is a time-consuming headache . Having company social events , contests where the entire company can earn a trip if they hit 100 % of goal , and fun team activities , such as a Mud Run , can give your team members the opportunity to get to know each other outside of work . Clear expectations based on your vision , BHAG , core values , core purpose , and your mission statement will help your team feel like their work matters , make them much more likely to stay with you and push the company forward .
13 – 20 clubs
In this phase your biggest area of growth will be in managing your emotions , being honest and transparent with your team , and not being fearful of making hard decisions . Your challenge will be to keep everyone in your team on an emotional edge . Let ’ s discuss this further .
At times you will feel inadequate , you will feel like you are making all the wrong decisions , and you will be attacked from many different angles , whether it be staff leaving , staff stealing , competitors moving into one or two or five of your markets , or
The 30-second article
• When increasing your number of clubs , you need to learn new skills that are relevant to the unique demands and challenges of a larger operation
• When running up to 3 clubs , the key area of skills growth will be in sales and marketing , of both memberships and personal training
• When running up to 7 clubs , the key area of skills growth will be in time management , delegation and people management
• When running up to 12 clubs , the key area of skills growth will be in developing a strong culture for the business , focusing on staff training , providing vision and strengthening bonds between team members
• When running up to 20 clubs , the key areas of skills growth will be managing your emotions , being transparent with your team , and not being fearful of making hard decisions . people calling you every single day and asking you to make financial decisions . Everyone wants to get paid more money and everyone wants new equipment .
At the beginning of the hour you might feel like you are on top of the world because finally the team is coming together , and by the end of the hour you find out that one of your trainers has been sleeping with a client and her husband is at the club right now demanding to speak to the owner – all while getting a voicemail from one of your district managers letting you know that you have a low budget competitor moving into one of your best markets .
As these challenges occur , you cannot carry this burden by yourself . In his book The Hard Thing About Hard Things , Ben Horowitz talks about being open and vulnerable with your executive team , your district managers . He says that trust within the team is what will pull the company out of hard times . It might seem during periods of difficulty that , as a leader , you should be upbeat and lead with positivity , but this couldn ’ t be further from the truth . Horowitz suggests being real with your team , talking about the current challenges , and collectively putting together a plan to solve the problem . This , he says , is precisely the kind of an activity that unites a team and strengthens the bond between them .
Although you will definitely have challenges as the business grows , you will also experience really good times . At this point , your company ’ s expenses and liabilities will be the highest they ’ ve ever been , but so should its profits . However , here lies the biggest problem you will ever face as a successful business owner – you are winning .
Life coach Tony Robbins frequently alludes to this , saying that ‘ The problem with success is success ’, meaning that , as people become more successful they lose their hunger , their emotional edge , and their hustle because there ’ s no pain driving them anymore . They forget where they came from and stop appreciating the level of success they ’ ve achieved . They start taking things for granted , like a team member staying late one evening to get a member started , or a new sales guy closing his first deal . In the past , they would celebrate all the small victories , but now it just doesn ’ t seem to matter as much . Isn ’ t that the responsibility of the district managers …?
As your company grows to 13 and more locations , you need to focus on being a really good cheerleader . Look for reasons to acknowledge your team and publicly recognise their hard work and successes . Your objective as a leader is to push your team and challenge them to grow . Set goals with your organisation , inspect those goals on a regular basis , provide feedback , and move forward . Make it a point to align your vision and goals with those of your team . Every team member must have a direction they are heading in within your business . They must have something they are working on or developing in order to stay hungry , in order to stay alive . Again , Tony Robbins puts it best when he says ‘ If you aren ’ t growing , you ’ re dying ’.
TOP TIPS WHEN SCALING YOUR FITNESS OPERATION
1 . Always have someone in the pipeline . Tony Hsieh , CEO of Zappos , is a huge proponent of having a pipeline . In his book Delivering Happiness he talks about how someone should always be getting trained for the next position .
2 . Develop a habit of continually reading and / or listening to books . To grow , gaining new / different perspectives is not an option , it ’ s mandatory .
3 . Adopt the attitude that you could be wrong . Always be aware that you don ’ t automatically know both sides of the story , and endeavour to establish the facts before taking action .
4 . Never have more than six people reporting directly to you .
5 . Be financially savvy . Personal and professional financial discipline is a must , especially if you have business partners . All parties must be on the same page in terms of saving money , spending money , and investing money .
To successfully transition from one club quadrant to the next , you must learn new skills and adopt new habits . Change is the only thing that ’ s constant when growing and scaling your operation .
Mike Gelfgot and his two business partners operate 21 Anytime Fitness locations in the US . With a number of accomplishments under their belt , including Club Operators of the Year , Success Story of the Year and Community Outreach Award , Mike credits all of his own success back to his team and business partners .
18 | NETWORK SUMMER 2017