So, your competitor went out of business. Now what? You get a little break. You can breathe a little more calmly knowing that’s one more person out of the game and one less person to take athletes from you. Right?
Wrong.
I’ve been down this road three times already. I’m in a small town of just 20,000. There has always been a dance studio and another gym in my town. The month we opened, the other gym announced it had sold to a new owner. We got a few kids, but for the most part – the rest stayed put. Within about 2 years, that gym announced it was closing.
This time we got a few more kids.
Then, a mom in the previous gym announced she had bought it and reopened within just a few weeks. She rebranded and renamed it. I thought there was actually a lot of potential for them at this point. I’ve got a soft spot for moms who open gyms. I know they get a bad rap in cheer sometimes, but you know why I love them? They love kids. No mom opens a gym because she loves cheer more than kids. No. She opens because she wants MORE for her kids and their friends.
That gym closed within about two years as well.
The space was vacant for about a year before my current competitor (a former coach at the previous gym) opened. The reality is, there are enough kids in my town to sustain two gyms and a dance studio. Maybe more.
There were times in those moments that our competitor was closed that I did exactly what I said above. I took a breath. I took a break. I stopped trying to be “first to put out an event” or “first to get my all star packet out”. What happened as a result? I stopped planning ahead so far. I stopped trying to be better. Instead I was OK with the status quo because I knew I was the only option for tumbling and cheerleading.
When our current competitor opened, it was the best thing that ever happened to my gym. As all star owners, we’re naturally competitive. You can’t tell me you don’t have a competitive nature if you’re reading this and own an all star gym. The thing is though, I don’t really compete with my competitor now. I compete with myself.
I look at last year’s finances and I try to outdo them. I look at last year’s retention rate and I try to outdo it. I look at our staff retention rate, and I try to increase it every year.
If your competitor recently went out of business and you’re taking a little downtime because you now feel safe, you’re missing out. The reality is – you are your best competitor. You don’t need a gym down the street to motivate you. Looking at 2019 “you” or 2021 “you” and trying to outdo it is the best competitor you have. (Permission to ignore your 2020 numbers granted.)
So, if your competitor went out of business recently, I’ll ask you again….Now what?
