We recently had the chance to connect with Evan Lossing and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Evan, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I always start the day by spending time with my 1 and 3 year olds. We make breakfast, usually eggs or pancakes (or waffles), whatever my daughter requests that morning. I’ll grab a guitar and we’ll sing songs like “Old MacDonald” or “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, we’ll read some Eric Carle books, or just free-play around the house. They are just the two happiest kids and it absolutely melts my heart when they smile or laugh, and it’s always the best way to start the day.
After a fun morning of playing (and cleaning up after them), I’ll head into one of our learning centers to meet with our teams and get much needed work done. We are currently expanding our operations which means we are developing a lot of new, but necessary systems, procedures, and positions to keep up! I’m very blessed to have a great team of individuals who share the same passion and mission I do at our learning centers, and do everything they can to provide the best learning experience to their families and staff. During the day we get to interact with the best students, hear about the great things they are doing outside the learning center, what things they are discovering, and they really make the whole experience for us.
After wrapping up for the day, I’ll head home hopefully in time for dinner with my wife and kiddos before getting them all ready for bed. We’ll wind down with a bath and a story before the kids lay down for the night. Once the kids are asleep, it’s always nice to have some alone time with my wife, even if she’s watching Gilmore Girls and I’m catching up on my Instagram feed.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My family has been involved with Mathnasium for about 13 years, and we are very proud of what Mathnasium has been able to achieve over that time for students domestically and abroad! The best way I can describe our program is that we are a math-specialized learning center where we help students Kindergarten through 12th grade catch up, keep up, and get ahead in their math concepts! Each of our students receive a custom-tailored learning program geared to meet them exactly where they’re at. If we are starting a little behind, what foundation concepts can we solidify, so we can move forward and make math make sense again, and if we’re ahead, how can we continue to make math something that is exciting, fun, and mentally stimulating?
In a family business, you can wear many hats. My roles with our organization currently are DFW Regional Director for my local group of centers, and Director of Human Resources for our organization.
As the Regional Director, I’ve had the great privilege of developing and working with a great team of like-minded, but unique individuals who share the same passions and goals I do. I’ve been the Regional Director for our DFW centers for 6 years and have been very thankful for the experience, the people I’ve met, and the people I continue to meet. At this moment, I feel our team is the strongest it’s ever been, all understanding what it takes to make a meaningful impact in our community and in our students’ lives.
As the Director of Human Resources, I have a wonderful opportunity to work with a great group of individuals across several states, including California, Arizona, Colorado, and Ohio. In this role, I proudly get to develop and train our incoming team members. There are many things to do as Director of Human Resources in regards to performance plans, state and company compliance, but I’ll spare the dry details.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
While I was in college, I feel like I learned a lot about how I operate as a person. If something was interesting to me, I’d develop an almost obsessive focus on it. I’d read every book and article I could find on it, break down the mechanics of how that thing works and rebuild it as my own. If I wasn’t very interested in it, good luck getting me to spare attention.
I realized that I’m what I call an “all-in or all-out” type of person. If I’m going to do something, I’m going to put all my chips on the table and focus every ounce of energy on making what I’m working on more perfect than perfect. To me, if I’m not 100% in, then what am I doing? Never do something with 90% effort. If you’re going to do something, never do less than your best.
This has really shaped the way I look at my work with Mathnasium. Mathnasium is something that I’m extraordinarily passionate about, and something I can commit myself to 100% every second of every day. I have a commitment to my students to make math simple and fun, to my team to provide a great and rewarding working experience where they can continue to develop and grow as individuals, and to our enrolled parents to help set their students up for long-term academic and personal success.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
A lot of the things we teach our team come from my personal failures. I’m the kind of guy that has to step on every rake in the yard to find out what not to do, and that’s how I’ve been since I was a kid. My parents would always tell me not to do something, and I would have to find out why the hard way.
Funny enough, I do think this has been helpful, as these failures have inspired more innovation, which have led to greater successes and an overall better understanding of “why” we do what we do.
I think a lot of people think the path success is linear, but it is riddled with failure, ups and downs. The only true “failures” are those who fail to learn from their past mistakes.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Whose ideas do you rely on most that aren’t your own?
I like to read and listen to audiobooks about different topics on running a strong organization, but I have learned a lot from my Dad. He’s taught me things that I like to teach my team like to “inspect what you expect”, ensuring that if expectations are communicated or set that we are seeing those things are happening and becoming habit/second nature, or even just coaching me on how to be better organized and self-accountable. He’s been a great teacher and guide for me in my early adult life, and he’s always been a big inspiration to me. I’ve always admired his work ethic, and I think that’s definitely rubbed off on my sister and I.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
Hopefully that is a long long way off, but I hope I will be remembered as a supportive and caring husband and father first and foremost, a great son and brother, and friend. I hope that by the time I’m gone, I’ve positively impacted the lives I’ve crossed paths with, even if just for a short while. I want to measure my success with the lasting impact I’ve had in the communities I’ve served.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Mathnasium
