On the face of it, I am doing pretty well. My training business is now 2 years old, I have my own 3000 square foot unit and nearly 200 members at my facility. The truth is though, recently I have got complacent.
Complacency is a very dangerous word to use in this context and some describe it as the ‘cancer’ of success.
The problem though is that most people don’t even realise that they’re being complacent. This is normally because they are keeping busy, and therefore feel like they’re moving forward.
When I started my training business outside in a park with only 5 clients, I was 100% focused on getting to 50 members. Based on my conversion rates of people that came for a trial and then turned into paying members, I knew that this would take me 3-4 months to achieve.
The reason I wanted to get to 50 was because I knew this would be enough to pay my business and personal monthly outgoings. I absolutely HAD to get to 50 clients otherwise we would lose our family home. I was crystal clear in my thinking and every action that I took was congruent with this outcome.
Once this was achieved (in 3 and a half months), the next big thing I focused on was getting us to enough clients so that we could cover the costs of our new unit. I had negotiated a staggered payment plan whereby the rent in the first month was only £500, but this then steadily increased to £1500 per month by month 9. I knew that I had to get us to 100 members in order to cover this. That was achieved by month 7.
We have then steadily increased membership to where it is now and in the process our outgoings have dramatically increased to cover things like VAT (currently spending around £1700 per month on this) and another trainer.
What I’ve realised since (but didn’t at the time) is that when you ABSOLUTELY HAVE to achieve something and KNOW that you will achieve it, you are forced to think slightly differently and become more resourceful.
What goes on inside our heads determines our actions and therefore our outcomes. Where you are right now is exactly where you deserve to be and (controversially!) where you want to be. There is much written about this sort of stuff by others but having had this recent realisation I feel compelled to share my views on it.
Some reading this may argue that they want more from their lives. They want more time with their family or they want to earn more than they’re currently earning. So my question to those saying that is “if that’s the case, then why haven’t you done anything about it”?
Most will moan about their lives, but do nothing about it because they don’t absolutely have to. People (like me recently) get complacent. As long as the bills are getting paid, you’re putting food on the table and there’s a bit left over for recreation time then the desire to want/have more isn’t very high.
Your life can change in an instant.
If you were told that you had only 2 months to live unless you had a life saving £15,000 operation, I bet you would become very resourceful in coming up with that money. You would figure out by whatever means how to get more clients, charge more for your services, leverage your time etc. I guarantee that you would come up with the money.
I’ve had a huge shift in my thinking recently. I recognised that things had got a bit complacent. I knew that I wanted to double my business turnover to £300,000 within the next 12 months, but I wasn’t quite sure on the best way to go about it so I hired a mentor.
I was speaking to him on the phone explaining what I wanted to do ” I want to double my business turnover within the next 12 months because. …..”
He cut me off before I could finish and said “you’ve got to change your thinking straight away. Why do you want to wait that long? What’s stopping you from doubling your turnover within 2 months?”
I thought about this for a few seconds and then replied “absolutely nothing”
He then asked me if there was anything that I really wanted to do within the next 3 months. I said I wanted to take my wife and kids to EuroDisney at Christmas. He recommended that I price it up and put a deposit down. Then get to work.
Straight away, I was then thinking of ways that I could rapidly increase our turnover. More clients is one way but increasing prices is another.
I then created a VIP package for my group training members that is double the standard price. We already charge more than our competitors, so this was a big change. I have then had 3 consultations this week with potential new members. All 3 have signed up and have gone for the VIP package – £150 per month.
I know that every one of these people signing up to VIP will achieve what they set out to as well. They are paying more money and are therefore more committed.
I’ve increased my daily marketing spend to increase my leads and am looking at now improving my semi private proposition as well.
All of this within just a few days.
So, are you happy with where you’re at right now?
If the answer is no, then do something about it.
If you don’t know how to then get some help. Find someone that has /is producing the result that you want and then ask for their help.
Yes, you might have to pay for this – but before those negative barriers come up and start telling you that you can’t afford to pay someone to help you, have a think about how resourceful you would be if your life depended on it.
Ricky
ps. if you want to join my PT100k Club and start getting new clients into your business within 24 hours then have a quick look here:
http://www.pt100kclub.com/sales-page/
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