Sportslawtalk - Later in your career you went to work for a major sports agency. Tell us how this opportunity came about for you. Did your prowess on the golf course help you in getting this job?

Peter Roisman - I was involved in my own sports law and agency practice for nearly 8 years following law school before I joined the sports management company now known as Octagon. But for a disaster happening to one of my most highly regarded clients (Boston Celtics Captain/All-Star Reggie Lewis), I probably wouldn't have ventured down to Washington, DC to join Octagon. When Reggie Lewis died playing basketball, I called my friend at Octagon to discuss how he and his firm had dealt with the death of Len Bias a couple of years earlier. I was in great professional and emotional turmoil, thinking strongly that I needed a change from the agent business that I had worked so hard to develop. My discussions with Octagon provided me that new direction I was seeking. I was offered the opportunity to run Octagon's Golf Division, something that hit close to my heart, given my personal attachment to and experience in the game of golf. I guess my golfing ability actually helped me both to land the job and to understand the efforts and sacrifices made by the touring professionals I would represent.

Peter Roisman - While there are big differences between large and small agencies, they are the same differences you would find in working for IBM versus a small software development company. The stresses may be based on different origins but they certainly exist in each setting. At the large firm, there are the administrative pressures--overhead, answering to a boss, competing to sign and keep the top tier athletes, producing piles of reports and paperwork, etc. At the small firm, the pressure stems from maintaining cash flow, paying salaries, collecting fees, staving off the competition from the larger agencies as they attack your client relationships, etc. The Sports Agency world is and always will be a highly competitive field. One thing I can tell you is that wherever I was working, big or small firm, I always stressed the positive aspects of my organization. For instance, when I was recruiting a client for my boutique firm, I argued the merits of a small operation and the highly personalized and focused service I would provide to that particular client, creating more income opportunities. At the big firm, I asserted the exact opposite. I argued that my clients would be given more promotional and marketing opportunities due to the vast network of contacts we had and the number of deals we would see across the spectrum of clients/agents in the firm. Both systems worked well for me and it was simply a matter of perspective.

Peter Roisman - I have always been an entrepreneur. I love to create things. When the opportunity to get involved with a young and innovative company in the sports world came about, I was ready for a change from sports agency. The contacts I had from my agency business both at Octagon and on my own were vital to my success as signing contracts on behalf of The Ticket Reserve with the NCAA, the BCS Bowl Games (Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta, as well as the National Championship Game), The NHL, more then half of the NBA teams, The Coca-Cola Company, etc. I cannot stress enough the value of creating a personal/professional network for oneself. It is the most valuable asset that any business person can have. I am certain that I was given the opportunity with Ticket Reserve because of my network and contacts.