I truly appreciate the feedback you guys had on the 10 Lessons in 10 years.
Since Sunday may be a slower day for you, I posted all of them below, exactly as they were sent, it may even be worthwhile to print these out.
One of the mantras we talk about in the Mastermind many times is; it’s better to be reminded than to learn something new.
Most of these are worth a second read.
If you have any questions on the lessons, just hit reply.
Vince
P.S. Please remember that this is the last week to sign up for the Surge Program,
https://fitbusinessuniversity.com/client-surge
P.P.S. If all the call spots are booked, send me a personal email and I will try to fit you in
|
|
|
|
|
Lesson 1: It’s usually never as bad as you make it.
I celebrated 10 years of owning a gym this past Saturday night.
This is a rare accomplishment and one I’m very proud of.
This does not happen without the great people, both past and present that
helped us along the way.
Over the next week or so I’m going to be sharing 10 really cool business and life
lessons I’ve learned.
I’ve been sued, audited, had my right-hand man leave 30 minutes before I
signed a million-dollar lease. I have had times where there was a negative
balance in my business checking account.
My brain always made things worse than they actually were.
The negative thoughts in my head were much bigger problems than what was actually happening.
One of my mentors, Ari Weinzweig, always says to me, “It’s all imperfect”.
Things are going to happen in business, many times they are bad.
But, if you shift the way you think about them from bad to a learning experience, that’s just part of the journey, they won’t tear you up.
It will not prevent them from happening. It will allow you to handle them much better and get you back on the horse much faster.
Think of it like this, when it gets really bad, it’s going to get better real soon.
Our emotions are like the weather, some days it’s nice, some days it rains.
It’s not going to rain forever and I kind of enjoy a rainy day once in a while.
We have a saying in the SPF Mastermind called:
Ignore The Crazy Headtrash (I.T.C.H.)
When you know that lots of the negative thoughts are just not real, you’ll deal with challenges so much better.
That’s your main job. Overcome challenges, the better you equip yourself for that the more success you’ll have.
Talk to you tomorrow for number two.
In the meantime, check out some stuff below…
Vince
|
|
|
|
|
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you take YOUR business to the next level:
1. Join Our 6-Week Client Surge Program
Join us for 6-Weeks for the New Client Surge Program. It’s going to be 6 live modules. I will be solely focusing on helping you build a predictable system to get new clients and make more.
For more information on the 6-Week New Client Surge Program click the link below:
2. Spend the Day at Gabriele Fitness with Me and My Team
This will be the most productive day in your business building career. Come with a big challenge such as not having a marketing plan in place or not being able to remove yourself from your business, and we’ll roll up our sleeves together and knock it out. You’ll leave with a very clear plan to win. You’ll also get to see my 7-figure gym in action and talk to the members of our leadership team to learn how things run around here.
Send an email to megan@gabrielefitness.com, and put “Day at GFP” in the subject line.
3. Join my Mastermind
Join a super motivated group of gym owners who meet 4x/year to make more money so they can have more free time with their family. There is so much more you get with this, but the only way to apply is through a call with me and I will unpack everything for you.
To apply for the Mastermind, respond to this email with “Mastermind” in the subject line.
4. Work with me One-on-One
If you’d like to work directly with me to do things like become a better leader, systemize your business, or simply get yourself out of the day-to-day… just reply to this message and put “One-on-One” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!
|
|
|
|
|
Lesson 2: Your business will last a long time if you take care of your body and brain.
No business benefits from the owner burning themselves out.
This is an industry that is plagued by burnout.
Being a personal trainer is not easy.
You are giving yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. You are usually working very long hours to make ends meet.
But when you add the stress of being a business owner on top of that it can put people over the edge.
The uncertainty of not knowing how to get more clients, hiring a staff and the financial side of this game cripples gym owners every day.
The ones that don’t learn how to do these things will fail. If you’re always tired, your brain is foggy and you never give yourself time, you’ll never learn this stuff.
The number one asset you have as a gym owner is your brain.
It kind of seems crazy that this is Number 2 on my list. I see many trainers turned gym owner completely let their health go.
They sleep like garbage, start to hate working out because all they want to do is get out of the gym and not pay attention to taking care of their health.
I only know this because I’ve been through this myself.
If I could send one message to my 29-year-old self it would be to make sure I was taking very good care of my most important asset, my personal health.
I know it sounds crazy but you may need to hire someone to help you with this. Not that you couldn’t do it on your own but you should practice what you preach to your clients and get a coach yourself.
