Monday Manufacturing Motivation – with Jeanette Stevens

Curt Anderson  0:01

Hey guys, happy Monday Damon, how are things man?

Damon Pistulka  0:05

Awesome, Curt,

Curt Anderson  0:07

you got a beautiful weekend no football this weekend. We got Super Bowl coming up so national everybody could go out and actually do something without watching football. Yep, skiing, hiking wherever you’re at whatever you’re doing so guys today we are absolutely honored. We’re blessed. We’re privileged to have our dear friend Jeanette Stevens, Jeanette. Happy Monday. How are you today?

Jeanette Stevens  0:27

Happy Monday, Curt. Happy Monday. Damon. I’m happy to be here. It’s great weekend. I’m an Olympic fans. So although there was it Yeah. So although there wasn’t much football, there was the Olympics.

Curt Anderson  0:39

Yes. Thank you guys. Thank you for covering my back. Jeanette. What what did you watch and what were some highlights for you

Jeanette Stevens  0:45

figure skating, figure skating, alpine skiing, free jumping. I absolutely love it. And I’m really waiting for the Jamaican bobsled team. Nice. debut. So this is a this is gonna be an exciting Olympics.

Curt Anderson  1:00

Yeah, that’s awesome. Of course. You know, the Jamaican bobsled has a great movie came out. I think, John Candy that was even the 80s. I don’t know, back and David might have demons day. So yeah, the Olympics is full charge. My avatar is a figure skater. So we love watching figure skating. The scheme has been absolutely awesome. So yeah. So look, we might have to get a little meeting. Well, USA chant going here before?

Jeanette Stevens  1:23

Seriously, right. Your

Curt Anderson  1:27

man, you are doing a ton super exciting work that you’re working on. So you’re with Jen edge. Okay. Jen edge is the MVP, the manufacturing extension partnership of the great state of Virginia. And you’re the marketing and outreach manager, I believe, if I’m not mistaken. So like you’re right in the front row, front row seats have cool, exciting things going on with manufacturing. For anybody out there that’s not familiar with this MEP thing that we’re speaking of, could you please share with the folks what is the MEP network?

Jeanette Stevens  1:56

Absolutely. So the MEP network or like your state of the manufacturing extension partnership works with NIST. And what we do is there are MEP centers all across the country. And it’s specifically to help small and medium manufacturers in each location to basically innovate, compete and grow. And the way we do that is through resources, through projects, development, funding, where needed, you know, all sorts of partnerships and alliances through education, educational companies, different government agencies, so really a network to help manufacturers get from point A to point B. So if you’re thinking like a small business owner has, you know, the SBA, you know, the small business development agencies, manufacturers have MEPs.

Curt Anderson  2:54

Great analogy and our dear friend Reiza guy, no, he’s, he’s in Chicago. He’s super eight works closely with IMEC, the Illinois MEP info re Happy Monday to you, my friend, welcome to the program. So yeah, the MEP network manufacturing extension partnerships. There’s one in all 50 states plus, I know we planted one Marino in Puerto Rico as well. And so you know, if you are a manufacturer, and you’re like, Man, I don’t know about this, we strongly encourage you invite you welcome you reach out to your local MEP. The resources are amazing what they provide. And as in genets, we’re going to take a deep dive in a little bit of what’s going on at the MEP network. But what I’d love to do is like, share a little bit on your background. I know like guys connect with Jeanette on LinkedIn, man, your superpowers are off the charts you are, you know, you deliver a unique marketing initiative for your clients for folks that you’re working with your HubSpot certified. And I’d love for you to share a little bit about like Google digital garage, but let your I know you have your MBA. Sure your your story, your journey and how you got to the MVP.

