It’s was Monday morning at 10:00am. I was at the office and I’d been squirming in my chair for over an hour. I was trying to write the web copy for my book but I kept bouncing back and forth between email, Twitter and Facebook. I was stalling, wasting time, procrastinating. I wondered why it always felt so hard to just get started. I needed a coffee. But I started a fourteen day cleanse so caffeine was out. Great timing! I needed to buckle down and start writing but I suddenly needed water. More stalling. I contemplated going for a walk. I always feel more creative after a walk. No! I just needed to sit at my keyboard and write.
So I sat and stared at my computer screen. The cursor was blinking madly in front of me. It was taunting me, daring me to write something but it knew my mind was blank and that I had no words. It seemed as though every time I sat down to write the copy for my book I got stuck. I pushed away from my desk in frustration because I couldn’t find the right words. I looked at my drawer where I kept my secret stash of mini eggs. Maybe they’ll give me more brain power. I managed to control the urge to rip through the bag.
I paced my office with a million ideas bouncing around in my head. I’d read dozens of books and talked to so many different experts on the subject of web copy. It all felt like a big jumble in my head and I couldn’t seem to make any sense out of any of it. I tried three times to write the copy and each time it came out like a cheesy sales letter. That wasn’t me.
Last year I proudly gave birth to the How to Guide to Starting a Personal Training Business. The exact birthday is April 1st. By the way the date was no accident. I figured if I published a book on April Fools Day I would never forget the date and I was right. In just a few days my book baby will celebrate its first birthday. I feel like I’ve been trying to write the birth announcement for the last year.
On this particular Monday morning I was adamant that before I did anything else for the day I would get the copy written. Then Tuesday came, and then Wednesday and by Thursday I’d given up. I was convinced that this was one task I couldn’t do. I rationalized that I was too close to my own work so I couldn’t write objectively. I resolved to hire a professional. But then I remembered what a colleague of mine, Chris Fernandez, said, “The only person who can write your copy is you because you live it and are the best person to talk about it.” These words kept haunting me. I knew he was right. I was a writer after all. So why was this so difficult?
I woke up early on Saturday morning after a tough week of trying to squeeze out the web copy. I usually get up about 5:00am even on the weekends. Crazy I know but my body is used to it from all the early morning personal training clients. I ate a handful of strawberries, half a grapefruit and poured myself a healthy cup of coffee. Yeah I know I wasn’t supposed to but I tossed in the towel on the cleanse. I flipped on my laptop and did my usual morning routine of checking email. Then I went to my Word Press site and without any thought clicked on to my book page.
I stared at the screen for only a moment and then my fingers took over. To my surprise words just starting flowing and I could hardly type fast enough to keep up. It was like a fog had been lifted and suddenly my brain knew what to say. It had miraculously sorted through all clutter and started to put it all together.
After an hour of writing I had a rough draft of the web copy and stared at it in disbelief. I wiped the tears from my eyes. I was crying out of a sense of relief and because I was finally able to get words to communicate not only the message but my passion for my book baby. I spent the next four hours massaging the words, adding pictures and changing things around.
So why was I having so much trouble getting the words to flow in the first place? What had been the issue? I was giving my brain another problem to solve. But then I realized, it was so simple and I could see it clearly now. If you aren’t true to yourself, if you try and be something you’re not or communicate in a style that isn’t you then you have little hope of succeeding. Even the simplest tasks become mountains to climb and you’ll never see the summit.
When I went to write my web copy my head was full of, “I got to sell this book”. I was writing sales copy and trying to use sales techniques to get people to buy it. While that may work for some, this type of approach has never worked for me. I’ve always been more of a people person and consider myself to be a coach and mentor. When I switched my thinking from trying to write sale copy to writing from the heart and telling a story, my mountain became an insignificant bump in the road.
I’ve heard the words, “Just be yourself” countless times in my life. I know what the words mean and I understand the meaning behind the words. But sometimes it’s still possible to get caught up in not being yourself and trying to be something you’re not. Maybe its peer pressure that throws us off track. Perhaps it’s the desire to be successful and thinking we have to act in a certain way to get it. Whatever it is that causes you to veer away from just being yourself ask yourself, is it worth it?
It’s only a few days until my book baby celebrates its birthday. I’ve learned a valuable lesson about just being yourself. So I guess kids can teach their parents a few things.
Take a moment and go to http://edgefit.ca/fitness-educators/products-and-services/start-your-own-personal-training-business/ and see where this story came from.
If you tell yourself something over and over again it will likely become your reality. The other day I was really busy at work. It’s been really crazy for the last couple weeks but on this particular day I was going flat out from 5:00am to 6:00pm. My husband dropped-off our dog, Bailey at daycare and I was supposed to pick him up at the end of the day. I spoke to my husband twice that day and each time I said, “Geez I forgot about the dog, I know I’m going to forget to pick him up”.
If you could focus on just one thing in your business that you knew would bring you tremendous results what would that one thing be?
A couple of days ago I spoke to a group in Human Resources. The topic was how to take action on your goals. It made me realize that taking action is such a needed topic because too many people set goals, really want to achieve them but for whatever reason don’t. This group was no exception. They each shared how frustrating it was to set a goal and not attain it. We laughed at how easy it is to make big lists of things to do and never get through it all. There’s always something on the list that never gets done.
If you’re really serious about achieving a specific goal then here’s what I recommend you try.
1) Find one action word to anchor what you’re trying to accomplish.
2) Write 1-3 goals related to your word.
3) Create a very short list of action steps to do on a daily basis to achieve your goal.
