Dealing with the ‘life-after-sports’ dilemma

Key topic

Athletes should be ready and prepared to do something meaningful and financially sustainable during their after-sports days. Even though professional athletes look forward to a long and successful career, they need to remember that a sports career has an expiration date and they need to work towards preparing for life after sports from day one.  The transition to a post-sports career is usually difficult because most athletes don’t have any previous work experience in a full-time job and may have missed out on education due to their sporting commitments.

Learning objectives

• Identify your talents and passions outside of sport
• Understand the importance of preparing for life after sport
• Choose a mentor who can guide you in your post sports career
• Learn the pros and cons of entrepreneurship and employment
• Learn the basics of business and entrepreneurship
• Find out how to develop a good business plan and how to best utilize your network
• Discover ways to be entrepreneurially successful in your after sports days

Introduction

You can start preparing for your after-sports-days, by considering what you want to do in your life outside of sports. Remember that sport retirement can be in a year, or five or ten. It can even happen soon because you may simply have an injury that will not allow you to continue competing professionally.

You should not make any assumptions, but what you should make is a conscious effort to be prepared for the outcome whenever it may arise. Don’t be tricked into thinking it’s too early, or that you have your whole life ahead to figure things out. Start early, prepare as best as possible, so when it’s time to leave the game you love, you will be in a position to move on successfully.

Many athletes choose to remain in the sports industry as coaches, scouts, trainers, etc. but you have a lot of other options as well. Find your passions and think of potential career paths in different industries, that align to these passions. Research each industry and make a list of skills, experience and education needed to get a job in companies that work in that area. If you need specific or technical skills to get the job you’re interested in, there are courses or qualifications you can take in order to be the perfect candidate.

As an athlete you have acquired a number of transferable skills during your sporting career which can be applied in other areas of your life and to other non-sport careers. Such transferable skills include organizational skills; adaptability/flexibility, dedication and perseverance, patience, self-motivation as well as abilities associated with performing under pressure, meeting challenges/deadlines and setting and obtaining goals. In order to have a successful career transition you need to utilize your transferable skills, develop personal resilience, obtain formal education, create a professional network which will help you find opportunities, and experiment with new roles outside of sport.

Let’s watch a 12-minute video on how athletic skills meet entrepreneurship:

15 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Top Athletes

Knowing when to retire from field-play

An athletic career in professional sports entails taking important decisions that affect both your professional career, as well as your personal life. One of the most crucial decisions an athlete has to make is to decide at what point in their career they’re ready to retire. While for some of us retirement is at a government-mandated age and for others a personal preference, athletes don’t have that luxury, given that it’s driven by age and the ability to respond to aging, while knowing when and how to retire is very crucial in many aspects. There are no regulations forcing athletes to retire at a certain age, nor any obligations for them to compete until they reach a certain number of active years. This creates one big question: when should an athlete stop and retire?

Knowing when to retire is not possible without knowing what causes an athlete to retire. An athlete’s retirement is predominantly based on several factors that, combined or separately, allow an athlete to make a calculated decision on when to retire. The primary and most important factor is physical health: simply put, an athlete cannot keep on performing in the field if their body does not permit them to do so. If the athlete is not able to keep up with the physical requirements of the sport, it is neither possible nor advisable for the athlete to continue pushing to a level they cannot achieve. To put things into perspective, physical health is the primary reason behind the low average professional life of MMA athletes. MMA is a very physical sport and always requires extreme conditioning and extraordinary physique. This causes most professional MMA athletes to give their best performance within two to five years and retire when their bodies are unable to keep up with the realities of the sport.  A sub-component to physical health is the athlete’s position in the field. Different positions require different physical conditions which may force an athlete to retire earlier or allow an athlete to play longer, based on the needs of their specific position.

While physical health is crucial towards determining the right time to retire, athletes need to make sure there is a place for them in their sport and that they have the ability to secure a spot in prestigious competition along with sponsorships and endorsements as most solo sport athletes do not sign contracts with clubs. Being willing and able to compete, is different from being able to secure spots in prestigious competitions and deals to fund you. One may be in a position to physically perform in the field but without anyone being willing to sponsor them.  The result here is that the athlete is essentially forced into involuntary retirement. Simply put, when thinking about when to retire and whether the time has come, athletes must make sure that there’s still room for them to compete and that they’d be offered commercial contracts before announcing that they’re willing and able to keep on going.

Equally important to securing competition participations and commercial contracts, is the athlete’s assessment of their financial position. Before settling into retirement, the athlete must make sure that they’re financially independent and are able to live a financially secure life. To do so, the athlete needs to consult their financial planner and ensure that with the existing resources, the athlete will never be at the risk of money shortage or declaring bankruptcy. An athlete should never seek to retire if they believe that they’re not financially ready to do so. Being financially ready does not necessarily mean having saved a specific amount of money but rather having planned out the rest of your life, based on your wants and needs, using the resources that you’ve secured through sporting competitions and commercial contracts.

So far, we’ve discussed the importance of physical health and ability to secure competition and commercial contracts as being crucial towards deciding when an athlete should retire. There is another factor which is very different from the other three in that it’s much broader and can damage the athlete’s reputation if not taken into consideration. This could not be other than the expectations set by the fanbase, who at the end of the day determine whether an athlete is successful or not. Athletes who do not wish to retire but are expected to do so by their fanbase take the risk of damaging the image that they’ve created throughout their careers. Fans’ opinions are very powerful, and athletes should consider them when deciding at what point in their career to retire. If nothing else, athletes should always remember that fans also expect them to perform at a certain level and also reach levels of performance that are at least similar, or slightly below, previous years’ performance. It would be ill-advised for any athlete to continue on with their career, while being unable to produce at least respectable results and outcomes.