Jeanette Stevens  4:00

Absolutely. So really, my journey started in New York City. I’m a Bronx girl, born and raised in New York, New York City. I started my career at Yahoo. So I started at Yahoo. HotJobs. And, you know, back then we it was called online advertising. So I was really on the cusp of what is now digital marketing, and what is now the new marketing space. And it was a really, really great time. It’s really where I got my feet wet, so to speak, you know, into innovation and tech and where search was going to go. I got to meet a phenomenal group of people and the way we learned at Yahoo was, you know, you didn’t necessarily have to have all of the skills, but you had to be willing to learn so we would literally take classes in between, you know, our normal daily activities, and a lot of those skills that I learned, you know, search activities, Google keywords, SEO, all of that stuff, HTML, I was able to carry throughout my career. And it’s really where I’ve got that love for marketing, not just the creative aspect, but the technical aspect, everything that goes behind the scenes with marketing. And so my trajectory, and you can see that on my LinkedIn profile is kind of unusual, because I do start at Yahoo, in New York City, and then you then I’m here in Virginia. So, you know, I moved to Virginia, and I started working in logistics, you know, and I did that for a number of years, but always at the client level. So even when I was at Yahoo, even though that was more marketing, and tech, I still worked on the client level. So building account relationships, retaining account relationships, upselling account relationships. And I did that I found that with the foundations that I had, I was able to move into different industries. So I started in tech, moved to logistics work on my own for a little while, I owned a small business called as simply assist, where I help small business small and medium businesses here in Virginia. And then on to Gen edge, which is a manufacturing company. And then actually, I did do finance. So I was able to move to different industries with the foundational background that I had, but my love was always in marketing. You know, I, I never forgot those routes that I, you know, started at Yahoo, it pretty much carried on even when I was working in, you know, the logistics industry, I was still helping people with SEO, and website development on the side, because those are just things that I’ve always loved to do. So I found that, you know, I was able to carry all of that on, and with the love of not just doing marketing, but really helping clients to achieve their end goal. Because at the end of the day, I’ve always been able to utilize those skills to help clients or even in volunteer as a volunteer aspect, just to help a company get from point A to point B with the skills that I have. So that kind of led me to Gen edge. Yeah, and all the amazing work that they’re doing.

Damon Pistulka  7:29

Right? Well, and your wide variety of background allows you to really take an overarching look at it from a Gen Ed standpoint now and help these manufacturers because a lot of what they need is really just kind of, they need someone that understands the big picture so they can go Okay, what’s next? Right, what really should our path look like? And what’s next? And that’s your background just lends itself so well to that. That’s cool.

Curt Anderson  7:56

Yeah, and Ray Ray’s the guy, no drops a nice comment here, Jeanette, he says, Man, with that background, you could pretty much do anything you want exclamation point. And I agree. And guys, if you’re just chiming in, you know, we’re here with Jeanette Stevens, she’s with Jen edge, that Virginia Manufacturing Extension Partnership, please connect with Jeanette, connect, check out the GENEDGE website. Awesome, awesome website, they have an incredible dynamic team. And as you’re listening to this conversation, guys, like this is just a taste of like, what goes on with the amount of talent and skills behind the scenes at the MVP network. And I know a lot of manufacturers we work with, you know, they’re like, you know, what, what is this MVP? You know, I’ll you know, they can help me, Scott, shine your your teammate. We had the honor privilege. We interviewed Scott last summer. Yep. And Scott, great, successful entrepreneur, own had a great corporate career, got landed in, as an entrepreneur built up a nice manufacturer, sold his company, and then also saw his wife was going to kill him if he didn’t retirement and ends up at GENEDGE. In our interview, diamond member, he goes, You know what, I wish I knew the MEP when I owned my manufacturing operation. So Jeanette, you know, let’s take a let’s take a deeper dive into your marketing superpowers. And again, guys, listen to what she’s describing. My goodness, yeah, you’re a pioneer at Yahoo. You’ve covered finance, you’ve covered logistics. What brought your Pat and you’re so passionate. I mean, like this enthusiasm, just so contagious. What brought you to GENEDGE? Like, what, where was manufacturing even on your radar? Like, I’m going to bring my my marketing superpowers to the manufacturing world that look,

