The Real Athlete blog

Something To Think About, Edition #2: What to look out for in private business/investment opportunities

by Matt Ramer 07-03-2011 11:32 PM Finance | Trusted Athlete Educator | Athlete Services

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Co-edited by Scott J. Kaminsky: CFP ®, Financial Advisor, and Vice President of The KR Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC

One of the most interesting yet burdensome challenges a Professional Athlete faces is the endless abyss of business opportunities presented. Let’s face it, you have money and others want it. Or, at the very least, entrepreneurs know you have money, and want you to join their posse so that you can fund their project. Many of these opportunities can be extremely profitable, while others can be total shams. So how can you tell the difference? Or better said, what should an athlete, or any investor, look out for when considering a business or investment opportunity?

Notice how I used the words “Look out for” instead of “Look for.” The reason I chose these words is because, unfortunately, too many investors lead with “How much money can I make?” If you, the reader, can take one thing from this article, consider leading with, “How much money can I lose, rather than how much can I make?” And therein lies the first and most important point—RISK!

1) Never invest in an opportunity, no matter how seemingly great, if its failure could devastate you.

No matter how much profit could potentially come from a wise investment idea, if the result has the potential to do irreparable and permanent damage to your personal finances, the opportunity should be dismissed without hesitation. Consider this analogy. If your trainer described a new training technique which may improve your game by 20%, but the side effects could render you very sore for a few days, you may consider the benefits worth giving it a shot. However, if the side effects of this additional training technique could either cripple you or even kill you, I’m assuming most athletes would not take the risk. So then we ask ourselves, how much game time improvement would be necessary in order to accept the risk of a possible crippling injury caused by this new training technique? Hopefully, the answer is none.

Returning to the topic at hand, if we determine the level of risk to be too great, the profitability can be, in most cases, considered irrelevant. It's easier to tease yourself because you missed an opportunity, than it is to tease yourself because you went broke.

2) It is wise to be sure that ALL partners have money at risk.

Have you ever been presented an investment opportunity by an individual who claims that their experience is what they bring to the table? It’s very important to realize that individuals behave different when risk is at hand. If a leader of an investment group has your money to risk but not their own, there is a high probability that they will accept significantly greater risk because, at the end of the day, it’s not their money they’re risking. This is such an important concept to understand, especially for Professional Athletes who represent a wealthy cross section of the public with limited financial experience.

A traditional partnership is made up of General Partners (the decision makers) and Limited Partners (those without decision or voting rights.) This structure is very common and should not be perceived as dangerous simply because not every investor is a decision-maker. In fact, if you think about it, do you really want every partner to have an opinion? After all, this article is predicated on the idea that certain investors don’t have the necessary education to make informed decisions. As such, the General Partners (decision-makers) should be those that are financial professionals.

Nonetheless, it is important that all investors have something to lose. This fundamental concept puts all partners on the same page. By no means does this single concept ensure that all partners are in agreement, but it’s a start.

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Athlete Chat: Jamaican 400 Meter Track Star and 2012 Olympic Hopeful Dominique Blake

by Richard Burgunder 06-25-2011 07:16 PM Athlete Interviews

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Dominique Blake is a professional track and field runner representing Jamaica. As a highly accomplished 400-meter dash sprinter, Blake ran for Penn State University from 2004-2008 where she achieved All-American status and set several school and Big Ten Conference records. She has competed in both the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon as well as on the European Circuit. In 2008, she competed in Finland and Ireland as an individual athlete, winning and taking home prize money. In addition, Blake is the reigning 2010 Central American and Caribbean Sports Games Champion and participated in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

As a track star at Penn State, Blake was a member of the 2008 NCAA National Championship 4 x 400 meter relay team, which went undefeated during the 2008 outdoor season. The elite foursome of Blake, Aleesha Barber, Gayle Hunter, and Shana Cox only raced on three occasions in 2008—The Penn Relays, the NCAA East Regional, and the NCAA Championships—but they dominated their opponents and won all three of the major invitational meets—setting several records along the way. To close out the memorable NCAA season, Blake was ranked Top 10 overall in the final open 400 meter standings.

Although she came up short of her Olympic dreams in 2008 (she only advanced to the semi-finals in attempting to qualify for Team USA for the open 400), she is still chasing her dreams. In 2010, Blake joined up with Team Jamaica and is currently focusing on the open 400. She is competing at the Jamaican Nationals from June 23-26, where she will attempt to qualify for the 2011 IAFF World Championships in Daegu, Korea in the open 400m.

