A fitness business owner success story by Pat Rigsby

Each month here at FBI we’re going to start recognizing a Fitness Business Owner of the Month.  We hope to not only recognize fitness entrepreneurs for their successes but also to inspire other fitness pros to move forward in their business endeavors.

The winner will not only get a public ‘pat on the back’ in the form of a post like this, but they’ll also receive a 1 hour coaching call, free admission to the live event of their choice and a product of their choice from what we offer here at FBI.

Our January Fitness Business Owner of the Month is Greg McClellan, Owner of Elite Athletes in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Greg and his business Elite Athletes have been in operation for over a year and a half and in that time have grown to serving anywhere from 100-225 clients with a team of 3 full time and 2 part time trainers.

They offer one-on-one, small/large groups, sports specific training and nutrition coaching with their primary market being youth fitness & sports performance.

Greg is a great example of the opportunity the fitness industry offers.  In just under a year in business he’s grown to over 100 clients and has a staff helping to deliver his services to create leverage in his business.  He’s not only employed multiple streams of income into his business, but he’s also tapped into one of the true goldmines in the industry – youth fitness / sports performance.

So Congratulations Greg!  I’m excited to name you Fitness Business Owner of the Month and look forward to giving you your well deserved prizes of the coaching call and the product from the FBI collection of resources as well as seeing you at a live event of your choosing soon!

If you’d like to be considered for next month’s Fitness Business Owner of the Month, please contact our Customer Experience Manager, Lee Ann Salsman at leeann.fcg@gmail.com for an application.

My Road To Success

by Joe Dowdell, CSCS

Sometimes, success can be a difficult thing to classify because it really depends on the perspective of the individual.  Some people view success as purely a monetary achievement while others see it as a desired or favorable outcome.  Some people become successful because they started out with lots of money; some because they worked really hard to obtain it; some because they were really smart; some because they got lucky and some because of a combination of these things. Frankly, I don’t think it really matters how one becomes successful (unless it was through unscrupulous behavior), rather what impresses me is when successful people are able to maintain their success, or even better, they continue to build upon it once it’s already been achieved it.

When I first decided to venture into the fitness industry on my road to success, I really didn’t know much about it.  I was at a point in my life where I wanted to make a career change and really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.  It was through an unexpected conversation with an ex-girlfriend’s trainer that launched me into the industry.  During the conversation, I realized that the thought of making my living by being in the gym and helping transform people’s lives was very appealing.  Plus, I’m not going to lie; I also liked the fact that he said that I could potentially make a six-figure income, which also quite appealing to me.

As a child, I didn’t come from a family with a lot of money, but I was raised by very loving parents, who provided a good home for me and my two sisters, and a Dad who had a tremendous work ethic.  In fact, my Dad was a NYC homicide detective for almost 10 years before making the decision to go into business for himself.  I watched him work long hours and really hustle to provide for my Mom and my family.  He always told me that I should be my own boss and that thought never left my head.  Eventually, my Dad became a very successful entrepreneur and he served as my biggest role model.

So, armed with his work ethic and the core values that he instilled in me, I began working at a commercial gym in New York City.  I only had a couple of fitness certifications, but it was actually a couple more than any of the other trainers that I was working beside.  Even though I was new to the industry, I could see that the quality of the training that was going on around me was poor.  There was more talking and flirting going on than training.  And, I soon realized this situation wasn’t for me and I knew I wanted more for me and my clients.  So, over the course of the 11 months that I worked at this gym, I trained my clients while also making plans to exit this situation.  I decided to follow my Dad’s advice and be my own boss so I purchase my own equipment and moved into a live/work loft near Union Square.  I carved out 400 square feet of space in my home and began training my client’s in my little gym.  Over the course of three years, I build up my business so that I had clients in my house all day and night.  During this time, I received my first big break.  I had the opportunity to train a model named Stacey Williams for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.  Now, Stacey had appeared in the previous year’s issue, but she was strictly a Yoga practitioner and she was in pretty good shape.  But, she decided she wanted to try something different and a make-up artist who I was training told her about me.  I trained Stacey for 6 months preparing her for the shoot, and she looked awesome when she left to go do the shoot.  When the issue came out, she looked drastically different from her previous appearance, and as a result, I began getting quite a bit of press and lots of new referrals. I decided it was time for me to expand my business.

I found a 2,000 square foot training loft in Gramercy Park; signed a 5 year lease and moved my business into there.  Once again, I worked and studied from 6 AM-9 PM.  I hosted weekend seminars and weeklong internships at my studio.  It was a great opportunity for me to learn while cutting down my travel costs. J After about a year, I need to hire a couple of trainer in order to train my client overflow.  Not much longer after this move, I decided to open my door to a handful of independent trainers so they could bring their clients into my facility.  My little business was starting to make some noise in the NYC market.  I started training more celebrities, a ton of top models and I began to get more inquiries from magazines for contributions.  In addition, I kept bringing in some of the top educators in the industry and I began to establish strong relationships with these individuals.  During late 1999, I received a call from Jeff O’Connell, who at the time was the Fitness Director of Men’s Fitness, and he asked if I would be interested in creating a millenium (Year 2000) workout for the magazine.  Basically, he wanted me to create a 12 month periodized training program for their readers.

So, I accepted the assignment and starting that January, I was in Men’s Fitness every month.  My profile (and that of my brand, Peak Performance) really started to elevate.  My business continued to grow and I kept reinvesting in both my education as well as my facility.  I upgraded some of my equipment and attended multiple internships with Paul Chek, Charles Poliquin, Tom Purvis and I even went and slept of Dr. Mel Siff’s basement floor for four days.  After 3 & ½ years, I realized that I was at a crossroads.  I could stay in my current facility, which was starting to reach capacity, and be very comfortable with the lifestyle that I had built or I could take a risk and expand.  I decided that I wanted more so I hired a business advisor.

Over the next 14 months, we planned out my strategy and I ended up signing a 10 year lease on a 10,000 square foot space in the Flat Iron area of NYC.  Since moving into my current location, On my road to success,Peak has continued to grow and is now recognized as one of the top gyms in the country.   I still have a huge emphasis on continuing education and I believe it’s the backbone of becoming a better trainer.   So, this is why I am so passionate about my latest program, The Peak Diet & Training Summit Home Study course, because it is everything that I wished I knew when I was starting out in the industry.  I want trainers to take all this information, digest it, and then put it into action with their clients so they can get the best results, which will help them grow their businesses.