Jeanette Stevens  9:34

you know, I, at the end of the day, it wasn’t something that I was specifically searching for. I didn’t say, oh, you know, now I’m gonna jump into my manufacturing. You know, wasn’t that at all? It was, you know, I was working on my own, doing small business helping small businesses with their marketing issues. And I was also helping nonprofit organizations as well. connect with their customers. And, you know, like I said, at the end of the day, for me, it’s always about the end goal for the customer. You know, I feel that I take everything that I have. And I use that to help my client get to where they want to go. And I felt like, you know, I wanted to be able to validate those skills, again, in a corporate setting. So I started off with that I kind of left it in my corporate career, I really taught myself everything about what was happening in marketing today. You know, what’s happening in marketing today? What’s happening as far as the tech side Analytics, you know, how are we carrying everything today, I put myself back in school, got into a stranger’s MBA program, they had a digital entrepreneurship program, which was led by chatter, John Steinberg, I don’t know if you’re familiar with him, he was a CEO of BuzzFeed was a amazing mentor. I worked with Charlene Walters PhD, she wrote, like, launched her in her entrepreneur, and I, you know, I got this amazing education and this outstanding experience, and I said, you know, I want to be able to utilize that on a corporate level again, so I started looking, and all of a sudden, you know, in my job search, I see this, this posting comes up, and it says, you know, how would you like to make a difference in Virginia’s economy, you know, economic development, and I started reading about it, I’m like, what isn’t NEP? You know, and how does that work? And I start thinking about manufacturing, and how, you know, manufacturing is really the foundation of what the United States of America is, you know, it’s what keeps us alive. You know, it’s what keeps us moving. And from working at a logistics company, you know, with truck drivers. I mean, these guys are what at these guys and women are what, you know, keep America this amazing place that it is. And I said, wow, you know, there’s a chance that I could help an organization like this, you know, be even greater than it already is. And so I just felt like it was my mission at that point to try and get on board. And luckily, knock on wood, I was able to do that. And now in my role as the marketing and outreach manager, it’s, it’s my sheer a goal to make the MEP. Not the best kept secret anymore, you know, in Virginia, you know, speaking from a genetic standpoint, and what we do here in the Commonwealth, you know, I want to make sure that many smaller media manufacturers know who we are, you know, that they don’t feel like Island and a lot of times small businesses, it really doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, you can feel like an island, you know, with everything that’s going on, especially with manufacturing today with a supply chain issues, you know, workforce issues. Technology is coming on board, you know, how do we fit that in? It’s Oh, no.

Curt Anderson  13:31

Oh, we lose her. Well, wait, she’ll be back. Oh, my gosh, like, this is so good. Oh, yeah. He is so amazing, man. I mean, this is just pure fire. So I gotta stick with us. Hopefully she’s gonna be right back. Maybe we just had a little mishap or maybe yeah, lost power for a second. So I will mention

Damon Pistulka  13:52

1. I mean, just thinking about her background there and the you know, we’re today if people don’t know didn’t see we’re reviewing. I got to looking at my other screen here. Jeanette Stevens from Gen edge. Her talking. Okay, here she’s coming down. So sorry. No, no worries. We’re we filled in

Curt Anderson  14:10

because you’re on fire. So just want to pick right back up this? Yeah. Oh, good. Jeanette.

Jeanette Stevens  14:17

Yeah, no, you know, and I do apologize because I talk with my hands. Maybe it’s because I’m a New Yorker. Yeah. And I click something, but, you know, that’s basically it. You know, it’s it’s really the fact that I think it’s important not for me to just work somewhere, you know, and it’s and and to just do something, but I wanted to make a difference. You know, I wanted to make a difference and manufacturing makes a difference. You know, we have to, we have to make sure that it’s strong, and we have to make sure that it’s powerful, and every way that we can and Gen Ed Is is right there doing that and all the other MEPs throughout the states, you know that that’s what we’re doing. And it’s my job to make sure that this isn’t the best kept secret. Everybody needs to know about this. If you’re a manufacturer out there, you need to know that, you know, GENEDGE and other MEPs exist.

Curt Anderson  15:21

Yeah, even Jeanette, so quick question what by just, I’m just this just a random question. I’m just kind of grabbing in thin air. What was your GPA that’s triggered by any chance?

Jeanette Stevens  15:31

It was a 4.0.

Curt Anderson  15:34

So, yeah, like, we really can’t be on the same stage. We were close, Damon, when we were close, we missed by a couple points. Couple. Anyway, so 4.0 MBA, look at this passion, look at this expertise. Look at this experience that Jeanette brings to the MEP network. And again, guys, you know, Jeanette, you’re off the charts. any and every MEP around the country, this is what you’re facing guys, and I love it, let’s uncover a couple of things you just said. And then we’re going to take a little bit further. So many entrepreneurs are in a silo, they’re on their own, they’re dealing with labor shortage, supply chain issues, you know, there if the if I had hair, I’d be ripping it out, right. So they are totally stressed. And they can fall on a trusted resource, a trusted guide, like your team at GENEDGE at the MVP, regardless of what state you’re in, and like, you know, sit down and have a nice cohesive conversation about helped me with some of these challenges. What expertise do you face? So let’s talk a little bit about your marketing acumen. And so it’s gonna be a two fold question. But I want to start with, how was your approach with Gen edge? How do you help them stop being the best kept secret? I know you’re aggressive on LinkedIn, Twitter, when you came into it, and you just started last year, right was in the fall. But

Jeanette Stevens  16:49

you started, may I started in? Almost, okay,

Curt Anderson  16:53

so we started may talk about like your process when you came into GENEDGE? Like, what’s been working? What are some like, you don’t talk to talk, you’re walking the walk, what are some of the practices that you’re putting in place.

