DON HAZELL

Growing up, what did you think your career would look like and how close did that end up being to how it actually turned out?

Growing up, I didn't have an idea of the career I wanted to have.

I thought I'd either be a journalism major like my mother or I would end up being a doctor because I had an interest in science and helping people.

But I figured out after my first year of college that, one, I was going into being a doctor for the wrong reason, which was to make money as opposed to really serving the community and patients, and that schooling was going to take 12 years to do that.

And I thought there might be a faster way.

And two, I didn't go to the same school my parents went to for journalism.

So I made a decision not to go that direction.

So I switched over to business.

and started as an accounting major.

I was the only person in my senior auditing class not sitting for the CPA because by the time I completed that major, I decided not to be a CPA.

So I added a finance major and decided not to be a banker, and then added a marketing major once I decided that I thought that sales might be a career direction that I would pursue.

And my father had worked in the computer side of an oil and gas company all his career.

And so I did have some exposure to computers.

So I thought if I went into sales, it would be in the emergent computer industry.

Wow, that's awesome.

So you kind of bounced around a little bit of everything.

Yes.

And I started my sales career with a computer company, but as a financial analyst to get my foot in the door because with all those majors, I took four and a half years and missed the new hire training window for starting in sales.

So I got my foot in the door and did a couple of years there because they moved me to Southern California.

And I waited until I moved to where my wife was going to med school to move into sales.

Wow.

So yeah, you got to travel a little bit through that too.

Yes.

Yeah.

So kind of as you entered into that sales career, can you tell me a little bit about what you where you started at and kind of what that experience was like for you?

Growing up, what did you think your career would look like and how close did that end up being to how it actually turned out?

Growing up, I didn't have an idea of the career I wanted to have.

I thought I'd either be a journalism major like my mother or I would end up being a doctor because I had an interest in science and helping people.

But I figured out after my first year of college that, one, I was going into being a doctor for the wrong reason, which was to make money as opposed to really serving the community and patients, and that schooling was going to take 12 years to do that.

And I thought there might be a faster way.

And two, I didn't go to the same school my parents went to for journalism.

So I made a decision not to go that direction.

So I switched over to business.

and started as an accounting major.

I was the only person in my senior auditing class not sitting for the CPA because by the time I completed that major, I decided not to be a CPA.

So I added a finance major and decided not to be a banker, and then added a marketing major once I decided that I thought that sales might be a career direction that I would pursue.

And my father had worked in the computer side of an oil and gas company all his career.

And so I did have some exposure to computers.

So I thought if I went into sales, it would be in the emergent computer industry.

Wow, that's awesome.

So you kind of bounced around a little bit of everything.

Yes.

And I started my sales career with a computer company, but as a financial analyst to get my foot in the door because with all those majors, I took four and a half years and missed the new hire training window for starting in sales.

So I got my foot in the door and did a couple of years there because they moved me to Southern California.

And I waited until I moved to where my wife was going to med school to move into sales.

Wow.

So yeah, you got to travel a little bit through that too.

Yes.

Yeah.

So kind of as you entered into that sales career, can you tell me a little bit about what you where you started at and kind of what that experience was like for you?