Because of Blake’s accomplishments on the track, her superstar status is on the rise and she has recently drawn the interest of several new sponsors. This past May she inked a sponsorship deal with Oxygen 4 Energy (O4E), a California-based company that sells portable canned oxygen supplements—which she does in fact use. In addition to O4E, she is also sponsored by Gymkhana, which is located in Kingston, Jamaica.

Adding to her accomplished track career, Blake spends a great deal of her off-time as the C.E.O. of Black Knight Investments Ltd, a Jamaican company that specializes in real estate investments.

Blake is also a philanthropist at heart, believing that it’s extremely important to give back in any way that she can. She regularly speaks to young children in her community’s church and a select few high school teams throughout the inner city school districts of New York City. She frequently donates apparel and equipment to her school teams and to others in need. As if she doesn’t already give back to the community enough, Blake also contributes to her favorite charity, The Boys and Girls Club of Mount Vernon, NY. The mission of the Boys and Girls Club of Mount Vernon is to help all youth, especially those from high-risk neighborhoods, make the most of their lives.

Blake actively mentors both her niece and collegians who are also inspired by her to pursue athletics, not just track and field. All the while, she gives credit to both of her mentors—her mother, Valerie Blake, and her Penn State coach, Chris Johnson—for helping her get to where she is today.

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Dealing with Heat-Related Illnesses

by BJ Maack 06-23-2011 05:43 PM Nutrition | Training

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With triple-digit temperatures being recorded in many parts of the country already this month, it’s a very appropriate time to discuss heat issues and ways to train in the heat without causing heat-related illnesses. Let’s start with a key point: Heat-related illnesses are 100% preventable. That’s right—it is the one thing athletic trainers and other medical professionals come across that can be stopped before it starts.

Key information and education needs to be relayed to athletes, parents & coaches—if all three groups are on the same page, then the chances of bad things happening go WAY down.

ATHLETES:

-Drink fluids throughout the entire day: Never pass a water fountain without getting a drink.

-Take in 17-20 ounces of fluids while at home before a game: Take in another 7-10 ounces of fluids while on the way to practice or a game. Take in 28-40 ounces of fluids while participating in practice or a game, and take in 20 ounces of fluid per each pound of weight lost during practice or a game. You should be taking in up to 80 ounces of fluids for each practice or game.

-Keep up with urination habits: You should be urinating frequently. If you are not urinating, you are in grave danger of becoming a heat casualty. Keep up with the color of your urine. If it is a light yellow to a dark yellow color, you are already dehydrated. Take in fluids immediately.

-Take note of you how you feel: If you notice you are having trouble focusing, if you feel sick, or are not feeling right, tell someone. Make sure it is legitimate, and do not use this as an excuse to get out of practice.

-Eating Habits: Make sure your athlete is eating well-balanced meals before and after practice. Hydrating yourself is great, but you must eat right as well. Make sure you are eating the right kind of meals and snacks, as well as taking in the proper types of hydration. Any kind of fruit is great. Your body will use the sugars and convert them into fuel your body can use. When playing sports, you need to ingest more carbohydrates than proteins and fats. Your body is using and building muscle when you are active, so you need to help your muscles by taking in high carbohydrate meals.

There are a lot of water and hydration properties in fruit. For instance, if you eat an apple, you are taking in the fluids which will help rehydrate your body. You also need to take in high fiber meals. Eat a lot of pasta and breads. High carbohydrate and low protein drinks are fine. You need more carbohydrates than you need protein. Studies have proven that low fat chocolate milk is better for you than sports drinks like Gatorade when used as a recovery drink. It has the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

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What's Your Brand?

by Cory Dobbs, Ed.D. 06-23-2011 04:55 PM Image Branding | Marketing

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Leadership as a Part of the Brand Value Proposition
The arena is filled to the rafters, with the crowd buzzing in anticipation of the team running onto the court. The lights dim. Out from under the tunnel leading to the playing surface comes one of the game’s all-time greats. A legacy defined by grit, hustle, commitment, and…leadership.

Brands matter. Brand X or Starbucks? Coca-Cola’s brand value is estimated at $80 billion. A great brand is trusted and adds value to the consumer’s life. And you are a brand.

Personal branding is essential for athletes. The stage of sport provides a context only available to those few able to reach that level. A stage upon which an athlete can build a brand that will enhance their visibility, marketability, and influence. Being a good player isn’t good enough. If you want to impact and inspire others while you play and long after, think leadership. Leadership matters.

Changes in American society are affording more and more people the opportunity to use one’s brand equity to help others, promote viewpoints, and market products. A brand sends a message to the audience. It carries meaning and brings with it a set of associations. A great brand links emotionally with its customer and in some way makes their life better.

