January 20, 2008

The 5 Mistakes Health and Fitness Business Owners Make and How To Avoid Them

Here are the mistakes most personal trainers and fitness business owners make (I made most of these mistakes myself for years) which keeps them stuck like a hamster in a wheel of 10 hour days, feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, and never being able to get ahead.

Mistake # 1 - Having a business that is owner-dependent

In other words, the first mistake most health club owners, mixed martial arts instructors and personal training business owners make is having a business that is run by the owner and depends upon the owner for the business to function properly. Now, this one is obvious when you think about it and it is taught by many of the top business gurus today.

The problem is, most business owners in the health and fitness industry just don't get it…

They are so caught up in the middle of the day-to-day operations of the business that they never have a chance to breathe and take time for themselves.

Back in the early days of my business I remember on the weekends I'd be trying to enjoy a movie with my family and I would find myself going over in my head all the things I need to handle this upcoming week or month in my business…

In fact, at one time my business was so dependent on me that I couldn't take two weeks off for vacation without seriously feeling it in my pocketbook. And when I would try to take time off, I felt an overwhelming fear that everything was going to fall apart without me…. it was horrible!

I'd spend my whole vacation checking in on my business, peaking at my emails, worrying about losing customers, and going over all the things that could possibly be going wrong.

Turns out, most of us do this…

We spend most of the time IN the business and very little time ON the business, much less allow ourselves enough free time to really rejuvenate.

It seemed to make more money, I needed to work more. Sure, I could work the same 40-70 hours per week and keep my business the same, but then it seemed like I'd be working until I was old and gray without ever really getting ahead. I wanted to build something great and have a nice nest egg I could retire with and live comfortably on, and pass the money on to my children…

That's when I discovered the obvious, well-known, underused concept of systems. Documented, simple, step-by-step systems that can be delegated and outsourced to the right people.

Systems that take the business owner out of the picture, except for the occasional inspecting of results and fine-tuning of those systems.

What's needed is a business that runs on systems, so whether the business owner is sleeping, enjoying a day out with the family, or on vacation the business will continually bring in revenue regardless of what the business owner chooses to do with his or her time.

Every successful business needs to depend on systems instead of the owner, it's that simple.

Otherwise the owner will never have enough time for him or herself and the business will never grow to the level that the owner wants it to.

To learn more about creating effective systems for your business, browse through the categories under the heading of "Topics" in the upper right corner of the site, where you'll find plenty of detailed articles that will tell you just what to do to create effective systems in your business.

Mistake # 2 - Using the wrong marketing strategies

Most health and fitness professionals think that marketing fitness is about getting their name out there…

Sure, they may use some fancy artwork, list a few features and possibly even lift their prices.

But guess what?

That kind of marketing doesn't work… especially not in a highly competitive industry like health and fitness, where there's a determined and motivated competitor on every corner.

The kind of marketing I see most health businesses doing is all about the business and unfortunately it has nothing to do with the results the customer is looking for…

The truth is, the prospect could give a damn about you and your company.

They don't care about the name of your company, what new equipment or techniques your facility is using, how long you went to school, how many degrees you have or what your mug looks like on top of all your ads ( I don't care how much your mom says you have a beautiful smile. Your prospects don't care)

They only care about what's in it for them.

Sure, if you hire an advertising agent or a marketing consultant they'll tell you that you need to get your name out there because that's what they've learned in their classes that they took in college on marketing theory. But when it comes down to the small business owner, all this brand marketing will do is cost you money and make your advertising consultant rich…

What you need is the right kind of marketing…marketing designed to get a direct response from your prospects which is specific and measurable.

Whether it's a website, a telephone book ad or a piece of direct mail, you want to get the prospect to respond directly to your ad. Your business name coupled with some fancy graphic art work will not do this.

In short, don't just think drawing up some advertising will get the prospect to come in.

You need the right kind of marketing in a planned and systemized matter and YOU need to be in charge of it. If you think you can just hire some marketing consultant or advertising rep to handle your marketing for you you'll most likely waste thousands of dollars and keep your business stuck exactly where it is right now.

Marketing is one of the most important parts of your business. Handing your marketing over to someone else, even if they claim to be an expert, is just like handing a newborn baby over to an orphanage…BAD IDEA.

YOU wanna be the one in charge of all your personal training marketing, health club marketing or mixed martial arts marketing campaigns.

There are plenty of categories, articles and interviews on this website to teach you the right kind of marketing. Let your competitors waste their money on the ad reps, while you're turning out campaigns that'll be bringing in customers like drunk frat boys flockin' to Hooters on buck-a-beer night…

Mistake # 3 - Thinking in terms of the sale

For years I thought of business profits in terms of the sale. I figured if I could just get more sales I would make more money. This is true, but it's not the most effective or efficient way to make profits.

What I found works better is instead of just trying to make more sales, increase the lifetime value of each customer. And there are so many ways to do this that are much easier than always trying to get new customers.

Sure, you always need new customers if you want your business to grow, and that's where the marketing comes in. But you also need to increase the amout you make off of each customer.

There are literally infinite ways to do this. I have found some of the most effective to be:

Increasing the average cost of each sale - If your product or service is top notch and you express that in your marketing you should have no trouble charging premium prices.

