Dramatic Leverage Newsletter #2
Alignment: Why Business Storytelling Matters
(plus real numbers that demonstrate it's power)
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nicely crafted quotes (like the one above) are not enough when you’re fighting for your life.
On October 10, 2020, I woke up that morning and could not physically get out of bed. My heart was racing. My teeth clinched shut. My face drenched. My arms stiff at my side.
The next 2 hours brought a soup of anxiety and emotions.
I wasn’t sure what was happening.
Am I paralyzed?
No matter what I did, I could not move.
I had been through tough challenges before and prevailed.
There was the 2008 recession where I didn’t make any money for 6 months, but the business survived.
There was struggling to make $20,000 a year in my business and having to start over.
And then there was even losing my dad - my hero - to cancer in 2014.
But this was something different that I had never experienced before.
Why I needed to rethink everything
On March 11th, 2020, when President Trump decided to close US borders and the world came to a screeching halt, I was afraid.
What was happening felt eerily similar to the 2008 recession.
Back then, I was only two years into my business. Every day the news got darker and darker about companies shutting down or going out of business. Meanwhile, despite not making any money for six months, I was fighting to keep my business alive.
I quickly assumed that the 2020 pandemic would have the same effect 2008 had on my business.
But I was blessed to find out 2020 was a bit different for me.
I had my best financial year ever. And things in my personal life were going really well.
On July 4th, 2020 my girlfriend and I traveled to Jacksonville, FL to watch fireworks and to get a break from life. My girlfriend worked in the medical field, so the pandemic was equally hard on her.
As we watched fireworks, I proposed.
A short month later though, I had not only called off the wedding, I broke up with my fiancé.
It felt like the hardest thing to do. There would be so much baggage, shame, and tension that would come with making such a decision.
I prided myself on following through with my commitments.
Little did I know, this one decision would start a domino effect of challenges I’d never faced before.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Going back to the paralyzing moment in October 2020...
When I was finally able to get out of bed (about 2 hours later), I set up an appointment to go see a therapist and was officially diagnosed with burnout.
Not long after, I received 2 other diagnoses - clinical depression and anxiety.
How could I be depressed?
2020 was my best year financially. I should be relieved and happy. While there were other small stressors in my life, for the most part, I was in a good position in life.
Or so I thought.
After more evaluating with my therapist, there were 14 different stressors going on at the same time.
For context, most people can only handle 4-5 stressors at a time before they begin to collapse under the pressure.
This was a massive wake up call.
Removing the stressors was priority #1. But also rethinking how I work and where the business was headed was equally critical.
Understanding this journey will give you context as to why this newsletter is so important for you and your business. It will also help for you to understand why it's critical for you to block out time each week to read a new letter.
No to mention, I don't want you to go through the same pain I did.
Creating an unconventional business
My business model has always been unconventional.
Video production company that only creates documentaries for entrepreneurs and visionary CEOs
Only working with five clients a year
Charging $17,000 for a consulting session before ever pulling out a camera
Charging $100,000+ per video project
Getting 100% of my clients through referrals
Barely any social media promotions of my work
Taking 2 months off every year
Along the way of building an unconventional business I had somehow lost my way and needed to get back on track.
When I see this happening in my friend’s lives, I share a story about alignment, hoping it'll paint the picture for them about how they’re operating.
My first car was a 2001 Toyota Camry. The time had came for me to get a brand new set of tires.
While getting the tires, the mechanic mentioned I’d also need to get an alignment and it would cost me an extra $100.
What?! No thanks. He’s just trying to get more money out of me, I don’t need the alignment.
So I drive away with the 4 new tires and no alignment.
A couple months go by and I start to notice the tires on the right side of the car are wearing rapidly.
Aren’t they supposed to last years?
So I head back to the tire shop. The same mechanic greets me and I tell him what’s happening.
“Well, I did mention you’d need to get an alignment.”
“No, I think you gave me faulty tires.” I leave and head to a new tire shop to switch out the tires.
