A personal business advisor can be the difference between a washed up athlete and a retired, former sports star who is still on top of his or her earnings game. Yes, professional athletes should absolutely hire a personal business advisor. That’s the short answer. The longer answer revolves around how a personal business advisor can make a positive impact on an athlete, and how to choose an advisor who has the athlete’s best interests in mind.
Why Hire a Personal Business Advisor?
A personal business advisor is a neutral party invested in the athlete’s financial and business success. An advisor like this has their client’s back. Sometimes this means offering tough love. If the athlete is poised to make a poor financial decision, his or her personal business advisor must interject with data, experience, and impartiality.
A business advisor is responsible for evaluating, overseeing, and managing their client’s business and financial interests. And they should be fearless about doing the same with a client’s personal interests where they may have an impact on finances and business.
A personal business advisor can find an athlete’s blind spots and navigate those issues before they become crippling. A personal business advisor is also in a great position to boost the athlete’s financial and business acumen. He or she does this by shaping and driving priorities.
At the same time, an athlete’s advisor should build the athlete’s critical thinking abilities. A personal business advisor isn’t an agent, money manager, or legal counsel — he or she is the CEO of an athlete’s enterprise.
Someone with a role this big needs to be chosen carefully.
Selecting a Personal Business Advisor
Many athletes try to put a family member or friend in this role. This normally ends terribly for everyone involved. Everyone. The personal inner circle is already too close. The advisor may have passion and love, but not the skills to handle the intense financial and business needs of a professional athlete.
While athletes should have a personal relationship with their advisor, with trust, transparency, candor, and accountability, it’s better to choose someone who is skilled in wealth management and able to take a wider view of the athlete’s life without being personally caught up in it.
Personal business advisors help athletes get set for retirement and avoid the common pitfalls that trap and too often break their peers. With a confident, experienced personal business advisor, athletes can stop looking over their shoulders and keep their eyes on the prize – a successful, healthy end to their career.
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