Several years ago while working for a global corporation, I faced an unfortunate situation by using social media in my professional life that caused a crack in my reputation. It was incredibly embarrassing to me professionally as I had pushed for our business unit and staff to be more aggressive in the space thinking that we needed to be using the platform more both personally and professionally. At the time of the issue, I had recently read a New York Times Best Seller book on "Building Your Digital Brand". The book was actually very education and basically outline why everyone and businesses needed to be using social media to gain attention. I thought I understood the basics and focused on the immediate attention I assumed I needed, looking back now, I really didn't know how to tell stories properly within the context of business. It quickly caused a crack in my reputation which I worked so hard to establish. It's very uncomfortable even now for me to write this and be open about the situation. Mostly because it was a big mistake and let's be honest no one wants to admit mistakes publicly. But at this point in my life, I realize mistakes happen that will not ruin a career if you are willing to take responsibility, accept the consequences, learn from them and then leave it in your rear view mirror. I'm still learning everyday. I choose to tell my story for others to use as a learning tool and to know that you are not alone with this love / hate relationship with SM. It certainly was a hard lesson to learn and ultimately motivated me to put time and energy into learning how to properly use social media effectually within the context of business and regain the momentum I had lost which lead me to ultimately reinvent myself and gain skills in areas I avoided. Before you judge me, it wasn't inappropriate personally, it was a matter of sharing information on a business I had invested in as a personal safety net knowing the current business unit I fell under was being divested from the company. However my timing and approach was wrong. I lacked patience, communication and confidence. So let me get into lessons I learned and ways to avoid those mistakes. Why executives and business owners don't maximize social media:
I understand first hand all of the above but also know the massive benefits to learning the tools and putting great effort into creating and sharing content the proper way will help bring positive attention to them and their business. How Important Is SM in how we communicate in 2016? I was recently in a Panera Bread in a retirement community for a lunch meeting and after the meeting I stayed around to get some work done and use their WiFi. I notice around me there were ten people (I counted) all senior folks 60+ having a coffee or probably just wanting to be out of their homes and around other people. Out of the 10, nine of the people were staring at their cell phones, the 10th person was napping (Seriously). Based on my personal Facebook feeds, I know my parents, aunts, uncles and connections within that demographic are fully engaged watching and commenting to what their kids, grandkids and friends are doing all day long. Most don't post their own content but rather share, like or comment on others. FB I'm sure is still intimidating to them but keeps them connected to their friends and families more so than ever before. That connection is what keeps them engaged. I know my Panera friends we doing the exact same thing that afternoon, except of course the sleeping guy. Benefits To Properly Using All Social Media Tools:
So what are the solutions for executives, business owners or anyone who needs help in this space?
There are certainly benefits to each option depending on how you like to learn and time commitment. There are a lot more books available now that cover both the why and how which are great on audio tape as well. "Likable Social Business" by Dave Kerpen is one of my favorites. Online courses offered on Udemy have plenty of classes which are user friendly, can be taken at your own pace and can be used as a refresher as many times as needed. Subscribe once and the class is yours forever. The last option is a a lot more inclusive and a greater investment, think of it as a personal assistance. Only you know how much your time is worth. This option can costs anywhere between $100 and $5,000 per month depending on the services or length of assistance you need but will change over time as you understand and become more comfortable using the apps yourself. How Can A SM Coach Help?
It's just the beginning. We are part of the cultural shift in how people communication, watch live events, consume the news, book travel, buy products, etc. Some of you will remember what happened when the TV came to market in the 50's and people stopped listening to their shows on the radio. Most of you will remember what happen to ABC, CBS and NBC when cable was installed in your house. Look what happened to the radio industry? Today look at what is happening to cable TV, newspapers, magazines, home phones and direct mail. Think about your daily routines on how you find out scores, local news, weather, events, entertainment or the new restaurant in town? Chances are it's not from a newspaper delivered to your door. It's All About Attention! Attention is in our pockets and hands of the 14 billion cell phones in the world. An average of 4 hours a day is spent on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, Texts, YouTube, WhatsApp, taking selfies or creating stories on SnapChat. 80% of websites are explored on cell phones 85% of 25 year olds don't subscribe to cable TV When was the last time you even took a call from a number you didn't recognize? What I Learned The valuable lessons I learned turned a very negative situation into a very positive skill set, which has massively grown my network, brought more attention to my business and ultimately resulted in new revenue streams. Revenue actually wasn't the goal at the beginning of building my "Digital Brand". Once I learned and applied my social media personality, after some time of putting out consistent daily content, new business (And Job) opportunities came to me naturally. Why? Because I wasn't trying to sell anything, rather my goal was to help connect people, share content I liked, found interesting or funny. By deciding to not shy away from social media, which took some time to catch my breadth and watch, rather I went all in with my chips to avoid repeating that issue and learn everything I could about this universe and what influencers were doing. What You Can Do Today We are living through the greatest moment in our lifetime to the shifting of media, communication and advertising consumption. So I implore those hesitant to become a "chips all in users", which may be some of you to take small steps but at least start walking. Embrace the ever changing social media landscape and enjoy all the incredible benefits it provides. You should allocate time and resources to learn more, experiment, read books, take online classes, hire a SM coach to help fast track growing a following and master the art and science of SM. The beautiful thing is you're followers will immediately let you know if you are providing them with valuable or interesting content. But most of all, understand how to use SM properly and don't be afraid to use in an appropriate manner. Find your SM personality and have enough self awareness and confidence to share your knowledge with the world. Your rewards will be plenty with building relations, helping others, growing your network and ultimately learn how to stay out of the dog house! I'm a 25+ year sports, media and entertainment executive and start up investor and advisor. I have published eBooks on practical tools; Utilizing Social Media For Your Business and The Global Business of Sports. I am a guest speaker at college Sports and Media programs and assist brands, start ups, pro leagues, media groups, NBG's, Retail Chains with personal and business digital media strategy, social media management, unique activation concepts and event generating revenue. Learn more about my background and how I can help you and your business at the above tab at SM Services. Kindly share and comment below if you found this article helpful.