You can save $100 on the Home Study course if you invest before tomorrow night while getting 2.0 NSCA CEUs and Pat’s Fitness Profit Formula as a free bonus. Click here

Ever since Eric, Mike and I started telling people that we were working on Fitness Business Blueprint we’ve received a LOT of questions.

Since we launched yesterday this has only multiplied.

So we’ve put together answers to the most common questions we’ve received below:

Do I have to have an existing training business to benefit from Fitness Business Blueprint?

Answer: Ideally, Fitness Business Blueprint would work best if you have your own business or at least the desire to start one. Because at the end of the day, that’s where your long-term success will come from.

But that being said, having your own business is NOT mandatory to benefit from Fitness Business Blueprint.  You can still benefit from Fitness Business Blueprint if you are an employee or a contractor in someone else’s business by learning how to be a better coach, a better marketer and a better salesperson.

But at some point, you’ll want to have the freedom that running your own business provides. And by using what you learn from us to build your own business, you’ll achieve that in record time.

What if I’m brand new to the fitness industry. Is Fitness Business Blueprint right for me?

Answer: That’s one we’re getting a lot. And it’s a legitimate concern. So here’s the deal…

If you know absolutely nothing about coaching, have no training experience whatsoever, and are a complete novice in the industry, then this probably isn’t for you.

Because Fitness Business Blueprint is not one of those products that don’t ask you to be good at your craft, we ask more of you than the average ‘marketer’ would before investing in this product.

If you have no training background, then you need to study your craft.  Dig in to Mike and Eric’s materials as well as some of the other coaching / training resources that we recommend.  Only after you’ve done that legwork will Fitness Business Blueprint yield it’s true benefit to you.

And if you’re willing to actually spend the time learning your craft, then apply what we show you, then you’ll be starting a business armed with a skill-set entrepreneurs everywhere only wish they had when they started.

You’ll avoid all the paralyzing mistakes while consistently building a successful and profitable business.

But, by simply utilizing what you learn in Fitness Business Blueprint, you’ll be able to avoid the dreaded “overworked and underpaid” stage and ascend to having the business you want much faster than you ever thought possible.

Mike & Eric – I want a business like IFAST or Cressey Performance.  How will Fitness Business Blueprint help me get there?

Mike: I love the term “fast-track” – this product will absolutely help fast track you so you don’t have to make the same mistakes that Eric and I have made along the way.

I wish I would’ve had something like this when I got started. Sure, I had access to great minds like Pat, Nick, Alwyn, etc., but I didn’t have a resource that was all-inclusive in nature. With a product like this I literally could’ve sat down and hammered out all of my systems, my marketing, etc., and not had to take so many bumps along the way!

Quite simply if you’re a new business owner, this will take you step-by-step through what you need to be successful.

Eric: In a broad sense, it shows one how to avoid the mistakes we made, but also take advantage of the things we actually did correctly!

First, The Fitness Business Blueprint will expedite the process of finding and developing a niche – which will, in turn, dictate marketing efforts. It helps trainers avoid trying to be everything to everyone.

It’ll also help fitness professionals understand the difference between lead generation and lead conversion.  For us, an intricate strategy with respect to the former has been absolutely essential, while the latter hasn’t been a concern at all.  Some businesses are the exact opposite – and you need different strategies for each of the two.

Mike and I can also help one develop multiple revenue streams to facilitate growing one’s clientele, and retention strategies to best serve your an clientele.

Above all else, I think that we can show as well as anyone that being successful and being true to who you are don’t have to be mutually exclusive.  You can run a profitable fitness facility that is built upon science, hard work, and a genuine desire to improve relationships and help others.

Can I go through Fitness Business Blueprint at my own pace?

Answer: Absolutely. You get access to the entire Fitness Business Blueprint package so you can go through the material at whatever pace you feel most comfortable.  No rush, no pressure.

Pat, I already have your some of your other products. Is Fitness Business Blueprint different?

Answer: Fitness Business Blueprint is a totally different program from B3, Client Blitz, Fitness Profit Formula or Fitness Sales Formula.

Fitness Business Blueprint takes you inside both Mike and Eric’s businesses and they share things that you just don’t get from my or any other business building products.  While some of the concepts that are shared in Fitness Business Blueprint are things that have been taught before in all of our products, nothing like this has ever been compiled in one comprehensive resource designed specifically to build a successful fitness business before.

How soon will I be able to start accessing Fitness Business Blueprint?

Answer: Right now! Fitness Business Blueprint is delivered entirely online so you can gain immediate access to this powerful business building information.

If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, you can grab your copy of Fitness Business Blueprint here:

http://fitbusinessblueprint.com/

Dedicated to your success,

Pat

After our last meeting with one of our Elite Mastermind Groups I asked them to share their biggest takeaway that they were going apply to their fitness business. – and here’s what they offered:

PAMELA MACELREE

When you spend 15 hours in a good mastermind meeting, choosing just one thing that influences me the most is like trying to edit a 15,000 word article down to 1,500 words. I have at least 10 pages of notes to go through and make plans to implement. The biggest reason I continue to be a part of high-level masterminds, like the one I attended last week, is because every time I attend one, I walk away with solid plans to improve my business. I’m not talking about having mints out on the check-in desk either (which I do). I’m talking about proven methods that have been used by other people with similar businesses, proven methods that not only make my business better, but that increase the business of my business. No one can complain about increasing the bottom line. There is no doubt in my mind that the investments I make in building my business have paid off well above and beyond.

Pamela MacElree holds a Bachelor of Science from The Pennsylvania State University and a Masters of Science in Exercise Science from California University of Pennsylvania. Pamela is owner of Urban Athlete, which operates a strength and conditioning studio and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Recognizing the value in quality programs and their applications Pamela has also collaborated on developing and delivering the most comprehensive Kettlebell training certification for Fitness Professionals in the United States and Germany. You can also follow Pamela at her blog: http://PMacStrong.com

STEVE LONG

My biggest takeaway or tip from our latest mastermind meeting isn’t something that you can buy, track, test, or promote. It’s something that we all know, but I’m not sure if we all realize how powerful this is. My biggest takeaway is that you become the people you affiliate with. I’ve heard you are the the sum of the 5 people you are around the most, and it’s true. Good people bring you up, and bad people bring you down. It’s that simple. Since meeting Pat and Nick and being around the top professionals in the industry I’ve come to realize this, but it really sunk into my head this past weekend. So my advice, take inventory of who you spend most of your time with. If there isn’t anyone in your life to inspire and challenge you, it’s time to start doing a little networking.

