Ep.453 ~ Lessons From Running a Digital Business in the 2008 Recession & How to Apply Those in the Current Crisis  ~ Russ Perry

We're hopping into the podcast today with a friend and former guest of the show, Russ Perry. Russ is the founder of Design Pickle, and I actually had him on the show about two and a half years ago nearly 200 episodes ago. At the time, we chatted a lot about his company Design Pickle which was then just three years old, and they were doing half a million dollars a month with 125 employees. In that episode, Russ shared some really good insight and philosophy as an entrepreneur, how to build a business that serves the founder, as much as it serves the customers and clients, and the team as well. Now, fast forward two and a half years later, Russ’ businesses are five years old, and they do $14 million in annual revenue, with a team of nearly 500 people also applying those same philosophies that he was two years ago. 
 
Here's the reason I brought Russ back onto the show, Russ was a digital entrepreneur running a creative agency back in 2008 during the recession. He was in Phoenix, Arizona, which was like the impact zone for the ‘08 Housing Crisis and Cash Crunch back then. Russ survived as an entrepreneur, his business continued to flourish throughout that time, and he has some really good tips about the failures, lessons, and the hard times that he had surviving through that recession as an entrepreneur.
 
We chat about the lessons that he took away from 2008. We discuss when he saw the global pandemic hit, and changes that are happening, what were the immediate things that he implemented within the company and within his team. 

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     02:00: Who is Russ Perry?

     15:51: How Russ's Business Survived the '08-'09 Cash Crunch

     22:32: Managing Your Stress During a Crisis

     32:49: How to Build an Anti-Fragile Business

     37:49: Action Steps Prompted by Covid-19

     48:16: Russ’s 6-Month Predictions

     53:46: The Importance of Building a Solid Team

     56:28: FreshStock

     58:38: Final Thoughts

01:00:00: Where to Find Russ Perry

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Contact Info:

Design Pickle:
https://designpickle.com/

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Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/russkperry
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/russperry/