Everen Brown has been at it a long time. But while most industry veterans might begin to contemplate retirement by their 50th industry anniversary (if they make it to that point at all), Brown still has a lot that he wants to accomplish.

It helps that he got his start in the industry before he could legally drive a car.

A Promo Prodigy

Brown, CEO of Everen T. Brown Specialty Advertising in Salt Lake City, was first introduced to the promotional products industry at age 13. Quite the serial procrastinator, it wasn’t until he hit the ripe old age of 14 that he started to “get serious” about the industry, starting a business centered around selling products to hotels and motels.

“They all needed various things like ashtrays, napkins and all the things you need to run a hotel,” he tells ASI Media. “So, I started to run with that idea. And then right after I turned 15 on July 5, 1975, I sold my first promotional order. At that point, I kind of said that’s the real beginning of the company, because you can talk about companies and you can start companies, but until you actually sell something, nothing is in writing. So I look back on that day as really the beginning of the business.”

Everen Brown purchased his first office space at 22. At 26, he had a property in Salt Lake City’s business district where he remained until he moved into a new space after 27 years.

Brown was making appointments with potential clients around his schedule in high school, scheduling interviews for after-school hours. When his prospects couldn’t meet with him on his time, he’d sometimes get an excuse note from his parents for a “dental” appointment.

“I worked very hard in high school to try to graduate the year early,” he says. “And so, by senior year, I really only had about one full day’s worth of classes. The rest of the week was all open, so all I had to do was show up for homeroom, and then I could escape and go sell stuff.”

So what did these prospects do when their promotional products distributor turned out to be, well, a kid?

“When I got into the industry, most people on the side of the distributor were generally much older, and there were a lot of them that one would consider retirement age,” he says. “So when this young kid under the age of 20 would show up, yes, there were surprises.”

Brown, though, had one thing going that even the most skeptical prospect couldn’t deny: He had done his homework. He was still a teenager after all. That should come naturally, right?

“The one thing that I knew would win people over was product knowledge, and I knew my product lines,” he says. “I would stay up and read catalogs at night, and I was very well prepared, so when I went up against some of these people, I often would end up with the order. And the reason why was that I knew more.”

“One of the biggest highlights is that I still enjoy going to work every day. I don’t look at it as work.”Everen Brown, Everen T. Brown Specialty Advertising

It was his knowledge, and possibly even a dash of his youthful exuberance.

“I’ve always been very enthusiastic about the industry,” Brown adds. “People wanted to buy from someone who can motivate them to get excited about what they’re doing, and also comes up with creative ideas.”

At 17, he already had his own office and was expanding his customer base to include travel agencies. He joined ASI at 19, and just a few years later bought his own office condo at 22. At 26, he had a small property in Salt Lake City’s business district, where the company remained for 27 years before moving to a new space that included what he calls the Promotional Products Superstore, a shared showroom where other distributors can book time to showcase their own products to potential customers.

He’s Seen It All

Having quite literally grown up alongside the promotional products industry, Brown has a unique perspective about how the industry has grown and changed over the years.

“One of the biggest things has been production times and getting artwork done,” he says. “That’s made great strides. You used to have to go to somebody. There were companies that just did typesetting. So you would have to job it out to somebody to do the artwork, and it would take a day or two.”

He also doesn’t really miss the days of having to manage artwork with photomechanical transfers that were mailed out to factories. The internet age has made for more instant communication and ease of managing an order from inception to fulfillment.

Brown was featured in Counselor’s “People to Watch” feature in 1984 at just 23 years old.

Artwork is one of a few key factors for Brown’s continued success after 50 years. Brown says it’s been important to maintain control over art as much as possible. He’s done this by keeping artists on staff in the industry to turn orders over faster, make decisions more quickly and keep costs lower by doing as much in-house as possible.

He’s also kept up his practice of studying the industry to remain nimble and adapt with the times.

“I’ve always reinvented myself and the company as time changed,” he says. “I think that just because you’re in business and just because you’re making a certain amount of sales, it doesn’t mean that you can just rest. Because at any time things can change and take that business away. You really do need to stay on top of as much as you can. From age 22 onwards, I’ve always owned either my showroom or my office space or a retail showroom, and I think it’s important for even distributors to invest in their future and control their destiny. If you can, buy your office or buy your showroom or warehouse or whatever, and only control your destiny that way. When you’re renting, you’re at somebody else’s mercy.”

A Global Perspective

Though his role as a distributor has been at the heart of his identity since he was young, Brown is passionate about exploring and experiencing the world around him. Over the course of his life, he’s been to the North and South Poles, he’s circumnavigated Antarctica (and, of course, brought an ESP disc with him to run his business from the “road”). He’s visited more than 180 countries. He’s been to 17 Olympiads and has even run with the Olympic torch – twice.

“When I look back on my career, I was lucky that I was able to do well in the industry and make money to travel and start traveling when I was young,” he says. “Because that’s what I think I really enjoyed the most.”

Over his career, he’s blended his love of the promotional products industry with his love of travel and photography – specifically panoramic shots he’s taken during his travels. What he came up with was something he considers a highlight of his career even as he nears half a century of work.

“A year ago I created a deck of playing cards I called AntarctiCards,” he says. “What I ended up doing was a deck of cards that have pictures of all different Antarctic animals and destinations. And so I got to do a bunch of things that I enjoy – the travel panoramic photography and the promotional products business. The decks of cards are sold on board ships that go to Antarctica.”

One project in particular blended Brown’s passion for promo, travel and photography: AntarctiCards, which include QR codes to virtual tours using his panoramic photography.

Brown’s love for photography and storytelling through the medium also earned him a Counselor Bess Cohn Humanitarian Award nomination in 2001 for his World Trade Panoramic Poster project for the Red Cross, which supported victims of the September 11 attacks. In 2003, he received the Red Cross “Hero in Commerce” award for the project.

Plenty of Fuel in the Tank

Brown is looking back in the rearview at his amazing career, but he isn’t pulling off the highway just yet. Passion and drive were what got him here in the first place, motivating a kid to start a business while the rest of his peers were breaking their arms on monkey bars.

And Brown still has the passion and drive to keep going every day.

“I’ve always been excited about the industry, and the possibilities are endless when it comes to looking at what a person can do if they have the motivation and how far they can take it,” he says. “Sometimes as distributors and suppliers, we take for granted the power of the industry.”

The success, the sales, the travel and the recognition have all been great. Don’t get him wrong. But when asked about what his high point in his career has been, he answers in the present tense rather than the past.

“I think one of the biggest highlights is that I still enjoy going to work every day,” he says. “I don’t look at it as work.”