"A challenge for any business is being able to stand out from the crowd as this diffrentiates you from your competitors."
Russ Turner Tweet
Russ Turner is known for networking with iconic people from billionaire Tech guru Craig Newmark founder of craigslist to the likes of multi-million and successful businessman Alfie Best the king of the gypsys. Russ’s networks are filled Founders of top tech companies such as Shopify, Shutterstock, YouTube, Slack, MySpace and journalist on Tech Crunch, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Bloomberg
As Director of Business Digest Magazine Russ has interviewed many successful business professionals which has helped him to build amazing relationships aswell as gaining useful business insights from the best the world has to offer.
“Entrepreneurs are inspired and led by a deep desire to influence and change the world for the greater good” – Russ Turner
Check out more interviews with entrepreneurs here.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Russ Turner: I was born and bread in Essex in the United Kingdom where I spent my early days in the print industry and also as a retained fire fighter. I then decided to turn my hand to business and set down the path of entrepreneurship.
Having a few failed business under my belt I knew I was destined for greater things as many see failure as a bad thing but I can tell you first hand that you learn more from failing than anything else.
This brings me to the present and after spending the last 10 years networking, learning and running businesses I can say I have learnt a hell of alot about what it takes to become a success.
My top tip is to be consistent & keep showing up and even when you get knocked down to use that time to dust yourself off and prep your horse ready for another journey as I guarantee that all your knowledge gained from previous experiences will only aid you well on your next adventure.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Russ Turner: Indeed it has!
The pandemic has impacted nearly every business around the world, for some it has been their demise while others have flourished and some have seen the opportunity to launch a startup amidst the turmoil and upset.
The biggest thing I think we can take away from this is that; when faced with adversity we all must be willing to adapt to change!
A great number of companies in the pandemic pivoted their businesses and adapted to such circumstances they were faced with.
It was a do or die moment for these companies, their only alternative was to either adapt or shut up shop for good.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Russ Turner: With the constant rise in energy and fuel prices they should focus on reducing overheads long term by investing in things like solar energy, heat pumps, led lighting and electric cars all of which can be funded with government grants.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Russ Turner: Yes it prevented one to one meetings and in person networking events as everything when online.
Thankfully for Zoom I was able to continue my business and interact with people in an excellent way that still provided that personal human touch which is a face to face discussion with them.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Russ Turner: Good question I’m not one to panic so I knew it would be alright in the end but for many I guess it would be, to be pandemic ready!
What does that mean you might ask well in my opinion it means to have; a healthy thriving business with happy customers and a good amount of cash in the bank for when times are hard.
This might sound like a perfect scenario but if you are not aiming for this state of play in your business then you aren’t heading on the direction of business longevity.
You can start by looking at all of your invoices that are outstanding and on Monday morning get on the phone and call the customers up and tell them you want the invoice paid today. A successful businessman who I know was owed a very large sum of money by his 120 customers he phoned them up and said they were to pay or he would no longer do business with them and one of his customers was one of the UK governments emergency services of which a CCJ was taken out against them and they were made to settle their bill and they even kept him on a customer.
Secondly look at your out goings!
- Do you need the big office or is there one in another location?
- Do you need a cleaner and window cleaner or can you rotate staff to do it?
- Do you need the fancy software or can you do just as fine with a spreadsheet and Google calendar?
- Do you need all of your staff or can you cut back on a role or maybe combine two roles into one?
- Do you collect data on downtime and try to solve the issues?
These are just a few things I am always looking at and you should be to.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Russ Turner: As we come out of this era I see a decline in online and working from home but it will not fall back to the levels it was at before as many people have adapted their lives and businesses to adopt this way of working and for many it means increased productivity with fewer overheads and expenses.
So I think online working is definitely here to stay.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Russ Turner: I actually work in front of two large high res vpa screens so its a double whammy for me lol!
I’m work 8.30 til 5 generally all though I try to get up and down for a walk about every so often, then I head home have a workout, eat dinner then I either learn or research on a gadget… so yes more screen time!
Sound alot but everyone is glued to some device nowadays its the way of the world.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Russ Turner: Communication is; Listening, Thinking and Responding
I listen but with an open ear to problems and I process the information I am being givien and then respond with a question to dig deeper into the problem which helps to create a mini think tank as to unearth a possible solution.
If I deem the issue is to big for my skillset I then involve someone with skills in the area of which the discussion appears to fall into.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Russ Turner: A challenge for any business is being able to stand out from the crowd as this diffrentiates you from your competitors.
Secondly is trying to grow to quickly and take on too many employees before they are actually ready to do so.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Russ Turner: As a marketing consultant I would have to say marketing, as for me personally its essential to keep up with the latest trends as to see what is working and yielding best results.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Russ Turner: Of course many leaders think they are not that kind of boss, but the truth of the matter is that being a boss is a skill and you have to be good at listener aswell as a good communicator.
It’s not about cracking the whip to get more work done or shouting when things don’t go to plan. It’s about showing them the way and when things do happen to go wrong seeing it as an opportunity for improvement and having the discussion of how can we be better in a group conversation.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Russ Turner: This would have to be philanthropy as having the power to help people and their businesses change the world this would be the most rewarding thing ever.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Russ Turner: Success to me is more of the same, to help more clients increase their online presence, increase their brand exposure and, more importantly to showcase my lead generation service to ultimately bring in more money and success for them as this is what I live for.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Russ Turner for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Russ Turner or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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