Podcast

By Luke Melms

This last week the NCAA ruled a college football player ineligible because he makes it known in his videos he is an athlete on his YouTube channel which generates ad revenue. In fact, he’s a marketing major using a creative way to develop real world skills with the little time he has to get practical experience. While the NCAA continues to create obscure hurdles and baseball hits record revenues, many of the players responsible for making the machine so profitable are left with breadcrumbs relatively speaking. While there are lawsuits that have been filed to try to fight back, it is really only a band aid to the bigger problem. The real solution is a movement to put power in the players’ hands to change their future. This has never been more needed than now.

I thought I’d take this week’s email to peel back the curtain and share a bit of the story behind Baseball and Business that has brought us all together. The two most common questions I get asked about Baseball and Business are…

1. How did you come up with the idea?
2. What is the goal of Baseball and Business?

While Baseball and Business is one of the top resources today to empower baseball players to win in business, there is a much more meager beginning to this story.

Baseball and Business was created out of my journey of navigating the transition from playing college baseball to being in the business world full time. After completing my junior year of college on the field and in the classroom, I decided to forgo my senior year to pursue an entrepreneurial venture with high upside potential and much risk. I had accumulated much knowledge in sales and marketing after accumulating $70,000 in sales of kitchen knives during the worst economic environment seen since the Great Depression. Needless to say, this built a lot of business confidence.

In making the leap, I realized that despite my previous experience I was unprepared as I not only entered the business world full time but was in a position to be self-sustaining as a full-time entrepreneur. After three years of treading water, I decided to return to school for my senior year. The experience of completing a undergraduate degree at 25 was humbling but planted a seed to a bigger idea which years later would become Baseball and Business.

While I don’t believe the knowledge in these last classes itself was the missing link, the degree allowed me to get a job that built up relevant experience that could be stacked on going forward. Similarly, this is why just about every draft baseball no matter which round they are selected in starts in the minor leagues before ever stepping foot on big league diamond. Having time to develop a solid foundation is a key to success in baseball and business.

My first two jobs after graduation ranged from working for a smaller company mostly concentrated in one state to a publicly traded company with a nationwide presence. Along the way, I started to connect with like-minded current and former college and pro baseball guys. In having these conversations, a common thread I heard from many players was that they didn’t feel adequately prepared when the time came to transition from playing baseball to being full time in business. After hearing these stories and going through the highs and lows of the transition myself, I wanted to create resources that would allow current and former college and pro players to be better positioned to succeed in business.

This led to starting Baseball and Business with the goal of helping current players learn how to maximize business opportunities while on the field and those who are no longer in the game learn how to create long term success in business.

One of the most powerful takeaways I’ve had from my own experience is the power of a story. All of our stories contain valuable insight. The exclusive network brings current and former college and pro baseball players together that can relate to the different phases of the journey in both baseball and business.

Baseball and Business Meetup in Ft. Lauderdale During the 2016 World Series

The most valuable lesson I learned from playing baseball that carries into business is focusing on playing one specific position and relying on teammates to do what is outside of it. No one would go out on a baseball field and compete by themselves and believe that should hold true in business too.

If you are reading this, I am glad you are a part of this movement to change the trajectory of your own life and others like you. I am fully committed to continue making the Baseball and Business community more valuable.

Out of all the conversations I’ve had, I can share there are many guys who are willing to share their story, make connections and make sure no man gets left behind as just a baseball player. Baseball and Business is a group of men committed to having success in business just like they did in baseball.