Tagline
Creativity and consistency: A Canadian marketing consultant talks about what it takes to thrive in an entirely new culture.
Bio for Errol Vas
Errol Vas is a Marketing Director/Consultant with companies in China, USA, Canada, Australia, India & Malaysia, developing marketing strategies that boost customer acquisition and maximize revenue.
At 23, Errol manufactured/branded his own product line overseas and ran his first marketing campaign across North America. Not only did this campaign spark his interest in marketing, but it also converted over $35,000 in its first month.
He’s been featured in tech magazines, blogs, radio shows, podcasts and conferences. The Daily Cup of Tech lists him as one of today’s top digital marketing professionals and Kurawa Magazine calls him a leading marketing mind in China.
Errol grew up and went to university in Lethbridge, Canada. He began working at a marketing company just before graduating and fell in love with marketing. He travelled to China often and has now settled there at 30 with his wife and child.
Episode highlight
Errol Vas reflects on his life influences and how his move to China shaped and continues to impact him as he manages a team and a business in the province of Zhèjiāng.
Links
- Email: errol@errolvas.com
- Website: https://errolvas.com
- Calendly: https://calendly.com/errolvas
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/errolvas/
Quotes
- “Having consistency is really important in life, no matter what you’re doing”
- “The income you make, it doesn’t always reflect how hard you’re working.”
- “I think when you are around a mindset of people who are really… encouraging your own growth, especially when it’s creativity, it’s always a good thing.”
Takeaways
Childhood Incidents
When Errol was 4, he was obsessed with the TV show, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. He begged his parents to enroll him in a Kung Fu Class. They found a Taekwondo class for him, and he considers that a pivotal moment in his life because he has been practising it ever since, and it taught him discipline and consistency. He has a 2nd-degree black belt.
He played the guitar in high school, which he believes gave him the creative kickstart into marketing. He finds the same freedom in marketing as he did in music. Just like Taekwondo, being involved in the music scene taught him to strive toward what he wanted, which is a useful skill today. His father was supportive of his music journey.
Influential groups
Errol’s family was very academic, which encouraged him to explore his thoughts. His parents were always supportive of his interests and choices and never stopped him from exploring. “Growing up in a culture of ‘yes, yes you can’ and a culture of support is just so imperative to growth and to success”, he notes.
Being part of the musician community in high school encouraged his creativity, which he uses daily in his work. Errol’s mother is of Swiss-German descent while his father is of Goan-Portuguese descent. They met in Southern Alberta, where Errol grew up.
Lethbridge was a middle-class city, so moving to a big city in China was a stark change, with its big-city thinking and huge gaps between the rich and poor. Moving to China also made him focus on himself and his career more, compared to how much energy he was investing in being part of groups back home.
Temperament and Personality Influences
Errol describes himself as easygoing, and he has become more strategic as he has grown, to be a level-headed manager without letting his emotions take over. He now delays the emotional response, allowing him time to weigh his options in any situation.
Cultural Epiphanies
Errol found that China has “its own ecosystem, its own culture, own way of doing things”, which was very different from back home. In Canada, people do what’s best for their own selves. However, in China, it’s about what’s best for everyone.
Advice to an Employer
Errol loves to work with people who are passionate about what they are doing and oriented toward their goals. He finds that when he is aligned in striving along with someone else, it brings out the best in him.
More Great Insights!
You can connect with Errol at www.errolvas.com for a 15-minute conversation for tips on how you can improve and expand your personal brand or company!
Extro
Errol Vas transitioned from psychology to marketing right around his graduation time and has been hooked on marketing ever since. The combination of discipline and consistency gained through TaeKwonDo and guitar playing combined with his insights into human nature and creativity helped him establish a niche in the marketing world.
