Take a minute to think back to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and two athletes will no doubt spring to mind: Michael Johnson in track and field and Shannon Miller in gymnastics (check out our story on her here). Johnson was a running phenom in his famous gold Nike shoes.
He went on to compete in the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, and then retired in 2001. Today he is a commentator for the BBC and owner of two successful companies. Just before he left to watch the 2012 Olympic Games in London, we caught up with him to hear how he transitioned from decorated Olympian to busy entrepreneur.
OPEN Forum: What are your two businesses?
Michael Johnson: I own Michael Johnson Motivation, a motivational speaking business; and Michael Johnson Performance (MJP), a training facility for children and professional athletes in McKinney, Texas (outside of Dallas).
OF: How did you decide to go into business after a career in athletics?
MJ: I’ve always been intrigued by business and entrepreneurship and studied business at Baylor University. It was after school that I went in a professional sporting career, a career that, as an athlete you know you’ll retire at an early age and there will be a lot of living left to do.
A few years ago I was approached to train professional athletes for speed. I did that and founded MJP in 2007, but instead of catering exclusively to professional athletes, I opened it to children as well.
OF: What challenges did you face when starting MJP?
MJ: We started the business when the economy wasn’t doing so great, so it was hard to understand how much growth we should expect. Looking back, though, we’ve done well and grown on average about 30 percent each year.
As we’ve grown, it’s been difficult to keep good trainers around. We’ve been fortunate to develop a brand with global respect quickly, so once our name is on a trainer’s resume, people come looking for them.
OF: What business lessons have you learned?
MJ: I think my main lesson has been one of patience. Managing people successfully is very different than working in an individual sport successfully. As an athlete, I was able to achieve success by being focused and setting goals. I thought that same philosophy would to my business ventures, but found it difficult to get people on board when their philosophies differed with mine. I’ve learned to take what I teach in my motivational seminars and apply it to my employees at MJP.
OF: What does the future hold for MJP?
MJ: We are looking to expand. Right now we have a location in Geneva, Ohio and a few people working in China with professional athletes. Next year we plan to expand to the UK. We are also in the planning stages of a remote coaching platform, which will help us work with athletes from afar, digitally.
OF: What advice can you give small-business owners just starting out?
MJ: A lot of people try to make a business out of their hobby, which can work, but before you launch a company, make sure there is good business sense and a plan behind it. Make sure there is potential, that you aren’t the only person who thinks the business is a good idea.
Get your finances in order before you launch a business. It doesn’t make sense to start something if you can’t sustain financial losses for some time.
OF: What are your plans for this year’s Summer Olympic Games?
MJ: I’m heading over to London to cover the Olympics for the BBC.
OF: How well do you think the U.S. Track & Field team will do this year?
MJ: I think they will do really well. We have the best-developed system for track and field—our college system. So many other countries rely on government funding to help train athletes. Our system ensures that we are always at the top and I don’t think it will be any different this year.
Katie Morell is an independent writer and editor based in San Francisco, specializing in business, travel and human interest topics. Her work has appeared in USA TODAY, Hemispheres, The Writer, Destination Weddings & Honeymoons, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and many others.
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