We talk a lot about branding and how important it is for athletes to invest in their brand development early in their careers. The brand becomes the foundation for an athlete to build a successful business upon. Below are three methods I want to highlight and explain why these are opportunities every athlete should be considering.
1. Mission driven, athlete founded companies: This type of business is for athletes who recognize a problem in the market and are on a mission to solve it. They have the entrepreneurial spirit to build a business around their passion and the resourcefulness to jump right in. It takes a team to get a new business launched, but it is something we have seen multiple athlete clients execute successfully over the past few years, with more on the way. Great examples include: The LEAD Sports Co. (founded by Kara Lynn Joyce in 2016); Back2Back Swim Camp (co-founded by Jacob Pebley in 2018) and Swimmers For Change (a non-profit co-founded by Lia Neal in 2020). These require more time and commitment by the athlete, but often lead to the most rewarding outcomes both personally and financially.
2. Direct fan engagement: Fan engagement can in itself be a full-time business for athletes. When done well it can also be very lucrative. Athletes are very powerful influencers and this makes them very attractive to sponsors and advertisers who want to connect their products with an athlete's audience. We are seeing more cases where athletes are able to offer items of value directly to their fans. This B2C relationship is becoming more common and presents an exciting opportunity for athletes to create a new revenue stream associated with their brand. One such company that allows athletes tremendous flexibility is the popular app, INDI (which is short for 'individual').
INDI allows athletes to offer paid video tips, product recommendations, 1-1 video feedback with fans and other ways to easily begin generating revenue around their passions. Platforms that lower the barriers to entry for fans and athletes to engage in commerce will continue to be a big market opportunity.
3. Athlete Merchandise - because who doesn't love a good t-shirt of their favorite athlete: In today's media heavy market - athletes are in front of fans and audiences constantly. Moreover, they have the opportunity to show off their authenticity and create a stronger direct relationship with fans. This leads to opportunities for the purchase of customized athlete merchandise (t-shirts, hats, hoodies, stickers, water bottles, notebooks, etc.) by more consumers. Our partners at Chlorine Deckwear do an especially amazing job of creating customized athlete shops for Olympians. For the athletes, this adds an extra revenue source to tack on to speaking gigs, camps, clinics and virtual engagements.
We will keep diving in to the business of athletes, sports marketing and branding so stay tuned. As always, feel free to contact me directly with an topic ideas or feedback at cejih@cgsportsmanagement.com