Steve Long is the owner and program design specialist at Complete Fitness Results. Steve has assisted clients in many aspects of heath, fitness, weight loss, muscle building, corrective exercise, sports performance, nutrition, and more. Steve is known for his practical approach to training and blending the many benefits of corrective exercise into highly metabolic conditioning and fat loss programs. Steve has been mentored by, and continues to learn from the best professionals in the industry, bringing the most cutting edge programs to Complete Fitness Results.

JARED WOOLEVER

The biggest takeaway from our recent Mastermind meeting this past weekend has got to be leveraging your network.  It’s hard to pin-point ONE idea or concept after such an amazing meeting.  However, this issue seemed to come up during each and every presentation.  Nearly all of the problems that businesses face can be solved by someone within their network.  Maybe it’s a current client warming up an introduction to someone who can help you or your business out…Maybe it’s looking over your 250 list to find potential gold mines within your current business…Maybe it’s leveraging your network to save you time on creating programs, ideas, or templates.  The list can go on, and on, and on.  Work on leveraging your current network, and the opportunities are endless.

Jared Woolever is Co-owner of Accelerate: Health and Fitness Consulting located in Edwardsville, IL. Woolever has established himself as one of the top trainers in St. Louis with his passion and determination for success. Utilizing his formal education, current experiences within the health and fitness industry, and evidence based research, Jared has designed and implemented an improved social support system that smoothes and cements the transition to healthy lifestyle choices. With a diversity of goals, from weight management, cardiovascular fitness, improved agility, strength, and flexibility, to lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels, Jared’s clients have seen superior results with his methods.

JUSTIN YULE

My Biggest Takeaway From The Mastermind Meeting…

BOTTOM LINE: If you want to fly with the eagles, don’t hang out with the turkeys.

Every time I go to a mastermind meeting or live event with my fitness business owner friends I learn something new, get recharged to take my business to the next level, and can’t wait to get back to work. I’ve also come to realize that my closest friends are in my mastermind group, and ironically, they’re spread all over the country. These are the people in my life who I can most relate to, seek advice from and count on to keep me on task. I also love returning the favor. They say “you’re a reflection of the 5 – 10 people you associate with most.” Well, knowing the folks in my mastermind group, I feel pretty damn good about that prediction…

If you want to take your fitness business to new heights you must surround yourself with likeminded people and be sure to STUDY the Fit Business Insider blog every day. For even more coaching and accountability, join us in the Fit Business Insider Inner Circle.

Justin Yule, BS, CPT is the owner of Fitness Revolution in Chanhassen, MN as well as the Director of Franchisee Support for Fitness Revolution International. To contact him for training, education or to have him speak at an event please email justin@justinyule.com.

SEAN MILLHOUSE

The best tip I can offer to explode your fitness business is to do the small personal touches better than everyone else in your area. Whether it’s a greeting card, a personal phone call, an encouraging Facebook comment or a sample menu plan…it doesn’t matter, you just have to do it! You have to outwork your competitors on these little things!!! I have been guilty of getting caught up in the next big promotion or checking our numbers, that I forgot to ensure the small personal touches were getting done consistently. This played right into the hands of my big box gym competitors. They don’t do the personal touches well or even at all…and clients know and feel it. So, I put systems into place to make sure these important tasks don’t slip through the cracks. If you do them well and consistently, your business will grow by leaps and bounds!

Sean Millhouse is the owner and head trainer of Fitness 101, located on the northside of Houston, TX. With over a decade of experience in the fitness industry, he and his business have spread the health and fitness bug to his clients and community. Sean received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston Downtown, and he holds numerous Personal Training and Corrective Exercise certifications.

KIM CHASE

The 1 most important thing that I took from the Master Mind group would have to be customer service. No matter how much you “think” you’re doing for your clients, you are soon to be proven that it’s not enough. I realized that I got a great big fail on customer service. I thought I was doing great and keeping in touch with everyone until I had a great discussion with another member about what ‘extra’ stuff they did, then I realized that I am a league under what I should be doing. There is a ton of small things that I once thought insignificant, but realized that it was the small things that people remember and keep them loyal to you. I refer to this as the ‘contact and care’ system. Make lots of contact and care about what you say and do with your clients.

Kim Chase is the owner of Chase Fitness in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. With a past passion of competative gymnastics and body building, Kim currently studies Tae Kwon Do and will receive her black belt this year. She is ex-military with experience as an F-18 aircraft mechanic and a military pilot, and her off hours as a firefighter. Kim has been personal training for 4 years now and specializes in weight loss, strength and mobility through her boot camps and personal/semi-private training. “I love my work and can’t find enough hours in the day to keep on top of the studying and reading to improve my skill.” She’s an avid supporter of cancer research, with an annual 6 hour boot camp relay to make people aware of fitness as a preventative measure. Having been through cancer twice, she advocates that by staying healthy and fit, the risk of cancer can be greatly reduced and expedite the recovery process. “The mind leads the body, so just tell it to move!”

DAMON MOSCHETTO

Accountability:
One of the hardest things for us to do is get our clients to stick to a supportive eating plan. Regardless of what method you prescribe-getting clients to follow it and not keep losing and gaining the same 20 pounds is someone holding them accountable. Just as we as business owners need support and accountability to grow our business our clients need this support big time. Sometimes we are the only suppport they have. That is why we added an offering to do just that. It is our version of a master mind but for reaching and maintaining their fitness goals. Our clients get 1-2 group meetings per month and have their own check in on a private FB page. Depending on how much time you need to put in you can charge between $39-99 per month. It is a great way to increase results and your monthly draft with minimal time on your part.

Damon Moschetto has been in the fitness industry for over 15 years and operates as a consultant for the Florida Fitness Coaches. He graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in Exercise Science. He is certified He is a certified personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. In 2001, Damon began working as an account manager and presenter for the Apex Fitness Group and traveled across the US training trainers and consulting with club owners regarding their fitness programs.

SHELTON MASSEY

For my biggest takeaway from my first mastermind weekend I have to channel my inner Michael Jackson. So I am singing “You are not alone.”.

I really learned that your problems are never just your own. A lot of times we as business owners or people in general think that we are the only ones that surre the issues that we have. Whether it be with not generating enough leads, sales issues, problems with hiring, etc. It is similar to our clients who often believe they are the only ones that can’t control their cravings, or who struggle with weight loss.

The best way to overcome your problems is to surround yourself with people that are smarter than you, as well as people that have been there before. Once you are in the group you have to take action and leverage the great ideas that will form as part of your group. Then last but not least remember to pay it forward!