Having said that, we would never advise an athlete to blindly follow the fans’ wants and expectations, as they can be irrational or driven by blind emotions. Nevertheless, the athlete should always grasp the vibe of their fanbase and observe if either retiring early, or not retiring when expected, could damage the athlete’s legacy. Having discussed some of the most important factors that should be taken into account by an athlete when considering retirement, it’s important to note that these are by no means the sole drivers of such an important decision. After all, there is no such thing as retiring early or late, there’s what we call “retiring at the right time” which only the individual athlete can decide after considering a plethora of factors.

Preparing in advance for retirement from sport

The end of an athletic career is a bittersweet, overwhelming moment, as athletes have to give up the life they enjoyed for years: training schedules, travels and competing in front of big crowds. The idea of letting go of all of these and adjusting to a new lifestyle can be daunting and stressful and being emotionally and financially prepared is essential for a successful transition to life after sports.

As sporting success is based on careful planning and significant preparation, athletes can utilize these skills to help themselves secure a comfortable life after retirement. Ideally, preparation should start as soon as athletes gain their professional status. Athletes can seek help from local and international sports stakeholders such as athletes’ unions, federations, etc., that offer various programs and initiatives supporting these efforts.  In addition, they should also seek advice and guidance from financial planners and career development professionals.

Getting mentally ready for retirement may require expert help. On the other hand, getting financially ready can start by taking just a few crucial points into consideration, given that financial sustainability can prove to be a key success factor for mental readiness:

Build a good team of advisors

Your team of advisors should be in place even before you sign your first sports-related contract, to be able to help you. As you would hire the best coaches, physios and doctors, you should do the same with your team of financial advisors based on their knowledge and qualifications. Your trusted team of professionals can help you set up a budget, manage taxes, guide your through saving and investment options and eventually help you prepare for retirement.

Start putting away as much money as possible starting with your first check

Athletes are faced with the challenge of retiring from sports 20 to 30 years earlier than most people, given that their career has a much shorter span than normal.  As a result, their saving strategy should reflect that, by saving a higher percentage of their income early on in their careers.

Saving should be a priority as nobody will care more about an athlete’s money than they do, so as soon as they have income coming in, they should put a portion of it away in their savings. The sooner they start saving, the more time their money has to grow.

Your goals should reflect the lifestyle you want to follow

Athletes should set financial goals and work towards them just as they do in their sport. They first need to identify their goals and priorities, according to the lifestyle they want to follow, and then devise an approach that will help them achieve those goals.

Having a financial plan in place can also help athletes cope with the extreme scenarios of an athlete’s life; they will know that even if they are forced to retire earlier than planned, they will be prepared. At the same time, athletes should be very careful to avoid the sudden wealth phenomenon and adjust the balance between “needs” and “wants”, so as to reflect their determination to ensure long-term financial sustainability.

Financial literacy is vital

If you can’t explain something, you shouldn’t own it; being able to understand basic financial concepts is really important for athletes to really take the reins of their financial life. Being the boss of something you don’t really understand, by delegating too much and overseeing too little, can lead to trouble. You should remember that preparing and planning for retirement should always be based on what makes you happy and should align with your life dreams and goals.

The psychology of retiring from sport at a fairly young age

Professional athletes are considered to be mentally tougher than other people, due to the hard work and devotion to their sport in their everyday life. Professional athletes have also dedicated their lives to sport and made personal sacrifices to pursue their athletic dreams. But what about when the time to retire comes? Can all these years of hard work be terminated without distressful reactions and psychological effects?

Retirement can be involuntary and voluntary. Involuntary retirement occurs when athletes have no choice in the matter, most likely due to age, or due to illness or injury. On the other hand, voluntary retirement can happen at any age, and it’s the athlete’s decision to leave their sports career and move on. In any case, once professional athletes leave their sport, they usually find it very hard to adjust to their new lives.

Plenty of psychological, behavioral and emotional studies conducted during the last decade from various researchers, attempt to explain the changes in an athlete’s life after retirement. We set below a few guidelines on how to deal with the psychological effects of retirement from sport in order to speed up the adjustment period.

1.Dealing with your Emotions

First, you should be ready to take control of your emotions before these emotions direct you towards making wrong decisions and desperate moves.

Anxiety: Anxiety could be pervasive, making you too conservative with your dreams and personal goals and lowering your self-worth. You need to learn to control the causes of your anxiety.  If you are so worried and stressed about your prospective retirement you will not be able to see things clearly and decide what to do next.  Creating a plan on what to do next will alleviate a great part of your anxiety.

Jealousy: If you are jealous of your friends’ or other peoples’ careers and possessions then in trying to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ you might end up doing something you don’t really like after your sports career ends. Stop thinking about the others and try to focus on what you have, not what you lack.  Try to make a plan on the basis of what you have and try to compensate by learning new skills.

Regret: If you beat up yourself all the time about lousy decisions of the past then you are stuck in the past. Channel your regret into a learning opportunity which will pave the way to a bright future.  You have to realize that the only way is “forward”.

Sadness: Your career end may bring feelings of sadness or depression.  When people feel sad or depressed because of a problematic or stressful situation, they avoid talking about it or thinking about it. Find a trusted person, a mentor or a therapist who can assess the situation and help you in whatever needs to be done. Discussing your difficult situation with a professional psychologist or a mentor or even a friend, helps take the pressure off—and knowing that you are getting help in taking control of your life may even help lift you out of your depression.

2. Taking Action

There are numerous steps that an athlete can take to reduce the probabilities of anxiety and depression after retirement from sports.

• Step #1-Discover your skills and interests in other activities beyond sport. Expand your self-identity to other directions and reduce your exclusive identification with sports.
• Step #2-Develop your time and stress management skills; such skills will help you find personal balance and reconcile your sports activities with other roles.
• Step #3-Keep solid relationships with people in your life who really care about your personal success. Managers, coaches, mentors, friends and family, can significantly support you in the procedure to discover your after-sport identity.
• Step #4-Consult a sports psychologist before finding yourself helpless, desperate and confused. A psychologist can help you explore aspects of yourself you have not even thought of.

