Richelle Shaw is a graduate of UCLA and has been in Las Vegas since 1991. She built her first business to 36 million dollars and lost it all after the 9/11 tragedies. She then rebuilt her company to million dollar status in 5 MONTHS!
Richelle is a mogul with tons of moxie who has held the distinction of being the only female public utility owner in the nation before selling her telephone company in 2007. She is now a Certified Physician Marketing Expert who helps physicians build their dream practice. Richelle’s privately owned businesses are in the top 3% of all women owned businesses and the top .01% of all African American owned businesses in the United States according to the Center for Women’s Business Research.
Richelle is a sought after expert and has been featured in publications that include USA Today, Entrepreneur, Black Enterprise and Smart Money. She is also a featured expert for Wells Fargo Small Business Online, Workz.com, Moms In Business in additional to being a published author. In addition to writing, Richelle is an international speaker, with requests from Barcelona, Spain and South Africa. She also runs her publishing company, RTS Publishing, LLC and coaches entrepreneurs. Thanks to the power of the Internet, Richelle serves the needs of entrepreneurs throughout the world through her high-impact custom Business Bootcamp DVDs, Customers for Life Program and the Ultimate Marketing Plan Workshop programs – all which are available online.
Richelle’s first book, How to Build A Million Dollar Business in Las Vegas – Without the Casinos was first published in 2008. Richelle’s 2nd book, entitled, MD, INC. The Business of Marketing a Practice and her 3rd book, Don’t Call it A Comeback – How to Build A Business During A Recession are coming soon to a bookstore near you.
Richelle Shaw has a powerful personal story of thriving in challenging times that provides many examples of how powerful business savvy and an unrelenting entrepreneurial spirit can be.
Following is an abbreviated and paraphrased version of her inspirational story, as told by Richelle.
At one point in my youth, I was dating three men in three different states and I had a HUGE telephone bill. At the same time, I was selling advertising for a “Welcome Neighbor Program”. At the local networking event, the then VP of the telephone company offered me a job. I was promoted five times in six years. Then bought the company from my boss. Before you ask, I received no outside money, the SBA turned me down, not because I did not meet their criteria, credit, experience requirements, but because the SBA did not like my telephone – public utility business. I had NO partners and NO outside money. Even so, everything was going extremely well when the incredible tragedy of the World trade Center changed my life (as well as thousands of other people).
From Bankruptcy to Millionaire
I LOST everything because I was not serious about the business. I did not save any of the profits, I did not expect for the planes to hit the World Trade Center. After 9-11 happened, there was no mail for almost 3 weeks and the meter was running on my telephone company. Before I knew it, I was in DEBT over 3 million dollars. I was forced to file bankruptcy. To add insult to injury … NOW, I really had no cash and no credit.
THE SILVER LINING
The silver lining to my story is that I found an incredible mentor that changed my life and changed the way the I approached my business. I was able to implement the strategies and effectively MARKET and SELL my way out of the bankruptcy. Within 4 months, I had rebuilt my business and by the end of the year, I had my multi million dollar business again!
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Richelle is committed to helping entrepreneurs avoid the mistakes she made in her business through her powerful and transformational products and coaching programs. You can learn more about Richelle and her programs at www.TheMillionDollarEquation.com.