Vince
P.S. Keep reading below to learn about the 4 ways I can help your gym grow.
|
|
|
|
|
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you take YOUR business to the next level:
1. Join Our 6-Week Client Surge Program
Join us for 6-Weeks for the New Client Surge Program. It’s going to be 6 live modules. I will be solely focusing on helping you build a predictable system to get new clients and make more.
For more information on the 6-Week New Client Surge Program click the link below:
2. Spend the Day at Gabriele Fitness with Me and My Team
This will be the most productive day in your business building career. Come with a big challenge such as not having a marketing plan in place or not being able to remove yourself from your business, and we’ll roll up our sleeves together and knock it out. You’ll leave with a very clear plan to win. You’ll also get to see my 7-figure gym in action and talk to the members of our leadership team to learn how things run around here.
Send an email to megan@gabrielefitness.com, and put “Day at GFP” in the subject line.
3. Join my Mastermind
Join a super motivated group of gym owners who meet 4x/year to make more money so they can have more free time with their family. There is so much more you get with this, but the only way to apply is through a call with me and I will unpack everything for you.
To apply for the Mastermind, respond to this email with “Mastermind” in the subject line.
4. Work with me One-on-One
If you’d like to work directly with me to do things like become a better leader, systemize your business, or simply get yourself out of the day-to-day… just reply to this message and put “One-on-One” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!
|
|
|
|
|
Lesson 3: You must be in touch with your numbers.
“All progress starts with the truth” – Dan Sullivan
I spent the first few years of owning my gym flying blind. I had no idea how much money was coming in or going out.
I had not a clue how many clients I was losing or gaining per month. The only thing I did for my finances was look at cash in the bank.
If cash was good, I was ok. If it was low I was stressed.
I never knew the full story. If you want to last for the long haul you need to be in touch with your numbers.
I say this to my SPF Mastermind guys over and over, keeping the scoreboard tells you want you need to do.
It tells you what problems need to be solved and that is a very empowering thing to know.
One of the greatest days of my business life was when I hired our CFO, Mike Waldron.
He gave me the power I needed to have a successful business through keeping the financials in check.
Having an accountant is not enough. You need someone to teach you how to read your business from the numbers.
Vince
P.S. Check out some new cool ways to get hands on personal coaching.
|
|
|
|
|
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you take YOUR business to the next level:
1. Join Our 6-Week Client Surge Program
Join us for 6-Weeks for the New Client Surge Program. It’s going to be 6 live modules. I will be solely focusing on helping you build a predictable system to get new clients and make more.
For more information on the 6-Week New Client Surge Program click the link below:
2. Spend the Day at Gabriele Fitness with Me and My Team
This will be the most productive day in your business building career. Come with a big challenge such as not having a marketing plan in place or not being able to remove yourself from your business, and we’ll roll up our sleeves together and knock it out. You’ll leave with a very clear plan to win. You’ll also get to see my 7-figure gym in action and talk to the members of our leadership team to learn how things run around here.
Send an email to megan@gabrielefitness.com, and put “Day at GFP” in the subject line.
3. Join my Mastermind
Join a super motivated group of gym owners who meet 4x/year to make more money so they can have more free time with their family. There is so much more you get with this, but the only way to apply is through a call with me and I will unpack everything for you.
To apply for the Mastermind, respond to this email with “Mastermind” in the subject line.
4. Work with me One-on-One
If you’d like to work directly with me to do things like become a better leader, systemize your business, or simply get yourself out of the day-to-day… just reply to this message and put “One-on-One” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!
|
|
|
|
|
Lesson 4: Positive energy changes lives and makes you lots of money.
As previously mentioned, the only question I ask my wife when she comes back from the gym is:
“How was the energy?”
What I want to know is how did the experience make her feel.
There are lots of factors; the music, the people in her session, the actual workout.
But what drives the energy is your team.
They set the tone.
Now, I’m not talking about yelling and screaming. That can be viewed as positive energy. I will tell you when I walk into Zingerman’s Coffee there is no yelling at all and the amount of positive energy is immense.
When people walk into your gym, what do they feel?
If you could measure the positive energy of people on a scale of 1-10.
Here’s what you need to know about positive energy:
It’s made up of 3 things:
Physical: How your physical body feels, its’ hard to bring energy when your out of shape and tired.
Mental/Emotional/Spiritual: How your mind is working?
Vibrational: The energy that others feel around you.
In order for your team to exude this kind of energy these 3 things need to be functioning on a high level.
It needs to be a requirement for working at your gym.
