Harbinger Marketing helps businesses thrive through tailored marketing strategies, including SEO, branding, and video production. Serving clients across the U.S. since 2010.
Mandatory Questions –
- Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located, and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
- Harbinger Marketing is a growth-focused marketing agency that partners directly with business owners to help them achieve measurable, long-term results. Rather than operating as a traditional vendor, we function as an outsourced marketing director—integrating into each partner’s business, understanding their goals, and aligning marketing strategy with real business outcomes.
Through a full-service approach that includes strategic planning, branding, video production, website development, SEO, paid advertising, and ongoing execution, we ensure every marketing effort supports your broader business vision.
At its core, Harbinger exists to be a catalyst for growth—not just for businesses, but for the people behind them. Our mission is rooted in helping small businesses thrive so that individuals, families, and communities are positively impacted. Growth is never pursued for its own sake, but as a means of creating lasting influence and stewardship-driven success.
Harbinger’s culture is intentionally relational, values-driven, and people-first. Our team believes leadership is defined by service and operates with a long-term mindset—caring deeply for partners, prioritizing integrity, and committing to doing the next right thing. This philosophy is guided by core values centered on intentionality, integrity, excellence, humility, and a servant mindset.
Harbinger Marketing is headquartered in Tyrone, Georgia, and serves partners across multiple states throughout the United States. In 2026, we will open a second office in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, marking the next chapter of continued growth—rooted in impact, influence, and faithful stewardship.
- Kindly give us a brief description of yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
- I’m David Harbin, the owner and CEO of Harbinger Marketing. I started this company while I was still in high school, initially taking on small website and graphic design projects. As I worked more closely with business owners, I quickly realized that good-looking marketing wasn’t enough—it had to directly support real business outcomes.
Growing up around family-owned businesses gave me early exposure to entrepreneurship, leadership, and the responsibility that comes with stewarding a company well. Over time, Harbinger evolved from a creative service provider into a strategic marketing partner, operating as an outsourced marketing director for business owners across a wide range of industries.
One of my proudest achievements has been building a values-driven team and a sustainable business model rooted in integrity, trust, and long-term thinking. Rather than pursuing growth for its own sake, I’ve focused on building a company that creates meaningful impact—for our partners, our team, and the people and families connected to the businesses we serve.
- What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
- I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was young. When I was a kid, my grandmother gave me some Christmas money, and I found a magazine that allowed you to order cheap knives in bulk. I bought 50 of them and I sold them to people at church to make a profit. That was my first real taste of business. I used that money to buy my first MacBook, literally the computer that started everything.
From there, I taught myself how to make websites and graphics. I quickly realized that some of my dad’s friends were willing to pay me to do that work for them. Around that same time, I was also setting up tables and chairs in the summer heat for a company called Costa Canopies. One day, the owner told me his website was awful, and I told him I could probably help with that. I rebuilt it for him, and without even discussing payment beforehand, he loved the result and wrote me a check. That moment was eye-opening—I realized this was a lot easier than hauling equipment in the heat.
I loved making people happy, making them smile, and making them feel understood. Creative marketing work was motivating for that reason. The very first business that truly entrusted me with more responsibility was Ferguson Heating and Air. It started simply: “Can you do social media?” Yes. “Can you do direct mail?” Absolutely. “Can you help put together our marketing budget for next year?” Suddenly, I found myself negotiating ad deals with vendors and suppliers.
At some point, the owner invited me to the company Christmas party, and I realized I was his marketing director. That realization became the foundation for the business idea. That first year working together, they had a record-breaking sales year. They were able to hire several new employees, and I remember sitting at the Christmas party when a team member leaned over and told me that two or three people were employed there because of that growth.
Seeing that impact, watching a company that genuinely cared about its people grow, and knowing I played a role in creating opportunities for those employees was incredibly exciting and motivating for me. That’s where the idea truly came from.
- What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
- First, figure out your why. At the end of the day, money and position can’t be a driving factor. You actually have to have a reason that is deeply connected to why you believe that you exist as a human and what it is that God has created you specifically to do.
Second, be others-focused. Zig Ziglar was one of the number one influences in my development as an entrepreneur. I listened to his tapes as a kid, and he always said if you help enough people get what they want, eventually you’ll get what you want. True leaders exist to serve those who have been entrusted to them, so be others-focused. Don’t look to be served, but look to serve. When you do that long enough, you’ll eventually see rewards come from it.
Third, surround yourself with people you want to be like. Spend time with people who are living your dream and doing the things you want to do. Find ways to be around them and learn from them. You won’t grow unless you surround yourself with people who are winning at life. That’s true of whatever it is that you’re trying to accomplish, whether you’re an entrepreneur or not.
