We recently connected with Deryck Richardson and have shared our conversation below.
Deryck, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
I’ve identified as an entrepreneur for most of my life, but early in my career it was because I had direct sales or network marketing opportunities that I was working on the side. I’ll never forget the first time I was able to “fire my boss.” I was working a Network Marketing business and had quickly surpassed my income at my corporate job (which was six figures). My wife thought I may have been a little crazy, but she trusted me and that support was big.
Ultimately that opportunity fizzled out and I went back to working a 9-5. I new I needed the 9-5 because I had to support my wife, who is a homemaker, and our four children. The difference in this opportunity was that my boss frowned upon the fact that I had side businesses. They tried to limit what I put on social media and used the reasoning that I represent their brand as a senior level sales manager. I told them, I would remove their brand from my social media before I removed my business.
The day I left that job was certainly the biggest risk I’ve taken to date. I had it all, a handsome salary, excellent benefits, an amazing environment and truly a job that I loved. My wife was stunned when I came home that spring day in 2015 and said, I’m not going back there or to any other employer. The problem was they “owned” me. My boss told me what time to wake up. To be at work by 9, I had to set my alarm for 7:00. My boss told me what time to be hungry. Lunch was promptly at noon. My boss told me what events I could attend during the day Monday – Friday. Any networking events or traveling I wanted to do for my side businesses required me to ask permission.. I knew then and I still preach to this day, that I am “psychologically unemployable.”
I started Richardson Marketing Group, LLC from my garage that summer as a solopreneur. Richardson Marketing Group would grow up, move into an office space, hire 15 employees and become a 3 time Best Place to Work in Columbus, Ohio. Richardson Marketing Group, has been a 2 time Fast 50 recipient, recognizing the top 50 fastest growing companies in the Columbus, Ohio metro area. Both times we placed in the top 15, and through Covid at that. Richardson Marketing Group afforded me the opportunity to partner with others and help build more businesses. I’m not a partner with Freedom Direct Life Insurance Services and In The Black, LLP. I had partnered with a gentlemen to start a coffee business in 2020, he ultimately gave up and I am now the sole owner of BlackBeans Brew, a gourmet coffee distribution company.
That spring day in 2015 changed not only my life, but so many other lives. From my families quality of life, to my employees and their families, to my business partners. The definition of Entrepreneur is someone who takes a greater than normal risk. I encourage all people flirting with the idea to go out on their own, to do it. Go all in, give it your all and see where it will take you. I know I’ll never look back.
Deryck, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My primary business is Richardson Marketing Group. RMG is a marketing firm, specifically designed to enhance the customer acquisition efforts of insurance agents. I was working at an insurance lead company as the director of sales when I decided to do it myself. I had helped this company go from 1 million in revenue to 20 million in revenue. I knew if I could do it for someone else, I could do it for myself.
The difference in the operations of RMG and the operations in my previous company is that they were generating their own leads. We had a tech department and specialists in SEO and SEM to drive traffic to landing pages that generated leads for insurance agents. I don’t have a tech background, nor did I have money to invest in someone to help build that aspect of my business. I’m a sales guy and a relationship guy. RMG to this day is essentially a broker. We go to companies, like my previous one, buy their old leads at a low rate and sell them with a little mark up. The benefit is our insurance agents get leads for $0.25 to $0.50 rather than $10,00-$15.00. They are 0-60 days old, but there is plenty of meat left on the bone and our agents get so many more “at bats” with their investment. It’s truly hard not to make money utilizing our product.
If you have leads for insurance agents, it just makes sense to partner with an insurance agency. In 2016 my partner Josh and I moved into an office building where both RMG and Freedom Direct Life Insurance Services operate. Josh had an extensive insurance background and so the partnership was perfect. We would be able to bounce ideas off of each other, for both businesses, and the businesses could lean on each other when necessary. Freedom Direct offers all types of life insurance products. If you need insurance, we’ve got you covered.