There are many exciting careers out there besides the ones we typically think of. The important thing is to identify what you enjoy doing, what your particular talents are, what you are especially good at, what you feel passionate about. There’s no right or wrong answer; each person has a different set of talents and passions and different aspirations.

Once you identify what you’re passionate about, you should check what skills are needed and you should focus on building skills, centered on that passion. As an athlete you have a vast experience in sport. You have the option to use that experience to concentrate in becoming a sports physical therapist, coach, team manager, team owner, public relations executive, sports merchandise developer or retailer, sports administrator, sports psychologist, sports manager or scout.  The abilities which you have trained and gained as an athlete can open a lot of doors for you, whatever career you decide to follow.

Find a business mentor

A mentor is a person that has the experience to guide your development and can influence your actions and future; such a person is key to transitioning smoothly into your after sports life and career.  During your sports career you had a lot of people around you, probably coaches who supported your growth and development.  When transitioning into a post-sports career though, you will need a mentor with a business background who can advise you on how the business world and businesses work, and guide you into the world of work.

Mentoring is a process for the transfer of social capital, provision of psychosocial support and knowledge more generally relevant to work and professional development. Mentoring is exercised through communication over a sustained period of time, usually in-person between an individual who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge and experience and someone who is perceived to have less.

A mentor is a person with whom you will build a long-term relationship, who is a source of wisdom and support, and who will support your overall growth and development.

There are examples of great people who had great mentors:

• Michael Jordan described Dean Smith, his college basketball coach in North Carolina as his mentor, his teacher and his second father.
• Richard Branson, of Virgin Airlines, admits that he would have gotten nowhere in the airline industry without the help of his mentor Sir Freddie Laker.
• Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, was greatly influenced by his mentor Steve Jobs.

Work on your professional network

After your retirement, you will be entering a very competitive environment, that being business or the job industry, and building a strong network will help you find a job, start a business, or build a clientele. It’s not always what you know, it’s who you know.

Building a network is as important as building a team of trusted advisors around you.  The bigger your network, the more opportunities, personal or business, you will have available now and in the future. You can start networking by simply gathering contact information of people you share common interests with or from the sports industry, such as fellow athletes, friends from school or college, agents, etc.

It might not always seem true and honest to try to stay in touch with people and express interest in their lives just for the purpose of broadening your personal network. It might also seem like too much work. A good way to go about this and push yourself to meet new people or keep in touch with them, is to always keep in mind, that every single person has something to offer you, not in a selfish and self-centered way. Everyone has an interesting story to tell, a fascinating background, or an exciting hobby. At the most basic level, everyone can help you learn something new or confirm something about yourself. Continue to gain knowledge, and also build your network of contacts over time to help ensure financial independence and success. Remember: you never know what influential person your friends or contacts may know. So, try to stay in touch with everyone!

Entrepreneurship or employment?

In your post-sports career, you will have to decide between two main options:  Becoming an employee or an entrepreneur.  There are two main ways of making money; employment and entrepreneurship; working for yourself or working for someone else. You should focus on choosing which of the two options will make you happier and best aligns with your dreams and goals.

No one but yourself can tell which one is the best option for you.  You can figure out things by writing down your dreams and goals and then by assessing which method will help you the most to achieving them; entrepreneurship or employment?  There is no black or white answer as to which option fits you; this depends on many factors and there are no guarantees that you will be successful, no matter what option you have chosen to go with.

Some people might be more talented in being Entrepreneurs, but no one is born one. People can become entrepreneurs at any point in their lives, no matter what they are currently doing, how old they are, and their level of experience. Being a sports employee for most of your life is something that has given you great experiences that are going to be a huge asset for you in your future endeavors.

If you want to live a comfortable life, you need stability and peace, you hate risk, value your free time and need time to relax, you better choose the employment path.  If you are able to take some risks, you love to work, you want to keep growing, you are ambitious, and you can handle uncomfortable situations then you should follow the entrepreneurship path.  Both paths are very different but can be enjoyable depending on your personal characteristics.

Characteristics of a successful entrepreneur

Successful entrepreneurs have certain skills and personality traits in common.  Some of the typical qualities of the successful entrepreneur are the following:

• They have a vivid imagination and they are creative
• They are big picture thinkers
• They are self-motivated
• They are risk takers and their risk tolerance is above average
• They understand their own strengths and weaknesses
• They are self-starters, goal oriented and competitive

In addition to the above, entrepreneurs have the ability to supplement areas where they are lacking by hiring people who are exceptional in those areas, or finding ways to complement and enhance their relevant skills. Athletes should realize that not everyone is cut out to be their own boss, but if they find themselves longing to be in control of their lives — and if most of the traits listed above can be used to describe them — then they have what it takes to go into entrepreneurship.  Something very important, that all athletes who aspire to become entrepreneurs should know, is that most successful entrepreneurs go through a period of struggle before finding and implementing the right business idea that will make them successful.

The world of work

You must start working towards determining your interests and expanding your social network, long before the end of your playing career. You should start building skills which will help you in the transition from being a professional athlete to retirement from professional sports, as well as continue earning an income.  We stress, one more time, that gaining experience and making contacts will definitely be useful in the future, therefore you should seek, develop and nurture relationships both in the sports and other industries.

To identify what you want to be doing in the future you should answer the following questions:

• What are your interests?
• What are your greatest skills?
• What would you like to do other than sports?
• How much money do you need to earn?

It is very important that your post sports career is an interesting one and at the same time earns you enough money to support your desired lifestyle. Your goal is to have a career that pays you enough to live on, and that matches your current and future interests.

When you have crystallized what your passions and talents are, one way to move forward is to do volunteer work in your area of interest. Volunteering helps you learn job skills and give back to the community; it helps you learn more about the field so you can decide whether that’s really what you want to do. Volunteer work looks good on your resume and demonstrates a positive, responsible attitude.

