Episode 57
Empowering the Future of Blue Collar Work: Andrew Brown's Journey to Redefine Skilled Trades Careers
How to make a difference and take action
We had an incredible conversation with Andrew Brown, CEO and founder of Toolfetch, who shared his moving story of how witnessing the heroism of tradespeople during 9/11 led him to give back to the blue collar community.
Andrew's passion for empowering the younger generation to explore careers in the skilled trades industry shines through as we discuss the importance of changing the messaging around college and the trades.
We explore the challenges of engaging younger generations in the trades, addressing the stigma that has been associated with these careers over time. Andrew emphasizes the value of taking the time to build up skill sets and encourages parents, guidance counselors, and teachers to be more open to trades as a career option for their children.
Highlights:
- 2:29 - Andrew's story of how he started Toolfetch how he was inspired and wanted to take action after 9/11.
- 9:20 - How to make the trades an option for the younger generation and what Andrews is doing on social media to get parents and kids interested. And how more leaders in the trades need to continue to amplify their voices about the subject.
- 19:12-Discussing how to get kids to know that college is not the only option and how being in the trades provides amazing value as well the pay being high.
- 21:36-Being clear about why you are going to college so you don't end up with debt or a degree that ends up being useless.
Contact your hosts:
Steve Doyle:
Website: Stephendoyle.focalpointcoaching.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephendoylejr/
Email: sdoyle@focalpointcoaching.com
Brad Herda:
Andrew Brown:
Website: https://www.andrewbrown.net
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-brown-b1736a5/
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
1
::[Steve Doyle]: Hey, welcome everyone to this
episode of Blue Collar BS. Today, kind of hanging
2
::[Steve Doyle]: out without our co-host, Brad
Herda, who's off having some family time, things
3
::[Steve Doyle]: like that. So you get me losing
my voice. We're just getting back from our
4
::[Steve Doyle]: conference that we had down in
Cincinnati. It was great conference, learning
5
::[Steve Doyle]: new tools, skills for what we
do and deliver to our clients and to the trades.
6
::[Steve Doyle]: This week, we have an awesome
guest. His name is Andrew Brown. He is the
7
::[Steve Doyle]: CEO and founder of Tool Fetch.
Andrew, welcome to the show.
8
::[Andrew Brown]: Thanks for having me. And sorry
about your voice, but you're coming in crystal
9
::[Andrew Brown]: clear.
10
::[Steve Doyle]: All right, awesome. No, it's
dumb on purpose, with purpose. So,
11
::[Andrew Brown]: All good.
12
::[Steve Doyle]: it wouldn't be fun. Wouldn't
be fun. So Andrew, before we get started, we
13
::[Steve Doyle]: always ask every guest, what
generation do you best fit in with or identify
14
::[Steve Doyle]: with?
15
::[Andrew Brown]: What generation am I in or what
do I identify with?
16
::[Steve Doyle]: Both!
17
::[Andrew Brown]: Both, oh no,
18
::[Steve Doyle]: I'm gonna
19
::[Andrew Brown]: I'm gonna
20
::[Steve Doyle]: know
21
::[Andrew Brown]: give
22
::[Steve Doyle]: both
23
::[Andrew Brown]: away
24
::[Steve Doyle]: today.
25
::[Andrew Brown]: my age.
26
::[Steve Doyle]: Oh.
27
::[Andrew Brown]: Oh no.
28
::[Steve Doyle]: YEAH! YEAH!
29
::[Andrew Brown]: I think I tuck underneath the
generation X.
30
::[Steve Doyle]: Alright!
31
::[Andrew Brown]: Yeah, yeah, I'm not dating
32
::[Steve Doyle]: Solid,
33
::[Andrew Brown]: myself.
34
::[Steve Doyle]: alright.
35
::[Andrew Brown]: Yeah,
36
::[Steve Doyle]: Solid.
37
::[Andrew Brown]: yeah. I think across the board,
I don't think there's one sort of generation
38
::[Andrew Brown]: I kinda mean towards, I think.