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Today I met an amazing older southern lady at the airport waiting for our plane to board. She must have been lonely because she jumps right into telling me her life story about her daughter and late husband of 50+ years, whom she adored. She told me some hilarious stories and described what a true character he was ...everyone in their tiny home town in Virginia called him the "Mayor". Although he wasn't really the mayor, He worked for the high school as the Maintenance man and as she said always carried "175 keys"! She worked in the high school main office...both of them at the same school for 40 years. They started and retired on the same day together. Incredible... The Mayor was the guy that got involved in everything and everyone knew him, she would say. He was the president of the little league, pop warner football (he didn't have any sons) and somehow found time to organize fundraisers, be a volunteer fireman and bartender at the VFW. He was also proud Navy Vet. They retired to Florida several years ago as he was very passionate about Golf, Cold Beer and BBQ and as she said sarcastically... "And not necessarily in that order"! While in Florida at their retirement community he was a member of several clubs, president of most, organized several fundraising golf tournaments and of course the "Mayor" of their block parties. Which were plenty. She did get a bit withdrawn at the end of her story and summed up everything about their marriage, relationship and the amazing outlook and life he led... She explained the day they found out he had stage 4 cancer, on the golf cart ride home from the doctors he said to her incredibly just minutes after he was told he had very little time left to live... "Honey it's been a great ride and journey with you, I couldn't Image another life. I know we never made a lot of money, but we worked hard, put our daughter through college and I hope we made a difference in a lot of peoples life's. I think we won the game... So let's go celebrate that with some beer and ribs"! She continued on to say she is not sure if she will ever get over him being gone, perhaps not? However she says her nightly dreams and thoughts through the day are filled with funny things he would do or say and all the lifelong memories of her wonderful life with the mayor. She says those memories gives her strengths knowing that he gave it his all everyday to make a difference with his family and their tiny Virginia community. I am so glad I smiled and said hello to that wonderful lady today. She helped put a few things into perspective for me today by sharing her story....and I am happy to share it with you. Have a wonderful weekend, be thankful for your life, make a difference and go enjoy some beer and ribs! I don't have to look very far to see first hand how the shift in influencer marketing and content consumption is happening. My very own focus group lives with me...we have a 24, 21, 18 and 7 year old (That's a story for another day) which gives me the perfect age range. Plus it's two boys and two girls. Of course as a parent I am naturally curious about what they watch, listen to and post online, but being in the business it's equally intriguing to me to understand their media consumption habits and how their digital friends "Influencers" really direct their attention. Both the good and the bad stuff. Here is what I have discovered.
Kids Are Creating Personal Media Empires
How Did This Happen?
Growing & Evolving By The Hour & Day The influence that Youtube, SnapChat or musical.ly will have on my home focus group is massive. Those brands that are nimble in the space, willing to take some risks and not bogged down by layers of approvals and politics will win. If you're thinking this is a few years away you lost, think 3,6,12 months and what are you going to do today. Now if I can only get my seven year old to play the guitar like Eddie Van Halen! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for reading and hopefully commenting below and sharing this post. Rob is the author of "The Business of Sports" eBook guide to working in the sports industry and a 25+ senior executive with The Walt Disney Company, North American Sports Group and The NFL. I help global sports organizations, media groups, brands, leagues and teams create digital and live event revenue generating content and activation. You can follow me on all SM platforms @RobThompsonLive What I find interesting is that somehow recently "Not Everyone Getting An Award" seems to be the rallying cry of those which believe is the core reason to young athletes growing up to be an entitled millennial.
How did this happened? Those that believe in this theory think that if we give everyone an award for just showing up and competing, regardless if they won or lost, why does that deserve a trophy? "They need to accept failure as a child to be a more productive adult" screams the grouchy dad. Let's take a look deeper into the why... Sure there is also those that believe todays young professionals feel entitled to big salary's and titles without earning it. Perhaps the fact that only 12 years ago when social media didn't really exist these same kids who were born at the right time in the history of the world with the digital revolution, they have seen that it is very possible that they too can become a millionaire at the age of 19. And the fact that they know that, pisses a lot of experts off. So is it the youth soccer coaches fault? Is it the parents fault? Or just maybe it's the leagues and the tournament organizers that build in a trophy and free T-Shirt as an added value to sign up and register and gain attention to their sport or event!? Does everyone deserve unlimited appetizers at TGIFriday's for just showing up and not earning those 75 free loaded potato skins? Or just maybe its marketing and gaining attention to their restaurant chain and a youth soccer tournament? It's really just business and not the evil empire in an attempt to soften up our kids. Now let's talk about young professionals vs youth sports and what we as adults do to enable or staff and what youth coaches do to develop young athletes. There is a correlation between the two. If you have every operated a business, or have been in management and hired young professionals, it's easy to get caught up in the pedigree and look test. Similar to youth and high school players are judged by what state they are from, what they look like in street clothes or uniforms. I don't care who you are, we all judge people the same way on first impressions and make our assumptions. What we don't know is what drives them internally. Do they have the "Want To Factor"? Coaches talk about you can't see the size of their heart. Employers talk about high effort, hard working, non drama employees. Don't we know talk about "Culture" and "Lifestyle" and offer extra's to keep employees happy. Staff bowling parties, extra days off, Monday lunches, bring your pets to work, etc, etc.... Aren't those awards for just showing up? Now think about that kid that sat on the bench. Who is not that athletic and seems like they just don't fit in. That could have been many of you or your kids. Everyone needs some confidence be it the star, bench warmers or intern. Whatever the reason, something compelled that kid to get up and show up for the game and play the season. Be it they won the championship or lost every game, as little the award maybe if only for a brief moment, it may just be the confidence that child needed to play another sport, or register for another season. As painful as Mondays are to work, perhaps that free lunch and that brief moment to bond with the boss and coworkers gives them the confidence to work a bit harder or feel more valued. So let's go back to grouchy dad who thinks that every kid is entitled and doesn't deserve that trophy for just showing up. He still like to compete and show his kids how its done . Somehow on his last Turkey Trot 5K he finished 9899 out of the 10,000 but remarkably was so proud to show off his medal to his kids. Now lets go get some potato skins! Good thing "Everyone Gets An Award". Sign up today and receive unlimited free access to influencers in the business of sports, media and entertainment at www.robthompsonlive.com. Rob Thompson-Owner Operator of 100+ grassroots events for youth, recreational and elite athletes. 