Q:  I want to hear about your background. Start with that.

• I’m one of 4. I’ve got 2 sisters and a brother.
• I’ve danced my whole life. So, dance is a big passion of mine. I had an injury when I was in 8^th grade which stopped me from dancing
• I went to college and studied occupational therapy. I got into occupational therapy because of my injury. That’s kind of where my passion for helping people has come from.

Q:  You’re operating your office in Somerset County, New Jersey. Is that where you grew up?

• I was born in Pennsylvania originally, but my parents moved to New Jersey. I’ve been here all my life. I’m still in New Jersey, and I really love it here.

Q:  I know that you had some kind of serious personal challenge before you started working at Cutco that really impacted your life, and I wanted to ask you about that.

• In 8^th grade, I was a dancer and my kneecap was dislocated and my knee broken. I went through surgery.
• After the procedure, I started experiencing complications. I went back to my doctor in 2013 and talked about my symptoms and was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome. Basically, my body didn’t really shut down during the surgery. My body was asleep, but my nerves were wide awake.
• When I woke up, my body became hypersensitive. I had to go through physical therapy every day.
• Luckily, in December 2013, my doctor recommended me to go to a children’s specialized hospital. I was admitted in January 2014 and went through physical therapy, occupational therapy, and swimming, 9 hours a day, every day.
• They trained my body to de-sensitize and to learn that touch was normal. I spent a month in that hospital without my parents.
• That was a really tough time for me. I was only 14 and dealing with a condition I had never heard about before, and getting through that was a big turning point in my life.

Q: How did you end up working for Cutco?

• I got a letter in the mail. It was after my freshman year and I was like, “I found my dream job I’m going to be rich.”
• I went in for the interview. I had no idea of what Cutco was, had never seen any of their products and it’s been great since.

Q: What are some of the experiences and lessons you had during that summer or your branch summer?

• The earliest thing that really stands out for me was circle of influence.
• I had never learned much about what circle of influence meant or what it could do for me until I finished my first year with Cutco.
• Just realizing what a circle of influence of positive people could really do for you in life. I had friends who didn’t have all these aspirations and financial goals.
• I started working with people like Gina (Nappi), who talked much about owning certain things and having fun in life like traveling and I had never been able to do that.
• Once I started hanging around these people and learning from them, and growing with them, my circle of influence changed and my life changed. I started looking at things differently and started believing in myself a lot more I also stopped listening to those negative outside influences and people that just didn’t matter.

Q:  What else? Tell us more about your early experiences and lessons

• I think one of the biggest things was working with Gina, having a wonderful woman role model in my life. It was someone I really needed.
• I always tell Gina, she’s like an older sister to me. Just having a woman to instill confidence in me. I had a lot of confidence issues. I was insecure and hated public speaking. Without Gina as my role model, I’m not sure where I would be.
• Gina never saw who I was at that moment. She always saw me how I was going to become. Having such people around you, that believed in you to be bigger than you actually are, can really set the pace for what you’re meant to do in life.

Q: You were a rep in 2018, and then you went straight to being a branch in 2019. Tell us about your branch summer.

• It was a big moment for me. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go into management. I loved working with Gina. I was like she’s great, I could be great with her. I didn’t want to spread my wings just yet.
• I remember being with Gina and Jim Stitt Sr. was next to us. He introduced himself and something that stood out for me was when will I get the opportunity to see CEOs walking around. I was starstruck!
• I remember asking him, “what it is about Cutco and being CEO of a great company?” He was like, “I don’t view myself as a CEO. I view myself as being no different than someone else in this company.” I think that conversation changed my life.
• I was really conflicted. Do I go branch?, what do I do? At that moment, I told myself if I didn’t go branch, I’m doing a disservice to this company.

Q: Why did you choose to be a District Manager?

