Sporting Goods Business grad Tim Schultz encourages networking
Tim Schultz, CCM Hockey Pro Rep and Fleming Sporting Goods Business graduate (Class of 2010), said career success is achieved through building relationships.
Tim visited Fleming’s Sutherland Campus today as part of the Sporting Goods Business Speaker Series. While speaking with the class, Tim shared the story of the rep for hockey player Sidney Crosby; Tim said Crosby requests to continue working with the same rep he had while starting off in the industry.
“When you’re really close with someone, you never know how it will play out,” said Tim. “It all comes back to relationships, whether with athletes or classmates. The more relationships you have in a room, the better the day is.”
Tim knows firsthand the advantage of networking. In April 2010, Sporting Goods Business program coordinator Charlie McGee shared with Tim that the Reebok CCM Director of Sales was hiring a representative. Tim applied, went through the interview process, and got his start in the industry.
Tim is now the Pro Athlete Representative for CCM Hockey, covering 28 teams in the OHL and NHL. “I really enjoy what I’m doing, it’s fun. Is there a lot of paperwork? Yes, but at the end of the day we’re talking hockey,” he said.
“It’s amazing what you can do with effort and hard work,” said Charlie on Tim’s career success. He said that while Tim was not the strongest student with reading and math, he was a very hard worker and earned strong grades through hard work and organization.
“I over-prepare, that’s my comfort zone,” said Tim, who shared that he would repeatedly write everything down while in school to study for a test. “I’m not someone who can just remember things.”
He uses that skill on the road now, keeping track of 28 teams. “I’m big into lists,” he said. “I have a weird satisfaction when I complete something, being able to cross it off a list. And Excel skills are big. I use an Excel sheet to plan my weeks and months ahead of time. So, lots of lists, lots of Excel, lots of calendars– that’s how I stay organized.”
His advice to current students is to start their projects early, chipping away at it a little bit at a time. “The more prepared you are, the more you’ll thank yourself later,” said Tim. He also recommends networking, volunteering, and gaining valuable retail experience.
“But try to find a balance, you gotta have some fun too,” he added.