The stuff that I do in the blue collar skill
39
::[Andrew Brown]: trades and my messaging just
goes across the board with a lot of different
40
::[Andrew Brown]: generations. So I don't think
there's one sort of generation that I kind
41
::[Andrew Brown]: of tuck underneath. Obviously,
I have my own thoughts on my generation versus
42
::[Andrew Brown]: others, and that's probably
a different conversation. But yeah, I try to
43
::[Andrew Brown]: keep an open mind and try to
stay with the times. and the relevance, whether,
44
::[Andrew Brown]: when it doesn't matter what
age they are.
45
::[Steve Doyle]: Right. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
So Andrew, tell us, share with our listeners
46
::[Steve Doyle]: a little bit about your story
and how you came into the blue color space
47
::[Steve Doyle]: because it's kind of unique.
48
::[Andrew Brown]: Yeah, so to give you a little
context in your audience context, I can take
49
::[Andrew Brown]: you back to September 11th,
2001, when I was 23 years old, living in New
50
::[Andrew Brown]: York City at the time. And planes
had just hit the World Trade Center. And like
51
::[Andrew Brown]: everyone else, we were in complete
shock. And I just had this pit in my stomach
52
::[Andrew Brown]: that I had to do something.
I couldn't just sit there. And I got a crazy
53
::[Andrew Brown]: idea to give my friend a call
in Rhode Island. And have him come in and we
54
::[Andrew Brown]: were gonna go down there. We
were gonna help. And after some convincing
55
::[Andrew Brown]: back and forth, after a few
days, he came in, picked me up in a big blue
56
::[Andrew Brown]: truck with an American flag
on the back. And he was dressed up as
57
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
58
::[Andrew Brown]: a trades person. He had a hard
hat on, he had overalls on, and he said, here
59
::[Andrew Brown]: you go, here's
60
::[Steve Doyle]: Right?
61
::[Andrew Brown]: your set. We find ourselves
racing down the West Side Highway from checkpoint
62
::[Andrew Brown]: to checkpoint, and we parked
the car, and all of a sudden I find myself
63
::[Andrew Brown]: on ground zero. helping tradespeople
and emergency workers find survivors. And I
64
::[Andrew Brown]: was just remembering watching
the tradespeople do whatever was necessary
65
::[Andrew Brown]: to find people in the rubble
and going into unstable structures. And there
66
::[Andrew Brown]: was no PPE on, I was just in
struck in awe what they were capable of. And
67
::[Andrew Brown]: they were running really side
by side with emergency workers. And you talk
68
::[Andrew Brown]: about life changing events,
trajectory changes.
69
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
70
::[Andrew Brown]: I was an IT guy. I wasn't a
tool guy. And
71
::[Steve Doyle]: Hahaha, right!
72
::[Andrew Brown]: literally after that situation,
I quit my job. I was in IT at the time I had
73
::[Andrew Brown]: quit my job and for months I
had sleepless nights of figuring out how do
74
::[Andrew Brown]: I get back to the blue collar
trades? And from a safety standpoint of seeing
75
::[Andrew Brown]: that with no PPE on and just
What can I do to give back? And that's where
76
::[Andrew Brown]: I co-founded an online tool
and equipment business named Tool Fetch with
77
::[Andrew Brown]: my brother. Little over 20 years
ago, we're still going strong. We still love
78
::[Andrew Brown]: the business today.
79
::[Steve Doyle]: That's awesome.
80
::[Andrew Brown]: And we sell tools to the skilled
trades. So professionals such as welders, carpenters,
81
::[Andrew Brown]: plumbers, electricians, and
other blue collar trades. And these are the
82
::[Andrew Brown]: men and women who are building
and repairing our bridges, our tunnels, our
83
::[Andrew Brown]: roads. And we reached them by
offering one of the largest online tool and
84
::[Andrew Brown]: equipment catalogs on the internet
with a million different products from 650
85
::[Andrew Brown]: different vendors. So lifts,
cement mixers, drain cleaners,
86
::[Steve Doyle]: Right?
87
::[Andrew Brown]: harnesses, and stuff like that.
That is my way to give back to the Blue Collar
88
::[Andrew Brown]: Skill Trades dating back 22
years ago what I saw.
