"The devil is in the details, never lose sight of that."
Russ Stephens is the Co-Founder and Business Strategy Specialist for the Association of Professional Builders. Since 2014 Mr. Stephens has helped builders double the size of their businesses through profitable growth. The Association of Professional Builders is a training operation operating out of Australia, but with members spanning the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada to improve the residential construction industry for both builders and consumers through systemization.
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Thank you for joining us today. Please introduce yourself to our readers. They want to know you, some of the background story to bring some context to your interview.
Russ Stephens: Russ Stephens, co-founder of the Association of Professional Builders. I was born in South London in 1963, started my first business selling from the back of a van in 1983 before selling that company in 2006 to fulfill a lifelong ambition to emigrate with my family to Australia. I now live on the Gold Coast in Australia with my wife Linda. I spend my day working with my daughter Sky who is the other co-founder of our business. My son Kurt also lives on the Gold Coast and is a commercial airline pilot.
You are a successful entrepreneur, so we’d like your viewpoint, do you believe entrepreneurs are born or made? Explain.
Russ Stephens: I believe it’s a combination of both. To be successful in business, you must be tenacious and driven. Arguably, these are personality traits that we are born with. However, as a business owner, you always need to be learning new skills and evolving as a leader which is a path of self-improvement; these attributes you are not born with.
If you were asked to describe yourself as an entrepreneur in a few words, what would you say?
Russ Stephens: I’m driven by a fear of failure and I always have been, since I was seven years old. I started to worry that I would not be earning enough money to sustain a comfortable lifestyle. Even now, I always focus on the risks to the business and potential black swan events.
Tell us about what your company does and how did it change over the years?
Russ Stephens: The Association of Professional Builders provides business systems and processes for residential home builders covering marketing, sales, operations, and financials. We provide our services across the USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. We started as a marketing agency, then we moved into providing sales training. Now we offer complete solutions covering all aspects of running a profitable home building company.
Thank you for all that. Now for the main focus of this interview. With close to 11.000 new businesses registered daily in the US, what must an entrepreneur assume when starting a business?
Russ Stephens: Assume nothing and trust – but verify – everything you are told. Get clear on who your ideal client is and the problem you are solving. Get proof of concept before moving past the minimum viable product stage, and get good at one thing (i.e. building a 1 million dollar + revenue business) before taking on other shiny new projects.
Did you make any wrong assumptions before starting a business that you ended up paying dearly for?
Russ Stephens: I started in business very young so I was a bit too naive when it came to trusting people. In my first year of business, after spending 12 months working up to 18 hour days 6 days a week and paying myself nothing, I made what equated to around $20,000 net profit in today’s money. Two days later, I received a letter telling me one of my customers had gone into liquidation owing me $25,000. I worked flat out for a year and was $5,000 worse off!
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what advice would you give yourself and why? Explain.
Russ Stephens: Make sure you commit to an industry sector that is growing, or better yet, still growing exponentially. A rising tide lifts all ships. I spent my first 23 years in business operating in a declining sector, which makes it doubly hard to grow.
What is the worst advice you received regarding running a business and what lesson would you like others to learn from your experience?
Russ Stephens: “Don’t worry about the details, operate at a higher level.” I liked the sound of that advice and when I heard it, it made me think I’d spent the last 23 years doing things the hard way. Unfortunately, that advice cost me millions of dollars in the long run. The devil is in the details, never lose sight of that.
In your opinion, how has COVID-19 changed what entrepreneurs should assume before starting a business? What hasn’t changed?
Russ Stephens: The fundamentals remain the same. Identify the problem that you are solving, identify your ideal client, and get proof of concept before going too deep. The COVID-19 pandemic has not changed anything in that regard; what has changed is the risk factor. As a new business, you cannot take on the amount of risk associated with exposed industries such as travel and entertainment unless you have significant backing.
What is a common myth about entrepreneurship that aspiring entrepreneurs and would-be business owners believe in? What advice would you give them?
Russ Stephens: Cash is king. Some industries, like building new homes, consulting, or marketing are cash flow positive therefore it’s the profit you need to worry about rather than cash. I hate listening to failed entrepreneurs telling me they were too successful too quickly, i.e. they grew too quickly, and talk about it as if it were a badge of honor. You failed because you didn’t understand your business, and there is no glory in that. Cash may be king, but it’s profit that wears the trousers in this relationship.
What traits, qualities, and assumptions do you believe are most important to have before starting a business?
Russ Stephens: Tenacity, energy and focus. Go deeper, understand your own limitations in terms of your level of self-concept, and constantly upgrade it to support your material growth.
How can aspiring leaders prepare themselves for the future challenges of entrepreneurship? Are there any books, websites, or even movies to learn from?
Russ Stephens: The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber is a great book that explains why people start businesses and why they end up creating a job for themselves instead of evolving into the business owner that they envisioned themselves becoming. Also, influence will reveal the secret of success for sales and marketing. And of course, if you are a builder, Professional Builders Secrets is a must-read!
You have shared quite a bit of your wisdom and our readers thank you for your generosity but would also love to know: If you could choose any job other than being an entrepreneur, what would it be?
Russ Stephens: A professional race car driver. I always had a passion for this, but I was in my thirties before I had the finances or the time to get started.
Thank you so much for your time, I believe I speak for all of our readers when I say that this has been incredibly insightful. We do have one more question: If you could add anyone to Mount Rushmore, but not a politician, who would it be; why?
Russ Stephens: Oprah Winfrey. What she has accomplished in her career is nothing short of outstanding. People like Oprah make the rest of us look bad! But they also inspire us which is why they should be immortalized.
Mike Weiss, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Russ Stephens for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
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