Building Community Through Business: Taylor Evans’s Path to COSI Leadership and National Advocacy

Anthony Codispoti (00:01)
Welcome to another edition of the Inspired Stories podcast, where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired by how they’ve overcome adversity. My name is Anthony Codaspote and today’s guest is Taylor Evans, founder and president of Rust Belt Recruiting. They are a specialized firm that connects manufacturers with top tier talent, providing full service recruitment solutions. They focus on building strong partnerships in the industrial sector.

Under Taylor’s leadership, the company has celebrated eight years of growth, placing countless professionals in rewarding manufacturing careers. His path hasn’t been without challenges. Taylor candidly shares how changing his relationship with alcohol was a critical factor in his current success, noting that without overcoming this personal battle, his current achievements might not have been possible. Now, before we get into all that good stuff,

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One recent client was able to increase net profits by $900 per employee per year. Results vary for each company and some organizations may not be eligible. To find out if your company qualifies, contact us today at addbackbenefits.com. All right, back to our guest today, President of Rust Belt Recruiting, Taylor Evans. Thanks for making the time to share your story today.

Taylor Evans (01:47)
Yeah, thanks for having me. I think this is going to be a lot of fun. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you ⁓ offline a little bit and, you know, have this conversation with you today. So thank you for giving me the opportunity.

Anthony Codispoti (01:58)
My pleasure. Happy to have you here. So Taylor, you started your career in the sports industry, worked with the Cleveland Cavaliers, sports commissions. What drew you into this field initially? And how do you think that experience really shaped your early career perspectives?

Taylor Evans (02:18)
Yeah, so, you know, I grew up a rabid sports fan, you know, I mean, ⁓ I was a young reader and even more than being a young reader, I was drawn to numbers. So my parents always saved the sports section of the newspaper for me every day. Even if I was out of town for two or three days, I came back and I had to read every page. And more importantly, the stats line. My brother used to call me stat. So

I had a disproportionate knowledge of like high school football players and how many rushing yards they had and all of these things, the way my brain worked. But it grew a love for sports ⁓ in me. And as I progressed through high school, I wanted to be the next Jerry Maguire, one of the good guys that was going to represent ⁓ professional athletes. And ⁓ as I began looking at my different college options, ⁓

you know, I ultimately landed on Ohio University, which ⁓ year in and year out is generally ranked as the number one sport management and sports administration program in the country. ⁓ It is where that degree program was founded. ⁓ Ohio University has a disproportionate ⁓ alumni network in the sports industry relative to the size of the school.

Anthony Codispoti (03:40)
I say that’s so surprising. I mean, I’ve been to Ohio University, great reputation, beautiful campus, kind of out in the middle of nowhere, not the place where you would think like sports management ⁓ education is born.

Taylor Evans (03:48)
Yeah.

Yeah, you know, they were trying to find a home for it and around 1960 is when it landed in Athens and they’ve continued to grow to this day. So, you know, a few years ago and I’ve lost track of the exact number, there were like 30 athletic directors who had come from OU. It was just a really ⁓ big number and it continues to be a ⁓ first class program. So I went down there and

really jumped right in and got involved. And eventually I realized I don’t want to be an agent. And even though we have plenty of time to talk today, ⁓ was just, it was about the nature of the work and maybe my core values and what I wanted to be and didn’t want to be. ⁓ And I actually then had every intention to work in experiential marketing in Connecticut for an agency that I interned for after my junior year of college.

But my senior year, I was the president of the Sports Business Association down there, the student organization. And one of my professors encouraged me to come up to Cleveland for a sales training that they were gonna do for 15 of our students. He wanted me there as the president of the student organization and everything like that. And as I say it, I fell in love with the bright lights of the NBA ⁓ and embarked on a sales career there. ⁓

And so, yeah, I started out my career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, got to work with four different properties that they had at the time. Started with the Cavs, quickly became the Canton Charge, which was their D-League, now G-League team. And now the Cleveland Charge, then the Cleveland Gladiators in the Arena Football League, and then the, sorry, the Lake Erie Monsters, now the…

the Cleveland Monsters, which is our AHL hockey team. So, you know, I really got to get immersed into a first class organization, learn really great sales principle, see how marketing and all that is done. And so much of that has been transferable through my career. So ⁓ while the pay, when I look back on it, maybe it wasn’t what ⁓ I could live off today. It was invaluable in terms of the education and the experiences I got in both places down in Athens.

⁓ and here in Cleveland with those experiences.

Anthony Codispoti (06:22)
What’s one big skill set that you acquire during your time in the sports industry that you’re able to apply today at Rust Belt?

Taylor Evans (06:30)
I would say the biggest thing that I apply is just my understanding of sales and marketing, right? The Cavs really poured a lot of time and resources into training us as salespeople, and I was part of the sales center at Ohio University as well. And just understanding how to build a great brand and how to create value outside the actual… ⁓

product and deliverable that you do. in the NBA, it’s the product on the court. And I was there the year after LeBron left and you know, actually the year after the year after, right? So he left in 09 or whatever. then, but everyone’s seats had been renewed for the next season. So everyone was still in the stands. It was the year after that. And we had an NBA lockout that started on day 10 of my job with the Cavaliers. And so we were actually

Selling people on the idea of if and when the NBA was gonna come back in this post LeBron era Learned a lot, you know learned a ton but again Yeah, all kinds of things but you know, the biggest thing you learn is how you know, you know try to create a great experience a great brand and Control what you can control. I think that was the biggest thing, you know the

Anthony Codispoti (07:37)
Probably I learned a lot about taking rejection, I would assume.

