In this series, I’ve been writing about something fitness trainers know but business owners forget: how to solve problems.
Here’s the background video.
Good business mentors know how to help entrepreneurs reach their goals.
They start with the goal. Let’s call that “Point B.”
Then they measure the starting point. Let’s call that “Point A.”
Slowly, they map the path backward from Point B to Point A.
After they’ve mapped the process, the mentor prescribes the fastest path to the founder. Like this:
“Well, Alice, here are the steps you’ll need to take to reach your goal. To get there quickly, you’ll need to do a bit of math and then educate your staff on the change. I’ll give you until Friday to finish that work. Here’s a template to use. Next week, we’ll roll this change out to your clients. How does that sound?”
Then they overcome barriers, such as misunderstandings and fear. Like this:
“No problem. If you can’t figure out the math, we’ll work through it together. And here are some more resources to help you understand why we do it this way.”
Or like this:
“I faced the same scary problem in my gym. Here’s what happened. Now, let’s break the process into tiny steps to make it less terrifying.”
Then mentors motivate gym owners by reminding them of their Bright Spots, showing them their improved revenue and lifestyle, and calling them out when they don’t do the real work.
Then they track progress and adjust the plan—because no plan survives first contact with the enemy. And the enemy (your previous mistakes, your mindset and your staff’s biases) are pretty strong. So Two-Brain gym owners meet with a mentor every week or month to adjust their plans.
If this sounds like what I described yesterday, you’re right. Being a business mentor is a lot like being a fitness coach.
We track gym owners’ progress—from Founder to Farmer to Tinker to Thief—on the Two-Brain Scorecard.
But no one loses sight of the goal. The mentor can’t afford to because the gym owner never stops thinking about it. Gym owners don’t raise rates or learn Facebook marketing for the sake of paying the landlord or Zuckerberg; they do it because they want to achieve their real goal. And they’re willing to trade short-term pain to get there—if they trust their mentors.
In the fitness world, methods are simple. We know how to help people lose weight. The hard part is mapping the path and keeping people on it long enough to win.
But in the business world, methods are tougher. Ideas are everywhere, but proof is scarce. We’re the only ones in the fitness business with comprehensive data (because it costs millions to collect).
Mapping the path to wealth was tough. But we’ve done it.
Click here to see the map.
Other Articles in This Series
How to Achieve Any Goal
How to Solve Any Problem in Fitness
The Two-Brain Wealth Map
Mentors: Teachers, Guides and Therapists
