What Kind of Choices Are You Making in Your Small Business

Happy Friday everyone!

Today, I wanted to bring you a quick video from one of my mentors. John Maxwell is an expert on leadership and has written a number of best selling books. He also puts out these short videos in which he calls them ” A Minute with Maxwell.” I really like these short videos because in them he communicates a powerful lesson in just a minutes time. So, today I wanted to introduce to his “Minute with Maxwell.” Plus, I wanted to share with you this particular one he talks about because as a small business owner we do this everyday.

So, let me ask you, “What choices are you making today that will enhance your business?” Has the economy brought you done and have you blaming it for your lack of success? Trust me, I know how easy it is to fall into that trap, but as Maxwell says, “It is your personal responsibility for the choices you make.”

Think about that over the weekend and we will see you next week. Until then remember it is the choices you make that will determine your success!

To your success,
Coach Dave

Are You Making This Mistake With Your Small Business?

Okay, I am a little ashamed to admit this but I made one of the biggest mistakes that most small business owners make. The thing that bugs me even more about making this mistake is that in business school this is taught almost day one and I still did it. Well, lucky for me I decided to start working with a business coach to help me through some of the struggles I am facing with my business. More on that later, but have I got your curiosity to see if you are making that mistake in your small business? Alright, I won’t keep you waiting any longer. The biggest mistake most small business owners make is that when it comes to figuring out their Break Even Analysis they forget to include into the fixed costs section a line item that has the owner’s salary!

Yes, you heard me correct. Most small business owners when starting out figure that as long as they calcualte and cover all the fixed costs, which typically include things like rent, operations, marketing, employee payroll, etc. that the business can survive and they are making it. Well, after going back and seeing that for the past year all my calculations have been based entirely on just having enough members of my Working Mom Workouts site to cover all the fixed costs minus a salary for me has made me realize that my entire marketing and advertising strategy needs to change. Once I added in a monthly salary for me the number of clients I ned to have paying me a monthly subscription has gone up 2-3x of what I originally projected. So, let me ask you again, “Are you making this mistake in your small business?” If so, don’t beat yourself up over it, in a follow up post to this one I am going to show you how easy it is to calculate your Break Even Analysis with your salary in it, so that you have a true picture of what it takes to have a successful business!

To your success,
Coach Dave

Do you devalue your services?

I am always amazed at how many fitness clubs and personal trainers follow the herd. Out of the hundreds of clubs I have visited over the years maybe only a handful of clubs do not sell packages for their services (i.e personal training). When I ask owners or managers why they sell packages the response I always seem to get is, “well that is what such and such club does, so we have to offer that.” Let me ask you this, “do doctors offer packages for seeing them multiple times?” No, and you shouldn’t either. I just read an article on Club Industry’s web site that talks about consumers ready to spend more in 2011. Go read it when you have a chance and realize this, if you provide a service that people value then you should charge what you think it is worth and that will lead me to my final point today.

I want to leave you today asking yourself this question, “why is 10 sessions worth $50, but one session is worth $65?” Are you providing the same value during each service? Does over ten sessions the time you spent learning Anatomy and Physiology diminish? No, and that is why you need to stop following the herd and devaluing your services. If you don’t have the ability to set your rates I understand but if you do, then you should feel confident in what you are charging and stick to it. You service is worth what you believe it is worth. If you don’t have that confidence you will struggle long term in the fitness business.

For more info on sales and how to charge what you are worht check out my book www.anatomyofsales.com or join my coaching program here.

To your success,
Coach Dave

Dave McGarry’s Goals for 2011 Part II

Okay, the other day I talked about the process I use for setting my goals, so today to wrap things up I am going to be revealing my 2011 goals to you.

Here are my top ten goals for 2011 (in no particular order)

1.) Help 500 working and busy moms lose weight and create a healthy lifestyle through my Working Mom Workouts training program.

2.) Help 100 personal trainers get 100 clients into their business through my coaching program.

3.) Read 2 books a month (24 total) for the year.

4.) Train, fundraise, and complete the Dallas MS 150.

5.) Take several trips with my family.

6.) Create a Master Mind group of 10 like minded people that focuses on building passive income streams.

7.)  Strengthen and create 4 relationships with previous friends and new ones.

8.) Spend 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening preparing and reflecting on what I need to accomplish.

9.) Create a new service that is geared around creating and building blogs for Fitness Professionals

10.) Continue to grow in my spirituality and become more involved in my church.

These are my top ten goals for the year. As you might notice if I was to label each one  with the symbols that I described in the first part of the series, you will see I am pretty heavily skewed towards business goals.  I recognize that and if I was to included all 32 goals I set for myself you will see I have a better overall balance. Balance is what you should strive for but in some cases, depending on where you are in life, your goals might be dominate in one or two areas. That is okay, but make sure you realize the imbalance and strive to focus on all 8 areas that I initially described.

To your success,

Coach Dave

How to create internet independence

Are you looking to expand your fitness business by taking it online? If so, I have come across a new resource for you that will take you step by step.It is a blog totally dedicated to creating internet independence. The founder and contributor of this site is, Craig Ballantyne. Craig has been in the fitness industry for a long time now and has been real successful with his online adventures. He is the founder and creator of Turbulence Training and has written hundreds of articles on fat loss.

Now, Craig has started a mission to help people create their own internet empire. The blog just started a few days ago. So, don’t wait, start reading his posts today, so that you can get started on creating a passive income stream for yourself. Here is the link again to the site.

Make this the year you start doing something that is going to give you financial freedom. As Albert Einstein once said, ” To be different you will need to think different!”

To your success,

Coach Dave