• Decide what type of career you would like, based on what you enjoy doing, the pay level you want, and the benefits (insurance, retirement plan, etc.) you
• Build the skills you need to get your dream post sports occupation. This may require additional schooling or working other jobs to build the necessary skills.
• Become a master networker by meeting and staying in contact with people who can help you build the post sports career of your dreams.

Examples of careers that Athletes have pursued after the end of their sports career

• A number of former pro athletes such as John McEnroe, Annabel Croft and Michael Johnson have all transitioned successfully into the world of broadcasting.
• Former wrestler Jesse Ventura and boxer Vitali Klitschko have transitioned from sports into the world of politics.
• Former Sweden and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Klas Ingesson fulfilled his “dream” of being a lumberjack after he retired from football.
• Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Andre Agassi, Carlos Moya and Ivan Lendl, all former number 1 tennis players became tennis coaches, post-retirement.

LinkedIn recently analyzed data on over 3,000 former NFL players to find out where they transitioned after their professional athletic careers.  It is a rather diverse list which shows that there are a lot of realistic options out there. The results are shown below:

• 20% small business / entrepreneur
• 18% sales
• 9% coaching / fitness professional
• 8% finance/insurance/banking
• 5% campus and professional athletics
• 3% media and sports broadcasting
• 3% education
• 2% non-profit/board member
• 23% other

Action Steps – Exercise 1 (25 minutes):

Make the following statement and give athletes 10 minutes to write down their answers. Have them read their answers and continue with an open discussion of their answers.

“It’s never too early to start thinking about your future. Start by answering the following questions which can help you get in the spirit of long-termism.

• What are your interests?
• What are your greatest skills?
• What would you like to do other than sports?
• How much money do you need to earn?”

The advantages and disadvantages of entrepreneurship

If entrepreneurship is the path you have chosen for your post-sports career, then you should know that it has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of entrepreneurship should make you feel stronger about your decision but at the same time you have to be willing to deal with the disadvantages and not be disheartened when things don’t go as planned. We list below a few of the advantages and disadvantages of entrepreneurship so that you know what you will have in your plate as a new entrepreneur.

Advantages

Lifestyle

The personal freedom associated with being an entrepreneur is unrivaled. You are the decision-maker about everything. You can work your own schedule, make your own hours, and control your own income.

Choosing Who You Work With

You can choose the people with whom you conduct business. It’s a great feeling talking business at the beach with your friends, who are also your business partners.

Financial Rewards

As a business owner, you have the ability to control how much you earn. When you want to make more money, you simply work more efficiently or put more effort.

Skillset Growth

Being a business owner means you are responsible for everything that happens within your company. Consequently, you will be exposed to a lot of new things and you will learn many new skills.

Disadvantages

Financial Insecurity

You must take the rough with the smooth, and owning your own business is no different. Being in charge may mean sacrificing the security of a regular paycheck and regular work hours. You are responsible for your financial security as well as for those who work for you.  This can definitely keep you up at night, trying to figure out how you will meet the payroll at the end of the month!

Health Insurance

Employer health plans and other benefits you get with a regular job and which you normally take for granted, are now your responsibility and are likely to have a negative effect on your bottom line.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

Although being the primary decision-maker is a key benefit of entrepreneurship, it can also be challenging and sometimes overwhelming having to make all the decisions. Not everyone can handle being responsible for everything at all times. Autonomy and having a free hand sound nice in theory but some people are just not cut out for it.

Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted, that’s for sure!  Before you actually choose going into business for yourself as a post-sports career option, you need to weigh all the relevant factors but most of all, you need to be in check with yourself that this is what you really want to do.

Business fundamentals for athlete entrepreneurs

If you do choose to follow the entrepreneurship path, the below will help you understand where to begin and how to formulate your business plan.

The road to entrepreneurship: Where do you begin?

Initially and most importantly, you need to identify your passions and/or interests. One of the most important aspects of starting a business is to choose a field, industry, service or product you are passionate about. For instance, it just doesn’t make sense to open a coffee shop when you don’t even drink coffee. After you’ve identified your passion, it’s vital to educate yourself and learn as much as you can about the topic or idea that you’ve chosen. Finally, after you’ve come up with the idea, it’s important that you solidify it through a business plan. Your business plan will act as your compass in your intended business endeavor.

Preparing a Business Plan

No athlete runs onto the field without a game plan. When you have a business goal in mind, you need a solid plan. At the initial stage, the first draft need not be elaborate, don’t get bogged down in creating the “perfect” plan—there’s no such thing. Just getting some bullet point ideas down on paper will do at this stage.  A business plan is a roadmap to creating the business you imagine and making it successful. The plan will change over time as your knowledge grows and new ideas come to mind.

The preparation of a business plan will force you to think strategically; strategic planning is the foundation of success for any start-up idea. Strategic planning encompasses the following business concepts and fundamentals:

1. Describe your goals

Accurately describe your business goals and objectives. Here is an example of specific objectives: “I will start an online marketing company. Ten thousand people will have visited my site by January, and I will have made income exceeding US$25,000 from online advertising.”

2. Describe your product or service

What product or service will you offer? Describe your idea in as much detail as possible. Identify the strengths and weaknesses and set the price point (base price at which the product or service will be sold). Clarity of thinking at the outset will help develop all the details that must follow.

3. Finding the need

Find out early whether the market has a need for your product/ service. You should offer a solution to a problem for which people are actively looking. There must be a demand for your product/service, and people must be willing to pay for your solution. Additionally, you should verify whether other products or services already exist that offer the same solution at a better price.

4. Identify your competition

Thoroughly understanding your competition gives you an advantage when marketing your product or service. Learn what they offer, their pricing, and what makes them stand out. Learn the history of your competition and some of their top customers. What you need to do is essentially market research.

5. List your skills

What experience do you have that puts you in a great position to start this business?  Understanding the skills that you bring to the table gives you confidence to stand behind your product or service and gives your business a competitive advantage. A skill doesn’t have to necessarily revolve around education or qualifications; it can be the network that you’ve created throughout your career and the close connections that you’ve built.

