Heroes in Business - Dr. Ryan Starzyk US Airforce Veteran, Owner of Bluefire Group

Episode Date: May 26, 2021

Turn Up the Heat!...Dr. Ryan Starzyk Owner of Bluefire Group and U.S. Airforce Veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom is interviewed by David Cogan founder of Eliances and host of the Eliances Heroes Show. Broadcast on am and fm network channels, internet radio and online syndication.    

Up in the sky, look, it's captivating, it's energizing, it's Eliance's Heroes. Eliance's is the destination for entrepreneurs, investors, CEOs, inventors, leaders, celebrities, and startups, where our heroes in business align. Now here's your host flying in, David Kogan, founder of Eliance's. That's right. And we're back for another incredible morning. That's right. With amazing people where we just unlock the secrets of what makes them tick and how they've become so successful so that we can always learn something from them. And thank you, too, for just like the feedback that we continue to have when I interviewed General Wesley Clark. So make sure you check out the other past episodes

at Eliancer.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-R dot com. All right, we're going to talk about our next hero. And by the way, U.S. Air Force veteran. He served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Welcome to the show, Dr. Ryan Starzik, owner, Blue Fire Group. Dr. Starzik, first of all, I love the name Blue Fire. It's just such a catchy. How did you guys come up with it? And tell us about the company. Thank you so much for asking that question, David.

I really appreciate it. So Blue Fire Group came out of the fact that my favorite color is blue. People around me say I'm a firecracker and I love working in groups. So it just seemed to make sense to come up with the name of Blue Fire Group. Now talk to me. That's excellent. Yeah, no, that's great. And certainly very easy to remember. So bluefire.group. Talk to us about, because you offer a variety of different services. I spent time at your site. You've got a good wealth of resources that people need. Talk to us about that. research and social. The social component is more of a passion project and I'm focusing on the digital and research right now. For digital, my thesis that I did was on digital transformations and big data and helping organizations define it, use it effectively and to make sure the programs and systems they have in place are actually making sense for their business. That's the

consulting part with the digital. Then there's content development and content creation, managing your social media, making sure that your website is up to date on a regular basis, coming up with new and innovative marketing tactics, trying out different, maybe lesser known types of digital outlets, such as Snapchat, or perhaps Verizon Media, or perhaps some other ones that you maybe didn't think of. And so that's the digital component. And I do help businesses. We explore, we experiment. I'm doing one right now with Next Door with a client that's seen that's actually been very significant in seeing his business increase in the local area because it's very localized for small businesses. Then the research component. Research is essential. Every business needs it. Not every business knows how to go out

there and find the information, compile it together in a way that makes sense for them. That's where I come in. I take the academic research, I conduct action research out in the field, and I put it together in a way that makes sense. Because academic research is very, there's a lot of things even I struggle with to understand, but I take the time to go through it. I make sure that it makes sense for the business. And I find the information that's pertinent for the business. If it's a market opportunity they're looking at, or they just have a crazy idea, they want to see if anybody else is doing it or how somebody else is doing it. So that's where I come in and I help them out with the research. All of my rates are flat rate, whatever it takes to get the job done.

I know a lot of companies will bill hourly for the types of projects I do. I do flat rate because I believe the client relationship and giving them the expectations to be able to budget adequately are so important. So that's the digital and research component. Social will come a little bit later in the year, but I'm focusing on those two areas for our local small businesses right now. So what's the sweet spot as far as the, is there a specific type of size of company that you work with? Help our listeners and viewers know that. Small and medium size right now, since I am a one-man show at the moment, I do have my partner Yvonne, who is a branding and visual communications design expert that I do rely on for some of the aspects of it that maybe I don't

fully grasp. If they're looking for something very unique, if they're looking for a logo, if they're looking for a specific type of visual communication design, then I'll lean on him and have his help with it. Small and medium-sized companies, retail, branding, and service industry. Those are the three really big areas that I find opportunity. I'm willing to work with financial services companies, but because of a lot of the regulatory issues that sometimes come up with that, I prefer to stay away from it. There's just a lot more involved with it. But definitely the retail, definitely service, and definitely branding agencies, I find, are the ideal client. Now, you mentioned, too, about the research part. What do you see? What is your professional view of some of the critical research of information that these small businesses

need is the product or service that you're offering connecting with the clients that you're hoping to connect with and what i usually like to do whenever i start out with a research project with a business i will start out by doing 10 interviews on with people that are in the industry right now. Find out what they are doing. Compile those 10 interviews together and then conduct a survey to verify the information that I was able to secure. Now, this could be anything from you have a restaurant that you're getting ready to set up. And I actually did help one client with this. They had a restaurant idea. And the name of the restaurant was more associated with the name of a gym than it was the name of a restaurant. If we didn't do the research, if we didn't put out the survey, if we didn't really dig into the details of it,