There are 2 secrets to this:
- Master positive energy yourself
Getting this one right will bring you loads of success.
Vince
P.S. If you want to maximize your mental and emotional energy check out option 3 below.
|
|
|
|
|
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you take YOUR business to the next level:
1. Join Our 6-Week Client Surge Program
Join us for 6-Weeks for the New Client Surge Program. It’s going to be 6 live modules. I will be solely focusing on helping you build a predictable system to get new clients and make more.
For more information on the 6-Week New Client Surge Program click the link below:
https://fitbusinessuniversity.com/client-surge
2. Spend the Day at Gabriele Fitness with Me and My Team
This will be the most productive day in your business building career. Come with a big challenge such as not having a marketing plan in place or not being able to remove yourself from your business, and we’ll roll up our sleeves together and knock it out. You’ll leave with a very clear plan to win. You’ll also get to see my 7-figure gym in action and talk to the members of our leadership team to learn how things run around here.
Send an email to megan@gabrielefitness.com, and put “Day at GFP” in the subject line.
3. Join my Mastermind
Join a super motivated group of gym owners who meet 4x/year to make more money so they can have more free time with their family. There is so much more you get with this, but the only way to apply is through a call with me and I will unpack everything for you.
To apply for the Mastermind, respond to this email with “Mastermind” in the subject line.
4. Work with me One-on-One
If you’d like to work directly with me to do things like become a better leader, systemize your business, or simply get yourself out of the day-to-day… just reply to this message and put “One-on-One” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!
|
|
|
|
|
Lesson 5: You must master marketing.
There are 4 core functions to any business:
- Sales
- Operations
- Finance
The debate is always which of these is most important.
It’s really important to convert leads to new members to make money.
It’s super important to deliver a great experience to that person so they stay for a long time.
It’s ultra-important to manage the money well because without good financials you’ll fail.
But none of this really starts to happen without first getting a lead.
None of this truly matters if a lead is not generated to get this process rolling.
So, my vote is marketing.
The owner must own the marketing.
You don’t have to do all the work but you must understand it all.
I’m not talking about the tactics either.
Too many guys think that a good Facebook funnel is the only thing they need.
You need to be clear on your target market.
You must be in touch with what your clients need and know them inside and out.
You need to have a plan and not shoot from the hip.
You need to have multiple ways to generate leads working at once.
You need to know the lifetime value of a member that tells you how much you can spend to acquire a customer.
I could on and on but you get it.
Lesson 5 is owning the marketing.
Vince
|
|
|
|
|
Lesson 6: The team is the secret to success
My gym is filled with clients that are very successful business people.
Recently, at my 10-year anniversary party more than one of them came up to me and started asking about my secrets.
They didn’t want the secrets to my marketing nor did they want the secrets to our very innovative small group training system.
They wanted my secrets on hiring.
They were going on and on about my trainers and front desk staff.
They kept telling me how great the team I have put together is and how ALL of them are good, really good.
I reveal lots of my secrets in my 3-6-4 Hiring Book but the reality is you need to understand you cannot do this alone.
Finding and keeping great team members will make your clients happy and will be the key to your freedom as a gym owner.
I was on the phone with a Mastermind member who told me he was having trouble finding great trainer.
I told him to stop looking.
You don’t need great trainers, you need great people.
You only need to look for 3 things:
- People that care and have positive energy
- People that are willing to learn
- People that others want to spend an hour with
That’s my formula.
Vince
P.S. The deadline to register for the New Client Surge is getting very close, click here to learn more:
|
|
|
|
|
Lesson 7: You must have a business mentor
This may sound self-serving as I coach gym owners. The reality is, I would not have accomplished as much as I have over the past 10 years without the many business mentors that helped me along the away.
17 years ago, I decided to start a career in personal training.
I loved it. I learned everything I could about the human body, read every article and watched every DVD I could find.
I was addicted to being an awesome trainer.
7 years later I make another decision…
To sign a lease and become a gym owner.
I was a great trainer but new nothing about business.
I had no clue about picking a target marketing, building a profitable pricing system or how to track my financials.
Finding a business coach was one of the greatest decisions of my business career.
They taught me things I needed to know.
Held me accountable to the hard decisions I needed to make.
Served as an open ear when I need a therapy session because I was losing my mind.
Hiring a business coach helped me maximize my finances, build a great team and build a gym that gave me a life of freedom.
I’m very grateful to the several mentors I’ve had. I cannot imagine having any kind of success without them.