Shelton has a Masters in Business Administration from Webster University, and Bachelors in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Shelton is also a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise. He has been working in the fitness industry since 1998 and is co-owner of Fit Code Bootcamps, the most comprehensive bootcamp program in the South Chicagoland area. Throughout the years, Shelton helped hundreds of clients get in the best shape of their lives through the utilization of the latest and best fitness and nutrition techniques. Through the years he has worked with a wide range of clients from weight loss, sports training, diabetics, heart conditions, back problems and a variety of other conditions. His specialization though is in fat loss and functional training.

TREVOR BUCCIERI

Besides having the final answer that my expansion will be in the town and of my current location, I think one of the bigger tips I picked up was with the deal of the day sites. My bootcamps are getting pretty maxed out and I was going to be running a deal in the near future. I was then informed to recognize that I can’t afford the headache and to focus on a new way to hit the daily deal sites. Now I am going to be focusing on Semi-private and specialty offerings! When thinking about your next marketing move, it is so easy to get caught up in your own thoughts. There is no one else to bounce off of who truly understand where you are and what your situation is. With Mastermind, we have access to like minded professionals that help put it all in perspective. Just awesome!

Trevor Buccieri is the owner of Body & Soul Boot Camp in Buffalo, New York, and has been an exercise physiologist and ACSM certified trainer for over 12 years. His experience in the fitness industry provided many opportunities, including the chance to work with and train multiple professional athletes as well as ALL other levels from individualized injury rehabilitation, clients looking to crush body fat, bodybuilders, high school athletes, expectant mothers, youths suffering weight issues, senior citizens and truly everything in between. Trevor takes pride in using the most diverse, current and effective advanced training techniques available in the marketplace today and providing his clients with unparalleled service and commitment.

JEREMY BELTER

The best business building tip I can give is the golden rule “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” This means becoming your best to serve others and then keep getting better at busines, coaching and life in general.

Jeremy Belter is the owner of Express Fitness Camps and Fitness Revolution and has more than 7 years of experience as a Fitness Professional with more than 10,000 training sessions. Trevor also owns a Fitness Revolution New Berlin, is a Mastermind and Bootcamp Automator member and is certified by ISSA and Kettlebell Athletics.

JOE CARABRESE

My biggest business tip would be to focus on your client. Cliche right? As it sounds simplistic, most “trainers” out there ignore a lot of the small things they should be focusing on. At this point you should note the difference between a trainer and a coach. A coach is someone who trains, motivates, educates, entertains and teaches – a trainer, well is anyone who does not do all of that. Use the following as a check list for each of your clients:

-Develop a relationship day one and grow it every opportunity you get: Strive to make connections, say their names 3x each session, give a sweaty hand hung after every workout, send puff up texts/emails, connect on social media, hold client socials ….to name a few

-Teach form and corrective exercise: You’re a coach right? Don’t just work people out, form is number one. Then, help them fix some of their compensations, mobility or flexibility issues. If you are new to this, check out Mike Roberson or Eric Cressey

-Deliver Results: After form, you have to be delivering on what you sold them. Earn your living, don’t just collect money. We have the best job in the world!

-Maintain the relationship using the tips stated in the first bullet

Joe has been in fitness for over 9 years and through extensive trial and error, he has created a workout system driven by functional movement, cross training and intensity that shreds body fat while building a lean and tone physique. Joe is a nationally certified personal trainer and Nutrition Specialist as well as a contributing Author to the International Best Selling book Total BodyBreakthroughs.

Joe worked as the Director of Professional Fitness Training at Branford Hall Career Institute. He earned a degree in Business Administration from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts of Amherst. Joe founded M.E.L.T. Fitness Studio (more energy, less time), specializing in 30 minute rapid fat loss solutions busy people as well as Youth Fitness. You find out more about Joe on his personal blog and about his company at www.meltfitnessstudio.com.

BEN WARSTLER

There are so many big takeaways from Mastermind Meetings. I’m always excited about these meetings because so many ideas come out and so many snags and obstacles are overcome by working closely with so many top professionals. Probably my number one most valuable takeaway is to cultivate your business. The obvious way to grow your business often is to add more services to our business. But what I discovered that is more effective is to find new ways to provide different services to the people you already service. For example, expanding on nutrition services like accountability programs, short term nutrition coaching, or one on one coaching as additional options to our Maximize your Metabolism program.

Taking what you already have and expanding upon that is a better practice then adding an entirely new service. Making sure you maximize what you already offer rather than starting something completely new I feel makes the service you provide more well rounded and you become very efficient at running the few programs you offer better than anyone else rather offering a hundred half assed programs.

Ben Warstler, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, KBA is the Owner of Fortitude Fitness Systems, Inc in Northeast Vermont. Operating Ben’s Bootcamps, one of the most successful bootcamps on the planet, Ben has helped hundreds of people lose thousands of pounds of fat. Ben, an International Best Selling Author has helped hundreds of fitness business owners grow their fitness bootcamp businesses. Ben can be contacted at www.vermontbootcamps.com or on his blog at http://benwarstler.com

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Some shared the big picture value of being in a group, others shared a specific area to work on – and that’s part of the beauty of being in a Mastermind Group or attending an event, everyone sees the same thing but they each get something different from them that propels them to the next level. And that’s what I wanted to pass along to you. Each of these extremely successful fitness pros reap their own rewards from being in the group as there’s no ‘one size fits all’ formula for success.

On a different note – I know that every time I mention our Mastermind Groups I get inquiries about joining. Our groups are invite only and we only draw from people we know that have already been in our programs and attended our events. We’ve been part of and seen dozens of groups and I’m quite confident our groups are the strongest MM groups out there – and I think that’s a big reason why. They’ve all qualified by being great at their craft, being good people, being action takers – and we’ve gotten to witness this about them for a while. Once they’re in, we feel they’re like part of our family.

And that’s why most groups aren’t very good. The only qualifier is having a credit card.

That’s just a money grab. Tough to build a great team that way

So if you’re interested in joining one of our groups, my best suggestion is to be part of the Fit Business Inner Circle and attend our live events and actually get to know me, Nick and the rest of our team.

We’re always looking to work with more great ambassadors for the fitness industry, and that’s where we start.

Dedicated to Your Success,

Pat

A guest post by Joe Dowdell

Joe Dowdell is one of the top personal trainers in the fitness industry today.  He runs one of the top gyms in the country, Peak Performance in New York – which has been recognized at a Men’s Health Top 10 Gym in America.

