9 minute read
NATIONAL FEATURE: MORGAN STINSON
How did you go from turning a Masters in Accounting from Georgia State to now being the go-to, successful, financial/accounting professional for MGO - and working with athletes and entertainers in Los Angeles? What has that journey looked like?
My journey is a unique one, to say the least; my start and love for the sports and finance industries predate my Master’s in Accounting. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Michigan State University, and at the time, I also worked as an assistant to Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tom Izzo and the assistant coaching staff for three years. I started playing sports as a child, which grew my love for sports; however, my professional start was in college. Fast forward to after completing my Master’s degree, I started working professionally in public accounting at one of the big four firms as an auditor.
I’ve always kept and managed my relationships and network in sports and continued to be a professional resource for my friends in the Sports and Entertainment Industries for questions or general financial education. In the middle of my audit career, I took a break from corporate America to do freelance consulting work for a couple of athletes, music producers, and a startup company, helping them organize and set up their businesses, accounting, foundations, marketing, etc. It was at that time that I got a real inside look into the industries, and some of the challenges athletes face on the financial/accounting side. I landed at MGO three years ago and work alongside our CEO, Kevin O’Connell, to add value, standards, quality, and ethical service, plus real financial education to the Sports and Entertainment Industries and other emerging markets. My network, education, and personal life experiences have been drivers of my passion and success in the industries. MGO has allowed me to help bridge the gap between financial education and accounting and add value to my relationships and community in sports, entertainment, media, and cannabis.
What inspired your career in finance?
I am a first-generation college student and graduate. I watched both of my parents be successful business owners and entrepreneurs; however, there was a lack of financial education, opportunity, resources, and management of finances. When I first entered college, I enrolled as a business and entertainment law student, however my major was cut in the middle of my sophomore year, and I had no idea what I wanted to switch to, but I knew immediately it was not political science at MSU! So I decided to transfer to finance because I had previously tested out most of my math requirements before entering college. Still, I had never known anyone or had little understanding of what an actual career in finance or accounting even looked like. It was not until my sophomore year when I attended a diversity finance and accounting conference and met my first career mentor Anthony Anderson, partner at EY, that I felt inspired and understood what a career in accounting and finance constituted. At that time, I realized that a career in finance and accounting was key to understanding the language of all business. Honestly, I saw it as the solution to many of the problems my family and community experienced during my upbringing. I was also great at math and loved numbers-based answers.
What is the one thing you found to be a common misconception regarding people’s ideas on finance/ wealth?
I commonly see people misunderstand the journey that is required to build and achieve wealth. I think that being wealthy is very different than being rich. There’s a common phrase used in hip hop of ‘Rags to Riches’ it took me a while to really dive into the deeper meaning behind the saying because too often than not, I see people going from Rags to Riches and back to rags. So when I break down the concept of being rich vs being wealthy, I like to explain that wealth is built, and maintained/ managed to last beyond the generation that establishes it. While being rich is sudden and usually short-lived. Now I am not saying you cannot come into sudden amounts of money and be considered wealthy, but the term wealth is applied to how you take the sudden money and use it in a way to build on top of it and continue to scale for generations.
Who are some of the guests on The Future Game, and what are some key ah-ha moments?
Our guest list for season one includes Draymond Green, Matt Barnes, Eben Britton, and Geoff Walker. I have a bunch of ah ha moments, especially when our guests bring up personal life experiences I experienced and how they thought through them or attacked them. But to point to a couple: Draymond highlights how he was totally confused when he received his first check and waiting on the rest of his money! He had never received a paycheck and didn’t realize the impact taxes had on the bottom line. His knowledge on taxes was limited to tax refunds, and he recalls how his family lived well for a couple of weeks off the refund every year. He then had to reeducate himself about what taxes actually meant in certain tax brackets. Geoff Walker dropped so many gems, but one I love that he highlighted is that Athletes build weak ecosystems around them that are not providing the proper guidance to help them thrive and survive through rainy days or strategize past their first contract.
How did you come up with the idea to create your series “The Future Game”?
For years I have been educating my friends, clients, and network on finances, accounting, marketing, etc. And I have also always been searching for a way to bridge the gap between Athletes, Entertainers, the community and the knowledge and resources I have gained access to throughout college and my professional career. I have seen the dreams and the nightmares of athletes come true. I have also witnessed firsthand too many athletes and their families suffer because they were uneducated and/or uninvolved in their finances/businesses. In 2020 I partnered with the MGO marketing team and my colleague Alex Thomas to pitch a webinar to address the financial concerns of athletes during the Pandemic. During the Pandemic, everyone had no choice but to pay attention to their financial futures. My phone was blowing up with questions, group chats, and guys just talking about all new fun topics such as crypto, taxes, business opportunities, media, and all kinds of exciting and very new territories for them. But for once in their lives, they do not have to train or be in meetings or be on a game schedule. MGO supported and believed in the vision and the pitch of The Future Game so much to we further developed the idea into a video series. Prior to me joining MGO my CEO shared the same passion to bring a greater understanding of finances and quality financial consulting/management to the sports industry, and that paired my vision and passion created The Future Game.
In this world of people wanting social approval and likes on social media, do you feel people are creating harmful debt patterns when buying expensive things they can’t afford for the “gram”?’
I’m going to highlight both the positives and negatives here. In short, Yes and No. There is increased gravitation to “Keep up with the Joneses” via social media and image portrayal. But with that, there is also a lot of control and branding power that if targeted in the right way, Influencers can capture revenue that they never used to capture instead of building debt. Prime example, some of my clients that consider themselves influencers are not only leveraging their social media market to obtain products for free or at a reduced price, they are also participating in revenue sharing agreements based on the number of sales they drive for the business simply through leveraging their image and likeness. So, I believe there is a lot of pressure to maintain a certain image; however, I also see the ability to generate income, revenue, and brand partnerships through the new lens of influencer marketing if leveraged appropriately. I think the generations of social media are changing, and the people using or influencing social media are becoming more sophisticated in how to monetize from free marketing and, to your point, boost their social media image.
How do you advise your clients when looking to grow a brand and turn that brand into a business?
Clients looking to grow their brands are my favorite clients because it shows that they are forward-thinking, and it allows me to grow with my clients. Developing a brand is important but understanding your audience is even more critical. I always say to consider your brand as a business with you as the CEO and walking billboard. Whatever you are passionate about should be embedded in your business strategy. You must be consistent, and you must have a plan to build a business but understanding that the best person to market you is YOU. You must hold yourself to the same standards as your brand and the standards your audience appreciates. More than anything, you have to educate yourself and leverage your network of professionals to make sure you are.
What’s one thing you would tell our readers to do as they are scaling their business and maybe for the first time experiencing some financial success?
Identify credible resources and people to help and educate you on scaling your business. Ask questions, and do not be afraid to fact-check or vet the information people provide to you. It is okay not to know everything but the biggest mistake I see people make is passing off their information or business to someone trusting them and not being involved in the financial decisions or direction.
MORGAN AND MATT BARNES
What is your vision for “The Future Game” over the next year or two?
Over the next one to two years, I would like to see The Future Game focus on the stories of athletes and the challenges and successes they face while focusing on breaking down simplistically solutions or values ads from an expert perspective. The age of the CEO is younger and younger, especially with the evolution of technology. I want to be proactive instead of reactive in engaging and addressing topics around financial education and building a business/ ecosystem around this demographic. I think storytelling is essential to understanding the lack or gap in knowledge around finances for young athletes and their families. I also would like to include people from the culture of music and film because generational wealth, legacy, and financial stability are not specific to athletes but to many industries minorities now dominate.