Taylor Evans (07:55)
You can always put a ⁓ fun and entertaining product out there in terms of the in-game experience. I was down there with my seven-year-old a few weeks ago and it’s incredible. You know, it’s truly like a with no disrespect intended. It’s a two and a half hour circus. And they play basketball in between, know, really good basketball, you know, but basketball nonetheless, there are so many like programs and stuff. is is life better than the term circus. It is live theater.

⁓ before your eyes and it’s really cool to watch. So learn to tie in great respect for what Dan Gilbert and the team have built here in Cleveland and really grateful to have worked for a best-in-class organization, ⁓ you know, despite this short time that I was there.

Anthony Codispoti (08:43)
So you move from sports to manufacturing and then into recruiting. Kind of help us connect the dots here.

Taylor Evans (08:50)
Yeah, so ⁓ once I left the Cavaliers, I went to the Cleveland Sports Commission and helped them operate an event called the Continental Cup, which was a global sporting event where we would bring ⁓ youth athletes to Cleveland to play. You know, they would be teams across four different sports, and it was kind of like a mini Olympics. It was born out of when Cleveland hosted the Children’s Games many years before that. And that was a short stint for me. And then I, I didn’t

foresee myself being in Cleveland long-term, I made the move to Austin, Texas to ⁓ be the account manager director of their sports commission and be out there bidding on and bringing events to Austin. But right before I left, I met my now wife and we dated at a distance for two years. So the heartstrings brought me home. And to be honest with you, like as much as Austin is a world-class city and I…

really enjoyed my two years there. Even my coworkers, given that we were working in the Convention and Visitors Bureau, they would tease me and say, know, Taylor, like, you often talk more about Cleveland to our prospects than you do about Austin. And, you know, I really, this city and this region resonates with me. So I, you know, I was grateful to come back ⁓ and to be here now. And…

You know, I came back without a job on purpose, was very comfortable with that, had, you know, some money socked away to kind of come back. And I just wanted to go through some interview processes and find the right opportunity. But I landed with a manufacturer and that wasn’t in the plans per se. But I was ready to venture outside of sports and, and, and it exposed me to this world of manufacturing, which I had, you know, no understanding of. And,

you know, got to see that up close, but ultimately wanted to work a little bit closer to my house and stumbled my way into recruiting, right? I had no, like, clear, no clarity coming out of that sports career what was going to be next. So I took an opportunity in recruiting and did that for about a year and a half. And then on a Thursday night in October of 2017, we found out my wife was pregnant. She was a…

Anthony Codispoti (11:07)
Wow.

Taylor Evans (11:08)
single mom before I ⁓ met her, which is, you know, a part of why probably she didn’t follow me down to Austin. You know, had a young boy who’s now a 14 year old eighth grader. ⁓ And we found out our first together, second overall, was being born. And I quit my job the next day like every normal person does. And I said, I’m gonna start a business. ⁓

It’s to Jenna’s credit, only to Jenna’s credit that I would have had the gumption to do that. We’re both from entrepreneurial families. And so, you know, we went out and we did it. I gave my two weeks. Didn’t really have a business plan at that point. I was either going to start a coffee shop or a recruiting business. No, I just knew I needed to go, you know.

Anthony Codispoti (12:01)
You didn’t even know what the business was before you quit your job.

Ha ha ha.

Taylor Evans (12:08)
And so, so yeah, you know, and then I was like, okay, I’m going to own a car. I had long had the idea of a car. It wasn’t totally impulsive that I was totally impulsive that I quit on the timeline that I did, but I had always had thoughts in an entrepreneurial spirit. So it aligned really well with me. ⁓ But, you know, a coffee shop, you know, can cost 50 to 100 grand to stand it up if you’re really going to build it out and get all their equipment and.

Anthony Codispoti (12:35)
Easy.

Taylor Evans (12:37)
stuff like that and then I always say, that’s a lot of three and four dollar cups ⁓ to recoup your investment and to make any type of money and whereas a recruiting business in its simplest form can be started with a laptop and a cell phone. ⁓ One of which I had, I actually had to ask a family member, like hey can I have a used laptop from your business? Like I don’t have one yet, I’m not making money. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (13:01)
So I got to stop and

I got to stop and dig into this thought process here a little bit more. So you’d had ideas, you know, floating through your head, coffee shop, maybe recruiting business. At some point, I know I want to own my own business. But why quit your job the day after you find out that your wife is pregnant? Without knowing even what you’re going to do next, were things just that bad where you were working at the time?

Taylor Evans (13:26)
⁓

No, I wouldn’t say that, you know, I was dissatisfied, but to be honest, I think in that season of my life, there would have been a general dissatisfaction with wherever I was working. I had an itch. I was never really good. And to this day, I’m not good at just saying, this is all I do at Rust Belt or this is all like…

I was primarily in sales roles. I was not a good fit to just sit there all day and sell or sit there all day and recruit or sit there all day and whatever it was. I liked the variety, you know, the change. I’m your classic late 80s, early 90s, 80D, 80HD kid, but I really have it, you know, like it’s very much there. So ⁓ I need that variety in that sense.

