Leveraging celebrity status into an encore career
Susan Edmunds looks at what it takes to work a high profile in sport or the media into a paying gig after the fulltime whistle blows or the end credits roll.
Many of us dream of fame, maybe a long and lucrative career as an actor, or breaking out as a musician.
But what happens if that career proves not to be lasting – if you decide you’ve had enough or the jobs run out?
The good news is that having been a household name can be a big boon for a new career.
Here are a few avenues that work well for celebrities looking for something new.
Real estate
Name recognition is a big factor in real estate agents’ success. While they make their money when a sale happens, it’s getting listings that is the determinant of how much they earn. Houses are usually sold by the agent who listed them, and even if they’re not, they get a cut of the commission.
But to get listings you have to have sellers’ trust and confidence. Being a famous name gets you a big part of the way there.
Some people who’ve made the switch from the big screen to real estate include former television presenter Jayne Kiely, now a real estate agent with Ray White Remuera, and Shane Cortese, now auction manager at Harcourts and Steve Parr, now selling real estate in Australia.
Cortese told Stuff last year: ‘‘People would say, ‘He’s Shane Cortese the actor, now he wants to sell my million dollar, two million dollar home, where’s his headspace at?’ I could appreciate that, but two years in, real estate is my life.
‘‘It’s not an easy industry to be in. It’s very much like acting or the sports industry. There are a lot of actors and a lot of rugby players, but there are only 30 All Blacks and 10 guys from NZ making movies in America.
‘‘Similarly, there are an awful lot of real estate agents out there working hard, and not making a huge amount of money. I found that surprising. There’s this perception it’s a pretty easy industry to be in, but there’s an awful lot of groundwork that goes in before a sale is made.’’
Some sports stars have also made this shift, such as Logan Swann with Ray White, Frano Botica (now working for Harcourts in Mairangi Bay, Auckland), and Daniel Braid, working for Barfoot & Thompson. Lance Hohaia took a job working as a real estate agent in Michigan.
Bodo Lang, head of marketing at the University of Auckland, said being a celebrity was a big help in building up a personal brand.
‘‘Celebrities have made a name for themselves over many years of being in the spotlight. Sometimes their careers span decades. During the course of becoming a celebrity they effectively become personal brands,’’ he said.
‘‘From branding research we know that the most successful brands are those that are wellknown, are unique and that consumers have a highly positive impression of.’’
Golnaz Bassam-Tabar, who owns Authority PR, said people would trust celebrities more than people they did not recognise.
‘‘A known face is far more likely to get people to do something than some unknown – also – people look at celebs as role models or aspirational figures so if a successful person is giving their attention to something, other people are likely to do the same.’’
Bindi Norwell, chief executive of the Real Estate Institute, said media was one of the industries that had transferable skills that were useful in real estate.
She said some of the things that helped included having a good network of contacts, being a good communicator, having a strong work ethic, being tenacious and having attention to detail.
‘‘It’s essential that you understand exactly what a buyer or seller wants so good listening skills are a must, but it’s also important that an agent is good at making people feel at ease and can build a rapport with people to build trust – these are skills that come naturally to many people in the sporting/ media world.
‘‘Many of our top-performing agents work long hours and people with a media background are often used to the demanding hours that television requires so find it easy to make the transition to working outside the normal nine-to-five.’’
Small business
Another benefit of a big name is that it’s easy to strike up conversations with customers – and if you’ve been really famous, you can be a drawcard to get people in the door. Attention from media can also boost your new business.
Mary Lambie was an example of this when she traded a role at TVNZ for ownership at Subway. She has since moved on to communications roles. Former All Black and Kiwi Matthew Ridge swapped sport for car washing business Car Fe.
Adam Parore retired from cricket and started a mortgage broking business.
Nadia Lim used MasterChef to launch ventures including cofounding My Food Bag.
Eric Rush shifted from rugby into supermarkets, first owning Kaikohe’s New World before moving to Regent New World in Whangarei.
Something totally different
Some people ditch celebrity in favour of something totally different. Former Shortland Street actor Blair Strang, for example, has been working as a lawyer for 10 years.
Jane Kennelly, director of Frog Recruitment, said people who had been celebrities usually had a range of transferable skills, such as being results-oriented, being used to working in a team and taking instructions, being resilient and having a high-performing work ethic.
‘‘They’re used to performing under pressure and are typically very ambitious.’’
She said many celebrities could carve out work as a brand ambassador or online influencer.
Public relations was also often a good fit, she said, because they often had high network worth and could put that to use.
Having a well-known person in a business could be a big boost. ‘‘They need to be looked after, it can be a big adjustment.’’