Jeanette Stevens  17:03

So a lot of the practices that I’m putting in place is really understanding how to develop a brand, and not just develop a brand, but tell a story about that brand. So I start off with, you know, really understanding who the company is, you know, really understanding what Genet who GENEDGE is, what their mission is, what their vision is, and taking that and creating a story over time, with my branding, and with the messaging. So it’s taking, I want to take visitors on a journey, you know, it’s really understanding what the needs of our audiences, you know, what are they facing? And how can I connect that with what we have to offer on our side, our side, because you don’t want to just generalize what we can do what I what I’d like to do is make sure that the communication is relevant to their needs, and also valuable, you know, so it’s really taking a more customer centric approach to the marketing process. And in each campaign, that is each campaign that I launched, you know, there’s a strategy behind that, you know, it’s really a lot of planning. So I bring a lot of that to the role, you know, spending time in my previous positions, you know, creating proposals and really thinking about, you know, how I’m going to develop this funnel. And, you know, really taking it from that point A to point B. Point, I did want to also inject that while I was at Strayer, I did interview for entrepreneur, elevator pitch, I went to California with a few other students. And that experience really taught me how to develop an MVP, you know, and even though I’m not necessarily developing an MVP, a lot of the the basic, foundational ideas behind that, I use that in the campaigning process, you know, and when I’m thinking about, you know, how I’m going to deliver the message to the audience. But aside from that, I’m also looking at the reporting aspects. So that’s where a lot of the the Google stuff comes in, you know, it’s not just posting and looking at a lot of the vanity metrics, how many people post liked or how many people are following, but it’s really taking a deep dive into what they’re looking at what they’re interested in, when I’m sending out an email communication, what they’re clicking on, why they’re clicking on certain things, and tailoring iterating my message over time so that you Once I get to a point where I fully understand the needs of the audience, that I’m delivering a message to them, every time that I know is relevant, I know it’s valuable. And I’ll be able to see our brand grow over time, which is what I’m seeing. So, you know, from the start and May, to where we are now, I’m definitely seeing where the there is a low buzz, you know, and the way I think about it is a puzzle piece. You know, I always start off every marketing challenge as a broken puzzle. And I’m putting together all the pieces by you know, looking at the data, putting out the information, developing the strategy, having the conversations, and then putting those puzzle pieces together. So there’s a low buzz we’re getting there. But that’s kind of my process in a nutshell.

Damon Pistulka  20:53

Wow. That’s awesome.

Curt Anderson  20:55

This is so good. So all right. So let’s, let’s keep this party rolling here, Jeanette, share with everybody. Okay, somebody knocks on the door. Judge let’s let’s talk about the menu a little bit, you know, continuous improvement. I saw, let’s take a deep dive on the manufacturer. Boy, you’ve really caught my attention you had me at hello, let’s go a little bit further share with some of the talent. You know, we mentioned Scott, I know you, she’s no longer there. But you and I are connected through our dear friend April Schmidt. You know, Mike Levy, you guys have an incredible talented team. Talk a little bit about what’s on the menu at GENEDGE when somebody knocks on your door?

Jeanette Stevens  21:29

Yeah, so yeah, so reiterate your point, we have an amazing team, you know, of individuals with so much background and experience, we have Nathan Sable, who is the it cybersecurity practice manager. We have Cheryl Kericho, who is right now, the program manager for the retooling program that we have at Gen Ed, you know, for small and medium manufacturers that are pivoting into critical supply chain sectors, we have Dean Young, who is yes, who’s the director of Industrial Engineering, I mean, the list goes on, you know, and, and this, these are the individuals that you as a small or medium manufacturer, can come into contact with for this things, you know, so, I mean, when it comes to strategy and marketing, and it and you know, compliance, you name it, if it has something to do with manufacturing, and getting you to a point of being able to solve some of those issues that you’re having, we have someone in house that can help with us. So

