In this episode of Push to Be More, host Sadaf Beynon interviews John Rich, founder of A Rich Opinion, about his journey as an entrepreneur in PR and marketing. John shares insights on overcoming challenges, balancing work and family life, and his vision for the future of his business. 

Discover valuable lessons on leadership, growth, and the importance of honesty in client relationships.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

2:02 Guest Introduction

4:23 Elon Musk as a Dream Guest

6:52 Parenting and Personal Growth

8:14 Facing Challenges

11:11 Business Development Lessons

14:10 Adapting to Business Realities

18:34 Going Solo and Leadership Growth

20:58 Balancing Business and Family

23:19 Defining Growth

25:45 Future of PR and Marketing

27:54 Opportunities in Video Content

32:23 Leadership Style and Team Building

35:16 Transparency and Client Relations

38:28 Building a Reputation

39:32 Contact Information

Sadaf Beynon [0:13 - 2:02]: Hey there, and welcome back to Push to Be More. I'm Sadaf Beynon, one of your co hosts, and today we've got another great conversation about what it takes to make life work. Joining me today is our special guest, John Rich. And I'm excited for us to hear about his unique life experiences, the hurdles he's had to push through, the ways he recharges his spirit, and the steps he's taking to be more. In other words, it's all about push to be more. This episode is brought to you by Podjunction, where we're all about helping businesses share their stories and build real connections through the power of podcasting. Being part of the team at Podjunction, I've seen firsthand how podcasting can be a game changer for reaching people and for making real impact through meaningful conversations. Now, I know a lot of you listening are leaders and entrepreneurs. And if you're curious about what podcasting can do for your business, or if you're wondering where to even start, head over to podjunction.com we'd love to help you and make the process clear and approachable for you. Podcasting offers a unique way to expand your reach and connect with your audience in ways that you may not have considered. And honestly, it's way easier than you might think. So head over to podjunction.com and see what podcasting can do for you. And now meet John. John is the founder of A Rich Opinion, a PR and marketing firm born from his bold decision to challenge the status quo in an industry that often settles for good enough. After a career spanning politics, tech, and strategic communications, John set out to rewrite the rules by seamlessly blending PR and marketing to deliver tangible results. When he's not helping small teams achieve big wins, he's tackling the ups and downs of entrepreneurship with grit and creativity. John, welcome to the show.

John Rich [2:02 - 2:06]: Thank you so much, Sadh, for inviting me. I'm excited.

Sadaf Beynon [2:06 - 2:07]: It's great to have you, John.

John Rich [2:07 - 2:08]: Yeah.

Sadaf Beynon [2:09 - 2:22]: As you know, I run Podjunction, which is also the sponsor of this show. So the first question we like to ask is, if you had your own podcast and could invite anybody to be your guest, who would you have on as a guest and why?

John Rich [2:23 - 2:41]: So we briefly chatted about this before we hit record, and I was going back and forth and I'm going to risk being cliche here, but I think the person I landed on was Elon Musk, and I'm sure you're going to ask me why, and so I'm happy to go into it.

Sadaf Beynon [2:41 - 2:42]: Yes, Please do.

John Rich [2:42 - 4:23]: You know, of course he's successful, you know, loved by many, disliked by many. But I think, you know, as I've gotten older, I've realised that thinking differently and not approaching problems or everyday, just everyday topics through the light that everyone else does is as I'm, as I grow older and as I kind of continue along in my business, that you kind of need that element of thinking differently. And I think, and I think with him, not only just through whether it's creating the first, you know, electric vehicle at scale, certainly. I mean, we saw his company catch, you know, essentially a reusable, you know, rocket thruster, which I don't think has been done. Pretty sure has been done before. And so clearly his, his approach to solving problems, approach to listening people is, is different. In a lot of his interviews, he thinks differently as well and is really unafraid, you know, in terms of how he thinks about things, his opinions. And again, that has led some to not like him, but has led a lot others, you know, to like him and has led to him success. So, you know, I would just be curious to see where he's gotten that from, how he developed that, because I think that is developed at a young age and I think I am more so growing into that mould where I am trying to go with my instinct, you know, and lead with my creativity, my ideas, my intuition, versus just trying to be safe when it comes to my business, my clients, my solutions, things of that nature.

Sadaf Beynon [4:23 - 4:55]: I agree, I think he's a real interesting person and I agree with all that you've said. He's successful, he's unafraid, he thinks differently. The way he comes at things is so out of the box. Yeah, I love that too. I also find it interesting that you've said that his intuition and his instincts are also probably from, he's probably got those from a young age. And I wonder too what his story is. You know, if you get under all those layers, what kinds of questions would you want to ask him?

John Rich [4:56 - 6:52]: Well, I mean, I'm fascinated by first off, his upbringing, I think typically. And again, I have, maybe we got into it, but I have two young boys and I had a fresh third two month old. So, you know, I think I've thought really hard about how to raise children and kind of, you know, how do I equip them in ways that I wasn't equipped. And as I, as I grew up and my upbringing and you know, I see a lot of themes and this, this notion of privilege, safety, comfort I think is very Harmful in a way when you're raising people or just in the human sphere. I think for too long I have been comfortable in my career. I have just said, hey, I get paid well, I have a home and I'm blessed and I'm thankful every day for those things. But at the same time there needs to be a push to be more. We need to kind of challenge ourselves and get uncomfortable. And so some questions I would ask him were in reading some of the stories about how he and his Partners Co founded PayPal, which is, you know, one of the first kind of online, you know, payment platforms. Certainly it's more than that, but just hearing stories of, you know, instead of him renting an apartment, you know, he slept in their office buildings, you know, on the couch every day and put in, you know, 18 hour, 18 hour days and things like that. And most people wouldn't do that. And it's, and that we would probably see that as normal. It's like, no, I'm not going to slum it in an office building. But at the same time he was driven, he was young, he had an idea, he went for it. And so just to understand his thought process through all that and just kind of to hear how he would explain that and why he did that, I think would be really fascinating and very encouraging for anyone that would listen.

Sadaf Beynon [6:52 - 7:03]: Yeah, I agree. And also interesting what you said about your kids. I think parenting really does have a way of unearthing a lot of our own motivations and what we're trying to pass on to our kids.

John Rich [7:04 - 8:01]: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And understanding, you know, also that it's not too old, you're not too old to change, you're not too old to, to try and accomplish more, to try and challenge yourself, your ideas, how you approach things and just, just trying to grow, trying to be a better human. And so it's just again, thinking differently. Right. Is certainly people that have a full time job, great. I have that. I might end up going back to that quite frankly, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I think testing myself or testing, you know, challenging yourself in different ways, I think to your point, helps you realise who you are as a person. I think helps you grow as a person. And maybe if you make more money or provide value or employ people, that's, you know, that's a plus if you do that along the way as well. So if it's, it's just again, thinking differently and looking at things in a different manner to, to try and grow and be and, and do more yeah.

Sadaf Beynon [8:02 - 8:14]: No, I, I completely agree. And actually you talked about challenges. Why don't we jump into that? Tell us about a challenge or challenges that you have faced in the past. I know you've kind of alluded to some, but would love to know more.