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Age 30 is the peak of your career in many professions—unless you happen to be a professional athlete. “It's like they experience life backwards”, he says Loop Capital Founder and CEO Jim Reynoldswhose career includes a nine-year partnership with Magic Johnson Enterprises. “They make their maximum money when they're extremely young, whereas in business, you don't usually start accumulating real wealth until your 50s.”
The average NBA player retires at age 29, which sounds enviable if you ignore the fact that nearly 60% of them do. serious financial difficulties after retirement. But it doesn't have to be like that. Although most retired players can't dance like they used to, bringing them into the business world can still be a hurdle for business leaders like Jim Reynolds, who recognize their transferable skills as tactical acumen and an effort to insatiably competitive.
Reynolds is currently the CEO of Koko5a fitness drink company he co-owns with an NBA dream team that includes Devin Booker, D'Angelo Russell, Derrick Rose and the Morris twins, Marcus and Markeiff. The company made headlines this spring after partnering with the American Cancer Society to raise money for research and promote early detection.
Technology entrepreneur Julian Aikena former DII point guard, is also no stranger to professional sports. His uncle, Bob McCann, played in the NBA for five years, and many of his high school friends grew up to become professional athletes. Aiken is the founder and CEO of Brunswick Sports Management, a firm that helps athletes transition into business. Finally, along with the NBA trifecta of Michael Carter-Williams (retired), Mo Harkless (retired) and Andre Drummond (active), Aiken established his latest effort: Special teams real estatea property venture that converts vacant commercial buildings into apartments.
Here are some of the universal principles that these elite athletes and their business partners say transfer from the sports arena to entrepreneurship.
Get a little better every day
In basketball, if you spend enough time just shooting free throws, you will eventually make more of them in games. As Carter-Williams notes, however, there are no free throws in business. There are no default rules. So for him, the first step in upping his business game was developing a self-starter mindset. Instead of a rigorous schedule of physical training prescribed by a trainer, he now prioritizes strengthening his mind every day.
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“Some days, I just force myself to do something or learn something to help me succeed,” he says. “It could be as simple as going to YouTube to learn about zoning laws. Or studying some complicated real estate book.” His business partner, Aiken, shares this growth mindset and emphasizes that improvement doesn't mean going from 0 to 100% overnight. Instead, the trick is to get 1% better every day.
“We don't expect Mike or anyone else to finish an entire project at once. But can you learn enough to finish a small percentage of it? And can you finish a little more next time? And so on.”
A slight percentage increase won't show up in Carter-Williams' box score like it did in his NBA days. He notices his progress in new ways, like his growing comfort in meetings and understanding of real estate jargon.
“If I can understand more and answer questions that I couldn't answer two weeks ago, I take those as my little victories,” Carter-Williams says. While Carter-Williams still has more to learn about the real estate game, his NBA background comes with a built-in advantage: premium access to other professional athletes.
“Not everyone is willing to listen to someone like me who hasn't been in those locker rooms,” Aiken says.
“But if Mike can go in there and say. 'I've developed a sustainable business that lasts a lot longer than an NBA career; Here's how I did it.” Every NBA player will at least hear that.”
Embrace your role
In basketball, a role player is an athlete with a specific skill set and a willingness to put team success above personal glory. They may not score the most points or have the most highlights, but they understand their strengths and weaknesses and get the job done. Having spent more than a decade each as role players in the NBA, Marcus and Markieff Morris understand the importance of knowing your specific strength and using it to complement your teammates. It's a skill that has translated seamlessly into their roles at Coco5.
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As active NBA players, the Morris twins have delivered a slam dunk on product placement by bringing the Coco5 directly into some high-profile NBA locker rooms, and they've also leveraged their status in some high-pressure boardrooms. . During meetings, the twins often regale potential investors with stories of their NBA journey, using their roles as athletes to gain respect, trust and — more often than not — new accounts.
“People like the idea of being associated with professional athletes,” says Markieff. “We can walk in some doors just by being NBA players.”
Play the long game
In basketball, thinking ahead and anticipating where you need to be next is essential. For Michael Carter-Williams, spinning on the field is a good metaphor for spinning once you leave. You always want to think about the next move. It's a lesson he laments he didn't learn sooner.
“Do I wish I had gotten in touch with more people in the professional world sooner? Do I wish I had gained more investment knowledge as a freshman and sophomore? Sure.” It's a big part of why Carter-Williams is so passionate about helping the next generation of hoopers. As the NBA's liaison for Special Teams Real Estate, he now makes it his mission to prepare athletes for their next chapters, bridging the gap between current players, former players and business leaders like Aiken. During a recent meeting at the home of his friend (and former Orlando Magic teammate), Cole Anthony, for example, he used his personal experience to discuss — without the jargon — the importance of investing in your financial future. sooner than you might think.
Jim Reynolds also knows a thing or two about playing the long game. For him, it comes down to one goal: owning capital. For young players like Coco5 partners Booker (27) and Russell (28), owning a piece of the company can be more lucrative than basketball long-term.
“By age 45, they'll have equity in a business with money, years of professional experience and big names to build on,” he points out. “The richest people in America own capital. That's how Magic Johnson became a billionaire.”