Just recently I read an article in Speaker’s Magazine where the author talked about sports and the importance of an off-season. He said that in his off-season he spends time building his performance for the next season. He and his coach review how he did during his in-season and make adjustments in preparation for the next season.
This got me thinking about our personal training businesses and how we can use our slow period in the same way as athletes use their off-season and build our business performance. Typically August and December are slower months for personal trainers. Instead of panicking about the loss of business during these months, use these months as your off-season.
Here are some things you can do during your off-season.
1) Re-charge your batteries. You work hard all year so why not take some time off and re-charge your batteries. Go some place inspiring where you can be creative. You may just think up the next greatest program idea or add some needed spark to your existing programs.
2) Assess ho w you are doing. Take a full inventory of how your business is doing. Go back to the basics and see if there is anything you could be doing better. For example, review your customer service. Is it working the way you want it to? How about your finances? Are you making enough money? Pick everything apart and then put it back together again.
3) Go back to the drawing board. Look at the programs you provide and see if you can add more variety. Come up with better titles and descriptions to market your programs. When you go back to the drawing board you keep things fresh, new and exciting. People are drawn to novelty so use your off-season to create it.
4) Set your intent. I like to use the word intent instead of goal but the premise is the same. If you take August as your off-season then set your intent for the fall and what you would like to manifest in your business during that time period. You can do this again in December for the New Year. By setting and reviewing your intention every six months you will be sure to stay on course.
These are just a few ideas that you can use for your off-season. I really like the idea of incorporating an off-season into my business because it gives me an opportunity to work hard during the in-season months and know that I’ve got a break coming where I can re-focus. Right now I’m in El Salvador for a month. While January is actually one of the busiest months of the year I’m taking this opportunity to re-design my workshop content, work on my website and write to my valued readers. So what will you do during your off-season? I would love to know.
