Chase Minnifield: Life After The NFL, Tech, & Being His Own Boss
You may know Chase Minnifield from his time w/ the Washington Redskins for the NFL. But due to an injury, that time wasn’t the long- career he originally imagined. However, that didn’t mean the end for him and what he wanted to achieve in life. Since then, he’s become quite the serial entrepreneur w/ Helping Hands, EZ Turn, the Minnifield Foundation, and more.
Last week, we got a chance to link up w/ Chase out in NYC to talk about what he’s been up to, the tech he uses for himself + his ventures, and life as a multiple-business owner. You can see the video above along w/ a few of the Q&As from the interview below:
After the NFL, did that force you to rethink how you were gonna make money?
At first, I thought that I would just get picked up by another team and keep playing. But it wasn’t my decision ultimately. Within a year, I began building my first company, Helping Hands to give opportunities to my friends and family back home.
Did your college experience inspire you to create Helping Hands?
It did. Originally, it was created to assist w/ moving days on a college campus. I remember when I moved and it was everybody everywhere going in-and-out of the dorms w/o any real help. So helping out w/ labor for those days was the start of it. And has turned into contract labor w/ cleaning, painting, maintenance, etc. and form moving day to prep the dorms for before and after as well.
What’re your thoughts on tech? And how’re you using?
I love technology. EZ Turn is my tech company that’s built for the student housing industry and we created a scheduling software to better manage their vendors. I noticed a gap in the industry and used EZ Turn to fill that void. I think technology should be everywhere. I would recommend to look for gaps in an industry and find a way to utilize technology to fill it.
Who were some of your mentors and what were some of the important lessons they taught you?
My dad was a huge influence on me as he was an entrepreneur after football as well. I also looked up to all black entrepreneurs who took control of their situation. I’ve admired people who employed those w/ disadvantages and empowered others.
Any advice for anyone looking to get into starting their own business?
Just jump into it. I think a lot of people like to double-dutch and not want to get into it for real. I think everyone should be an entrepreneur. Whether its on the side or a full-time thing. If you’re doing it part-time, you can start to trust your yourself to making it a full-time thing. Once you get a feel of the freedom entrepreneurship can offer you, it will give you more purpose. That is priceless to me.
What’re your must-have apps on your phone?
That’s easy. Gmail, iMessage, & Phone apps.
A huge thanks to Chase & Jessica for making this happen. You can learn more about Chase’s ventures w/ Helping Hands LLC & EZ Turn.
Comments