89
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm. That's phenomenal. Like
kudos to you and your brother for doing that
90
::[Steve Doyle]: It's not something people do
and think of every single day
91
::[Andrew Brown]: Yeah.
92
::[Steve Doyle]: to get out there new fruit for
them So some of the stuff I've seen you post
93
::[Steve Doyle]: on LinkedIn, right? It's how
do we engage? the younger generation To get
94
::[Steve Doyle]: into the trades What are your
ideas there?
95
::[Andrew Brown]: Yeah, to get people interested
in the trades, we need to look at what generation
96
::[Andrew Brown]: are we targeting, right? Are
we targeting millennials? Who are we targeting?
97
::[Andrew Brown]: We have a problem. We have 40%
98
::[Steve Doyle]: Next.
99
::[Andrew Brown]: that are retiring in the next
five or 10 years. So roughly the ages and maybe
100
::[Andrew Brown]: in the mid 40s or 50s and, you
know, retirement is, is, it's just sort of
101
::[Andrew Brown]: around the corner. So we have
a huge gap and a trades gap of the amount of
102
::[Andrew Brown]: people that are leaving versus
coming in. So the question is, how do you get
103
::[Andrew Brown]: younger kids interested? It
has to come down to messaging. It has to come
104
::[Andrew Brown]: down to what's being spoken
about in your household from a parent standpoint.
105
::[Steve Doyle]: Yes! Hell yes!
106
::[Andrew Brown]: What are your parents saying?
And it depends on obviously household to household.
107
::[Andrew Brown]: Some parents are pro-college,
some are not pro-college, some are open to...
108
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
109
::[Andrew Brown]: different types of careers.
And I am look, I went to college myself, but
110
::[Andrew Brown]: I could tell you,
111
::[Steve Doyle]: same.
112
::[Andrew Brown]: I could tell you I spent four
years and I was more confused coming out of
113
::[Andrew Brown]: school than when I was in school.
I bounced around
114
::[Steve Doyle]: Yep.
115
::[Andrew Brown]: to major and major and went
into all these different areas. And then I
116
::[Andrew Brown]: ended up selling tools to the
skilled trades because of life changing event.
117
::[Andrew Brown]: But parents, guidance counselors,
so guidance counselors, when they're sitting
118
::[Andrew Brown]: down with kids, are they
119
::[Andrew Brown]: of about going down a path of
the trades? Are they thinking of maybe an electrician
120
::[Andrew Brown]: or a plumber or a welder? Or
are they just saying, what college are you
121
::[Andrew Brown]: going to? What's being said
most
122
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
123
::[Andrew Brown]: of the time? And I always say
this, that college guidance counselors and
124
::[Andrew Brown]: teachers are the best marketers
for colleges. That
125
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
126
::[Andrew Brown]: they are,
127
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
128
::[Andrew Brown]: you know, kind of in some respects,
pushing them, people into college. maybe it's
129
::[Andrew Brown]: not the right path. And I'm
not saying it's
130
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
131
::[Andrew Brown]: a bad path, I'm just saying
it's not the right path for everybody. And
132
::[Andrew Brown]: then the teachers,
133
::[Steve Doyle]: Correct.
134
::[Andrew Brown]: teachers itself. Teachers are,
what are they saying in the classroom? Are
135
::[Andrew Brown]: they giving options like the
trades? And on top of kids, are they taking
136
::[Andrew Brown]: trades classes? Like is there
some type of shop
137
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
138
::[Andrew Brown]: class in school?
139
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
140
::[Andrew Brown]: That is not where it used to
be years prior, where you used to take a shop
141
::[Andrew Brown]: class. And I don't even remember
142
::[Steve Doyle]: Exactly.
143
::[Andrew Brown]: taking a shop class. And
144
::[Steve Doyle]: Yep.
145
::[Andrew Brown]: if you're exposing kids early,
working with their hands, somebody has a mechanical
146
::[Andrew Brown]: ability, maybe it sparks
147
::[Steve Doyle]: Bye.
