What’s Your Excuse? EP 075 Tyler Watson from failed sandwich artist to successful international brand manager

Hello again, I hope you and your family are doing as well as possible given all the challenges in the world these days.

In this latest episode of What’s Your Excuse?

I sat down with Tyler Watson Vice President of Sales for Dan-O’s Seasonings.

I met Tyler as part of being an affiliate and advocate for Dan-O’s. Mainly because their seasonings are no-salt, low sodium, and packed with flavor.

Discovering their products allowed me to give my younger brother Patrick, an arrhythmia surviver, the gift of good tasting food.

We became friends after he wrote an amazingly honest post about the struggles he has gone through in his life before getting to where he is now in both is professional career and personal life.

You know I love story tellers and great stories, and Tyler provided both.

Plus he is one of those rare people in business who doesn’t believe he has to hide who he really is or where he came from in order to be successful.

As you know this is something I believe in completely. Telling my story authentically is how I built my brands. And I tell others constantly that sharing your real self is great for business.

So, we bonded over authentic personal story telling, and I just had to have him on my podcast.

Well, I don’t want to give it all away.

Disclaimers

First, I do not edit my podcast. This is partly because I am horrible at it, but mostly because I love the feel of sharing a recorded live interview.

Second, I sing on the intro of my podcast. It started out of necessity, but people like it and miss it when I don’t sing.

So, you will be treated to me singing part of What’s Your Excuse on the intro.

On With The Show

Support My Sponsors

blubrry.com provides both financial and technical support to my show, to Shredding For Gold, and for the wyexcuse Podcast Network. I couldn’t do it without them.

I also want to thank Chip and Pam Edwards at Create My Voice for keeping my show on Alexa, Google, and Seri so you can listen by simply saying play What’s Your Excuse. Reach out for help with your audio branding strategy.

And to the folks at Crystal Creek Organics for keeping me supplied with CBD oil while I have been struggling with knee pain. Some days have still been too difficult, but thanks to them there were more good hours or days than bad ones.

Key Points

He shared about being a young person with a baby and no real job. We spoke about his being a dish washer, failing at sandwich making, and going into selling shoes on the advice of his wife.

We talked about how understanding the needs of the customers who came into the store lead to him being a rockstar salesman that lead to his becoming the manager for stores in three states.

We followed his path to Dan’O’s both earlier in his career and since he returned to the company to be part of their continued growth.

We talked about his battles to gain custody of his young child and how that lead him to take jobs in different parts of the country just to be close to his child while working his way through the courts.

I shared with him my equally nervous state concerning how until my nephew was of age we constantly worried that some day there would be knock at the door and we would lose him.

You can hear the joy in his voice concerning his family now including repaying his wife for supporting him and being able to spend more time with their latest child.

We talked about clothing. Him accepting that he could be successful without hiding tattoos or putting on a suit. Me talking about how wearing a suit has become part of me thanks to help from friends.

Throughout the conversation we kept coming back to the idea that being honest about who we are doesn’t hurt your business or your career it only strengthens it.

I can’t tell you how many potential podcast interview booking clients have told me Max I can’t be as honest as you or people won’t want to hire me.

It is just so amazing to have someone as successful as Tyler prove that all of that is just wrong.

He explained that being who you are allows you to make an even stronger connection with the people you come in contact with. Whether that is potential clients or someone you meet casually.

I had a great time talking with Tyler, and I hope that someday soon I’ll be able to make it to their headquarters and meet him in person.

About Tyler

I love sharing my passion through a sales process.

At 16, I was a new father and high school dropout with relatively no interests or skills. By 18, I had become a professional dishwasher after failing as a sandwich artist.

My wife, who then was the trainer at the restaurant I worked at, suggested I work at a specialty shoe store in the mall. I immediately fell in love with sharing the gift of comfort with anyone that would listen. I became a subject matter expert on all things feet. This led me on a journey managing comfort shoe stores across three states, shattering countrywide sales records with each team I had the opportunity to lead.

I became impatient with retail and moved back to my hometown to discover what else I was capable of. From managing higher education campuses to selling & supporting franchise businesses, I diversified my understanding of people and why they buy.

As an integral member of the leadership team at Dan-O’s Seasoning, I get to do a lot more than just sell. We work together to innovate, creating new products and taking concepts from napkin to market.

I enjoy time with my wife and three kids, cycling – road & gravel (I love crit racing!), disrupting the status quo (so cliché, but defines me to a tee!) and collaborating with CPG leaders on both sides of the desk.

Connect with Tyler

Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/watsontyler

Connect With Dan-O’s

Website: www.danosseasoning.com/ref/TheBlindBlogger

Facebook: www.facebook.com/danosseasoning

Linked In: www.linkedin.com/company/danos-seasoning

Twitter: www.twitter.com/danosseasoning

Instagram: www.instagram.com/danosseasoning

Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCyP9TINtZzvTJfN69GskqLQ

I truly am grateful both to Dan-O’s for allowing me to give my brother the gift of good tasting food and to Tyler for being such a wonderful example of someone who didn’t give up and isn’t afraid to talk about it.

He is definitely a solutions finding kind of guy.

I hope you will help me thank them by sharing this post with your friends, family members, coworkers, and social media networks.

I hope you will help me grow the podcast by leaving a rating or review.

It doesn’t matter how educational, inspirational, or motivational an interview is if people don’t hear it. So, my job is to do whatever I can to get great interviews like this one in front of more people. Would really appreciate your help with that.

And I can’t forget you my dear listener. Knowing that you are out there and watching for my next post is what keeps me going. I would never want to disappoint you or the faith you have put in me by regularly reading my posts and listening to my interviews.

You are as much responsible for my success as I am. And you should really give yourself a pat on the back.

Until next time take care out there, Max

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