If I asked you to be really honest with yourself right now could you?
Is your day to day activity focused around purpose or finance?
Maybe this sounds like a weird question.
Maybe you answered it quickly in your mind, but are you sure? Are you truly being 100% honest with yourself?
If I’m being honest with you I can say throughout my professional life there’s been many times when I looked really deep I was pretty conflicted about this.
Which I see now isn’t at all that uncommon for anyone who comes from a background of struggle.
If you grew up without money then when money flows in it’s very easy to become temporarily consumed by finance, to do what brings in more money faster.
But what started this cascade may or may not have been your true purpose, it may have been necessity.
In the last week and a half I’ve had no short of 7 former clients, friends and colleagues message me saying they’ve been feeling as though they have lost their passion, they’ve become disinterested in their work or their business.
Nearly all of them had one thing in common, they’d given up their fitness businesses through the course of the pandemic. A couple to shift online, others to have jumped to something entirely different, and one that still has their fitness studio.
One of my favourite authors, Daniel Pink, writes in his book Drive (which you should read before you hire anyone) states, “money is a factor until it isn’t.”
Simply stated we all need a certain amount of money to satisfy our stress survival instinct.
This amount is different for everyone, it can range from the basic amount to attain a sustainable basic lifestyle or it can range to the high value deluxe lifestyle you always thought you wanted.
Either way once this amount is satisfied a subconscious psychological shift occurs.
For employees (and some of us alike) a sense of complacency kicks in, we stop striving, there’s no longer that fight or flight instinct to do so, and as such quality of product, service, work ethic, etc declines.
The second thing that happens is you may either “lose your passion” AKA you weren’t in touch with your true purpose in the first place or you charge ahead to continued and sustained growth (that is until the next “money is a factor until it isn’t” threshold is reached.)
Steve Jobs said, “I always knew when there were too many days in a row that I didn’t enjoy what I was doing that change was necessary.”
Stress, Frustration and Success all have something in common, they all can make it apparent that we may be disconnected from our purpose.
I really seen this in recent years in our industry when a certain promotional offer became all the rage, (I won’t name names, but I am sure you can figure it out, because I actually have total respect for the person that created it), it was genius, it created huge lead and cash surges…but it frustrated consumers and worse it disconnected many business owners from their true purpose.
Many wouldn’t see it because the money kept flowing.
That’s because there’s a lag.
The purpose and struggle that started the process got the rock rolling, and it was fun, but then it became more about the money than the results, the product slipped or failed to deliver. (Compounded by the very effective yet not entirely transparent marketing language.)
Still the money flowed in fast…until it stopped.
And when it did many found themselves in freefall, with no safety net.
For every action there is any equal but opposite reaction, easy come easy go.
More recently the pandemic exacerbated this environment…especially for our industry.
If you left your studio behind you might be finding yourself unhappy.
If you still have your studio you might be finding yourself uncertain.
I can say without fail that some of my highest earning years I was very disconnected from my purpose, wealthier and unhappier.
This last year and a bit has been hard on everyone, radical shifts have happened really fast which created many radical decisions. Sometimes both emotional and irrational.
So many small businesses were destroyed, our industry was hit so hard, and the worst I think is so many heroes, people like yourself whose true purpose is to enrich others have been pushed away, or are jaded and uncertain about what will happen next.
Becoming a father had this effect on me, I am now more self-aware than ever about my own sense of purpose and when my actions have strayed from my purpose.
Maybe this is my way of offering fatherly advice to you, that if you’ve found yourself unhappy, uncertain or unsure of how you feel about your current career situation it’s time to sit down and really get in touch with and identify your purpose.
If your sense of purpose is far from or misaligned with your current day to day career activity then you need to make some decisions about how to shift that (often easier said than done.)
But if there’s one thing that’s for certain…
If the finance is not aligned with your purpose it’s not worth continuing to pursue.
Sure for the short term you may need to out of necessity but I can tell you without fail any time you become too disconnected from your purpose the finance will have a ceiling (and usually a significant decline thereafter.)
And when you are aligned with your true purpose the finance will flow freely (and matter less ironically) and continue to grow until you reach the next threshold where you must again decide, am I aligned with my true purpose?
If you’ve read this far and you left your studio and feeling very underwhelmed in your current career choice, maybe it’s time to revisit that. It’s clear that the barrier to entry of starting a new business is now currently lower than any time I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. Over this coming “peak season” (September to May) I see massive demand incoming…that is as long as the headlines aren’t overwhelmed by more fear mongering.
If you’ve jumped online and are or aren’t having some success you may find yourself questioning. The relationships aren’t the same, for many it doesn’t satisfy what your brick and mortar community did.
Or you may be realizing that being a ripple amongst the waves of the likes of Peleton, Mirror, Apple Fitness, Noom and every other corporate fitness brand is a scary place to be, it requires a different skill set entirely.
