Beyond Building Brands. Brand B Sports is Changing the Game for Athletes & Communities
By: Abbey Acevedo
It’s no small feat to score big brands that make big impacts in local communities! But, that’s exactly what this entrepreneur did with Brand B Sports to help athletes around the sports marketing universe build their brands!
So, for anyone playing with the idea of starting a business, the starting line is here.
The Sport of Building a Brand
In this interview, you will learn about Jason Campbell- the man, the myth, and the legend behind Brand B Sports.
Brand B Sports is an agency dedicated to helping athletes with all things marketing, digital platform execution, community engagement, public relations, and partnerships with global sports brands like Under Armour, NASCAR, the NBA, and the NFL!
However, Jason had to warm up to this level of entrepreneurship by throwing in the towel on his corporate hustle. He had to “Just Do It,” like the tagline of another well-known client of his, Nike!
That’s because Jason knew early on that the sport of building a brand isn’t just about the sport a professional athlete plays. It’s about providing tailored guidance to clients to ensure their interests are best represented in every season of their life.
Now, with over 30 years of experience in the entrepreneurship game, Jason is more than just his own boss at Brand B Sports.
He’s a captain when it comes to mentoring, coaching, and refereeing amateurs who may not know the unsaid rules in the corporate world. He wants to pass the baton of knowledge to other aspiring entrepreneurs finding their way. He wants his teammates in life to catch the information he’s throwing at them so they can also play in whatever arena they choose!
Like playing a sport, entrepreneurship takes endurance, grit, and practice. We’re not keeping score, but we give major points to Jason for sharing how he handled all the above in his journey.
Here’s how the building of Brand B Sports kicked off.
An Interview with Brand B Sports’ Star Player
Be Helpful Podcast:
Let’s talk a little bit about your journey into entrepreneurship. I'll let you talk about your background and where you're from, but I'm interested to understand why entrepreneurship? Why seek out this risky and exhausting career path?
Jason Campbell:
I was just talking about this the other day to George- owner of Muse Coffee Studio, this dope shop we’re sitting in right now.
We agreed that you must be a little bit crazy to hop out here and leave your corporate job and embark on an entrepreneurship journey!
I think that one of the things my mother instilled in me early- mistakenly though- as I was getting in trouble in school and having issues with authority, was that I was never going to be able to work for anybody. She always said, “You're going to have to work for yourself. That’s called entrepreneurship. You're going to have to own your own company because you don't listen! You're smart, you're intelligent, you have personality, and you’re a go-getter!
This was when I was about seven or eight years old. I had great grades, but I was always that kid in Chicago that would get checkmarks for behavior. I would always finish my work early and be talking to somebody else.
And so that resonated with me, like a lot of things she taught me early.
Later, I went to FAMU after graduating from Curie High School on the Southwest side of Chicago. That was where I really learned the power of my network. That’s something that I tell people all the time; we always hear about your network determines your net worth and it's truly a fact!
Then, I worked in corporate America for several top consumer companies- Johnson & Johnson, 3M, and other pharmaceutical companies- and I really knew that I wanted to do my own thing.
I just kept running into these ceilings with people who managed me, and I knew I was smarter than they were. So, I kept asking myself, ‘Why am I having these issues?’
And so, we started a not-for-profit on the South side of Chicago called Swish Dreams, which focused on basketball, education, and mentoring. Part of my responsibility was to bring the athletes to come to talk to the kids and I realized that there was a void in representation for urban and black athletes.
They had these high-powered agents and sometimes a PR representative, but nobody really knew how to connect the dots between the community engagement and the things they were doing in the community. Nobody knew how to really amplify that with different brands.
That was my whole idea around Brand B Sports, fusing my passions for mentoring and advising athletes and young people with my marketing chops.
Monetize to Rise
Jason Campbell:
It all started in that Swish Dreams era. I realized that I have a knack and a passion and an innate ability to motivate others. I’m able to take their areas of development and turn them into strengths and really push them in a direction that they want to go.
One of my favorite professors at FAMU- Dr. Hightower- I still keep in touch with him to this day, he's like an advisor- told me to learn what my passion is and then learn how to monetize it.
I knew that my passion was leadership development, mentorship, social impact, and community engagement. So, I wanted to figure out how to monetize that.
It was also right around the time when those NFL athletes were going broke, overspending money, and I wanted to do something about that.
My business partners and I had already created Brand B Sports at this point and realized that it wasn't quite what the market needed. So, we kind of pivoted a lot and went from not just advising athletes on their personal brand but really executing sports marketing deals, endorsement deals, and things of that nature.
A lot of that was done behind the scenes at first, so we white-labeled for some of the top agencies in the world to get our experience up. I was okay with being behind the scenes and making money.
I started to see that I was really good at that part of it. As I got older, athletes started to come to me and be like, “Hey, I need that advisement. I want to do this, how do I execute that? I want you to do it for me.”
That’s what we did over 12 years ago, and it’s just blossomed into this global sports marketing agency.
We’ve done business all over the world. Our fingerprints can be found all over professional sports spectrums- NASCAR, NHL, NBA, MLB- and now recently, golf, working and advising Mulbe Dillard, one of the top amateur golfers in the nation. He's an excellent athlete and an even better person!
