Charles Evans

by Dr. Iain Corness

I met this man at a Chamber of Commerce networking evening. He shook my hand and said, “My name is Charles Evans.” Immediately on hearing his distinctive voice, I knew I he seemed familiar. Then I remembered his advertisement on Pattaya Mail TV! (And who would dare say that advertising doesn’t work!)
Charles is the Managing Director of Evans Marketing, and a man who has never forgotten his father’s advice “Never make money with your hands!” He is also a man who is not afraid of work – he began when he was nine years old, “I always had money and I always saved money.” However, there were a couple of low points along the way!
Charles was born in New York City, though when he was older was sent to school in Florida for his health. After high school he went to university to study business, advertising and marketing. There was a good reason for this, and most of it stemmed from his father. “Father was successful,” said Charles. “He beat it into my brain to study, to work with my brain and not my hands.”
At university he met many creative people, and found that he enjoyed being with people with these talents, even though Charles denies being creative himself. After two years at university, this was enough for Charles, he could see the opportunities were out there, and they should be seized.
And seize he did, dropping out to follow his entrepreneurial ideas, and going into a business partnership in a firm called Astrographics. Charles was 19 years old and was the president of his own printing and design company. From there he went into graphics and typography. “This is what gives a lot of the feeling of a magazine,” said Charles. Continuing on with his personal development he ended up as Director of Typographical Design for a larger company. Again I questioned Charles over his claim of not being personally creative, to which he replied, “I have a good memory. I could memorize the compatibility of designs.”
Wanting to do something more in a company of his own, his next foray was into gourmet foods. This was not quite the quantum leap you may imagine. His father was a successful restaurateur, and Charles had earned pocket money working part-time in German delicatessens. He became a junior partner and opened up his gourmet food outlet in New York City. If there really is a Mother Goose, Charles would have made a million from this opportunity. Alas no! “I lost my shirt. After that, I’ve never been a junior partner!” An expensive lesson perhaps, but Charles was able to learn from it.
Staying with the gourmet food concept, he opened The Treatshoppe. “We kept gourmet cheeses, caviar, salmon, and all the delicacies you would find in London’s Harrods.” Charles applied himself to the advertising and merchandizing side of the business. “We used databases, corporate marketing and direct mail marketing.” What came out of his data pointed him towards corporate gift baskets, and this concept took off. One store grew to three and then franchised on to become six.
Charles was doing well. He sold out and moved to south Florida to get away from New York’s oppressive winters. “I thought I was going to retire. I was 37 years old.” However, people like Charles Evans cannot retire!
Firstly the well known Merrill Lynch corporation snapped him up to work as a commercial broker for them, and then he opened up a “business gift business”. When you are on a good thing, stick to it, goes the old dictum. Charles took this ‘good thing’ and honed and fine-tuned it. Charles again applied himself in the marketing area. “I was constantly going back to my roots in advertising and typographical design.” Again I had to question his claim the he was not a creative person. “I hired people,” said Charles, “graphic designers, layout.”
Charles must have known the right people to hire, because his next career move was one that was to influence his life indelibly. The Exxon corporation wanted newsletters as part of their incentive programs for their stores. Charles put up his hand, but was not immediately accepted. “After 60 times of saying no, they finally bit the bullet.”
Charles managed to provide some instant and quantifiable results. He remodeled two service stations which doubled their returns within 12 months. Charles Evans demonstrated that he understood the meaning of the term “marketing”. “It had taken many years to get into Exxon,” said Charles, “but that led to fifteen very successful years with them.” As part of that successful partnership, Charles was flown to South America to review corporate marketing there, and then in 1999 was brought to Thailand to open up a marketing office for them in Bangkok.
He had dreamed of having an office in Thailand and one in Florida, and it looked as if that dream had come true. However, dreams are dreams and not reality. The constant traveling backwards and forwards between the US and Thailand took its toll on his family, so a decision had to be made. The marketing man could see the opportunities in Thailand, and the Florida chapter was closed.
With his Exxon Bangkok contract finishing, he looked further afield. “I opened up an office in Pattaya. There is a large market here. It was an option that was available. Pattaya is a place to do business and make money.”
He has again thrown himself into working. He has launched two publications, Pattayainvestments.com and Pattayaproprtyfinder.com, all under the aegis of Evans Marketing.
He has also thrown himself into the community, and as part of that commitment, is the new president of the Taksin-Pattaya Rotary Club. He says he has no real hobbies, but does admit to “an insatiable appetite for learning new things.”
After meeting Charles Evans, that probably is his raison d’etre. “Making money is not what drives me – it’s a by-product,” he said as he rushed off to his next appointment.