Vince
P.S. Pending we’re a fit to work with each other, I have one spot open to do some 1-1 coaching with me, hit reply and let’s chat.
|
|
|
|
|
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you take YOUR business to the next level:
1. Join Our 6-Week Client Surge Program
Join us for 6-Weeks for the New Client Surge Program. It’s going to be 6 live modules. I will be solely focusing on helping you build a predictable system to get new clients and make more.
For more information on the 6-Week New Client Surge Program click the link below:
https://fitbusinessuniversity.com/client-surge
2. Spend the Day at Gabriele Fitness with Me and My Team
This will be the most productive day in your business building career. Come with a big challenge such as not having a marketing plan in place or not being able to remove yourself from your business, and we’ll roll up our sleeves together and knock it out. You’ll leave with a very clear plan to win. You’ll also get to see my 7-figure gym in action and talk to the members of our leadership team to learn how things run around here.
Send an email to megan@gabrielefitness.com, and put “Day at GFP” in the subject line.
3. Join my Mastermind
Join a super motivated group of gym owners who meet 4x/year to make more money so they can have more free time with their family. There is so much more you get with this, but the only way to apply is through a call with me and I will unpack everything for you.
To apply for the Mastermind, respond to this email with “Mastermind” in the subject line.
4. Work with me One-on-One
If you’d like to work directly with me to do things like become a better leader, systemize your business, or simply get yourself out of the day-to-day… just reply to this message and put “One-on-One” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!
|
|
|
|
|
Lesson 8: There are really no bad things, just great lessons.
Progress not perfection”– Dan Sullivan
About 1 year in to my 10-year career, I was given a book that changed my life.
The book was called Mindset by Carol Dweck. It has been a guiding principle in my business and life ever since.
The Growth Mindset teaches you that all failure is just information.
Information to learn, grow and improve.
It’s a way of thinking that I view as a skill.
I was not good at it early on. As this skill became stronger, I saw more success and honestly more happiness.
I no longer defined myself with what happened to me in business.
I just chalked it up as a learning experience and moved on much faster.
This does not mean I don’t ever get down or upset about things.
It just means I get over things MUCH faster and take all the things that happen and turn them into lessons. Lessons to teach myself, my team, my family and my clients.
There are really no bad things, just great lessons.
If you train yourself to ask the question, “What am I learning here?…in the midst of a problem or challenge things will get a whole lot easier.
Vince
|
|
|
|
|
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you take YOUR business to the next level:
1. Join Our 6-Week Client Surge Program
Join us for 6-Weeks for the New Client Surge Program. It’s going to be 6 live modules. I will be solely focusing on helping you build a predictable system to get new clients and make more.
For more information on the 6-Week New Client Surge Program click the link below:
https://fitbusinessuniversity.com/client-surge
2. Spend the Day at Gabriele Fitness with Me and My Team
This will be the most productive day in your business building career. Come with a big challenge such as not having a marketing plan in place or not being able to remove yourself from your business, and we’ll roll up our sleeves together and knock it out. You’ll leave with a very clear plan to win. You’ll also get to see my 7-figure gym in action and talk to the members of our leadership team to learn how things run around here.
Send an email to megan@gabrielefitness.com, and put “Day at GFP” in the subject line.
3. Join my Mastermind
Join a super motivated group of gym owners who meet 4x/year to make more money so they can have more free time with their family. There is so much more you get with this, but the only way to apply is through a call with me and I will unpack everything for you.
To apply for the Mastermind, respond to this email with “Mastermind” in the subject line.
4. Work with me One-on-One
If you’d like to work directly with me to do things like become a better leader, systemize your business, or simply get yourself out of the day-to-day… just reply to this message and put “One-on-One” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!
|
|
|
|
|
Lesson 9: Make investments in yourself.
About a year ago, a guy took a chance on coming to my Mentorship.
He had never been to a business seminar and honestly was really struggling to make it as a gym owner.
Even after we had a great phone call about how I could help his gym get on track, he pretty much told me he was very reluctant to make the trip.
I was honest with him and told him if he didn’t change something, things would probably stay the same.
I told him even if it wasn’t with me, he needed to do something different.
He took a leap and came to the 2-day seminar in New Jersey.
With tears in his eyes at the end of the event he handed me an application to join my Mastermind, he was accepted.
A year later, he was awarded the SPF Mastermind Maven Award.
It’s an award I give to the member of the group that’s been the most helpful to others in the group and has shown tremendous progress.
Lesson 9 is to look at the money you spend on learning, marketing, personal development, books, courses, equipment and the like as investments, not costs.