When I found out that Joe and Dr. Mike Roussell were holding a seminar to teach program design and diet – I knew I had to have Joe do a guest post so you could get to know him and what he’s about.

See, online it doesn’t take much to be an ‘expert.’  Just last week a guy revealed that he’d been posing as a college basketball recruiting expert, running a blog that was getting as many as 20,000 hits a day.

He’d never been to one game or one showcase.

He followed some of the people who did were actually running recruiting services on Twitter.  He got on all the popular forums.  He read a few other blogs.

Before you knew it – he was a ‘guru.’

And he just did it to see if it was as easy as he thought it might be to be perceived as an expert online.

It was even easier.

So when a guy like Joe – who runs an Ultra-Successful Gym and has consistently proven that he knows how to get results and isn’t just an online guru – wanted to run a workshop to help trainers get better, I knew that was something you needed to know more about.

So here’s Joe:

To be successful as a trainer, one of the most valuable skills that you should possess is being a master a getting people from all walks of life the results they want. As a fitness business owner, I know that I am in a results driven business. People come to my gym, Peak Performance, and train with me because I have developed a reputation of getting clients results no matter what.

If you want to be successful as a trainer you need to be known for getting results.

A lot of people preach specialization and recommend finding a niche to dominate. But, I think if you are really good at what you do, then you should be able to get anyone the results they want (independent of the training tools they have).

I train NBA basketball players, movie and TV stars, lawyers, bankers, it doesn’t matter who – they all get results. The key is program design – manipulating sets, reps, load, tempos, rest periods as well as properly periodizing these variables over any given time period. Some people crap on aerobic exercise, but I’ll use it, just not how most people would think.  The point is I’ll use everything, but I do it in a strategic way.

Here’s a cool story to illustrate my point about being able to get results for anyone. One day a investment banker name Sedef Koktenturk contacted me as she wanted to leave her job and compete in the Olympics (I like people that aim high!)

image courtesy of digibard

Sedef had not windsurfed competitively for 16 years. She had always dreamed of one day competing in the Olympics for women’s windsurfing.  Each week Sedef trained 3 days of strength and 3 days of Energy Systems. I rotated her through 4 week blocks which each focused on developing and maintaining different fitness qualities (strength, relative-strength, endurance, metabolic, etc).

After 6 months, Sedef’s body fat dropped from 25% to 14%. More importantly, I designed her program to not only elicit a fat burning, metabolic effect but a strength-endurance effect so that she could maintain a heart rate of 175 bpm for 45 minutes. All of this was important because in the Beijing Olympics, the wind conditions were less than optimal.  Therefore, there was an increased demand for upper body strength endurance and core strength in order to be able to pump the sail for an extended period of time, which was a critical component to the competition.

Two years later, at 34 years old, Sedef realized her dream and competed in the 2008 Olympics. Pretty cool.

On July 9th and 10th, I’m hosting a Program and Diet Design Seminar with Dr. Mike Roussell at Peak Performance. At this seminar I’ll be showing you all the tools in my program design toolbox and exactly how you can design and manipulate programs for maximum results with any client. Dr. Mike and I want to help you become the go to person known for results.
Learn more about the seminar and register here.

http://mikeroussell.com/go/peakseminar

(This isn’t an affiliate link.  I know it’s late notice since the Seminar is just over a week away – but if you’re on the east coast – this is a must attend event.)

Why the Fitness Industry Is in Better Shape than You Thought

There were a number of discussions at Ryan Lee’s Continuity Summit about the current state of the fitness industry. In fact, that’s been a hot topic on Facebook and blogs recently as well.

I’ve heard a number of people – many whom I respect greatly – say the fitness industry is in trouble.

I disagree.  Strongly disagree.

Here’s my perspective, then you can decide for yourself.

The personal training segment of the fitness industry is very young.  Compared to established professions like law or medicine – we’re in our infant stage.

How many retired personal trainers have you met?  Not many… right?

Because of that, changes in the industry are frequent and rapid.  That’s not a bad thing – just a fact.

Change – or evolution, if you will – is not a bad thing.  It needs to happen to weed out the pretenders and allow the industry to become the best that it can be for the professionals and the consumers.

The people that suggest the industry are in trouble do so for usually one of two reasons:

1. They think the quality of trainers is poor.
2. They think some of the people teaching trainers marketing are of questionable ethics.

I’m not going to dispute either of those facts – because I agree.  But I would tell you that the industry is in better shape than it’s ever been… and here’s why.

1. The quality of the average personal trainer or fitness professional has always been low, but now more than ever there are an increasing number of fitness professionals aspiring to be better than average.  More trainers attending workshops and events to become better coaches than ever before. Just a couple of weeks ago I was at a Perform Better event in Rhode Island and there were 900 attendees.  Just 2 years ago at the same event there were about 500.  That’s almost double the number of fitness professionals actively going to get better at their craft. More fitness pros are paying attention to guys like Mike Robertson, Bill Hartman, Eric Cressey, Stu McGill & Gray Cook than ever before.  It wasn’t that long ago that ‘assessments’ were health history questionnaires, step tests, sit and reach and things like that.  Now solid fitness pros do quality assessments for their clients to optimize their programs for maximum benefit.
2. More consumers are stepping away from selectorized equipment and cardio machines and working with trainers and coaches than ever before. It wasn’t too long ago that the common picture of a trainer was the guy standing over someone seated on a machine while they were holding their trusty clipboard.  That approach is dying off quickly. With a variety of things pulling consumers off the machines and inspiring them to at least give ‘real’ training a try, it’s only a matter of time before they find their way to the best coaches if they haven’t already.
3. Along the same lines – people want to be coached more now than ever before. People are more familiar with personal training, group training has made it more accessible to people beyond just the affluent, and just renting access to equipment has failed – so being coached is the obvious answer for more and more people.
4. Starting a business is easier for trainers now than in the past.  Consumers were clearly more interested in the sizzle of big box clubs in the past – something few trainers could match.  And the first personal training franchise that got any traction required about $150,000 to get started – well beyond the means of a lot of good trainers we meet. But now warehouse gyms are the norm.  Light industrial space is the destination of choice for more and more trainers.  No more need to buy a handful of expensive pieces of cardio.  A lot of people are getting started with group training or bootcamp models using a subleased space and then graduation into their own location. Starting a business is now less expensive than in the past.
5. More fitness pros than ever before are generating six, multiple six and even seven figure revenues. When we attended the first Ryan Lee Bootcamp years ago – there were only a handful of attendees that I’d say were doing well.  The numbers of the people that are now in the middle of the pack in our Bootcamp Blueprint program are what the top performers were doing just 18 months ago. Achieving a very nice income and a better lifestyle is much more attainable and more common than ever before in our industry.

