Despite being the first American woman to medal in Summer and Winter Olympicshis post-Olympic opportunities were scarce.

“There’s this misconception that because I’m the first to do this thing—and still no one else has done it—that I’m booked all year for speaking engagements,” he said. CNBC Do It. “I get things here or there, but I can’t make a living from it.”

“The news got there, but the promoters didn’t. I made $80,000 the year I became the first American woman to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.”

So, despite making sports history, he was forced to start from scratch. In 2013, Williams joined the world of white-collar work as an intern at Briaud Financial Advisors, according to his LinkedIn.

“I’m behind the ball because I’m 30 years old and just starting out, while I have friends who are already doctors and lawyers and doing well in their careers,” he added. “I spent all of my 20s competing, so I felt insecure that I didn’t really know the job.”

Although he was initially turned down to work for the company, he says the owner decided to bring him on board after hearing about his impressive background.

Bad financial advice inspired his career move

Although Williams got $200,000 in sponsorship from Nikehe said his agent took a 20% cut, and then there were taxes.

“The money is not as much as people think, although it is a good living for a 20-year-old,” he emphasized.

“I’ve had a 10-year career, so it sets me up better than the average person by the time I’m 30. But it also doesn’t give me the income to put my feet up forever and never have to do it again.”

Maybe that would be a different story if he had good financial advice—and that’s exactly what inspired his second act.

“I did a Google search after having a second financial advisor unsuccessfully and found a CFP course work,” he said.

After two unsuccessful attempts to pass the CFP exam while interning, Williams finally passed in 2017.

Now he is a CFP Board Ambassador helping athletes make good money decisions through his company Worth Winning.

Many gold medal winning athletes do not make $100,000 a year

Now having advised various sports stars, Williams knows his experience is typical.

The first Philippine male Olympic gold medalist in history, Carlos Yulo will be a companion a fully furnished $555,000 condoover $200,000 in cash and a lifetime supply of ramen to go with his medals.

However, for most athletes, a plan B is essential.

“From a sponsorship perspective, I have a lot of gold medal athletes as clients who don’t compete in the “premiere” sports and don’t make $100,000 a year after all is said and done,” he said.

“There are people who you would call headliners in the Olympic games who are in commercials and those kinds of things, who can retire and never work again after that if they organize their finances accordingly,” he added.

“But most people have to work.”

A version of this story originally published on Fortune.com on August 22, 2024.

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