Have you heard a rumor about yourself that made you pretty angry. Yeah…I’ve been there too.
Over the years I’ve heard some pretty funny things.
- I heard I attended competitions for years before we opened the gym while recruiting athletes and parents.
- I heard I was kicked out of the military for bad behavior, and Justin was kicked out of the highway patrol for the same.
- I heard my WHOLE program was headed down to the other gym at the end of the season.
- I heard my senior team was going to start a brawl at the high school against the other gym.
If you’ve done this gym owner thing for awhile now. There are a lot of things I’ve heard about myself, my family, my athletes and my gym over the years. If your mouth dropped open at the things you read above, you might be a new owner. Don’t be afraid. Things will be said and rumors will be started that are totally untrue. Others will be started that have some element of truth but likely became a game of Chinese telephone so long it was skewed into only partial truths paired with absolute lies.
While I can tell you – some element of this happens in every industry, I can truly say I’ve never seen it in any other business the way I’ve seen it in cheer.
Sometimes it’s started by people who hate you, who own the gym down the street, used to coach for you or used to come to your gym. Regardless of who started it or who it said, I want you to remember a few things:
- The truth is the only thing that matters, but it doesn’t matter to those spreading the rumors. People are naturally drawn to drama. Truth is usually not dramatic enough to spread, so lies infiltrate the facts and rumors begin. It’s not really your job to set people straight unless they bring it to you directly. Don’t make vague or passive-aggressive posts on social media addressing the rumors. If your friends on Facebook are true friends, they know those things aren’t true. If you’re afraid the people spreading the rumors can see your Facebook posts, you have no reason being friends with them on facebook. Take that stressor out of your life. Now.
- Rachel Hollis says something I love. I hear it in my workouts sometimes when Autumn Calabrese echos it. I don’t know who made it up – but I love it. “Someone’s opinion of you isn’t your problem. It’s their problem.” Leave it alone. Don’t let insecurity take hold of you. Don’t focus on the negativity. I’ve been reading a great book and yesterday’s chapter talked about the 24-hour rule. Emmit Smith (football player) gave himself 24 hours to celebrate a victory or sulk in a loss. Then he moved on. I’m here to tell you, don’t waste 24 hours sulking on people who don’t deserve that kind of time. Move on.
- Maybe you actually did something bad or dumb. In 2013, did you say some not-so-nice things to an unprofessional coach who stood in your office telling you they were quitting to work at your competitor and taking kids with them? (Asking for a friend.) Sometimes you do not-so-great things. Learn from it, and move on. Reconcile, create some boundaries in your life and move on. You aren’t going to be a perfect owner all the time, but you can become a wise owner if you accept your mistakes and can recognize when you’re about to make them again.
If you’re frustrated by the rumors you’re hearing about athletes getting ready to leave at the end of the season and unhappy parents, then commit NOW to doing better. Identify what issues brought both of you to this point and make changes. You might not be able to save the current athletes with plans to move next season, but you can improve retention in future seasons.
I hope you’re not dealing with anything like this right now, but I talk to a lot of gym owners, and I know this is the season we start seeing rumors fly. Don’t let them get the best of you.