Sure – there are problems with the industry.  There are people that extract a LOT more value than they add, focused entirely on making money and not at all on helping.  There are still plenty of low quality trainers.

That’s fine by me.

There is also more competition than ever before.  And competition exposes frauds, weeds out the poor providers and makes the good better.

When you see other bootcamp or facilities pop up in your community, you hopefully raise your game a notch or two.  Good.  If they aren’t up to the task, they’ll die off and you’re now better than you were.

Our industry is evolving and part of the evolution is people succeeding due to being better – not just being the first or the only solution.

Maybe I’m off base.  I know some very smart people that have suggested that the fitness industry is in trouble.  But to me, holding things to a higher standard and weeding out the people who don’t add value isn’t trouble… it’s an improvement.

Let me know what you think about the fitness industry below.

Dedicated to your success,

Pat

The one thing needed in this day and age for fitness bootcamp business success

Yesterday I received an email from a customer saying:

“There are too many fitness bootcamp businesses out there – what can I do that’s different?”

I gave him a quick response, but I’m going to elaborate here…

Most Fitness Bootcamps Suck!

I will agree with him to a point:  There are a LOT of fitness bootcamps now.  A whole lot. 3 Years ago you could open a bootcamp business up and win by default.  They were the new thing in fitness and if you were first mover you were almost automatically assured of success.

No more.

Now we’re past that stage and we’re on to the time where you actually need to be able to deliver a good product to succeed.

Good.

The people that we’ve worked with through the Bootcamp Blueprint and now through Fitness Revolution have been prepared for this for a while.  They were told 2 years ago that if they wanted to be able to succeed over the long haul they needed to treat their camps like group personal training – not the crappy bootcamps that have become so prevalent.

See, as far as I’m concerned, there’s always room in the market for a GREAT business.

A business that delivers an extraordinary experience and provides a great value to it’s clients.

If you can do that – the market is never too crowded for greatness.

But if you thought that you could head over to the park, tell people to take a couple of laps, do some jumping jacks and push ups and build a $10,000 a month fitness bootcamp business without providing anything of real value – you’re an idiot.

The fitness industry… no, make that the world… doesn’t need another crappy fitness bootcamp.  It doesn’t need another personal trainer that doesn’t care about being a great coach or is committed to getting their clients results.

That’s why I feel very fortunate that the fitness professionals we tend to attract are the ones that care about training.  They work hard to become better at their craft.  There are plenty of the personal trainers that are not really concerned about client results or delivering an extraordinary experience – and any success they enjoy is short-lived.

So here’s you a quick checklist of how to still enjoy success running a bootcamp business in spite of the increased competition and the fact that ever health club on the planet either is already offering a bootcamp or will be before you know it:

• You can call your bootcamp a bootcamp – but it better be more like group personal training than health club group exercise if you want to succeed.  Why should someone pay you $99-$299 a month for something they can get at the local health club as part of their membership?
• Treat your clients like family.  Focus on creating a close-knit community.
• Determine a clear and obvious reason why people should choose you.  Without that, they are going to decide on price alone and that’s not a battle you want to be in.
• Look at what most fitness bootcamps do… then do the opposite.

The bottom line is this:  A few lucky souls get a huge competitive advantage by being first when anything new occurs. Apple does it with things like the iPhone and iPad – they get a head start, then everyone else has to catch up.  If you miss out on being that ‘first mover’, there is still plenty of opportunity to achieve great success – but you have to do it by actually delivering something special.

You can try to use gimmicks or under price everyone else and probably have some short term success – but the only way you can build lasting success – with a fitness bootcamp business or anything else – is to develop something great.  Deliver an experience that your competition can’t match.  Give people an obvious reason to choose you above all other competitors.  Do that and you can compete successfully in any market no matter the competition.

That’s my two cents.  Tell me what you think below…

Dedicated to your success,

Pat

Pat Rigsby is a Co-Owner of the International Youth Conditioning Association & the youth fitness franchise Athletic Revolution as well as a fitness industry consultant serving thousands of personal trainers and fitness entrepreneurs. Sign up for his free fitness business newsletter to discover proven marketing, sales and business strategies for your fitness or fitness bootcamp business along with blog updates, news, and more! While you’re at it, follow him on Twitter.

Predictions are popular this time of year.  I give mine every year and many other people with a blog do the same.

What I’m about to share with you is knowledge that you can take to the bank. I have to good fortune of seeing what thousands of fitness industry businesses are doing and access to ‘insider’ information that will give you a decided advantage if you take it to heart and act on it.

Bottom line – there will be changes and those who are on the front end of them will be the ones to reap the rewards, so here’s what you can expect in 2011:

Fitness Bootcamps Are In For Some BIG Changes. There are already several thousand fitness bootcamps in North America and with organizations like ACE saying that Bootcamps are a ‘hot trend’ for 2011, every business in our industry is going to take a stab at running a bootcamp.

While this is great for the popularity of bootcamps, it all will lead to things like health clubs offering ‘Unlimited Bootcamp’ for $39 a month or more idiots in the park running bootcamps telling folks to ‘go run around a tree and come back and do 100 jumping jacks.  Then we’ll figure out what’s next…’

We’ve been teaching our students about the importance of treating Bootcamps like they’re group personal training for a while and if you want to avoid becoming a commodity and only competing on price in 2011, you MUST embrace this mindset.  It’s your real competitive advantage over all the camps that will pop up in 2011 – so don’t ignore it.

Done For You / Follow Along Are The Next Big Trend. Last year I talked about there being another big trend that would emerge the same way we’ve seen ‘functional training’, kettlebells, Cross Fit, TRX and even Zumba become popular ‘trends’ in the fitness industry over the past few years. It happened.  P90X has over 225 Million in sales so far in 2010.

People love to be told exactly what to do and P90X has capitalized on this in a big way.  With the emergence of things like follow along fitness video games and infomarketers all developing follow along products, the Done For You or Follow Along approach will be huge in 2011.

People don’t want to learn to fish – they want you to give them the fish.

This means you will have to become more of a complete solution.  You’re going to have to be able to tell people what to eat.  Tell them what supplements to take.  Tell them what to do on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday if they’re with you on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

People will pay for you to coach them through everything – but you have to offer it or they’ll look elsewhere because they don’t want to figure it out on their own.

