Spend five minutes on the phone with Joshua Sanchez, the founder and CEO of Unlimited Management LLC, and it’s evident how passionate he is about his budding business and career. The young entrepreneur exudes enthusiasm, making it clear that his work at an all-encompassing firm isn’t just a job, but more of like a personal mission.
Based in Long Beach, Calif., the company started in 2015 as a typical accounting and taxation shop, which continues to be the base of its core business. Yet, given the sunny locale and a few of his previously existing personal relationships, Sanchez and the group quickly started attracting professional athletes, entertainers, and celebrities as major clients. For instance, Sanchez is a close friend of NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who came on as one of the company’s first clients. As Jackson’s relationship with the firm grew, so did Sanchez’s role.
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“I wasn’t looking to change the business model too much. [There’s] still a major focus on accounting, but because I saw athletes with so many unique challenges and moving parts in their lives, I saw that I could clearly do more,” Sanchez said.
While working with Jackson, the young leader recognized a rife opportunity and repositioned Unlimited Management to fill that unmet need. Other athletes took note of the success Jackson was having with the company and eagerly started coming on board. Eventually, it was evident no other company was providing this type of service or demonstrating the kind of success Unlimited was was experiencing. Since then, Sanchez has taken on an almost “Unlimited” role in his clients’ lives.
“It’s definitely extended from [accounting and taxation],” Sanchez explained. “Now it’s everything from managing money, providing business and strategic advice, doing relationship vetting. I’ve become a business manager for my clients, many of whom are professional athletes.”
When asked if “life manager” was a more fitting title, Sanchez agreed. “That’s true; everything is tied back to the money.”
What Sanchez and his group at Unlimited Management have done is enable athletes to face their unique challenges as highly paid professionals with a limited “career lifespan” and continue sustaining their success off the field, as well.
“It’s important. In the sports space, you don’t see many in my field. Nobody is really introducing these guy to connections or providing them access to some of the great business opportunities out there,” Sanchez noted. “There’s not really a lot of people out there specializing in comprehensive management for pro athletes like this, so many guys aren’t nearly as successful as they should be.”
Alarmingly, the CEO noted, according to his statistics, that approximately 85 percent of professional football players go broke after three years, with many other previously well-off athletes just getting by after they hang up the pads and start living life off the field.
Unlimited Management aspires to “get these guys to understand their true value,” according to Sanchez. The business model is effective and works well because the company is structured as a collaborative, cohesive team all working toward a common goal for their clients.
“We give guys a plan, help them speak their vision, and keep everything organized,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez and his team give every client a “scoreboard” that outlines their unique path and the results their current plan or strategy is having, with “generational wealth” being the ultimate goal for everybody. This “scoreboard” system also encourages Unlimited’s clients to take a much more hands-on, active role in managing their money and future.
“That’s the biggest thing I’d want to express, is education. Knowledge is power, especially for these guys, the pro athletes nobody else is looking out for,” Sanchez emphasized.
He is a firm believer in the power of knowledge and pushing boundaries — or perhaps, more appropriately, transcending limits — for change.
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“Ultimately, I’m an entrepreneur at the end of the day; creative, innovative, and eager to figure out solutions,” Sanchez said when asked to describe what he sees for himself and envisions for the company going forward.
Now, he and Unlimited Management are looking to make a larger impact in the sports space — disrupting the status quo by building up a portfolio of successful clients, demonstrating success, and increasing awareness of what they’re achieving with their clients.