We all know that assuming too much is usually to our detriment and to other’s. So I thought I’d share a lesson I’ve learned on one of the basic principles of business…
DON’T ASSUME THAT PEOPLE WILL KNOW WHAT YOUR BUSINESS DOES, HOW IT OPERATES AND WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT FROM YOUR COMPETITORS (your point of difference)!
This is especially important in today’s tougher and more competitive economy.
Businesses all try to create points of difference and assert themselves in a specific area/s of that business, which is great. But, we then need to share who and what our business is about, so our potential clients/customers know we’re out there.
You can do this in a number ways, but social media is usually a great way to get yourself out there. Below is a copy of my Facebook Bio, where I get the opportunity to share who I am, what I do and the difference my business can make in people’s lives:
“In order to give you a true picture of who I am, where I am today and how I got here, I need to go back a little bit…
Coming from a large family where I’m the youngest of eleven children and both my parents have twelve siblings each, I know what it means to be part of a big group of people who are all completely different but still able to create an environment of love, support and genuine caring towards one another. It is so firmly ingrained in me, that it’s a core part of who I am and how I operate.
I believe in treating others how I want to be treated myself and helping them to reach their full potential. Really that’s my main motivation for getting into the fitness industry all those years ago. Back then it wasn’t as defined as it is today, as originally I just had a universal goal to help people in general. Now I know one of my main purposes in life is to help as many people as possible get fitter, stronger, healthier, live longer and with more vitality. I also very much enjoy empowering and equipping my team to learn, grow and become more.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I started out at George Brown College in Toronto, doing a Fitness Instructors course, which had just been condensed from three years down to two years. Upon graduating, I started working in the industry as a Gym Instructor but quickly realized it wasn’t quite what I was looking for, because it was minimum wage… so back to school I went to study Business Administration – a three year program of which I loved, but only completed a year and a half of. My parents had paid for my Fitness Instructors course, but I had to pay for this one, which proved problematic, not to mention a few other diversionary factors – women… need I say more!
I guess I was always destined to be a businessman, with early signs of entrepreneurialism appearing back in my high school days. Plus, every job I’ve had, I’ve worked as if I was the owner, which was great for the owners because I carried a level of responsibility far greater than your average employee. This, of course, meant that after being in the work force for some years, I had had enough of working for others and not being able to walk my own path with both the highs and lows that entails.
In 1990 I had a particularly difficult year with the break down of my marriage, a loving sister passing on and a business failure due to extenuating circumstances. So I decided to travel the world – myself and Michael, a good friend of mine who’s still in Australia as well and is the owner of a ReCreation Gym as well, bought push bikes and cycled from Vancouver to LA, our launching pad to the rest of the world. So as not to be too long winded, suffice to say that we had a lot of adventures in a number of countries. Having made it to Fiji, I found out you could sail from one country to the next, so that was me… off to New Zealand (I found a boat the next day) on a big beautiful yacht. My next sailing experience was the Sydney to Hobart, where I was a very inexperienced crew member. After that, I ended up in Melbourne working at ReCreation Armadale and within a few months I knew that I wanted to stay in Australia. I love the people, they’re humble and happy. You see in Canada, we get a great deal of influence from the US and it’s a lot about what you do and who you know… and that’s not me. Plus, it’s cold there!!!
When I first became a business owner I set out to pass on my principles and ideals, which I’d learned over the years, to my team members. I deliberately employ people I think can grasp hold of what I stand for and then I give them every opportunity to learn, grow and develop their gifts and strengths in my business, usually before they realise they have abilities in those areas. One of my greatest joys in life is watching my team develop and become more!
I purchased my gym in September 1995 and named it Premier Health Club, but in 2002 I went back to my roots and brought the gym back into the ReCreation Group Franchise, thinking it would bring greater returns and advantages. After having some involvement in the management of the ReCreation Franchise as a whole and attempting, unsuccessfully due to mitigating circumstances, to open a new gym, in 2009 I decided to make some big changes in my gym in Geelong. I decided to focus on this one facility, rebrand it and turn it into something unique. We’re now hugely different and can’t really be compared to any of the “normal” gyms, because we try to continuously add value to our member’s experiences. Rather than following the traditional style of everyone joining on a basic membership, we offer packages particularly suited to each person’s individual needs. We also focus heavily on retention contact points, education and creating a fun, friendly experience.
At this point in my journey, my level of education, knowledge and depth of experience was much greater than when I first arrived in this country, in terms of running the business element of the gym. When I decided to stay in Australia, I had to prove there was no one else in Australia who could fill my position with my knowledge and skills in the fitness industry. But with the journey of life as a teacher, if you’re always willing to learn and grow you can become so much more. I believe that over the years, I have gained an even greater insight and understanding as to what is required to own and operate a successful health club.
I’m proud to say that my business, Geelong’s Gym, has more of a family atmosphere than any other health club I’ve been into. Our core values at Geelong’s Gym are care, community, growth, contribution, connection and Carpe Diem. Because those are our values and that’s how we treat our members, we tend to have members who reflect those values themselves, so it’s no wonder we have such a great environment at the Gym.
As I want to help people lead fitter, healthier lives, I’ve put a lot of emphasis and work into our Group Fitness program and our Personal Training. Why? Because it’s a fact that the majority of people workout harder and achieve faster results, knowing they’re accountable to someone who will educate, motivate and push them to the limits of their ability. I purposely built our new Zone 10 Functional Training Room, which is equipped with less of your traditional and more modern, functional style exercises, for this reason.
I would love to connect with people who can help or add value to my members/clients, therefore they would be interested the health and fitness industry or people who can help me learn and grow and become more, so that I can do more for others.
In the future I want to see continued growth of the Personal Training and Group Fitness programs, because even though our programs are fantastic, I know there is so much further they can go yet. We have a great family feel in our gym and I’d like to develop even further the culture of the place and the interaction between my team and members, with more members coming to our social events. And let’s not forget fostering an environment where our members give us feedback on whether we’re on target with what we’re doing. Since I’m always open to new possibilities, in the future there’s always the chance there’ll be more Geelong’s Gym centres opening up with, of course, our Zone 10 Functional Training rooms being a big feature of those facilities.”
I’m sure, like me, you’ve heard bigger people say stuff like “I’m big boned; that’s why I’m a little larger and can’t lose it.” Let’s great real here, being big boned is BS, it’s simply a reason they have created to justify their body shape. Sadly, this story they tell is exactly what is keeping them from achieving more.
Let’s address the age old time excuse. Out of 168 hours in a week you’ve probably got around about 90 hours you’re awake or 180 half hour blocks… and you can’t find 3 half hour blocks to go and do some exercise??!! Bullshit! That’s just the story you tell yourself so you don’t feel guilty about the lack of exercise in your life.
Andrew related how he was at a high school basketball championship game in the US with a College Recruiting Scout. The Scout had one full Scholarship position available and he was there to look at a particular player who he’d received many reports about regarding his ability.
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