20+ Years In Youth Development Programs, Family Entertainment and Media for the NFL, The Walt Disney Company and Arena Football League. Follow me on here in LinkedIn and on Twitter @robthompsonlive Kindly share and leave your comments below, I would love to read your perspective. Thanks for reading. "Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable" is what separates the star players from the haters and those negative nay-sayers in business. How many employees, coworkers, industry executives, people on SM that love to sit in the shadows and criticize or are just negative? Or better yet, don't know how to use or truly understand social media platforms. Just because your kids and junior level staff are on it doesn't mean you shouldn't be or at the very least understand consumer attention. Stop being a spectator and get in the GAME! Understanding SM platforms and HOW they are consumed on a daily basis is 90% of the challenge. It's about understanding consumers attention. When you think about the 100+ million posts on Facebook each day that should be a pretty good key to it's value. Just because you are a 50+ year old CMO doesn't mean that you should rely upon the 20 year olds or your kids to help you understand SM. It's YOUR job to be engaged and understand the power and massive shift in the market of peoples attention. But you need to be a participant first. Understanding how real data and digital analytics such as clicks, likes, comments and shares are much more powerful than Neilson ratings assumptions based a percentage of DMA's. Who's taking those survey's anyways? Seniors and those that are unemployed? Last month 10 million customers canceled cable, so common sense I assume is how do TV ratings go up if consumers have shifted how they consume content? Not many of us are really comfortable throwing our ideas and POV out to the world to judge us in social media like this platform. Heck I know my grammar and spelling is brutal, but what you are getting is an authentic me. How many times had you wished in a staff or client meeting that you spoke up but didn't in fear of saying something really stupid or off point? "I will reach out off line" What that heck is off line anyways? Do you think Mark Cuban, Richard Branson and other highly successful executives and entrepreneurs have that same mentality? Yes they listen but aren't afraid to be heard, give their opinion or be in the game. I'm sure they weren't that way before they were Billionaires. They understood then and even more so now where consumers attention was in that particular moment. You have an expertise in what you do everyday or something you're passionate about, stay in that lane...but Get In The Game! I grew up with dyslexia and never knew it until I got to college. I was a horrible student who struggled from day one. Fortunately, I had a college summer school teacher my freshman year and in a class I had to take just to be allowed into the fall semester. She discovered my dyslexia this first week of class and helped me work through my learning disability (How I was able to go through public schools for those early years and no one caught it is another story). Up to that point before college, I was always uncomfortable to raise my hand and petrified to speak up. I basically accepted the fact that I was a bad student. The fear continued to suffocate me until I fought through it and became comfortable with how I delivered my opinion and that was through writing. I continue to do so today but have more confidence which I gained from just diving in and challenging myself everyday, but my platform changed. So you aren't alone if you have faced the same challenges, just fight through it and find the platform via video Vlog or writing but start somewhere that you feel comfortable with either here, Medium, Blog, twitter, FB, etc. But start today. Even on this platform, I decided to stop being a spectator a few years ago with just reading and commenting on other's posts, I made a decision to become really uncomfortable and started my own website where I interview influencers in my industry (1 on 1 Interviews above tab) who I feel can help others with their personal stories. Believe me is not in my DNA to self promote. But what has happened as a result is my network has drastically increased my connections and followers quickly and it has massively grown my network and attention in my industry ...now I'm in the Game! And you should be too. It's not who you know...It's Who Knows You! Get In The Game! I hate to be the barer of bad news but if the coaches doesn't like your kid, 70% its because of you. The other 30% is because your kid doesn't listen. Unless your child can actually fly through the air over your house from the backyard to the front yard carrying the family dog, then they're really not that special or different. The power of social media has replaced those car stickers that would let everyone who is driving behind you know that your kid is an honor student or goes to a college that people recognize has been replaced by facebook video's and pictures, which is awesome for family and friends, but no one else cares. Funny you never see a back window college sticker from the University of Phoenix? I believe parents (I have four) is that living for those short term social media brag moments rather than celebrating what all the kids just accomplished, has brought out the worst in people and has caused more issues with parents and coaches because those "My kid is great" moments have to be video documented and not over exaggerated like the good old days. At the end of the day, kids, coaches and parents know who are the best players are on their team and in their leagues. But you need to know that the coach equally loves those kids who are the better listeners, non complainers and those that tries super hard at every practice and in the game regardless if they have limited ability. They like your kid more if you are also a non complainer. Does it mean they will get more playing time? No but it also means the coach will spend more time helping them get the most out of their ability because they know the kid cares and that their parents supports them as a coach. Here are a few ways that parents can help...
As simple as the above sounds and what should be common sense, somehow gets lost in the need to be self serving. Put your child's experience first and that tone is set with the parents, not the coaches. They really just want a Dunkin Donuts gift card after the season. I am a 25+ year Sports and Media executive who also coached youth, high school and college football. I help national governing bodies, youth organizations, brands create revenue generating grassroots fan and player development programs. www.RobThompsonLive.com I would love to hear your perspective and share your stories. Kindly leave comments below and share with others if you liked the article. How many times have you started your day with thinking to yourself "How"?