Or maybe you still have your studio, you’ve held on, but you’re exhausted from navigating an unprecedented climate and finding it hard to know where to apply your focus and if you’re still on the right path. To you I would say you made it this far, it’s time to reflect back to business year 1, why did you do what you did then and do you still feel that way deep down underneath all the unprecedented and unfair stress?
Or maybe none of this applies to you…that in the midst of so much change you’ve just found yourself in a place where you are not certain what your purpose is. (Weirdly this is where I found myself before my first son was born, that drastic and unexpected change to life really made me begin to question everything and ask the big question of what do I really want?)
Age is wonderful thing in the wisdom it provides, and I’m still convinced the fitness industry is the best industry in the world, if it weren’t for my young sons and my deep desire to flexible and present for them I would be re-opening a studio this fall.
I see massive demand for small scale private (very small group or one-on-one) training. I miss the small close knit community bubble we created.
But alas my purpose has grown from that which our studios instilled, I’m as determined as ever to enrich lives but only in ways that allows me to first be present for my boys always.
I do this now in 2 ways:
By creating, sourcing and distributing chemical free products for families, the very reason my boys exist.
Using the wisdom of my experience to help business owners use data and systems to create strategic decision making, and create rock solid sustainability no matter the world circumstances.
Just writing that brings a smile to my face, but this is about you, so what is your purpose?
Thanks for sharing this time, I hope it leaves you thinking, if so mission accomplished.
The mass hysteria of COVID-19 Coronavirus leads me of what I’d expect the “collapse of civilization” might look like, but I think it’s going to take more than the flu!
It’s official, the world has lost its mind. A time of unprecedented hysteria with blatant disregard for the long term impact that will be created. I see this as the catalyst for a massive long-term COVID-19 Coronoavirus financial crisis.
You may or may not feel as I do, but that in many respects is irrelevant, because regardless how you feel there are massive unpredictable implications to the series of current events regarding this health pandemic.
As a business consultant, a father, an empathetic coach, and a human being…well truth is I can’t in good conscience keep my opinion on how to navigate this stormy time business wise to myself I seriously care about each of you and the clients you serve.
You’re likely already seeing the impact of the hysteria.
Falling attendance.
An increase of “freeze membership” requests.
Plenty of no-shows for prospects, and great reluctance for anyone who was about to make a purchasing decision.
What about marketing? What do you do at a time like this?
Here’s my summary of how to ensure your business survives and thrives through this stormy COVID-19 madness.
You’re a consumer and you too likely have a heightened sense of fear or reluctance to.
Even well grounded individuals like we are, who generally don’t fear the flu, recognize a need for greater caution in regards to our own health.
The whole thing feels a bit ridiculous, but in the event I’m wrong, I’m not running out to be in mass public gatherings or attending appointments, functions or shopping that I don’t need to do. Why expose yourself to risk needlessly even if it’s small?
I’m sure you can relate…so our clients and potential clients assume this survival instinct to be further amplified.
Let’s address marketing.
This isn’t a time to stop marketing, but it is a time approach all spending conservatively.
The reality is, much like December and July for many, prospects will still have interest but because of current events etc will be unlikely to activate, you still want to be delivering YOUR message and ensuring it’s you that the remember or think of first as this craziness passes.
When it comes to Facebook, consider switching to a “Reach” objective over “Conversions”, “Traffic”, or “Leads.”
Reach allows you to manage how many times over what period any given person sees your ad, the goal here is awareness (with response of course) but stretching a small budget as far as you can and keeping your message current and frequent.
DON’T be planning large group challenge starts right now, though I’d think that’s likely obvious.
DO ramp up your content production.
Much like this article for each of you, take a stance on the issue, get into the ebb and flow of the current event and associate yourself to the topic (even if that grates against your principles.)
Spread the word that exercise, good nutritional habits, proper sleep and hydration combat the flu, enhance recovery and boost immune systems to avoid this altogether.
We have a job to do, be the experts we are and bring the world back into reason by reminding them that our bodies are perfect things that know how to take care of us if we take care of it. (All we hear about is people being positive for the virus, we hear nothing about the majority that feel better in 24-48hours, we must reinforce this notion.)
Use your content to promote your “public Facebook groups” and service those groups with workouts at home, things to do with the kids with the extra time off, help families stay healthy and active.
If you haven’t seen Facebook’s national ad campaign promoting groups, let me tell you now Facebook ads will continue to be more expensive and less responsive as Facebook has been telling us for a long time that the “Social Network” is evolving to the “Small Community Private Network Platform.” Keep that in mind.
Paying to show content that helps people boost their immune system I believe will be received well by the regular public, use this to promote your groups (Reach Objective) and create custom audiences to re-target later.
