Overseeing business operations, fostering B2B relationships, developing and leading marketing and sales initiatives, building and training a team of employees – these things consist most of Richard Kyle Berry’s career life for over 30 years.
He is currently the Senior Vice President of Retail Strategics Operations of RAB Professional Services, Inc. – a strategic operations company in San Diego, California. RAB Professional Services is a consulting company that is committed to helping small to medium-size businesses to streamline their revenue streams.
In just two years, Richard and his team have already brought notable successes into the business and its clients. Among his early achievements are increasing sales performance by 30%, improving accounting systems and positive brand recognition, and leading the company to profitability in 45 days.
Additionally, Richard has exemplary experience with Mergers and Acquisitions. From identifying opportunities to negotiating the deal, then arranging for credit facilities, closing the deal and implementing into the rest of the company. Richard has led multiple large mergers and acquisitions including implementing a team of over 300 employees and annual revenue of $118M, he has served on numerous Fortune 500 advisory boards where he managed a $50M supply chain, and has an extensive background as a Salesforce Administrator.
Furthermore, with all the extensive knowledge and experience he gained in three decades, he succeeded with his most recent engagement which lasted for 16 months. Richard, or Rick Berry, was able to turn an 80-year business from nearly losing millions and going bankrupt to being profitable in 90 days and throughout COVID-19.
During his previous employment, he worked with TAG Employer Services, a retail B2B/consumer facing product company based in Arizona. Serving the company for almost 30 years, he was promoted there twice. First, he was a Corporate General Manager, then he was promoted to Executive Operations Manager. Years after that, he became the Vice President of Retail Operations.
The roles he held during his stay in TAG allowed him to lead company initiatives, handle operations, deliver and manage $118M annual revenue, build and provide professional training to more than 300 team members, negotiate large acquisitions, and develop B2B relationships. Additionally, he is also part of the historical construction and launching of an AI-powered SaaS application that can predict consumer behavior.
To truly celebrate his every milestone, Rick Berry makes sure to give back to the community. Throughout the years, he has supported clubs and organizations like Boy Scouts and YMCA.
Aside from that, he was an active member of the Lions Club, Rotary, and the Chamber of Commerce, and a part of a local city council.
Over the past 30 years of your career, what is one of the greatest challenges that you’ve encountered?
I believe that one of the greatest challenges anybody will encounter in this kind of work is dealing with people with different personalities day in day out.
Overseeing operations, monitoring and training employees, building B2B relationships – these tasks involve engaging with people and that can be challenging especially that we all have different perspectives about things.
How did you overcome this difficulty?
Well, after doing my job for more than three decades now, I’ve learned a lot from all the people I met. There are times I’d fail, but surely I will learn from that mistake. Doing things over and over again, I got used to people and I discovered how to identify their personality, needs, strengths, and weaknesses which can all be used to bring out the best in each of them.
How did you manage to build, train, and lead more than 300 employees for a company?
Well, I think it’s all part of the process. Since I oversee operations, I have to make sure that things go based on the business direction that has been set.
TAG has several regional locations so there was really a need to hire employees for each in order for us to meet the needs of our clients. I closely monitored all personnel training to make sure that there is a hundred percent compliance with training objectives. Aside from that, it is important to give people recognition by giving them promotion opportunities.
Could you tell us more about the SaaS application you helped to wire-frame and launch?
Simply put – we identified a need for our own business not realizing the potential it could have in the marketplace. Once we proved to ourselves the real time cost savings in personnel, training and management to the jump in revenue we received as a result of the apps efficiencies – it became clear we needed to launch this into the marketplace. It was quite successful
What is the best business advice you have ever received that you now suggest everyone follows?
If your business is your passion, there’s no reason to give it up without a fight. Whenever you are in a difficult situation, it gives you an opportunity to emerge stronger than you were before. It challenges you to think of a way and do whatever it takes to survive that situation. And once you do survive, it means you’re one step ahead of anything similar that might happen again in the future.
What is one thing that excites you about your job?
A lot of things. For one, I enjoy building sales and marketing strategies because love challenging myself. Also, I find it exciting to do negotiations and then succeed in the end. Most importantly, being able to help our clients get back on their feet and make their businesses profitable is always the best feeling ever.
What do you think it is that makes you successful?
I think it’s my drive to be better every day and to be able to bring solutions to problems. When I wake up, I reflect on the things I did yesterday and think about how I can do better today. I look back on my mistakes, try to see where I did wrong, and make sure to avoid doing the same thing again.
Aside from this, I also find it very important to look ahead. As they say, “Prevention is better than cure.” You always have to be prepared. Think about possibilities and come up with something that will help get through if things don’t go as planned.
Why is positive brand recognition an integral part of sales and profitability?
It’s as simple as saying that products that have a good reputation attract more customers. That means more chances of selling and higher profit.
In this generation we live in today, almost all the information we need is found on the internet. Because of this, positive reviews and the online presence of businesses are both important. So if you have a consistent online presence combined with positive reviews, it is more likely for you to make sales.
Do you have any favorite podcasts for entrepreneurs?
Yes, definitely. For those needing inspiration and seeking advice, I’d suggest that you try listening to The Tim Ferriss Show.
Tim interviews successful people from different walks of life. They talk and examine the methods, tools, and best practices in order to get the most out of their potentials. You’ll learn about their own strategies and find a way to integrate them with what you do.
What are your plans for the future?
I believe that my past experiences are relevant because the past, present, and future are all correlated. Hence, it is important to take all these things into consideration, so you don’t miss out on anything. This practice is very important in businesses so I always take it with me.
As such, I plan to continue doing what I do best. Given the chance, I would like to continue helping businesses thrive by using the knowledge and experiences I’ve had in the past.