Rick Steele
| Rick Steele | |
|---|---|
 Rickheadshot.jpg Rick Steele in his Gilbert, AZ Home | |
| Born | November 27, 1972 Giles County, VA, U.S. |
| 🏡 Residence | Gilbert, AZ, U.S. |
| 💼 Occupation | Founder & CMO of SelectBlinds.com |
Rick Steele is an American entrepreneur, and founder and CMO of Selectblinds, LLC, an online e-tailer of independently branded window fashions. In 2016, Steele’s company Selectblinds.com, became the first retailer to stop selling corded custom window covering products, leading industry efforts to change manufacturer safety standards and prevent the deaths and injuries that result annually from children who become entangled in window covering cords.[1] He is also a business speaker, philanthropist and author of business and children's books.
Early life
Born in Virginia, Steele's family moved to Ohio when he was a young child. At 13, Steele first became an entrepreneur selling 1985 Topps trading cards. Combined with his own lawn care business, Steele supported himself through high school. Adopting a business model of selling things without holding any inventory proved successful in his early and future ventures.[2]
- I knew it was what I wanted to do from an early age. It was probably that first baseball card trade that netted me a profit! I remember it well. A 1985 Topps Mark McGwire rookie card set it all in motion. – Rick Steele[3]
After graduating, Steele briefly attended ITT Technical Institute in Dayton, Ohio.[3] Steele entered the burgeoning real estate and finance market of the 1990s, founding Fidelity Mortgage in 1991 and then LowestMortgage.com in 1999, which generated $12B in mortgage leads for brokers nationwide.[2] In June 2003, he switched gears and launched SelectBlinds.com. [4]
Business career
Selectblinds.com
Steele founded privately-held Selectblinds.com in 2003, growing it from first-year revenues of $885K to over $65 million in just 10 years.[3] Based in Tempe, Arizona, the company has been ranked on the Inc. 500 and Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies in America lists, landing at #815 in 2009 with a three-year growth rate of 362%.[5] In 2008 it was ranked #287 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide with a 33% growth in sales credited to brand marketing efforts through partnerships engineered by Steele with popular television shows and networks such as ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Fox’s Home Free (2015 TV series), Bravo’s Top Design, Netflix, HGTV and the Discovery Channel.[6]
One of the first true ecommerce sites to incorporate the use of carts[4] and recognize the importance of reviews,[3] the company still maintains its own proprietary platform to sell its window blinds and shades and related products. Ranked as one of the Best Places to Work by the Arizona Republic[7] and Phoenix Business Journal[8], Select Blinds currently has almost 100 employees.
Public image
Steele speaks regularly as a subject matter expert on internet traffic and conversion rates. Recent engagements have included presentations at Google (2018), Traffic Mastery Nashville (2017), Traffic and Conversion in Atlanta (2017), Spanx (2017) and numerous other ecommerce-related conferences worldwide. He is a member of the Forbes Communications Council[9] and is a frequently quoted source for business articles including Entrepreneur.com and Rescue a CEO Blog Nation. He also writes on a variety of topics on Medium.com.
- Ask everyone to start the review process, whether their experience was good or bad. It builds amazing legacy and forces you to get better. Asking everyone to write a review will expose most flaws publicly, giving you free insight on how to improve the business. — Rick Steele[10]
- Data may disappoint, but it never lies. — Rick Steele[11]
Philanthropy
Steele has been instrumental in curating a corporate culture at his company through philanthropic initiatives.
#GoCordless Movement — In 2016, SelectBlinds.com partnered with Parents for Window Blind Safety to promote the #GoCordless movement, with the goals of improving industry safety standards and educating the public on the dangers of corded window coverings.[12] On June 15, 2016, Selectblinds.com CEO, Al Silverberg, spoke before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to request a new window covering mandate that requires all related retailers to be cord-free by the beginning of 2018.[13] [Update: In 2017, the Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) proposed revising the voluntary standard to require “stock” products be cordless or have inaccessible cords. This would apply to pre-made blinds purchased in stores or online. (Corded blinds would still be available in custom products.) The updated voluntary standard awaits final approval, but the WCMA said companies selling window coverings in the U.S. and Canada will likely be required to comply by the fourth quarter of 2018.][14] In recognition of Selectblinds.com's decision to only sell cordless window coverings, Steele was given the 2016 Humanitarian Award from Harvard Business School’s Business Expert Forum.[15]
Safe Kids Day — SelectBlinds.com sponsored 2014’s Safe Kids Day through Safe Kids Worldwide, giving away window blind cord cleats to all attendees.