Aligning A Personal Brand Can Get… Personal
Be Helpful Podcast:
You are a master networker. Talk to me about how you built your network. Was it intentional? Were you very thoughtful of the type of people or did you just naturally connect with people and realized that you had this treasure trove of connections?
Jason Campbell:
I think that it stems from my upbringing. At a young age, about six or seven years old, I would keep getting disappointed with my father for not coming to pick me up.
My mother would have to say, “He's not coming!” Then she would say, “You’re going to have to attach yourself and align with people, particularly men, who have the resources, knowledge, and information that I don't have.”
Not only did she tell me that, but she put me in these programs that really poured into young people. And so, I would attach myself, sometimes just for a season or sometimes it was for years.
For example, I keep in touch with Herb Henderson, who's still a mentor to me. I'm incredibly grateful for his presence over the last 25 years. He gave me my first job at Pizza Hut. I rocked that out!
I think that it was ingrained in me early on. Really asking myself, ‘What are my deficits?’ And, growing up in Englewood on the Southside of Chicago, there were many.
Then, I had to identify people who I could come across that could fill in the blanks of those deficits.
I’m already smart. I’m already articulate. I’ve got a pretty good personality, I’m likable. What are the other things that I need to learn?
And so that's how I really embarked on that networking journey.
But, it was also a necessity for survival. It wasn't just a situation where I was like, ‘Oh, I just want to be the best businessperson.’ No. I had to attach myself to somebody like ‘him’ because I needed a job because my mother had just lost hers.
While my friends in the neighborhood were not necessarily aligning with ‘him’ because he wasn't driving 20-inch rims, I was trying to align with ‘him’ because he was a corporate guy. For me not to succumb to the same challenges and pitfalls that my peers were, I had to align myself with somebody like Mike Bonds, who was a state attorney. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, again, not just because I wanted to be this businessperson, but literally for survival.
So that's kind of what allowed me to be able to create these meaningful relationships and prove that I was worthy of that investment. That was very important to me, and it's important to me now.
I tell people all the time, I don't have an inheritance waiting for me. The only thing I have is my network, my reputation, and my relationships.
5 Inspiring Quotes About Building a Brand
It’s about half time in this article. At this point, you can probably tell that Jason not only has a knack for helping athletes build their personal brand, but also that he could fill a stadium with his inspiring words!
Here are 5 direct quotes from the full interview that teach principles of good sportsmanship for those with the end game of being an entrepreneur.
Quote #1: “If I got out of Englewood, I can get into any room.”
Lesson: This quote teaches us about being fearless and reminds us that our past does not determine our future. Jason Campbell may have been running from gun shots as a child leaving basketball courts in California after dark, but that never stopped him from chasing his dreams and taking every shot he could as an adult.
Quote #2: “I don’t chase the bag; I’m looking to create more autonomy. Invest your money in experiences that you’re going to remember at 92 years old.”
Lesson: This quote teaches us about the value of time and experience over money. The corporate world doesn’t allow for much flexibility to travel a different path, or the world, literally and metaphorically. Entrepreneurship means control over our own adventure and that is priceless! Jason tells us that he doesn’t remember the tasks he completed at his 9-5, but his inner world will always remember the 70+ trips he took around the world, including Morocco, the Maldives, and the Seychelle Islands!
Quote #3: “It’s important to learn on someone else’s dime.”
Lesson: This quote teaches us how to be resourceful to score our end goals. Learning can be expensive and so Jason gives us free advice on how to level up our skills while clocking into corporate time! From doing tasks we don’t like, to responding to emails, to articulating ourselves in environments where people are doubting us- it’s all practice for when we pitch our own business!
Quote #4: “Information and knowledge are absolutely transferable, but it doesn’t have to be transactional.”
Lesson: This quote teaches us about the power of a community-there is no “I” in team. It’s about authenticity, adding value, and being of service. It’s about relationship building with integrity. Jason reminds us to reach back for our buddy on the bench and to be their biggest cheerleader by throwing down knowledge- not because we must, but because we have been in that position before and genuinely want them to win too!
Quote #5: “There are dark days as an entrepreneur.”
Lesson: This quote teaches us about the reality of entrepreneurship; it’s not always a ball! Rejection and self-doubt are a part of the game. As Jason says, “Just because you put in the work, it doesn’t mean you are entitled to that outcome.” But, here is how he tackles that truth; he creates balance to mitigate burnout. One of his favorite ways to do that? Yoga!
And the Crowd Goes Wild…
We’re a true fan of Jason’s work and after reading some excerpts from his interview above, we hope you are too!
You’ll want to sprint to the full Podcast or YouTube Video where he puts his game face on to share even more of his experience with:
Telling a Vice President off and walking out of a meeting…forever
Borrowing his first suit from friends who showed him how to put on a tie
Driving used vehicles for 10+ years in order to put money back into businesses, community, and experiences
“Accidentally” securing a meeting with a major brand
His story highlights how building a personal brand is a game changer for those who want to sport a lifestyle of financial freedom.
Through the twists and turns of entrepreneurship, Jason Campbell whole heartedly believes that if you stay the course-if you live your brand and work your brand-then you will love your brand.
Are you ready to build your personal brand like a pro?
Let us know in the comments so we can cheer you on!
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