With a leap of faith this young gym owner invested in himself and his business.
He is in a great place right now not only with his business but also his personal health and his mindset.
It’s been an amazing transformation.
I’ve made good investments and bad ones in my lifetime.
I have purchased $5,000 pieces of equipment for my gym that took up valuable space and collected dust. Bad investment but I learned a great lesson.
I also spent $20 on a book that completely changed my life.
The key is starting to think about the things you spend money on as investment not costs.
Start asking yourself, “is this an investment where I will see a return?”
Many times, you won’t be 100% sure but now you have a question to ask yourself and it’s up to you to make the right call.
Vince
P.S. If you are interested in the 6-week New Client Surge program, now is the time to take action. You need to jump on a call with me to be able to register and I have very limited time next week to fit you in.
Click the link and register for the call at the link ASAP:
|
|
|
|
|
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you take YOUR business to the next level:
1. Join Our 6-Week Client Surge Program
Join us for 6-Weeks for the New Client Surge Program. It’s going to be 6 live modules. I will be solely focusing on helping you build a predictable system to get new clients and make more.
For more information on the 6-Week New Client Surge Program click the link below:
https://fitbusinessuniversity.com/client-surge
2. Spend the Day at Gabriele Fitness with Me and My Team
This will be the most productive day in your business building career. Come with a big challenge such as not having a marketing plan in place or not being able to remove yourself from your business, and we’ll roll up our sleeves together and knock it out. You’ll leave with a very clear plan to win. You’ll also get to see my 7-figure gym in action and talk to the members of our leadership team to learn how things run around here.
Send an email to megan@gabrielefitness.com, and put “Day at GFP” in the subject line.
3. Join my Mastermind
Join a super motivated group of gym owners who meet 4x/year to make more money so they can have more free time with their family. There is so much more you get with this, but the only way to apply is through a call with me and I will unpack everything for you.
To apply for the Mastermind, respond to this email with “Mastermind” in the subject line.
4. Work with me One-on-One
If you’d like to work directly with me to do things like become a better leader, systemize your business, or simply get yourself out of the day-to-day… just reply to this message and put “One-on-One” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!
|
|
|
|
|
Lesson 10: Everyone’s business has problems.
My final installment of 10 Lessons in 10 years is that every other business has problems, not only you.
I was on the phone with an owner of a 70-million-dollar company who was telling me about problems they had.
I had been to this business before and it looked like perfection to me.
The product was great, service outstanding and the culture was magnificent.
To me, an outsider, they had it all under control.
There are no perfect businesses out there.
All businesses have problems.
The ones that are successful are better at solving them.
My friend and SPF Mastermind veteran member, Kyle Newell, says:
“Comparison is the thief of happiness.”
If you have a business with no problems it means your out of business.
Your problems are good.
They are necessary for growth.
Love them, embrace them and learn from them.
They don’t feel great in the moment. If you view them as opportunities to get better they will be much less painful.
This closes 10 lessons in 10 years, hope it was helpful.
Thanks for listening.
Vince
P.S. This is the LAST week to sign up for the 6-Week New Client Surge.
What are you waiting for?
https://fitbusinessuniversity.com/client-surge
|
|
|
|
|
PLUS: Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you take YOUR business to the next level:
1. Join Our 6-Week Client Surge Program
Join us for 6-Weeks for the New Client Surge Program. It’s going to be 6 live modules. I will be solely focusing on helping you build a predictable system to get new clients and make more.
For more information on the 6-Week New Client Surge Program click the link below:
https://fitbusinessuniversity.com/client-surge
2. Spend the Day at Gabriele Fitness with Me and My Team
This will be the most productive day in your business building career. Come with a big challenge such as not having a marketing plan in place or not being able to remove yourself from your business, and we’ll roll up our sleeves together and knock it out. You’ll leave with a very clear plan to win. You’ll also get to see my 7-figure gym in action and talk to the members of our leadership team to learn how things run around here.
Send an email to megan@gabrielefitness.com, and put “Day at GFP” in the subject line.
3. Join my Mastermind
Join a super motivated group of gym owners who meet 4x/year to make more money so they can have more free time with their family. There is so much more you get with this, but the only way to apply is through a call with me and I will unpack everything for you.
To apply for the Mastermind, respond to this email with “Mastermind” in the subject line.
4. Work with me One-on-One
If you’d like to work directly with me to do things like become a better leader, systemize your business, or simply get yourself out of the day-to-day… just reply to this message and put “One-on-One” in the subject line… tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!
|
|
|
|