6. Identify risk and reward

As with all investments, managing risk is an important part of starting a business— especially your first business venture. The ability to accurately evaluate risk is a key attribute of a successful entrepreneur. A common misperception is that entrepreneurs are crazy risk-takers. Successful entrepreneurs don’t take wild risks— only calculated ones.

7. Identify your target market and how to reach your customer

Who are your potential customers? Target market means those people who are most likely to purchase your product or service, and to whom your selling efforts will be directed. A true understanding of your target market is one of the most important pieces of your business plan. So, identify the people to whom you’re trying to sell.

8. Figure out the financing of your business venture

Who’s going to put the money for this business idea? It’s generally recommended NOT to just dive into your savings account and pour all your money straight into the business. You could consider partnering with individuals or companies who’re more familiar with the industry. Furthermore, you should reach out to financial institutions (Banks) and see if you could finance your idea through a loan and under what terms.

9. Estimate what is the return on your investment

As challenging as it sounds, it’s not as hard to do, assuming you have a good understanding of the industry. Try to figure out what will be the future revenues and what are the current and future costs. If that intimidates you, there are always experts who specialize at valuing your investment and estimating the returns.

Becoming an entrepreneur is not a task for the idle and the light-hearted. It takes a lot to be a successful entrepreneur.  You should be aware that getting prepared for entrepreneurship will give you better chances of success in your entrepreneurial endeavors.

Action Steps – Exercise 2 (20 minutes)

Make the following statement to athletes and then have an open discussion in connection with their answers.

“Based on what we have talked about in relation to being an entrepreneur, do you think that you want to be one?  If yes tell us why you think you would make a good one.  Relate your answer to your skills and personality traits.  If no, please explain why entrepreneurship is not for you.”

Building the athlete’s entrepreneurial team

For a business to become successful, a huge amount of information, skills, capabilities and knowledge are needed, making it almost impossible for a single individual to succeed. Therefore, it is vital for athletes to surround themselves with the right group of people who will support them and supplement their skillset.

Creating an entrepreneurial team might not sound too challenging but it involves much more than just getting a group of likeminded people together. There is extensive academic research on building entrepreneurial teams but in brief, you need to form a team that will be innovative, strong and viable, with a diverse enough set of skills and strengths; a team that you will feel comfortable letting take control, in order to push your business forward.

Here are a few tips to help you get you started on building your ideal entrepreneurial team:

• Realizing the areas in which you are personally lacking in skills, will help you identify the roles you must fill, in order to get the right people for your team. You should remember that you are not looking for individuals like yourself, as you are already part of your team.
• Recruiting the perfect people for your team is not going to be an easy job but you can use your personal or professional network to help you identify prospective targets. If you get an introduction that you feel can work, you can arrange to meet them over coffee or lunch and check whether you have any chemistry with them.
• You have to keep your team small. Your team will be spending a lot of time together so it is important to have the cohesion that will allow its members to work together effectively and communicate and share ideas easily.
• Your team members shouldn’t need constant direction and supervision. They should be able to develop their own methods, utilize available resources and manage their time in order to complete any given assignment.
• You need to be constantly looking for new talent who can bring that extra kick to your team and help your business stay on top of its competitors in terms of innovation.
• Your team should share your vision and goals. Research shows that monetary benefits are not the main motivation factor for your team to perform at the top of its game. Have them invested in a greater plan, your plan, and reap the benefits of their performance.

As the head of your entrepreneurial team, you will have to create and sustain the right climate between team members and be able to correct any team dysfunctions.  Building the right entrepreneurial team to support you both when launching and operating your business, is not an easy feat.  However, by following the above ground rules you are off to the right start.

Why athletes become great entrepreneurs

There are many examples of professional athletes who made it into business after their retirement from sports. The entrepreneurial success of athletes is highly attributable to the traits and characteristics athletes cultivate throughout their athletic career.  The traits acquired by elite athletes, due to their everyday involvement with professional sports, are the following:

Self-Driven – Athletes are self-driven and often don’t need extra motivation to get things done. Athletes are constantly pushing themselves every day to workout, eat right and maintain their bodies, even when coaches aren’t around. There are days where it’s harder for athletes and business leaders to put in the work, but they always motivate themselves to get it done when it counts the most.

Goal Oriented – Athletes set personal and team goals all the time. Whether long term or short term, goals are what push athletes to achieve every day. Goals are crucial in the business world because they monitor what the company needs to do in order to continue running efficiently and effectively. Without goals, there really isn’t a way to measure progress.

Being Confident – Confidence is at the top of the list for athletes because without confidence they simply won’t perform to the best of their ability. They have to believe in themselves on and off the playing field or they won’t take risks, make decisions and inevitably won’t get results. Having confidence as an entrepreneur works the exact same way.

Determined & Persistent – Athletes don’t give up. They keep pushing, on despite setbacks, or detours. Having this mentality in the business world is so important because you will hear a ton of “No’s” before you hear one “Yes.” It takes persistence and an attitude that you’ll keep going until you get the answer you want.

Able To Handle Failure – The unfortunate part of life is that failure is inevitable. At some point in an athlete’s career, they’ll lose heart-breaking games or come up short in some sort of way. This will also happen in the business world, but it is all about how you brush it off and keep going. Athletes are known to handle and manage failure well, which is imperative in the entrepreneurial world.

Mental Toughness – Mental toughness is the ability to psychologically endure pressure, while still performing at peak efficiency. This help athletes cope with their life as entrepreneurs and the possibility of 60+ hour work weeks.

The above, are just some of the traits that athletes possess through playing sports for years. There have been many athletes who have made the transition to the business world and have been very successful because of the skills they have acquired during their athletic career.