So the question now becomes how much time and energy do I need to pick up the phone and call someone to confront the situation or write out an action plan to move an idea along or schedule a one on one to solve a "How". As a business owner, leader or coach that is a daily challenge that keeps us up at night or forces us to rise early to sort out our hows. It needs to become something that perhaps you can never be comfortable with each day but has to be part of the grind that forces us all into embracing running a business or team. How = anxiety but it's how we manage that anxiety with positive attitudes and confronting those how's that allows us to make progress each day.Mostly everything that causes that anxiety is based on people, which includes you. How you handle them, how you work around them, how you can help them will lead you to the solutions. I spend a lot of time at our families home in Florida which is in a massive "Active" retirement community north of Orlando. I'm years from that point in my life and career to live there full time but I really enjoy my time meeting the folks that live and love the lifestyle. To them it's paradise and no one is in a rush. Everyday is a sunny Saturday to them. I see a group of people that won the game. They lived by a set of rules, made enough good decisions to get to the point of leaving the real grind behind and enjoying the final third of their lives. They had thousands of how moments to overcome. However, their world now revolves around the how's of politics, the stock market, whats for dinner, when's happy hour and doctor visits. They still have the hows...How do I hold onto my money, how do I stay healthy, how do I get my grandkids to visit more. It's all relative, it's just the normal process of life. But mastering how you manage those anxiety is how we all can get to that point of being in a position to become one of the lucky ones to win the game too. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am a Sports & Media Executive and Entrepreneur that has spent most of my career with building revenue generating lines of business for corporations such as the NFL and The Walt Disney Company. I have had many successes and failures along the way but have never stopped learning or helping others with their journeys. Kindly comment, like or share this article below if you found it useful to you today. Find out more about my life and watch one on one webcasts with influencers in the sports industry at www.robthompsonlive.com. Also happy to connect and help you anyway I can, feel free to connect directly at; rob@robthompsonlive.com. Perhaps we are similar to our parents in many ways but certainly not like our grandparents. We seem to step into each new season not always with the anticipation of watching our kids grow, mature and experience a piece of their childhood. When did we start to look for ways to criticize, complain, compare and try to convict the coaches if they display what we feel is not the best for our kids too quickly. "Coach yelled awful things at the kids"... "He told my kid he couldn't play because he's not good enough right now or not trying hard enough or not paying attention". What!? We can't believe what another adult told my kid! I need to say something... Think about it, most of us tell our kids those very same things everyday at home and maybe we even swear in front of our kids too? But we just don't want to hear a coach say that to OUR kids. Have you ever said.. "Why are you always teasing your sister, you are driving us all crazy and you're not listening"... "You can't play Xbox or use your cell phone until you do your homework...the effort in school is just not good enough". Coaches are just trying to get the most out of our kids at that moment, just like us at home. Please relax and let them coach and don't take it so personally. Many of us had a youth and high school coaches who made an enormous impact in our life's and so will your children. I hope as you read this you are thinking of that coach right now and I'm sure the characteristics and personality of that coach were similar for all of us. They were probably brutally honest, tough, caring, and most likely said some hilarious things about you and your teammates that to this day you can recite every word of those classic one-liners and stories. I'm sure if your parents heard what the coach said at the time it wouldn't be as funny to them. Don't think too much about what you believe is an underlining message of what you heard your kids coach say...because I guarantee that is has a much different meaning to them. So as I sit here and write this blog, I am thinking of the coach that had made the biggest impact on my life; Coach Bert. In today's parent/coach holier than thou standards. Burt most likely would be run out of most soft suburban, country club, entitlement communities today where lawsuits and getting coaches fired have become a hobby and a badge of honor for parents. What does it prove anyways and what are we teaching our kids? Back then and still today, Coach Bert was our guy. I guess you could call him a throw back but he was a product of the 1960's in a very multi cultural blue collar town which was the same town I grew up in, so my teammates and I didn't know any other life or type of people. Everyone was brutally honest. Not only did coach Bert yell, push and pull us, he broke us down, built us up, he got everything he could from thousands of teenage knucklehead punks over his 30 plus years of coaching and teaching. His style today would be deemed harsh, inappropriate, crude and maybe unprofessional but we loved it and him. Not only would he smoke, swear, spit, scratch and scream...he told us amazing stories about life, former players and interesting people and places he had been. Most of all he told us the truth about ourselves, the good and the bad. It didn't matter if we liked to hear it but we knew and accepted his truth. Not sure what our parents thought of Coach Bert at the time but they didn't seem to care or try to run him out of town because all we talked about at dinner...was Coach Bert. Most challenging moments in my life today, I take a piece of him with me knowing that everything in life is not always going to be easy and that WE DON'T get an award for just showing up! As coach would love tell us..."If your mother doesn't like what I am telling you, tell her that I knew her since she was your age and believe me she wasn't an angel either"! Please just let them coach. The lessons that our kids learn today will be valuable lessons that will help them later in life. Being a part of the team is as important as being the star of the team. Understanding that not everyone is going to be the star and it's not your fault or the coaches that your kid isn't more talented. But what a coach will do is get the most effort out of your kid. Not everyone is going to get into the game and most of all they will not like every coach or teacher they have...our kids will carry these life lesson with them when they have bosses that they loath or love. Do you want to quit your job because your boss said something to hurt your feelings? Probably not and you get over it and move on. Or maybe you do quit your job and maybe you pull your kid off the team today because of the same reason. What is the ultimate impact...no one cares. So who are you really helping? If we try to fight every battle for our kids now with lawsuits, board meetings and convictions, our kids will never learn to fight their own battles and more importantly figure out how to work with the tough coaches or their future bosses. They have to figure that out on their own. Let them coach. So as we gather this weekend as the "Arm Chair Army" and sit for a few hours judging and criticize coaches and the other parents this weekend in our Target Lounge Chairs with retractable roofs, drinking our $15 Starbucks Lattes and looking at our emails... let's put it all into perspective. There are kids around the world the same age as our kids who are scared, homeless, helping to provide for their families without any hope of ever playing in a lacrosse game this weekend. Be more thankful that there are still adults who really do care about making an impact in kids life's and try to be less cynical. Please support the coach good or bad and enjoy the moment because your kid will thank THEM later. Thanks Coach