Don't Expect Anything from Nothing!

[eIndustry411]

Over the many years working with many professional athletes and their businesses and having my own. I am very amazed to the approach they take and I have come to the conclusion that professional athletes are the worst business owners. I most certainly say that all of them are but the vast majority I have worked with or been in contact with show a similiar pattern over and over but the sad thing is that they don't understand why their businesses fold or why they lost a lot of money.

So I will line out some of the things that I have recognized in their pattern and thought process that keeps them where they are and that is with big "L"'s from Allen Iverson, Shaq, etc

• They think that their "sports celebrity" will seal all deals
  Sorry, buddy let me just say this it could be Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, etc. but the Sports Celebrity doesnt mean SHIT, Nada, not at all!! The only thing that it may does is hold some weight in the financial aspect but then a lot of these athletes don't know how to invest in a business correctly
• They think they know business
  You are a PRO ATHLETE not a business man, you get paid big checks for playing the sport that you have done since high school. So it makes you an expert in playing that sport. However you didn't earn that money by putting business plans together, develop marketing strategies, do market research and analysis, etc. So there is a very big difference. You are just an employee that gets big checks and you get them just like any other person working a 9 - 5.
• They put their homeboys on
  We all know about the loyalty for our friends and had the talks when we blow up we take our people with us BUT that doesn't make them qualified to run a business. You have to have knowledge, you have to understand business principals and ethics, be on point in so many areas that they simply don't have. Ok if one of your homeboys is qualified then it a different story but during my tenure I haven't met anybody that was. They will spend you money on bullshit, hire the wrong people and basically don't give anything in return. Don't believe me? Well ask yourself of what you have accomplished and how much money you spent for it. If you spent $300,000 and all your buddies have diamond chains with the company logo, you think that is an accomplishment?
• You have to put money into your business
  A lot of these athletes think that starting a business especially entertainment is like buying some sneakers at footlocker. Sorry! Not So! You have to create a budget which should include all the expenses, staff requirements, equipment, advertising, etc. and it should be for a year. If the number is too high maybe you should be doing it or you need to modify some things. However you can't compromise quality just to get something done. Example a well developed website costs at least $10,000 it will be customized to all of your needs it will allow you to let you update it without having to know programming, it will capture data, it will basically enhance your business in every way but for it to do that it involves programming, designing, maintenance and whole bunch more. However a lot of them will have that friend that says I can do it for free or cheap. Great so know you think you have your website situation figured out and you good. WRONG! There is a reason why Amazon.com, eBay, Best Buy, Walmart, Netflix and so on generate millions if not billions in sales every year through their websites. It is because they invest a big budget in their website operation. They understand that it take money to operate and improve these things. The majority of urban entertainment sites really don't do shit but pull up. If you are an artist wouldn't you want to be able to capture everybody that is coming to your site, have them keep coming back because you offer such incredible things, do want them to give them tools where they can promote your site using things on your site? encourage them to buy something or sign up for memberships where you give them special perks? Wouldn't you want to know who all downloads your single? and wouldn't you want to be able to make money with it? Well it takes an expert to do that and yes most likely your homeboy can't provide you with that, so guess what. Your shit will be shot in the dark.
• Stay on top of technology
• There is a reason why Amazon.com, eBay and a lot of these top internet companies rake in so much revenue. It is the technology! Fast searches in a catalog of million of products, user accounts, easy navigation, page setups, cross references, etc. all those require expert handling, the faster and the more accurate the better. Know what technology is best to video stream, social network and so on. about 99% are really clueless to that fact. Do you know that good quality design costs money. A lot of these hip hop label logos look so bootleg because they don't know what a logo really is suppose to do. Software costs money, a lot of them don't realize that a lot of the corporate companies that pay their checks like the NFL, NBA, etc have some of the most advanced technology but that is how they make their money. I have worked with many major Fortune 500 companies and I can tell you that they will pay $25,000 minimum for a micro site which merely a spin off site for a product that they introduce. That is what makes the difference of earning a few bucks or several millions.
• Be on top of your game!
• Pay your bills on time, especially the people that work for you. I am sorry that I have to disappoint you but your celebrity means absolutely nothing when people have to pay their bills and you are the one that owes them. So make sure you get of your high horse and understand that in business the only thing that matters is the money, your name and fame is cute but it won't matter in a negotiation. So if you are having a such a hard time because you are in season be sure that you have someone that can take care of it for you. Set up a budget so you won't be the only one cutting checks. That is how corporations do it.

So to sum it all up. There is very big difference between a business man and an athlete. Let me remind you on Evander Hollyfield, Floyd Mayweather, Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson all those labels went bust by either mismanaging money which means they spent the money in the all the wrong place like hiring people that weren't capable or on things that didn't matter. You have to hire people that know what they are doing and let them do their thing. You can be a part but remember YOU are not the expert and an expert will show you the ropes and not confuse you. A real professional knows that they have to bring you results in order to stay in business, the homeboys are just looking to get the next check and that's it.