Female athletes enjoying a head start in business
Print Edition
AFTER retiring in 2014, javelin thrower Liu Xue founded a sports training center for middle school students.
The project was an entirely new arena for her, without a coach or teammates and everything down to her own efforts. She says her success is all about personal drive and motivation.
“Between sports competition and starting a business, the only common feature you need is perseverance,” she said.
Liu is one of a growing number of female athletes who are choosing to launch sports-related businesses when their competitive days are over.
But moving into the business world is not without its complications.
Athletes need different skills to make a success of their post-competitive life, believes Liu Wei, a seven-time table tennis world champion who earned a PhD from Peking University and is now an associate professor there.
“They (female athletes) have outstanding athletic ability, but it doesn’t mean they know related business well. They need business training and new sets of knowledge in order to move into a new field,” she said.
It’s not always plain sailing for these sports entrepreneurs.
Xu Sha opened a martial arts club after she retired, but didn’t see any profits until three years had passed.
“There are too many things that I didn’t know about the business, such as how to rent a proper place, get a license and keep students,” Xu said.
Learning these things in her 30s she found to be a major challenge.
Last year, however, Xu’s eventual success became a model for other retired athletes when she was invited to speak to the General Administration of Sport’s personnel department about her experience.
Another success story is that of Olympic table tennis champion Deng Yaping.
After retirement, she became a student, was a sports official and worked in the media. Today, she runs a sports investment fund bearing her name.
Deng says female athletes have advantages in business. “They are more persistent, they can endure hardship, and that’s the key point for them to make achievements in business.”
But more policies are needed to encourage entrepreneurship, she says, covering sports funds, grants, loans and tax incentives.
“Useful training and policies will create more opportunities,” she added.
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