In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Cam Vogel, a 2017 University of South Carolina graduate who works as an inside sales representative at TGW International and sales manager for Smoke & Awe. Cam shares a personal story about his high‑school community‑service award and current pizza‑delivery side gig, highlighting gratitude for his education amid student‑loan debt. He offers sales advice, emphasizing that hearing “no” is inevitable and must be overcome to close deals. Cam discusses workplace dynamics, urging younger professionals to learn from older colleagues while confidently contributing ideas. He reflects on his tendency to discredit himself and the importance of self‑acceptance. When asked about happiness, Cam stresses a balanced lifestyle that includes sleep, nutrition, exercise, family, friends, and hobbies. He cites Phil Knight’s autobiography Shoe Dog as a source of entrepreneurial inspiration, noting the hard work behind Nike’s success. Cam shares a favorite quote about not losing oneself to please others, and provides his LinkedIn profile and Smoke & Awe website for listeners to connect.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite makes the process of becoming a published bestselling author as simple as sipping your morning cup of coffee. You can learn more about Authors Unite at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
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All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Cam Vogel with us. He is a 2017 graduate of the University of South Carolina, currently working as an inside sales rep at TGW International, and is also the sales manager for Smoke and All. So welcome to the show.
Thanks, Tyler.
Of course, man. We'll dive right in, Cam. The first one I have for you is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
This one, I took a little bit of thought on this one, actually, and kind of thought a little bit more about it this week. I did a lot of community service in high school, actually. I got an award for it. I was in charge of a couple of programs. So that really kind of showed me that there are less fortunate people out there. And it really made me grateful for what I was given. I went to a good high school. And then right now I'm also delivering pizza on the side just for some extra cash because student loans are pretty, pretty hefty. So it kind of just made me realize that there's also people that aren't fortunate enough to be able to go to college and get the education that I got. That might be working, you know, two hourly wage jobs. So maybe it's tough to get off work at 5 and then deliver pizza until 11 PM. But the fact that I was able to get a college degree and then get a salary out of it, I'm grateful for that.
Thanks for sharing that, brother. And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
So I just started this job at TGW and I'm doing sales, and then obviously I'm doing sales with the Smoke and Awe too. So I hear the word no a lot. And I guess I would say for anybody interested in getting into sales, know that you're definitely gonna hear the word no quite a bit. But that's what it's all about. You got to get over that hurdle and get to the next sale.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
You know, just being out of college, I don't have much advice quite yet, but one of the things that sometimes I struggle with is age difference in the workplace. So I would definitely still use older people to learn from, but at the same time, they hired you for a reason. They want you to contribute. So if you think you have something valuable to give to the company or the team, definitely speak up and let your ideas be heard.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Do not discredit myself. As much as I did. I definitely used to discredit myself a lot and also kind of take blame and feel guilty for things that were out of my control. And my mom used to tell me that all the time, and I definitely still do it sometimes. I'm working on it though.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
I would say balance. You know, everybody always talks about like sleep, food, and exercise. So those are definitely important, but also You know, hanging out with your family, friends, hobbies. You want to make sure that you get a little bit of everything in your life. That's kind of what I'm trying to do right now. I'm missing on sleep a little bit, but I got everything else nailed down pretty well.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
I read Shoe Dog last year, the Phil Knight Nike autobiography. That kind of sparked a little bit of entrepreneurial spirit in me. And, you know, people just see Phil Knight and this successful company Nike nowadays, but he didn't get there very easily. It took him some hard work and, you know, he struggled for quite some time before he got Nike where it is today.
That is a great book. And what is your favorite quote and why?
I saw this quote recently, actually, a guy on the Cincinnati Bengals posted it on Instagram. Seen it before, but it is, "Don't be afraid of losing people. Be afraid of losing yourself by trying to please everyone around you." And I like that a lot just because as I'm growing up, you kind of realize that some people might fall out of your life. But if they're not meant to be there, don't try and, you know, like, it's like a puzzle piece. Don't try and put it where it doesn't belong. If they're not supposed to be there, then that's kind of how it is. Don't change yourself.
Dude, thanks so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find and/or connect with you online?
Obviously LinkedIn. You can find me Cameron Vogel on LinkedIn or the Smoke and Awe website, www.smokeandawe.com.
Perfect, brother. Thanks again for jumping on.
Yeah, thanks, Tyler.
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