Athletic entrepreneurship: Using your brand to build a business

When we think about entrepreneurs, we tend to concentrate on people that came up with new ideas and innovations that have shaped our lives in different ways. While this is a core determinant of what an entrepreneur is, it excludes a big fraction of entrepreneurship that has been on the rise the past couple of decades: Athletic Entrepreneurship. This form of entrepreneurship, rather than focusing on providing life-changing innovations and solutions, emphasizes on creating value by leveraging an athlete’s unique brand and mindset.  Let’s explore how athletes can pursue their own unique form of entrepreneurship by exploiting their brand as well as several distinctive characteristics of their athletic careers.

One of the aspects that makes professional athletes able to naturally evolve in being entrepreneurs is their distinct brand. The athletes’ brand is essentially the backbone of athletic entrepreneurship and the core pillar which athletes tend to build on in order to become successful entrepreneurs. Simply put, a professional athlete that’s become recognized in their sport, is able to capitalize on that fame by moving to the entrepreneurial level. At that level, there are no rules about what you can achieve and how to achieve it but there are ways to best align your brand with value-generating ideas.

Another important aspect that makes athletes great entrepreneurs is the mindset they cultivate throughout their professional career. Successful athletes have common characteristics that are vital to becoming an entrepreneurial champion. Such characteristics involve a winner’s mentality, a legend’s attitude and a soldier’s discipline and dedication. Nevertheless, having both the brand and the attitude are not sufficient to becoming an entrepreneur, as the athlete needs to be able to use these advantages in a constructive and value-generating manner.

Throughout the years, many athletes in different types of sports have utilized both their brands as well as their set of skills in the pursuit of creating value. The most common ways athletes seek to create value have been either through building their own businesses or creating synergies to promote other products and brands. The way towards athletic entrepreneurship is not a one-way street but rather a carefully executed plan based on the athletes’ abilities, strengths and overall influence in their sport. To put things into perspective, we will look into one such example and examine how they’ve pursued athletic entrepreneurship and why they chose to pursue it in such a way.

A successful athletic entrepreneurial story is that of tennis champion Maria Sharapova. Sharapova has taken a less conventional approach towards athletic entrepreneurship through creating her own candy brand “Sugarpova” and promoting luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. While Sharapova became famous for her excellence in tennis, she used that to promote her love of sweets as well as her appreciation for quality jewelry.  After building the image of candy lover, Maria Sharapova was in the best position to create her own candy brand and promote it as the candy which everyone should have after a long day of training or work. Using the same strategy, Sharapova leveraged her fame to promote luxury jewel wear and created a synergy with the mother of luxury brands, Tiffany & Co. The goal of this partnership is simple: to influence her fans, especially women, that it’s important to always strive to look their best, by wearing what’s best.

While there are numerous successful athlete-entrepreneurs who have pursued entrepreneurship in different ways, it’s important to understand what has driven their ability to become entrepreneurs and why they chose to do it in the way they did. Maria Sharapova’s partnership with Tiffany’s allowed her to expand her reach and influence in new markets and be able to influence all women, regardless of whether they follow tennis or not. In short, athletes pursue entrepreneurship in ways that leverage their athletic excellence to essentially promote their individuality and through that, they recycle athletic value and build societal and monetary value.

Franchising

If there is one thing professional athletes understand, it’s how to follow the game plan.  Many ex-athletes buy into franchise business models, which basically provide a ‘business in a box’, with all the instructions.

Just like any other business, franchising requires a serious commitment of both money and time. Before buying a franchise, athletes need to consider all the pros and cons of owning a franchise in order to decide if the franchising option is the right one for them.  The International Franchise Association website (www.franchise.org) offers an abundance of tools to help aspiring franchisees decide whether franchising is right for them, the criteria through which they can select a particular franchise, and many more.

During the past decade we have seen a lot of athletes venture into entrepreneurship through franchising.  Pro-athletes actually have a rising presence in the franchise world due to the notion that franchising provides athletes with an easy transition into post-retirement life. The truth is that franchising does provide a viable and easily accessible post-sports career solution for athletes.

For many franchise systems, professional athletes are prime candidates for recruitment.  Franchisee professional athletes usually have the funds to invest in franchises and they also have an edge when it comes to marketing the franchise. Franchising gives the retired professional athlete the opportunity to return ‘back home’ and continue to be a star; an entrepreneur star! Franchises are aware of this and recognize the competitive edge that local stardom can give to their business.

The advantages that franchising provides to athletes transitioning into their post-sports lives are many.  Athletes have spent their sports career following the rules and receiving and executing instructions. The franchisee is given a business plan and clear instructions on how it should be executed and implemented.

Athletes have transferable skills: they are resilient, they focus on the target, they have self-control and a strong work ethic, perseverance, and so on. This unique set of strengths along with their visibility makes athletes prime candidates for successful franchise ownership.

Also, franchises have an already established infrastructure so athletes do not have to ‘reinvent the wheel’ when transitioning into the business world. Franchisee athletes get mentored, receive training and ongoing support from the franchises, and that in itself actually minimizes the risks associated with setting up a new business.

Another reason franchising constitutes an attractive option for professional athletes is because it combines the strengths of two brands, that of the franchise and that of the athlete. It basically offers athletes the opportunity to get involved in an already known brand which coupled with the usually strong marketing power of the athletes themselves, can lead to exceptional financial results.  If there is one thing professional athletes know and probably have vast experience doing, it’s how to represent a big brand. And that could be why so many pros buy into franchise business models, where huge payouts can come from executing on an existing sports image and a business concept.

Even though the franchise industry is definitely a promising and lucrative one for professional athletes, there are no guarantees for success. There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration when making the final decision.

First of all, there are so many franchises out there and athletes need to research and evaluate the particular ones that are right for them.  This is not an easy task and it requires a lot of discipline and linear thought from the athlete’s part in assessing what type of franchise will be exciting while at the same time earn the athlete enough money to sustain a desired lifestyle.