Free Cord Cleats Program - In 2015, the company announced its Free Cord Cleat program, open to both customers and non-customers. Through it, they distributed more than 82,000 window blind/shade cord cleats to families with small children.[16]
Feed My Starving Children — SelectBlinds.com employee volunteers pack meals for Feed My Starving Children several times a year. FMSC is a non-profit that provides nutritionally complete meals specifically formulated for malnourished children in more than 65 countries around the world.
Habitat for Humanity ReStores — Habitat for Humanity ReStores are nonprofit home improvement stores and donation centers that sell new and gently used furniture, appliances, home accessories, building materials and more to the public at a fraction of the retail price. Selectblinds.com donates any returned window coverings to local ReStores, which use the proceeds to build more Habitat for Humanity homes throughout the world.[17]
College Scholarship Program — Selectblinds.com awards an annual $1,000 college scholarship to deserving students to help offset course-related expenses, books and supplies, housing, etc.[18]
In addition, Steele donates time and financial resources to numerous organizations, including daughter Kylie’s non-profit animal rescue, Rubicon Rescue. When his younger daughter, Izzie, contracted and recovered from Kawasaki disease, Steele wrote the children’s book Izzie’s Lost Blanket, all proceeds from which have been donated to the Kawasaki Disease Foundation.[19] He and wife Gina also support Banner Children's Hospital in Mesa, Arizona, along with the national Crohn's & Colitis Foundation and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research.
Publications
Children's Books
Business Books
- 30 Days To Launch: An Entrepreneurs Diary to Building a Billion Dollar Business[21]
Safety Books
- The Complete Homeowners Guide to Safety4Kids[22]
References
- ↑ "Retailers Cut the Cord for Kids". Consumer Federation of America. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rick Steele (Jan 14, 2017). "Hit by a car at 70 miles per hour, and lived!". medium.com. A Medium Corp.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 King, Laiza. "10 Questions With Rick Steele, The Successful CEO Behind Select Blinds". huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hollingsworth, Elizabeth (Jan 17, 2014). "Lessons Learned: Entrepreneurs Select Blinds". practicalecommerce.com. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ↑ "Inc 5000 #815 2009". inc.com. Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ↑ Brohan, Mark (Feb 18, 2009). "Select Shops cites better brand recognition for 33% online sales boost". digitalcommerce360.com. Internet Retailer. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ↑ "Top Comapnies to Work for in Arizona 2017". azcentral.com. Arizona Republic. June 29, 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ↑ "Best Places to Work Small Business". Phoenix Business Journal. Phoenix Business Journal. Dec 5, 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ↑ "Rick Steele - Forbes Communications Council". Forbes.com.
- ↑ Nawazor, Toby (Feb 6, 2017). "5 Surefire Ways to Improve Your Site's Online Reviews". entrepreneur.com. Entrepreneur. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ↑ Harkless, Gresham. "22 Entrepreneurs Explain Business Trends They're Expecting in 2018". Rescue a CEO CBNation Community Blog. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ↑ "SelectBlinds.com Cuts the Cords for Kids". pfwbs.org. Parents for Window Blinds Safety. June 29, 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ↑ "Public Hearing Commission Agenda and Priorities for FY 2017 and FY 2018" (PDF). cpsc.gov.
- ↑ "Window Covering Manufacturers Association Announces Historic New Window Covering Safety Standard". windowcoverings.org.
- ↑ Clint Arthur (December 22, 2015). "Business Expert Forum 2015 Humanitarian Award". YouTube. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ↑ "SelectBlinds.com Saves Children's Lives by Giving Away Over 82,000 Free Cord Cleats". urlwire.com.
- ↑ "Select Blinds Donations to Habitat for Humanity". YouTube. December 22, 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ↑ "Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship". scholarships360.org.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Steele, Rick (May 19, 2017). Izzie's Lost Blanket. ISBN 9780998519401. Search this book on
- ↑ Steele, Rick (Dec 30, 2017). Oh Yes She Did!. Artistic Electronic Commerce, LLC, 2017. ISBN 9780998519425. Search this book on
- ↑ Steele, Rick (May 31, 2017). 30 Days to Launch!: An Entrepreneurs Diary to Building a Billion Dollar Business. Business Ghost, 2017. ISBN 9780998996608. Search this book on
- ↑ Steele, Rick (Dec 2, 2015). The Complete Homeowners Guide to Safety4Kids. Blurb, Incorporated, 2015. ISBN 9781364681395. Search this book on
Category:American businesspeople in retailing Category:living people Category:1972 births
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