Let’s say your boat has a hole, but it’s far above the water line. You don’t really worry about it, right?
Now let’s say you start taking on passengers. That tiny hole gets closer and closer to the water line.
This tiny hole can sink you if you take on clients too fast. That little piece you didn’t worry about when you were alone in the boat–policies, payment structure, “special deals”–is going to sink you as you grow. It’s happening: believe it or not, some gyms are getting too big too fast.
New clients are showing up and then leaving after a “trial” class…or week…or month.
And they’re never coming back.
Rapid growth–100 people at a time, which we’ll talk about on Monday’s podcast–or even 10 per month can CRUSH a gym if the owner isn’t ready.
Everyone things, “I’m ready to grow!” I certainly hear those words 5x every week on free calls. But many aren’t signing up the clients who DO walk through the door. Some don’t have an on boarding process at all, and most don’t track year-over-year retention rates.
If 40 people joined your gym TODAY, could you handle it?
Saying, “I’d just hustle harder” is the wrong answer (read: The Hustle Is A Lie.)
If 40 people joined today, you’d struggle to make a connection with each of them. Heck, you’d struggle to have a conversation with half of them! Each one would have a less-than-perfect experience, but they would think the experience was typical of your service. Would they be back? Would they tell their friends about the experience, good or bad?
If your classes went from 8 to 20 people overnight, how would that affect your current members? Could you scale up quickly enough to provide the same one-on-one attention in the group?
Do you have the equipment? Software? Space? Systems?
The reason most businesses don’t scale is they’re not READY to scale. When an opportunity arises, they sink. If you’re not piloting a full boat, start chinking the holes.
Not sure how to start? Find the holes with our Gym Checkup. It’s free.
See a BIG hole? Book a free consultation after you do the Checkup.
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