In Part 1 of this series, I wrote that your gym is going through a rite of passage, and it won’t emerge the same as was two months ago. The “covid correction” is just a natural and necessary part of evolution in the fitness industry.
Then I asked you to go on a vision quest: to get really clear on your purpose and place in life. What kind of Perfect Day do you want to create for yourself?
Today, we’re going to talk about the steps to get there.
We’ve broken all the steps down in our Two-Brain Growth ToolKit, and we employ successful gym owners as mentors to guide you to your Perfect Day. But here’s the DIY version in case you want to try this yourself.
I created resource to help you: Your Gym 2.0 Worksheet.
You can also watch my webinar here: Your Gym 2.0.
First exercise: The Premortem
Resource: Two-Brain Radio
Imagine your gym died yesterday and you’re at the funeral. Then answer these questions:
– What was your business? Describe it.
– What killed it?
– What survived? What will you keep?
Second Exercise: WWCEOD?
Imagine you get fired as CEO of your gym. The board of directors hires a new CEO to run it.
What’s the first thing the new CEO would do?
This story comes from “Good to Great”: a CEO and COO found their company in trouble. So each fired the other. Both walked out of the boardroom, and they re-hired each other in the hallway. They re-entered the room as if they were brought in to fix an ailing company from scratch.
The value of the exercise is in removing the emotional filters that stop us from taking hard actions. Deep down, we might know that we should cut back on staff or reduce our gym size—but our ego and our relationships stop us from taking the necessary steps.
Even the knowledge that the tree will die if we don’t cut off some imperfect limbs might not be enough to take action. So we need to act from a place of objectivity.
This is a where a mentor’s guidance is priceless.
Third Exercise: What Are Your First “Rocks?”
As the new CEO of your business, what must you change immediately to save it?
Do you need to restructure your debt and extend your loans?
Do you need to get out of your lease?
Do you need to build something or take something away?
How will you deploy your resources—your time and money—to make these changes?
What would a CEO do? Write everything down.
In Part 3, I’ll help you pick apart this rite of passage, find the lessons and start the journey toward your “new” gym.
