Transition Coach & Business Connector - Athletes & Entrepreneurs | Founder - Win Again and the Clubroom | Author.
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As you are actively playing your sport, whether as a student-athlete, amateur, Olympian/Paralympian or professionally, your focus is typically 100% on becoming better at your sport and being in a position to continue playing as long as possible. Rarely have you considered what will happen once you have to hang up your spikes, sneakers, goggles and so on. You avoid planning your future after retirement because of the fear of the unknown, a lack of confidence in what you can do outside of your sport and no idea what you will possibly do “tomorrow.”
The day you retire from your sport, you’re thrown into a life raft in the middle of the ocean. Your life raft is sturdy, and you have plenty of water and food to last a long time. You have been given a strong paddle, and you can travel a long distance every day due to your athletic mindset and strength.
The challenge is that you don’t know what direction you should go, and you worry as all you see is endless water across the horizon. It doesn’t matter how far you can paddle if all you do is head toward more open water.
There is good news! Once you receive some direction and advice as to what you can do after retirement—how you can be engaged, challenged, fulfilled and compensated fairly—suddenly a tropical island appears on the horizon, and you can start paddling.
Most of the time, that tropical island is something that your friends, family, fans or other hangers-on push you toward, not necessarily with bad intentions. Those ideas may seem like they make sense at first, but because it is someone else’s idea of what you would be good at, and not your own, that role often leads to a bad fit, a disinterested effort and, too often, a large sum of money down the tubes.
Post-Sport Options
Speaking with a career or business coach, an adviser or a trusted mentor can certainly lead you toward an amazing tropical island that is flush with success, as you can figure out what your identity is outside of your sport and unearth the talents and interests that you have that you can incorporate into your next successful career.
Many athletes choose to work directly for companies, while others go into coaching or broadcasting within their sport. Most, however, choose the path toward being an entrepreneur. Athletes often underestimate the skills and abilities they can bring to the table if they choose to start their own business, or partner with another to do so, but it doesn’t need to be that way.
The most important thing you can and should do immediately is start, grow and maintain a strong network of decision-makers and people of influence within the industry you’d like to dip your toes into.
The biggest regret I hear from the athletes that I have worked with has been their dismay at missing out on meeting those key influencers while playing and in the greatest demand to be around. Once they have retired, their luster often fades and diminishes their chances to meet with those who can make a great impact on their future.
Traits That Translate
Before we get into how to meet those people, it’s important for you to understand the tools that you have in your tool belt that most non-athletes don’t, and how those tools can help you become a successful entrepreneur.
You have spent your life as an athlete developing grit and tenacity, whether it is to continue training despite a strong pull to “just take a day off,” to push through pain and discomfort to finish a race or to compete to the end of the game. This is a critical ingredient to starting and growing a new business.
You have taken guidance and instruction from a variety of coaches with different skill sets, giving you perspectives that you did not necessarily have yourself—another important element of being a part of a business. Many entrepreneurs will often ignore advice from others, thinking that their own education and backgrounds are enough to guarantee success.
You are comfortable in the spotlight, accustomed to being on a stage and under time pressures and you have the innate ability to pivot on a moment’s notice, all of which most non-athletes have not had to experience, separating you from the pack.
Perhaps most importantly, you are not satisfied with your first victory. You have become accustomed to seeking the championship, stringing together victories that lead to the ultimate prize.
Get Down To Business
Now that you have confidence that you can be successful, it’s critical to develop your network. The easiest way to do so is to have a robust LinkedIn profile and be proactive in reaching out and connecting with those in the industry you want to be in, versus waiting for people to find you and being reactive.
Send personalized invitations highlighting your interest in meeting fellow alumni, athletes, dog lovers, basket weavers or whatever else you may have in common with your intended connection, and simply ask for advice. You’ll be amazed at how many people will accept your invitation to connect and have a conversation.
The secret to developing and growing a business is having a circle of supporters who can help guide you, and you can push forward knowing that you already have so many traits of a successful entrepreneur that you have developed as an athlete, putting you ahead of your competitors who may not have strapped on a helmet, laced up a skate or swam thousands of laps in the early morning hours.
That amazing tropical island is closer than it may seem; get your paddle out and you’re on your way!
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