And so.

I mean, the general talk track between Jenna and I was, we have seven, eight months, I forget how much lead time we have until this baby is here, let’s go. You know, like, let’s build this. She was doing great at the time in her job. She was able to provide the financial foundation for me to go and launch my business. ⁓ And we did, and what a ride it’s been.

Anthony Codispoti (14:54)
So I understand right around this same time that there were some other big life events, big life challenges going on. Can you talk about that, Taylor?

Taylor Evans (15:00)
Yeah.

Yeah, so I mean, you that’s the exact same window where my relationship with alcohol was beginning to spiral. And, you know, I really didn’t recognize it, despite some family history in that area. ⁓ So, you know, we were pretty freshly married, one on the way. And all of a sudden, one thing…

I think that took me a minute to shake as an entrepreneur, not too long, but it’s just like, this is no longer like a nine to five. Like I remember I used to be like, okay, well it’s four 30 or five o’clock and a close the laptop and that’s a day. It’s like, dude, you haven’t even made a dollar yet. Like you need to, you need to be heads down really getting after it until at least the flywheel starts. And so, um, but one of the things inhibiting me there was my relationship with.

And so in late January 2018, you know, I stopped drinking. I had my last drink and I, you know, started to sober up, dry out, whatever you want to call it. And started to participate in some programs that were designed for that. that was…

a really important season for me, you because when you stop drinking, it consumes you that much, and you know, for me, like, it wasn’t like I needed, like, you know, I’ve encountered people in my ⁓ journey who are like, I needed like a pint of whiskey to get out of bed. It wasn’t that, but I mean, it was starting to creep up in my days. All of a sudden you’re working from home, your wife’s not there, you’re bored, you open the fridge, there’s a drink and I’m gonna have it. So, you know, one of my dear friends and I,

know, laugh about how I shared with him at some point. I was like having like a turkey sandwich with red wine, like not normal behavior at lunchtime, right? And he’ll say that to me sometimes, right? Just, you know, it’s not funny, but it’s where I was at in the journey. And so eventually that had to change and…

You know once I stopped drinking you start to go through a day and a week in a month and my first month was a journey right I had so many opportunities to ⁓ You know quit or give up or whatever, but eventually you build that momentum and you know, fortunately I Said to someone over lunch today. We were talking about this. I said if I don’t screw it up ⁓ You know in late January of you know, month. It’ll be it’ll be eight years, which is just

incredible. you know, I always say I got here as fast as I could. Right. And, you know, I got to eight years as fast as I could. But it really is a one day at a time program. I remember talking to a family member that first day like, I don’t know how I’m to be able to not drink for the rest of my life. And they said to me, don’t worry about that. Just just do it for today. Just get through today. Right. And now it’s not even a thought in my mind. So that was a huge season for me.

huge season.

Anthony Codispoti (18:19)
What was the trigger that had you say on that first day, I’m not going to have a drink today.

Taylor Evans (18:26)
Yeah, just, you know, I had some drama on the home front and I…

I just said, I can’t do this anymore. know, like this is, I remember saying to my, when that breakthrough happened, I looked at my wife that night and just said, the war is over, which I had heard from a Christian song that I listened to, but what that meant to me was, I’m done. I can’t win this battle with alcohol.

And the blessing of it all was that I would, you know, I’m 37 now. I was 29 at the time and I didn’t really start drinking until, I don’t know, like maybe like second half of my senior year of high school or, you know, that summer going into college as if that’s like normal behavior. But I’m, just saying like, you know, I’ve again encountered people who were like, I drinking at like 12 or 13. Like it was nothing like that. Um, or well.

That’s not far off. But anyway, you know, it amounted to a decade of my life. And as I look back and, you know, again, I still got to get to eight years and then nine and then 10. But. Time goes quickly and my life has been just infinitely different the way that the ⁓ the way that that has changed the trajectory of my life. I cannot I cannot even fathom.

that this would have been my life. If I’m being honest with you, there was a part of me, the way my brain had become so sick with alcohol.

I can’t even say it out loud, but there was a part of me that almost thought I wasn’t gonna live past 40 because of my relationship with alcohol. I also believed that I had CTE from my football career, from my high school football career, rather than just acknowledging that I was consistently hungover. Like, that’s the insanity of it all. It’s like, rather than seeking to change the behavior.

I was coming up with all kinds of rationalization that in hindsight is basically borderline insanity. But again, I hadn’t acknowledged it and you’ve got to come to your own point ⁓ to realize it. I’ve had the chance to talk with people who have a really troubled relationship with alcohol and until the individual accepts that it is their time to change, nothing will change.

Anthony Codispoti (21:06)
So there was that first day that you decided to stop drinking. There was some drama that had taken place at home. That’s obviously a big step, huge milestone as you look back. I’m curious between now and then, what were some of the other sobriety milestones for you? Was it a mental breakthrough to get to a week or a month? Was there some sort of clarity that came at six months?

Taylor Evans (21:33)
Yeah, yeah. So, you know, what motivated me that first week, that first month, the first weekend that I stopped drinking, I knew in mid-January, I was like, so I grew up in Southeast PA, hour from Philadelphia, and January of 2018, the Eagles were on a playoff run that

resulted in the Eagles beating the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl when Nick Foles led them to it. And so I was like, I’m going to get through this Super Bowl run and then I’m going to go check out ⁓ a recovery program. ⁓ As if like, OK, we got to get through this first, right? Because that’s normal. ⁓ But ⁓ I went through that program and I’m sorry.

