Joe Sheridan
General manager and owner, SpeedPro Des Moines
Age: 37
Education: High school diploma, Dowling Catholic High School; Bachelor of Arts, University of Iowa
Wife: Kali Sheridan
Children: Collins Sheridan
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Tell us some of your proudest accomplishments or accolades.
12-plus years of volunteer service to Variety - the Children’s Charity of Iowa.
Previous volunteer service to several community organizations: United Way of Central Iowa, Wellmark Foundation, CBC Foundation Committee and the Des Moines Wine Festival Foundation.
Growing small business owner serving large corporations, civic organizations and small-to-medium sized businesses nationally — recognized as a top 5 franchise location for SpeedPro and a National Top 150 Wide Format Printer.
What’s an experience or memory that influenced how you saw the world or what you wanted to do in life?
From a young age I have seen how my family approaches community, family, friendship and business. It was the little moments of showing up or supporting that not everyone sees versus a grand moment that has defined character for me. I work to emulate those actions to fully be present in business, community, family and friendship.
What’s one decision you made early in your career that had an outsized impact?
Leaning into community and relationships. It was not just about the blind idea of networking, but being fully open to meeting new people, building those relationships over time and being reliable. Showing up for someone or being an active listener has gone a long way to making a big impact in my life.
What are your aspirations for the future?
I would love to see a community commitment to local and state-based sourcing for products and services among the business and civic community. Iowans are stronger and better when we're focused on growing together.
What are you still working on to improve as a leader?
Delegating and empowering — it's hard to step back and always trust the systems in place. Working to grow teams to fully trust and openly communicate while accomplishing the common goal.
What’s one piece of advice you'd give to a young professional?
Show up — engage with your community, especially doing something outside of your comfort zone to engage with someone new. It's not all about what you can do personally; it’s about building a diverse network to make an impact with other people.
What’s one regular habit that’s made you successful?
List making — daily/weekly/monthly. There is only one way to tackle your goals and it’s one bite at a time. For me it needs to be a physical list — something that stares at you until it can be crossed off.
What’s one outdated way of thinking that you’d like to challenge?
Putting generations into buckets. It's very easy to shrug off issues by creating division or making the communication gap seem too large to make an impact — we can change that.
What is one issue you would like to see Central Iowa leaders address, and why?
Access to affordable and safe child care — as a small-business owner I see how directly family stability affects the workforce. Affordability and reliability of child care are major issues that affect all aspects of a person's life.
What’s one fun fact about you?
I love a good karaoke bar outing or group trivia night.
Hobbies: Golf, cooking/smoking and water sports.
What is one word that best describes you?
Gregarious.
What’s one food you think people must try in the Des Moines area?
The gnocchi at Lucca.
What’s the funniest or most surprising thing that’s happened to you recently?
My daughter is in her first year of Daisies/Girl Scouts and she is very invested in the process. She has wanted to work on her pitch daily since the cookie season started.
What’s your favorite tradition to participate in locally?
Iowa State Fair.
What is your go-to snack?
Twizzler Cherry Nibs.