• Something big I keep telling myself is life is too short. If I went DM, was I going to be happy? If I went back to school, was I going to be happy?
• I believe in education. I think education is really important, but I also tell myself, education is always going to be there.
• I told everyone I had made a decision on my own. Not only was I going on with it, but I was going to prove I made the right decision.

Q: You’ve just crushed it this year and it’s incredible to see what you’ve done. You’re over $1 million now, with the entire fall to go and some of the summer to go. Why is this happening? What would you attribute to this massive amount of growth?

• I’m an aggressive learner and don’t think there was a time I stopped learning.
• I’m also a firm believer in not listening to something once or twice. When you play sports, you practice all the time. What I’ve learned is you have got to repeat it over and over in order to really understand it.

Q: What are some of the key ideas you feel have made a big difference for you in your growth?

• I always remind myself that I haven’t arrived, I’m hungry for more. So, I always leave room in my day for personal growth.
• I feel like if I’m not learning as a leader, I can’t lead. What I love so much about this company is our reps show something they don’t have to give their integrity up over. And there’s so much more to Cutco that people don’t realize. The personal growth, professional growth including gaining more confidence.
• I’ve always found the one thing you pick up on is the one thing you are needing in that moment. Once you begin to take ownership, your life changes.
• That’s been a big thing for me this summer. Really owning everything that has happened to me and really diving into myself.

Q: Let’s talk about some of the specific skills as a Vector manager. You’ve been great at building your team this summer. I know you’ve got some great strategies around that. Could you share some key strategies for building your team?

• My biggest philosophy is “love always wins” when you think about your people.
• If you love your people, they will love you back. My biggest key in building a team and keeping a team is just to wrap my arms on people and let them know my office is family.
• I’ve learned never to judge a book by its cover. I stopped worrying about the numbers.Eventually, it does come together.

Q: Give us some more specific stuff about how are you getting recruits? What are some of the ways you’re applying for your personal recruitment program?

• I think it starts with a great assistant manager. I’m incredibly blessed with the people in my staff. I think what makes the difference is having a great staff.
• When you can find people that want to build the team, there’s magic in that. My assistant managers have done a fantastic job of being recruiters and being aggressive recruiters.
• I sat with my staff when COVID-19 hit and when things got tough. I said, “we have 2 options; we can crumble or we can change the world for the better.”
• I knew I just had to step up as a leader and be an example for everyone on my team. So, my staff joined forces this summer saying, we are all in this together.
• What’s even really incredible is the appreciation and gratitude we got from people this summer. That’s what fueled us. We knew we were making a difference.

Q: How about any of your strategies or keys in developing the people you have on your team this summer? You not only have a big team, but you have a team that’s selling a lot. What’s been the key to that?

• Again, something I’ve learned is I don’t know everything. It’s OK not to know everything. Something I love to do is build a bridge with someone who does know.
• I like to introduce my staff with people that can help them. Making sure they are always learning.

Q: Tell me about your relationship with Greg (Cothran) and Earl (Kelly).

• I think they are just fantastic leaders. What’s really great about them is they know how to challenge me all the time. They also lead with love all the time.

Q: What message would have for the young women of Vector?

• I think if I could go back, I would tell myself not to be afraid. I was always so afraid of been compared with others in the company because I was a woman.
• Now is a time we need more women role models than ever before.

Q: What are some of your current goals and aspirations?

• I would say just continuing to help pave the path for women, both in and out of Vector. I think that’s something really important for me.

Q: How about the future? What does the future hold out for you?

• I see myself in this company going on for quite a while. I get really excited when I get to develop a lot more people and grow a lot more people.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• One of the most important concepts in life is meaning-making, choosing empowering meaning for the things that happen to us.
• Also, there is great importance in repetition and practice in the learning process. This is what enables us to have good ideas internalized.So, that we could truly leverage them in our lives.
• Lastly, love always wins. Letting people see that you truly have their best interests in mind. They will always be more motivated and inspired to help you achieve your goals.