It got to the weekend before and I was like, it has to stop. So the following weekend, I went to the Waste Management Open in Phoenix, Arizona. If you know, are you familiar with that event?

Anthony Codispoti (22:47)
by name, but that’s it.

Taylor Evans (22:48)
Okay, so, you know, the Waste Management Open happens every year in Phoenix and it is ⁓ the anti-golf tournament. It might remind you almost of like a live golf tournament. It is the first tournament of the year. People go, they dress up in costumes, they are loud, they are drinking like crazy. It is like, again, the anti-golf clap etiquette. is just the anomaly tournament and it is…

It is packed, absolutely packed. you know, we went for my brother-in-law’s bachelor party ⁓ and ⁓ I spent my first weekend at a bachelor party saying, I’m not going to do this. And the only way I really got myself through, there’s a term in the recovery community called the pink cloud. Like you’re like, no, I’m doing great. I’m on it. But, you know, I flew out to that tournament and

And I said, you know, it’s taken me five days to get to five days. Do I want to use the next five days to get to 10 days or do I want to use the next five days to get back to five days? You know, and then it was 10 days and I would say, you know, do I want to use the next 10 days to get to 20 days or do I want to use this to get back to 20 days or to 10 days? And so it just, kept compounding that for a little while. I literally, that was my mantra to myself. And, and just, ⁓

Building upon it, you know the weekend after that. I went to an open bar event for the Cleveland Legal Society the weekend after that we hosted a 40 person Party at our house for that same brother-in-law’s engagement It was a grinder of a month yeah, but again, it’s just saying like okay today’s day 21 You want to get to date you want the next 21 days to get you today 42 or back to day 21?

Anthony Codispoti (24:30)
You have lots of temptation in front of you.

Taylor Evans (24:42)
You know, how do you want to use your next 21 days? And ⁓ eventually I stopped counting. ⁓ but I went through that and there were so many cool landmarks, you know, I mean, yeah, it’s funny. one time we were down in, ⁓ we, went down south for spring break that year, like to like the Carolinas and we drove in, we were driving back and I was working with a counselor at the time and I called him and I was like, Hey,

I’m having the weird or maybe I text him, but I was like, I’m having the weirdest thing happen. I was like, like deodorant smells like insanely vibrant today. Like my sense of smell is through the roof today. What is going on? He goes, your brain is actually redeveloping neural pathways and like things are happening. It’s the same deodorant that I wore every day, year over year, whatever period. Yeah. And it was like, your brain is healing itself in a lot of ways.

Anthony Codispoti (25:33)
wow.

I didn’t know this was a thing.

Taylor Evans (25:41)
Um, you know, I’m still a wild man, you know, I would say my ability though to regulate emotionally has improved significantly. Um, and, and, and that might be scary if you know me now, cause I’m again, still a wild man, but, um, you know, I had to learn a lot. uh, to be honest with you, the biggest breakthrough or well, I mean, you know, to be fully and wholly present for my

First daughter’s birth and all of them thereafter and to know that they’ve never lived a day in this world where I’ve had a drink is a really cool thing to me. And, you know, four days after I, my daughter was born, we, received a call ⁓ from a now former client, but basically it was for, for where we were and who we were and what we were, the contract of a lifetime.

and it blew the doors open. And for me, that’s a God moment where, you know, I was able to, I did the right things. We trusted, ⁓ we had faith that going out on our own was going to provide. And literally my first day back to work, I get a life changing call with an opportunity. And so ⁓ that is a higher power moment. That is a God moment. And

It changed the trajectory of our lives and has allowed me to live in a way that I could have never imagined, know, and experience things that I could have never done before. And as I approach 40, now I’m thinking about, you know, the life past 40 that I maybe one point didn’t think was possible.

Anthony Codispoti (27:22)
So I won’t.

That’s fun. appreciate you sharing all that. And I want to get back to this life changing call. Before that, say a little bit more about the support system that you had going through those early days of sobriety. Sounds like your wife’s a big part of this for sure.

Taylor Evans (27:44)
Yeah, you I was my wife for sure. I mean, she, you know, was there with me and, you know, there’s a cabinet right here over my shoulder. And, you know, every year she ⁓ she will write me a note just looking back on the year. And those notes mean the world to me now. You know, they’re they’re hanging in there at least the first couple of years. ⁓

You know, my family rallied around me. you know, they say you might lose some friends. I didn’t. If anything, I just made new ones. ⁓ My community knew probably maybe even more than me that this change was for the better. And so, you know, whether it’s going to ⁓ recovery meetings and the people that would, ⁓ you know, be alongside of me there, ⁓ learning the confidence to

to share my feelings or the feelings that I was struggling with, you know, because a relationship with alcohol isn’t just rooted in, you know, ⁓ a love for the alcohol itself. It’s often something deeper. so beginning to explore those feelings and figure out what it was that was really causing that hurt ⁓ is really important. And I’m so grateful that

I had just an incredible community ⁓ around me. so ⁓ out of respect to their privacy, I won’t name names, but the people who have supported me know who they are and I am forever indebted to them. And even though I’m not as active in the recovery community as I was before.

