Life After Basketball; Jessica Davenport

You may remember Jessica Davenport from her days at Ohio State where she was a three-time All-American and a three-time Big Ten Player of the Year. Or perhaps you will remember her short stint in New York with the Liberty or her time in Indiana with the Fever. Davenport was drafted 2nd in the 2007 WNBA draft and played for two teams during her six seasons in the league. She also played overseas for several years before deciding to retire in 2014. After struggling with injury, Jessica realized her heart was no longer 100% into the game and that she was ready to let go and pursue other interests.

Like many other WNBA players, life goes on after basketball and once the decision is made to hang up your sneakers its time to figure out whats next if you haven’t already. Luckily for Jessica she had an interest in marketing and after taking a few months off to enjoy family and friends she was offered an internship with a company in Ohio, her home state. This was the first time she was able to spend more than a few months in one place and took the opportunity to explore her interests outside of basketball. After interning, she was able to learn a lot about business and marketing which she used to launch her own business Envy My Tee.

Jessica started Envy My Tee in March of 2015. She first wanted to open a sneaker shop in Columbus, but soon realized the difficulty in securing sneaker contracts and all that goes with opening a store. Filled with an entrepreneur spirt and still wanting to run her own business, she decided to start with a home based business. Jessica runs Envy My Tee out of her home where she creates Custom T-shirts and Personalized Gifts. She does prints on t-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, and a variety of other items. She likens running a business to playing basketball and says that “I’m still working on my business everyday, I’m still learning the industry everyday and I’m still managing a work life balance. I compare that to working on your game, scouting your opponent, and making sure your not consuming all your time with just work.”  Her website is self-explanatory and all of her products are listed on the site. You pick a color, add your design and Jessica will print and mail it out to you. She stresses that no order is too small! Jessica is dedicated to her business and is continually learning and working towards expanding what she does to a larger audience.

We love seeing former athletes passionate about their endeavors and finding purpose after basketball. Jessica mentioned that her first customer was Tangela Smith, a former WNBA champion with a storied professional career, who is now an assistant coach at Western Michigan University. It is important that we support each other whenever we can. There are several ways to place an order with Envy My Tee. You can visit the website at www.envymytee.com and use their design lab, you can call to place an order at 614-352-6821 or you can send an email message at info@envymytee.com if you have any questions. She ships throughout the United States. Maybe you have a family reunion coming up, work with an AAU team or have a slogan you want printed on a shirt or other items, if so, check out Envy My Tee for all your printing needs.