Life in the Front Office Podcast: Opportunities You Don’t Know About

Melissa Heiter had no clue she would be in the position she is in today. Her initial dream was to be a magazine writer, which pushed her to get a journalism degree from Colorado State.

Once she realized the financial struggles this may cause, Heiter thought to pivot. She first went the tech route with AT&T broadband’s communication team, then she decided on the marketing industry before she landed an interview with Tim Romani — the founder and chairman of client service firm CAA ICON.

Now some of what she does there is marketing, serving as a public relations rep, running project site signage, and event management for some of the latest venues in sports and entertainment. Those venues include Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, and Italy’s UEFA EURO 2016 bid dossier stadium section, where she served as production manager.

New ventures can bring on a new world!

“When I was in college, this didn’t exist. So I took a chance, and that’s my personal story, but if you look in sports and you broaden that out into all of the things that go into it, even in just the venue development industry, there are so many different facets of it. … Working in sports, there’s the front office, and of course, there’s incredible opportunities there. But to be able to touch all of the different venues and leagues, the options are endless,” said Heiter on an episode of the ‘Life in the Front Office’ podcast.

There are new opportunities in sports and entertainment that are opening up each day. But how are some of these roles being shared? It’s one thing to look at sites like TeamWork Online, but there is no substitute for the knowledge an executive in the sports industry can share when it comes to opportunities.

So here is our latest Life in the Front Office Podcast blog, as we highlight the opportunities you may not have known about from the outside looking in. Let’s uncover those hidden gems!

Life in the Front Office is a podcast produced and hosted by executive producer Jake Hirshman with co-hosts Andy Dolich, Pat Gallagher, and Fred Claire. 150+ years in the front office between the 4, they join their guests to bring insights and advice to many across the sports & entertainment industry.

Let’s dive into some of the insights from the podcast’s recent episodes.

1/Find the right mentor

This goes for any facet of life; if you don’t have the right mentor to lean on, the tougher it is to progress, especially professionally in your role or organization.

Having a great mentor means having someone you seek out that can drop the right jewels about the industry with you. But they also can offer advice as to what you need to improve on and maybe even if you should be considering a different part of the field overall.

We can’t know it all as individuals in sports and entertainment, but it is on us to find those who have more expertise than us and are willing to share the knowledge they have gained. Plus, you never know what opportunities they may help you discover.

“I worked for an amazing group of people, in particular, an amazing woman who mentored me and pushed me in ways I didn’t know was possible. And I think she saw potential in me and just put me in positions that allowed [me] to be creative, and to grow, and really jumpstarted sort of my creativity and my interest in doing better, and growing and learning more, and being open to things I never thought I’d be open to,” said Heiter about her time working at AT&T Broadband.

2/Keep an open mind

The key is being able to have ideas of what you want to do in your head, but also knowing there are people in the industry who can give you new concepts to consider.

Think about the new roles the pandemic brought about or even the ones that are slowly changing. But there are also the ones that come as pleasant surprises too, maybe positions from prior eras that sports organizations are beginning to add or even ones that your supervisor shared with you — keep this all in mind.

You can take your career down any path from there. There are many factors one must consider when seeking roles in sports, so you must take everything you can into account before you decide where to apply.

“Going into Ohio [University] and pursuing your graduate degree, it’s very typical to go into, like you said, those silos of ‘you’re going to go into sponsorship, you’re going to go into college athletics, or you’re going to be in charge of this brand in their sports marketing [department], or do this. And there was no one really in the fitness space, so I didn’t even think of it as an option. It’s kind of just creating your own opportunity and I still use all of what I learned at Ohio, just translating it differently into the fitness industry,” said IFBB bikini bodybuilding pro Kiki McClellan when discussing her path into sports business through bodybuilding.

3/Take note of your skills and passions

It’s like the old Dr. Seuss quote: “no one is you-er than you!” We all have skills we possess. We all have passions that drive us inside as well. But what are those for you?

Technical design? Facility maintenance? Software engineering? Whatever it is that pushes you to get up every day, you should be seeking that function in your next role.

One thing to remember is there are people in the industry who could be the ones to help get you there too, so do not shy away from the roles they may share, especially if they know your skills and passions.

Also, remember though that one person has walked the road you have been down thus far, and the only person who continues on that path is you. The question is how exactly are you getting there and what are some of the next steps to come?

“I had studied architecture in school, and I’m just a lover of cities, I have a degree in urban planning, and I always loved working with projects that had a big impact on the city. And I like managing them; I like not designing in a traditional sense, but putting together a team of people that range from architects, to planners, to landscape architects, to graphic designers, historians. Just weaving together a story, if you will, with a building,” said Los Angeles Dodgers Executive Vice President Janet Marie Smith as to what connected her to baseball and designing ballparks throughout the country.

4/Do the things that others won’t

There’s always grunt work in any organization you are a part of. Some of it is much worse than others (picking up office food orders can be lumped in here!) but regardless you’ve got to be able to show your worth to your organization.

Everyone knows there are tasks you must take on that aren’t always so easy. But a willingness to take them on shows leadership and responsibility — two traits organizations promote people for each day.

Like in other businesses, an easy way to make your way through the sports industry is to impress your higher-ups with the ability to show a strong work ethic. But in sports that may go even further for job seekers; impressing the right executives may bring you closer to your dream job.

“I started out going into advertising, and from advertising I ended up working on the Adidas account. No one wanted to work on it, mainly because it was packaged goods, it wasn’t something that was simple or cookie cutter back in the ‘Mad Men’ days. So I had the privilege of working on projects such as the Olympics from the advertising side, and that drove me into going client side, and [for nearly] seven years [I had] been in charge of marketing and communications over at Adidas,” said Vice President of Design for the MLB Anne Occi when speaking on what helped her get to this point in her career.

5/Oh the places you’ll go!

The beauty of the sports and entertainment industry is that there are roles literally all over the world. The question is how far do you want to roam?

Location is a big factor in where people apply for jobs. But in sports and entertainment, getting locked down in one location can hold you back. Hiring managers love to see the diversity in your landing spots. It can show a willingness to take on the right role, no matter where it’s at!

And new locations for sports organizations are arising to this day. Think about the standalone events and operations that may be taking place temporarily (ie: marathon races, weightlifting competition sets, draft day events). Even if it’s for a short stint, be sure to travel while on your path in sports.

“IPG created this thing called Octagon, and the way that they did it was by acquiring 28 companies in 18 months, all over the world, they spent a whole wad of cash just to do it, and put us all under this banner of Octagon. So it was an exciting time. … I started to work internationally outside of just South Africa, one thing led to another, I finished my earnouts, and they offered me the opportunity to move to Europe as President of Octagon Europe/Middle East/Africa. So to take on responsibility for the region, with the mandate to kind of do what we’d achieved in South Africa with the rest of the group,” said 17 Sport CEO and Founder Neill Duffy when discussing how working in sports took him out of South Africa.

Conclusion:

The opportunities in sports and entertainment continue to grow every day. There are so many roles that are available now that just were not a concept 10, and even five, years ago.

But there are roles that you may not be aware of because you are too early into your career. Maybe these haven’t come open for you because you haven’t shaken the right hand yet. Just know that your time can come at any moment, so you must be prepared!

Keep your eyes and ears open, and remember, the unexpected opportunity that challenges you the most may be the one that becomes your dream role. We just want to make sure you are taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves!

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