Second, the athlete has to be prepared to receive training, not just on how the particular franchise operates but on the entrepreneurial side of it as well.  Running a franchise requires a number of business and entrepreneurial skills as well as knowledge of business fundamentals. The above, are important in running a successful business and athletes have to make sure that they educate and familiarize themselves with basic business concepts.

Third, athletes have to be prepared to complement what they lack in business and other necessary skills through working with the right professionals. As discussed before, building a star team of business advisors and other professionals will provide athletes with the necessary tools to achieve success in their franchising ventures.

Franchising is a lucrative option for athletes but at the same time it requires caution in selecting a franchise which aligns with the interests and skills of the athlete and has a desirable money earning potential.

Online businesses as an option for a post-sport career

Before the Internet became an integral part of our everyday lives, if you wanted to start a business you either had to have some savings or visit your local bank manager for a business loan. However, now, in the age of e-commerce, where a brick-and-mortar presence is not required, the cost of starting an e-business is quite low and can be reclaimed after a few months of profit-making.

The fundamentals of commerce apply in the online business world as well: someone is trying to sell a product or service to another human to either fulfill an unmet need or solve a problem that needs solving.  The Internet provides access to a growing global market with billions of people that can be potential customers. There were actually 4.22 billion Internet users in the world as of June 2021 compared to 3.7 billion Internet users in 2017; out of them, 1.66 billion people purchased something online in 2017 — while that number grew to billion people in 2020.

Athletes with the visibility they have acquired during their sports career, are considered as one of the most direct channels to reach customers; the connection between fans, sport and athletes, develops the fan phenomenon which is unprecedented in any other sector of society. The huge virtual marketplace provides a unique opportunity for athletes to start their own internet enterprise and take advantage of the special characteristics of their brand, image and the relationship they have developed with fans and others, throughout their career:

• Customers are one of the most important assets a company can have. As an athlete what puts you in an advantageous position when it comes to starting your e-business, is that you don’t need to build a customer base from scratch, as you most probably already have a sizeable social media following that can be utilized as a base to promote your products or services. In addition to the pre-existing followers, you have useful information about these followers which if used properly, can tell you a lot about their preferences and purchasing habits.
• Your personal sports brand can be tied to your product or service to increase the visibility of the message you are sending to potential customers, without spending crazy amounts of money on advertising. Even if you have an excellent product or service to sell, you still need to make people aware of it, using the channels the internet is offering, such as social media, online advertisement and search engine marketing.  Utilizing your personal sports brand as a promotion tool for your product or service serves as a low-cost and effective advertising channel.
• Although the internet allows your product or service to become visible in every corner of the planet, creating a marketing strategy to reach customers in different markets around the globe is not an easy task. As an athlete – depending on your sport and career— it is possible that you have a personal brand that is recognizable across various countries and continents, therefore you have an edge in your attempt to reach even more customers globally.
• All the people you have met or worked with throughout your career are part of a useful network that you can utilize in your e-commerce endeavors; you can either ask people from your network to mentor you when it comes to e-trade; you may also reach out to people from your network to invest in your upcoming business venture, or you can look into your network for talented people who can work for your business.

The online marketplace constantly develops and changes but the principles of starting and growing a successful online business remain quite the same. As a sports personality with high visibility, a large network, and possibly a large social media following, you have a high probability of success with a prospective online-based business venture.

Social Entrepreneurship: Athletes thinking outside the box

When the question becomes “What’s Next”, athletes should strive to fall back on their sport attributes and think outside the box. Not all athletes can make good coaches; the market is anyway already saturated. Not all athletes can make good sport executives, front office managers, or directors of sports operations. At the same time, a nine-to-five desk job will never be a top priority for a typical sport character, not by a long shot. When planning your post-career development, remember your enthusiasm in striving for perfection, and your fearless head-on approach at difficult sporting situations that has made you used to being out of your comfort zone and thus more resourceful and creative.

What is it that made you stand out as an athlete? What qualities and capabilities carried you as a sport personality? What did you learn while in sports? Combine these thoughts with reflection about today’s society; think of the needs of any industry in which you see yourself contributing, or reflect on the needs of your community. When it’s time to move on from a sports-playing career, think outside the box.

At the end of the day, if entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity beyond resources controlled, or the commencement of a business endeavor with a risk of losing in order to profit, then athletes would be, yet again, expected to excel. After all, who would be better in pursuing an opportunity beyond resources controlled?

Athletes are highly sought out investors. This is because many athletes have worked hard enough to capitalize on their talent and are in a financial position to invest considerable funds; at the same time, athletes can add value and validity to any company they get behind, being highly credible as influencers, due to their strong ties with communities and their ability to introduce products to the public in a unique way. If you find yourself in a similar position, then think outside the box.

Thinking outside the box, means finding something with which you would be proud to associate your name. Search for the things that can make a difference, either in people’s lives or in the sport which you have loved and served your entire life. Consider your legacy, as a person first and foremost and decide how you wish to be remembered in your life away from sports. Making a valuable and useful contribution to an industry of your choice is the exact same thing as winning the MVP trophy. Not everyone wins that trophy and of course not everyone works towards winning that trophy. The few that do though, understand what it’s like, what it takes and of course the benefits that are associated with such an honor.

Thinking outside the box”, when it comes to entrepreneurship, encompasses the following key words:  a) environment, b) development, c) peace, d) community, e) social responsibility.  Correlating these areas with the sports industry and within the realm of thinking outside the box, results in the following distinct areas of sports entrepreneurship:

• Sport for the environment
• Sport for development
• Sport for peace
• Sport for the community
• Sport for social responsibility

If these key words or phrases somehow give you that feeling of walking through the tunnel onto the playing field, in anticipation of the big game, then trust your athletic predisposition, your instincts and your sport personality and go for it.  If you can combine your commercial skills with social issues, you can create positive changes in society and improve the lives of people around you. This is the notion behind social entrepreneurship, a constantly growing field, which is gaining popularity and attracting lots of talented individuals and funds.