- What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
- There are many different kinds of entrepreneurs, and no single person embodies every entrepreneurial skill set. At the end of the day, there’s not a one-size-fits-all all that all entrepreneurs have in terms of skill sets or capabilities. For example, some entrepreneurs are excellent salespeople, while some want nothing to do with sales. Because of that, you have to understand all that it takes to run a business, including what is needed.
A good friend of mine, Alan Cooper, with Lead Advisor, once said, “You do not have to manage what you’ve made. You just have to make sure what you have made is managed.” That idea has always stuck with me. Delegation is critical. You have to be willing to entrust responsibility to others and allow them to operate in areas where they are stronger than you are.
You also have to understand people. You have to know how to really relate to them, listen to them, understand what they want, and know what you can or cannot provide to them.
In terms of other skill sets, having a servant mindset is essential. At the end of the day, every business is paid based on its ability to solve problems. If you don’t have a perspective that says, “How can I bring value to someone else?” or “How can I help them achieve their goals?” then the business is likely to be short-lived.
- How many hours do you work a day on average?
- It really depends. As an entrepreneur, no two days look exactly the same. Some days are shorter than others, but many mornings start early. For example, this morning started at 3:15 a.m., though most days I’m up around 4:00. I usually work for two or three hours before spending time with my family by Bible reading, worship, and prayer. After that, I get into the workday—typically starting around 8:00 a.m. and heading home by about 4:00 p.m.
If you add it all up, that’s often around ten hours, but it varies. There’s no secret sauce or perfect formula. Some seasons require longer hours, and others don’t. My goal, though, is always to reduce those hours as much as possible and keep them healthy. I want to work as much as Harbinger needs me to, but not more than my family needs me to. It’s a constant balancing act and something you have to be intentional about. You have to decide what matters most to you, where you want to spend your time, and then align your life accordingly.
That said, even on days when I’m working more than ten hours, it doesn’t feel the same as work does for many people. A lot of people clock out and then go spend time on their hobbies. In many ways, my work is my hobby. I love what I do, and I’m passionate about it. That’s one of the real bonuses of entrepreneurship. When you truly love the work, it becomes a productive outlet.
- To what do you most attribute your success?
- First and foremost, I attribute everything to the blessing of the Lord. When I look back over the past ten years of building this business, it’s undeniable that the Lord’s favor has been on it. Nations rise and fall at His word, and not a sparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge. He is the one who brings blessings in life.
Any skill I have is a gift from Him. There are moments when I walk out of meetings thinking, I didn’t deserve for that to go the way it did. I can’t fully explain why it worked out the way it did, but it was the favor of God and the giftings He has given me.
The second great blessing has been the people He has brought into this business. Truly incredible people. There are times when I look around the team at Harbinger and think, How are these people working here? It doesn’t make sense in the best possible way. That, too, feels like a gift.
When it comes to success, I often question the premise of the question itself. For some, success is profit. For me, success is influence for the Kingdom of God and leaving not only an impact, but a multigenerational one. I see Harbinger as something God has entrusted to me to steward for His purposes and for my family.
- How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
- The most successful form of marketing for us is what we call cold omnichannel sales outreach. At its core, the concept is simple: cold sales has always worked. There are many marketing companies that market, but we’ve learned that being selective matters. We don’t want to work with just anyone—we intentionally pursue partners who align with our values and help us fulfill our mission of helping people thrive.
Omnichannel outreach allows us to be very targeted. We identify the companies we know we can serve well and then pursue them through a cold process that includes phone calls, emails, handwritten notes, mailed gifts, LinkedIn messages, and social media touchpoints. We don’t stop until we’ve earned the opportunity to have a conversation.
Historically, sales have always been about reaching out, starting conversations, and earning trust. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is the challenge of scaling that process and maintaining creativity across multiple channels. We’ve built the discipline to do both. We know exactly how many touchpoints it takes to generate an opportunity and ultimately close for us.
That system has been so effective for us that we now offer it to our partners as well, helping them pursue the right relationships with the same level of intentionality and consistency.
- Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
- We’ve never raised outside capital or taken any funding. Harbinger has grown entirely at the rate of cash. My dad always said, “If you take the king’s money, you do the king’s bidding.” I’ve never wanted to be in a position where decisions at Harbinger were driven by the need to pay someone back rather than by what I believed was right.
That approach has certainly made growth slower than it could have been. When you grow at the rate of cash, patience is required. But my dad also had another saying that shaped my thinking: “I’d rather be the captain of a sailboat than the second man on a cruise ship.” The wisdom in that is control. If you’re not truly in control of the business, you lose the ability to make decisions that matter most.
I can easily name a hundred decisions over the past ten years that may not have made the most financial sense on paper but were absolutely the right decisions for people. Growing at the rate of cash has also allowed my personal growth to keep pace with the company’s growth. The version of me from ten years ago would not have been qualified to lead the business at the size it is today.