This new mechanic tells me the same thing. “You can switch out these tires, but you’ll need to get an alignment as well.”
Wait… so they’re all in on this scam? Again, I get the new tires WITHOUT the alignment.
This dance goes on another 2x, before I realize, maybe I do need an alignment after all.
The story seems ridiculous but we all have done this before in our lives.
Trying to move forward in life, but somehow ending back at square one. We think a brand new set of tires is the solution, when the alignment is the real solution.
It was time for me to get back in alignment in my own life.
This is the face of depression, burnout and anxiety.
It’s taboo to be a “successful” entrepreneur and talk about this. But, way too many people are suffering in silence.
There’s someone who is ready to give up on their business today. I’m hoping my smile and my courage gives you hope. There is light at the end of the tunnel. With help, it does get better.
I’ve worked hard the last couple of years to rethink and question EVERYTHING about how I operate and how the business operates.
What happened in October 2020 has been a blessing in disguise. I uncovered a critical piece to the puzzle of working smarter, not harder.
Today, I want to share with you where I see the future of entrepreneurship, storytelling and leverage. And more importantly, why you should pay attention to this for your own business.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Dramatic Leverage Thesis
The world as we know it has shifted rapidly in the last 5 years. It is unprecedented in every way.
Social Media + Influencer marketing
Politics and social issues
NFTs
Creator Economy
Cryptocurrency + Blockchain
Climate Change
Electric and autonomous vehicles
Sending regular, everyday human beings to space
The first trillion dollar companies (Apple, Amazon, Microsoft)
Podcasting and live audio chat rooms
Online courses
digital marketing
The Internet of Things
A new and rare virus we have no idea how to understand
A.I.
The list literally goes on and on…
But the point is, there has been a rapid pace of change in technology that we, as human beings, are not able to keep up with.
And, no matter what industry you are in, you are being affected.
The beauty of all of this is even with this rapid change, there is one thing that still holds true… storytelling is the most critical piece behind being successful or just being noise.
This isn't theory.
It will take some time to properly dissect and explain, but stick with me.
As you’ll notice from the graphic above. There are 3 different phases to Leverage.
First, there’s Capital Leverage.
We are most used to this kind of leverage.
Here you have a product or service that works and you offer it to more people.
Or some entrepreneurs will call this “scaling up.”
Your goal is to work with more clients or to charge more money. Either way you’re able to bring in more money (capital).
Then, there’s Lateral Leverage.
In Lateral Leverage, you are taking the one thing that worked really well and repackaging it in a different format.
For example, let’s say you have a product you normally sell online that can also be sold in physical stores, you’ll form partnerships with other stores to sell your product.
Or if you‘ve written a book, instead of simply selling it on Amazon, you may work to get booked speaking on stage in order to promote the ideas in your book and give the book away for free at the event.
Either way, the point is to find new ways to repackage what’s working well in order to bring in more capital.
And finally, there‘s Dramatic Leverage.
In Dramatic Leverage, you’re completely rethinking and repackaging your entire business model.
This is a combination of Capital and Lateral Leverage, used in a different industry than the one you’re known for.
This allows you to play in other industries where you “shouldn’t be allowed“ to play in.
With all of this laid out for you, here's why you need to pay attention to this: storytelling is the most critical piece behind being successful or just being noise.
I know I've said this already, but it's that important for you to understand.
Now let's make it 3 dimensional. I’m going to break down 3 separate stories below to give you a full picture.
First, is the behind story and numbers of ESPN’s The Last Dance docuseries (can you imagine a pair of shoes selling for $560,000?)
Then the Dramatic Leverage model behind Tyler Perry’s business (he now owns the largest film studio in the Unites States)
Finally, how my client, Darnyelle Jervey Harmon, was able to leverage storytelling to bring in an extra $100k in 60 days (and how she's leveraging the same strategy to continue to working with dream clients)
Success leaves clues: 3 stories that show the power of business storytelling with real numbers
Michael Jordan’s $560,000 pair of shoes
It's late March 2020, producers at ESPN are scrambling to figure out how to fill TV programming as the entire world paused.