Social enterprises work to solve social issues by using money they make through selling something to consumers, or by using grants and government money. Their success is not only measured in terms of financial profit, but with the positive change they manage to make in the world, however that is defined.

Athletes have been leading social change throughout the course of history and some people argue that they have a pivotal role to serve as role models for their fans and followers. Living in a sports-focused society, at the intersection of sports and business, athletes have the power to reach people from all different walks of life.

Fortunately, many athletes have taken advantage of the power that stems from their sports fame to become social entrepreneurs and launch successful social enterprises that aim to make a difference and help the world become a better place:

• Tennis megastar Serena Williams has founded her own VC; companies that finance startups and early-stage firms. Although, she’s definitely in it for a profit, her project has a social mission too. That mission is to invest more into companies with diverse founders and thus do her part for creating a level-playing field.
• Successful Indian American professional tennis player and Princeton graduate, Shikha Oberoi, launched her media and lifestyle company, SDU Seva Inc., in 2013. Using the power of sports and television, she made six documentaries to push towards people becoming more involved in positive social reform within India. Through her media company in India, she has also created a reality show that is used as a platform for social entrepreneurs to gain visibility.

The secret to a successful social enterprise lies not only on focusing on a cause you are passionate about, but following the same principles as building any other business.

• If you haven’t already aligned yourself with a charitable cause or mission that you deeply believe in perhaps you should consider it. Giving back to the community is not only a moral obligation but a way to show your deep altruism and an important component of your brand. If you need to decide on a cause, you can ask yourself: What are the things happening in the world that make me feel like I want to change them and make them better?
• You can research organizations that are already involved in the cause about which you feel passionate. If for example you are passionate about sports and its power to change the world you can visit org.uk or www.streetfootballworld.org to see how these organizations are making a difference using sports as a tool.
• Use your free time to volunteer for organizations that triggered your interest so that you can learn even more about them. A volunteer athlete can always attract more people to the cause and increase media attention.
• Set a clear, big-picture goal for what you want to achieve. For example, you want to organize an international tennis tournament with famous ex-players to raise money for bringing electricity to rural areas in Africa. Your network and connections, from the sports industry such as coaches, ex-fellow athletes, etc., can be very useful.
• Take action and make a difference!

It is a really difficult task to set off to change the world alone; before entering into your next venture to create a positive change you should consult with your trusted advisor and form a solid plan to ensure the success and impact of your social venture.

Action Steps – Exercise 3 (15 minutes):

Are you an entrepreneur?  Quiz (By NFEC)

Athletes should take the quiz below to see if they have what it takes to become entrepreneurs.

1. Are you a self-starter?
   1. If you point me in the right direction, I’ll get there.
   2. If I set my mind to it, I’ll make it happen.
   3. If I have to, I’ll get it done.
2. Do you get along well with others?
   1. I already have plenty of friends.
   2. I like to talk to people and am easy to get along with.
   3. Most people are annoying.
3. Are you a good leader?
   1. I can make people do what I want.
   2. I can usually motivate people to do things.
   3. I know when to let people do their own thing.
4. Are you responsible?
   1. I can take over when needed.
   2. I’m usually in charge of making sure things get done.
   3. If someone else wants to do it, why not let them.
5. Are you organized?
   1. I like to take things as they come.
   2. I typically have a plan before I get started.
   3. I do pretty well as long as things don’t get too complicated.
6. Can you keep track of records?
   1. I’ve got a good memory and that’s more important.
   2. It’s not the most fun I’ve ever had, but I can do it.
   3. I’m busy getting the work done, but I can do it if I have to.
7. Are you a hard worker?
   1. Hard work never got my parents anywhere.
   2. If I enjoy what I’m doing, I hardly notice the time pass.
   3. I work hard enough to get the bills paid.
8. Are you trustworthy?
   1. I’m usually up front, but sometimes little white lies are easier.
   2. I never say things I don’t mean.
   3. Who cares as long as people think I am.
9. Are you able to make decisions?
   1. I can make a decision if given plenty of time to think it over.
   2. My first choice is usually the best one.
   3. I’ve been known to change my mind pretty often.
10. Do you follow through?
    1. I generally finish things that I start.
    2. Nothing gets in my way once I’ve made up my mind.
    3. If a job’s not going well, it’s best to move on.

Explain to athletes what their answer selections to the quiz indicate:

• If you most frequently selected “b,” then you definitely have an entrepreneurial mindset. It’s a wonder you’re not in business already!
• If you most frequently selected “a,” you’re off to a great start. Take some time to get some additional training or help with the areas where you answered “a” and make an effort to develop good habits.
• If you most frequently selected “c,” then you should probably look for a successful entrepreneur for whom you could work, in the hope that you’ll pick up some tips and motivational tools that will help you if you’re serious about becoming an entrepreneur yourself.

Lesson wrap-up

Today we have seen that a successful transition from sports to the outside world, needs to be preceded by deciding or understanding who you are and who you want to be off the pitch. Once you’ve identified what you’re passionate about, you should check what skills are needed and you should focus on building skills centered on that passion—if you do not already possess them. Throughout your sports career, you have acquired a number of transferable skills, which can be applied in other areas of your lives including your career after sport. Networking can also help you in your post sports career whether to find a job, start a business, or build a clientele. There are two main ways of making money; employment and entrepreneurship. You should focus on choosing which of the two options will make you happier and which best aligns with your dreams and goals.

At this point, we will wrap-up today’s lesson.  First, we will go over the learning objectives of this lesson and we want your feedback as to whether they have been achieved, and then we will address any questions you may have.  Please feel free to ask anything you’d like in relation to today’s lecture and we would love to hear how the concepts we discussed today relate to you and your greater life plan.

LESSON DETAILS

Lesson & Activities Duration: 80 minutes

Lecture Duration: 80 minutes
Activities: 60 minutes
Wrap-Up, Questions & Discussion: 10 minutes
Total: 2,5 hours (approximately)