The Youth Fitness and Athletic Performance Market Will Continue To Grow.  It grew last year after me making this make prediction and shows zero signs of slowing down.  Smart fitness entrepreneurs will act on this movement and add profit centers in their businesses to take advantage of this.

Semi-Private and Small Group Training Will Explode. Not everyone wants to be in a bootcamp setting.  Some want more personal attention or a more personalized solution. Some want more flexibility in scheduling.  One on one training is no longer the preferred option for those people – semi-private and small group training are. They both provide the benefits of one-on-one but are more cost effective for the client and more lucrative for you.

Mark my words – these options will explode in 2011.

The Death of One on One and PT Packages. 2011 will be the year that entrepreneurial fitness pros will finally kick these antiquated approaches to running their business to the curb.  One on one just isn’t practical for 99% of fitness business owners any more with a variety of other options that provide better value for their time.  Selling 10 packs and 12 packs has always been a bad business model and now that instituting EFT billing has become so easy, there is no logical reason trainers won’t start using it.

Specialists Will Thrive. The fitness professionals that take a quantum leap in their businesses will be specialists.  The internet will continue to educate consumers and they’ll seek solutions specific to their needs. Some popular niche markets will be:

• Fat loss (for any specific population)
• Baby Boomers
• Moms
• Diabetics
• Youth
• Specific Sports
• Corporate Fitness
• Busy Executives

With low cost fitness solutions like Planet Fitness & Fitness 19, 24 hour solutions like Anytime Fitness and Snap Fitness and at home solutions like P90X and the plethora of infoproducts available – your competitive advantage is doing what those solutions can’t – offer specialized solutions and personal attention.  If you’re not utilizing those you’re losing your biggest edge.

Multiple Streams of Income Will Be All The Rage. As the industry shakes itself out, the successful fitness businesses will almost all include these as the core of their business model:

• Results oriented approach – trainers that do a half-assed job will fail.
• Pricing will allow more than just the affluent to be clients – possibly multiple levels of offerings
• Specialists or specialty based offerings
• EFT Based Billing
• Offer more than just training sessions as a means of generating income

A New Revolution In The Fitness Industry Will Emerge. There have been lots of changes in the industry over the past couple of year and a revolutionary shift is about to happen…but I can’t tell you what just yet. I’ll be able reveal this one very, very soon…

So there you go – my predictions for 2011.  I’d love to hear your feedback and also get your thoughts on what you think the big fitness business trend of 2011 will be. Share below.

Dedicated to your success,

Pat

A Guest Post by Tyler English

“The future has a way of arriving unannounced.”

Those words were spoken by one of America’s most powerful journalists, George Will. Now I don’t know if it’s because of my background as a writer or because I just am a complete dork when it comes to quotes.

But you and your fitness business can learn a lot from that single line.

Ask yourself this.

What happens if your fitness boot camp stopped generating revenue?

I mean think about this for a second. Let’s just say, hypothetically, that the fitness boot camp craze died out.

Now what do you do?

You see when I first started my business in January of 2009 all I thought about was growing my program, Farmington Valley Fitness Boot Camp, and at the time that was of the utmost importance. Without the growth of that program I would not be where I am today.

Yet, as I’ve grown as a business owner it’s become more and more apparent to me that the longevity and continued growth of your business is dependent on much more than just growing your boot camp.

Back in November of 2008, when I first started working with Pat Rigsby, I had no idea what multiple streams of revenue even looked like, let alone what it meant in the business world. I was living paycheck to paycheck and absolutely miserable with my existence in the fitness industry.

Pat helped me change this almost immediately after starting my business and growing Farmington Valley Fitness Boot Camp to what it is today.

Within two months of business, I had developed a continuous stream of revenue from boot camps, semi private training, Prograde, Resistance Band Training and Perform Better. Even as small as some of the revenue streams initially may have been, it was still pretty nice to receive a $25-50 check in the mail each month, for a small amount of work. Even better when you happen to be waking up at 4:30am and traveling 45 minutes to coach your boot camp. Believe me, the “gas” money came in handy!

Those initial revenue streams have continued to grow into a nice steady stream of increasing revenue month by month.

Since opening Athletic Revolution Farmington Valley (its own stream of revenue!) we’ve expanded our training options outside of Tyler English Fitness, which houses our main program, Farmington Valley Fitness Boot Camp. We now use the Athletic Revolution facility to offer our Group Coaching Program, a combination of Semi Private Training, Diet Doc Nutritional Coaching and Farmington Valley Fitness Boot Camp, as well as Semi Private Training and Personal Training during morning, afternoon and late evening hours. Those being the times of the day in which Athletic Revolution is not being utilized.

One thing that has continued to set my program apart is the growth of the “nutrition sector”.

I knew in order to give the clients what they came to me for in the first place, results, there needed to be a strong understanding about the importance of nutrition. I remember asking Pat what would be the easiest way to filter these people into such an environment. He helped me put together my weight loss management program entitled “Maximize Your Metabolism”. At the time I only charged $299 for the 12-week class and two things happened. I sold out all 30 spots and made close to $9K. Not too bad for 12 hours of work right?

Look there are opportunities to begin creating multiple streams of revenue and many of them are probably starring you right in the face. I too missed out on a ton of them, initially. Through with Pat’s help and continued coaching I began to see the “list” of revenue streams grow over the past 23 months.

Not all of these revenue streams are going to be your favorite, some will bring you more money then others, some may generate only “gas money” each month, while others will bring you more enjoyment.

Take my Contest Preparation revenue stream for example. When I “worked for the man” I wasn’t able to really build on my expertise in the natural bodybuilding world. The fact of the matter is they hated it. One of the first things Pat told me was to use this to my ability and to expand on what I wasn’t able to expand on in the past.

Well now that I make all the decisions inside my fitness business (the benefit of being your own boss) I’ve been able to offer Contest Preparation for Bodybuilders and Figure athletes alike and even though I don’t have close to 300 clients, as I do in our boot camp, it’s something I enjoy doing while being able to add an additional stream of revenue to the list.

If you’re struggling to find these streams of revenue then you need to do what I did. Find someone to show you them and I can assure you Pat Rigsby is that person.

Just the other day, Sunday to be exact, Pat and I had a coaching call (all while the Patriots were laying the smack down on the Chicago Bears!). The call lasted close to an hour and in that hour Pat laid out a plan for new projects. Recently, I’ve been working on the expansion of programs to new markets and some other top secret stuff.