Keep your marketing budget at responsible levels, preserve your cash in the event that things continue to escalate and more interruptions ensue.
As for operations…
It’s different in every region, constantly reinforce the efforts you make to ensure cleanliness, include your people in the activities, make it prominent.
Continue to reassure everyone, really step up enforcement for sick people or staff.
I don’t suggest this out of fear of spreading COVID-19 I suggest it from the point of appearance, you must reassure others to ensure they keep feeling comfortable enough to attend.
You will be met with freeze requests, I don’t see really any way around being forced to comply. The aftermath of not I think will be worse than the short term dollars lost.
There’s no best, right, or wrong answer here that I can see, but what I do suggest is try to appeal to people’s sense of reason the best you can.
We are all selfish, if it’s you or me, I don’t care about you, at least not beyond the point of mild discomfort for me.
If you’re getting a lot of freeze requests try to appeal to that sense of “acceptance of mild discomfort.”
“Mrs. Jones, I understand where you’re coming from, please know we care a great deal, and as a small business you know the tremendous risk/strain this pandemic places upon us, we want to ensure we’re here when it passes to continue to serve amazing people like you, that’s why….”
“…We’re asking if rather than holding your membership if we can simply extend your agreement once all this passes, so we can take note of the date and the first date you return and extend your membership accordingly.”
“…We’re asking you pay a reduced account maintenance fee of $XXX in an effort to ensure we as a small business facing unusual circumstances can ensure we can take care of our staff and their families and be ready to serve you as this passes. We’ll credit this fee to your next renewal as well to ensure your support helps you in appreciation of helping us now.”
“…we’re having an “End of the World Sale” (joking of course) and for 5-7 people who want to help us during a time of financial strain we’re going to reward you, pay for 9 months now, we’ll not only pause your membership until this passes but we’re going to give you an additional 3 months free. We’re limiting this to just a handful as a means of offsetting an unusual circumstance that strains our operational finances.”
Keep relationships strong…
People who are “social distanced” not working, outside of the normal routine (if you ask me sending everyone home and breaking normal routine is a horrible way to control this because what do people do with no schedule and all kinds of time on their hands? ANSWER: Look for things to do and break habits and patterns making all of this less predictable still.
None the less, if you don’t maintain your relationships with your clients, a bunch of them simply won’t return.
Get everyone participating in your facebook group, encourage them to post their daily home workout, better yet provide them one and use extra time now to monitor this and engage people still continuing to serve them even if they are not in your four walls.
I’d highly suggest using Facebook live, simultaneously with something like Zoom to be able to broadcast workouts, cooking shows, meal prep techniques, live Q&A in a broad reaching but interactive manner, position yourself as a “champion of the solution.”
Manage the money…
If you’re fortunate you’re far enough removed from major centres where this is goofy gossip and presently not much more. If not you’re facing all kinds of erratic behaviour, regardless I can pretty much assure you of one thing.
We normally see a “business bump” right now, where you’re growing, accelerating into spring until late May or early June.
May of you aren’t going to see that, which means the summer “levelling off” period has just begun, and likely you are unprepared with not nearly enough momentum (or more likely unable to maintain it due to the hysteria.)
Manage the money, keep your spending tight, preserve cash. Use your intuition to support your team and yet manage costs.
If you find attendance massively dropping open discussions with landlords etc asking for relief and rebates once this period passes, point is it’s going to have to get distributed across all levels so do appeal to them for support as necessary.
The light at the end of the tunnel…
For the moment we’re in a hold & sustain kind of situation, just play it day by day and see what people’s perception and response is like (I believe a number of small markets will face little to no disruption at all, small town folk tend to ignore the outside world and keep their wits about them a little better I’d say.)
Expect that things will be a bit depressed until we reach mid August if all of this blows over between now and late May. Come September I believe you will see a bigger ramp up than usual, and continue to press the notion that all of this is further reason we all must take more control of our health and maintain a regular program of “self-care.”
So weather the storm and it will pay dividends, it always does, but me personally I’ll continue to maintain a conservative approach through this time of uncertainty.
If I can help, I always want to. I do encourage you to join my public Facebook group the Ft-Pro Think Tank(https://www.facebook.com/groups/fitprothinktank/), I’m happy to answer any questions you have and if you’re ever looking for more personalized guidance I am looking to take on about 3-4 more clients (that’s not scarcity, very real I like to keep my community small where I can be very engaged with each member.)
Are you a personal trainer or a fitness professional with a dream of one day opening your own gym or studio?
Well I remember being there, but fast forward many years and I bought, built, and sold five studios of my own.
I’ve had partnerships, solo ventures, I’ve used financing, I’ve self financed.
And I have helped dozens of other trainers on four different continents open their first, next, 5th or 10th locations.
So I’ve been building this kind of A-Z series on the steps to take and how to layout your plan successfully, really helping people acknowledge some of the key areas that are generally skipped or misunderstood in this process.
