If you are a personal trainer, you have no doubt met clients that just couldn’t get started. They seem to be forever waiting for just the right time to get going. The excuses are neverending, and they seem paralyzed analyzing why they can’t do something. We’ve heard it all. But as professionals, it is our job to help these clients to develop and follow through with a plan.
I would suggest that many of us are often victims of the exact same mindset, what I call “paralysis by analysis.” Like the client that hasn’t exercised in years but won’t start walking until they get the right shoes, many fitness business owners never expand their businesses because the timing isn’t “just right.”
As a home-owner/husband/father, I can assure you that you are never readyto buy a house, get married or have children. Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth, make the best plans you can and go for it. It usually works out for the best. The same holds true in business. It never feels like you are ready to expand, to hire an assistant, to add to your training team or to increase your program offerings. You should absolutely do your homework to ensure the best possible outcome; but at some point you just have to go for it.
I would challenge any trainer that isn’t absolutely thrilled with their position to examine where they may be deficient, make a plan to fix the deficiency and then take a leap of faith. I’m talking about simply trying something. If you have always wanted to be a writer, take a chance and call your local newspaper to ask if they would like to run one of your articles. If you would like to run a circuit class, design the class, make plans to market it, reserve time to do it and then just go ahead and start. Waiting for the absolute “right time” will cause you to miss out on an opportunity.
Babe Ruth, possibly the greatest hitter in baseball history, struck out far more times than he actually got a hit. If you never take a chance, you will never get anywhere. The old cliché “nothing ventured, nothing gained” holds true in many instances. When I think of All Canadian Fitness, there have been many programs and projects that we have tried over the years that simply did not work. Every one of them, however, taught us something that moved us closer to our current position in the marketplace.
Challenge yourself this month to actually do something that you have been putting off. Write a column. Make a phone call. Hire an assistant. Cut back your work hours. Whatever it is, do it. Make the commitment to follow through, then assess whether your move fits in with your continued growth. If it isn’t working, drop it, move on, and make your next commitment. If you can learn from the experience, your mindset and your business will change each and every time you stretch your limits, whether those limits are real or perceived.