It was that I am one call away for all of those people that drop anything that they need because I am indebted ⁓ to them, ⁓ frankly, with my life.

Anthony Codispoti (29:44)
What’s behind the name Rust Belt recruiting?

Taylor Evans (29:47)
So, you know, in those early days I was sitting, I always tell the story, sitting at my dining room table, it was a glass surface, can, it’s almost visceral, I can still feel it. And, ⁓ you know, for the first like two weeks or so, I was gonna be the Evans Group of Ohio, which definitely sounds more like a insurance agency. The Evans Group was taken. And one day that name just popped out of my head. And I wrote it down and I,

I always say I kept looking over at it and I was like, I really like that, you know, and ⁓ and eventually I landed on it and it was like two days before Thanksgiving and I was so excited to Go to Thanksgiving with a good company name I just signed a first client doing the first search just so I could show up to Thanksgiving and be like hey, I You know, I actually am doing a thing ⁓ Anyway, the name rest about recruiting look, you know

I’ve, we’ve embraced the name. Our clients love it. It reflects, you know, this, obviously the past of our region. And to be honest, there’s times where I struggle with a name. Like, does it hold onto a past moniker? But we hear so many clients tell us, tell us this exactly who you are, what you work with. And frankly, there’s a lot of people in Northeast Ohio and the surrounding region who are proud to be the Rust Belt. It’s like, we’re cool.

We have an industrial heritage and we always say we’re putting a new shine on this region and bringing it back, but the name is meant to ⁓ represent the industrial heritage. No negativity, of course, intended. It’s all about like, hey, we are proud of the history of this region and want to be part of its Renaissance as well.

Anthony Codispoti (31:40)
And so what do you guys do?

Taylor Evans (31:42)
Yeah, so we’re a manufacturing recruiting company. We support manufacturers with their talent needs. ⁓ Anything that really touches the manufacturing process, we can support that role ⁓ as well as sales roles. So whether it’s a skilled worker on the production floor ⁓ or an engineer or a management role in the office or also on the floor.

If it touches the manufacturing process, we are probably a fit to help with it. We do all permanent placement recruiting. We’re also not a high volume shop where we’ve got, you know, a thousand openings, right? you know, average 40, 50 roles at any given time that we’re working on. ⁓ So we’re a small but mighty team, but…

very active and vocal advocates for manufacturing in the region. And, know, Tadis, the region extends out to Pittsburgh and up to Detroit and Akron Canton and Youngstown and Toledo. So ⁓ we really cover a lot of these communities ⁓ in a meaningful way.

Anthony Codispoti (32:54)
So is this all direct placement then you’re not doing any temp or temp to hire? Okay. All right. And so I want to come back to well actually before we get to that life changing call, how did you get that first client right before Thanksgiving?

Taylor Evans (32:57)
Yes. No. All permanent.

Yeah, I think it was an introduction by a friend, Jason Geyer, who I continue to work with to this day and in a different capacity. And he’s been a great resource and, you know, got introduced to this individual and ⁓ the rest was history. Got that first client under the belt. Yeah, it was amazing. Yeah. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (33:34)
feels good, right? There’s proof of concept, you got a little momentum there. That’s a big,

big deal.

Taylor Evans (33:39)
If for no

other reason than you can show up to Thanksgiving dinner, you know, and say, Hey, I’ve got a client.

Anthony Codispoti (33:45)
Yeah. And then you’re talking about what was just a few days after your daughter was born that you get this life changing call. And I want to hear about that. And I’m going to make some assumptions here. I’d be curious to see if I’m right or wrong, because a lot of people, business owners, entrepreneurs, they hear these stories and they’re like, yeah, that’s what I need.

for my business or my sales career, whatever it is, I just need that one life-changing client. And I get the sense when I hear some people, not everybody, some people talk about that, that it’s like, it’s just gonna come to them. It’s just one of those overnight kind of success things that fall into their lap. Almost every story I’ve been a part of or heard of, there is a lot of groundwork that leads up to that overnight success.

Tell us how it unfolded for you.

Taylor Evans (34:40)
Yeah.

Yeah. So, ⁓ it actually ties in really well with, again, that relationship change with alcohol, you know, so we had just signed this company as a client, ⁓ almost concurrently, maybe a week’s difference. And it was only my second or third client. And so I jumped in and started filling welding jobs and,

different manufacturing production roles. ⁓ over the next, call it five, six months, I had probably only filled five or six roles, which isn’t bad, but it wasn’t a crazy number. ⁓ But we were giving that, we, me, we’re giving them really great attention and really working hard. And in the summer of 18,

During the first Trump administration, they were rolling out a lot of steel tariffs and everything like that. And our client was bringing in a tremendous ⁓ number of orders and ⁓ because of rising costs of their goods, they they were letting people lock in their pricing and everything like that. And they decided to build a third shift. And I think it ended up being

86 openings and when Dave called me, he’s like, hey, we need your agency to fill all of these roles. ⁓ you know, for me at the time, you know, in my head, and I’m sure Dave knew this, I’m like, well, you have the whole agency on the phone. ⁓ So, ⁓ but it was the kicking off point to actually going and making a hire and having someone help me and then another and then another. And, you know, it continued to.

continue to evolve from there.

Anthony Codispoti (36:37)
And so you start making your first hires because of this large job. And then how did you keep the momentum going?

Taylor Evans (36:41)
Yeah.