Bert! I would love to read your comments below and please share this if you feel it's worthy for your peers to read. "You Throw Like A Girl"...you may have heard that phrase 25 years ago from the gym class jerk. However, today you may hear one of your daughters using that same jab on your son or one of her male teammates. Lots has changed in the world of participation sports. Thanks in part to Title IX, this is the generation of coed participation sports. Boys and girls growing up playing on the same little league and soccer teams. A generational result of "Play Dates" has ramped up participation of the endurance events, road races, zombie runs, triathlons, etc. Basically events where teams of participants (Mostly Millennial's) train and compete together. It's where social media, businesses/personal relationships, entertainment and competition blend together within an exploding industry. It has been proven that participation in youth sports results in future consumers of a sport, especially with females. One only has to look at number of females attending professional and college football, soccer and basketball. The numbers are about 50-50. What we see now is a true zest for programming where there is an equal playing field, this is a generation of athletic kids who are spending their entertainment dollars on not just booze, food, music and the going to the movies. They have grown up competing on the field together which now carries over to the office, into their one on one real and digital social space. In today's world, you don't want to be that person in the office that throws like your mom! I am a 25+ year Sports & Media executive and author of eBook "The Business of Sports". I help NGB's, Brands, Pro Leagues, Teams, Media Groups, College Conferences, Universities and Properties create and execute revenue generating events, programming, digital content, SM strategy and activation. Learn morewww.RobThompsonLive.com and follow my SM platforms @RobThompsonLive Kindly share article or leave your comments below. I started my first sports business at 24 years old not knowing any other way besides coaching to break into the sports industry. Not sure at the time if it was the best timing as I was newly married, expecting our first child, didn’t have any relevant experience, limited contacts and no funding… but I had a burning desire and a greater sense of purpose to help high school athletes further their playing careers in college. This was all done before the internet and personal computers, so starting from scratch was an understatement. Our kitchen table was my office and our big dial house phone and US mail were my only sales tools. But what I built and sold was one of the very first high school sports recruiting services in the country. During this crazy journey which started at that tiny apartment kitchen table, I was able to carve out a niche and follow a core purpose and passion for providing memorable experiences for athletes, families and fans. But what transpired between that humble yet exciting beginning and today was a massive cultural shift in global and amateur sports and how we participate, access, engage and invest in those “Experiences”. The timing, relationships and understanding of the space put me on a path to work for some of the most powerful sports and entertainment companies in the world. Yet each stop on my career journey I seemed to be impatient on the next step. There were moments that were amazing and rewarding seeing ideas and concepts come together with clients and participants embracing the experience. There were also times that were frustrating and things didn’t always work out. That’s life and business…learn to enjoy the moments that are great and be thankful. I have also learned the greatest asset from experience is patience and self awareness, which to me has become an incredibly powerful tool. Knowing what you are good at and what you stink at is important. You can think you “know it all” or fake it until you need execute. So with time you learn to hire or collaborate with those that know more than you or are just honestly better at executing a specific task. You learn that situations and people change so having patience is critical on your career journey knowing that you really need to enjoy those great business partners, clients or bosses when you have them, and when you don’t you learn to play the game or change the game because it’s just that…A game! So how can I help you on your journey? I advise National and International Governing Bodies, Pro Teams, Leagues, College Conferences, Universities, Youth Organizations, Brands, Properties and Media Groups by helping them create and execute revenue generating event platforms, unique activation ideas, practical social media strategies and grassroots fan/player development programs. I am always interested to learn more about your story, your big ideas, challenges, goals and explore ways that I can help…..even if it starts off at your kitchen table! I am always looking for interesting people for my webcast interviews…send me a note if you would like to be a featured guest. Learn more about me, educational content and interviews at www.RobThompsonLive.comand please follow my SM platforms @robthompsonlive. Stories From The Road Chapter Five... I believe there are times in your life when you are faced with making really tough decisions on your next step in business and your personal life which can be both horrifying and completely thrilling! But I have learned if you make those decisions with the right intentions of going towards something positive not running away from a negative situation, it can and will become an amazing experience. I had one of those decisions to make back in 2009 with the opportunity to move to LA for a job...It certainly wasn't a place I thought at the time that I wanted to pick up my wife and children and relocate our NY lives. I automatically thought about all the crazy people who I perceived moved to California to either hide from their ex's or the authorities! I happened to be neither (I think) but what I found was something much different than what I originally perceived. It wasn't necessarily about the crazy people who were hiding in those dirty campers, it was all those people that were doing everything they could to be SEEN! What stuck me was all the people who wear those oversized bug eye sun glasses inside! Somehow, I didn't get the memo? Well in March 2009 right in the middle of a global recession, I moved into the 17th floor of the Disney Channel building overlooking Warner Brothers Studio and the backside of Hollywood Hills (Above Photo). I had front row seats to watch SOCAL burn during the fire season. I also moved into temp corporate housing at the Oakwood Apartments. These are the infamous apartments where many child actors and their delusional parents live while trying to break into the "Biz". The Oakwood Apartments are also famous amongst other things because Rick "Super Freak" James died from a drug overdose there. He was one of those celebrities that I actually thought died about 20 years earlier, who knew? But my very first night moving into the Oakwood was certainly memorable and my welcome to LALA Land...I was in town only about one hour really late at night and checking into my new apartment when I decided to explore the complex and stumbled upon a deli right on property. Well I went in to look around and get a few things when I noticed this sharply dressed elderly gentlemen literally climbing the wine rack trying to reach a bottle on the top shelve. So trying to be a nice new neighbor, I went over to help grab the bottle for him. As I handed him the bottle as he finished climbing down the wine rack, I could not believe that it was Garrett "Baseball Ben Berry Berry Good To Me" Morris from the legendary Saturday Night Live years..Hilarious! Come to find out... he was still alive. When he saw the look of "You've got to be kidding" on my face, we both started cracking up. I had to ask him how he was doing tonight he gave me a sly smirk, grabbed the wine and slowly nodded over to a 30 something year old young lady standing in the doorway and said without breaking character he says..."You already know my brother"! Well you can image this beauty...She was smoking, snapping her gum and overflowing from her way too tight dress. But the thing that struck me was that she of course was wearing SUN GLASSES at midnight....Welcome to LALA Land! Rob Thompson is a 25+ year entrepreneur and executive in the sports and family entertainment industry and a global leader in grassroots youth sports programming and activation. I help NGB's, International Governing Bodies, Pro Teams, Leagues, Media Groups, Sports Commissions and Brands create grassroots activation and Edu-tainment properties, mass participation events and youth/fan development programs. CLICK HERE to learn about ways we can help or reach out directly at rthompson@nasportsgroup.com 518/867.1117. Kindly leave a comment below and share the post to those who you know will enjoy this perspective. You can follow me across all social media platforms...