Tennessee Voices, Episode 250: Bowman Richards, CEO, Richards & Richards Secure Shredding in Nashville
Economic news of late has been dour. Pundits and politicians have seized upon rising inflation, uncertainty over the new omicron COVID variant and workforce shortages to signal that something is amiss with the economy.
Bowman Richards wanted to tell another story when he wrote a guest essay about his prediction for strong economic growth in Nashville in 2022.
Richards is a second-generation family business owner who started his career at the company during the Great Recession. On this episode of the Tennessee Voices podcast, Richards talked about literally growing up in the business.
His parents founded Richards & Richards 30 years ago as a records and information management company, keeping track of paper records of other enterprises.
Richards' folks sold most of the company before they retired, but what remains is the shredding and document, digital asset and supply destruction business.
While he runs the business now, Bowman Richards said he has done jobs from working the trucks to sweeping the floors.
His optimism about the economy comes from the fact that he has been able to grow revenue and expand the team. While hiring has been a challenge, he is actively looking to fill positions and attract prospective hires with good salaries and benefits.
This is a situation generally facing workplaces today in Nashville, where the majority of companies are small businesses.
Op-Ed by Bowman Richards: Why Nashville will continue strong growth in the years ahead
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The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices podcast with Bowman Richards: economy outlook in 2022
