“Successful people aren’t gifted. They work hard on purpose and succeed.”

 

Yesterday we talked about how successful people understand the difference between an expense and an investment. When we first open our gyms, we’re the go-to person for absolutely everything. Over time, that should change. It should ultimately look more like a department store with directors in charge of various programs and parts of the business, coaches working alongside those directors and the gym owner focusing on current metrics, future goals and vision-setting. If you’re thinking, “That’s not why I opened a gym” I get it. I opened a gym because I loved coaching all 17 of my competitive cheerleaders at the rec center. I wanted to do it every night of the week and not just Thursdays because I loved it so much. After a couple years though, I realized I was going to be half-heartedly coaching every night of the week if I didn’t get some systems in place…and fast. 

 

I would be on the floor coaching teams and glance at the front desk to see a new family standing around waiting to be helped. I’d see moms giving trouble to my front desk. I’d see people drop their kids off who hadn’t paid their bill yet this month. I’d see people come in to inquire about classes and the front desk gave them the price without explaining the program just to have them say it was too much and walk out.

 

I ultimately had to step away from coaching though it was the one reason I opened my gym. If I didn’t, my reputation would suffer. At the end of the day, someone’s review on your business may not clarify the difference between the quality of coaching and the quality of service. You might be the best coach in the world, but your reviews don’t show it because people are looking for the full experience. 

 

So, how do we turn this fundamental flaw of coaches-turned-owners into an opportunity for success? We get a reality check. Here was what happened when I got mine.

 

I was sad to start a season without “my team.” In 2016, I didn’t coach a single team. The kids who started with me as youth and minis were now seniors. I had brought them up in cheerleading and now I was stepping away. 

 

After their first competition, they ran to hug their coach. One still ran to hug me. I was teary eyed. After their first award ceremony, the parents asked the coach to hop in the pictures with the trophies (those were still a thing back then!) I stood beside the parents watching “my kids” without me. 

 

When Christmas rolled around, they had pitched in for a gift for their coach. I got a card. (Listen, I’m not a gift person, but when kids put thought and effort into something, I appreciate the heck out of it.) 

 

When parents had questions, they went to the coach. 

 

I had a hard time figuring out where my identity was in cheerleading.

 

When Summit rolled around, my name wasn’t on the screen announcing the team. It was another gut punch. 

 

So far, I’m not selling you on this yet, am I?

 

But here’s what also happened that year. 

 

Our customer service went through the roof. I developed surveys for our new members, and I reviewed every single one that came in. Our retention rate increased substantially. I wasn’t as great at numbers back then, so I can’t tell you by how much, but the number of drops each month literally dropped.

 

The business became more profitable and we hired another full-time person.

 

We saved up enough for a down payment on a new building and MADE THE PURCHASE! No more landlords, no more fear of our rent doubling, no more random sprinkler systems going off in the middle of classes ruining mats and equipment!

 

We focused on staff training and added more upper level classes. Because of staff training, the kids were gaining new skills right and left. 

 

We joined the Chamber of Commerce and started attending every event. People in the community KNEW us, and we found we were getting referrals from realtors and insurance guys who didn’t even have their own kids – they just met families and told them they should check us out.

 

Our gym exploded that year. One side of me felt lost and missing my teams. The other felt energized and invigorated at the growth our gym was seeing.

 

Today, I coach three teams. Our gym is growing. I know the keys to growth and have a full-time staff who help with that growth. I never would have gotten there if I had focused on just one part of my gym. If those 16 kids were the only kids in the gym I had thought about, the other 300 would eventually have left. 

 

Instead, I took a step back from coaching for a couple years to focus on the whole gym. As a result, we grew.

 

A successful person can see his or her priorities clearly. 

 

Without a successful gym, there was no way I could have continued to have a successful team.