From NFL Player to 7-Figure CEO: How Rick Elmore Built Simply Noted with Systems & Automation

Описание: Most entrepreneurs never fail because of lack of talent — they fail because they quit too early.

In this episode of Small Business Pivots, Michael D. Morrison sits down with former NFL player turned 7-figure CEO Rick Elmore, founder of Simply Noted, to talk about grit, systems, handwritten note marketing, CRM automation, and the future of AI agents in small business.

Rick’s journey is anything but typical.

He grew up in a humble, lower-middle-class family…
Lost his father at a young age…
Earned a scholarship to the University of Arizona…
Played in the NFL…
Became a top 1% medical sales rep…
Then walked away from corporate to build a handwritten note automation company from scratch.

What started as an idea in an MBA marketing class turned into an experiment — 500 handwritten notes sent to prospects.

The result? Nearly $300,000 in sales in six weeks.

That was the birth of Simply Noted — a platform that integrates, automates, and scales genuine handwritten mail for businesses using robotics, software, and CRM workflows.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

How Rick transitioned from the NFL to entrepreneurship

Why handwritten notes still outperform digital noise

How to validate a business idea before going “all in”

Why every small business needs a CRM to scale

How automation and AI agents are changing sales and marketing

The truth about imposter syndrome and comparison

Why most businesses never reach $1 million in revenue

The systems mindset required to move from $0 → 7 figures

🚀 Topics Covered:

Entrepreneur mindset
Small business systems & processes
CRM and automation tools
AI agents for business
Handwritten note marketing
Scaling to seven figures
Sales strategy
Virtual assistants & SOPs
Work-life integration for entrepreneurs

Who Is Rick Elmore?

Rick Elmore is the founder and CEO of Simply Noted, a handwritten note automation platform that allows businesses to send authentic pen-written notes at scale, integrated directly into CRM systems.

He’s a former NFL player and top-performing medical sales rep who built a multi-seven-figure business through systems, grit, and continuous pivots.