Curt Anderson  22:43

right, absent very powerful tools, resources. And again, so you know, we have the honor privilege, we’ve worked with a number of MEPs around the country, in what’s great, like we work with some different reps, we’re like the running tagline is, we want to work with luck, mostly that you don’t pay for our services. So they do a great job have like, you know, ears to the ground, like what grants are out there, what programming, what funding opportunities are for manufacturers, whether robotics automation, you mentioned cybersecurity, a lot. I know a number of your folks are veterans, I think Tony, I believe is a veteran on your team. So, you know, again, great talent folks have integrity, and deeply passionate to moving the needle for manufacturers. So Janette, let’s, let’s keep our marketing head on again, because we have the marketing guru on the stage today. So share a little bit say, you know, I don’t know if you noticed him and I are no longer youngest guys on the planet right then. So we’re, we’re digital immigrants, you know, so when you’re see if you are talking with a manufacturer, or you know, and they’re a little bit, you know, say digital resistant, if you will, I’ll say that politely. Right. What What advice do you have for manufacturers on, you know, why should they get into digital? How could they get into digital stop being the best kept secret kind of walk? Walk us through a little bit? And how for like us digital immigrants in manufacturing, how can we take that strategy and get that approach cooking?

Jeanette Stevens  24:02

Absolutely. And you know, what I like to say is, in order to really you have to look at where technology is going, you know, it used to be where you can connect to your audience via direct mail, or, you know, even a television commercial, but trade shows, trade shows, right networking events, and I’m not saying that those things are dead because they’re not. Networking is extremely important. But you you have to have a presence online, you just have to, I can remember talking to small medium businesses, you know, two years two, three years ago, and they all thought this is you know, social media guff, you know, I don’t really need to be on there you know, I don’t know why I need to do a live and you know, video and that kind of thing, Instagram who needs it, but then COVID-19 happens. Yeah, well, unfortunately and the pandemic showed us that if you didn’t have some sort of digital footprint, you’re almost lost. Because now you had to try and find a way from the beginning, from scratch to connect with an audience that’s already been online, you know, and you have to try to build this, you know, whole entire presence from point A. So what I would tell a manufacturing company is that, yes, digital has to be in your package, you know, you can include some of the traditional forms of marketing, because, you know, if it’s not broke, you know, don’t fix it. But at the end of the day, you know, you still have to be able to connect with a wider audience online, because about 90% of folks are online at any point of the day. So you want to be where they are, you want to always be able to meet your customers where they are, and not just your customers, but potential customers, you never know who can come across your information. So that’s what I basically will tell them.

Curt Anderson  26:07

Well, that is fantastic. That is great tips. Great advice. So again, marketing, digital, you know, that digital footprint is no longer a nice to have, it’s, um, yeah, it’s a must have. And again, you’re doing a great job, I see you all over the place. We’ve become fast friends on LinkedIn, I see you on Twitter, so on and so forth. Now another thing that we’ve loved talking about, so Dave, and I were blessed, we do these fun interviews, we meet amazing people, we had the manufacturing millennial on our program on Friday, and he did an amazing job and kind of preaching on why the millennial generation needs to get on, on on into manufacturing, and also why the older generation needs to accept and embrace the millennial generation. So let’s go into like diversity, millennials. What are you seeing as far as like, what what are you seeing, as far as diversity goes in manufacturing? What advice do you have for manufacturers to help create a more diverse workforce,

Jeanette Stevens  27:02

what I would say I, you know, I would take a broad stroke approach and say that outside of diversity, you need people, and you have to be able to look at the entire talent pool, and you have to be able to be willing to look in places that you would not normally look for talent, you know, you have students that, you know, may or may not be interested in getting a college degree, but at the same time, they may or may not know, that these positions are available, you know, as an older person in manufacturing, you know, you have to be able, you have to be willing and open to learning new things, you know, that you don’t know everything, and you have to be willing to take a step back almost and say, okay, this person is younger than me. And so I’m older than they are, but they are saying things that I’ve never heard before, or they’re saying things that sound interesting, and be willing to open up that connection in that conversation. And kind of, you know, take down some of the traditional, you know, I’m older, I’m senior, and you can’t tell me anything, you know, head and say, I’m willing to learn, you know, and so I think that for everything, as far as you know, diversity, as far as the different generations, the generational gaps, it’s a learning opportunity. And I think that, you know, companies should be willing on a grand scale, you know, to open themselves up to learning, you know, learning about different diverse candidates, where they’re coming from, you know, you may have a position that’s open, and you’re looking for someone with this college degree from a big 10 school or you know, a school that you can recognize, but there may be a candidate that’s perfectly viable, that didn’t go to one of those schools, maybe all they have is the experience or a couple of certifications, and could be, you know, a good hire. So it’s really just, you know, kind of taking a step back from some of those mental blocks and saying, Okay, I’m willing to learn, I’m willing to open up the field, so that I have more, you know, more opportunity to get more people more opportunity to learn more, and therefore do more, you know, and I could and I see that that would be a very successful way to go, you know,

