:
Well, this year, because of this new solution that we’re going to move to in the second half of the year, we’re going to substantially reduce that amount. So instead of spending $40,000 again, or more than that, as our revenues have gone up, we will actually be able to reappropriate that to something else that might help us to get further ahead. So look at those payment percentages. Look at your subscriptions. And if they’re not critical to your business, look for where you can really reduce expenses and bring some cash back into the business relatively quickly. Now, here’s one of the things that I recommend that you don’t do. I don’t recommend that you go to your service providers and your contractors and ask them to lower their prices. That’s not what I’m asking you to do.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:27:44]:
I wouldn’t do that unless you would be okay with someone doing that to you. So don’t do that. Instead, you want to evaluate whether or not you can make some changes to your service. So let’s say you had the top of the line service with a vendor. Maybe you moved to the intermediate service, because that’s going to be a savings of three to $500 a month as an example. Right. And while I, again, I don’t want you going to your contractors because they’re small businesses, too, trying to get them to lower their prices. Part of that renegotiation is to make sure that what you have, you actually need.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:28:24]:
But I want you to think about the larger companies that you serve. Your cell phone company could be an example of that. You know, it’s like we have come, everyone in our company has a cell phone, and so we pay a cell phone bill. So you better believe that our operations manager will be on the phone with our cell phone company, seeing if we can get a reevaluation of our plan to be able to save some money. We’ve been doing this. We’ve been looking at places we can cut expenses while maximizing the results that we get from the things that we do expend. Right. Large companies typically account for this type of thing.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:29:01]:
They have a retention policy and plan that they can leverage in order to pass savings on to you without it impacting their business and their businesses bottom line. So, you know, the saying you have not because you asked not is actually based on scripture. Go ask them to see whether or not an adjustment can be made. Another thing that I would recommend that you do is I want you to look at reducing any places where you have some redundancies. You want to look for overlaps in people, overlaps in technology, overlaps in subscriptions. You want to make sure that every system you’re using is essential. And if it’s not essential, or you could pick it up in another solution, you want to look to do that because doing something like that, you could really cut some money off the bottom line. I recommend that you take some time to really evaluate all of the tools that you’re using, how you use them, why they’re important to your business.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:29:59]:
This is a great exercise to do with your team at one of your weekly all hands meetings or call a separate meeting just for this. Go through the process of doing that. If what you have and are paying for is not mission critical, cut it, get rid of it. If it’s creating redundancy, get rid of it because it’ll make a difference to the bottom line. Next thing that I think that you should do is you should look at all of the things you have invested in making sure that you are maximizing it. It’s very easy when things are going well to be paying for something that you’re not using and not using fully. But I want you to fully utilize all of the tools, any coaching, any resources, anything you’ve already invested in, show up and show up fully. After you take some time to evaluate all of these things, then you want to definitely make sure that you have your team do the same exact thing.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:30:58]:
It’s going to be important that you go through the process of looking at these places where you can just make sure you’re being fiscally responsible. Right. I remember, and I alluded to this earlier when I first started talking, when I was talking about Mary Kate cosmetics and the time I spent there. During a down economy, millionaires are made. There are industries, likely the industry that you’re in, that actually does better when the economy is down. This is why it’s important that you solve a spice problem. A specific and substantive, pervasive and persistent, immediate and insurmountable, clear, contrarian and conscious, expensive and expansive problem. When you solve a spice problem, people will pay for a solution when they are unable to solve it on their own, regardless of what’s going on in the world.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:31:53]:
So check the problem you solve. Check your messaging around the problem you solve, because that’ll create an environment for more revenue to come in while you’re still looking at places that you can evaluate and reduce expense expenses that are actually not serving your business and your businesses bottom line. So I hope this helps you. Several people asked me this question. I hope that this has been a good deep dive into some of the things you do not want to cut. Number one, do not cut your marketing. Number two, do not cut your customer service. Number three, do not cut the essential software and automation.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:32:31]:
Do not. Number four, cut your team and do not. Number five, cut your marketing consulting, coaching and business advisory solutions that are helping you do what it is that you do. This is a great time to make sure that you’re being fiscally responsible and evaluating some of the things that you just left slide because the money was flowing in. As the marketplace constricts, I want you to make sure that your cash flow is not and this is going to help you to do that. All right, I’ll see you guys next time. Take care. Thank you for joining me for the Move to Millions podcast.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon [00:33:04]:
If this episode has impacted you in any way, would you please take a moment and rate and review? Doing so helps us to deepen our impact and expand our reach around the world. And if you are ready to start your very own move to millions, I highly recommend that you order your very own copy of my brand new best selling book, move two millions, the proven framework to become a million dollar CEO with grace and ease instead of hustle and grind. You can get your copy and our bonuses [email protected]. until next time. Remember, millions are your birthright and to access them you need only move. I’ll see you next time.
