Three years ago today, I embarked on this journey. A journey I never saw coming and one that no matter where it takes me I will never forget.
Three years ago I set out to do something I really had no idea how to do, what to do, or that it would even last this long.
But, here we are and here we will stay, as long as I have something to say about it.
So whether you are just joining us on this ride or have been on it with us for the last three years, here is a look back into the past, a look at the present and a glimpse into the future.
The Past
Like many of you, I was that starry-eyed freshman in college. Much to the chagrin of my mother, I moved from Arizona to Florida, but I was determined to have the best four years of my life at the University of Miami.
I got to school, moved in, said goodbye to my parents and I was off. My major was set, my classes were too and I was ready for the next chapter in my life.
As for course of study, I had a passion for sports and I knew UM had a sports administration program, so I thought ‘Why Not?’ and dove right in.
While adjusting to college, a realization came over me.
Although I loved sports, I had no idea what I wanted to do in the field.
Natural right? A freshman in college who has no idea what he or she wants to do with their life. Seems pretty normal to me.
Since I had no idea what I wanted to do or how I wanted to do it, I sought the advice of my professors.
The common theme among their words? ‘Network, network and network some more.’
So, I asked myself, if I am going to have to network with all of these professionals, what is the easiest way to get them to speak with me without me feeling like a bother.
I decided I would do informational interviews, but with one twist, I would publish them.
Over the first year, I did 110 interviews and published each and every one of them. Many of them not great, but with each one I got a little better and a little better.
Soon, “I” became “We” and it has been that way ever since.
The Present
To this day, I have really no idea why anyone wanted to help. I was just a random kid, pushing out Q and A’s with professionals two or three times a week on a point and click Wix site that I had thrown together to the best of my ability.
For some reason though, others saw more potential in what I was doing than just interviews.
“I” morphed into “We” and because of that, I have been so lucky to be able to work with some of the brightest young minds in the sports business industry today.
Since that moment, we have been able to do some really amazing things…
We have covered conferences from Toronto to Atlanta.
We have broken industry news.
We have started a college program that 12 universities participated in.
We started the Rising 25 and had over 140 applications for 90 nominees.
We have seen over 200,000 people come through our site creating over 400,000k page views.
We have been able to sell small ad packages that have paid for our contributors to travel to different locations.
But the coolest thing isn’t any of the above…the coolest thing is that we have built a community. A community that leads me to believe that sports business is in the greatest of hands for the future.
The Future
So, here we are three years after this whole journey started. So, what is next?
See, this was never supposed to be a full-time job, this was never supposed to become more than just a blog, this was never supposed to become a Forbes nominated site, but somehow it did.
That somehow has given us the confidence to believe that with the steps and initiatives we are about to take, we can become a major player in this industry.
What are those steps you may be wondering?
From what we can tell you, most of the steps will be towards making sure FOS is set up future success and to make sure that those who have put in so many hours to build what we have, have something to show for it.
Yes, we are currently celebrating year three, but really, this is just the beginning.
So, here’s to year three or year one, while we prefer the latter, we can’t wait to have you on this ride with us!
If you ever have any thoughts, concerns, ideas, or just want to help us out, this site is as much yours as it is ours, my email is adam@frontofficesports.org
