Should Professional Athletes Buy Franchise Businesses?

There’s no time like the present for professional athletes to think about their futures. Why? Because pro athletes have short careers. And there’s a lot of commercial real estate space available.

Whether their careers are shortened because of injuries, age…or both, today’s professional athletes only have a limited amount of time to earn a steady income.

With that in mind, if you’re a professional athlete, or know someone who is, it would behoove you to take a serious look at an idea I have.

Keep reading.

Big Checks, Bonuses, And Perks

Fat paychecks. Signing bonuses. Performance bonuses.

Simply stated, the perks you get by being in the spotlight are the shizzy. But here’s the thing. Unless you’re a straight-up superstar, when you leave the game, the goodies you’re used to getting as a pro athlete start to fade away.

That said, hopefully you stashed a portion of your money and hired someone to help manage it. Did you?

Provided you did, and you’re in good shape, or even if you’re a young athlete and you’re already thinking about your future, now’s the time to take a look at what’s been called “The best business model ever invented.” Franchising.

Pro Athletes Franchise Business Ownership Options

Here are 3 reasons why you…as a pro athlete, should take a serious look at owning a franchise business.

1. No bosses.

If you want one, you could probably go out and get a job. But do you really want to work for someone else? Can you see yourself driving to work everyday? Might that get old…quickly? Call me crazy, but compared to the excitement you experienced as an athlete, showing up to an office feels like it would be a real grind. Just saying.

2. Growth opportunities.

Please know that in your case, “buying a franchise” doesn’t meaning buying one. Let me explain.

If you’re going to do this, my suggestion is to go big. What do I mean?

Find a franchise opportunity with opportunities for growth.

In other words, try to find a franchise that has large geographic territories available. And buy it. That way you can own an entire area and open multiple locations. But don’t stop there.

Once you get your area cooking, find another franchise brand that has similar growth opportunities, and do the same thing. And if you’re so motivated, do it again. That way, in 20 years you’ll have quite the business. I’m talking 25–35 franchise units. Or more!

3. Timing.

I’m not sure if you noticed, but there are an awful lot of empty commercial spaces in every area of the country.

And while it’s true that it sucks that so many small businesses had to shut their doors, sharp entrepreneurs are going to start snapping up this suddenly available real estate quickly. You can too, but you need to get moving.

I know what you’re thinking. This sounds big. But I have good news.

You don’t have to do this alone.

Chauncey Billups, Shaquille O’Neal And Phil Mickelson: Top Pro Athletes Who Own Franchises

More than a few professional athletes own franchise businesses. Here are 3 of them.

NBA player Chauncey Billups is a franchise owner. And he didn’t do it alone.

“I was first introduced to the idea of franchising when I was still playing basketball in 2012. I met former NBA veteran Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman, who became my mentor and eventually my partner on our Wendy’s development project. Just hearing Junior’s story and understanding his “why” using the franchise model made so much sense to me. Together, through franchising, Junior and I could give back to communities and provide career opportunities for so many aspiring workers and restaurant managers.”

Read more about how Chauncey became a franchise owner.

And speaking of pro athletes who have become franchisees, Shaquille O’Neal has made quite a name for himself in franchising. Check out what Shaq owns.

So who helped Shaq?

Shaq credits his business acumen to mentoring from two people; Daymond John and Magic Johnson.

And let’s not forget Phil Mickelson.

According to CNBC (and other sources), the pro golfer owns several Five Guys franchises in Orange County, California.

Franchise Resources For Pro Athlete’s

If you’re a pro athlete who’s thinking about becoming the owner of a franchise business someday, there’s lots of resources available, and most of them are a click or two away. Here they are:

1. The International Franchise Association’s website is a terrific place for you to learn about the scope of franchising. As you’ll see, the franchise industry is huge, and it makes a significant economic impact to cities all over the country.
2. If you’d like to take a look at a large number of different franchise opportunities, check out Franchise Direct. They’re a strategic partner of mine, and as you’ll see when you visit their franchise portal, you can choose categories, investment amounts and more-quickly.
3. If you want to do this right, it would behoove you to learn some business basics. One place to do that is your local Small Business Development Center, or SBDC. Mostly funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the centers are one-stop shops for anyone looking to start a business. They offer training, business plan help and more.
4. Speaking of the SBA, SBA.gov is chock-full of small business/franchise startup information, including webinars, helpful articles written by industry experts, (ahem) and specific information on SBA loans. FYI: you may want to look into getting a loan for your business…even if you have the cash. Consult with a seasoned financial advisor to see if it makes sense for you.
5. Read my detailed article, “How To Buy A Franchise.” It includes all the steps you’ll need to take to buy a franchise business.

Finally, I encourage you to join thousands of others who receive weekly franchising tips and advice via my free VIP Franchise Newsletter.

This post was originally published here