The Super Bowl is a national event that brings together people from all walks of life to watch the year’s biggest sporting event. Entrepreneurship is probably the furthest thing from most people’s minds when they sit down to cheer on their favorite team. However, there’s a lot we can learn about succeeding in business from watching the best players in football compete.
For football fans, betting is an integral part of the Super Bowl experience, with over half of Americans betting on the big game. The biggest Super Bowl betting sites get in on the action by offering free bets to new customers. Other businesses invest heavily in producing Super Bowl commercials as they seek to capitalize on the huge audiences that tune in to watch the game.
Is there a lesson in all of this for everyday entrepreneurs? The answer is a resounding yes. Whatever your business is, there are lessons you can learn from the Super Bowl.
1. Learn to Live Outside Your Comfort Zone
Entrepreneurship is marked by uneasy transitions, similar to what elite athletes face on their journey to the top. Football’s tackles and blocks are equivalent to entrepreneurs’ drive to execute flawlessly and deliver results. However, delivering the best results often requires learning to live outside your comfort zone.
If you started from scratch building your business, you probably experienced something similar to what an athlete goes through when they try out for a team for the first time. The athletes you watched on Super Bowl Sunday didn’t start at the top; most had to try out for their high school or middle school football team. They faced continued scrutiny, uncertainty, and judgment as they climbed through the ranks to become professional athletes.
As an entrepreneur, you need to be fearless because you’ll be confronted with many similar situations. When you’re starting out, your product is unknown. You have to try out in front of new clients and sweat it out when pitching a dream client. What’s more, potential investors will ask you tough questions, and you’ll have to negotiate with vendors and suppliers.
All of these things are challenging even for people with the thickest skins, but they’re part of being an entrepreneur. Like NFL players, it’s imperative to strategize and develop an intelligent plan of attack to maximize success.
2. Be Persistent
This year’s Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals was excruciatingly close. Neither the Rams nor the Bengals had ever won a Super Bowl when they stepped onto the field at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Sunday, February 13, 2022. However, after a hard-fought battle, the Rams emerged victorious.
The Rams didn’t coast to their first Super Bowl victory. Instead, they came from behind to win in a dramatic fashion in the last six minutes of the game. Although they were behind, the Rams didn’t give up; they persisted until victory was theirs. Such incidences act as the best way to acquire new customers. Many sites offer free bets to new customers to increase the userbase.
Persistence doesn’t just pay off in sports; it pays off in business too. As an entrepreneur, you’re going to face hard times, you’re going to fall behind, but what you must do is keep moving forward. You will face many rejections as you build your business, and there will be many people who don’t believe in you. But, you have to believe in yourself and persevere if you want to succeed.
3. Life-Long Learning
The best football players are experts in their game. They study their opponents and learn everything they can to ensure success on the field. As an entrepreneur, you should have the same energy when learning your craft, and continued learning is key.
Even if you’re an expert in your field, there’s always something you can learn to increase your competitiveness. Whether you take new classes or your mentor’s brain, learning opportunities present themselves daily.
Technology is constantly evolving, so every entrepreneur should dedicate time to keeping up with the latest trends. After all, technology often opens the door to new marketing strategies and networking opportunities that can help grow your business and career.