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Think Before You Tweet

by Jason Krump 06-21-2011 01:09 AM Public Relations | Social Media

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Mere moments after winning the U.S. Open, thousands of Twitter followers viewed an exclusive picture of the championship trophy as seen through the eyes of the champion.

When Rory McIlroy took with his camera phone, snapped a picture of the trophy, and posted it to his Twitter account (all while seated at the media center during his news conference), he allowed potentially millions of people to see an exclusive picture that members of the media, who, ironically were shown in the background behind the trophy, could not provide.

The only thing better would have been if McIlroy took out his phone and snapped a picture on the 18th green, immediately after sinking his final putt.

That day may soon be coming.

For McIlroy, sharing the photo was a way to let his fans join in the celebration of his victory.

For the rest of us, it is just the latest example that demonstrates the power Twitter holds.

On the same day McIlroy began his historic U.S. Open run, ex-congressman Anthony Weiner resigned after the uproar initiated by his posting of lewd photos on Twitter.

In May, the raid of Osama bin Laden was unknowingly live tweeted by Sohaib Athar, who lived near the site of the raid. Keith Urbahn, Chief of Staff for Donald Rumsfeld, tweeted the news of bin Laden’s death first, thereby setting off an explosion of tweets that broke the news worldwide before the major news organizations had the chance to.

The bin Laden story also made an impact in the athletics world on Twitter when NFL player Rashard Mendenhall sparked controversy with his tweets. Soon after the Mendenhall storm, fellow NFL player Reggie Bush caused his own commotion with his failed attempt at humor on the NFL lockout.

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Rookie Symposium: You Don't Miss It Until It's Gone

by Dr. Timothy Thompson 06-15-2011 12:29 AM Athlete Career Development | Education | Human Relations

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I hope New York Giants rookie offensive tackle James Brewer's opinion about the cancelled NFL Rookie Symposium isn't shared by many other new NFL draftees. In a May 26, 2011 New York Post Online article, author Paul Schwartz reported that Brewer told him, "That's probably one thing I'm not going to say I'll miss, going to [Ohio] for three days or so of pretty much a freshman orientation. Kind of letting you know what not to do. I feel I have pretty good common sense, so I think I'll be OK. I don't think I need someone to tell me not to hit women and stuff like that. I think I kind of know that already."

But two days earlier on May 24, 2011, an ESPN NFL website article entitled "NFL rookie symposium called off" had explained that the symposium is much more multifaceted than how Brewer has chosen to perceive it. The ESPN.com article quoted a league spokesperson who explained that "the symposium is a large, complex event involving many professionals and others. In fairness, we could not continue to keep their commitment on hold."

The article went on to say that "the symposium, which was to begin in Canton, Ohio, on June 26, is designed to teach rookies life lessons on dealing with football, finances and their new lifestyle. Many players who have been through the symposium have said it has been a positive first step in their transition to the NFL."

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5 Things We Learned from the USC Case

by Justin Sievert 06-07-2011 02:35 AM Education | Legal

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On May 26, 2011, the NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee (IAC) upheld the decision by the NCAA Committee on Infractions (COI) from June 10, 2010 against the University of Southern California. The COI, after a four-year investigation by the NCAA Enforcement staff, had determined that numerous extra benefits were received by Reggie Bush, a former USC football player, and O.J. Mayo, a former USC men's basketball player, while being recruited and/or during their enrollment at the institution. The findings in the case included a lack of institutional control, impermissible inducements, extra benefits, and exceeding coaching staff limits. As a result, USC was put on four years' probation, hit with a two-year bowl ban (one-year remaining), will lose 30 football scholarships over three years, will not be allowed to compete in the inaugural 2011 Pac 12 Championship game and will vacate 14 victories in which Bush played from December 2004 through the 2005 season. The NCAA ended up not taking further action against the men's basketball program, which had already banned itself from postseason play last season and vacated its wins from Mayo's one season with USC. So, what can we learn from the IAC and COI decision? Here are my top five things we can take away from the USC case.

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Eco-athlete Ovie Mughelli empowers underprivileged youth through environmental activism

by Matthew Allinson 06-01-2011 01:11 AM Athlete Interviews | Philanthropy

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When it comes to protecting our environment, it’s easy for some people to turn their backs and simply caste this responsibility aside as someone else’s issue. To them, it’s just an afterthought. To Atlanta Falcons fullback Ovie Mughelli, this cavalier mentality is at odds with his most fundamental beliefs regarding the environment.

