Meet Our President and CEO, Rick Knutsen
Have you ever wondered who is steering the ship at Buckeye Better Business Consulting? Well, it’s none other than our President and CEO, Rick Knutsen. Knutsen opened the Buckeye BBC doors on leap day of 2012 at the ripe age of thirty-two. Born and raised outside of Pittsburgh, Knutsen has been a die-hard Steelers fan since youth. The sports fanatic even dreamt of playing professional baseball as a kid. “I wanted to hit a game-winning grand slam and then walk around the bases like, ‘yeah, I do this stuff all the time,’” says Knutsen. After graduating from high school, the entrepreneur went on to study computer science in college. “I liked computers because they never spoke,” says Knutsen, “I thought I was far too shy to succeed in sales. I’ve grown from that, but I still get nervous talking to people I don’t know.” How does a computer whiz and self-proclaimed shy guy grow to run a successful business in the sales industry? Pure grit and a bit of discipline.
A former Catholic school student, Rick Knutsen is no stranger to discipline. “My high school was incredibly strict,” says Knutsen, “If they had an award at the end of the year for the student with the most demerits, I would have won all four years. Everyone I went to high school with was going to college; my parents and everyone else told me if I wanted to make something out of myself, I needed to go to college. I thought that was how I would find myself, so I packed my bags and headed to Belmont Community College where I earned a scholarship for maintaining a high GPA and refused to take even a single semester off.” The leader later transferred his credits to West Liberty University, where he earned a Computer Science and Business Administration degree while maintaining a full-time job. All of that hardship and experience paid off for the entrepreneur, citing “college made [him] a more well-rounded individual.”
“As a leader, I hold high standards for myself and everyone in my life. I’ll never ask someone to do something I haven’t done before. I lead by example. If I want people to show up early, I’ll show up earlier. I work for the people in my office, not the other way around. I am the architect. I design the blueprint, and I’m good at explaining the ‘whys’ behind everything.”
Rick Knutsen
As a former farm boy and sports star, Rick Knutsen remembers his competitive streak starting early in life. “Living on a farm, my parents told me I didn’t have to do as many chores if I played sports,” says Knutsen, “so I played every sport I could. I spent most of my time playing baseball and football, and I tell people all the time that if it weren’t for sports, I wouldn’t have the drive and discipline I have now. My football coach told me that when life gets tough, you’ll fall back on what you learned by playing football, and that was definitely true. Tenacity and grit. Tell me I can’t do something and watch me prove you wrong.” Tenacity and grit; those are the pillars of success at Buckeye BBC, but what else does Knutsen look for in future team members and expect from current leaders? Work ethic. “I can teach anyone to do what I do,” says Knutsen, “I haven’t figured a way to teach work ethic, though. Either your parents taught you the value of working hard, or they didn’t. Luckily my parents instilled that in me at an early age.”
As a business owner and industry leader, not every day is a bed of roses. A company doesn’t survive over eight years through rainbows and butterflies every day; with leadership comes real challenges. “The most challenging part of any business is seeing people not live up to their potential and give up on their dreams because something didn’t go the way they thought it should,” says Knutsen, “I am passionate about mentoring others, so it stings to watch people give up. I love mentoring and helping others become successful. The more people I can help become successful, the more successful I will become.” Another grave challenge met Knutsen and his team this year in the form of a global pandemic. How did Buckeye BBC adapt to the ever-changing world of isolation and fear? With faith. “I am extremely fortunate to have a client that supports me and my business and everything we do,” says the CEO, “We follow all CDC guidelines and take COVID very seriously.
I am excited to see the guys and girls accomplish all the goals they have for themselves. Not even a worldwide pandemic will keep us from achieving our goals. We do a lot more virtual meetings than in person now.”
“Being a business owner is probably the accomplishment I am most proud of. All the hard work was worth it. I love the autonomy. It’s all on me.”
Rick Knutsen
So, what pushed Rick Knutsen to become his own boss? He said it himself; it was the autonomy that attracted him to leadership. “I don’t like being told what to do,” says Knutsen, “If I am an employee, then I am working to help build someone else’s dream. Being my own boss, I work to achieve my dreams and the dreams of the people in my office.”
As we maintain momentum towards the future, Rick Knutsen has his eye on the prize and carries his Buckeye BBC team with him for the ride. “I want to grow an empire,” says Knutsen, “we will be expanding in the next five years; we have a lot of greatness on the horizon.” With all of the greatness in front of us, it would be a shame not to acknowledge the greatness behind us, and if we are going to brag about anyone, it should be President and CEO, Rick Knutsen. Back when he was a top rookie business owner, Knutsen received the Rising Star award by the industry before being additionally awarded titles like ‘top office’ and ‘consistency manager of the year.’ That said, awards do not equal success to Knutsen; he measures success by freedom. “Success to me is being able to do whatever I want, whenever I want to do it,” says Knutsen, “I want my children’s children to be happy. That’s how they’ll determine how successful you are.”