Geared Up Issue 1 2018 | Page 35

Winning Ways For franchisee Alex Choquette, becoming involved in community sports organizations didn’t start with a love of sports, but rather because of the opportunity it provided him to spend quality time with his son. From baseball and basketball to soccer and football, Choquette never missed an opportunity to get involved with the local Portsmouth, New Hampshire, rec sports teams. “I didn’t have much knowledge in any of these sports, but since I was traveling away from home quite a bit building our franchises, it gave me more time to spend with my son and his friends. It gave me an opportunity to learn more about him in a team environment,” said Choquette. But coaching his son and other kids, who are now 15 and 16 years old, didn’t just teach Choquette about his family, he also learned many valuable business lessons along the way. “In some ways, coaching the young kids has a lot to do with basic common sense, human nature and running a business. There are a lot of similarities,” explained Choquette. “You’re dealing with multiple personalities, different levels of experience, and mostly trying to get people to see a vision. I don’t know much about any of these sports. I just know how to motivate people, so for me personally, it’s fun.” When Choquette isn’t coaching on the field or court, he’s doing it inside his clubs. Another common denominator between coaching sports and coaching his PF® team is the notion that you shouldn’t take things so seriously. “Winning isn’t everything, but that’s the main goal. Let’s be respectful when we do win and equally respectful when we don’t. Let’s also have a common sense understanding that winning is important, but it’s not to be taken too seriously,” said Choquette. “You’re here to have fun, support your team every step of the way, establish goals and incentives, and continue building better relationships with your team.” Choquette notes that he constantly makes a point to instill the same values in his 300-person team. “Everybody wants to be on a winning team. Everyone wants to be respected, so you have to empower them to want to win and be supportive when they don’t. Encourage the team to practice their skills enough to allow them to be in a position where you do more winning than losing,” explained Choquette. “So, the ultimate goal as an employer is to bring a culture to the team where each person has a role to fulfill. Each teammate is encouraged to protect the team beyond their own personal interests and have each other’s best interests at heart.” Choquette strives to make being on a team, especially a winning one, fun for everybody. Throughout his years of coaching baseball, every time there was a game, all of the coaches would sign the game ball and award it to one of the players that went above and beyond. Throughout his years of managing Planet Fitness employees, he’s kept morale high by offering employees the chance to participate in contests, group outings and team ceremonies. For Choquette, everything comes full circle. “I think it’s a great idea to get involved with children because Continued on page 34 Macrolease Corporation A Bank Rhode Island Company Planet Fitness Financing Get the funds you need to grow your franchise Equipment Leases & Loans Build-Out Financing SBA Loans For more information, please contact Sal Venuto 800.645.3535 ext. 22104 I [email protected] www.macrolease.com Find us on social media 33