- When something comes across
that's very challenging and difficult,
I always say that how you handle it,
no matter in what field it is,
will ultimately be how you handle
other things in life.
(quirky music)
I am Maria Sharapova, I am an athlete
and an owner of a candy
business called Sugarpova.
I think the first time
I really got excited
about money was when,
after winning Wimbledon,
I used to take trips to
Los Angeles from Florida
to train with a coach and we could only
afford to do that so many
times during the year
because of the expenses
of hotels and travels
and all that, but after winning Wimbledon,
we stayed at a much better hotel
and I remember there's a little,
yellow rubber duck and I called my manager
as soon as I walked into
the tub in the bathroom,
and I was like, "Wow, winning Wimbledon
"is the best thing ever.
(laughing)
"I get this tub and I get this rubber duck
"and the things that a
teenager looks forward to."
- So how did you learn
how to handle money?
- I think when you grow up
not necessarily having a lot
or not necessarily understanding
what is a lot and how much
it actually takes to work for nothing,
I realize that it's a,
not only is it a personal possession,
it's always your choice with what you do
and your actions ultimately determine
how far or low it takes you.
But, it's also being under the influence
of really strong characters of parents,
very disciplined people that,
every single day, that taught me something
very valuable, my father more in sports.
And something I speak about in my book
was how my father was more
of the sports influence
and then when I would come home,
my mother was the cultural,
it was the schoolwork,
it was the life lessons
and then I would get the life lessons
on the court from my father,
that kind of transitioned
onto my character.
- Did you learn or make any mistakes
with money that you wish you had known?
- I think when you're
young you don't understand,
well, you kind of do but you might not
have the resources to understand
what an investment really means.
Investment, it can small, it can be large.
But, in sport, you invest a lot
without having any
guarantees and that's maybe,
in tennis is quite
different to team sports,
where you're guaranteed a certain amount
and of course you want to be a champion
and your team wants to be a champion
and you do everything to become that.
But, there's something on the line
when you know that
you've invested all this
money and there's still no guarantee
that you'll ever return
it back or make more.
So, with that in mind, I always,
I mean, my family and I
always made decisions based on that.
It's like, well, if it doesn't work out,
like, how much could we actually afford,
how much do we actually
have in our possession?
- How involved are you
in managing your own finances?
- I'd say a lot.
(laughing)
I'd say when you start from not much
and you make money throughout your career,
I think you better be involved in all,
from the smallest things
to the largest things.
I have someone that
overlooks my portfolio,
but I have constant meetings about it
and I make decisions and I also try to,
I mean, learning I think is,
I didn't have a formal type of education
when I was young and I somewhat became
street smart by traveling the world,
by having to show up, really.
When you go to a tournament,
there's so many responsibilities
as an athlete, it's not just,
yes, it's walking through a tunnel
and performing in front
of thousands of people,
but, there's the way
that you carry yourself,
there's the fans that
expect a lot from you
in moments when you're down
and maybe you haven't had a good match.
So, I think it's the presence,
it's the press conferences,
it's the sponsor visits.
You know, it takes a lot of people
to make something happen
and just realizing that
is extremely important to me.
- You often talk about feeling isolated
when you were growing up,
do you still feel that
sense of loneliness?
- Well, sport is very isolating.
I think you have a team that prepares you
and I think that's very relevant
to business as well.
You hire the best people that you believe
are gonna get you to the top,
but you pick up your bag
and you go into center court
and it's like you're on your own.
It's your own thing.
You control your wins and
you control your losses
and at the end of the day,
yes, everyone takes a
little bit of responsibility
but I think that's the greatest thing
about being the champion
at the end of a tournament,
is you can carry that whole responsibility
of being a winner.
But the toughest part,
and the other side of it
is a much darker,
lonelier aspect of sport,
is that you go back to your hotel room
and everything is upon you.
- You know, some women
may hold themselves back
because they want to
be liked by everybody.
What do you say to those women?
- I think you have to be true to,
it's like a very old answer,
but you do have to be true to who you are.
You know, when you're on a mission
and when you're committed,
you're not only going to make friends
along the way and not everyone,
in our society, in today's world,
not everyone's gonna like
everything that you do,
from what you wear to
the things that you say,
and ultimately, does that really matter
if you believe in your actions
and if you believe in your words
and if you believe in your
goals and your future,
that is the most important thing,
'cause that's how you will carry yourself,
not everyone else.
- You say, you didn't really want
to make friends on the court
'cause it makes it difficult to compete.
Do you feel the same way about business?
- I'd say, maybe that
is a little different.
The thing that I do,
I mean, there's similarities with sport
and business, in the sense that,
yeah, I am very competitive
and I do want to be successful
in the businesses that I have.
And then I get off the court
and I work through things in my mind,
of things that I want to achieve
and people that I want to work with,
but, I think I've definitely understood,
and still learning,
the relationship building process
and, I think they call it networking.
But, such it's a little bit
of a cold and strange
word, but in a sense,
it's more like getting to know people
and the connections that
you make with people
and people always come back in your life
at some point and in the end,
it's always a very very small world.
- What's the most important lesson
you learned at Harvard?
- I would say it was
really about the people.
I found myself in a classroom
with 50 people that were much wiser
and older than it was,
and mostly men as well.
(laughing)
It was probably 80% male to 20% female
and I had to be the one
that would come up and speak to them.
I think there's also a little bit of
intimidation factor and I don't think
they expected to be in a classroom.
And so, speaking to them
and understanding what everybody does
and where they're on the same mission,
maybe for different ideas
and different products,
and some are CEO's,
some are starting in a company.
It's not just about going to Harvard
and getting a stamp or
a little piece of paper
with a diploma, there's so much more.
For me, it was really
getting to know the people
and that unfamiliar ground
'cause I'm always around people I know,
so just throwing myself out there was,
and asking a question in a schoolroom,
it's like, okay, at Harvard,
(laughing)
when you're not having an answer
but you're asking a question.
Like, okay, once I did that I cooled down.
- What do you say to people who say
you only got certain contracts
because you're blonde and good looking?
- Well, good luck.
(laughing)
You can go to the hair stylist
and get your color blonde
but it takes a lot more than that.
If somebody does say that, then,
I mean, I guess you could
go and try it yourself.
I mean, walk the walk
and don't talk the talk, right?
That's something that I've
heard many people say,
but I do believe in that a lot.
- How did you financially adjust
when you lost some endorsements?
- I mean, I think I've
done a really great job
over the course of my career
to manage the money that I've had.
I invest good money, I'd say solid money,
to have a great team
because great talent is not cheap
and that's in any field,
whether you're an
athlete or, I understand,
the importance of treating
your team really well.
Was it tough to not get one extension
out of the amazing amount
of brand partnerships that I had?
Yeah, of course, because it was,
and not so much about the money,
it was more about the relationship itself
and the people that you work with,
I think that's much more
valuable than money.
- You work with a lot
of female entrepreneurs,
you try to mentor them.
What's one lesson about entrepreneurship
you're trying to impart to them?
- I say you don't, when
you're just starting out,
we always feel that we have to be perfect
at all different segments
and I came into a candy business,
not being familiar with the category,
but I think there's something really cool
and special about coming into a job,
a certain job description,
not necessarily being that,
because you're able to bring in
a different point of view,
and you're able to have
a different opinion,
and even if someone has an opinion
of their own, it's nice
to have a challenger
because I think from that
is where you create a lot of great ideas.
(quirky music)
