Today we’d like to introduce you to Louis Bing.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in a small town in Iowa. I graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in Finance and worked for the top investment bank, Goldman Sachs, after graduation. After a year of work, I moved to Dallas to attend law school at SMU with the dream of representing professional athletes one day. Since graduating from SMU Law in 2013, I’ve lived my dream of representing NFL players, while also opening up a real estate brokerage with a partner. Some of my highlights in my young career so far includes representing a 5 time Pro Bowler in Andre Gurode towards the end of his career, and representing one of the biggest up and coming Cowboys in David Irving.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road at all. The sports agent business is one of the most cut throat and expensive businesses around. To enter the business at a young age with no money, very few connections, and being a sole practitioner… sometimes I wonder how I made it. It’s such a competitive industry. Getting your first client without any type of track record is a challenge. Competing with big agencies with unlimited budgets is a challenge. Pre-Draft training for players is extremely expensive. Investing in 1 or 2 players who don’t make it can easily put new agents out of the business before they even get started. I’ve missed on my fair share of players, but I’m thankful that I’ve also had a good eye for the ones who made it.
Please tell us about Ambition Sports Management.
I represent and manage professional athletes, mainly NFL players. This entails everything from negotiating their contracts, finding endorsement deals, and just about everything you can think of as far as helping them in their day to day lives. I’m known as the guy who is always around my clients and who truly cares about them. A NFL scout who’s been around a long time sent me this message the other day: “I hate to go old school references but I see you as Jerry McGuire. Everything in the right place with his heart into his clients.” I feel like that is one of the best compliments someone in my industry can receive.
I feel like a couple of things set me apart from others in my industry:
1) The amount of time I spend on the day to day lives of my clients. A lot of agents keep it strictly business. Some negotiate the players’ contract and doesn’t speak to them for years until it’s time for a new contract.
2) I consider my clients personal friends. I have always been told to never get too close to my clients, that they are not friends, and a line has to be drawn. This was the advice agents always told me when I entered the industry. I am glad I never listened. My line of work is so much more meaningful to me because I am helping my true friends accomplish their dreams. If I were to get married tomorrow, my groomsmen would be filled with current and former clients of mine.
3) There are typically two types of agents. The highly qualified type who generally keeps his relationships with clients strictly business, or the type who is great at building relationships but lack the professional background to be effective. I feel like I have the professional background that many agents don’t have (Goldman Sachs, SMU Law) but also have as close of relationships with players as any agent out there.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I grew up in Iowa, so there wasn’t a whole lot to do. My favorite memory from childhood was just hanging out with my friends and playing sports. That was pretty much all I did every day as a child.
Contact Info:
- Website: AmbitionSportsManagement.com
- Email: Louis@AmbitionSportsManagement.com
- Instagram: @Louis_Bing_Official
- Twitter: @LouisBing52
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