Yeah, you know, it was, it was such a great project for us and allowed us to like really focus on growing things. So, you know, it really took time to figure out, you know, who was doing what and how we were doing it. ⁓ kind of like the preparation that came forward, just impulsively leaving my job and, launching my own business. It took time to figure out everyone’s roles and how we were going to be structured and how things were going to get done.

And you know at times it feels like that’s still true to this day like, know businesses are Consistently looking inward and saying how are we doing things? Are we doing things the best way possible? Are we are we a truly productive team? ⁓ And and so, you know, it has continued to this day to be an evolution but we we had to you know, evaluate team members and quickly make some hires and

Try to get everyone into some roles and grateful for that team that was ⁓ You know the the first chapter of rustbell or the second if I’m the first

Anthony Codispoti (37:53)
I’ve received some awards, the Distinguished Marketing and Sales Award from the Sales and Marketing Executives of Cleveland. ⁓ Why? Why was this award bestowed upon you? What were the credentials that you brought forward?

Taylor Evans (38:07)
⁓ without using self-deprecating humor. Look, I’m a very engaged guy in the community. I’m out there. ⁓ I’m proud to be a connector. That’s a big trait of mine is I am always, when I am meeting with people, looking for ways to introduce them to another person that might be worth being in their network of business opportunity, whatever it is. ⁓

⁓ and as it relates to Rust Belt, I think we’ve built a really good brand and a good business that we can be proud of and, ⁓ you know, aims to deliver consistent work products. So all of those things have been good on our end. ⁓ yeah, you know, again, ⁓ really appreciated that award and, know, a couple more that have followed over the course of my, ⁓ career, maybe haven’t done as good of a job as keeping them.

up there, but any award I’ve received is a humbling one for me.

Anthony Codispoti (39:12)
Where do see the future of Rust Belt recruiting going? What’s on the horizon?

Taylor Evans (39:16)
Yeah,

yeah, you know, for right now, for in this season, especially with the turbulence in the labor market the last few years and watching what I’m seeing with other agencies go through, it’s all about stability. Keep turning out good, consistent work and let that good consistent work lead to more good and consistent clients. So we really want to be, you know, steady, reliable, consistent.

and ⁓ above all else, a great place to work so that our teammates can deliver great work product ⁓ for their clients and candidates.

Anthony Codispoti (39:56)
You know, Taylor, I understand from our previous conversations that you take a lot of satisfaction from being able to place people into meaningful work. Right. I mean, you’re making their lives better. Right. The ability to provide for themselves and their families. You’re helping your client out the company ⁓ fill a role so that they can produce. ⁓ As you think back over your, you know, eight year.

of doing this for yourself at Rust Belt Recruiting, is there a particular story that comes to mind, an example of somebody that you helped to place and a big difference that it made?

Taylor Evans (40:37)
There are, yeah, you know, and they aren’t just testaments to me. You know, the first one that comes into mind was we didn’t know this at the time. We’ve sought to do things behind the scenes that ⁓ maybe we have no intention of seeing the light of day. ⁓ They’re just an opportunity to.

you know, do good. We’ve helped people who are, ⁓ you know, not in a home at this point, right, who managed to connect with us. We had ⁓ a candidate once who was living out of their car ⁓ with ⁓ their family in it, like a minivan with a couple children. And, you know, this job was a way for them to

get back into a home ⁓ or yeah, get back into a home and there was a two week lag between them getting their jobs. you know, ⁓ we were able to put them up in housing ⁓ for that short period of time. And, you know, if anything, it was humbling. It was it was a really healthy dose of perspective to see, ⁓ you know, we we put them up in a motel and it might have had like

two beds and a sofa bed and we were able to stop by ⁓ with a bunch of bags of grocery to stock the fridge and feed the family. And again, we looked at it like, hey, this placement fee that we made was of zero consequence if we can just reinvest it into them. ⁓ But what was humbling about it was,

to see the joy within this family for a space that might be just one room in a home, in a traditional home that ⁓ we may have. And they were overjoyed. And ⁓ it was just a perspective. It did more for me than I think we did for them. And again, we have other examples of that. I’m sharing it publicly because we’re talking, but like,

We don’t do those stories for PR or press or anything like that. We do those because we get to. And ⁓ that’s one of the greatest gifts of this role. We want the ability to pour more into people. We’ve always aimed to be charitable and supporters of philanthropic efforts in the area. The current one that we are big supporters of is an organization called One Step Ahead Ohio.

which is rooted in ⁓ two areas. They have a skilled labor foundation, so Chalker, we were drawn to them. But they also have another area which is just positive acts of kindness. And so we have supported them financially and through our, know, earlier this year I was actually asked to be on their board and, ⁓ you know, continue to pour in our efforts there. you know, wherever we can pour into the community and ⁓ be generous in spirit.

⁓ or time or resources or whatever, it really is life-giving to us and to our team. So grateful to have the opportunity to, you know, do something like the example I just shared or ⁓ even just lend our time. You know, even just lend our time to someone in need, right? The greatest gift you can give people is your time. ⁓ So we do what we can with what we’ve got.

Anthony Codispoti (44:21)
I love that. ⁓ Shifting gears a little bit. Let’s say there’s somebody listening who is interested in starting their own specialized agency. What advice might you have for them? How to stand out? How to make an impact?

