78% of NFL Players Go Bankrupt Within 5 Years & NBA Players In…

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So writes Jason Cimpl (wyattresearch.com) in edited excerpts from his original article entitled Five Reasons Professional Athletes Go Broke.

Cimpl goes on to say in further edited excerpts:

If data from Mint.com is accurate, the average athlete is destined to go (quickly) from fame to shame. Here are five possible reasons why:

1 – Overspending
Scott Bercu, a financial accountant for professional athletes, believes this group spends like mad, and blows their savings too rapidly. He said, “They see their salaries as infinite, like it doesn’t end, like they can’t spend it all but if you get $5 million a year, by the time you get done paying your agent and taxes, you have $2 million left to spend.”

2 – Career duration
The average career span in the NBA, MLB and NFL is 4.8, 5.6 and 3.5 years, respectively.
The “shelf life” of athletes is tiny. Professionals in this industry have a small window to make their millions, and if they don’t they cannot survive on their savings for very long (even if they saved responsibly).

3 – A lack of finance knowledge
Ed Butowsky of Chapwood Capital Investment Management believes athletes don’t understand finances. He says the leagues try to help educate them, but the system doesn’t work well enough.

Athletes see prominent people spending money, and they believe that their spending pattern should be the same. However, athletes fail to take into account that those prominent members have spent a lifetime learning about financial responsibility and budget strategies.

4 – Poor investment decisions
Also, according to Butowsky, athletes are targets for poor investment pitches. He said, “Chronic over-allocation into real estate and bad private equity is the number one problem in terms of a financial meltdown. I’ve never seen more people come to me about raising money for those kinds of deals than athletes.”

5 – Hangin’ with a bad crowd
Athletes often do try to be responsible with their savings. However, they pick the wrong financial advisors. The NFL Players Association claimed that 78 players lost a total of $42 million between 1999 and 2002 as a result of bad financial advisors. In fact, Bob Young – managing director for APEX Wealth Management – says athletes often don’t know who manages their savings. He said that he frequently asks players how they’re doing (financially), and they’ll often respond, “I have no idea. All the bills are paid by someone else.”

A few quick thoughts of my own

[It is very disconcerting] if the NFL and NBA data is correct. That’s a high rate of bankruptcy, and the leagues should provide better guidance for its atheletes….[Unfortunately,] professional athletes are easy targets. They are highly visible, have lots of money and limited experience.Though I find it hard to imagine losing millions of dollars in savings in such a short span of time, I also have a solid financial background, applicable work experience and a family that educated me on personal finance issues. Before pointing the finger at athletes, it may be wise to step into their shoes (cleats) for a minute  … maybe their financial woes aren’t entirely their fault or a result of reckless spending.

The above article has been edited by Lorimer Wilson, editor of munKEE

Why do some people NEVER have to worry about finding a job while others seem to search for weeks and even months?  I have interviewed thousands of people within the last 20 years, so I can definitely bring some VALUE for anybody that is looking for a job.

Let’s start with some Basics and Obvious Points regarding the Interview Process:

• You cannot OVER DRESS for an interview.  It amazes me that people would consider wearing shorts, jeans, tee-shirts, etc.  But guess what, they do!   I don’t care what the JOB is actually for, how you dress makes a statement of HOW MUCH YOU WANT THE POSITION!  Always OVERDRESS!  The interviewer will respect it and let you know if you can dress down for the 2nd interview, etc.
• Be On Time.  I have a friend that says if you are on time, then you are late.   RESCHEDULE the interview if you are going to be late.  Don’t give excuses why you are late, just reschedule as something very important came up.
• Fill out entire application including references.  How does it look if you have NO REFERENCES?  And don’t dilly dally while you are filling it out.  I have had people take an hour to fill out a simple application.  WAY TOO LONG!  What does that tell me, they are not real organized and/or have trouble doing simple tasks.

Now, lets get a lot more into finding a job.

• Many people are too narrow in what they want to do.  I particularly see this with Administrative and Clerical positions.  That is all they want to do.  I could run a newspaper ad tomorrow and get a room full of applicants for Clerical Positions.  If you know that, you are up against a lot of competition.  So, my suggestion is to Go On Some Interviews.  Learn about other Jobs available.  Many companies will spend money on you if you have the Right Attitude and are willing to Learn.
• Just Go On Interviews, have Great Attitude, and Be Open.  I have an employee right now that Came in for an interview.  She was working in an administrative position for over 20 years and her company recently sold and the new company terminated most of the existing employees.  She came in for an outside sales position.  She could not make the hours work because she had taken a part time job as a security guard elsewhere, but remained open for any part time position.  She had a great attitude and thanked me for seeing her.  She then sent me a “THANK YOU” card in the mail for interviewing her.  Guess what, about a week later, we needed a part time person to make outgoing calls and I hired her!!  Now, think about this.  If she wasn’t open minded about coming in to finding out about if she could make sales happen, I would have never met her.

Don’t let fear of not doing stop you from trying new things.  The key is to TAKE ACTION, BE OPEN, and Make a Good Impression on as many people as you can as quickly as you can!

On another note, Almost Nobody that I interview knows that I own multiple traditional and non-traditional businesses.  And I know a lot business owners.  I have hired and partnered with people that I interviewed for one company, but ended up working for another company of mine.  I have also sent people to other business owners.  Again, Take Massive Action and go see some people.

I recommend going to Library and reading the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.  He explains how so MANY people have become successful in focusing on the other person and not themselves.  If you are in interview mode, You have to think, What can I do for this company?  That is the mindset you want to have.

I know a gentleman that suited up and walked right into a business that had NO help wanted advertisement and said, I believe I can help your business be better and I would like to work here.  And he got HIRED!!  Talk about NO COMPETITION and taking action.

What if you did that 10 times a day for 1 week?

Don’t let your EGO and PRIDE get in the way.  Go make some money.  I know of a young lady that had 2 small kids that had to take a part time job at a convenience store and all they had open was the midnight shift.  She worked so hard at what she did.  She kept getting promoted.  She got promoted to a Strong 6 Figure Position with a company car, cell phone, and many perks that many people would love to have!

One of my businesses, I hire for a straight commission and outside sales position.  I understand that it is scary.  I understand that NO GUARANTEE of income can be frightening.  But, the truth of the matter is that many people could not only do the job, but could make much more money than they could if they went and got an hourly job.  But because they let their fear and emotions get in the way, they will never know.  Just saying to stay open in your search.

I now want to mention something outside the box.  What about learning how to make money from home?  Starting a small business from your home could give you so many freedoms.  Contact me below if you may have interest in this area.

Blessings to you and your quest!

Feel free to contact me at:  CoachMike@mikedorfler.com

Make it a Great Day!

Mike Dorfler