148
::[Andrew Brown]: something to say, whoa, I can
do something, I can have a career like this,
149
::[Andrew Brown]: and then sends them on that
path. So I think it's getting to parents, getting
150
::[Andrew Brown]: to guidance counselors, and
getting to teachers. Those are your three main.
151
::[Andrew Brown]: objectives to try to change
some
152
::[Steve Doyle]: No.
153
::[Andrew Brown]: of the old adage about the trades.
154
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah, no, excellent points. And
even in, so I'm out of Detroit, so Michigan,
155
::[Steve Doyle]: you know, schools here, a lot
of them have closed those trade components
156
::[Steve Doyle]: down. For what reason? Well,
we don't see the value in that. It's not who
157
::[Steve Doyle]: we are as educators. We're not
here to educate them in the trades. And that's
158
::[Steve Doyle]: just a huge disservice to, not
just the students, but society in general.
159
::[Steve Doyle]: Because we're standing around,
not standing around, but we're faced with the
160
::[Steve Doyle]: huge exodus of people leaving
the trade industry. And there's not a real
161
::[Steve Doyle]: strong pipeline to fill it in.
At all. So what are you seeing as some trends
162
::[Steve Doyle]: with some of the trades in your
area? Like how are they reaching out and engaging
163
::[Steve Doyle]: different markets to bring people
into the trades?
164
::[Andrew Brown]: So what I've seen, especially
with the younger generation, if you want to
165
::[Andrew Brown]: get the attention of somebody,
social media, where are people consuming their
166
::[Andrew Brown]: content? Right? Social media,
that's kind of where I tuck myself underneath
167
::[Andrew Brown]: and I have a heavy presence
on LinkedIn to show up every day, put a video
168
::[Andrew Brown]: out about the trades. And that's
where they're consuming. So whether it's on
169
::[Andrew Brown]: LinkedIn, or it's on TikTok,
or it's YouTube shorts. or some other type
170
::[Andrew Brown]: of platform, maybe Facebook
or whatever, or Instagram, getting in front
171
::[Andrew Brown]: of the younger generation who
are consuming some of those platforms have
172
::[Andrew Brown]: unique messaging about the trades.
And I've tried to do that in different platforms
173
::[Andrew Brown]: to try to get people interested
or at least start
174
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
175
::[Andrew Brown]: the conversation that, hey,
you know what,
176
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
177
::[Andrew Brown]: we have this trades deficit,
and I always say this.
178
::[Steve Doyle]: Thank
179
::[Andrew Brown]: In the
180
::[Steve Doyle]: you.
181
::[Andrew Brown]: next
182
::[Steve Doyle]: Bye.
183
::[Andrew Brown]: handful of years, a trades person
can demand $100 an hour because of the supply
184
::[Andrew Brown]: and demand.
185
::[Steve Doyle]: Oh, easily.
186
::[Andrew Brown]: You know,
187
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
188
::[Andrew Brown]: there's more work than people.
And if you have that
189
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
190
::[Andrew Brown]: skill, I mean, you're golden
if you keep continually building up your skill
191
::[Andrew Brown]: set and, you know,
192
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah, absolutely.
193
::[Andrew Brown]: possibly working and starting
your own business one day. I mean, sky's the
194
::[Andrew Brown]: limit. And I see this even here
as an example. in the New York region, it's
195
::[Andrew Brown]: very difficult. And everyone's
always complaining, friends of mine saying,
196
::[Andrew Brown]: I can't find anybody. I can't
find an electrician.
197
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
198
::[Andrew Brown]: I can't find a plumber. I always
say, because they have enough work. They
199
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
200
::[Andrew Brown]: can pick and choose the jobs
they want. So
201
::[Steve Doyle]: Uh huh.
202
::[Andrew Brown]: there is just a supply and demand
issue here. But
203
::[Steve Doyle]: R A I N
204
::[Andrew Brown]: getting back to the original
question, yes, I think social media and the
205
::[Andrew Brown]: messages, I also think showing
up construction company showing up at trade
206
::[Andrew Brown]: spares. So when a kid is looking,
207
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
208
::[Andrew Brown]: walking through the trade spare,
who's there? A college is there, maybe a bank
209
::[Andrew Brown]: is there, it's some other organizations.
