Money Smart Athletes Know They Are the CEO of Their Career
Many athletes, particularly those in team sports, think of themselves as employees. You work for your team and your agent. And that may be true from a tax standpoint. But it is not how a Money Smart Athlete thinks.
The Mindset of an Entrepreneur – Part 3
In the first two parts of the “Mindset of an Entrepreneur” series, I discussed why it is important for you as an athlete to consider the question of whether you are well-suited to being an entrepreneur when deciding your path for transition after your sport.
Read more: https://jobs.viktre.com/the-mindset-of-an-entrepreneur-part-3/
The Mindset of an Entrepreneur – Part 2
In The Mindset of an Entrepreneur – Part 1, I discussed how important it is for an athlete, when contemplating his or her transition from sport to the rest of their lives, to make the fundamental decision – do I want to be an employee or do I want to be an entrepreneur/business owner? I also presented the definition of an entrepreneur and what I feel are the foundational characteristics for success as an entrepreneur and explored the first two.
Read more HERE.
The Mindset of an Entrepreneur – Part 1
Do you have what it takes to be a business owner?
When preparing for the transition from your professional sport career to life after the game, there is an important question that you must consider – “do you go forward as an employee or as an entrepreneur?”
Being a business owner/entrepreneur is hard, but there are great payoffs. In order to be truly successful, it requires both a certain set of personal characteristics in addition to a developed skill set.
You may be used to being at the top of the game during your career in sports. Do you have the courage to start from the beginning and the perseverance to do the work to learn and succeed in a new game – your second career?
Learn more: https://jobs.viktre.com/mindset-entrepreneur-part-1/
Entrepreneurial Mindset vs. Employee Mindset
As a professional athlete in a team sport, you are an employee. The IRS classifies you as an employee. Your team, coaches, agent and manager, all think of you as an employee.
And to them, you are.
But I recommend, strongly, that you think of yourself as the Business Owner, and an Entrepreneur. And you think of your life in sports as a Business, not a Job, not even a Career.
Why is entrepreneurial thinking critical to your success?
Definition of an Employee
An employee is a person who works in the service of another person under an express or implied contract of hire, under which the employer has the right to control the details of work performance (Black’s Law Dictionary).
From a mindset perspective, if you hold yourself as an employee – you are working at the will of your employer. It is about ownership – you don’t own your career – someone else does.
Definition of an Entprereneur
A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so. (Oxford Dictionary)
As an athlete – you are not only taking greater than normal financial risk, you are also taking greater than normal physical risk every time! If you get hurt, your team replaces you. That risk is born by you alone.
But even more importantly – if you hold yourself as an Entrepreneur – then you are the master of your business, the leader of your career. With that mindset, you can step into ownership and power.
This mindset will raise your performance both on and off the field. Because you aren’t sitting back, waiting to be told. You are seeking out improvement and advancement opportunities. You aren’t waiting for others to advance your career. You are in the driver’s seat.