The 3 Best Business Lessons we can all learn from Arnold Palmer!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Every single golfer on the planet loved Arnold Palmer! That is a statement I can make with confidence. And Arnold amassed a fortune with his swashbuckling style, good looks, and magnetic personality! But Arnold was smart enough to know that just playing golf and winning money was not enough. So he slowly and methodically built a huge business empire of products all across the spectrum through TV commercials and magazine ads. If you want to learn about business, learn from this great man! Thanks to Tanner Simkins for Entrepreneur for sharing this educational article!
One of the last pictures of Arnold!
In September earlier this year the world lost golf’s patriarch, Arnold Palmer. His stellar playing career aside, Palmer’s biggest achievements stretched well beyond the game. Known today as the originator of sports marketing, Palmer was one of the first athletes to turn his name into a brand. Using his image and business acumen, Palmer’s empire was valued at approximately $700 million upon his death.
Here are three lessons business owners can learn from Arnold Palmer.
1. Take measured risks, explore new opportunities.
At a time when athletes focused simply on their performance, Palmer opted to create a brand out of who he was on and off the fairway. This approach was not only entirely new to golf, it made him one of the most successful athletes of any sport well after his playing days ended. In his lifetime, he earned almost $4 million on the golf course; while earning more than 100 times that off it. In 2013 alone, Palmer made $40 million despite not playing a round of competitive golf since 2006.
It was was unheard of for golfers to become household names, but Palmer was the first golfer to successfully break out of the golfing mold and gain widespread popularity among a variety of people. Later in life, Palmer attributed his brand equity to his willingness to stretch his business endeavors outside the narrow realm of golf.
Business Ventures.
Palmer’s business ventures and diverse portfolio of endorsements all flowed through parent company Arnold Palmer Enterprises. This enabled Palmer to put his branded signature on golf clubs, lawn mowers, sunglasses and other products from cardigan sweaters to cigarettes and everything in between. Over the years Palmer was endorsed by Coca-Cola, Rolex, Cadillac, Hertz, United Airlines, Penzoil, Heinz, Callaway and many more. Palmer’s branding genius even extended to his self-made lemonade/ice tea blend dubbed “an Arnold Palmer”; now commercially licensed to AriZona Beverage Co. In 2015, the “Arnold Palmer” beverage alone eclipsed $200 million in sales.
Early stage companies can look to Arnold Palmer as a model of effective diversification.
New Golf Wipes – Cool way to Clean Clubs & Balls While Playing!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Gila Golf Wipes were designed by golfers for golfers.
They are pre-treated with a cleaning solution and feature a soft, smooth side to clean your ball and a textured side to effectively clean your club faces.
Quick and easy! I will get some of these for my next round instead of relying on a dirty towel and minimal access to water on some courses.
Is the Game of Golf Growing – We must take action now!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Golf is a discretionary income pastime.
In the last few years (2007 to 2013), golf in America has been in a financial slump not seen in many years. Subsequently, golf courses, golf equipment sales, golf instruction, and golf accessories have really struggled to survive. Some did not make it.
In this article, Steve Eubanks writing for golfbusiness.com, takes a look at these tumultuous years’ ins and outs.
Conflicting Signals
By most published measures the United States economy is thriving. Unemployment has dropped to 5.6 percent, the lowest rate since June 2008, while nominal disposable income has risen by a whopping 61 percent since 2000. Gross Domestic Product is at $17 trillion, up a full $2 trillion since 2010, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has broken all-time records. Based on those numbers, an outside observer would think American business is booming, especially in sectors like golf and leisure travel, which tend to thrive during periods of high employment and increased wealth creation.
But those observers would likely be confused. At the same time that unemployment is at a seven-year low, the total number of Americans not in the work force sits at a record 92 million, more than the entire population of 190 countries, including every nation in Europe. And median household incomes are lower now than in 1999 despite millions of college-educated millennials entering their late-20s and early-30s.
So, what’s the real story? And where does golf fit in the nation’s current economic picture?
According to the most recent U.S. Labor Department statistics, for the middle 60 percent of the population (a segment that includes households with incomes between $18,000 and $95,000 a year, the sweet-spot market for growing the game), overall spending since the beginning of the Great Recession in 2008 has increased by only 2.3 percent, while compound inflation has grown by 12 percent. At the same time, income in this group has grown by little more than one-half of 1 percent.