Is a construction company there? And if the
210
::[Andrew Brown]: construction company is there,
how do you get the interest? If I'm walking
211
::[Andrew Brown]: by on 16, 17, how do you peak
the interest of somebody? Because
212
::[Steve Doyle]: Hmm.
213
::[Andrew Brown]: I think a lot of people think,
kids think, well, you know what? dirty job
214
::[Andrew Brown]: and it's a guy pushing a wheelbarrow
on a construction. I don't want to do that.
215
::[Andrew Brown]: And we have
216
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
217
::[Andrew Brown]: to change that mentality that
when you're working in construction, you're
218
::[Andrew Brown]: not just building a building,
you're building a building for people who to
219
::[Andrew Brown]: have jobs. When you're repairing
220
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
221
::[Andrew Brown]: or building a bridge, people
can get over it and go to their work, you know,
222
::[Andrew Brown]: preparing a road or if you're
building
223
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
224
::[Andrew Brown]: a school, you're providing education
to schools to show kids. what
225
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
226
::[Andrew Brown]: it's like to be on the job site
and what's the ladder of success. And we're,
227
::[Andrew Brown]: look, you can start off
228
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
229
::[Andrew Brown]: as an apprentice. You could
be a journeyman. You can go up to be a master.
230
::[Andrew Brown]: You can run a construction company
one day or you can start your own business
231
::[Andrew Brown]: one day, just sharing all what
you can do. And I don't know if that's
232
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
233
::[Andrew Brown]: fully there. I think there are
probably some aspects that probably could be
234
::[Andrew Brown]: tweaked, but I think you need
to engage and get in front of kids and... Let
235
::[Andrew Brown]: them know what's possible in
the trades.
236
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah. So what do you think is
preventing the current market today from engaging
237
::[Steve Doyle]: in that way on social media,
making it relatable and sharing their purpose
238
::[Steve Doyle]: for that generation?
239
::[Andrew Brown]: I think people are doing it.
I think it's out there. I think it just needs
240
::[Andrew Brown]: to be amplified. You know,
241
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
242
::[Andrew Brown]: everybody does their piece.
You do your piece with the podcast. I do my
243
::[Andrew Brown]: piece with video messaging and
the next person
244
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
245
::[Andrew Brown]: does their podcast. Everybody
chips away at the old adage. We're all doing,
246
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
247
::[Andrew Brown]: we're kind of working together,
but like, we're sort of working together, but
248
::[Steve Doyle]: Genuinely.
249
::[Andrew Brown]: we're all banding together to
do this. We all want
250
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
251
::[Andrew Brown]: the same thing. We don't want
the trades to die. We don't want people just
252
::[Andrew Brown]: to retire and people don't take
over.
253
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
254
::[Andrew Brown]: So we all, our hearts are all
in the right place. And I think we just need
255
::[Andrew Brown]: to do more of it out there.
256
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah. Have you seen any trade
companies do this successfully?
257
::[Andrew Brown]: personally.
258
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
259
::[Andrew Brown]: No particular example off the
top of my head. You know, I see spurts here
260
::[Andrew Brown]: and there. Nothing really sickly
comes to mind, and this goes back to there
261
::[Andrew Brown]: needs to be more of it.
262
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
263
::[Andrew Brown]: And that's why one of the things
I do is I just try to put as much out there
264
::[Andrew Brown]: as possible to
265
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
266
::[Andrew Brown]: bring awareness to it. So I
think
267
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
268
::[Andrew Brown]: more across the board of the
social media and the videos and messaging
269
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
270
::[Andrew Brown]: of what's possible. But I don't
have anybody, unfortunately, in particular,
271
::[Andrew Brown]: that
272
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
273
::[Andrew Brown]: I can say is doing, wow, you
know, is doing an excellent job in that respect.
274
::[Steve Doyle]: No, that's fine, because that's
what we see as well is the talk is there
275
::[Andrew Brown]: Mm-hmm.
276
::[Steve Doyle]: to, well, we want these people.
