Meet Rick Graves

Today we’re excited to be connecting with Rick Graves again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.

Rick, always such a pleasure connecting with you and thank you for sharing your stories, insights and inspiring messages with our community. We’re looking forward to getting the download and what you have been up to since our last interview, but first can you briefly introduce yourself to folks who might have missed the prior conversation.
Thanks! I really appreciate you checking in and inviting me back.
I’m Rick G., the host of The 7-9 Showcase, entrepreneur, intrapreneur, and just a regular guy figuring things out. My brand is built on life experience, personal development, and building a commitment to resilience and goal-setting. My journey hasn’t been a straight path—it’s been full of impatient decisions, restarts, and hard lesson, And also a lot of wins. Starting over has been essential to my growth. And the best lesson to learn is how to minimize how far back I need to go when I have to start again—and to embrace change in the process.
This journey spans all aspects of my life: family, which has been tougher to navigate than I expected; entrepreneurship, which is both exciting and challenging; and my professional life as an intrapreneur, where I’m constantly learning and adapting to new scenarios.
What sets my brand apart is my commitment to my “authenticity”. I’m not perfect—I’m a bit of goof ball and I’m stubborn. Sometimes, I’m an outright mess, and I probably doubt myself more than I should. That’s life though and that’s what I think people relate too and its exactly what I share on my show: the raw, unfiltered realities of life and the scenarios shaping my world right now. I don’t know where Ill end up. But I know where I am headed and have a plan.
I’ve put Advision on a bit of a slowdown—not shutting it down, because I’ve got big plans for it, but learning how to scale opportunities while keeping things sustainable. Since our last conversation, I’ve come a long way. My course hasn’t changed much, but my vision is becoming sharper every day.

