There are many facets of marketing that play into creating a recognizable brand, but in the end it all boils down to one person. At Dragon Alliance Eyewear, that person is Rick Irons. Irons is the Global Brand Manager at Dragon, and it is because of him that the image of a dragon’s silhouette inside a white circle is so familiar.
On March 5, the Business Management and Ownership class, taught by Oly Norris, welcomed Irons as a guest speaker. Irons was the first guest speaker of the new Business Management semester, and he was full of interesting stories and useful tips about how to succeed in the business world.
Having been a minority growing up in Hawaii, Irons explained that he had to “learn a lot about interacting with people, and understand how to be friendly to everyone.” He surfed daily and studied hard, eventually becoming the valedictorian of his high school. He then went directly to majoring in business communications at Point Loma Nazarene, where his people skills were tested once more: “I knew no one at college, so I had to meet a whole new group of people. But that’s really the underlying moral of the story. You have to go outside your comfort zone to do well in business.”
After graduating, Irons became a sponsored surfer and traveled the world for four years, before realizing he wanted a more steady income. “At my best times, I was making about $1,000 a month,” he said. “I sold a few boards here and there, and bussed tables to get by before saying to myself, ‘Man, I need to get a job.’”
Through connections made during his time surfing, Irons landed a job in sales at Surfer Magazine. He worked at the magazine for 14 years, climbing the ranks until he became publisher. The job gave him experience working with a multitude of different companies. “If you work at Quiksilver all your life, you only know Quiksilver products,” he said. “At a magazine, you can have lunch with the CEO of Volcom, the marketing director of O’Neill, and the guys at Hurley. You learn a lot about a bunch of different brands.”
Two years ago, he joined Dragon, an international eyewear company selling sunglasses, ‘moto’ glasses, and snow goggles. The most important part of continuing to build the brand of Dragon around the world, Irons said, is by advertising everywhere. “We have a very recognizable logo. We have stickers all over with our Dragon logo on them, and that image sticks with you,” he said. Dragon has stores in Bali, Europe, and New Zealand, but is based here in San Diego.
Irons left the class with a few pieces of advice, suggesting that to get involved in business and truly succeed, it’s important to get a solid education and take advantage of any internships. He also emphasized the advice of not burning bridges: “You never know who you’ll drop in on. Someone you annoy now could be a future CEO five years from now.”
The main key to his success, however, was finding a focus. “Don’t do everything just okay,” he said. “Find one thing to do specifically, and do it really well.”