147: Building a Virtual Receptionist Business to Millions & Finally Stepping Away | Jill Nelson of Ruby Receptionists

Background on Jill Nelson of Ruby Receptionists:

Jill Nelson is CEO of Ruby Receptionists. She's grown the business into a four-time winner of FORTUNE magazine’s top five Best Small Companies to Work for, and a Portland Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Companies in Oregon recipient for the record breaking past twelve years. Today, Ruby's 600+ employees provide friendly, live, receptionist service integrated with a “front desk in your pocket” mobile app, helping over 10,000 small businesses across the US win new business and create loyal, raving, customers.

In addition to her own entrepreneurial endeavors, Jill has been recognized for her contributions to Oregon's business and technology communities, receiving the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 PNW, the Technology Association of Oregon's 2017 Technology Executive of the Year Award as well as EO's 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year award. A fervent supporter of small businesses and entrepreneurship, she has served on the board of Entrepreneurs Organization for over five years and acted as a mentor in its Accelerator program, successfully helping business owners reach that $1,000,000 revenue mark.

A sought-after speaker on culture driven growth, Jill has shared her management philosophy of inspiring and empowering employees with global brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Leroy Merlin of Europe, and Kiabi of France. Her vision for Ruby includes a workplace employees are excited to come to each day, and are inspired to learn, grow, and connect with others.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

[0:47] Jill Nelson is the founder and CEO of Ruby Receptionist. They help small business owners answer those important phone calls or online webchat using real human interaction.
[1:27] Jill provides a good example of how they are able to help their client in getting customers.
[5:57] Ruby Receptionist has exactly 623 full-time employees and they are one of the fastest growing companies in Oregon.
[8:17] Using Ruby Receptionist can help companies avoid and eliminate spam calls and bot calls.
[11:10] After 16 years, Jill is announcing her retirement as the CEO of the company and she is excited to join the board.
[15:55] The drive to solve problems and being creative are the biggest factors in the growth of Ruby Receptionist.
[17:30] On their first year, cash flow was a constant challenge for Jill. She was always worried that she wouldn’t even have enough money for payroll.
[20:35] The original business that Jill wanted to develop was the concept of Executive Suites. However, things didn’t go the way she wanted but it led her to the receptionist business.
[24:07] Ruby Receptionist was able to become a national service from day one with toll-free numbers.
[25:27] The early years of the business was full of stress, misadventures, and mishaps.
[30:13] Constant learning and exploring new things were huge factors that motivated Jill during the early years of the business.
[34:55] According to Jill, falling in love with the business idea but not the problems that we’re solving for the customers, and failing to quickly recognize if the product or service is viable, can be truly derailing.
[40:12] Shutting down Ruby never crossed Jill’s mind, but there were several instances when she thought they would go out of business.
[44:37] Jill tells the story of how she got the name Ruby for her company.
[50:21] Jill had to learn a tough and humbling lesson that involves communicating with her employees.
[54:21] The biggest challenge that Jill faced was when her company was just starting out and she had to deal with personal problems regarding her mother.

This Episode Sponsored By:

[13:13] BetterHelp helps you connect with professional counselors in a safe and private online environment. BetterHelp is available Worldwide – with over 3,000 USA Licensed Therapists that you can talk with about any issues. For a Limited Time, Get 10% OFF your first month with discount code: MILLIONAIRE. For this discount, go to: millionaire-interviews.com/betterhelp.
[14:23] Gusto is making Payroll, Benefits, and HR easier for Small Businesses. In fact, 9 out of 10 customers say Gusto is easier to use than other payroll solutions. Gusto also saves you time – 72% of customers spend less than 5 minutes to run their payroll. Get 3 Months FREE by using this link: millionaire-interviews.com/gusto.
[35:45] Honeybook is the #1 Business Project Management Tool for business owners. Honeybook helps organize your client communications, bookings, contracts, & invoices. They even have built-in automation that consolidates services like Quickbooks, Google Suite, Excel, Gmail, Mailchimp, & more. Right now, Honeybook is offering 50% OFF your 1st Year when you visit: millionaire-interviews.com/honeybook.
[37:14] Online Trading Academy is the leader in investing and trading education. Their flexible learning style lets you take classes in person or online. Online Trading Academy even has a 94% Satisfaction Rating based on more than 190,000 Reviews! Sign up for a Free 3-Hour Introductory Investing Class & also receive a Professional Insider’s Kit as a BONUS, by using this link: millionaire-interviews.com/otatrade.

Fabulous 4 Questions:

📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? Respect – the life of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz
🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? My monthly subscription of Balance Caramel Nut Blast Bars
🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Hands down Microsoft Excel.
💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? N/A

Key Point from the Interview:

“The focus when you’re first starting out is – how are you getting those customers, how are you serving those customers, and everything else kind of doesn’t matter.”

Resources Mentioned:

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST

Want More? Join Our Membership on Patreon!

Pin2

Share3

5 Shares