“If you’ve played any type of sport, especially football, you know you can never wait for the other man to make a play,” Mughelli told me. “You can’t sit on the sidelines and be like ‘I’m going down on the kickoff or punt team, and someone else will make the tackle. Or, it’s the 4^th quarter of the game, and I don’t have to worry about making a play; somebody else will do it.’”

Mughelli, a staunch environmental activist, points out that those who espouse this mentality will never win a game in their life. Unfortunately, he laments, this is the mentality that we’ve adopted as human beings to save our planet.

“The tree huggers or the quote-unquote hippie[s], they’ll take care of it. Or, some ‘brainiac’ will solve it. That’s not going to happen. It’s all about doing our part. It’s not rocket science at all. It’s all simple stuff that can be done, just by taking an interest in your fellow human beings.”

Mughelli isn’t the type of a person who is going to sit around idly and wait for others to step up. He’s not only doing his part, but he has been imparting on others the importance of them doing their part too.

__________________________

Through the Ovie Mughelli Foundation (OMF), Mughelli has put a masterful game plan in place to make his mark on the environment and in the community.

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Introducing The KR Group Monthly Broadcast for Professional Athletes with Access Athletes

by Matthew Allinson 06-01-2011 01:04 AM Finance | Monthly Podcast | Athlete Career Development | Coaching | Education | Human Relations | Sports Psychology

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One of our goals for 2011 was to begin creating educational products for athletes. We set out to build on top of the strong foundation that we already have in place here at AccessAthletes.com by delving into other mediums, in an effort to give our athlete readers more options when it comes to being informed and maximizing their potential.

I'm very happy to announce the launch The KR Group Monthly Podcast for Professional Athletes with Access Athletes. Each month, both Dr. Tim Thompson, our VP of Educational Programs and human relations expert, and yours truly, will be recording a podcast in Philadelphia together with Scott Kaminsky and Matt Ramer of the KR Group at Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS). It is produced by Digilog Sound & Image of Philadelphia.

Before I get to the podcast's format and what's in store for you for you all this month, I wanted to give a little background about Scott and Matt and what led to us to collaborate with them on this project.

Scott Kaminsky and Matt Ramer are Vice Presidents of the KR Group in Morgan Stanley's Philadelphia office. Scott is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) who received his B.S. in Accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1989, where he also played on the baseball team. His partner Matt, an Estate and Retirement Planning Specialist, received his Bachelor's Degree in Economics and American Studies from Brandeis University. Matt is an Auxiliary Captain in the U.S. Air Force, as well as an Angel Flight Pilot. They were both named to Philadelphia Magazine’s 2010 FIVE STAR: Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager listing in 2009 and 2010.

What impressed me the most about Scott and Matt is their commitment to educating athletes and helping them make informed financial decisions. In early November, Scott Kaminsky traveled down from Philadelphia to share a study, which both he and Matt commissioned, called the 5 Biggest Challenges Facing Professional Athletes. This well-researched study, produced by the Empire Research Group, provides a great deal of solid information and statistics in an easy-to-understand format.

The study is broken down into 5 challenges: (1) Overindulgence, (2) Debt Control, (3) Misplaced Trust, (4) Family Issues, and (5) Wealth Preservation. Not only does it dissect the root causes behind many of the financial issues experienced by many professional athletes, it also lays out 5 action steps for success. These include (1) Build the Proper Team, (2) Advisor Trust Guide, (3) Tax Planning, (4) Protect Your Assets, and (5) Create a Financial Plan. At the end, it instructs athletes that the choice is theirs - whether they want to "live large for a few years" or "live comfortably forever."

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Athlete Chat: IndyCar Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay

by Kelly Davies 05-26-2011 08:19 PM Athlete Interviews

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Ryan Hunter-Reay is a 30-year-old professional American IndyCar driver. This weekend he will be competing in the 100th racing of the Indianapolis 500. Hunter-Reay, the #28 car driver for Andretti Autosport for the past two years, will be driving the #41 car that qualified with driver Bruno Junqueira and A.J. Foyt Racing. Hunter-Reay, referred to as RHR by his fans, is the only driver to have won races in each of North America’s top open wheel formulas – CART, ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is from Dallas, TX and currently lives in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

“I’ll have one hour of practice in a car I’ve never been in, in a car I don’t know, before the biggest race in the world… so wish me luck.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay is serious. It’s coming down to the last hours before the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500, considered to be the biggest day in worldwide motorsports, and he hasn’t even driven the racecar that he will be responsible for taking 500 miles around the track at greater than 3.5 times the speed you drive down a major highway.

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