There are no “wrong” answers anymore. In business, there are few absolutes. While fixed systems and black/white advice can help new gym owners get some traction, NO system is ever permanent. Trial and error is a bad entrepreneurial strategy. Test and measure is a good entrepreneurial strategy. What’s the difference? Math. The keys to trying new things–workouts, supplements, or business ideas–are these: Try only ONE thing at a time; Measure the difference before/after. For example, if one of your athletes starts taking a protein supplement, a creatine supplement and a fish oil supplement on the same day, and then reports “feeling better” a month later, which supplement caused the improvement? It’s impossible to tell. Did your Facebook ad trigger those ten calls this month, or did your clients have more conversations about you with their coworkers? Are your coaches lazy about their appearance, or are they just unaware of your dress code? Ask. Then tell. Measure the difference. Many gym owners who try the Gym Checkup struggle to find the metrics they’re asked to provide. They can’t figure out their ARM; they don’t know their net profit. And that lack of knowledge is fine (it’s an answer unto itself. When they realize they don’t know these elementary metrics, they can click a link to “phone a friend”–me–and get help.) I started testing the Bright Spots retention strategy in 2005. I don’t “think” it works; I know it works because my year-over-year retention was 86% in 2015. What will bring it back to my PR of 93%? I’m testing various strategies. I’m not guessing, not wishing, not pining for the “good old days.” Luckily, my gym is very successful; I don’t need more clients or more money. So I can use my gyms as a lab for ideas, then take the best ones and share them with my “First 40.” They’re tweaked, then tested again and again until they’re accepted as broadly ...
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