In The Black was my first venture into the tech space. I had a friend who came to me for advice during Covid. She was a massage therapist who had her business shut down due to government mandates. Maria came up with a brilliant idea for an app. In The Black, helps businesses stay out of the red by offering free marketing services to small business owners. Not only do the business owners get free exposure within our app, but they receive a check at the end of the month as well. Each of our participating businesses enjoy a split of our profits each and every month. The revenue comes from subscribers who pay a monthly fee to have access to exclusive coupons and offers from the participating businesses. In May of 2023, In The Black will be hosting Nothing’s Bigger Than Small Business, a 2 day vendor fair and summit that will help to bring spotlight to 250 small businesses here in Columbus, Ohio. Maria went from a friend who needed some advise, to offering me a portion of the business so that I had a greater stake in helping to grow the brand. In The Black VIP can be found in both Apple and Android app stores.
Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?
There are so many to choose from. Entrepreneurship is definitely not easy, nor is it for everyone. We have never missed a payroll, but we have certainly come close on several occasions. One near death moment just recently happened this year. In fact, I thought we may not be able to survive this blow, but we ended up just fine. Before I tell the story, I’ll remind every aspiring entrepreneur that as you grow, so do your problems. I remember having $1500 problems, then we had $20,000 problems. Each time we put on our problem solving hats and went to work. Nothing get’s easier, you just get better at solving problems and ultimately you become very good at handling “hard.”
The story begins in 2019 when we were sued by a consumer. In the lead business you have to look out for compliancy to make sure you aren’t selling leads that don’t want to be called, sometimes this can be illegal for the person calling the lead. Without getting too far in to the weeds, you must follow the rules of TCPA or Telephone Consumer Privacy Act. Though we were being sued, we knew we were not in the wrong and instead of settling, we decided to take this thing to trial. We ultimately won and everything was dropped, but the case stretched out over 2 years (Covid played a part in that with delays and continuances). The problem with a 2 year law suit is that it comes with 2 years worth of attorney bills. The consumer offered to settle for $10,000 and though they didn’t get anything in the end, our attorney bill was $95,000 by the time it was over.
We paid the bill and our business bank account became extremely low. Our biggest client brings in about $100,000 in revenue a month. A few months after paying this enormous legal bill, that client missed a payment. Every month on the 15th the wire hit. They had never been late. June 16th came, then the 17th, and I finally called on the 18th and got a voicemail. Because we are a broker, we pay for leads up front and then sell them to the client at a mark up. Junes bill was for May’s leads. We had about $65,000 invested in that clients bill that month. We had also already purchased $65,000 dollars of leads for their June order. I called and called and emailed and emailed and got no response. Finally, July 1st came (good thing I didn’t purchase their July leads yet), and I received an email that they would be cancelling their account with us and not paying May or Junes bill. There was a clause in their contract as an insurance company that said we, as a provider, can’t do anything that creates a risk to them or their agents. They were using the lawsuit as a way to say we were a risky business. Even though we won! $95,000 in legal fees, $130,000 in lead costs just for this client and the $200,000 we were expecting, never came. We were already operating at a deficit during that time frame, but this was the biggest punch to the gut I had ever experienced. Our bank account was under $5,000 dollars when I got that email, with a $10,000 payroll due in a few days. I took out some personal money to make payroll and wondered why we grew so big. Why couldn’t we go back to those $5,000 problem days.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
Transparency and team building activities. Small business is a rollercoaster. I remember being a Director of Sales and having to give my staff a narrative, that wasn’t necessarily the full truth. It ate me up inside. As a business owner, my staff trusts me to make sure there is food on their table and their bills are paid. If anything is going to jeopardize that, or if changes are going to be made that can effects their time or pay, I have always been upfront and brought those situations to their attention. I always explain why we make changes and how I forecast our future. I truly believe this helps with creating “buy in.” I want my employees to truly love not only their job, but I want them to love their business.
Working in an office with people can be challenging, especially in a small business with an intimate environment. Monday through Friday, we spend more hours awake, with our co-workers, than we do with our families. I think it’s important that all that time spent together isn’t working. We have game stations set up throughout the office. A pool table, ping pong table, foosball table, cornhole boards and board games. Once a month we get out and do something out of the office. Activities like bowling or skeet shooting really help to bring people together in a non stressful way.
Running a business like this may not be traditional, but we have been nominated 3 times as The Best Place to Work in Columbus, Ohio (10-25 employees). That is something all of us are extremely proud of.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.deryckrichardson.com
- Instagram: @deryckrichardson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deryck.richardson/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deryck-richardson-ii-8a296928/
- Other: www.richardsonmarketinggroup.net www.gofreedomdirect.com www.intheblackvip.com www.blackbeansbrew.com