Why Did Tom Start a Career Coaching Business?
By Tom Sheridan
30 years…...life lessons learned
Thirty years is a long time to do anything and believe me, if you told me that I would be working in the sports industry for that long, I would have said you were crazy! This is my story….
I started in 1991 as a summer intern for the Chicago Bulls where I sold advertising space in their Bullpen magazine. This was my introduction to the sports marketing and sales industry and helped me to get an understanding of how it all worked. This led me to take a second internship at the Chicago White Sox and soon learned how to work as a team member of a sports franchise. All and all, I did 3 internships before I got my first full time job at the Sox. I sacrificed a lot, like living at home with mom and dad through all three internships. First lesson learned, sometimes you have to work hard and long hours for something you really want.
Looking to get an opportunity in sponsorship sales at the White Sox was very difficult so I left the Sox for WMVP 1000 (ESPN Radio). An experience that I will never forget and I learned a lot, but it wasn’t for me and I left the radio industry with no hard feelings. Another life lesson, not everything in life is going to work out so sometimes you have to cut bait and start over. I was soon working in the Marketing and Sales space, at Elite Marketing in Chicago. At Elite I sold programs for Chicago sports teams (Bears, Sox, Hawks and Bulls) and the Chicago Tribune Press Pass, the longest running renewal program in their history.
My next career move was in an entirely different sports marketing space, the sport of kings, horse racing! In 1997, I took the Director of Marketing / Advertising at Balmoral Park Racetrack, a Steinbrenner family owned property. I took this opportunity to learn how to run an entire marketing department. Responsibilities included; sales, marketing, special events and advertising planning and facilitation as it pertained to the live racing season. Life lesson…. never turn down an opportunity to learn something new and don’t be afraid to learn on the fly, sometimes you will surprise yourself.
In 1999, Tom returned to the Chicago White Sox as their Manager of Ticket Sales, where he was responsible for the implementation of all sales strategies. Jim Muno, is a friend and ultimate mentor or mine and he is the one who hired me back to the White Sox. Life lesson….stay in contact with friends in the industry and always be expanding your network. Promoted in 2004 to Sr. Director of Ticket Sales, and adding premium seating to his responsibilities was a chance that took his job to another level. He added four new premium areas added over $60 million in incremental revenue and they have grossed over $70 million in sponsorship revenue! Tom managed and drove a $100-$150 million dollar ticket sales budget every season from 1999 through 2017.
In January of 2017, Tom left the White Sox after 23 seasons to become the Senior V.P. of Business Operations at a new minor league baseball team in Rosemont IL, the Chicago Dogs. He was the first employee hired and was involved in every aspect of the organization. At the end of the day it was not a good fit and after 8 months he left with no hard feelings and many well wishes to the Chicago Dogs. Life lesson ….their is always time to re-evaluate in life and start over again.
In 2018, Tom launched his consulting firm, Chitown Consult and has been helping market and launch products in the sports marketing and sales space.
These are some of the life lessons that I have learned over the years and mis-steps and mistakes that have opened the door to opportunities. I am excited to share my insight over the last 30 years with anyone that is willing to listen and is the main reason I am so excited to start working with you!