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Reclusive Internet entrepreneur Richart Ruddie is an SEO maven who is a global traveler and innovator in the digital marketing field. We had the chance to interview him as part of our 40 under 40 yearly round up.
Q: What’s a Business Trend that Excites You?
A: Things that make a positive social and global impact. For example I’m a big fan of Beyond Meat and the way that they’ve taken something that most of us all love and engulf in our daily lives and found a more sustainable way to produce this. When more companies’ act in great social conscience I believe we will see a bright future. Theres proof if you just read the facts here: that include 99% less water used to create a Beyond Burger while conserving 93% less land, and 46% less energy.
Q: I hear you’re an avid traveler. Has this year been a well traveled year?
A: 17 countries this year. I’ve developed strategies and software that works so well that it has helped to afford me the luxury of being able to travel and work from anywhere in the world. When people ask isn’t it weird to be in so many different places all the time, my response is that “It’s normal to me.”
Q: What is the key to your success in Business?
A: I think you just need to find what works for you. Everybody has a different way to run a business or operation and for me it’s guaranteeing your clients success and satisfaction. I’ve obsessed to ensure the clients get better results (at times doing so at whatever cost it takes) and that has built a large repeat client base through the years. Digital marketing doesn’t have any hard and fast rules. You can do a lot of things right and still not get the desired results and therefore I typically implement multiple strategies at a time as something that may work for project X may not work for project Y. Continuous research and hard work is essential to developing skill sets that set you apart from your competition.
Q: So You take the obsessing over your clients success to another level?
A: Taking it far above the competition does is one thing but when you show that you genuinely care about your clients success it tends to pay dividends. A great story I’d like to share is about Jerry Garcia from the Grateful Dead. On their SiriusXM channel there was an interview with fans and those who worked with the band, One speaker was detailing a show somewhere in the Bay Area outside of the Stanford University area. Jerry played as usual and one of the fans was speaking to a member of the staff the next day and said to him “I want you to know that it was an amazing show because Jerry was out there playing just for me and I saw him staring right at me.” While this initially sounded funny he came back to Jerry Garcia and said “Hey Jerry I want you to know that the guy wearing this last night in the crowd came up to me and said that he was really into the show last night and said that you were out there playing just for him.” Jerry’s reply “I was playing for him and I know he noticed.” What all business owners should take away from that is that you should be providing services, marketing, and working with clients either directly or indirectly to the point that they believe you’re speaking directly to them. To help them and to work with them.
Q: Whoa, That’s a wild story. Thank you for sharing. Speaking of Music I enjoy this game: What was the first concert you attended, the last concert you attended, and the next one you plan to attend?
A: I swear this was being passed around on social media recently but the first concert I ever attended was actually the Insane Clown Posse at the Recher theater in Towson, Maryland. I was 14 and have attended over 100 shows since but the Detroit Clown spraying Faygo crew was the first show I ever went to when I was growing up in Baltimore. One of the last shows I went to was at the Hollywood Palladium for Cirez D and Adam Beyer which is Eric Prydz alter ego. Definitely different than the ICP days and I certainly support the EDM scene and was lucky enough to be a guest on a radio show that also featured Diplo, Allison Wonderland, and Jauz. The next show is not planned as of yet. I typically have a list of shows that would be great to attend but tend to commit last minute.
Q: What news Sites Do You Appreciate?
A: Great question. Sometimes I end up reading and viewing things online that we can say “isn’t appreciated” but yet is still viewed. I do give kudos to the Guardian and the New York Times as some of the best sources for high quality and in depth stories. Tech Crunch, Venture Beat, Wired, WSJ, The Economist, and Barry Ritholtz Blog are some of the other staples that I regular visit. I tend to go by a no negative news coverage policy. It’s more fulfilling and educational in bettering myself by reading stories and updates that will benefit my mental well being and avoiding the ones that will not make my day better.
Q: What Books Are You Currently Reading?
A: Billion Dollar Whale is the current read. It’s an astonishing story showcasing just how important your networking and connections can be to get ahead in the business world. Unfortunately it also showcases gluttony and how to spend billions of dollars.
Q: Any Thoughts on the future?
A: Learning that the future is very hard to predict accurately is something I understand. As you look at prognosticators making predictions for even 1 year out you come to notice how far off they are when you look back with 20/20 vision. One up and coming trend that I did see that looks very promising is reverse CO2 processes.
Q: How can we get in touch?
A: You can always see some of my latest updates and thoughts on my personal website and I blog at random to make public notes that I want to come back to In the future. Linkedin I’ve been a member since early on. I should be listed on their back end as one of the first 10,000 members.
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