We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John Tatum. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John below.

John, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

PYF Management – Put Yourself First

To support, inform, and guide athletes with organized approach. We create a support system that meets with our core values that assist with personal lives and professional careers.

We know that the road to becoming an exceptional athlete is tough, and making a living playing your favorite sport is a near-impossible dream for most but I was fortunate to play the game of basketball. Basketball took me places I never would imagine, but just like some athletes, their careers are cut short due to injuries and I so happen to fall in that category. I needed an outlet, I still wanted to be around the game of basketball and I felt like player management was the way to go. I work in player branding and management, which is a great industry these days since players possess a wide variety of ways to earn additional income beyond their professional contract. I help with marketing, endorsement deals, public relations and much more. My job descriptions change everyday, one day I could be negotiating an endorsement deal, the next they could be helping a player with a community event. My job is to help his players with whatever they need, which can vary greatly from client to client.

That Boy Got Knowledge Podcast

I started the podcast during COVID, it was a way to express and escape reality a little bit. I started tweeting things that came to my mind and people started to like and retweeted every time I would post something. I took my inspirational quotes to Instagram, then I started to get the same love. A friend of mine is encouraged to do a podcast. I did not want a typical podcast, I wanted something organic and different so that it would reach and relate to what is going on in today’s world. At first it started with me and my homeboys recording in my living room, then we dropped the first episode and that did extremely well. After that the rest was history, that was 9 months ago, now the podcast consists of 6 members (Aaron, JMO, Ruztique, Janae, Ebonee, and myself). We have a sister show called “That Girl Got Knowledge” Podcast”.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m from Baltimore, Maryland

My Business:
PYF Management
Title -Business Manager- Start by making a list of exactly what your client needs help with. From that list, you can essentially write up a working form of your role and responsibilities.

Motivation Speaker/Podcast
That Boy Got Knowledge Podcast- Multiple perspectives on subjects ranging from sports to controversial topics to fashion, love to lifestyle covering all cultural conversations and building a platform to educate but encourage viewers to engage.
I came up with Podcast during COVID, we was stuck in the house and I wanted to do something to keep people entertained and for me I also wanted an outline to speak.

Both my business are legit brands that will become a household name very soon.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I am a former professional basketball player and had the opportunity to play in Argentina. During my time there, I had a lot of success where I led my team to defeat our opponents, but I ended up breaking my foot and ankle, I thought my career was over. During my recovery, I noticed a difference in my step. I wasn’t as explosive. I thought about quitting basketball for good and slipped into a depression. My family and friends rallied around me and helped me refocus. I ended up going to rehab and putting in the work to get back to where I needed to be. I went back the following year and didn’t miss a step.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

The best advice that I can give is to offer a clear vision, make sure that your team understands and is invested in your vision. Be sure to clearly identify the end goal keeping in mind that individual growth along the way is important and expected. Next, you want to be direct and transparent. Be honest with your team but do so in a respectful manner, it goes a long way. Finally, delegate tasks, spread out the workload. Identify strengths and play on them so that you can come together and do great things.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: BetrueJt and ThatBoyGotKnowledge
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tatumjohnsolomon
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-solomon-tatum-539045138
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThatBoyGotKnowledge