Everything I Know About Business, I Learned From the WNBA

Offseason Lessons From a Professional Fan

🏀 Welcome to the offseason. I’m not okay.

The WNBA season is over, which means I now have roughly 40 extra hours a week and nowhere to put my feelings.

So instead of staring at old highlights (I’m still doing that), I figured I’d put all that fan energy to use.

Because here’s the thing: I didn’t go to business school. I went to the WNBA.

I’ve spent years watching this league build something out of almost nothing, with not enough coverage, not enough money, and way too many people telling them nobody cared.

And they built it anyway.

If that’s not a masterclass in running a small business, I don’t know what is.

📱 Lesson 1: Build your audience before anyone hands you a platform

For years, WNBA players got scraps of airtime. So what did they do?

They stopped waiting.

They built their own audiences. Social media. Podcasts. Content. Personalities. They showed people who they were, so by the time the cameras finally showed up, the fans were already there.

That’s the whole small business playbook.

Nobody’s coming to give you a spotlight. Not the algorithm, not a big client, not a viral moment. You build the audience first, one post, one episode, one blog at a time.

Then when the opportunity shows up, you’re ready.

👟 Lesson 2: The tunnel is a runway

WNBA tunnel fits are a whole genre now. Players walk into the arena dressed like they’re headlining fashion week, and people tune in just to see the looks.

That’s not vanity. That’s branding.

Every fit says something: who they are, what they stand for, what kind of energy they’re bringing tonight. Before they touch a basketball, you already know them a little.

As a designer, this one hits home. Your brand is your tunnel walk. Your logo, your colors, your voice, the way you show up online. People decide how they feel about you before they ever hire you.

So walk in like you mean it.

(Mine’s all black. Obviously.)

📣 Lesson 3: Use your voice, even when it costs you

Natasha Cloud is my favorite player, and it’s not just because of her game.

It’s because she has never once made herself smaller to make anyone comfortable. She speaks up about racial justice, queer rights, and the stuff that actually matters, loudly, on the record, knowing full well it might cost her.

WNBA players have been doing this as a league for years. They’ve stood up together, again and again, when staying quiet would’ve been easier and safer.

In business, everyone tells you to stay neutral. Don’t alienate anyone. Keep it professional.

But here’s what I’ve learned: the right people find you because of what you stand for. The wrong ones were never your people anyway.

Values aren’t a liability. They’re a filter.

⭐ Lesson 4: One star doesn’t make a league

I’ll say it again for the people in the back: Caitlin Clark is not the face of the WNBA.

She’s a talented player. She brought in a ton of new eyeballs. Respect.

But the league was here long before her, and it’s built on dozens of stars, decades of grind, and players who carried it when nobody was watching. Pretending one person isthe league is bad for the league.

It’s also bad for your business.

If one client pays most of your bills, you don’t have a business. You have a boss with extra steps. If one platform holds your whole audience, one algorithm change can wipe you out.

Build a roster. Multiple clients. Multiple channels. Multiple ways to win.

Depth wins championships.

🔥 Lesson 5: Expansion team energy

I moved to Portland right as the Portland Fire were taking the court. A brand-new team in a new city, building a fanbase from scratch.

Relatable.

Because that’s exactly what I’m doing. New city. New network. Rebuilding my business and my community from zero, while 2,000 miles away everybody already knew who I was.

Expansion teams don’t get to coast on history. They have to earn every fan, one game at a time. They take some losses. They figure out who they are in public.

And the fans who show up early? Those are the ride-or-dies. That’s the community you build the whole thing on.

If you’re starting over somewhere, in a city, an industry, or a version of yourself: you’re an expansion team. Act like it. Show up anyway.

(And yes, I still love you, Dallas Wings. Texas made me. Portland’s just where I live now.)

💰 Lesson 6: Know your worth, and pick your fights with the refs

WNBA players have spent years fighting for pay that matches what they bring to the table. They didn’t get it by asking nicely and hoping. They got organized, they got loud, and they kept pushing.

Creatives, take notes. If you’re undercharging because you’re scared they’ll say no, you’re doing the league’s old math on yourself. Charge what you’re worth. Then raise it.

And about the refs.

Every game, there’s a bad call. Good players don’t argue every single one. They’d get tossed. They save it for the calls that actually change the game.

Clients are the refs. Some feedback is wrong. Some of it’s annoying. Not all of it is worth a fight. Let the small stuff go, and argue hard on the stuff that protects your work, your time, and your rate.

🏆 Final buzzer

The WNBA taught me that being underestimated isn’t a ceiling. It’s a starting line.

Build your audience. Walk in like you mean it. Say the thing. Don’t bet it all on one star. Show up like an expansion team. And charge like a champion.

Also, if anyone wants to fund my dream business, a high-end women’s sports bar with dopamine decor and neon everywhere, my DMs are open.

Now I need to know: what’s the best business lesson you ever learned from sports? Drop it in the comments. I’ve got a whole offseason to kill.