Last year I picked the word “perform”. The reason I picked perform was because I wanted to add more performance elements in my presentations. All year long I attended workshops and seminars on how to improve performance. I read books, watched videos and joined an acting class. The word itself became my anchor and all the decisions I made over the course of the year focussed on improving my performance.
My measurement tools were the evaluation forms from the conferences, emails received from delegates, spin-off work from presentations and comments from conference organizers. I even had one person from a session ask me if I was a comedian and another ask me if I was an actress. In 2008 and 2009, I was named top ten presenter at the Athletic Business Conference. How’s that for results.
The results happened because I focussed on one action. I created goals around that action and did what needed to be done on a daily basis to make it all real. I had purpose and clarity of vision. If an opportunity came my way or I had to decide where to spend my money I was able to ask myself, “Is this going to add to my goal or not?” It also made my life a lot easier and less stressful because I didn’t feel like I was sprinting in different directions to make everything happen.
So what’s your one word that will anchor you? Maybe it’s to grow, connect or earn. Once you can identify what that one word is then you’re ready to set some goals. If you picked grow as your anchor word then what are some goals you can set around growing your business? For example maybe you need to attract ten more clients in the next month, add a new program or move into your own studio. Once you know what your goals are you can set the plan in motion by identifying what things you need to do on a daily basis to get you to your goal of growing your business.
If you’re not sure what that one word is then you need to talk it out with someone until you find it. There were a few people in the group who didn’t know what their one word was so they chose to use clarity. They needed to find clarity in their vision and purpose for their business. This became their anchor word and they would need to do a lot of soul searching and research to find their next word.
You don’t have to do this work alone. Everyone at some point in their lives and especially when running a business needs a teacher, mentor or coach. I guarantee that you will see results happen a lot quicker when you have help. Isn’t that why people hire you as a personal trainer? To help them get results quicker?
The Offer
I really want you to find your anchor word and here’s what I’m prepared to do. For the first ten personal trainers who read this article and respond I’m going to coach you for free until you identify the word, three goals and daily action steps. If you’re committed to the journey then I want to help you. All I want in return is to be able to share your story with other people, (we can change your name if you like). I believe that people learn best from the experiences of others. So if you want some help and are willing to share your story with others then contact me and together we’ll find your anchor word and set your business on the right path.
As a personal trainer working for yourself you’ve probably had times when money was tight and other times when it flowed like champagne. Personally I like the flowing times but sometimes that’s not always the way it is, especially in an industry like personal training. There are times of feast and times of famine. It’s how you plan and deal with those times that will make the difference between staying in business and throwing in the towel.
Does this sound like you?
It’s Monday morning and your 6:00am appointment called to cancel at 6:05. Then at 8:00am your 12:00pm calls and cancels and your 7:00pm client isn’t feeling well so they’re rescheduling. You started the day with eight hours of training and ended up working and getting paid for only six. Plus, you had a ton of down time but were feeling so bummed out because of the all the cancellations you just sat around being unmotivated and unproductive. To make matters worse two clients who were supposed to renew sessions decided to take a break and now you’re down $1500 a month in revenue and have no prospects lined up.
Just as things were starting to look up in your business and you were about to expand you’re now having second thoughts. This isn’t the first time you’ve been in this situation. It’s like a ping pong match. You go back and forth from making all the money you want, having a full schedule and wanting to grow the business to having everything fall apart and getting knocked off balance.
As your income drops you go into panic mode trying to find new clients. You hunt for referrals, try a hundred different marketing tactics but nothing works. You’re getting desperate for money and you start to get agitated at your clients who cancel even though they give you 24hrs notice. You’re tired of working long hours and frustrated that your income doesn’t seem to be stable. The more you run towards money the more elusive it becomes.
Did this scenario sound a little too familiar? Every trainer goes through this at some point in their career and then the fortunate ones learn to stop chasing money. When times are tough it’s natural to start to panic and look for ways to make more money. But when you panic you start to chase money. Money has a funny way of disappearing especially when you need and want it the most. It buries itself deep in the sand and the more you want it and search for it the more elusive it becomes.
This brings you more stress, frustration and utter lack of control. Do you ever notice that when things are running smoothly the money just flows? Or when you’re working with a sense of purpose and passion you always seem to have enough clients. Money emerges, surrounds you and once again flows like champagne.
In tough times and when money is tight it’s natural to want to down-size your business. Like money, it’s easy to bury our heads in the sand and wait for things to get better. But consider this, maybe you just needed to right-size your business and the fact that you continue to have tough times is because you haven’t created a business strong enough to sustain you.
Your business is like a boat. Boats are made to float and in calm seas they do just that. Build a solid boat and it will stay afloat even in the most violent of storms. Let’s not think Titanic here. It’s the same with your business. If you’re personal training business is a dingy instead of a luxury liner then you’ll capsize at the slightest breeze, ripple or wave that passes your way. You’ll spend all your time just trying to keep that dingy from capsizing and you’ll have to do it again and again.
Instead, why not hop on that luxury liner. Take the time to ensure your business has been built on a solid platform that allows you to right-size and grow so that when the seas do get rough you’ll stay buoyant. By doing this you’ll free yourself from stress and start enjoying being your own boss. You’ll appreciate the flexibility in being able to make your own hours and the financial freedom that being a personal trainer can bring. But most importantly you can concentrate of what you enjoy doing the most which is training and teaching people to lead a healthier and more vibrant life which is the reason you got into this business in the first place.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how to get off your dingy and into a luxury liner then call to receive this
Free 4-Point Fitness Business Profile
In only 15 minutes, I will show you:
1. What you should be expecting from your personal training business.
2. The key obstacles that are getting in your way.
3. The specific strategies that will keep you a float.
4. The time frame in which you should expect a measurable difference.