they wouldn't have known. And their brand would have been more known as a gym as opposed to a restaurant. So it's even something as granular and simple as that. Maybe you have the name in your head. Let's make sure people understand what it's supposed to mean for your business. Ah, that's excellent. Excellent. And we've done a lot of research at Alliances because we have incredible heroes like you coming on. And this is what our listeners and viewers want to know because you're listening, watching me, David Kogan, host of the Alliances Hero Show. And we have with us, we're honored to have with us Dr. Ryan Starzyk, owner of Blue Fire Group. He's also a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He can be reached at bluefire.group. That's bluefire.group. In fact, Dr. Ryan,

you're also too part of the Alliance's community. So those that are listening that come may have that lifetime opportunity to also meet you and talk to you and get further information on that. What's it been like for you to be part of the community? The E-Liances community is transformational. It has been the most rewarding experience. And, David, I remember when you reached out to me, I was a little bit hesitant. I was like, oh, what is this? This is another sales job. I came into that meeting. I remember when you reached out to me, I was a little bit hesitant. I was like, oh, what is this? This is another sales job. I came into that meeting.

I remember it was October of 2019. When I showed up, I did not expect what was being offered. People were engaging. People were walking up to me. They wanted to learn more. There were so many great connections. I've made sense then. E-Liances is a place where entrepreneurs align.

If you want to find opportunity for your business to grow, you need to come and join us here on E-Liances is a place where entrepreneurs align. If you want to find opportunity for your business to grow, you need to come and join us here on E-Liances. And I appreciate that. And again, you're very well respected within the community. You also, too, have created a scholarship. Talk to us about what that is. Yes, sir. So last year, I set up a scholarship that is focused on veterans because I'm on the Phoenix Pride Board of Directors as the vice president. And one of the biggest things that our organization does is the scholarship program. And I always find that whenever we set up a scholarship program, they're not always as specifically tailored for veterans. So we have

our criteria at phoenixpride.org, which anybody can apply up until May 1st. It's $5,000 for the main scholarship. My supplement is, are you a veteran? If you qualify and you're a veteran, you get an additional $1,000. So I set up the additional $1,000 boost for our veterans to help support veterans because that's something that's very near and dear to my heart. That's always been something that's near and dear to my heart. So I wanted to try and do my part by investing some of the profits that I make for my business back into the community of people that I love so much. All right. Dr. Ryan, we're going to do some snooping now.

I know that we're in your office right now. And those that are listening, you're going to want to make sure you check out the video portion too. All right. Talk to me because you've got some incredible thing there. You've got a frame full of medals and that. What's something that you value freedom, to value every last breath that we take. That is definitely the most meaningful thing I have in my office because it reminds me of why I created a social purpose business, of why I do the veteran scholarship, of why I keep doing everything I can to give back to the community and bring more people up the economic ladder with me. And, you know, extremely valuable information. How do you convey, how do we teach the future students to, one, be able to create something

that you've created that's socially responsible and also, too, is your history having, again, helped protect and serve, you know, in the United States Air Force. I mean, how do you, where did you learn it? And maybe how would it be best for others to communicate with children to grow up and be successful like you? So it really started at a very young age. My parents instilled the need to work from a very, very young age. I used to work at construction sites with my father when I was 13, 14 years old. I used to work at a telemarketing company for many years when I was in high school and I was really good at it. I just got out there, jumped into it and just

started work from a very early age. The biggest thing I could tell you is don't be afraid to fail and always keep your eye on the prize. I've had to do a lot of things in my life more than once, which is fine because I never gave up on the goal I wanted to get to. There's been things I ran for public office last year. I didn't win. But guess what? There's always next time. There's things where I struggled with and with my bachelor's degree. It took me a very long time to get my bachelor's degree. I didn't get it the first one or two tries, but eventually I did. Then I went to get my master's, then my doctorate.

So just don't give up. Let the lessons you learned from the mistakes you made or from the inability to achieve that goal drive your desire to keep going. Remember, solving problems is easy. Finding problems to solve is hard. With small businesses, they are the heart of America and that, and you've worked with small businesses. What would you say is one of, if there was one specific advice critique that small businesses could do and take as a takeaway and something particularly that you

can help them with, what would be that one most important thing? Focus on what you're good at. Let me help you with the rest. Small businesses often try to be the jack of all trades and master of none, but focus on the things that you're good at and recognize that you need outside consultants, you need outside support, because that's the whole reason why you become more successful. We are here as your support crutch to help you become more successful. We are here as your support crutch to help you be more successful so you can focus on the things that you're good at. Don't be afraid to ask for some outside help because that's exactly what I'm here for to help you out. Fantastic. And again, Brian, you're making a difference for businesses

and speaking out for those who may not be heard. That's the hero, Dr. Ryan Strezik, owner of Blue Fire Group. And you can be reached at bluefire.group. That's bluefire.group. This has been David Cogan with the Alliance Hero Show. And continue to stay tuned because next we have on the co-founder of Pandora. This has been David Cogan with the Alliance's Hero Show.