COLUMBUS, Ohio — Rick Milenthal is a serial entrepreneur. Most folks know him as the Chairman and CEO of the Shipyard — a leading independent marketing engineering agency based in Columbus.
What You Need To Know
- Milenthal said business owners who remain flexible and creative continue to find ways to be successful
- He encourages small business to build up e-commerce presence in 2021
- Milenthal is hopeful for a bounce back year for many businesses in 2021
Despite the pandemic, Milenthal has kept busy with his podcast, Voices of Resilience, where he and guest speakers work to break down stigmas and help others navigate stress, trauma and adversity.
Recently, Milenthal acquired Sacramento-based Mering, a company with four decades of success with travel and tourism, in hopes of combining resources to serve clients across the globe.
“Wanted to expand in California, and he wanted to diversify his client base and it gives us deeper media services, creative services and strategic services,” said Milenthal. “We believe that it will even more help to develop talent in this city.”
Although the two CEO's have known each other for years, all of the discussions were done over video conferencing.
Milenthal said he's a believer in the phrase “in every crisis there is opportunity.”
He said consumer behavior has changed considerably, and when it comes to e-commerce, Milenthal believes it's here to stay.
“I think retailers that are constrained by serving their neighborhood, if they can do what's right from an online marketing standpoint, they can actually grow their business,” Milenthal said. “You've got to look at this and how you can compete and have an advantage. So you're going to see some companies and you've already seen some companies that are growing and unfortunately you're going to see some companies who are not going to make it through this.”
Milenthal said his heart goes out to those who’ve lost their livelihood this year, but he has a lot of hope for 2021, and believes our country continues to show its resiliency.
“It's easy to point to less complicated societies and say they've done better, but we're a pretty complex place here,” Milenthal said. “If we've gotten through and navigated these worse times, and looks like we've got a number of months left, I have great hope for good reason for the future of the country and humanity.”
For more information, visit The Shipyard’s website.