Excel Sports Management VP MELISSA BARON’s work life keeps her constantly on the go, as she travels often to assist clients like ROBIN ROBERTS, PEYTON MANNING, BILL BELICHICK and DEREK JETER. Recently, Baron traveled from N.Y. to Nashville for an event in which Roberts was to speak, and she took some time to walk THE DAILY through her jam-packed day.
4:03am: I wake up. Whether I travel or not, every morning -- no idea why -- it just happens that way. I normally wake before my alarm goes off, but I love the number three. I do about 10 minutes of stretching, using my Hypervolt gun.
4:37am: My gym is 13 minutes from the house. Nobody’s on the road at that hour, so it makes my life much easier. I normally get there about 10 minutes early.
5:00am: The only constants really are coffee and the gym. It gets me ready for the day. I am a better boss, employee, wife, colleague, on down the list because I’ve spent time at the gym in the morning. It’s super important for me, plus a cup of coffee on the way. Those two things are musts.
7:00am: I shower and then get in an Uber and head to the airport.
8:54am: I’m heading to Nashville, which is an easy, quick flight, for a corporate speaking engagement with Robin Roberts. My job the day of an event is twofold: It’s a) To make sure that the client is happy, which is my speaker, but also b) To make my buyer happy so I get repeat business. I typically get to an event early. So, I’ll fly in before my client even takes off.
10:47am: I land in Nashville.
11:30am-12:15pm: I get to the event site and walk through all of the event’s logistics, do all of the back-of-house movements, make sure that everything is set up before our client arrives. From meeting with security, to meeting with the head of the company, to meeting with the CMO, everybody that’s important to this group, I shake their hand, make sure that they feel comfortable before my client arrives.
Baron's clients at Excel include Robin Roberts, Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning, among othersEXCEL
12:15-12:45pm: I probably have about 30 minutes of downtime for myself in the green room. I catch up on my emails, check in with the office, respond back to clients’ emails, respond back to buyers’ emails. I pride myself on being really hands-on with my clients.
12:45pm: Robin arrives. I bring her into the green room. We go through the business of the day, walk her through so she’s comfortable before stepping foot on stage.
1:00-2:30pm: It’s game time! We are on the go for the next hour and a half, moving from location to location within the event venue, going from Robin's stage portion -- where she will give a keynote followed by a moderated Q&A, which will take about an hour’s worth of time -- to a VIP meet & greet which consists of shaking hands and taking photos. I move about the room with my client, hanging in the background but making sure that they’re comfortable. But also, shaking hands of people in the room because there’s always potential business.
2:30-2:50pm: We’re out the door. I typically ride with my clients back to the airport. We decompress on the day. We talk about what went really well, if something went wrong. In this case, nothing went wrong, so we talked about all of the high points, how we can continue to grow on certain things within the program.
3:50-7:10pm: I missed my original flight, which is always fun. So, I ended up spending additional hours in the Delta lounge. What I do there is I’m calling potential customers, calling back people that have called me. I’m really just finishing up with the rest of the day.
7:10-9:03pm: This flight, in particular, because it was a Friday, I said, ‘You know something? I’m going to decompress.’ So, I binge-watched Netflix’ new show, ‘CHEER.’
10:15-11:15pm: Unfortunately for me, landing at LaGuardia means I’m stuck in traffic on the LIE.
11:15pm: I got home and had some good cuddle time and play time with my new dog. I have a mini bernedoodle named ARCHIBALD POPCORN. My husband, DAN, and I are loyal Blue Apron followers, so three nights out of the week, he lovingly cooks dinner for us. On this specific evening, he had Blue Apron ready to go when I got home. Then, I had some work I needed to finish, after which we watched some Netflix. Then, I passed out on the couch.
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