I was talking to someone recently about a big-name gym. This person said, “Yeah, that gym is super successful” and it got me thinking. What is our definition of success? For this person, it was winning. The gym won a lot and so they were successful.

The gym may not pay its staff on time. It may not pay their staff legally. It may be behind on its rent. It may be one bad month away from closing. It may have a terrible culture where they closed practices because parents were so negative. 

But they’re successful because they win.

Do you see the problem here? 

Our industry’s definition of success is strange. There are very few restaurants who are acclaimed as “successful” because they have the best steak in town but the worst staff. 

I have always been about turning around the strange parts of our industry and bringing in some perspective. I’ve owned many other businesses, and in those businesses you’re successful because you have happy customers and staff. You’re successful because you’re making an impact on your community. You’re successful because you are self-employed and taking a paycheck home on a regular basis. You’re successful because you can not only employ yourself, but you create stable jobs for others in a positive work environment.

Here’s the thing though. You can do all that and still win. 

So let me ask you – think outside of cheer. Answer below: 

What other qualities do you see successful businesses have?
Why do you think our industry doesn’t value those as much as the wins?

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