Catching Up, Intro

Good Morning:

I've started The Rhetorical Cubicle as both a small step aside from the toil of corporate four-walldom and a touch and go on what surrounds people everyday. The nouns and verbs of our daily life. The people, places and things and what we see and do. Not a rant or rave, yet another avenue to stroll down with open eyes, open ears and a sense of direction.

Before the Cubicle, I worked in sports and business operations, as well as marketing and contracting, in both Virginia and Chicago (10 years) for such companies as Orvis, Crate & Barrel, Medco, regional publishing companies, and a sports management firm. Soon after, I established my own athlete representation agency for professional football and basketball players, both within the United States and internationally.

I was born in Virginia and attended Roanoke College for my bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. I received my master's in Business Administration from Averett University. That's where I began to compile my two main interests into one field of entry. Unfortunately, not one advisor or professor knew about entering the athlete management industry so I began opening doors until I was afforded an opportunity to enter the business upon graduation.

As a one-man show, I enjoyed the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows pushed me to work even harder. They are the most extreme when you roll solo. Either recruiting a prospective client or promoting a veteran free agent to a professional team, there was a separate but equal rush to everything. Each new day was a learning experience and the thrill of success was spontaneous. However, there is so much more time spent behind the scenes than the small amount of actual glory/Jerry Maguire stigma and large profit margin many people from outside the industry associate most agents enjoy in abundance. In 2008 I closed my agency and began pursuing a more direct interest in writing (which stemmed from a life-long hobby), focusing on other entrepreneurial ventures, and frankly, I just became burned out.

I'm not sure where these new paths will go; as with life in general, if preparation and perseverance hold true, the work will pay off. Reading and travel has changed my outlook exponentially. When I walked away, I knew that I wanted to do more with my knowledge and point-of-view, discussing and learning about a wide range of subject matter on an open, educated forum. Moving forward to not to be an agent anymore but rather an explorer. I'd like to think it's of things that might fall through the cracks.

I'll begin the relevant posts later today and will invite several trusted friends with other industry experience to join me on this blog in the very near future with their insight.

Thanks for your time,
Matt