About the author
Chris Rugh (pronounced Rue) grew up a street savvy kid in the suburbs of Detroit. His determination, with a little bit of help from his ADD, and some obviously sound parenting, sent him to college to obtain his degree in Public Relations and Advertising. A member of Delta Sigma Phi, he also learned a number of valuable life lessons and gained great insight into the person he was to become and the various leadership roles he would take on. Chris hasn’t spent much time standing still. He has owned numerous businesses and has failed, always seeming to land on his feet. Through it all Chris has continually moved forward, learning from his mistakes and taking the necessary steps to become a very successful entrepreneur.
He launched Custom Toll Free as a DBA of Rugly Holdings, Inc., in 1997. In the last 14 years his company has become the nation’s leading vanity telephone number search firm. He can boast that he has some well-recognized clients from brands such as Best Buy, Comcast and 1-800-CONTACTS, and that a number of Fortune 500 companies utilize his services.
The revenues of his company have spiraled upwards every year since the launch, increasing by 30% during the most recent economic downturn. Chris “speaks from the hip” and has a somewhat unconventional outlook on life and on business. He has an innate passion for taking risks, for doing the right thing and for making a difference. He is a tell-it-like-it-is blogger, a charming, off-the-cuff, award-winning speaker and a successful business consultant. Now he can add “author” to his accolades and be proud of the honesty, sincerity, and wit with which he’s written a book on how to work less, make more and live really well.