Meet Alex Buck | Sports Content Creator & Freelancer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Buck and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The freedom to be creative was crucial for me. I’d had good jobs in my 20s but never anything that really made me feel alive, or like I was doing something I was destined to do.

I went in search of that, and have never looked back. I respect major corporations and have worked for several good ones, but I wanted to be my own boss, have the flexibility to work my own hours and know that I could work from anywhere in the world, only needing my phone and laptop (and a good wifi connection).

It’s the best decision I have ever made for my life. I am fulfilled, engaged, and addicted to my ‘work’ while also feeling like I haven’t worked a day since I started this journey.

I never want to live with regrets, and while your first several ideas might not land, the thrill of trying. failing and trying again is far more engaging than any 9-5 job I’ve worked.

I also believe you have to have a real passion, or a ‘why’ as to putting in the extreme levels of work you need to build a successful business. Without it, it’s too easy to quit. Mine was always traveling, and having the lifestyle I wanted. To do that I needed time and freedom, both logistic and financial freedom. Being an entrepreneur is the best way I found to do that.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business serves sports brands, youtube channels, publications and much more with a content service that helps their business grow. It started with me working as a freelancer alongside my 9-5, just to make a little extra money. At the time, the idea of getting paid to write about the NFL sounded amazing, and I made a little extra cash doing that for a while.

Then I started to look into the potential for that to grow, and that started the journey to where we are now. We write content for a wide range of ‘clients’, including sports scripts for Youtube channels that have helped our clients reach millions of views in the time we’ve worked with them. They know we’ll handle the script work, which allows them to focus on other areas of their business.

We’ve also helped betting companies with game previews and evergreen content for SEO purposes, and have scaled to the point now where we have several freelances working alongside us, allowing the business to take on more clients.

The plan is to become the number-one service for this type of work in the world, spanning across all sports and eventually expanding with departments that can also cover fashion, business, tech etc too. All built off of our reputation to deliver a great service, which is the number one most important thing when building any business. Anything less than a 5 star service limits your potential. If you only have one client, make sure you give them a service they would recommend to others.

I never wanted to build a business with large overheads or major risk, so we’ve scaled patiently, slowly, and are now reaching the point where that 10/20x doesn’t feel too far away. Depending on the industry, scaling with calculated risk is very possible, and you can then afford to try new things, make mistakes and grow without destroying your brand.

You’ll also discover the element of your business that helps it take off. For us, the freelance/content producing piece really did well, and thats allowed us to explore other areas with our own youtube channel, blog, website and more. Now we have other areas of the business scaling and bringing in money too, and can afford to hire our first couple of full-time employees.

We’ve faced many challenges along the way. Too many to list, and many things I had no idea how to solve. Don’t be discouraged. Seek guidance, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and never allow your pride to sink your business before you hold your hands up and say ‘I don’t understand this, let me find an expert or somebody who can help me overcome it’. Your business doesn’t care about your ego, nor will your ego keep it afloat.

Building a business is not easy. At all. If you’re not willing to pull long days, work when your friends are partying and sacrifice the luxury lifestyle while your building, then you’ll either get extremely lucky or you’ll fail. It takes a lot of work. You have to be willing to work harder than 99% of the people around you, or you’ll get swallowed up and spat back out.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oo good question. I grew up just outside of London, and while its nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of one of the worlds biggest cities, being in London always makes me feel like I’m somebody.

Everybody is going somewhere, trying to achieve something. It’s fast-paced and I love it.

If I had people visiting, I’d likely suggest a couple of days seeing the city, and taking in both its powerful history and many of the modern things that make it such a great place to be day to day.

I’m not a drinker, purely out of preference, but I can certainly appreciate a good steak restaurant or one of the many authentic Italian/Indian restaurants all over the city.

I’m too old for the noise now, so I’d sit and talk over dinner, listen and learn from those I’m dining with and then maybe catch a show or something.

In business, I found that ‘shutting it off’ is exceptionally hard, it’s probably one of the least discussed truths about the industry. When you’re watching a movie, your brain will start thinking about that email you need to send, or that client you haven’t caught up with in a while. There’s always something. One of the best ways I’ve found I can deal with that and break away from it is going to the gym and using a spa. Spending a day with a workout, a swim, sauna, those kinds of things, really helps me to unwind, so I try to fit that in at least once a week too.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I owe my story to a lot of people. From a personal perspective, I have always had loving parents who gave me a home to grow up in, and the freedom to dream. It’s hard for your parents sometimes, the world of opportunity is very different now than it was 20-30 years ago, but they’ve both worked extremely hard to give me the space I had to be creative at a young age. I don’t think I could have taken the leap without their support.

It would also be impossible without a supportive and understanding partner. I quite often have to work long hours, going back to work after Hannah goes to sleep and getting into bed in the middle of the night. Talking openly about your business with your partner is crucial, and it allows them to understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. She’s great, and I equally make sure I make time to switch off and spend some quality time with her during evenings and weekends.

On the more personal side of things, having the mindset to be an entrepreneur is far more important than trying to come up with an idea. You have to see the world for its opportunities before you try to achieve them. I owe that journey to the likes of Tony Robbins, Gary Vee, and a movie named Coach Carter of all things. In the movie, Samuel L. Jacksons character constantly challenges his team to push themselves to be better, and it motivated me through my teenage years. Whenever I was struggling with an exam, or wanted to quit on something, I’d watch the movie. I spent years working on my mindset before I ever had a business, and I believe doing that gave me the opportunity to be where I am today. Instead of mindlessly scrolling on Tiktok or watching gaming streams, watch an interview with a successful person in your field, or read a few pages of a book, or meditate, journal etc. Create good habits.

Later in life I’ve tried to read more. At school I didn’t want to learn because it felt forced, and I didn’t particularly care for things like chemistry or physics. Now, I want to absorb knowledge and continue to discover a better, more educated version of myself.

Some of my favorites are ‘Green Lights’ by Matthew McConaughey, and several of Kevin Hart’s talks and discussions around being an entrepreneur and maximising opportunity. There is so much stuff out there it can be hard to find the right things to listen to, but for me I’ve found taking notes from figures I admire works really well.

In McConaughey’s book, which is all about finding green lights in your life, my favorite line is ‘reach beyond your grasp, have immortal finish lines, and turn your red light green, because a roof is a man made thing’.

The only thing stopping you from ultimately achieving your goals, is that voice of doubt in your mind. Find success stories you can relate to, and tune your brain to understand the possibilities and the positives, rather than leaning into the reasons you can’t do something.

Website: Venuse.com (in production, aimed launch date April 1st)

Instagram: AlexandtheNFL (temporary pending rebranding)

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-buck-b14796199/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexBuckUTN

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGr04a3SDjhPhsAe4xj4YQ