“Owners who made it through COVID are just exhausted now. We’re about to see a lot of gyms selling.”
We’ve seen a lot of gyms sell lately. Some are closing altogether. Our prediction – you’re going to see it more and more in the next few months.
So many gyms made it through COVID. But for many, that wasn’t actually the hardest part. We all thought it would be.
Months-long shutdowns, laying off staff, re-opening with new restrictions, closing again (for some), paying bills with no income, refunding families for unused services and competitions, and trying to find new staff with little to no prospects: These are the things we thought would be the hardest.
But we were wrong.
The hardest part is right now. Knowing we made it through all that and feeling guilty. We feel like we should be proud of our accomplishments and thrilled for the growth many of us are seeing right now, but we’re not.
We’re just exhausted. Why?
In the midst of all that, life happened. The same crazy season chaos as we saw before continued eventually. Kids got lax on their attendance, parents became frustrated with the gym, and staff acted entitled. It was many of the same problems we had in 2019, except now, gym owners are exhausted.
If you can identify with the above, you’ve got some decisions to make. I’m not going to tell you to stick it out and keep running a gym that’s driving you into depression and frustration on a daily basis.
I am going to tell you one thing though.
It doesn’t have to be this way. If you’ve done this much work for this long, you can hustle a few more months doing the RIGHT stuff, and actually get a break this summer. Here’s how:
- Develop systems. Write checklists for your staff of how things need to be done. Ask your staff to step up to the plate and empower them to take charge when you’re gone. If you don’t have anyone who is willing to do this, you’ll need to hire new staff. Hire someone who WILL do that and light a fire under those who won’t. Eventually, a few staff will drop off. They won’t be willing to grow or change. The rest will adapt and your gym will see tremendous growth in culture and morale.
- Take care of your staff. Invest into their training. Tell them WHY you’re doing things the way you are. Make sure there is a personal benefit for your customers and your staff in EVERY SINGLE THING you do. If you are making decisions that only benefit the bottom line, you’re not taking care of them. Maybe you can’t figure out why marketing and trial memberships will benefit your staff. Reach out, and I can tell you exactly what I tell my staff.
- Make a list EVERY DAY of what you need to get done. Be realistic. Set a timer. Turn off your phone, Facebook and email notifications, and darn it – turn off Spotify if you need to. Do whatever you have to do to get your stuff done. Parkinson’s Law says if you set a time limit for yourself, you will finish your tasks within the allotted time. Challenge yourself to work smarter, harder and faster. I got more done last Monday morning than some people get done in 3 days. How? I made a list. I closed the door to my office. I ignored everything (there’s a focus option on an iPhone. If the school calls, my phone rings. That’s the ONLY call I’ll take during that time.) I got stuff done. Then, I rested and relaxed until it was time to go coach.
- Do the RIGHT things. Figure out who can help you around the gym. Maybe it’s a part-time staff member who can come in two hours earlier to help with admin or cleaning. Maybe it’s your spouse or your 15 year old child. Whomever it is, give them tasks and then focus on the tasks ONLY you can do. (Tomorrow I’ll tell you how I delegate certain tasks to others.)
I’m not going to tell you doing these things for three days will magically change your life. But I will tell you, doing these things for three months WILL change your life. You’ve got to grind, and then you can relax. IF after you do all that, you still want to sell, then it’s probably the best thing for your athletes, their families and your family. Reach out if we can help you with anything at all.
