In yesterday’s blog, I discussed how great people are the foundation to a great fitness business.

Today, I want to tell you about the single biggest mistake I’ve made as a business owner.

When Bill and I opened IFAST, we had that “Field of Dreams” approach to business – if you build it, they will come.

I think I just assumed that since we were really good at what we did, that people would flock to our business and we’d never have any issues with getting clients in our door.

Boy was I wrong!After we’d been in business for 8 months or so, Bill and I hit up the Perform Better Summit in Chicago. The PB events are always top notch, and I clearly remember this one because it was my first time attending as a business owner.

I was listening to Thomas Plummer and he made a profound and impactful point:

Being better isn’t good enough.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!

You mean, being good enough isn’t enough? Being the best at what you do in your area isn’t adequate?

And to be honest, he was bang-on.

I don’t think I’m going to offend anyone by saying this – I think Bill and I are pretty darn good at what we do. We have the “technical” side of the training business down.

But if you’re ever read the E-Myth, there’s typically three roles we have to play when we open a business:

• The Technician – The person that actually goes out and trains people.
• The Manager – The person that manages staff, bills and collects payments, schedules, etc.
• The Entrepreneur – The visionary, or person who strives to grow your business.

We might’ve been great trainers and coaches, but we had a hell of a lot to learn about the business side of things!

I’ll go to my grave saying that managing people is the most difficult job of any business. Systems, procedures, coaching – in the grand scheme, that stuff isn’t too bad.

But managing people and figuring out what makes each and every one of them tick is a totally different ballgame!

Here is today’s fitness business tip:

Being a great trainer or coach doesn’t pre-qualify you to have a great training business. It may be the foundation, but you’ll have to immerse yourself in business if you want to be successful.

Eric did one of the smartest things possible when he went into business with Pete (a business major) to open Cressey Performance. He essentially hired a manger, freeing himself of that role.

Bill and I are clones of each other – we’re both technicians, so we’ve both had to learn about business along the way. Luckily, we’re surrounded ourselves with great business minds like Pat Rigsby, Nick Berry and Alwyn Cosgrove over the years, who have made our lives immeasurably easier.

So remember, if your goal is to run a successful fitness business, there’s more to it than just being a great coach.

And trust me when I say this: Being a great coach is absoultely, positively the best first-step. Being great at what you do will make everything along the way easier.

But being a great coach or trainer doesn’t necessarily ensure success – it just makes it easier.

If you want to learn more about the mistakes I’ve made (along with the successes), you should definitely check out the Fitness Business Blueprint. This is one-stop-shopping for opening and running a successful fitness business for years to come, and it’s on sale for $100 off the suggested retail price this week only.

Please – learn from my mistakes and fast-track your success by picking up a copy today.

You’ll thank me later 🙂

All the best

MR