Business is never supposed to be personal, but when LeBron James decided it was time to part ways with his agent Aaron Goodwin, the NBA star turned to longtime friend Maverick Carter to pick up the reigns. Growing up together in Akron, Ohio, the former high school classmates built a mentoring friendship around the sport of basketball that has since grown to encompass the business of basketball. As co-founders of LRMR Marketing, James and Carter have successfully collaborated on a host of business opportunities including managing other pro athletes, endorsement deals with major brands, and most recently bringing Sheets energy strips to market. Based on the young CEO’s track record, BlackEnterprise.com spoke with Carter to get his top tips on how to juggle friendship with partnership. —Anslem Samuel, with additional reporting by Christina M. Tapper
Anslem Samuel, Senior Producer, has been a culture critic and entertainment journalist for over 10 years. After a four-year stint as Culture Editor at The Source, the New York native became the founding Editor-in-Chief of The Ave, an independent quarterly publication that combined entertainment, social issues and politics. From there, he served as the Senior Editor for XXL magazine for three years before moving up the ranks to Digital Content Director for XXLMag.com. Also heading up an award-winning relationship blog, he now brings his lifestyle expertise to BlackEnterprise.com