Sporting events are canceled, most people are working from home and re-runs of past games are quickly becoming stale.
So, producers decide to move up the premiere of the 10-part documentary series on basketball superstar Michael Jordan. The docuseries is called “The Last Dance.”
When the docuseries debuted on April 19, it broke records, averaging 6 million viewers for each episode.
Do you want to know the crazy part?
After its release, sales of every product associated with Michael Jordan soared.
For example:
an autographed pair of Jordan’s shoes sold for $560,000 in an auction
Nike’s Jordan brand saw its first billion-dollar quarter ever in its 37 year history
Scottie Pippen, Michael’s teammate who was featured in the first two episodes, also saw sales of his sneakers and merchandise increase by 50 percent
How is this even possible?
Why would someone want to pay half a million dollars for an old pair of shoes? Shoes that will probably never be worn.
Tyler Perry: The 30-year overnight success story
Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, GA
In 2019, Tyler Perry opened the largest privately-owned motion-picture studio in the United States.
The writer, director, and producer started his career in 1992 after saving $12,000 to premiere his first play at an Atlanta theater.
For the first decade of his career, his plays tanked.
At one point, he even spent 3 months living out of his car.
He couldn’t sell tickets or figure out how to get people to show up.
But he was relentless about his dream and never gave up.
Tyler Perry has built a media empire consisting of plays, merchandise, DVDs, movies, TV shows, and now a motion picture studio. The secret behind his success has been this ONE Thing: No matter what deal he does, he always owns the creative intellectual property.
Many do not understand how he did it or where he came from. But over his almost 30 year career, he has been very intentional.
Darnyelle Jervey Harmon: 283 client testimonials and the $100,000 Idea
In 2019, I flew to Wilmington, Delaware to conduct a Roadmapping strategy session with a new client, Darnyelle Jervey Harmon.
Roadmapping is a full day consulting session, where I put together a plan for the client to leverage the power of their stories.
When I worked with Darnyelle in Roadmapping, I learned that Darnyelle’s story is one of massive transformation.
First, her own transformation. And then the transformation she provides for her clients.
As proof, before I worked with Darnyelle, she already had 283 client testimonials that lived on her website.
While many of them mentioned ROI and revenue growth, there were a few that included words like “transformational,” “changed my life,” and “gives so much.”
For example, take a look at these 2 testimonials:
Testimonial 1 - “I went from generating 15,000 a month to over six figures by the end of my first year working with Darnyelle. More than that, I have a business that serves me and funds my life - because of how she’s helped me to grow my business.”
Testimonial 2 - “Darnyelle’s not just a marketing coach coach, she’s a proven business leader who understands business and teaches others, including me, how to build viable businesses. Her expertise has changed my life in so many ways, in addition to showing me how to monetize my message to make more money speaking, . With her help, I closed a multi-six figure client.”
So during our Roadmapping session, I mentioned these 283 testimonials were amazing, but they didn’t dig deep enough to tell the whole story.
For example, in the 2nd testimonial, the client mentions, "Her expertise has changed my life in so many ways."
Really? Tell me more about those different ways. What does life look like for you now?
By telling the whole story, it would give others a clear picture of how Darnyelle is the catalyst for transformation. So during our Roadmapping session, I mentioned to Darnyelle, “Why not turn them into video case studies?”
This idea was a spark of lightning.
The day after our Roadmapping session, Darnyelle began reaching out to her community.
She recorded interviews with 10 clients, where they talked about their experiences and her lasting impact.
She edited those down into short video case studies and emailed them out to her existing client database over thirty days.
This led to discovery calls and after those discovery calls, she closed more than $100,000 in revenue.
An idea that sparked in Roadmapping turned into $100,000 in revenue.
But that was only the beginning for Darnyelle.
$100,000 is what she was able to do within 60 days.