Curt Anderson  29:52

oh, man, I absolutely love this. And the thing is, when you look at our country, you know, I know you know, there we have challenges we don’t agree with and everything, but our country has such a competitive advantage. We are the only melting pot on the planet. Yeah, our diversity if we could flip the script and make not if, when we make our diversity, a stronger competitive advantage, we’re all in this together in like, you know we can be just not can be, we are we have been we are in, we’re going to continue to be just a dominant prominent force in manufacturing because of our diversity, it is such an advantage that we need to take just full throttle on and just again, keep working together on this process, and bring new ideas, new concepts, understand, you know, different culture different so on and so forth, to lend us. So Jeannette. Thank That was phenomenal. Thank you for that answer. Let me I’m going to flip the script on you a little bit. You’re talking to a group of high school kids, they’re thinking about college, I really schools, not for me, you know, they’re they don’t realize that, hey, there’s welding there CNC, they could others tech, there’s computer jobs, there are accounting jobs, there’s engineering jobs, there’s so many amazing opportunities in manufacturing. Sure, what message would you give to a bunch of high school kids that are kind of soul searching or looking for a career? What would you share, as far as manufacturing goes,

Jeanette Stevens  31:17

I would tell them that, you know, not only everything that you just said, as far as open positions and open availability in manufacturing, but I would really speak to what they would be doing in manufacturing and as a manufacturer, and how like, I would really talk to them about, you know, how valuable their position would be, not just to the company, but to the entire country. You know, you’re not just making cogs and wheels and you know, bending things into, you know, a circle shape or, or anything, but what you’re doing is you’re helping to keep this economy this, this country running and competitive and innovative, and you’re really at the ground floor, floor of all of that. And within the manufacturing sphere, there are so many opportunities, so you’re not just staying in one particular field and doing one thing, you can learn so many different aspects of manufacturing, depending on where you are, no matter where you are, you know, and helping to do some amazing things, you know, you could end up welding in an aerospace company, and you know, 1015 years from now, you could be helping to actually build an airplane, you know, and taking that or jet, you know, anything. So, what I would tell them is that the skies are the limit, this is something that is available to you. And you don’t necessarily have to take a traditional journey to get there. You know, you can go in with the skills that you have, and continue to build upon them and be someplace you know, totally different than you were when you when you initially walked through the door. So you can take it from high school all the way to where you want it to be. But at the end of the day, you’re doing something very, very important, not just for the company, but to the entire country and economy at large. You know, you’re keeping us competitive, you’re keeping us moving. So it’s a great thing. And I would tell them to really consider that and you know, really think about that.

Damon Pistulka  33:30

Yeah, that’s that’s incredible. So well,

Curt Anderson  33:34

moment of silence. Yeah, moment. It’s It’s lunchtime. In Eastern timezone. We’re going to just kind of savor this moment with Jeanette, that was just drop the mic moment right there. What I mentioned that that was so good, I I kind of find I find myself speechless on occasion here, demon, you know, like, yeah, we hear each like this. So, here’s what we want to I know, I want to be mindful of your time, Jeanette, I know you’re super busy.

Damon Pistulka  34:01

I’ll just interject one thing, please. You said a Jeanette. These people, these kids can come out of high school. They have first of all, our educational system. I’m gonna rant for 10 seconds has done a disservice to manufacturing and teaching these kids that there are jobs, they can have wonderful careers, that they can come out of high school and go into manufacturing. They can go into a technical career or technical school for one year, two years. They’re on the job training that where they can learn things and then generate these careers that that’s that provide very awesome lifestyles, but we just need them to understand and like you said, they can make stuff for SpaceX for air, you know, airplanes, they can make stuff for the cars that go down the road. It’s just a myriad of things they can do and build wonderful careers around

Jeanette Stevens  34:55

1. And they’re and it’s so funny because a lot of them are learning these skills. it like a second hand, and they don’t even realize that they have them. You know, you see the kids with the AR VR headsets, and they’re flying drones, and you know, they’re doing all these cool things. And they have no idea that they could take skills like that. And they could actually use utilize them or, you know, hone those skills in a manufacturing setting, you know, so it’s just like you said, Damon, it’s really from the school level, a disservice, because they don’t know that this exists, you know, and that’s, uh, that brings us really back to Gen edge, and other MEP centers, you know, and how what we’re doing, the partnerships that we have, the alliances that we’re building is so important, because it’s, it’s, it’s going to help build that information and build that brand and help them understand that, hey, you know, I don’t just have to do this, but I can also be a manufacturer and be just as important.