Well, as you pointed out, where should we engage
277
::[Steve Doyle]: with them on? Because they're
always playing on their phones, right? They're
278
::[Steve Doyle]: not, you know, they'll listen
to the radio, but that's hit and miss. But
279
::[Steve Doyle]: where are they always at? They're
always playing on their phones. And how do
280
::[Steve Doyle]: we reach them? Oh, we just put
out the same static crap. all the time and
281
::[Steve Doyle]: we're never consistent. And that's
what makes you unique is you're out there putting
282
::[Steve Doyle]: out videos. With strategic, unique
messaging about that market. So I just, I truly
283
::[Steve Doyle]: want to say thank you for what
you're doing because it's, it is making an
284
::[Steve Doyle]: impact.
285
::[Andrew Brown]: I appreciate it. And you know,
I only do it from my heart. It's it's it
286
::[Steve Doyle]: Hmm?
287
::[Andrew Brown]: dates back to to 9 11. But you
know, these are amazing people in the in the
288
::[Andrew Brown]: trades, the men and women who
do what they do. And I really wanted to be
289
::[Andrew Brown]: some degree of voice or a beacon
to to really put that message out there that
290
::[Andrew Brown]: what they do is important and
they're essential. And if we woke up one day,
291
::[Andrew Brown]: next day, and they all disappeared,
we'd be in a really tough spot and things would
292
::[Andrew Brown]: not be fixed.
293
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah, absolutely.
294
::[Andrew Brown]: We always take for granted,
I flip the switch and the power goes on, the
295
::[Andrew Brown]: lights come on, right? I flush
the toilet,
296
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
297
::[Andrew Brown]: I take these things for granted,
but my heat goes on, my AC goes on, but men
298
::[Andrew Brown]: and women are fixing it and
maintaining these systems. And we just, we
299
::[Andrew Brown]: can't let, we can't let the
trades die. You know, we have infrastructure
300
::[Andrew Brown]: work we want to do. We're spending
billions of dollars. We have a C minus rating
301
::[Andrew Brown]: and it's, it's frightening that
no one wants to take the job. Who's going to
302
::[Andrew Brown]: fix it? So we need to do a better
job in all sense that we just want to make
303
::[Andrew Brown]: sure that things are, are being
fixed. And, and, and like I said, all, all
304
::[Andrew Brown]: together we just need to do
a better job on the marketing front.
305
::[Steve Doyle]: Right. So have you seen or heard,
because we like to talk generations on this
306
::[Steve Doyle]: show, any stigma differences
between the different generations, so between
307
::[Steve Doyle]: the boomers and the Gen X and
the millennials and the Gen Z, where there
308
::[Steve Doyle]: might be some reasons why Gen
Z wouldn't want to get into the trades.
309
::[Andrew Brown]: Yeah, I think over time it's,
I think it's getting better. I think, you know,
310
::[Andrew Brown]: back years prior, it was just
acceptable that you worked in a factory. It
311
::[Andrew Brown]: was acceptable that you were
a mechanic. It was acceptable. At some point,
312
::[Andrew Brown]: something shifted, whether,
you know, college was the portion at some point.
313
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
314
::[Andrew Brown]: And to say that, you know, you
should be getting a white collar job versus
315
::[Andrew Brown]: a blue collar job. And then
it got looked down upon that it's not. You
316
::[Andrew Brown]: know, it's plan, it's option
B. It's for the bad kids out there. Something,
317
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
318
::[Andrew Brown]: something at some point changed.
I can't, I'm not gonna fully speculate on which
319
::[Andrew Brown]: generation per se, but over
time
320
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah,
321
::[Andrew Brown]: it's just,
322
::[Steve Doyle]: that's fair.
323
::[Andrew Brown]: it shifted. But even, even to
today, so if I'm a kid and I'm thinking about
324
::[Andrew Brown]: what I'm gonna do for the rest
of my life, right? A lot of kids want instant
325
::[Andrew Brown]: gratification. They want it
today.
326
::[Steve Doyle]: Yes.
327
::[Andrew Brown]: I don't want to work for it.
So take, wait, it's gonna take me five or 10
328
::[Andrew Brown]: years. Why? Why should I do
that? Maybe I
329
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
330
::[Andrew Brown]: can do something in technology.
