Make your fitness business stronger

How do you eat an elephant?  No, this isn’t some lame Dad joke; there’s no funny punchline here.  But the answer is everything:

One bite at a time.

 

Whenever I am facing overwhelm or massive daunting tasks I have an image of a big elephant in my head and me taking a chunk out of it’s leg.

The only way to approach something huge is to start small.  A small step, action, task is THE best way to start.  It’s a simple idea, yet so simple that it is often overlooked.

Don’t dismiss the power of this simplicity.  Because from here, great action is born.

JUST FIVE MINUTES

When looking at your business it is very easy to fall into overwhelm.  There are many things that we as Personal Trainer/Business Owners need to be on top of.  Everyday you wear multiple hats – you have the PT hat, motivator hat, friend hat, marketing hat, accounting hat, copywriter hat and so on.

If you are like the majority of the PT’s I work with, you are doing all the things on your own – from end to end.  You are responsible for attracting, converting and training your clients.

That is a BIG ask.

No wonder you feel fatigued, stuck, overwhelmed and ‘always behind’ the gazillion tasks on your ‘to-do’ list.  Running a successful PT business is damn hard work (and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!).

So where do you start?

With just 5 minutes.

THE POWER OF MICRO FOCUS

We have busy lives.  I get it.  But everyone has a spare 5 minutes somewhere.  When you focus on a task (totally focus) for 5 minutes it is surprising how much can be achieved.

5 minutes here, 5 minutes there, over the course of a day you can accumulate a decent amount of focus time.  It adds up!

When we talk to unconditioned clients we advise them to start out with small changes; we ask them to start moving by taking a walk around the block or doing a minute of walking on the spot.  As they become more fitter and more confident this time can increase.  We don’t throw clients in the deep end and say “Ok, I need you to exercise 90 minutes per day” – they would freak out,  leave and never return.

The same thought process and compassion needs to be applied to your business.

Regardless of whether you are drowning in the ‘to-do’ list, need more money and clients, want to build a website or create digital products the beginning is the same.

You start with 5 minutes.  Then you focus on 5 minute increments – that’s how you can strengthen and build you business even when you ‘don’t have time’.

SOME 5 MINUTE BUSINESS STRENGTHENING STRATEGIES TO DO RIGHT AWAY:

Here is a list of some of my favourite 5 minute strategies.

Gratitude Mental List:  set your timer for 5 minutes and mentally list off all the things you are grateful for.  Do NOT underestimate the power of this; turning your attention to the things you grateful for trains your brain to look for the ‘good’.  Business is 80% Mindset and 20% strategy – you gotta get your head in the game if you want to thrive.

Email Clean Up:  I love this one – I do this once per week.  Click all unread emails – hit DELETE.  If you haven’t opened them by now, chances are it’s not important.  Don’t kid yourself on this one – get ruthless on your email inbox!  Delete, delete, delete like a woman possessed!

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Social Media Reach Out:  this strategy can be broken down into 3 different segments – old clients/aquantinces, friends and potential clients, peers.  Choose one segment to focus on for the 5 minutes. Write a quick message that says who you are and why you are reaching out.  Remember you are simply trying to establish a relationship with these people, not sell them off the bat.  Try firing off 2 or 3 of these messages daily (Hint – save your message to the notes section of your phone so you can copy and paste with some individualisation)

Content Brainstorming:  Write down the top 3 questions clients ask you.  Choose one topic and mind map some possible content ideas from this topic

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Write A HandWritten Card:  let’s go old school.  No body receives handwritten letters or cards anymore, which sucks because getting an actual letter in the mail is awesome!  Keep a collection of greeting cards in your drawer at home (I buy blank ones on sale from Kikki-K).  Pick your person, write up a quick note and get it ready to send.

Ask For A Referral:  Pick a couple of days where you are seeing a lot of clients.  At the end of each session (after you’ve congratulated them on an epic workout) say something like:

“Hey X, I’ve had a couple of PT spots open up, and is there anyone in your world who could benefit from seeing me and getting results like you have?”  “I’d really appreciate it if you forward me on their details – I’m more than happy to offer them a complimentary session and if they sign on, something for you to”

This will only take a couple of minutes but the impact it can have on your business is HUGE!  Never be afraid of asking your clients for a referral!

Pick one that feels the ‘easiest’ for you to do now, and take ACTION.

Don’t waste 5 minutes – make it productive!

Nardia x

PS Do you have any 5 minute suggestions?  If so, I’d love to know; please share your thoughts by writing in the comments section below.