This morning I took some time to review a stack of papers that have been sitting in my inbox since MEGA TRAINING.

Of particular note are the one-on-one laser coaching applications we received at MEGA TRAINING from folks who applied to get called up for private coaching with Eric and I live from the stage.

We were only able to get to 3-4 folks live, and so this morning I thought I’d dig into the stack of applications from all the others we DIDN’T get the time to talk with.

Not surprisingly, there are some common themes and issues that folks (maybe you included) are struggling with.

Let’s dig in, but before we do I think it’s important to note that these are not simply “go here, do this” corrections that need to occur. Moving past each of these obstacles requires some personal growth and “change on the inside” in thinking, attitudes, and your belief system.

Which means that change is easier said than done.

But don’t let that hold you back moving forward and doing the work required for success.

All that have come before you have faced the same walls… and broke through each of them.

You’re job is to now do the same.

So, question #3 on our laser coaching application asked folks:

“What road blocks held you back from
achieving your goals this year?”

I’ll give you some of the responses:

“I’m always dipping my toes in my own business, but never taking the plunge and going for it. Not fear in NPE, but fear in myself…”

“My mindset as a personal trainer still working too much IN the business.”

“Not being able to laser focus myself. I’m teaching too much. I have only 10 hours per week to work on new projects to grow the business”

“I thought I had to do everything because it would cost too much to pay someone else to do it”

“Inconsistent marketing. I need a liason between me & my clients. I’m also poor at follow-through.”

“Undefined goals and lack of team focus on projects to grow the business”

What’s the solution to each of these problems?

Well, it’s two-fold really.

Part of the problem is vision and mindset.

The other part is structural.

And they are both very related and tied to one another.

Let’s talk about your vision and mindset first, because until you get this corrected… you will never be able to make the structural changes that are required (or you will, but then sabotage yourself after the fact, and end up back at square one).

Just about every fitness business owner we work with came into their business first as a trainer (the technician).

They were the one doing all the work, training all the clients, and they were the business.

In fact if they even had a job description at the time, it would simply read “responsible for EVERYTHING.”

You do it all. You train clients, market to get new clients, meet with new prospects for consultations and sell, do your bookeeping (if you ever make time for this), do client testing, take time to write client programming, set appointments, return phone calls and emails, run the billing, you name it… it’s all up to YOU.

In the beginning this is the exciting part of a new venture.

You make the leap from working for someone else, where your time is controlled and dictated to you by an employer, to NOW having the freedom and independence to make your own choices about when you work, who you work with, and how you do your job.

That’s a very exciting and new found freedom for everyone who makes the leap to work for themselves.

And if you’re passionate about what you do, really care and are committed to being the best you can be and overdelivering your service with each and every client… then it’s NOT too hard to separate yourself from the competition.

Before you know it, without having to do much marketing at all, you’re all filled up with clients.

In fact, you probably got a waiting list at one point, had more business then you could handle, and thought “wow, my business is killing it!”

Only the bad news is.. you don’t really have a business.
You’ve just created 60+ hour/ week job for yourself.

Which I PROMISE YOU will get old fast.

It doesn’t matter how much you care about clients, how committed you are to serving them and being the best you can be, you now have a structural problem with your business that unless you are able to find a way to move past will eventually break you.

You will get tired.

You will neglect your family and friends.

You will probably stop working out yourself, because even if you COULD carve out a little time in your schedule to make that happen, you’re now so wiped out and fatigued that it takes everything you’ve got just to eat, get a little bit of sleep, and try to pull yourself together to get back into the grind that will begin again tomorrow called “your businesss” (which remember isn’t REALLY a business, it’s just a job where you work for yourself and now get paid more than if you were working for someone else).

So, were all does vision come in here?

Well the first step in moving past this problem is you have to put your mind out into the future. Think about where you want to be in 5 years, 3 years, 1 year. And think long and hard about what your business is going to NEED to look like to at that point to serve as a vehicle that supports your goals in life.

What kind of business do you want to have?

What does it look like?

What types of programs and services will the business offer?

How many clients will it serve?

How many staff members will it take to fulfill the business?

What will the organization chart and reporting structure look like?

Will you still be training clients? Will you be the one managing the trainers? Will you have a manager that reports to you and runs the business for you?

Is it even possible for you to still be training clients and do all the work that will be required to run the business at that point?

Let alone do all the work required over the next several years to grow the business and fulfill your vision?

If you don’t know already, let me answer that question for you right now:

NO, it’s not possible.

If you want to build a business, then you will have to move beyond the technician roll.

Henry Ford did not build up the Ford Motor Company (side note- the only still successful car company in America NOT owned by the government) by spending his time building cars in the factory.

Conrad Hilton didn’t build his hotel empire by personally checking in guests at his hotels everyday.

And I promise you Bill Gates isn’t personally writing code for Microsoft’s new version of Windows software right now.

These are certainly big icons of success that may be hard for you and I to personally identify with right now, but my point is this:

The difference between a business and a job, is that a real business is able to function whether or not you are there “doing the work” or not. You should be able to leave town for a week or two or three… and when you return the business should be as good if not better then when you left it.

