Be Willing to Follow Your Passion with Michael Todisco

In this episode of "Time To Press Pause," host Ellen Williams, CEO of The Salient Strategist, interviews Michael Todisco, President of Apprenticeship Connections and Consulting Corp. Michael discusses his mission to guide individuals through career paths that don't require a college degree, highlighting his creation of the first manufacturing group sponsorship and registered apprenticeship programs on Long Island.

Michael shares his pivotal moment in 2013 when, at 35, he became the membership director of a trade association for non-union commercial construction companies. This role exposed him to apprenticeship programs, a concept he was previously unfamiliar with. Observing the growing difficulties young people faced due to rising college costs and limited job opportunities, Michael recognized apprenticeships as a valuable but underutilized solution.

In 2017, driven by this realization, Michael left his job to start Apprenticeship Connections, focusing on educating the public and assisting employers with apprenticeship programs. Despite initial fears and doubts, he officially launched his company in February 2019. Since then, he has expanded his programs beyond New York, creating new apprenticeship opportunities in states like Illinois and Indiana, and developing diverse programs for roles such as fitness instructors, bench jewelers, and event coordinators.

Michael emphasizes the importance of acknowledging achievements despite daily challenges. He takes pride in helping individuals of all ages find successful career paths through apprenticeships. Ellen praises Michael's perseverance and success, and Michael reflects on the significance of maintaining passion and recognizing accomplishments in his work. The episode encourages listeners to explore alternative career paths and appreciate the value of apprenticeships in addressing workforce challenges.

Transcript

Welcome to Time To Press Pause: A Podcast for CEOs by CEOs. I'm your host, Ellen Williams, CEO of The Salient Strategist. And today I'm speaking with Michael Todisco. Michael is the President of Apprenticeship Connections and Consulting Corp, and a lifetime Long Islander, born and raised on the North Shore. His goals are to educate and guide individuals through alternative career paths that do not require a degree from college. He created the first manufacturing group sponsorship registered apprenticeship program on Long Island, as well as drafting new trades including Fitness Instructor and Bench Jeweler Production.  

Ellen: Michael, welcome to Time To Press Pause. 

Michael: Thank you very much for having me. I really appreciate it. 

Ellen: I'm happy to have you here. Absolutely. So, I found you on LinkedIn, thought what you were doing was really interesting, reached out, you said, “Yes.” And now with bated breath. I'm really looking forward to hearing what your Time To Press Pause story is. 

Michael: Sure. I'm very excited to share the story with you and with your followers. The “press pause” moment, I guess has to go back to 2013. I was 35 years old and had a great opportunity to be hired as a membership director of a trade association that advocates for non-union commercial construction companies. Very unique. Something that I knew nothing about, but I dove right in and did a fantastic job of learning about small business owners and the City of New York. About the struggles and obstacles, they have to overcome to be successful in the State of New York. One thing that I got exposed to that clearly has left a mark in my life is I had to help these companies get their own apprenticeship programs and I had never heard of an apprentice program before that time. So, I was thrown in the deep end, and I sat there and I learned every single thing possible about the process, the paperwork, the people, the decision makers overseeing a school out in Long Island. Where I had about 60 different young individuals, high school dropouts, and high school graduates going through a career path to learn a trade or career, and it was fantastic. But doing that for five years, 2017, and just again for your guests, we all know around 2017 around that time the society has changed, right? So now college, back when I graduated in 2000, 17 years later has now tripled in cost. And young individuals cannot come out of college with a communications degree or liberal arts degree - and again, it's no disrespect, I'm just using those as examples - having a very hard time finding jobs. And on Long Island especially, there was a lot of local news reports on local newspapers and local TV stations telling the public that we have these young individuals living in their parents' basement and in debt. And what are we going to do about it? Why aren't there options to help them? And I was my pause moment, so to speak, is why aren't they talking about apprenticeship programs? And it came to me. But no one is talking about apprenticeship programs. No one feels comfortable or trust in the Department of Labor directly. And there's this whole platform that was just being untapped. And whether because I turned 40 years old or I think that I just found the passion, so to speak, because of that paused moment. I parted ways with that association. And I said, “I'm going to give him myself this opportunity and if I failed, I failed, but at least I know I've given a shot!” And I was going to start this company, Apprenticeship Connections, to be a consultant to promote and educate. Not just the public in general, like going to high schools and community organizations, but to be there for employers. To advocate on their behalf, to welcome to the process, to let them know that someone is acting on their behalf to make sure that it the the system runs smoothly. Because I've been doing it five years for construction companies and I was like, well, it should be that easy. And as we both know, nothing is ever easy. But that was my moment. Like this is something I truly, finally, after 20 years of working in the workforce, found something that I'm truly passionate about. And found a way to use that passion. And make it a career. 