@robthompsonlive I'm sure you can recite the details of attending your first game in that magical stadium. You remember that feeling of walking in for the first time and what seemed like the grand scale of the field and stadium. You remember the smells and probably hung the poster on your childhood bedroom wall and wore that game shirt for years. Then you started to play youth sports and you pretended to be those hero's you watched, cheered and cried over. You even wore their number during your youth sports career. But you don't follow only one team, you had your favorite MLB, college and NFL/NBA's teams. Your participation in certain sports started to fade away, you got older, you lost interest in playing or you realize you aren't going to become that player your pretended to be for years. But you never stopped being a fan and a consumer. What about those other sports that are perhaps geographical and economically challenging like Hockey or Skiing? How do those sports get into that funnel of youth Participation+Fan =Consumer? It's thinking way outside the box to deliver programing that is meaningful and creates an emotional connection. It also means creating access. There has been a massive focus from pro league and NGB's to do their part with messaging and programs which provides vehicles to empower kids through wellness programs such as "Play 60" but also to integrate youth leagues and special events all through positioning to a "First Try" of their sport. As a consultant for the NFL Youth & Fan development programs in the late 90's, the "Play 60" program was actually first called "Play Football". So has the trend gone away from promoting playing a specific sport or is it promoting going outside to play regardless of the sport? Perhaps it's both. NBA has a robust Jr NBA and FIT programs, MLB has RBI, NFL has NFL Flag Football and USA Swimming launched SwimJitzu in 2015. The trend is in full swing upwards. Investing in youth participation is more than goodwill, it's also building a funnel to future fans and ultimately a consumer. Both agenda's are smart reasons to make the investment in kids...but the number one objective that needs to live beyond the short term economics and PR, is the obligation to provide lasting memories and perhaps thousands of life changing moments that you can't measure on a spread sheet or can't capture in a photo or through a power point slide. The initiative has to have an underlining purpose without an ROI on tickets sales or merchandise the ROI is the investment in the youth participants. Participating in youth sports means more than just the sport itself, it's part of your childhood that creates life long friendships and opens up doors to a future that leads so many lives down a positive path...and hopefully with a hero's number on the back of that uniform. Rob Thompson is a 25+ year entrepreneur and executive in the sports and family entertainment industry and a global leader in grassroots youth sports programming and activation. I help NGB's, International Governing Bodies, Pro Teams, Leagues, Media Groups, Sports Commissions and Brands create grassroots activation and Edu-tainment properties, mass participation events and youth/fan development programs. CLICK HERE to learn about ways we can help or reach out directly at rthompson@nasportsgroup.com 518/867.1117. Kindly leave a comment below and share the post to those who you know will enjoy this perspective. You can follow me across all social media platforms...@robthompsonlive Twenty five years ago as an eager entrepreneur, I started my first business at my kitchen table a month after being married. Besides being ill prepared in all areas of business and life, I dove head first into what I saw as a need in the High School Athlete Recruiting business way before the market became over saturated as it is today. Actually there was only one other national service at the time and it was a magazine. Our model was different as colleges hired us to evaluate talent, provide recommendations and organize "Evaluation Clinics" which today are considered combines. We were ready. Within the first fews months of cold calling and mailing real letters to every Division one and two schools in the country, we signed up 200+ colleges for our services and despite the thrill that our instinct and timing was correct, we quickly became overwhelmed with delivering our services. What we didn't know was how to execute on the scale we promised. It became a major challenge quickly. Looking back now, what I needed was a mentor and advisor who could sit back and look at our business from a different perspective. Someone who wasn't emotionally attached to our business but could offer sound advice in the areas that we lacked experience..which were plenty. We eventually figured how to deliver but not without lots of mistakes and losing a bunch of clients along the way. Eventually we needing to merge with a larger agency which had the resources to help but I had to give up most of my equity and become an employee. That didn't last long as they weren't as passionate about the business as we were nor did it really fit into their core business. We lost. Today with the availability of freelance "On Demand Advisors & Mentors" the ability to source what I consider free agent mentors and senior advisors is a google search away. I only wish we had access to an experienced mentor that could assist, see our challenges before we could or help fill in the holes to our business that I was obviously missing. Who knows what would have happened? The resources availability today are incredible to any 24 year old entrepreneurs who like us felt we had great ideas and the energy to hustle, but not the relationships or experience to execute. Here are a few benefits to utilizing On Demand Advisors and Mentors: Industry Experience- When your friends, family and partners are done telling you why you need to do more on social media and what a great business concept you have, the access to a senior level executive who is not financially or emotionally attached to your day to day grind, is going to be invaluable to your business growth looking from the outside in and provide guidance and open up doors based on experience and relationships. Flexibility- Being as lean as possible with salaries and overhead especially with a start up, the On Demand model will provide your business with daily access to experienced senior level executive in your industry but also afford you the flexibility to determine the length of service without the long term financial commitments. Best of both worlds. You certainly learn more from failures than you do from successes, and I was young and dumb enough to rebound and learn from that experience but considering the only thing I had to lose was my pride and the window view from my kitchen office. Rob Thompson is a 25+ year entrepreneur and executive in the sports and media industry. He is a Keynote Speaker, Mentor and "On Demand" senior advisor for start up businesses. Rob shares these personal stories of influencers and trend setters in the industry. Check out the services tab above or simply email me below to ask me any question on how I can help you. Follow me on Instagram Leave me comments below on how you followed your passion He would reassure me that. I have told this story many times before about one of my favorite mentors I had in my life and career and it was worth sharing again as part of my "Life on The road" series. Tommy Groom was such a positive and amazing human being and a true character from the moment you met him. I was truly fortunate enough to have coach come into my life, to become my friend