Curt Anderson  36:07

Man, okay, our friend Mark Hill, who’s in Chicago says yes, yes, yes. So many opportunities in manufacturing for young people these days, many of them who could never afford to even get into hoity toity University, lots of bright young people out there who would be much better off in apprenticeship and a manufacturer going to college coming out with 25 100 grand in debt. Mark, amen. Brother, we agree with you 100% tons of opportunities in however, let’s I don’t, let’s run the kids in college. Guys. You get on college, you get your accounting degree, you get your technical degree, you get an entrepreneurship degree, logistics, whatever you get engineering. There’s a enormous opportunities in manufacturing for our educated folks. It’s for everybody, we need to throw away the collar concept. No more blue collar, no more white collar. It’s where Americans making great products. Jeanette, last question for you today. What is your inspiration who inspires you, you just you brought the heat today you dropped the mic multiple times, you are just such you are you are truly a gift, you are a blessing to the MEP network. And I’ll stop on this. What Listen, guys, if man if you miss any of this, please go back and listen to this. Jeannette came in to the MEP network as in treated it as a cause. She treated it as a cause to make a difference. God bless you for bringing your talents, your skills, your energy to the MEP network to USA manufacturing, who inspires you what gets you fired up every day?

Jeanette Stevens  37:38

You know, what gets me fired up every day. It’s just the values that I learned of, you know, as a child, and over time, really my father, I lost him in July. He was Thank you, but he was a huge inspiration to me, my mother as well, you know, I could remember my mom doing all sorts of things, volunteering, and, you know, going to the different schools, she started a program and in an inner city school in Brooklyn, you know, I’ve just always been around people that wanted to help and wanted to make a difference. You know, I grew up in the church, and I had a grandmother that was cooking every Sunday, you know, making sure that people ate and had meals. And it’s just those values. And it’s just that that thought process that says, you know, it’s not just for the service aspects, but it’s also just my world at large, I want to be able to make a difference, you know, even if it’s something small, and I want to bet I want to be a part of organizations or an organization that is doing that. And and so what fires me up every day is just really, you know, the excitement that I see with my fellow co workers, you know, I see how hard everybody works. I see how much they put into everything that they do. You know, I see Bill leading this, you know, organization of amazing people that you know, every day work really hard to make sure that small and medium manufacturers in the Commonwealth know that they are not an island that an MEP exists that we exist, and we exist to help them continue and exist and that fires me up every day that excites me.

Curt Anderson  39:33

That How about I’m three How about a little USA champ for the Olympics for the network? You ready? 123 you Thank you. Hey, you. So now guys, this man, Jeanette cash. Oh, good, man. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So again, guys, please please please connect with Jeanette Stevens. Jeanette, I’m just going to be redundant. What a gift what a blessing you are. Thank you for sharing your inspiration today with us, Damon. I are so honored. Manufacturing Monday motivation to Mark Hill just talked a little USA in the chatbox. Thank you, Mark. Yeah. Did she just bring manufacturing Monday motivation are what the man I couldn’t have asked for any better today. So connect with GENEDGE connect with your local MEP for other manufacturers out there young folks. Take it from Jeannette man pursue that career in manufacturing. So that hang out with us one second. Guys go out there absolutely. Crush it this week, Damon this Friday. We have John Janse on our Friday program, the author of duct tape marketing. I mean, this guy’s a Wall Street bestselling journal author, great book. So great guests, internet. You’ll love this next week. We have a gentleman Jean Jones. He’s a veteran from the Purdue MEP. He’s gonna He’s sure he shared the stage on Valentine’s Day with us. So I’ve been teasing him that he gets a search for Valentine’s with Damon and myself. So yeah, Jeanette, thank you for all you do guys go out and have an awesome day. And hang out with us one sec second podcast. Happy Monday. Happy Monday.