Disruption is that thing that happens when an established way of doing this or that, or your network suddenly discovers that it has new competition, from out of nowhere, overnight. Technology is disruptive because it is evolving and emerging so quickly. Customer service is disruptive because most companies do it so poorly and, when done well, it generates such a powerful connection with the customer. Ideas are disruptive because they are the source of all innovation and change. As the pace of change continues to accelerate it become harder to anticipate changes and at the same time more desperately important [...]
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There is nothing more worthy of celebrating, when you own a gym, than bringing in new memberships. It gives you hope for the future as you watch your list of members grow. This so-called on boarding period is a highly critical time that you can use to secure your relationship with customers. You have the perfect opportunity to assure a high lifetime value for you, and positive experience for them. Selling Means More Than Surviving This transitional time period can determine how long new members stick around and how they present their experience to friends and on social media. It [...]
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Working in the fitness business is a really rewarding way to make a living, as many of the readers of Gym Insight Blog know from personal experience. There are some great lessons from training and working out that apply well to the practice of small business ownership. What follows here are some lessons from fitness, applied to the business of fitness, which I have picked up along the way that I want to pass on as thoughts to share, food for thought if you will. Step Outside Your Comfort Zone As trite as it sounds, no pain no gain. It [...]
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Get Gym Business Leverage From Digital Media These days we hear a lot about customer engagement and brand advocates. These are customers who vocally and enthusiastically support your brand. Combined with digital marketing channels and social media they can bring in the new business without an expensive advertising campaign in sight. Well it's not that easy of course. But then again it's not that hard either. The central feature of success in creating brand advocates is the understanding that there is a hierarchy, a series of concentric circles of influence around you, which you can do much to cultivate. I [...]
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Parallels In Gym Ownership And Software Services Companies I am fortunate to have had the privilege to see the inner workings of two different industries. My background and education is in computer science but my passions and enterprises have always been in fitness. That led me to having both a career in computer sciences through gyminsight.com and in gym management by owning a small but successful local gym business. Since the readers of the Gym Insight Blog tend to be fitness professionals I thought it would be useful, as a contrast, to talk about the computer industry and the differences [...]
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Jumpstarting Your Gym Business With The JOBS Act For those of us who are not in finance it might come as a surprise that there has recently been a watershed moment in the history of business investment. This was the 2012 Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, which changed the rules for private equity and start up finance. This of course has happened right at the time when digital marketing has changed the way that markets are created and innovation is driving the economy in new directions. Opportunities and funding options are opening up that would have never been dreamed [...]
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Finding A Buyer I recently wrote an article about how and when to sell your gym. It covered the basics about the topic but there is so much more information out there that it's likely something that I'll revisit a few times. There are many motives behind selling, from fast exit to slowly easing into retirement. Most likely, you love your independent gym business and it's prospering. But it's hard work and there are other worthy things that you intend to achieve before you settle into retirement. Or perhaps the time to retire is approaching. Even if that day is [...]
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Giving The Value Might Just Return It At A Premium Obviously I have been writing copious amounts about marketing and premium business models. However, with the potential for value and return on investment (ROI) I think that it's important to cover it as thoroughly as possible. As the saying goes: When you aim for the stars you're not likely to end up with a face full of dirt. If Gym Insight can give you some true value in words you might see that our software is also worth looking at. There are a couple of ways to increase ROI and [...]
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This Quirk Might Give Your Business Away When you are responsible for everything that happens in your business you are juggling so many hats it can be extremely stressful when you have to make choices and decisions in marketing. Decisions range from selecting the color scheme of your brand and the look of your logo to managing your website and social media. Some choices in this realm can be forgiving and others not so much. Names, domain names and toll-free numbers have a few quirks that can make them work against you if you don't take adequate care and foresight [...]
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What Is Lean Body Mass Of Your Gym? Marketing is a funny business, funny as in strange but not so much hilarious. You pursue what you think is the best market solution and then it turns out something works better. What do you do? Go after the new opportunity? Ignore it and stick to what you know? How does anyone know what the right answer is? Marketing strategies are changing rapidly for the modern small business. The entrepreneurial concept of the lean startup has taken hold and there are some awesome principles and lessons that can be learned from it. [...]
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Breaking Down Boundaries 2014 saw changes and much activity in the fitness industry and new some trends. The hope of new things brought us the excitement of things like getting down in the mud with Spartan Fitness. CrossFit stepped up to be the exemplar of the aggressive type of training that only truly fanatical fitness enthusiasts understand. New gyms popped up, studios rode the trends and some big names ebbed and flowed in their fortunes. The combinations of fitness and digital will continue to throw up unexpected and tantalizing opportunities. The importance of the digital component of any business is [...]
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Because The Bigger They Are... As the big guys get bigger, and keep pouring cash into their fitness center locations, you might think that they would be impossible to beat. It's just a fact that large corporations have all the money and other financial resources at their disposal that anyone could wish for. That does not mean they have a monopoly on innovation or competitiveness. The independent gym owner can still do much to fight back effectively because having capital resources is only part of the equation. You have to have a human side that doesn't crush customers in the [...]
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Do Premium Gym Memberships Have A Future? Why are there some gym business models that seem to be in huge demand while still charging top dollar for memberships? I think that the simple answer is that there are enough members who are shopping by value and not price. It's not about competing based on what the gym across the street is charging, it's about finding the things that you are truly great at and which are in demand and matching the two together. Too many small businesses fail to understand this important distinction, not just in the gym business but [...]
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