and mentor at that time. He had a major impact on my life at a time when I really needed someone to help guide me as I was figuring out my career, figuring out how to be a dad and figuring out how to just take a moment to enjoy the moment. He would reassure me that "Everything will fall into place if you are headed to the right place". His story and his daily positivity is worth sharing again... Tommy grew up in a small West Virginia town and I guess just inherently through his family and the culture of the small town blue collar community, he just had a way to break down a situation into it's simplest common sense form and didn't make things overly complicated or dramatic. Always looking for the good in people and in the situation. Perhaps that is what shaped his attitude and outlook on life and people. He played football at Virginia Tech in the late 1960's and was a college football coach at the division one level for 30+ years. During his coaching career he was hired and fired several times, moved his family several times and was married several times. Yet he never missed a day of living with a smile and positive attitude! Amongst the hundreds of questions I asked him along the way.. one extremely power answer to what was a simple question, left an incredible impactful on how I viewed my career from that moment on..... "Out of all the places you ever coached, where and when was the best time in your life and career"? His response changed everything. "The best placed I've ever worked, is wherever I'm at". He would tell me "Don't worry about your next job, make sure you are taking care of the one you're current in". Really simple advice and 100% true. Coach and I traveled throughout the United States, Mexico and Asia for several years operating the NFL Youth and Fan Development programs. We put on hundreds of NFL youth events, camps, clinics, tournaments from Boston to Bangkok and as you can imagine had the experience of a lifetime. We were very lucky and we knew it, we worked with incredibly passionate administrators, coaches and players all over the world, with one goal of expanding a sport we all loved. Needless to say, we spent A LOT of time together and I was a sponge to all his hilarious stories and his incredible outlook on life. One of the legendary stories and the absolute moment when I knew he was at a whole different level...He calls me up early morning on January 2, 1998 and says "Hey Man, I have good news and bad news." "I say ok whats the bad news"? in his southern drawl and I kid you not he goes "I burnt my house down deep frying a turkey"! I was shocked and wasn't sure if he was fooling around "Coach are you and the family ok"? " Yea all good, you know how quick I am, got em all out but the pet turtle". I said "Well what's the good news, if the bad news is your house burnt down"? He goes without missing a beat..."I get a NEW HOUSE"! One day after such devastation, he still found it in him to find the positive side of life during a very sad situation for him and his family and find a way to be positive was simply inspiring to be a better person. I learned from coach that it's all in how you look at a situation no matter good or bad, but take a second and break it into common sense reasoning. He loved to say, "Once you make a decision, it will be the best decision you made today". He lived by the words he preached. His zest for life, football, people and enjoying the exact moment that he was living in was contagious. He was always the slickest dressed in the room with his standard black sport coat and cowboy boots. Out of our group of khaki and sneaker wearing schleps he was the man. It was funny how he always had a tan, but only on his face. I asked him one time "Why don't you ever tan anything else but your face...in true coach reasoning he says "Rob, It only matters what you look like walking INTO the bar". Another lesson learned coach! Coach Tommy Groom passed away at the age of 55 in his sleep in 2003. He had a major impact of all those who knew him, were lucky enough to be coached by him and call him a friend, dad, brother and ex husband! He was a true character and everyday I apply lessons I learned from him in my professional life. I'm sure he is now making the best out of the place... wherever he is at. __________________________________________________________________ Follow me on here in LinkedIn and on Twitter @robthompsonlive The family investment into the youth sports lifestyle culture of league, camps, elite programs, special equipment, private coaching, travel and the influx of massive new sports complexes are all feeding into this multi billion dollar Family "SportCation" Business. Long gone are the days of warm orange slices and stopping for an ice cream after another rushing defeat to the State Farm Yankees. Today it's about elite travel teams, several weekend tournaments, hotel rooms, flights, pop up tents, condo coolers, gluten free pizza, $7 half cafe/half soy coffee, $50 dry fit shirts and $150 warm ups..and that's just for the parents! Remember sitting your kids youth soccer league game and listening to another parent spout "I can run this league better, or look how much these are making selling TShirts and snow cones? Maybe that was you who thought and said it? As the costs, liability and bandwidth of city recreational departments began to shrink, private operators started taking over community leagues. What happen was these city run or volunteered based board of director league have started to fade away because of budget cuts, higher insurance costs or it was impossible to find someone who wasn't going to steal have the leagues concession money. Three Reasons Why The Youth Sports Business is Booming:
There is a combination of forces happening here that makes these opportunities happen. A new work force and double income families who really want freedom and control of their lives, and a business that is incredibly scalable as there is no shortage of kids and families that participate in youth sports. To learn more about becoming a Regional Affiliate Sports Commissioner and have the ability to work from home and provide incredible sports experiences for kids and families CLICK HERE. You now have the opportunity to not be the person sitting at the games wishing you could run the league better or sell the TShirts and snow cones. Find out how. The little man here in the middle of my son’s first grade class winter concert, was obviously not happy. Not sure if it was the performance or because his parents made him rock out in his brand new slick suit. While all the other kids dressed like they were going on a field trip to Yuppie Family Land, this little guy was dress to impress! Dare to be different. There is this great story Billie White Shoes Johnson told me when I worked an event with him at the Atlanta Falcons. I asked him when he started wearing the white shoes. As we drove around the Falcons practice facility in a golf cart, Billie who was a great character told me the following story… He started wearing the white shoes in high school as part of a dare. He was small but fast and not recruited out of HS. He made his way to the NFL out of a Division 3 college and he knew he needed that edge to stand out. He had became known for not only his shoes but his unique endzone celebrations. Both not the norm at that time. He dared to be different to become noticed. His first NFL head coach fined Billie for wearing the shoes after the first game, which Billie caught a few TD’s passes, one to win the game. Yet he was still fined. The next game Billie still wore the white shoes which again he scored and again he was fined. Finally Billie and the coach had a meeting and the head coach said “Billie we are a team and everyone needs to dress the same”, he said... “I agree coach, you give us the uniforms, you give us the equipment but the white shoes makes me faster… don’t you want me to be faster”? The coach didn’t like it but finally agree that as long as he keeps scoring then he can keep wearing the shoes. The Legend of Billie White Shoes Johnson was born. Billie went on to become a multiple NFL Pro Bowl Player and Selected as part of the NFL’s 75 Anniversary All Time team. It’s not about the shoes or the suit, it’s how you feel when you show up to play “The Game”…..Or in this little guys case the End Of The School Year.. Teacher Thank Goodness It’s Over