I keep hearing all these gym start stories about people who sound like they were living in a third world country when they opened their gym. Here are some of the classic lines
“I had to sleep in my gym for the first 3 months”
“We never put the lights on”
“ I was eating tuna and rice for weeks and weeks”
“ I nearly lost the gym because of un paid bills”
“I had to remortgage the house”
What the actual f%^& where you doing then? Clearly these people put themselves in un reasonably risky position. Do not get me wrong when you take a risk there is no better way to get you up early and going hard but what’s the point of these stories? Because its wrapped as “inspiration” are we supposed to think “oh my god, that sounds terrible but look at you now making SOME money and your lights are on “ ….do these stories make people excited? Ummm No!
Its so ridiculous and amusing, some gym owners might get a bit out of joint and say “well you don’t know what its like!” and they would be right I don’t know what its like because my gym turned a profit the first week it was open. Since day 1 we were having so much fun and create so much energy around the gym that it was infectious. I would go home at a reasonable hour and have time to play with my dogs, cook dinner and get in some down time either reflecting, writing or thinking and not in the noble pretentious way in my personalized library where I have many leather bound books [Ferrell] but in a mans way on the toilet. A quote from my business partner and me “ A man does his best thinking on the toilet, between clients “
So why do people feel the need to share such stories?
Because it fulfills a human need inside them! The story is not for the audience. It’s a selfish way of gaining some significance. “Look how hard I had it but look at me now”
Currently I’m sitting at a market and its early, people are slowly wandering in with bed hair and both hands double-parked with Coffee. I can hear a fresh juice maker ticking over as it crushes oranges and the crackle of a barbeque browning chicken skewers. There is a tall guy with a well-groomed beard, very stylish slick hair and a tight Hawaiian shirt selling “raw treats” he looks miserable. Next to him is a greased up hot plate with fat German sausages trying not to explode and a vender with a cheeky smile on his face. I’m over looking this interesting mess en scene actively trying not to laugh at the image of a gym owner cross-legged between the squat rack, in the dark, eating tuna in spring water because the flavored ones are too expensive but fuck it because he’ll die by the iron and he has 22inch arms. The German sausage guy is in his element.
I digress,
Here’s some real inspiration for people in limbo trying to decide whether to open a gym or not.
- If you’re already in the industry put all your efforts into gaining a reputation for getting a result number one. Another way to get people to listen to you is do not put other gyms or professionals down, do not gossip or talk shit, do not complain or make excuses.
2. Calibrate yourself honestly with this tool
How do you see yourself? How do others see you? And do they match? If not get that aligned
3. Peel back the layers of the reasoning why you want to open a gym and find the core, if your thinking goes straight to money, say goodbye to every cent you have. If your thinking is “I just want to help people” again say goodbye to all your money not because its false but because it lacks detail. The real reason is emotional it should either bring tears or give you Goosebumps and the only way to feel this is if the reason you started is because of something bigger then just yourself.
4. Keep your structure and services simple with 3 options; less is more in this case. It appears that having multiple payment and service options confuses and makes people question what your about when just because someone comes into the gym in the middle of the day they pay less? (Off peak & peak times)
Hodges
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