Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Leyden . He shared his story with us below:
After spending 11 years in Detroit as a sports anchor for WXYZ-TV, Tom Leyden moved to Boston to take over as the lead sports anchor for WFXT-TV in 2015. Just less than seven years later, Tom’s high-profile job was eliminated as part of a massive cost-cutting round of layoffs by Cox Media Group, the company that owned WFXT-TV.
Faced with a crossroads, Tom assessed the media landscape, its plusses and minuses, the challenges he’d learned from over the course of a 22-year television career, and started his own company, Ten-17 Enterprises.
Currently, he’s the Publisher of Westwood Living magazine and the founder and general manager of the Westwood Living Business Network. The new career path has broadened Tom’s ability to utilize the many skills he’s developed over three decades in business, building brands, telling stories, and uniting communities through positivity.
Entrepreneurship has enabled Tom to dictate his own schedule, determine what’s most vital and prioritize being present for the most important events in his life while building a portfolio of business relationships focused on growth and engagement while utilizing his award-winning storytelling skills to highlight important issues in the local community.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When you’re dealt a setback, particularly when a completely impersonal decision is made by corporate executives you’ve never met, there’s a natural inclination to question why it happened to you and what part of your commitment to the company’s growth and success did these executives not understand?
While I’ll never respect the manner in which the situation was handled by those colleagues who knew me personally and understood my work ethic and value, I came to accept there’s an obligation for any corporation to remain financially viable. Whether or not I was part of the series of decisions that led to financial instability, I fell victim to someone else’s shortcomings.
That’s what any person faced with this situation needs to understand. It’s not you! You’re just a cog in the wheel.
So, do you want to remain a cog, or do you want to create your own wheel? Do you have the vision and ability to build something that’s powerful and can make a difference? If so, why wait? What’s holding you back? Who can you lean on for true support and not lip service? Find those people and take the plunge. You will always be your own most trusted and valuable commodity.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve taken the skills I’ve learned over three decades and applied them to building a community of connection and growth in my hometown of Westwood. We create a high-end, glossy, four-color magazine that’s delivered to residents and features stories that highlight achievements and accomplishments of people from the town.
While the publication certainly is the backbone of the business model, it’s part of a larger initiative. We work closely with our sponsors and advertisers to connect them with each other as well as the residents they’re looking to reach on a regular basis. We host quarterly networking events for sponsors and residents to mingle. I host a podcast that features business owners and newsmakers from the community. We produce videos with our sponsors to allow them the opportunity to showcase their expertise and become more accessible and personable to their prospective clients. We provide a collection of “Sponsor Perks” that are only available to people who sponsor Westwood Living – membership has its privileges.
On top of that, we maintain a robust website, stay active on Facebook and Instagram and provide digital advertising for our clients at a rate they wouldn’t have access to were it not for their partnership with our company.
Build a community. Support it. Enhance it. Spotlight it. Celebrate it.
What were you like growing up?
I’ve always been a connector and leader throughout my life, uniting teammates to perform cohesively with one goal in mind. I believe it’s important to set a standard and hold yourself accountable to that standard every day in a manner those closest to you can observe and emulate.
As a performer, I’ve always enjoyed telling stories, entertaining, and informing people along the way. I’ve done this through music, radio, television, writing, and event planning, among other things.
Contact Info:
- Website: westwood-living.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/tomleyden
- Facebook: facebook.com/tomleydenboston
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-leyden-3667093/
- Twitter: twitter.com/tomleyden
- Youtube: youtube.com/tomleyden
- SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/westwood-living
Image Credits
Rick Bern Photography
