I went outside for a run today to clear my mind and prepare for tomorrows teleseminar. I'm being asked to discuss "My Biggest Lessons of 2009 and The MUST do things for 2010." It seems like a pretty straightforward question. However, this will be LIVE and recorded for replay to some of the best fitness professionals & entrepreneurs in the country; I want to bring my A-Game.
As my run progressed I went into "think/dream mode" and came up with the following:
My Top 2 or 3 lessons of 2009.
1) Maintain a Positive Attitude: - Things won't always go according to plan. But you do "bring about what you think about." Expect the 'Best Possible Outcome.' When things go wrong, seek the upside & discover the lesson in the adversity. This is NOT an easy thing to do. But it's a learned skill like anything else of value. We started off 2009 down 30+ clients from 1 year prior. We were hemorrhaging money and morale was at an all-time low (much of this was beyond our control.) I knew that there was no 'quick fix' for these issues, it would take time; but an adjustment in attitude was something WE could control & it's impact could be immediate. It was and it brought us back!
2) Go "All-In" - When things where looking bleakest it was gut check time "Do you REALLY want this?" or "Are you willing to walk away?" The answer was a resounding NO! I believe in our business 100%, so that's what I put in. I re-invested 100% of my 401k savings into Fitness 121. If I didn't believe in my vision & my teams abilities then why should anyone else? I went all in and have no regrets. I didn't TRY to make my business work. I MADE my business work. "Having the STRENGTH to SUCCEED requires the COURAGE to fail."
3) Write it down: - "A person of action will always beat a person of ambition." Everyone wants to win. But a person who formulates a game plan and then takes action on that plan is more likely to win than someone simply "hoping" to win. I've always been a goal setter. I learned early that the act of writing out my goals and referring to them frequently brought me success more often than not. We write down our HIBACHI 10 people and keep it visible for our team to see. This has absolutely made a difference in our awareness and adherence to our plans.
No matter what your goals are, they need to be written down to help bring them to life. "Where attention goes - Energy flows."
**Bonus- Stop trying to be perfect. "Don't let perfection become the enemy of the good." There is never a PERFECT time. Enough MONEY. Right Moment. Etc. (Raising kids, Starting a Business or Training for IRONMAN.) Sometimes, the best plan is READY, FIRE, AIM.
** Be honest with yourself: Do you have the skills to do the best job you can? Do you have the right team to take your business where it needs to go? Are you using a screwdriver when what you need is a hammer? I discovered that last year -I didn't have the right team in place to take our business to where it needs to go. I also discovered that I'm becoming less of a trainer- I'm becoming an Evangelist and 'Fitness' is my Religion.
We had many successes in 09' - We gained 45 NEW Clients since March 1st! Our greatest annual % growth EVER. We were voted "Runner-Up" in the category of 'Best Fitness Center' but named the "Top Personal Training Center." - We GREATLY increased our customer service and overall facility ENERGY; one of the best holiday cards we received was from a client who wrote "Thanks for making it all FUN!!" I loved that. - Our TEAM is the tightest that we have ever been in 15+ years. In 2009, we took a huge step towards my goal of becoming a "world class" Personal Training Facility. The "Mayo Clinic" of Personal Training if you will.. - Our HIBACHI 10 incentive has been AMAZING. We changed our hiring process. - I was selected to join 15 of the Top Fitness Professionals in the Country by Todd Durkin in his Mastermind Group!!
The Top 2 or 3 things (Must Do) for 2010.
1) Pilates Instructor: - The fastest growing thing in our business. Pilates! You'd think it was new? Francesca is an amazing instructor (at least that's what everyone keeps telling me.) Since, I don't do Pilates, I asked Fran "what do you do that's so great?" She replied "I don't stick to such a traditional format (as many instructors do), I don't try to make the client fit the movement, I make the movement fit the client." Sounded good to me and obviously everyone else who tried it. Fran went from 4 to 24 Pilates hrs this year without us advertising PILATES!!!
We also need to start looking for another Personal Trainer (unless we find a Pilates Instructor who does Training also!?)
2) Maintain Team Motivation: - We made great progress this year but we need to maintain that "and then some." We need to continue "Education and Development" programs. I am considering signing my entire team up for the "Gravity Personal Trainer Course" by EFI SportsMedicine. I think this could be the next thing in our business?
3) Promote our Business through more Organic means: - I need to give more talks to groups, schools & companies. I need to Evangelize our philosophy and facility. Our advertising works, our promotion is adequate but we need to spread the word through "Direct means and interaction." This is the essential piece in our marketing: We are LEADERS in our industry (Fitness Education/Programming) and it's essential this year that we make the leap into making these events happen.
*What's the most important thing for us in 2010? We need to take MORE action on all of the IDEAS that ME & EVERYONE else "talks" about!
2010 will be the year of "Making Things Happen."
- Frank Pucher
(Not bad considering it was only a 6mile run!)
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