David's Photo David Rutkauskas

Life is Beautiful when you are your own boss. There's nothing quite like it. Hello, I’m David Rutkauskas, Founder, President and CEO of Beautiful Brands International. Everyday my company helps people with an entrepreneurial spirit like yours live a beautiful life by creating wealth and sustainability through franchising. Through this blog, I want to show you how I do it...with my personal experience and advice for success. You are welcome to email me your questions to: askdavid@davidrutkauskas.com and I will answer some of them in my future posts.

  • Treating People Right

    May 16, 2012

    For a caring entrepreneur, one of the best parts about doing a deal is the time you spend building relationships.

    It’s never about the nuts and bolts of a contract or an ego trip of really sticking it to the other guy—it’s about meeting in the middle and making both sides happy with the outcome.  I think we’ve all been burned by people who say one thing and do another. We run into it constantly with businesses and people who are more interested in the financial payoff than really making it work for their customers. For me, nothing reveals a broken moral compass more than mislea...continue reading

  • The Art of Getting Out of the Way

    May 9, 2012

    A lot of bosses have sort of a wacked out view of what it takes to be in charge and lead others to achieve. I know cause I see their fingerprints all over the ruins of their fragmented companies.

    They think success is won by sheer conquest over their employees instead of just letting them do what they’re good at. Bad idea. Control over people is an illusion that will bite you in the end. Whether you’re making a profit or not, if you live by the rigidity of structures and the inflexible rules you impose on your employees then you’ll only suffer defeat at the hands of your own creation.  A company is made up of people, with real feelings, real desires, and ...continue reading

  • Product vs. Experience

    May 3, 2012

    Anybody really understand the whole coffee shop thing and why the concept has been so successful as a trend?

    I went to one the other day just to hang out. Took my laptop and wrote a little. Here are my thoughts on it. I personally don’t think people are that crazy about hyped up coffee and paying out the nose for it, but I do think there’s something universal at work with the concept…people tend to buy a product based on the way it makes them feel and not just its innate value to them.   The coffee shop model is just one example but a good one. Go into most and you&rsquo...continue reading