Party! …..Or perhaps it was the tags his mom forgot to cut off his sleeve which made him angry? (look again at his left sleeve of the picture) Dare to be great today! _________________________________________________________________ Rob Thompson is a 25+ year entrepreneur and executive in the sports and media industry. He is a Keynote Speaker and Mentor for college students and young professionals. Rob shares his personal and business stories along with one on one interviews with influencers and trend setters in the sports industry. I offer a complimentary 30 minutes consultation to start up businesses, youth sports organizations, media groups and brands seeking assistance with business development, digital/social media strategy and grassroots activation projects. Feel free to schedule a call atrthompson@nasportsgroup.com Kindly leave a comment below and share the post if it resonated with you. You can also follow me on twitter and Instagram for my daily posts… @robthompsonlive I'm starting this a bit backwards and not going to far back right now, so I decided to tell a story that was more recent. Growing up in a wonderful blue collar town outside New Haven Connecticut, expectations for a family summer vacation was usually limited to camping (which as a kid was awesome). What was never expected back then was a weekend spent playing competitive sports against kids from across the country, staying in a hotel with a pool and going out to TGIF's for unlimited appetizers with 20 other families. Recently my travels took my son and I to Trenton, NJ (I know very exotic) even more fancy than the vacation destination was the standard Courtyard by Marriott circa 1989. The first morning in town, while eating breakfast with all the other chipper Sport-Cation families...my son and I were watching and listening to travel softball, baseball and wedding parties mingle over breakfast and enjoying all of the stories from last nights hallway shenanigans (That's right I wrote shenanigans). On this particular morning when I was second guessing my decision of this trip and noisy old hotel, I witnessed a teenage softball player cruise into the lobby/breakfast area with a leftover slice of pizza dandling from her mouth like a bald eagle with a fish. From what I could tell from my people watching skills mastered over two decades of sitting in airports, I was listening to a conversation between the "Softball Pizza Girl" and the table next to her that was made up of a group of Italian grandma's from last nights wedding. The "Pizza Girl" was telling the Italian grandma's the story of how her Alabama travel team has practiced all winter to play in a tournament "EVERY WEEKEND" throughout the country last summer. The grandmothers couldn't believe it and asked a great question as only seniors over 70 are allowed to ask... "So when do you have time for fun"? The other grandmother then follows with a lob pitch in her NJ/NY accent "Whatcha tawking about Louise... the poor thing doesn't have time for a real breakfast let alone any fun..such a shame" For those in the business of operating youth sports events and tournaments this was music to my ears and a family Sport-Cation culture that doesn't seem to have a ceiling. The Italian grandmas certainly didn't travel to Alabama for a softball tournaments when they were raising their kids so they shouldn't understand this culture. Back in their day Rockaway Beach and maybe Atlantic City was most likely their travel radius. They were really more concerned about what Pizza Girl was eating for breakfast rather than playing softball every weekend! We too were in town for a Sport-Cation attending a football passing academy. We are right along side all those other softball parents and forming bonds with these parents who have accepted the sport vacation culture along with plenty of "I wish we had the same opportunities as our kids" conversations. But honestly my son and I love the time together, the experiences we have traveling and meeting wonderful families from all over the country with the same goals. I hope millions of families continue to embrace the Sport-Cation culture as we have and if possible one day I hope to take all my kids on a real camping trip like the ones from my childhood.... however it will probably have to be at a Music Festival with plenty of cold pizza for breakfast. Rob Thompson is a 25+ year entrepreneur and executive in the sports and media industry. He is a Keynote Speaker and Mentor for college students and young professionals. Rob shares his personal and business stories along with one on one interviews with influencers and trend setters in the sports industry. Download Free Playbook that Rob wrote on the Seven ways to "Make Noise" and grow your personal brand on Linkedin... CLICK HERE to read and watch more free content and follow me on LinkedIn. Please feel free to contact me if there is anything I can do to help....rob@nasportsgroup.com For the past twenty five years, I have spent the majority of my time traveling the world in and out of airports, hotels, rental cars, onsite at events, visiting and living in places that many people have on their bucket list. I am lucky. Looking back, I am kicking myself for not starting a blog or keeping a journal of all the crazy things that happened and all the characters that I worked with or bumped into along the way. But I will try to write about the stories remembered from old pictures and retell them in these "SportsBiz...Stories From The Road" posts because they are worth taking the time to write and share. Many are about life lessons and people but there are also ones that are so out there I can't believe they actually happened. I have reached a point in my life that I realize the most important things are time and relationships. I love the relationships that have been built over time and the exciting adventures shared with them in my life. Regardless of all the stress, anxiety, worry and all the dumb stuff that happens each day, it really is a great time...if only it didn't go by so fast. Recently, not sure what triggered it, but I realized for so long that I spent a good amount of time wanting to get to that next step in life and probably didn't enjoy the moments perhaps as much as I should have enjoyed them. A lot of the anxiety was chasing a career, some of it was eager for the kids to get to that next step (4 kids ages 24, 21, 18 and 7!...a separate story) but I guess most of all it was wanting to get to that next adventure. I recently wrote about this great strategy of living the 10-10-10 rule. It basically means..look at what is ahead of you in 10 minutes, 10 hours and 10 days! I love and live by that rule. Realizing that there are 7 days in a week and none of them are named "Someday". I doesn't mean that I live reckless and don't care about my families future, I am just trying to focus on today, enjoying the fun moments of each day (They are there) and going after that next great moment. I have spent many years of my business life selling and trying to figure out what I really liked to do and what I am good at doing. What I found is that the journey to get to where I am, has shaped what I have become personally and professionally. I realize now it's all about the people and the process and that each day, each phone conversation, each trip and each dinner spent with family, friends, coworkers, participants and clients is really, really important. I stopped worrying about the future and embraced the moment. I decided to live my life as it's a daily bucket list...not to wish for whats next.My stories are about those adventures and the true characters I have met and continue to meet along the way...regardless of the fact that I am at heart still a bit of a pirate! Rob Thompson is a 25+ year entrepreneur and executive in the sports and media industry. He is a Keynote Speaker and Mentor for college students and young professionals. Rob shares his personal and business stories along with one on one interviews with influencers and trend setters in the sports industry. Download Free Playbook that Rob wrote on the Seven ways to "Make Noise" and grow your personal brand on Linkedin... CLICK HERE to read and watch more free content and follow me on LinkedIn. Kindly leave a comment below and share the post if it resonated with you. You can also follow me on twitter and Instagram for my daily posts... @robthompsonlive |