Maybe I can do something in AI. Or can I start
331
::[Andrew Brown]: a social media channel, make
adsense? I don't know. It's just, there's a
332
::[Andrew Brown]: different mentality
333
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
334
::[Andrew Brown]: today. And not saying this is
everybody, but the work ethic is maybe a little
335
::[Andrew Brown]: bit different than it once was.
And
336
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
337
::[Andrew Brown]: people just want it now. Kids
looking for it now. And it's not like that
338
::[Andrew Brown]: in the skill trees to some degree,
but it takes time to build up your skill set.
339
::[Andrew Brown]: And maybe kids just don't want
to do that. They just want a quick and easy,
340
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
341
::[Andrew Brown]: I don't have to work as hard,
but that's just seems to be sort of the direction
342
::[Andrew Brown]: younger kids sort of taking
right now. And I hope that changes.
343
::[Steve Doyle]: Hmm?
344
::[Andrew Brown]: I know it's changing, but
345
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
346
::[Andrew Brown]: it's a slow burn.
347
::[Steve Doyle]: It's a slow burn and as we were
talking earlier, it's one, talking about it
348
::[Steve Doyle]: in their words, on their terms,
on their platforms of choice, but then circling
349
::[Steve Doyle]: back to the adults that influence
them and messaging to them. So circling back
350
::[Steve Doyle]: to that, what messaging should
we be having for parents that may have children
351
::[Steve Doyle]: that, you know, There is other
options for college.
352
::[Andrew Brown]: Yeah, the messaging should be
that there is that college is not the 100%
353
::[Andrew Brown]: path that everybody should take
before before a kid signs on that data line.
354
::[Andrew Brown]: It takes on a tremendous amount
of debt where that debt follows you and then
355
::[Andrew Brown]: thinking sort of past college
of how long is it going
356
::[Steve Doyle]: Hmm.
357
::[Andrew Brown]: to take to make back that money
which direction am I going to take the messaging
358
::[Andrew Brown]: just has to change overall.
of the old adage of it being dirty, it's not
359
::[Andrew Brown]: respected, it's option B like
I mentioned, it's for the bad
360
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
361
::[Andrew Brown]: kids, that stuff needs to go
away. So the messaging aspect needs to change
362
::[Andrew Brown]: and that's through video messaging
like myself, that is through just getting to
363
::[Andrew Brown]: parents and making them understand
that it's not what it used to be. It's respectable.
364
::[Andrew Brown]: I always say, and I always make
this joke, but You know, people ask, well,
365
::[Andrew Brown]: who's got the large house down
the street? Oh, that guy owns a plumbing company.
366
::[Andrew Brown]: Right. What? I don't even understand
how
367
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah.
368
::[Andrew Brown]: he's in the trades. I don't.
And you'd be really surprised. Most people
369
::[Andrew Brown]: would be surprised at what.
People in the trades and they can do extremely
370
::[Andrew Brown]: well. And in something that
you didn't think that they could do well and
371
::[Andrew Brown]: that they do very well, you
know, by working with their hands. So.
372
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah, absolutely.
373
::[Andrew Brown]: Yeah.
374
::[Steve Doyle]: And I'm a huge advocate of being
in the trades. Why? Why should we go into debt
375
::[Steve Doyle]: to get an education, to spend
years to pay it off when I can go out into
376
::[Steve Doyle]: the trades right now and have
income coming in and I don't have those sunk
377
::[Steve Doyle]: bills that I'm paying for decades
in student loans? And I think that's some messaging
378
::[Steve Doyle]: too for parents. because they
don't understand that.
379
::[Andrew Brown]: Yeah.
380
::[Steve Doyle]: That there are great paying jobs
right now where kids are, I'm saying kids,
381
::[Steve Doyle]: because some of my clients are
signing 20 year olds at 25 to $30 an hour.
382
::[Andrew Brown]: Yep.
383
::[Steve Doyle]: to start working as a general
laborer. Like we're just talking general labor
384
::[Steve Doyle]: at $25, $30 an hour. And it goes
up from there to, yes, they are getting paid
385
::[Steve Doyle]: over $100 an hour. Some are getting
close to $200 an hour. Which is way better
386
::[Steve Doyle]: than white collar.