(If your product or service isn't top quality you probably have more problems than this website can help you with and you might want to go address those problems first)

Most people are looking to have a problem solved and are willing to pay the price to have that problem fixed correctly. They know and understand that someone who is good at fixing that problem is going to charge more than someone who is just so-so at fixing that problem. A higher price actually makes many people want to work with you more because by charging more you are immediately perceived as being better than your competetion (who is most likely offering an inferior product or service, since that's what's reflected in their prices.)

I know in my own business that as soon as I raised my prices not only was I making more off each sale, I immediately got more customers because I was perceived as offering the superior product.

Also, the people who are willing to pay a little more ARE MUCH EASIER TO WORK WITH than the people looking for the lowest price in town.

This has been my experience with bargain hunters:

1) They're usually looking for some way to get me to lower my price

2) They are difficult to collect money from (bounced checks, credit card #'s that wouldn't work and late payments…you name it).

3) If they see a service similar to mine elsewhere for a lower price they will immediately bring it up

4) They simply didn't see enough value in my service because I had compromised my rates. And because they didn't see a lot of value in it rarely did they get the desired results nor do the things needed to get those results

5) They're a major pain in the butt to deal with

On top of that, if you're competing on price, how much lower can you go? Every time the competition goes lower you'll need to go lower. Pretty soon the profit margins are so small that unless you do a huge quantity of business, you'll find yourself in a losing situation.

Another way to increase the lifetime value of your customers…

Continuity - You don't just want to make large one-time sales to people. You want customers who are automatically billed on a recurring basis (ideally monthly)

If you're a personal trainer you want your fees to just be withdrawn out of a clients bank account on a monthly basis.

If you're a chiropractor you want your clients on some sort of maintenance program where they come in once or twice a month for a tune up and are automatically billed out of their bank accounts for this service.

The idea is to have your clients on some sort or recurring billing program so you get paid on a consistent basis.

This way you'll have a stable and predictable income every month instead of wondering how much you'll be bringing in.

Continuity is key to increasing profits.

There are also things like up-sells and cross-sells which can have a huge impact on your bottom line (Think McDonalds asking if you want a coke and fries with that cheeseburger, and then asking if you'd like to "super-size it"…these strategies brought in a ton of money for McDonalds.)

You'll find plenty of info on this site about how to set these fitness and personal training selling systems up so you'll have money pouring in from many channels in your business

Mistake # 4 - Not using the right time and energy management strategies

I used to spend my entire work day running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to meet the daily pressing demands of my business. I felt like if I was busy, I was accomplishing something.

By the end of the day I was entirely drained and had little energy left over for the relationships in my life, and as a result they suffered. I just accepted this as part of being an entrepreneur. My long hours and "hard work equals success" mindset was keeping me stuck in this seemingly never-ending cycle.

Fortunately today I have strategies that make me so more much more efficient and effective that I am able to get more done in 4 hours than I used to accomplish in 10 hours. The work I do is of a higher quality, I'm able to earn substantially more money, enjoy a more balanced life, still have energy at the end of the day and am able to give more time and energy to the most important relationships in my life.

And if these strategies can work for an ADD guy like me who spent more time in high school crankin' Metallica and pounding Budweiser than I did in class then these strategies can work for ANYONE…

Here are a few time management strategies that are extremely effective:

Time blocks - Using strictly scheduled blocks of time planned for on a weekly or monthly basis to accomplish the things that need to get done

Tickler Folders - Monthly and daily folders that allow the entrepreneur to stay on top of important events, follow-ups, tasks and time sensitive projects.

Storyboarding - A cork board system that contains every task that needs to get done within the business. The story board allows the business owner to prioritize and re-prioritize projects as needed, stay on top of ALL tasks that need to be done and have a complete visual representation of everything that needs to be done in the business.

Times set aside for phone calls and emails - Most business owners spend way too much time responding to phone calls and emails. It's best to handle the majority of these during one or two times set aside each day.

Cycles - To maintain energy and focus 90-120 minute chunks of intensly focued work with short breaks in between for rejuvenation are key.

Not allowing time vampires to enter your existence - Any person who tries to engage in chit-chat, small talk or conversation during the workday that does not move the business forward should absolutely not be allowed into the business owners space. Sure, we all love small talk with a good friend, but it's best to keep that for non-business hours and be very selective when deciding what conversations to engage in.

There's plenty of time and energy management strategies on this website under the "Time Management" category under "Topics" in the upper right navigation bar.

Mistake # 5 - Not Learning How To Get To Where They Want To Go On A Daily Basis

Very few small business owners I know are constantly learning about what needs to be done to have the kind of business they truly want to have. The funny thing is, every business owner that I know who does this on a daily basis (at least 4 or 5 days a week) is extremely successful and their business continues to grow.

Why not spend the next few years truly mastering business, marketing, sales, strategizing and time management?

The time spent learning this stuff, as long as you apply what you learn, will bring in much more income than the time spent working in your business, doing the busy work, responding to the needs of others and putting out the seemingly endless fires that just never seem to go away.

I don't care how busy you are. In this day and age with CDs and iPods it is extremely easy to fit some learning in, whether it's in the car or when you exercise. Just get it in and learn about what needs to be done. Then you can create systems implementing those things you've learned and delegate anything that doesn't need to be done by you.

There is plenty of information on the web. There are a ton of info products and books out there on just about any subject you can imagine.

I'll be continuing to add a ton of killer content to this site including articles, audio interview with experts, website critiques and free how-to videos to help you dramatically increase your revenues and minimize the time you actually need to spend working.

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