CEO Spotlight: Darien Dash, CEO of The Movement Management Advisors

Darien Dash has been at the forefront of technology and digital innovation since the inception of the internet. Dash has been instrumental in bringing digital marketing and internet services into minority communities. He’s developed a career out of portfolio management for high-net companies and individuals within the sports and entertainment industries with his company, The Movement Management Advisors.

Darien Dash is an entrepreneur slash activist who has a family history steeped in the music in the entertainment industry. Dash attended the University of Southern California and created Roc-A-Block records with his cousin, Damon Dash, who would go on and evolve the label into Roc-A-Fella records. Roc-A-Bloc grossed over $100K during Dash’s Sophomore year. They also and signed Jay Z along with other future hip hop moguls, giving Dash his first taste of mega success.

Darien Dash believes in digital equity, particularly for minorities. He believes that minorities deserve the same access to the internet and available technology as everyone else. This principle led to the creation of DME Interactive Holdings, and Dash became the CEO of the first African American-owned internet company publicly traded on Wall Street.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My day is usually pretty busy and full starting as early as 7 AM and continues well until 9 or 10 PM. I pride myself on accessibility. I often have clients traveling in different time zones and many who are based on the West Coast.

Due to this, I have to be available and ready to communicate.

There is also a very focused approach to how we manage our day and time.

I rely on a reliable support staff that executes many of the days to day tasks involved in financial holdings and management. On any given day, we could have something pressing and urgent going on with the clients that require us to drop everything and attend to them.

On other more typical days, we will strategize about the needs of our clients and evaluate the execution of our plan for their portfolio. One of the things I love about the work I get to do is that every day, there is the potential of some new challenge that needs my immediate attention. And that’s part of the thrill of the job; helping solve these problems, and ultimately helping my clients.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don’t get cocky. I think that when any person first finds that initial hit of success in their work, it’s easy to think you’ve “made it,” but the real work is in figuring out how to sustain it over time. I would tell my younger self to remember this success is temporary.

And that it’s essential to evolve and adapt to different and often more difficult challenges.

I tend to work with a lot of clients who benefit from the experience of setting new goals and then watch them achieve them through mindful and strategic practices. It reminds me that once you hit a specific goal in your business, it’s essential not to stop there. Set a new one and hit that. Set another one, and so on.

I believe that you harvest what you sew, and once you’ve seen some growth, you have to plant your seed again and continue to invest that time and patience to watch it grow.

Of course, it’s important also to stop and enjoy what you’ve made. But be sure to simultaneously put away some income to build and execute on the original intent of your business.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

That the Cowboys are going to win the Superbowl this year.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I think that once certain entrepreneurs achieve a certain level of success, they begin outsourcing some of the more tedious tasks, which I think is smart to a degree. But when it comes to their bottom line, every business owner should pay close attention to their financial statements.

Many young entrepreneurs experience success and then stop paying attention to their books.  This can be a costly mistake.

If you aren’t aware of where your money is going or where it’s coming from then, you’re not tapped into the lungs of your business. What’s coming in and out is how your business lives, and you need to be fully aware of it.

When you make a habit of checking your financial statements every month, (and I recommend both personal and business statements), you’ll be connected deeply to the breath of your business.

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