Business for Self-Employed Creatives

Molly Sullivan had a successful career in entertainment reporting before starting over to fulfill her lifelong passion for sports. She made her way to the NBA and NFL, and is now back home on the sidelines for the Las Vegas Raiders - at the same place where she got her first internship. Talk about full circle.

In this episode, we talk about Molly's career path and how she's had to create the opportunities she wants for herself. Even when people told her she didn't have "it," she never took "no" for an answer because she believed in herself and knew she could do it. Hear how she made it happen, what she's learned, and why it's so important to stay true to yourself.

Connect with me on your favorite podcast platform: https://pods.link/aardvarkgirl

Connect with Molly @MollySullivanTV

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01:02 I was a tomboy in a dress, so sports is totally in the blood. The NBA was my first love.

02:41 I'm a firm believer in the universe and everything attached to it and somebody is always listening. I always loved telling stories.

04:47 I'm super grateful for the bad moments. At the time, I was kicking and I was screaming because I wanted to continue covering the NBA, and it just wasn't in the cards. But that was the best move of my career, and I didn't make it. I owe those people a thank you card because it led me to the NFL. It led me back home to Las Vegas where I grew up, and now my daughter can grow up in the same community that has been so tremendous to me. So it's crazy how things work.

08:09 I don't take myself seriously, clearly. I take what I do incredibly serious. My former boss said, "She may be able to write, but she's not a reporter. And she doesn't have that ‘it’ factor." It's just because I didn't love what I was reporting about. 

10:03 Maybe when you're starting out, you're trying so hard to be somebody that you're not because you’ve studied things and you think that you need to be a certain way and dress a certain way. When I talk to young sports broadcasters coming up, I just say, “Listen, you got to stay true to yourself, because if you don't, this business is cruel. And if you're true to yourself, then everything kind of just always falls in place." And I'm a testament to that.

12:13 Moving back home to Las Vegas, I found a school project from the seventh grade saying that I wanted to work for Channel 8, which is where I'm working now as a sports broadcaster.

I had reached the national level for entertainment and with sports, I started at ground zero.

I call my time in Philadelphia basically an 8-year boot camp where I learned everything, I saw everything, and now I'm back home to utilize that knowledge with the Raiders.

19:22 I chopped my hair because I was bleached blonde at the time. and long extensions, and tons of makeup. I wasn't being true to myself. And I knew that at my core, I am a reporter. And certainly the rules change from a red carpet to the sideline, but I knew that I could do it. And I've always wanted to do it. That's the athlete in me. But I can't tell you how many times I was told that I just didn't have "this" or "that" or I was lacking "this" or you want to put me in a box.

23:20 I got the call from Philly and they said, "Listen, you got two days. Get over there." And then I covered the 76ers for seven years.

26:21 All you need is one person to believe in you, one person to understand what this city, what our community, is really all about. And we got that, and we showed what we can do. You think the Raiders weren't watching how the city of Las Vegas rallied behind the Golden Knights and everything, and that it's the best story, not only in sports but in life period, that we've seen in modern day? And that's what sport is all about. It's about bringing people together, and what a privilege it is for me to cover the Raiders’ inaugural season here in my hometown. It's still surreal. I still pinch myself. 

33:46 I was gonna find a way to cover the Raiders in their inaugural season one way or the other. I don't take no for an answer when I know that I can get something done. And certainly in Las Vegas, I feel a great responsibility here because we are no longer an amateur sports town. We are no longer an entertainment city. We are no longer an events-only city. We are a professional sports town. And we are an NFL city. And that means something. 

36:48 Maybe there's something to chasing perfection, because you know what, sometimes, you might come pretty darn close.

38:03 I wanted substance. I was craving substance. I was craving more. I could do that job in my sleep. As grateful as I was for it, it got to the point where I could just go through the motions if I wanted to. Now that's not who I am. That's not in my blood. So that's when I kind of knew it was it was time to move on. And lo and behold, I was moved on, and therein is the beauty of it. There's a lot more in life that I want to accomplish. 

41:28 Stay true to yourself and fight for what you believe in. And don't let go of it. for me, it was just always important to walk into that locker room on day one and set a standard and to never let go. My daughter was my number one priority, and no one was going to get me off track of that. Like, I cannot be bothered, get out of my way, my daughter's my number one priority, and ever since continues to be my number one priority, and I will fight for her with anything. So I think just understanding your why, and understanding what matters most, and be prepared to fail. Gosh, you got to be prepared to fail. Because if you're not failing, then you know what? You're not learning.