Ellen: Interesting “press pause” that almost was really an “a-ha” moment. Right?  What caused the pause was, “Well, wait. I've got this information, but nobody's talking about it.” And then, time to do something about that. 

Michael: I have to use that one. The “a-ha” moment. I like that. It really was like I didn't know what my future was going to hold. And, you know, going on now five years later. And with COVID and many other bumps along the way. You just see, you see an opportunity and you're going to have to take that chance. And again, you have to take a step back. Pause. What is this going to look like? What are you envisioning? And that's why we create business plans and any kind of plan. And sometimes you have to adjust on the fly. Sometimes things change. But the premise, thankfully, I've still been here five years later and that is to help businesses implement apprenticeship programs. 

Ellen: So how long was your pause from the organization or the association you were working with, where you really obtained the knowledge? And it sounds like you obtained a passion as well to where alright, now I'm going to, you know, make this pivot and go out of my own. What the how long was that? Between those two. 

Michael: So, it was some obvious thought process going into forward like what does this look like? What am I, you know, what am I actually going? Can I actually pull this off and fear doubt? All the emotions are, you know, playing in the head. But it was about five months after leaving the association. That I guess the, you hit the the red button, the start button. You're like, “Let's do this. Let's go!”  And February of 2019 became official. Definitely some bumps along the way, but yeah, it took me about five months after leaving the association to really like, actually, visually, see what you know. You know all the things you put on paper and all the ideas and dreams that you have and like making it a reality. 

Ellen: Absolutely. Hopefully the green button, not the stop the red button. 

Michael: I was thinking of the Staples. I was thinking of Staples.  

Ellen: The Easy button. Yeah. Yeah. There you go. Awesome. So. Great. Great transition, right? You had that pause. You decided that I'm. I'm going to sort of stay in the same direction but do it a little differently. What did you have to communicate that to anyone? Certainly, you had to leave the association, but what about, you know, in other aspects of your life? What kind of conversation did you have about starting something new? 

Michael: It was a scary conversation. Obviously, being older and being 40 years old and starting your business with a family and children and responsibilities. There were some scary times at the beginning. But again, when you have an established network. And you know the associations and places to go to find the businesses and the people that are going to make decisions prior to it was quite surprising. When you go to a networking event or an event with many business owners and express that you're an apprenticeship consultant. You know, it gets in maybe the right place at the right time. Introduction to meet and you know. Things moved forward. It was again I guess very organic, right, I guess I can't say it's very common for many other people. It was organically, organically grew by just networking and talking to people and getting introduced. To the right people. 

Ellen: Yeah, networking. Is a great way to learn about business in itself, right? Especially when you've got something unique like this that you're coming to where it's, that extra, “You do what?” And you get to tell them about it because they don't have it. Years ago when I was. I had my own business; I was The Software Revitalist, instead of a computer consultant. And so, you walk in, you say, “Oh, I'm a computer consultant,” and everybody knows what that is. And they have preconceived notions. You walk in, you say, “I'm The Software Revitalist.” And you get that extra 10-20 seconds because they want to learn more. And I assume that you are having that same kind of experience because you're bringing something unique to a networking event where people hadn't really heard about that or thought about that in the past. 

