Monthly Newsletter

Be Brand Smart: Protecting Your Brand

In the first part of Be Brand Smart, we talked about what a brand is, valuing your brand and building brand trust. In this segment, we’ll talk about protecting your brand. We’ll stick to the playing professional sports analogy we used in the first post.

Why You Should Incorporate

Your brand is one of the single most valuable pieces of your legacy. Building it is the foundation of your legacy. Protecting it determines if you keep it. One way to protect your brand is to incorporate. 

• Personal Asset Protection. Incorporating lets you separate your personal assets from your business. This keeps your house, car and personal money protected from law suits and claims.
• Tax Advantages. As an incorporated business, you can deduct a lot of expenses. For example, a professional athlete might hire an agent, attorney, accountant, financial advisor and life coach. These are all deductible expenses. Athletes can also deduct fines, because they’re considered a loss. During the pre-season, hotels, apartments, home rentals, car rentals, meals and transportation to training locations can be deducted. All these deductions help reduce taxable income, which is the amount of money you’re taxed on. 
• Increases credibility. Some businesses may prefer to work with a company instead of an individual because it seems more legit. Work with an attorney and accountant to set up the right business structure for you.

​Being a Sports Professional

Another way to protect your brand is by being professional. The main difference between sports professionals and amateurs is that a "professional is paid to perform." When you research "professional," the words expert, authority, specialist and career come up. For sports professionals, playing sports is a career. It’s a job that comes with a set of expectations. 

• Be on time. Come to practice and meetings on time and be ready to work. Don’t just show up. Be prepared to add something to the conversation. 
• Know the game. Watch film. Take notes on what you did well and what you need to work on. Study other players. Know their tactics, tendencies, strengths and limitations. Learn as much as you can. Use your playbook as a guidebook when you need too.
• Take care of your mind and body. For sports professionals, taking care of your body should be a standard part of doing business. Eat food that’s good for your health. Workout to condition and strengthen your body and rest to restore and rebuild it. Also, take care of your mind. Fill it with positive thoughts. Do things to relax and have fun. Mental energy impacts physical energy. Remember: If you don’t take care of your mind and body now, they won’t take care of you later.​

​Using Social Media

The last topic we’re going to talk about is using social media. We all have footprints and footprints leave impressions. Social media is part of what’s called your “digital footprint.” So, what you say, post, like, comment on, tweet, retweet and share matters. What other people say about you is also part of your digital footprint.

• Don’t complain, vent, start arguments or insult people online. We live in a 24-hour news cycle, so the last thing you want is to have your brand represented in a way that’s not you. When the media gets your videos, emails, text messages and posts, they keep them. And just when you think it’s all over, they bring them back up again. 
• Don’t share confidential information. Don't tell people where you’re going or where you’re at. Especially, if you’re going to be out of town for a long time. 
• The Golden Rule. If you won’t say it face-to-face, don’t post it online!

​Wrapping It Up!

Pele said “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”

Being a professional athlete is a dream job. Protect your dream. Show up to work on time. Know your stuff and do your job well. Incorporate to protect your personal assets, increase your credibility and take advantage of tax-advantages. And, watch what you say on social media. You only play sports for a short time. But, the choices you make while you’re playing, can impact your brand for a lifetime. 

Until next time...

Coach Tarsh