As she brings in more leads to her business, what would happen if she ran the same email series once a quarter?
That would easily be an extra $500,000 in one year.
Of course, this is easy to set up with automation, but this would be the bare minimum.
What if the 10 case studies could help Darnyelle reach a greater goal?
Such as a goal to buy commercial real estate where she could host her events and live on the same property?
The ONE Thing - Lining up the right dominoes in your business
What’s the ONE thing that ties these 3 stories together?
The ridiculous sale of the Jordan shoes, Tyler Perry’s massive film studios, and Darnyelle’s $100,000 idea were all executed and made possible because of the power of storytelling.
I’m sure you’re thinking I’m a bit biased.
But think about this in a different way for a second.
In the book, The One Thing , the author introduces a concept called the Domino Effect, where one small domino is powerful enough to knock down a large domino later on down the road.
Consider the stories hidden within your business that can help you knock down the right domino.
Your big hairy audacious goal may seem out of reach right now, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Earlier I mentioned how Darnyelle could take the same email strategy and put it on autopilot for 3 more times within 1 year.
This strategy is obviously worked once so it will almost definitely work again.
At the same time, this strategy is one-dimensional.
How's that?
Hearing something said 1,000x is not as powerful as seeing it once.
To make this project 3-dimensional, and to knock down a larger domino, it would mean making the video testimonials feel real and tangible for Darnyelle's future clients.
As I write this, Darnyelle and I are working on our 2nd docuseries called MOVE to Millions.
In the docuseries, we highlight four clients in Darnyelle’s Mastermind who are on different points within their journey to the million-dollar mark.
These are four case studies showing behind the scenes of how Darnyelle is working with the client 1-on-1 and how she’s changing not only their lives, but their family’s lives as well.
For this project, we’ve traveled to:
Wilmington, DE
Cleveland, OH
St. Louis, MO
Baltimore, MD
Atlanta, GA
New Orleans, LA
New York City, NY
This documentary project is the same strategy we came up with in Roadmapping.
The one thing we changed is how it’s packaged.
Instead of simply interviewing the clients via Zoom like she did before, we are flying to their homes and seeing behind the scenes of their lives.
Keyword: SEEING.
We're seeing how they work.
We're seeing their children and spouses.
We're seeing a 1-on-1 strategy session with Darnyelle.
This shift in how the video case studies are packaged also plays a bigger role towards Dramatic Leverage. The kind of leverage that compounds exponentially over time.
What stories are hidden in your business?
There 2 common responses I get when entrepreneurs think about telling stories in their business.
1.) I don't think I have any good stories to share
2.) When I sit down to think about how to tell stories in my business, nothing comes to mind.
Tuesday Brooks, the CEO of an accounting firm in New York City, invested in work with me 1-on-1.
When she showed up to Roadmapping, she gave me the 2nd response.
When I sit down to think about how to tell stories in my business, nothing comes to mind.
Tuesday agreed to let me share this short video segment with you from her 2-hour strategy session.
In the first 8 minutes of the video, I'm searching for Tuesday's WHY story.
Why are you excited about the work you're doing?
Why do you work with a specific type of client?
Why bother being an accountant?
But despite the many different ways I try to ask the question, Tuesday can't think of a specific moment where she realized, THIS is why I do what I do.
And I LOVE moments like this.
Partially because I'm always up for a good challenge. The other reason is because I know the moment is there, but we need to dig deeper.
So, we shift gears.
I focus on finding a personal teaching story.
To find a teaching story, I look for metaphors or analogies that help paint a picture or a visual for your customer/client.
Here's what I asked Tuesday to help stir ideas for a personal teaching story:
I saw photos of you on a boat recently.You like to go boating, right?How do you relate boating to accounting?
This question unlocked magic.
Notice how Tuesday's body language and her thinking completely changes when I ask her about boating.
And more importantly, see how we strategically tie this back to her accounting business and attracting more clients to her offerings.
What else do you notice as you watch the video?