Michael: So true, I mean, and I love that you say that, right? Because at most networking events you have to find a way that's going to differentiate yourself from your competition. So, I'm going to be in the room with four or five people who do the exact same thing as me. What am I going to do then? They're going to not want to talk to them but talk to me. I remember that from many other sales experiences from mortgages to selling copier machines. So, I get it. But in this model. And it's very, very hard to do a 60-second elevator speech, and I've found a new one, but again, it's very hard to just get them to understand what it is in a very short period of time. But there is no one else that does what I do. So, I don't have to worry about competition. 

Ellen: That's great. So, tell me the results you had. Tell me this is some, you know, give me a success story. So, we've got your pause. We've got your step back. We've got your moving forward. And how did it all pan out? 

Michael: I mean, it really is. It's again, sometimes you get stuck in the weeds and sometimes you're so knee-deep that you don't get your opportunity to sit back and just take a breath and, you know, look what you've been able to accomplish in such a short period of time. I mean full spectrum, so not to get too much into the weeds, but you know the New York State Department of Labor is the one that administers apprentice programs in the state of New York. Each state is completely different. Some states follow federal guidelines, some states follow state-specific guidelines. Writing on that business plan maybe in five years I'll expand outside of New York City. Well, in three years I was able to expand outside of New York State. Last year I created a whole new apprenticeship program for the manufacturing industry and we got the program approved in Illinois. Last week we got a program, a sponsor, an individual sponsor approved in the state of Indiana. I've created new programs from scratch. I've created a fitness instructor apprentice program. I've created a benchmark jewelry for jewelry manufacturing. Just found out last week, the Events Coordinator apprenticeship program. So, creating new programs, expanding outside New York State. From the very beginning, I want there to be apprenticeship programs in all industries, yes. It is taking a little bit longer time to get into all industries, but like you said, where's the win? Where's the success? These are the success stories. Being able to put things in place that were never put in place before and helping young individuals. And I take that back, the junior account apprentice I have is a 40-year-old woman who will be looking to get back into. The workforce so and that doesn't have to be just young individuals. But it's getting people on a career path to be successful and that is the joy. 

Ellen: That is the joy. I love it. So, we definitely have tapped into your passion. One thing you said when I asked you about success, you said, “Yeah, you do get stuck in the weeds, but sometimes you have to step back and breathe and acknowledge your success.” So I love that you've got sort of a mini “Time To Press Pause,” but in that case, it's really understanding what you accomplished as opposed to what you need to do next. So, you can “press pause” and just revel in it, I guess, right? 

Michael: Absolutely. And let's be honest, every individual is the same. We always focus, well not always, but the majority of the time we would focus on the negative, right? We didn't reach this goal, or we didn't do this, or we could have done this better. But it is once in a while go back. OK. Well yes, you may not have hit this goal, or you weren't able to accomplish that goal, but what about the things you were able to do over the course of the year? And sometimes, you have to put things into perspective. Hard to do on a day-to-day grind and a very small team, but it is nice. Recently giving some presentations to high school students, and I have a presentation tomorrow, like, just looking at the slides and I'm creating like, “I did do this, and I did do that," and I should be proud of myself for the things that this company has been able to accomplish. 

Ellen: I love that. So, we have a “press pause” to find your passion and a “press pause” to have some pride. 

Michael: Yes, I like that. Thank you. 

Ellen: I like that too. I think they're great. Michael, it's been a pleasure. Your story was fantastic. I love that it's still going and that you went for it, and you overcame all the things that entrepreneurs and new CEO's need to overcome to really be successful. 

Michael: Thank you. And listen, it's to grind right sometimes. OK. But it's nice to have these kinds of conversations to reflect to remind yourselves that you are doing something great. So, thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. 

Ellen: Thank you for listening to this episode of Time To Press Pause. To learn more about Michael Tedisco visit accnys.org. To learn more about me, go to thesalientstrategist.com and be sure to join us again wherever you listen to your podcasts.