Taylor Evans (44:37)
Yeah, yeah, I mean, I would say, you know, if you’re looking to start your own specialized recruiting agency or specialized agency, regardless of your line of work, specialization is good. It allows you to be laser focused on who and what you are serving and and more consistently connect. It may feel at times like it will take you longer ⁓ to build that client base or that flywheel or whatever.

But in reality, you will be so much stronger and more valuable to your clients as a resource over time by connecting with them and ⁓ really understanding whom it is that they are and what it is that they do. And so our team is able to do that. They are able to consistently take on work or even look at work where we’re like, hey, we can’t deliver on this. We don’t have,

this role or this need is not something that we’ve been able to be successful on. And rather than, you know, blindly banging around on a search that we can’t fill, we can get out ahead of it and actually be more trusted by our clients. But again, to be specialized takes time, but it is worth it. It just takes a consistent drum beat and focus.

Anthony Codispoti (46:03)
What’s been the most successful growth strategy for you guys, Taylor?

Taylor Evans (46:09)
The most successful growth strategy for us has been to build relationships within our community. know, it’s, it’s, ⁓ you know, we, we’ve always maintained a good digital footprint. We’ve had different people over the years in a business development role, myself included, but the best way that the best thing that you can give is a referral. And we are so grateful for those. ⁓ and they have gone such a long way for us. but yeah, it’s.

It’s to consistently be out there and be in the community, whatever your community is, and looking to help and support those around you ⁓ and to give generously. Like, you the book, Go Giver, is such a great strategy ⁓ for developing, ⁓ adding value to others versus adding value to yourself. If others haven’t read that book, it’s a transformational read and it is… ⁓

It should honestly it should be mandatory reading for every I don’t know what reading level it’s at six seven things, know, I mean you can like at a young age a young adult should be reading

Anthony Codispoti (47:20)
Yeah, that one hasn’t come across my radar yet. I recently interviewed. Okay.

Taylor Evans (47:24)
All right, you know what? I’m going to send you a copy after this. That’s

the spirit of the GoGiver. So I will make a note to send you a copy. And then if you enjoy it, you send someone a copy and we’ll keep that going. Yeah.

Anthony Codispoti (47:31)
Very grateful for that.

I love that.

I look forward to it. And I think you just summed up the spirit of it. So I’m looking forward to reading more about it. ⁓ What’s your superpower?

Taylor Evans (47:39)
Yeah, I did. Yeah.

It’s to be a connector. It’s like I’ve harnessed the gift that is my overactive brain, right? Like I That ADD ADHD Is a gift for it needs to be viewed as such because it is it’s it’s it’s not a disability It’s not a weakness. It is a superpower. And so my ability to

⁓ Sometimes you see me looking around, know all of that it can be a little challenging to converse with me But I’m that’s because I’m thinking I am my mind is constantly going and so again it is to be a connector to others and to be honest with you the most rewarding thing is

I don’t necessarily like, know, in business, maybe your business does these Anthony, or you’ve been approached with these, you know, people will come to me and say, hey, let’s set up a formal referral program, right? Where I don’t usually take the bait on those. I think the spirit of introductions and connections is make your community strong, get people together, ⁓ really allow them to link arms and.

and be better and even in a meeting I was in this morning in a little networking group on that, one of the people said, know, ⁓ hey, thanks to an introduction that Taylor made to this organization, ⁓ I’m gonna be doing a three part series for this organization and anyone that can attend, I would appreciate them being there and it’s a business opportunity for that person and I am so happy for them, you know, that what, ⁓

30 second, one minute, two minute email, created an opportunity. Like that is so life giving. And I know if I do enough of those good acts for others, the universe will come back around. Like in the alchemist they say, the universe will conspire. I say that all the time. The universe will conspire to help me. And so I love to connect people freely. ⁓ It ⁓ is something I really enjoy doing, being a connector.

Anthony Codispoti (49:59)
That’s great. You as you talk about your ADD, your ADHD, and how it’s a superpower, and I love how that you frame that, but have you learned certain mechanisms to help you kind of rein it in?

Taylor Evans (50:15)
Yeah, yeah, you know, it’s whether I remember to use them, you know, but I mean, there are certainly and again, I think probably tying it back to ⁓ that relationship with alcohol. I think that was a part of it. You know, I think it was like trying to slow my brain down and like just chill sometimes. It can be hard, you know, it can be really hard. But yeah, there’s a lot of great techniques out there. I am not a professional to be.

⁓ coaching people up on it. I know those people if anyone’s listening I’m happy to be a connector there ⁓ but it is you know there’s a lot of there’s a lot ADD and ADHD come with a lot of

a lot of nuances, ⁓ if you will, or symptoms. I hate the symptoms because that makes it sound like a sickness, but the character traits of an individual ⁓ can be unique. so understanding that beyond just the ability to sit in a classroom or listen to a teacher or whatever, there’s a lot of other byproducts of it. And just learning to recognize those ⁓ signals and triggers has been important and something that’s a work in progress for me.

continue to learn more about as I go.

