Q&A ANDREW EVANS

Q: Why don’t you tell us how you got started with the company?

• Started off at 17 after a friend recommended it
• Always had a hustle going on on the side even as a young child, from running a landscaping company and performing magic shows to being a gymnastics coach.
• Did 18 sales appointments in my Fast Start and only sold about $1,000.
• First summer wrapped up at $17,000 in sales and I ended up getting into TLA.
• First manager left the company after my first summer and I was moved to Division Manager, Jeff Gamboa’s office, an hour-and-a-half from my home. Was an assistant manager in this office during my second summer.

Q: I would love to hear about your Branch experiences, since you became the greatest Branch Manager our company has seen.

• My next summer I ran my first branch office in Boca Raton and did about $135k in sales that summer. Had a really good start when one rep even had a $17k week, but soon after around 90% of my team quit.
• I was invited to run my second branch office in Miami. The first summer had really been about what I could achieve and accomplish, but I went into the second summer thinking about how I could serve others and create opportunities for them. That summer we did $350k and won a Silver Cup. It really proved to myself what I could do and make happen. Winning the Silver Cup didn’t feel as good as I thought it would. The things that stuck out most from that summer were the little moments in the journey on the way to the Silver Cup.
• The experience of the first Silver Cup summer led to an even greater perspective change going into the next summer. I had a bigger emphasis on building and developing people and opportunities for them and this led to us breaking the national record.

Q: Let’s discuss some of the traits and qualities that made you such an amazing manager and to have such great success.

• Work Ethic – I am not more talented or skilled than anyone else, but I know that I can outwork anyone to get to my goals.
• Beginning With the End in Mind – Until recently I wasn’t certain that I would be with the company for a long time, but I always approached my role and responsibilities in a way that developed the people in my organization and provided them with opportunities into the future whether I was going to be there or not.

Q: What are some of the qualities that young entrepreneurs can adopt to help set themselves apart?

• Longevity in vision and work ethic are what most young entrepreneurs lack.
• A lot of people may start a good business idea that has multi-million-dollar potential with small thinking; And a lot of people really want things, but don’t have it in their mind how much time and effort it takes to get those things.
• A lot of people get stuck there, because they aren’t just living the easy life and not putting in work, but they also aren’t getting the results they want.

Q: You have a podcast called Ace Weekly. What are some of your key takeaways from doing that podcast that you would like to share with our listeners here?

• I did an episode recently with Phillip Stutts, a highly successful political marketer, and we talked about innovation and technology. Something called Moore’s Law has transformed how I see things.
• Moore’s law basically says that technology increases exponentially. This makes the world and even our business in Cutco an innovation game. This is something that has helped me as I try to see how fast I can adapt to new trends and where things are going.

Q: You are 24 and most millennials get a largely unwarranted bad rap from people in older generations. What is your take on millennials?

• I think this generation is just largely misunderstood. They are growing up in a very different world from the former generation.
• This generation in America is really the first generation in human history that doesn’t have to worry about basic needs and how they are going to survive.
• Not having to worry about survival makes room for bigger questions like, “What are we here to do?” This leads to a lot of the now prevalent anxiety and depression.
• These questions also create a big heart and desire in millennials to help and impact others and change the world. But, why I am doing what I am doing is to give millennials a wake up, letting them know that they have the potential to change the world. But they have to be led and able to do so. Financial capital, social capital, and skillset are the three things that allow you to change the world and Vector is a great playground to develop all three.

Q: Andrew, the theme of the podcast is changing lives. How do you aspire to change lives as you look into the future?

• I think we are going to influence people just through what I am doing as a division coordinator in Miami-Dade. We recruit more students than any other organization and we are impacting the future generations. How our world is changing is going to require a lot of leaders, so I want to create some of those leaders.
• In about 5-10 years I also want to start a school. I really value education, having 3 degrees, but I hate the education system. It will teach things that no matter what kids do in life, it will be useful. To include interpersonal skills, influencing others, taxes, marriage and relationships, technology, and entrepreneurship. The goal is that they come out of it and have meaningful skill sets, opportunities, and be prepared for the future.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• You are never always ready to take the next step you are going to take. But by continuing to grow and develop over time, you speed up your learning curve in life.
• Work ethic, grit, perseverance, and long-term view are really important.
• Millennials are growing up in a different world that leaves them a strong desire to have an impact. This desire can help you in life and work, but you have to have financial capital, social capital, and a skill set to translate that desire into results in the long term.
• Two core philosophies to make you successful:
  • You can CHOOSE the meaning for anything that happens in your life – When in adversity, we can let it stop us or we can choose an empowering meaning for the adversities we face. It is important to train this mental muscle by continually choosing to see even the tiniest setbacks in an empowering way.
  • Things don’t get better by chance, they get better by CHANGE – Any area of life you want to improve, you must look at how you need to grow, change, learn, or evolve. By changing ourselves, we change the circumstances of our lives.

 CUTCO/VECTOR TERMS

• Fast Start – An all-out sales contest in a new sales rep’s first ten days
• TLA(The Leadership Academy) – A 9-month training program held in each division of Cutco that helps train and develop potential management candidates before the summer peak period.
• Silver Cup – An award given to #1 sales rep’s and offices