Robert Ruffolo

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Age: 30

Title at work/what I do: CEO and founder of IMPACT Branding & Design, an inbound marketing agency. We help clients grow their businesses by developing and implementing complete inbound marketing programs based around their unique business needs.

Town where I work: Wallingford

Town where I live: Wallingford

College I attended: Central Connecticut State University

My passion, hobby or special talent: Inbound marketing

Twitter handle: @BobRuffolo

No. of LinkedIn connections: 3,200

Favorite place to network: LinkedIn and Twitter

Favorite drink at a networking event: Beer, preferably an IPA

How do I create connections in my professional life?

In the exact way we help our clients, I've generated a lot of my connections through inbound tactics. Through my content and social media, I've built relationships with thousands of business owners, executives, marketers, salespeople, and students all over the world.

What's been my biggest challenge professionally?

My biggest challenge stems from the rapid growth of my agency. We have grown very quickly and I have to manage that growth through constant adaptation. Luckily, we haven't made any mistakes yet, and we continue to grow at a rapid pace.

What is the best advice I received?

An influencer in our industry, Seth Godin, says that playing it safe is risky. I combine this saying with advice my uncle once gave me: Making the wrong decision is better than making no decision at all because at least you're moving the business forward. I've always believed in taking educated risks and am not afraid of making a wrong decision along the way, and these beliefs have helped me grow IMPACT to what it is today.

What do I want my legacy to be?

I would like to be the Steve Jobs of the inbound marketing world. I wasn't the first one in on this industry, but by the time I hit my 40s, I hope to have established myself as a leader in this industry, leading to opportunities to become an author and keynote speaker. I hope IMPACT continues to grow into something we can all be proud of and cultivates an awesome work environment and provides a comfortable lifestyle for my team.

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