Heck I remember when I first got this crazy notion.
I remember the look of the real estate agent showing me the 15,000 square foot building and he plans I had for the grand temple of iron!
Little did I know my savings of $27,000 was not going to finance the million dollar project!
I remember being deflated when next we looked at the beat up 2000 square foot dance studio, and because it was the only option we could afford felt we had to proceed.
Little did I know at the time the bullet I dodged.
We went on to build a business that would do more than $1,000,000 in personal training revenue in it’s first 18 months of operation (this from a trainer who previously struggled to generate $50-70k annually on my own.)
I sold that business three years ago, but it’s still operating today, nearly 14 years after it began with the humble beginnings of that beat up dance studio filled with hopes and dreams.
If that sounds at all like you, I hope these videos help you do it faster than I did, and skip so many mistakes that cost me tens of thousands of dollars!
Part 1: Visualizing Your Dream and Finding and Validating A Good Location
Part 2: Projecting Your Operating Costs, Setting Pricing, and How-to Plan to Be Profitable On Day 1
Part 3: Renovation Costs, Total Opening Costs, Financing, and Negotiating Your Lease
Am I spending too much on Facebook? Should I be spending more on Facebook?
What else should I be spending marketing dollars on?
Is print/radio/flyers/direct mail/this, that or that other thing worth it?
How do I know if any of this is working?
I’m sure all of these and many more questions are going through your head all the time. (And if they’re not then clearly you’re in denial and just avoiding it altogether which means you need to understand this even more.)
You’re working hard to grow a personal training business that works, you can’t afford to keep throwing money away on things that don’t work.
Worse, it’s getting harder all the time with all the extra competition.
Things that worked last month are now twice as expensive and working half as well.
Ahhhhhh….what do I do?
Well as we all know by now, we need to make decisions objectively, this is certainly maybe even more true when it comes to business.
You need to be able to evaluate your fitness marketing objectively, be able to quantify the results.
And here’s the great news, not only will I teach you to do that, when you do the decisions become super easy and clear.
In fact you’ll stop looking at your fitness marketing efforts as a stressful expense and see them as a lucrative and scalable investment!
Check out this short video, it will teach you all you need to know about calculating your fitness marketing ROI (and likely give you a few new things to think about too!)
Lord of the Rings Fan? Ok I am, but it just so happens much like the 7 Rings of Power there are also 7 Fitness Studio KPIs that have proven to be very impactful in running and managing a fitness business.
Don’t know what a KPI is? Don’t worry you’re not alone, it’s weird that a group such as trainers who are all about progression and measurement have been shamefully kept in the dark about Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) when it comes to business.
Much like you know with your clients, measurement is key when it comes to your clients, measurement shows progress, but more importantly still it creates dialogue, trust and collaboration between you and your client.
The numbers form an objective point of measurement so you can work together to reaching the desired outcome.
The same is true for your team, your fitness studio KPIs in many respects will decide the outcome of your business.
But here’s the best part, all you need is a simple whiteboard, 5 minutes per week and the willingness to learn something new and this can begin having a positive impact on your business in as little as the next seven days.
That’s no exaggeration, this short video will lay out the whole process.
It will teach you the 7 numbers, the 7 fitness studio KPIs, why they are important, how to find them, what to do with them, and how to get your team involved with them.
This is one of those blog posts that I hope everyone will somehow find and absorb because I just know the impact it can have.
You can be the best marketer in the world, and generate tonnes of new leads to sell personal training to but if you can’t keep your clients (AKA Skyhigh Attrition) then you are dead in the water!
I’ve found for a lot of trainers it’s when they open their studios and hire staff that their personal training client attrition appears, increases and becomes alarming.
And it’s no surprise, I mean when we’re solo, we live, breathe and die by our clients.
We have to fight tooth and nail for every single one, and each personal training client we lost to attrition was like a mortal chest wound! (Ok maybe that’s dramatic but I remember plenty of times when someone quit I had that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach because I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to pay my rent on time.)
So as time goes one and we become industry veterans, well we do things naturally that keep our attrition low, and then we hire people and try to train and expect them to do the same. Only…they don’t.
They like the grind, hustle and ability to foster and maintain relationships like we can, and it’s no surprise, or skill was born of pain and frustration; they just work here.
What’s worse if you’re like me, I had no idea how to train or teach other people to do what I do, it just kind of developed naturally for me and I’d known it so long it seemed crazy that they didn’t, hence I too struggled with high personal training client attrition.
Now, results are a given, you’ve gotta get results for people, but beyond that there are three relatively simple things that you can do with your growing business that will put you back in the drivers seat and pretty much stop attrition dead, and once these things are in place you can delegate and let them go, though the rule is slowly, very very slowly.
was pretty conflicted about this.