If I had gotten the money early on, I likely would have built something larger than I was capable of managing at the time. Growing at the rate of cash has worked for us. I’m not saying it’s the only way to build a business, but it’s what we feel like we’re called to.
- What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
When it comes to long-term success, I say that having interviewed a wide range of business owners on our podcast has given me a unique perspective. I’ve heard countless stories, and there’s a common theme among those I would consider truly successful—though success itself needs to be defined. For me, it isn’t just about profit or building a large company. It’s about the influence you have on everyone you come into contact with.
The common thread I hear from these business owners is delayed gratification. Long-term success requires thinking long-term, not making decisions based on short-term gain. It’s the principle of sowing and reaping that we see in Scripture—you reap more than you sow, and you reap later than you sow. We live in a day and age where it’s just the natural way of the flesh that we want it now. We want to experience immediate gratification.
But the people who build lasting businesses are willing to play the long game. Instead of asking, “How much more money can I make this year?” they ask, “How can I make a living while continuing to grow the business?” They understand that if they do that consistently over time, the rewards eventually multiply.
I’ve always viewed the business as an entity that needs to be fed. Too often, companies are starved because owners immediately increase their lifestyle as revenue grows. There’s a time and place to enjoy the financial rewards of success, and I’m not opposed to that—but early on, restraint matters.
There were times where I paid employees more per hour than I paid myself as the business owner. I did that because I believed in the long-term vision of what Harbinger could become. For me, long-term success comes down to avoiding short-sighted decisions, thinking generationally, and resisting the temptation of easy, immediate gratification.
- Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
- Looking ahead, the vision is continued growth, continued impact, and continued influence. The idea is that we will continue to grow in a way that allows Harbinger to become synonymous with small business success as long as we continue to fill our mission and uphold our core values. It’s not growth for the sake of growth; it’s growth for the sake of impact and influence.
If we can continue to do good work and remain profitable, we’re able to bless the people who work at Harbinger and bless our partners by helping them grow their businesses. I see us continuing to grow at the rate of cash, just as we always have.
On a personal level, my desire is to continue to live in the skill sets God has gifted me with and to operate in the way that best blesses the team. I always say that leadership comes down to asking one simple question: What’s best for the team?—and then going and doing that thing.
One piece of advice I consistently give our leadership team is to focus on doing the next right thing. Because the business is privately held, because we grow at the rate of cash, and because we maintain control of our decisions, we retain the freedom to operate with that mindset. That allows us to move forward thoughtfully while continuing to expand our influence.
This year, we’re opening our second location in Oklahoma. I foresee that in the coming five to ten years, we will have locations in most major cities across the country—or at least in every region within the next five years. Ultimately, I want Harbinger to be known as a name synonymous with what it truly means to be successful—not only as a harbinger, or messenger, of our partners’ success, but also as a messenger of the good news of the Gospel to everyone we encounter.
- Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
- For most people, the answer to that question would probably be a name that everyone recognizes. Instead of giving you a name, I’d rather tell you the characteristics of companies I admire that I guarantee you don’t know.
One example is a business with roughly 400 employees. They don’t evaluate success solely through financial performance. In addition to traditional reporting, their CFO prepares a report that tracks how many families the company is able to provide for. In some cases, certain business units aren’t even profitable, yet they’re intentionally kept because they support people’s livelihoods. That perspective matters to me.
There’s a business owner, and no one knows that they do this, but the majority of the company’s proceeds go toward two things: paying employees far above market average and giving generously to charity. The owner lives a modest, humble lifestyle, yet by any reasonable measure, the business is wildly successful.
There’s also a general contracting company with about 100 employees that views its entire operation as a framework for discipleship. The leadership sees the business as a way to mentor and invest in people—helping employees become better fathers, husbands, wives, and mothers. Their goal isn’t just productivity; it’s personal growth and long-term impact.
I could continue listing examples like these, but the point is that there isn’t one single business I hold up as the model. There are certainly aspects I admire in companies like Chick‑fil‑A and Ramsey Solutions. But what I admire most, and what truly inspires me, is the privately held small business—where the owner is deeply involved, operating with intention, and viewing the business not just as a company, but as a ministry.
Recommended Questions –
- How important have good employees been to your success?
- How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
- What motivates you?
- What are your ideals?
- How do you generate new ideas?
- How do you define success?
- How do you build a successful customer base?
- What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
- What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
- What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
- What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
- In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Optional Questions –
- If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
- How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
- What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
- How did you decide on the location for your business?
- Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
- If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
- Who has been your greatest inspiration?
- What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
- What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
- How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
- What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
for more information visit us at https://harbingermarketing.com/