Alright, so our main goal today is to give our audience an update on what you have been up to since our last conversation. We’d love to hear how things are going and what you are most looking forward to or excited about these days.
You know, so much can happen in a year. 2024 was no exception—it was a rollercoaster of adjustment, growth, and readjustment. It started with an opportunity I’d been dreaming of: a position at Ericsson. When I first heard about the role in November of 2023, multiple recruiters reached out about a scoping engineer position. I didn’t hesitate—I jumped on the one offering the highest pay rate. I prayed hard for that role. Working for a dream company, remotely, doing what I know, and in Plano? It seemed perfect.
For three months, I was closing out work in Florida and planning my return to DFW. It wasn’t easy. I was broke, stressed, and burnt out. My living situation was up in the air, and I was running on fumes trying to juggle everything to not completely fall on my face. At the same time, I was doing all I could to line up new work opportunities, but I wasn’t passionate about it. I didn’t want it long term. I needed stability and a break from the in intensity. Financially, I was reeling from the fallout of Advision’s work stoppage and all my losses. I needed at least $95K a year to stay afloat, and the job market was tough. Telecom was slow, and many fields weren’t hiring. The economy wasn’t helping, either—it was the start of an election year, and organizations were hesitant to bring on new people.
I turned to anything I could think of: applying across trades and industries, picking up handyman work, and even trying to sell life insurance. The handyman jobs brought in some income, but I kind of wanted to limit myself—I didn’t have the passion to scale up or run crews. Without that drive, I knew it wasn’t sustainable. Construction contracting, like anything else, demands a relentless push to succeed. Without it, failure is inevitable.
By mid-January, my recruiters broke the news: Ericsson had filled all the requisitions. That hit me hard. I kept applying to anywhere and working Linked-In definitely helped. I got a few interviews, but nothing came through. It felt like I was running in place. I managed to close out some handyman projects and split rent with Randall while he searched for work, too. I was able to recoup some overdue payments from Florida. It wasn’t easy. I had to push my client hard to get those payments approved, and when I finally did, I cut ties with them. It was bittersweet—the end of a chapter I’d invested so much in. And learned so much from.
That pulled me through January and into February. Not long after, Randall landed a solid job from a temp role he’d been filling. Things started to look up for him. I passed my life insurance state exam, only to find out I couldn’t get licensed because of my record. That was a bit of let down but it was also just more clarity as to where I should not direct myself. Then, just when I thought I was out of options. I was going to have to contract so I better suck it up and make it happen. Then I got a call.
It was someone from Ericsson who remembered me from a past project. He’d seen my resume and thought I might be a fit for an opening doing scoping. He connected me with a line manager I’d worked with years ago on another project. We had a great conversation; I had a follow up interview and then I was in. He reassured me that if there were any issues, he’d sort them out but that they wanted to bring me on. I couldn’t believe it—this was the break I needed. The onboarding process took about a month, with all the background checks and references, but I didn’t let myself celebrate until I finished my first week. And here I am, 10 months later.
The first few months were an adjustment. Balancing handyman work and a 40-hour week at Ericsson was tough. Randall and I still had some projects to close out, and I quickly learned (again) that painting is not my forte. By summer, I realized that the overtime at Ericsson paid more than some of the contracting jobs. And continuing that didn’t make sense. So, that clarity helped me focus on the new role. And that stability helped me to start setting real financial goals to get back on top. To do this next go around differently. More planned and more structured. I slowed down the side projects and have dedicated myself to the intrapreneurship with Ericsson.
Ericsson hasn’t been without its challenges. The quotas increased from 7 to 10, then 15 site per week. Plus correspondence, calls and redlines. The first 30 to 90 days in the office was a whole adjustment period. From in person interoffice personal skills to W-2 schedules. The whole experience was a life readjustment. I mean as a contractor things don’t stop. As an employee they stop when you clock out. However, I happened to be pretty good at what I do. I made some learning curves and quickly made an impact and got some positive attention. Which allow for a little OT. This was around May or June. Things slowly started to get a bit more intensive scoping for Ericsson. Our quotas went from 7 to 10 to 15 if you can. Then we started adding in redlines corrections. Now, I’m having trouble trying to figure out how to balance it all for work, plus kids, plus trying to finally enjoy life as a regular employee but not get complacent. I was getting back to being overwhelmed. July had come around I started with a new handyman customer and tried dating. Trying to have it all was not making me happy. There’s was no time for down time. It was just more stress. Unnecessarily. Now, its getting to be August and I realized that the money in OT was easier than contracting jobs. And if contracting didn’t pay at least my OT rate then I’m not taking the job. I decided to give myself a break. I sat down and built a 12 month financial plan and to pay off debt and get back to being on top. I started taking off weekends and just putting in hours Monday through Friday. I felt balanced finally. And confident in my direction.
In October, I was made the prime point of contact for this new market. I didn’t feel ready—but my manager encouraged me to take the leap. Since my entry in to the market, productivity has increased up to 300%. We’ve gone from completing 6 to 10 sites a week to consistently hitting 20 to 25. By fostering open communication and focusing on process familiarity and recognition, I’ve helped implement organizational changes that have helped streamline workflows increasing efficiency. It’s been rewarding to see how collaboration and a clear vision can drive success.
I like to ask questions and I like questions asked. Openly asked. That wasn’t a big action taken coming in. I think a lot of time people know what works for them and gets the job done in their own way. But they don’t account for the overall team actions and other processes for the final output to be in max efficiency. Your ethic will stick out. Your hours, quality, dedication, action and reaction. Whether it’s 2 hour or 14-hour days. All of this gets judged. And in a corporate environment its so much more widely seen. Even that is an opportunity to build relationships though. During these past few months, I’ve been approached by other divisions to give my input and share my competencies. Working with them has made new friendships and interests. But its also allowed me to learn other perspectives of the team. What is and isn’t important for process in the long run. Relationships have opened doors to keep growing. Id like to think my smooth demeanor and cold finesse is what has made this market flourish. But the reality is I had some help pushing the team from higher up to essentially give me a break and work with me to turn this market around. There were some keys players that if I didn’t have their confidence none of this would be happening. Id probably be kicked out of the market and the way they are tightening down be hanging on to my job by a thread. However, positivity, encouragement, drive and ethic have proven to hold their place in my professional life. I’m want to expand on that in all aspects. And not everyone is going to want to be a part of that. That’s okay. The relationships that are inline with your success will become stronger as you focus on your plan and achieving goals.
Over the past year, my goals have changed. They’ve become more defined. They’re actionable. Every last one is within reach. At the beginning of 2024, I had no idea how I was going to accomplish what I wanted. I didn’t even know what I wanted clearly anymore—just a vague idea. I did write it down and set it as a five-year plan, and now it’s pretty defined. There is always room for adjustment, and there will always be setbacks.
I’m working on my PMP and plan to have that completed by April. I have a couple of other courses I think would be positive to develop competencies in. I don’t think it’s about degrees anymore. Just know your stuff, do an above-average job consistently, and be honest. Don’t be a five-letter word. See how far it gets you. Get up and make it happen.
I have a ton of other things cooking, but my main focus is to see how far I can take a corporate job and how much further I can take this whole new adventure. The relationships I’ve maintained and built over the past few years keep bringing new journeys and paths.
This is the mark for a year later. Can’t wait to see what’s accomplished this year in 2025.

Alright, so let’s do something a bit more fast-paced and lighthearted. We call this our lightning round and we’ll ask you a few quick questions.

Favorite Book: Kitchen Confidential

Sweet or Savory: Savory

Mountains or Beach: Beach but maybe summertime mountains

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: I did at one time think it would be cool to climb things for a living

Favorite Breakfast Food: eggs and bacon

What are you most excited about in the coming year?
This whole year is what I’m excited about. The growth and continued rebuilding here at home. A whole new adventure and plan. The ultimate long term goal is the same. But the path and journey to the destination has been reshaped. I’m excited to see how I far I can take it. I have some side ventures to explore. I have professional opportunities. I’m excited for a life that a few years ago was so far away. A lot of us talk about if I had the perfect time to do this or that. We say if this or that fell in place I would start. Well for me that time is now. I’ve talked about a podcast. I’ll be releasing that this year. Im about 60 episodes in and it just follows this journey in detail. Its been a fun project and willl continue it on as I progress. Ive been able to see the growth reflecting back on episodes. I’m nowhere near back on top but huge strides have been made. I still have relationships to repair both personal and professional. I still have tons of work to do, plans to make and goals to accomplish. But this is what I’m excited for. The opportunity.

Instagram: @rickginstagme

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickgraves79/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rickgfbme/