Industry Spotlight, Kevin Smith, The Collective BEST

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Kevin Smith, The Collective BEST

What circumstances led you to start The Collective BEST with your Partners?

Since I entered the industry as an advisor in 2017, there have been a lot of competing agencies in the marketplace. Most of us were small and could not compete with the larger groups. And if you could compete for projects, you may not have the capacity or full knowledge to offer clients various services.

That’s when I met up with Mike Chandler and pitched the concept of providing a service to clients that would give them access to a collection of talent from the industry with different skills to be a one-stop shop. That was the moment it all made sense, and we looked for the right partners to form the group.

What was the first thing you did when you learned all the invited Partners agreed to invest?

It was a great moment for me when colleagues from the industry with similar visions were interested in working together. I also realized then that we had captured lightning in a bottle. To be partnered with five industry Titans for one purpose and goal is motivating.

We continue to fine-tune The Collective BEST by staying close to our vision and mission of providing a comprehensive mentoring program and working on select strategic planning projects with communities looking to expand their business and incorporate their community. We’ve also developed a niche working with organizations that want to build their own events so that they can control outcomes and measurables. This is what our 165+ years of sports tourism industry experience brings to the table.

Tell us about the projects you are currently working on and what the new vision will mean for the future of The Collective BEST?

Working with all our partner communities for the past 4+ years has been great. Over the past three years, we have had a great relationship with the Maryland Sports Commission and the Sports and Entertainment Corporation of Maryland. We work closely with the members of Team Maryland in each community and with the Maryland Cycling Classic and the Maryland 5 Star events, two major events in Maryland that are unique and create community engagement.

We are also working with Butler County, OH, and the City of Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation. Our project in Chesterfield County, VA, with JC Poma, was also a worthwhile partnership, in addition to over 30+ other destinations we’ve partnered with over the last four years. Soon, we will be working with several new communities to mentor, create, and develop their very first sports initiative (More to come on that later).

Describe why The Collective BEST as a company is so meaningful to you.

To have an idea is one thing; to share a vision of something with people you respect is another thing. But to have those people you respect believe in the ideas and vision you present is truly something special.

My partners at The Collective BEST (Mike Chandler, Matt Dunn, William Knox, Kris Smith, and Ravi Rajcoomar) are truly not just partners; they are my friends, whom I think of as family and mentors.

We can share, disagree, and learn from each other all the time, maintaining respect for one another along the way. That is what allows us to be influential advisors for our clients. No one person is responsible for knowing everything. The depth of knowledge as a group makes us and our firm special.

Kevin, you are known in the industry as a connector, as someone who goes above and beyond to PUSH (see what I did there :-)) the industry forward. In what ways do these characteristics help increase the visibility of your career and The Collective BEST?

That’s a great question. I have never thought about it in that way before. I do what I have done for this industry over the years because I truly love this business and its people. I connect with people because their companies will prosper if they can create synergies from our relationship.

I honestly believe in leaving things a little better than you found them. Using that philosophy, if I help enough people get what they want and earn, I will continue to be blessed with what I need.

This business has taken me to places I would have never imagined. To share that with my clients and partners is just one way of giving blessings back. I am confident that The Collective BEST will be here after I’m no longer around because of the partners and our primary mission to continue to help this industry grow and be strong.

What was the most significant moment you experienced during the first three quarters of 2024?

Wow, let’s see… Well, the sports travel business continued to be vibrant and strong despite many experts saying things would go down. People are traveling in record numbers, and the youth and amateur industries seem to be stable for the moment.

The other thing I have found so far this year is that the international sports industry will be particularly competitive over the next few years. This success may be because the Olympics will be in the United States in 4 years and the emergence of sports taking hold overseas, such as Flag Football, especially with female programming. It will be vital that we continue to watch the key indicators, such as consumer price indexes, as well as any consumer impacts, such as union strikes, etc.

In what ways are you a different person today because of your experience working with the Partners at The Collective BEST for the past five years?

I know that The Collective BEST has allowed me to be part of a great group of people. We don’t always agree, but we respect each person’s opinion and position. We have learned together what projects will be good for us and how we will bring the highest level of success to each community and organization we work with. But this isn’t a perfect science, and sometimes we may need to adjust mid-stream, but we use that to improve with each project.

I’ve grown from this experience in that I have learned that failure isn’t fatal, and we will be better for some of the missteps we make in life. Every Partner in The Collective BEST firm has had an unfortunate thing happen to them in this industry, and their stories are different. But once we started together, we realized that those are the things that will make us better, stronger, and valuable advisors to our clients. Sometimes, you must be knocked down to experience pain and then know how not to let it happen again. Wisdom comes from experience.

What advice would you give to others in a situation like yours?

Well, hopefully, no one ever finds themselves in a situation like mine. But that’s probably likely because, unfortunately, some toxic leaders are still out there. That said, if you find yourself in a bad place, seek out someone to talk with first. An impartial coach, friend, or mentor that you can confide in. They may give you some hard feedback, but that could be what you need. Second, the best advice that I received was from my wife. She said, “No matter where you go, there you are.” In short, be prepared to look at yourself and make changes that will allow you to grow. Spoiler alert… You are the easiest person to lie to. Third, eyes forward. Your mind and body will follow in the direction your eyes are looking. Whatever happened yesterday is a distant memory, and you must keep pushing forward, especially when you don’t think you can.

What would “today Kevin” share with “first day on the job Kevin?”

Learn to play on both sides of the ball. This means being more attentive to what your clients are experiencing and why they make specific decisions. Understand their business, goals, vision, and mission. Make sure they align with your organization’s vision and industry standards. It will save you both valuable time.

What goals do you have for your career and The Collective BEST for the remainder of 2024?

The Collective BEST will finish up 2024 as our best year yet. That said, we will complete 2024 just as it started, doing our best work in as many communities and with as many organizations that need our services. At the end of each year, the Partners of The Collective BEST have a retreat to discuss what we did well, what we can improve upon, and what’s next. Although improvement is necessary and constant, what’s next for 2025 will be industry-changing. We look forward to sharing that with our industry colleagues in the coming year.

Please stop by our booth at the US Sports Congress in December. Or, if you see any of the Partners at shows this Fall, stop us and ask us any questions you may have. We are here for you!