Tag Archives: University Of Florida

Niche Marketing: How to profit from it Part I

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I thought in preparation for my upcoming to talk to the Frisco YEA (Young Entrepreneurs Academy) I would go ahead and write out my presentation here on the blog for practice but also to share with everyone else who is interested in making money from Niche Marketing.

The title of my presentation is going to be “Riches in Niches.” The reason I have chosen that title is because if you were to study almost every successful company you will have seen that in their beginnings they focused in on a specific niche and once they conquered that niche they grew and moved on. Don’t worry I will explain more later but let me start off by telling you a little bit about me.

My Story

Well I wish I could stand up here and have some great story about how when I was 12 I started a baseball trading company out of my room or how I started College and dropped out to start up a high tech software company from my parent’s garage but unfortunately that is not the case. Actually I took a different route. Starting a business was the last thing on my mind when I was growing up. I was concerned with only two things: One, playing sports and two, hanging out with my friends. The only real business or entrepreneurial thoughts I had was how was I going to have money to pay for my car insurance and going out money.

Now, what was also engrained in my head was that college was not a choice but a necessity. You see, I had three siblings and none of them including my parents went to college, so from an early age my mom put it in my head that I was going to be the first one in the family to get a college degree.

So after high school off I went to the University of Florida to study sports medicine. I wanted to be an athletic trainer or physical therapist after graduating. That was not in the cards or should I say not in the grades. Now, I did not do bad in school I just focused more on hanging out with my friends and going to Gator football games then studying enough to get the grades I needed to make it into PT school.

Okay, so after I graduated I did an internship with the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas and met several personal trainers who were making some really good money training members of the club. Also, I saw that they had a lot of flexibility with creating their schedule and they dictated how much they made by the amount of hours they wanted to train. Those two things really appealed to me, so that is what I pursued right out of school.

Now, I am from Florida so I went back home to Orlando and worked for a guy who owned his own private PT studio. It was at this point after graduating from school that I started to get the bug for learning and business. So fast forward a little and as you can see in the picture that is my wife who at the time was living in Dallas and wanted me to move out there.

So, I packed up my stuff in my car and drove out there. I started a job as PT at a club in Dallas called the Premier Club. It was located right by SMU and Highland park. One of the best moves I ever made because my clients were successful business men and at the time the economy was booming and people were creating internet companies and selling them for a lot of money. Mark Cuban was working out there and I got to see him sell his company and become the billionaire he is today. Hanging around all these successful guys got me to thinking about creating my own success story but I felt I needed some business background, which led me to pursue an MBA from UTD.

After I graduated from UTD with my MBA a friend of mine asked me to come help start up the brand new Cooper Aerobics Center at Craig Ranch. I jumped on the opportunity because at the time the economy was doing great and this gave me a chance to work with a start up with any of my capital at risk. Well, let’s fast forward agin and five years after I had built a thriving personal training department the housing bubble burst and the club suffered. I won’t bore you with details but the project turned south and the bank and investors wanted a change at the top! That left me and the other managers out.

For the first time in my life I was unemployed and not sure what I was going to do, but after soul searching and talking it over with my wife I decided it was time I bring out that entrepreneurial spirit in me and since then I have not looked back.

I currently run two businesses. The first one is an information marketing company where I sell products to different niches, like my Working Mom Workouts site which is  membership site that provides weekly fitness workouts for moms. Also, I have written a book on how to profit form blogging where I target people who are looking to make passive income from their blog. The second company I run is a local internet marketing firm where I provide marketing services for small local businesses.

That is my story which now leads me into the discussion of Niche Marketing and will be part II in this blog series.

 

Are You Managing the Game?

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Last weekend the Florida Gators beat LSU in what most people are calling an ugly win for the University of Florida. According to most of the pundits and my friends the game was boring to watch and the common phrase I heard was all Florida di was manage the game. Here is the point I want to make, regardless of how exciting or flashy the Gators were on Sat night they won the game and in the end accomplished their goal. As for managing the game that is the key to success in business and life. Reflecting back on my life and career I would have to say that I have  “managed the game” because the success I have had has come from being conservative with calculated risk. I am no flashy celebrity trainer like Bob and Gillian from the “Biggest Loser” but I am a disciplined hard worker that has managed to be successful in business in life. Okay, so here is what you need to do to manage your “game” or carreer as a fitness professional. 

I. Understand that your life and career is a journey, not a race! Steady, daily improvement will add up to numerous success stories and accomplishments throughout your career

II. Continue learning! I have said this so many times I am beating it to death but in order to manage the game properly you need to keep improving your skills and learning new ones. Times are changing and you need to be poised to capitalize on new technologies and new information. 

III. Build trust! If you are going to be a leader or person off influence, which every fitness professional is, then you need to have those people that follow you have trust in what you say and do!

IV. Learn to adapt! You need to be like a chameleon. Adapt to your current surroundings. If the economy is sagging you need to figure out how to adapt to lower consumer spending. Learning to adapt to your surroundings is one of the biggest keys to managing your career.

 

These four tips are just a few ways that you can manage your career and life. Remember, there will be times that day to day activities seem boring but the steady, conservative, calculated risk approach will get you the success you deserve and want. On a final note, I can tell you that if the Florida Gators win the rest of their games by being boring and “managing the game” I know that I will be extremely happy Gator fan with another National Championship to our trophy case.

More about DaveMcGarry.com

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More about me

 

Okay, so here is a little more about me. I am a husband (9 years), father of 2 ( I have a 3 year old and a 5 month old). Yes, I am getting sleep again! Thanks for asking! Hehe! Also, I am currently the Fitness Director at the Cooper Fitness Center at Craig Ranch. I have been in the fitness industry since graduating from the University of Florida. My initial start was as a personal trainer at a small private personal training studio in Orlando. After eight months I moved to Dallas and worked as a personal trainer and manager for the Premier Athletic Club in Dallas. It was around this time that I began to grow a passion for managing and business. I acted on that passion and went back to school and graduated with an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Enough bio let’s get to the fun stuff. I love College football or let’s say Gator Football! Living in Texas has made me acquire a love for Tex-mex. Don’t worry mom, my favorite is still your Italian meatballs!

I started to read more once I graduated from school. My goal is to get to the point that I can read one book a week for a whole year.

I can’t get enough of reading, listening, and learning from self-help gurus.

I have been trying, unsuccessfully as of this writing, to invest in stocks.

I love to travel. I have been to Germany and Ireland but have Italy on my bucket list. Also, my goal is to visit every state. So far I am half way there!

Favorite movie is Gladiator and Remember the Titans.

Have an interest in politics or at least I used to! Not so sure anymore with all the bickering back and forth.

I Love my family and friends!

Finally, I  am really excited about this blog and helping people.

Say tuned for more!

Coach Dave