Tag Archives: Biggest Mistake

Are You Making This Mistake With Your Small Business?

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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

Part III of 7 tips on how to get more personal training clients

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Last week I started a series of posts on, “7 tips on how to get more personal training clients” and today I want to finish the series with the final two. Before I finish the series let me give you a piece of advice that will help you. First of all, reading and agreeing with me is okay, but if you do not act and do something then you are missing out. One of my short comings for a long time was the fact that I read a lot, had great ideas, but never acted and implemented them. That all changed one day when a previous supervisor told me that you have great ideas but you don’t do anything about them. That lit a fire and since that day when I find myself talking about how I want to create more passive income or start a business I say to myself, “Quit talking and do something”. I hope I light a fire in you. Okay onto the final two tips. The first one is a simple action tip, but few personal trainers take advatange of what they have at their finger tips.

6.) Ask your current clients – Your current clients should be your biggest fan and you have at your fingertips the potential to get several more clients but you have to ask. Now, the key here is to make sure that you have an incentive for your client. For example, for every client they refer you can give them a few complimentary sessions in return. Think long term and big picture here. Also, don’t go to the well too often and if you ask them once and they do not respond then move onto another client. 

The final tip has to do with a marketing strategy called positioning.

7.) Position yourself – this final tip will take sometime to develop and understand. The biggest mistake I see personal trainers make is they want to everything to everyone. It is important to become an expert in a niche and market yourself as the expert. Once you have established your self as say the expert in “Back Pain” then people will come to seek you out for your help. If you are having a tough time figure out a niche just ask yourself what you are passionate about and gravitate towards that to start with.

Well that concludes the seven tips on how to get more personal training clients. Remember you need to start putting things into action because action will lead to results! Good luck!

Create your own luck

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Do you believe that luck plays a major role in your success? Well, if you think that only lucky people are successful, you need to start thinking differently. People who are successful put themselves into situations to reap opportunities that arise, and once presented with an opportunity their knowledge and skills allow them to make good decisions. In a previous post “Learning Never Ends” I tell new trainers and interns, the best piece of advice I received early in my career, was to never stop learning. I believe that the success I have achieved to this point has been attributed to that discipline. Another key to creating your own luck is to have a great attitude. I recently read a quote by Joe Cirulli, Gainesville Health and Fitness CEO, about what his thoughts on the economy were and how it is going to affect his business. He said, in their company values they preach this quote, ” We are the creators of our own future.” I could not have said it any better and if you want to be successful then you need to create your own luck.

Here are some other approaches to make luck work for you:

Create a mind map 

Have a plan

Learn from your past and your failures

Always believe in yourself and your abilities

Network, Network, Network – I have had three jobs in my career and they have all been because I knew someone that knew the person who was looking to hire a trainer.

Finish – The journey is never over. The biggest mistake people make is that they give up too soon. As I mention in my book “Anatomy of Sales”  I almost gave up on the fitness industry but hanging on has now led me to where I am today.