A Multi-Sector Entrepreneur Draws on Global Experiences, People First Leadership, and a Performance Driven Mindset to Shape Ventures with Purpose.

A Journey Shaped by Experience

For Ryan Phillips, entrepreneurship is not confined to a single industry or a fixed formula for success. Across Phillips Services, Phillips Athletics, and his work as co-founder of Ehliens, he has developed an approach grounded in discipline, adaptability, and helping people reach their potential. Phillips says travelling the world and meeting people from different cultures have broadened his outlook, allowing him to recognize opportunities through perspectives beyond his own.

His first entrepreneurial experiences began when he was a young teen and continued in the early years of college, when his best friend introduced him to the idea behind Ehliens. These formative years nurtured his interest in business, creativity, and collaboration principles that continue to inform his ventures.

Leadership Built on Trust and Standards

In service based industries, including security, reliability must be demonstrated consistently. Phillips believes leadership begins with example. He emphasizes professionalism, self respect, and continuous improvement, encouraging team members to represent themselves and the company to a high standard.

Training and development are central to his management philosophy. By recognizing individual strengths and areas for growth, he aims to place people in roles where they can succeed while being challenged to develop. He views accountability as a daily discipline and a foundation for stronger teams. For Phillips, building a business also means building people who can grow alongside it.

Delegation is essential to sustaining progress. Hiring capable people and assigning responsibilities thoughtfully allows an entrepreneur to focus on long-term direction without losing sight of operations. Phillips believes understanding the work firsthand helps a leader identify the skills and support a venture needs.

Discipline: The Link Between Business and Performance

Phillips’s perspective on entrepreneurship is closely connected to fitness and athletic development. In business and sport, progress requires consistency, patience, and effort even when results are not immediate. He distinguishes short-term motivation from lasting discipline: motivation may fade, but commitment to the larger goal must remain.

The mindset of a champion, in his view, is built through high standards and honest work, especially when no one is watching. Avoiding shortcuts and maintaining self-respect are principles he believes translate across fields, from fitness to security and construction.

For Phillips, discipline is not an occasional push; it is a daily practice.

The Creative Roots of Ehliens

Phillips’s connection to clothing and lifestyle entrepreneurship began through Ehliens, a skateboarding brand conceived by his close friend Adriel McPherson, its original creator. During Phillips’s early college years, they embraced the brand’s skateboarding culture, hosting competitions and selling apparel online, from their homes, and through local stores. Ehliens went on to attract local and international attention, establishing a presence in a competitive market.

The brand reflected skateboarding’s creativity and community, while offering a lesson in building an identity people could connect with. Ehliens is preparing for a potential relaunch, with an opportunity to reintroduce its vision to a new audience. Phillips believes authenticity is essential, a company should represent its values and personality rather than sacrifice them in pursuit of success. Understanding customers who connect with its story, delivering quality, and offering fair pricing can foster lasting loyalty.

Managing Multiple Ventures, Looking Ahead

Balancing several businesses demands time management, persistence, and delegation. Phillips acknowledges the workload can be challenging, often requiring long days and early starts. Each venture must maintain its own purpose and standards, even when the businesses can support one another.

Adaptability should improve standards not diminish them.

He believes customer needs matter, while sound decisions must also be guided by expertise and experience.

Looking ahead, Phillips sees international connections and stronger global support as important opportunities for Phillips Services and his other ventures. Yet his ambitions extend beyond revenue or expansion. He hopes his work will help employees, clients, athletes, and communities recognize their capabilities.

Phillips’s outlook rests on a simple belief, the world is full of people who have not yet discovered how capable they are. By combining trust, discipline, creativity, and people-focused leadership, he aims to build businesses that do more than grow they create opportunities for others to grow, too.

Ryan Phillips – LinkedIn Profile