If you CAN’T do that, then you don’t have a business. You still have a job.

And that’s ok, if it’s ok with you.

But I think that most folks who tell themselves, “It’s OK. I love training. That who I am, I’m a trainer!” are right.

That IS who they are and what they do. It’s who they want to be when they growup.

Nothing wrong with that at all.

It’s when you get UNHAPPY and DISSATISFIED with that role, that it’s time for you to grow beyond the vision that has carried you up to this point.

Every entrepreneur that I know who starts a business does it because he/she ultimately wants more of one thing- FREEDOM.

Sure we all want to give back, make a difference, and ‘create’ something in the world.

But without more FREEDOM in your life you will be miserable.

Because if you don’t have more FREEDOM, then what the heck is the point of going through all the blood, sweat, and tears involved in owning a business in the first place?

You certainly didn’t say to yourself when you were starting out, “hey I want to build a business to have a WORSE quality of life then I did when I started.”

No, you wanted a BETTER quality of life and more FREEDOM.

If you want to have more FREEDOM, then you are going to have to start building a VISION of your business functioning as a independent entity. Kinda like a child. You’re going to take care of it, raise it up from birth to adulthood, but at some point you’re going to let that child go off into the world and stand on their own two feet.

And the exciting part about that is, if you do it right, that child will have an amazing life, go on living after you die, and SURPASS the accomplishments you were able to achieve in your life.

THAT is how you have to start THINKING about your business. It must become an independent living, breathing, entity.

Not a fetus with umbilical cord still attached to you for it’s entire life, that is constantly dependent on you for everything.

Being pregnant is a beautiful thing, but at some point… you’ve got to deliver the baby.

Then you’ve got to send your kids off to go to school on their own.

And at some point, if you’ve done it right, they’ll grow up to be an independent adult contributing as a functioning member of society and making the world a better place.

Does any of this make sense?

Are you starting to get how you much change your mindset and VISION of what your business will become for it to have a long life and be successful?

I hope so.

Ok, now as you start to get the VISION in place, next up comes the structural problems.

Listen closely when I say this:

“You can not GROW your business, until you have available RESOURCES to grow the business”

And by resources, I mean first and foremost your time, energy, and focused attention.

Growing the business can NOT be something you ‘get to’ after everything else is handled.

It’s not a side project.

IT IS YOUR COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY!

Nothing is more important.

And so in terms of prioritizing what you focus on, projects and activities to grow the business need to come first.

Everything else is second.

That is going to mean that serious changes in your business structure, time management, organization, and project management must all occur.

You’re going to have to grow.. and grow a LOT in new areas.

Again, it’s hard and yes it’s painful. But so is a workout and getting fit.

It’s just applying that same discipline and focus you’ve undoubtably developed, to new areas of your life and business growth.

So the biggest structural change that must occur is you must hand off all the activities you are currently doing that are NOT directly related to growing the business.

In the beginning this usually means:

1. Administrative type “stuff” GET AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT NOW (Every single one of our top members has this in place, and did it BEFORE they thought they were ready to do it.. make the leap!). Listen this is work that someone can be doing for you at $10/hr. At least if you’re still training, you can generate at least $50/hour! It’s a no brainer. Take on one new client to pay for the assistant if you need every dollar and can’t afford to make the investment on the front.
2. Training- Begin the process of getting more trainers in place and hand over the clients you are personally training now to them. If you do this correctly, you will not lose a single client. And any client you DO lose, it’s ok because you’ll have time to market and go get new clients. I know this is scary. If you want to talk through it with someone, I’ll tell you how to request a complimentary consultation with us and we’ll walk you through the process on the phone so it’s done right.

When you hand off all the hours you’re currently spending on Administrative type ‘stuff’ and Training, for most folks that get to this point..

That’s at least 40+ hours they just reclaimed into their weekly schedule!

WOW! Talk about life changing.. that’s instant life change and FREEDOM you get back. And it can occur in as little as a few weeks time.

Now, what do you know, you have just freed up time to work on GROWING the business!

Now you can focus on MARKETING, SYSTEMS, and all the other things that will make your vision become a reality.

Is it really that simple?

Change your vision, and fix your structural problems?

Well, yes. In most cases it is that simple.

But it isn’t easy.

Dunno where you’re at now, or where you might be getting hung up.

But if any of this resonated with you today and you’ve read this far, then I encourage you to request a complimentary diagnostic consultation with us.

Simply go to this page here and complete the webform.

Someone from our office will be in contact with you and we look forward to speaking with you soon.

To your success,
Sean

P.S. Ok, I certainly didn’t intent to write so much when I sat down at my computer to send this out. But if you’ve read this far, I hope this post resonated with you and it makes sense. We’ve helped hundreds of fitness business owners overcome these obstacles and become true business OWNERS that are living the life of their dreams. If would be our pleasure to help you determine where you’re getting stuck and move past these obstacles so you can grow.

To request a complementary consultation with us, just go complete the Consult Request webform here.

Someone from our office will be in touch with you in the next couple days to schedule a phone call with you.

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