Before the call, I was lacking the direction I needed. After that phone call I walked away with 361 words of notes and 4 new revenue streams for 2011. Each of which have the ability to bring an easy $10K PER MONTH to my business in the coming year.

I placed that phone call with 1 location for Farmington Valley Fitness Boot Camp and hung up that phone with 2 more locations with NO upfront cost, a way to market them for NOTHING, a way to pay my trainers that will cost me NOTHING up front and all while increasing my monthly revenue.

Not bad for just under 60 minutes of coaching wouldn’t you say?

My fitness business currently has 19 streams of revenue and it’s only 23 months old. Within the first month of 2011 that number will increase to 26 allowing me to increase my monthly revenue and I can whole heartedly tell you it’s thanks to the advice, support, direction and coaching I’ve gotten from Pat Rigsby.

Two years ago I had a plan that included 1 revenue stream.

Today, I’ve got a thriving business with 26 revenue streams.

Thanks Pat.

- Tyler English

PS – To help those of you “new to the game” I’ve included a list of our current and future (indicated with a *) revenue streams including many of their average monthly price tags.

1. Farmington Valley Fitness Boot Camp (Canton Location) – $207
2. Group Coaching Program (Includes, FVFBC, Semi Private) – $367
3. Semi Private Training – $249
4. Diet Doc Nutritional Coaching – $99
5. Athletic Revolution – $129
6. Contest Prep – $147
7. Meal Plan Design – $199
8. Fitness Coaching (clients outside the area) – $169
9. One on One Personal Training – $599
10. Maximize Your Metabolism Class – $133
11. Kettlebell Workshops – $25
12. Mixed Martial Arts Class – $99
13. Online Affiliate Sales
14. Prograde
15. Sun Warrior
16. Resistance Band Training
17. Workout Muse
18. Perform Better
19. Fitness Anywhere
20. Corporate Boot Camps *
21. Massage Therapy *
22. West Hartford *
23. Hamden *
24. Stratford *
25. Apparel *
26. Top Secret Project *

Tyler English, NASM-PES, CPT, YFS has quickly become Farmington Valley Connecticut’s leading Fitness Expert. He is the founder of Connecticut’s Most Elite Fitness Program, Farmington Valley Fitness Boot Camp. Tyler is a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Performance Enhancement Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer and Youth Fitness Specialist with the International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA). He prides himself on being a no-nonsense Fitness Professional who is serious about one thing: achieving your results faster than anyone else.

Tyler’s work ethic and dedication to goals and a results-oriented lifestyle is apparent in his own body of work. He earned the honor of a Professional Natural Bodybuilder with the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF) in only 3 years of competition and won the 2010 WNBF Mid America Lightweight Championship and finished as the 3rd place Middleweight in the World at the 2010 WNBF World Championships. Tyler prides himself on training more like a world-class athlete than your typical gym going bodybuilder. In his 5 years in the Farmington Valley area of Connecticut, he has helped well over 400 people change they way they look, feel and move. Having worked in the fitness industry for over 8 years, Tyler continuously saw the same thing occurring at gyms and health clubs: people would repeatedly sign a one or two-year membership with the belief that this was the place they were going to get in shape – when the truth was that many of these soon-to-be frustrated exercisers would end up right back where they started. Tyler has become one of the most respected fitness professionals in the fitness industry – while always displaying a high degree of integrity, responsibility, and ambition. He has proven to be a respected leader within the fitness community, both locally and nationally.

www.TylerEnglishBlog.com

21 Fitness Business Tips.

I’m off to Long Beach to speak at Perform Better where I’ll be sharing how to find the hidden opportunity in your fitness business.  Hopefully I’ll see you there – but if not I wanted to give you some of my best tips for building a bulletproof business.

I don’t know if these are actually the 21 best tips of all-time, but they’re pretty darn good.

1. Break out of the fitness industry norms – the majority is almost always wrong and are always behind.
2. Recycle what you do. Deliver the same content in different formats. Fitness coaching programs, infoproducts, Bootcamps to Go – they’re all the same stuff packages in different formats.
3. Small hinges swing big doors. A few small, but strategic changes can make big differences to the bottom line.
4. A different way to look at your market is to find price gaps instead of pricing the way everyone else does.  If you can get a health club membership for $39, a bootcamp membership for $199 and 1 on 1 personal training for $500 – the gaps are $99 and $299-399.  What can you offer there?

1. Joining the Chamber of Commerce is like joining a gym.  Most will do nothing with their membership, but if you take advantage of everything they offer it can be a huge difference maker.
2. If you have no money – knock on doors, hustle, network and make something happen every day. Roll up your sleeves and go to work. You can overcome a lack of money with an abundance of hustle in most areas.
3. Successful people have a sense of urgency. Procrastination is not acceptable.
4. If you accept mediocrity you will get more. Mediocrity only exists if you tolerate it.
5. People mess up JV’s and referrals by not making it easy for others to help us.  Help them help you. Do as much as possible of the work for them and you’ll get 10X the results.
6. Are you the first person in your market that people think of when it comes to what you do? If not – re-define what you do or tighten down your niche.
7. The quickest way to make more money is to sell more to your current clients.  Supplements, Workshops, Weight Management, Higher Priced Coaching, etc.
8. You decide.  You decide how people view you and your fitness business.  What hours you’ll work.  How you live your life. If you don’t decide, they’ll decide for you.
9. There is hidden opportunity in every business.  Three easy ones are upsells from your basic programs, downsells for people who don’t buy and reactivation of previous clients.  It’s money that’s just sitting there waiting for you to grab it.
10. Associate with like minded, successful people.  It’s often said that your income is the average of the 5 people’s income you’re around most – so don’t hang out with slackers.
11. If most people realized that they had all the same skills (often better) as the top earning trainers in the field there would be a LOT more six-figure earners in our industry.
12. A big obstacle to success is distraction. Turn off the email and TV and work on your business.
13. Always have a higher priced option. There are a certain amount of people in a market who will pay top price.
14. You need to be constantly working on you as much as your business.
15. It’s not what you make – it’s what you keep.  Focus on improving your net profits, not just your gross revenues.
16. Organize your day the night before and make sure you block time for everything that is important to you.  Working on your business gets time.  Networking gets time.  Family gets time.  Self improvement gets time.  If you don’t schedule it you’ll find yourself putting it off.
17. A lot of success is born out of a hatred of losing. As a coach I enjoyed winning but I HATED losing.

What do you think? Respond in the comments section below!

Dedicated to your fitness business success,

Pat