Anthony Codispoti (51:33)
Taylor, what’s your favorite thing to do outside of

Taylor Evans (51:37)
I’ve got an awesome family. ⁓ You know, my wife, we have four kids in total now. ⁓ My 14 year old ⁓ watching him play sports is one of the joys of my life. ⁓ You know, he’s going to be entering high school ⁓ here in six, nine months. ⁓ But I’ve had the joy of watching him play football and getting to coach him.

to this point, gonna hand them off to ⁓ the more professionals at this point and just ⁓ be a dad in the stands. ⁓ But love that, love being with my daughters. have, you my wife, we have an amazing family, love to travel, enjoy the occasional round of golf when I can get it. And then I pour a lot of my time into…

an organization here in Cleveland called COSI, which is the Council of Smaller Enterprises. And COSI is our small business chamber of commerce, which is comprised of about 10,000 members, which enrolls in or is a part of the larger Greater Cleveland Partnership, which is Northeast Ohio’s chamber. And so ⁓ in three weeks, I will become the chair of COSI. ⁓ And ⁓ as a result, I’m

You know also on the board and the executive committee of the greater Cleveland partnership as well ⁓ And then starting in the new year ⁓ I’ll be joining the board of the National Small Business Association out of Washington DC ⁓ Actually, our first meeting is on the eight-year anniversary of stopping drinking So when I think of God kind of giving me a little wink of when I just got that meeting date

the other day, I look at that and say, I see what you did there. ⁓ mean, to say eight years ago that you’ll be, you know, getting to be an active and leading voice in the ⁓ national small business community is beyond my wildest dreams. And to be leading the Cleveland small business community alongside the great team at Cozy is just remarkable. ⁓

I’m on the board of the ⁓ College of Business at Ohio University ⁓ as well. And then again, on the board of One Step Ahead Ohio. And a couple other committees and affiliations on top of that, but it all keeps me pretty busy. And the best thing is I have an incredible wife who lets me run around and do all of this stuff.

Anthony Codispoti (54:22)
I was going to ask how do you find time for it? You’ve got four kids, you’re married to a lovely wife, all that takes time commitment. You’ve got this business that you’re running, that’s a huge time commitment. All these other different involvements, why do it?

Taylor Evans (54:32)
Yeah.

⁓

I once had a conversation with my wife that I was able to say, believe my purpose on this earth is not just making money or ⁓ just to be solely at home with this family. And that’s not meant to be to say they’re not my number one priority, quite the opposite. like, I believe I’ve been blessed with.

you know, talents and I want to give those talents away and leave things in a better place than I found them and I am able to live out like my purpose. You know, starting this business was never a get rich strategy. It’s certainly nice to have the flexibility and autonomy and the earning potential that comes with business ownership. But more important to me is to

have the freedom to chase and pursue the causes and passions that are important to me. And so I have uniquely found my home in being an advocate for Northeast Ohio in our business community and the small business owners. you know, I’m growing into a role advocating for small business owners on a national level. So, you know, I don’t know where the journey’s taken me. I’m still young. I still got a lot of runway.

⁓ to go but if these first eight years of being out on my own or any sample ⁓ I think it’ll be pretty wild if you and I have another conversation from eight years from now to see where we’ve gone and for that I’m beyond grateful but it’s also getting to just in this moment in this season of life not knowing what the next season is going to hold I’m grateful to be able to give my time and talents

away, in many cases freely, ⁓ in support of the greater good.

Anthony Codispoti (56:38)
I love that. You know, Taylor, I’ve just got one more question for you today. But before I ask it, I want to do three quick things. First of all, anybody who wants to get in touch with Taylor, his email address is Taylor at Rust Belt Recruiting dot com. Also, Taylor S. Evans, Rust Belt Recruiting is searchable on LinkedIn and will include links to both of those things in the show notes.

Also as a reminder, if you want to get more employees access to benefits that won’t hurt them financially and carries a financial upside for the company, reach out to us at adbackbenefits.com. Finally, if everyone will just take a moment to leave us a comment or review on their favorite podcast app, it’ll hold a special place in my heart forever. Thank you. So Taylor, last question for you. You and I reconnect, let’s call it a year from now and you’re celebrating something big. What do you think that is? What’s that big thing you hope to be celebrating a year from today?

Taylor Evans (57:32)
You know, I hope to be celebrating another successful year at Rust Belt. Like we’ve really been on a nice run the last seven months with some turbulence. I want to have, you know, new faces in our organization, but more importantly, the same faces in our organization, you know, continue to retain and grow the amazing team that we are surrounded by. ⁓

I hope it’s been a great and successful year for Northeast Ohio from a business standpoint, our economic growth and revitalization. I hope it’s a great year for the manufacturing community as a whole. ⁓ And I hope it’s a great year for all. We all kind of need a good year. And the most important thing that could be happening from a year from now.

⁓ Would be that the Notre Dame fighting Irish are 12 and all and the number one seed going into the college football Playoff on a tear ready to pay everyone back for this past season getting left out. I’m sorry. I had to get it in today. I had to get it in Yeah

Anthony Codispoti (58:38)
I love it. I love it. We’ll take it. What a great way to end. ⁓

Taylor Evans from Rust Belt Recruiting. I want to be the first to thank you for sharing both your time and your story with us today. I really appreciate it.

Taylor Evans (58:50)
Yeah, you too. I had a lot of fun with you and really just appreciate this opportunity to share my story and thank you for being a fantastic host. You’re a true pro at this and the conversation was so easy because of ⁓ what is a gift of yours.

Anthony Codispoti (59:05)
I appreciate those kind words. Thank you. Folks, that’s a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories podcast. Thanks for learning with us today.