387
::[Andrew Brown]: Yeah, look, you have to put
the time and energy into college and a lot
388
::[Andrew Brown]: of people come out and they
switch completely. So they majored in something
389
::[Andrew Brown]: and then all of a sudden they
just, I'm not going to do this anymore. I've
390
::[Andrew Brown]: seen that. I've seen more people
upset who went to
391
::[Steve Doyle]: Thank
392
::[Andrew Brown]: college
393
::[Steve Doyle]: you.
394
::[Andrew Brown]: and just literally just changed
and they started all over again. I mean, that
395
::[Andrew Brown]: happens too.
396
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
397
::[Andrew Brown]: And that's, that's a heavy investment
into, you know, into college. and you spent
398
::[Andrew Brown]: four years of your life plus
a few years outside in the wrong job because
399
::[Andrew Brown]: you're in a completely different,
you want to go into a completely different
400
::[Andrew Brown]: space. So that happens as well.
And I've seen that and unfortunately that happens.
401
::[Andrew Brown]: But like you said, just to amplify
what you said about getting into the trades,
402
::[Andrew Brown]: you know, it's less expensive
trade school. and making money while you're
403
::[Andrew Brown]: an apprentice and you have something
that will stay with you if you build your skills
404
::[Andrew Brown]: up for a very long time and
you're needed. And that skillset is needed.
405
::[Andrew Brown]: And it depends what you do with
it. If you wanna
406
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
407
::[Andrew Brown]: climb the ladder of success,
you wanna build your way up and you wanna find
408
::[Andrew Brown]: a mentor
409
::[Steve Doyle]: Right.
410
::[Andrew Brown]: and you wanna train and get
better and then own your business one day,
411
::[Andrew Brown]: that's wonderful as an entrepreneur.
412
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm,
413
::[Andrew Brown]: That door is open.
414
::[Steve Doyle]: yeah.
415
::[Andrew Brown]: So there's a lot of
416
::[Steve Doyle]: Mm-hmm.
417
::[Andrew Brown]: possibilities and opportunities.
418
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah, that's awesome. So Andrew,
I wanna thank you for your time today because
419
::[Steve Doyle]: it's just been great, one, getting
to know a little bit about your backstory,
420
::[Steve Doyle]: but two, how you are really impacting
the Blue Collar space. So thank you for everything
421
::[Steve Doyle]: that you're doing. How can people
get ahold of you?
422
::[Andrew Brown]: Yeah, so best ways to get in
touch with me is LinkedIn under Andrew Brown.
423
::[Steve Doyle]: Okay.
424
::[Andrew Brown]: You can DM me. Um, you can,
uh, speak to me in the tool business. So you
425
::[Andrew Brown]: can speak to me about tools
or blue color skilled trades. I love talking
426
::[Andrew Brown]: about both. Uh, YouTube is tool
fetch.
427
::[Steve Doyle]: Alright.
428
::[Andrew Brown]: Yep. And Andrew at tool fetch.com
is my email address and I'm always, uh, I would
429
::[Andrew Brown]: like to talk to people in skilled
trades or people who are interested in skilled
430
::[Andrew Brown]: trades.
431
::[Steve Doyle]: Yeah. Well, and just shout out
to Andrew. He will mess, if you comment on
432
::[Steve Doyle]: his feed, he will message you
within hours
433
::[Andrew Brown]: Yes.
434
::[Steve Doyle]: and have a very pointed question
back for you,
435
::[Andrew Brown]: Yes, I tried.
436
::[Steve Doyle]: right back to you to engage.
And it is amazing. So thank you, Andrew, for
437
::[Steve Doyle]: what you do
438
::[Andrew Brown]: Thank you.
439
::[Steve Doyle]: and encouraging the Blue Collar
Space and the kids to look at the trades.
440
::[Andrew Brown]: Thank you very much, I appreciate
441
::[Steve Doyle]: So thank
442
::[Andrew Brown]: it.
443
::[Steve Doyle]: you. All right.
