321GoProject

Providing the tools, tactics, and resources to build your brand and effectively market your gym
Sep 04
0

8 Easy Ways To Create Content Like A Pro

By | Blog, Case Studies, Digital Marketing, Julie Weldon, Marketing, Social Media | No Comments

Here’s the thing about content marketing… it just doesn’t get results overnight. Which is precisely the reason why so many don’t do it consistently.

In this “quick fix” world, we want results… yesterday.

But that doesn’t eliminate the need for creating content if you own a business.

Creating content stretches us and gets our creative juices flowing. Content tells a story that otherwise most likely gets lost.

Content allows you to make your voice heard above the noise to the people you want to attract. Content demonstrates your expertise in a particular field.

We hear the term “content marketing” all the time, but what exactly does it mean?  Marketing expert Neil Patel offers a helpful definition in terms we all can understand, ”Content marketing is a long-term strategy, based on building a strong relationship with your target audience, by giving them high-quality content that is very relevant to them on a consistent basis.”

Those phrases in bold are key:

Long-term strategy,

building a strong relationship,

high-quality content,

that is relevant,

consistently.

Now, more than ever, people are “putting it out there” with videos, quotes, blog posts, Facebook posts, #tbt’s, Instagram pics, you name it. Never before has it been easier to join the chorus of content because with social media, the barrier to entry is lower than ever.

So, have you joined the crowds? Are you consistently posting content, and establishing your expertise?

Or, are you like many we’ve talked with who only publish content once (maybe twice) a month. To them, creating content feels like a huge hurdle to overcome. An all too common statement we hear, “I know I ’should’, but I can’t seem to get started.”  

Creating content doesn’t have to be a task that paralyzes you. You just need to start. And then develop the rhythm of consistency. 

To get you started, we’ve come up with a list of different content creation ideas to help your creative juices flow:

  • Tell your members stories. Believe it or not, you are not the hero of your business’ story. Your customers are (or should be) the hero. Do you know what really makes your clients tick? Where they’ve come from? Why they’ve chosen to make a life change now? The things that really interest them outside of your four walls? Start asking questions, really listen, and begin to unearth the golden nuggets that are right in front of you. Celebrate. Enter in. And publish. As you begin to tell their stories, your business will take on a personal feel that will be infectious.
  • Capture a quick video of a coach or member. You don’t have to professionalize these videos. Often, the more raw, the better. There are many options for these videos – demonstrating a movement, celebrating a PR, introducing a new member or coach, highlighting an event… the sky’s the limit. Think outside the box.
  • Answer questions. Start a list on your computer or phone of all the questions the people you impact (and those you’d like to impact) might want to know about.  Whatever comes to mind, jot it down. There are no wrong topics. Take 20 minutes and try to write down 50. Then just continue to add to the list as things come to mind. If easier, you can write big categories (nutrition, health, fitness, community, etc.) then break those down into topics. Once you have a good list, step away from it for a bit, then come back to it and choose the ones that stand out.  You were new to CrossFit once. Think of the questions you had back then.
  • Use hashtags. If you don’t already have one, create a gym hashtag and then start using it all the time, on everything. Also, as your members to start using the hashtag and tagging you when they do any posts that relate to their health and fitness. You can use the app Repost to share and celebrate the things your members are interested and involved in.
  • Take (and share) lots of pictures. Capture the essence of the kind of business you want to build through pictures. Do you have a gym dog? Is there a place where most congregate? Are there close-up face shots of people mid-workout that you can shoot? Is there a piece of equipment that everyone dreads? Caption these images with sayings your people can connect with.  
  • Pay attention. Start taking notice of things around you. If you are living a life “aware”, you will begin to see blog post after blog post beginning to take shape in your mind. These posts don’t have to be long, just capture what you see to inspire others.
  • Use Canva to create motivational quotes with images. Everybody loves a little motivational nugget every now and then. Make it good, and it’ll get shared.
  • Write about you. Certainly not all the time, but if you’re the leader, people do want to know you. They want to be let into your world – to know what makes you happy, to know what your struggles are. To know that you are a real person with real feelings. Let your personality shine through. Sprinkle this into your content calendar like a spice – not too much, but enough to give good flavor.

The key to this is to do something. Start small. Make a plan and stick to it. Again, consistency is key.

Content creation is an incredible, inexpensive way to expand your reach. Use it as a tool in your toolbox to build something people are proud to be a part of.

 

Our focus this month in Hub is all about Social Media & Content Marketing. We’ve got video courses in Hub that teach you how to maximize your content creation efforts so that you’re continuing to establish your expertise in your corner of this world. Check out a month of Hub for only $10!

 

 

Also… if you haven’t registered yet for the 1st Annual Gym Owner’s Growth Summit, do so today!!  It’s FREE and it’s 3 days of content from some of the greatest minds in our industry!!

 

Aug 28
0

5 Tips & Tricks To Get Found Online

By | Blog, Branding & Website Advice, Business Help, Digital Marketing, How To, Hub, Joshua Sturgeon, Julie Weldon, Marketing, Matt Scanlon, SEO Help | No Comments

We’ve spent the month of August in Hub focused on SEO and getting found when people are looking online. We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again…

It’s virtually pointless to invest time and money into a website if you’re not also going to invest time and money into making sure that website gets found.

It’s a little like having a mailbox, but not putting an address on it. You’re probably not going to get much mail.

Matt Scanlon, founder and owner of CrossFit Memorial Hill has done the work with SEO, using the SEO resources provided by Josh Sturgeon in Hub. Because of that, he now shows up everywhere online when people are looking in his area for a gym, or fitness, or nutrition, or anything to do with the services he offers.

We asked him to give us the top 5 things he drilled down on when getting himself ranked high in the Google searches. The list below is his Cliff Notes version of where you should focus your efforts for the biggest bank for your buck. He even ranked them according to Cost, Time, and Technical Know-How (1 being low, 5 being high).

Most Impactful Things To Focus On For Overall Rankings:

1. Reviews – Cost: 0 | Time: 1 | Technical Know-How: 1

Reviews are singlehandedly the most important thing you can do to show up online. We wrote another article on why they are so important. If you focus on nothing else, focus on this.

Tips:

 – If you have a a lot of drop-in’s, offer their 2nd drop in free with a Google review.

 – If you’ve done (or are doing) the Bingo game, make “leave a review” a square.

 – Simply ask your members… they most likely think you’re pretty great!

 – Biggest thing: Create a system for getting reviews.

 

2. NAP: Name, Address & Phone Number – Cost: 0-2 | Time: 4 | Technical Know-How: 2

Google doesn’t like inconsistency. If you have different addresses in different places, it confuses Google. Even down to if you have “Street” in one place and “St.” in another. Make sure you use the exact same address anywhere you show up.

Tip: Use https://moz.com/local to get a score for your consistency. You can then opt to go and change everything manually or pay to have Moz do it for you (in Matt’s opinion, it’s worth paying for).

 

3. Local Listings – Cost: 0-2 | Time: 5 | Technical Know-How: 2

This is, basically, just getting your website on other local websites – Chamber of Commerce, fitness center listings, City Visitors page – ANYTHING you can think of. This will take a tremendous amount of time on your part.

Tip: If you have free interns – set them to this task. If not, pay the money to have Whitespark.ca do it for you. It’s a few bucks a listing and well worth your time. Their set-up doc takes a long time, but they use it for any projects going forward. (again, Matt’s opinion, it’s worth the cost)

 

4. Guest Blog Articles – Cost: 0 | Time: 4 | Technical Know-How: 3

Is there a local website that gets a TON of traffic?  If so, ask them if you can submit some content for them. Establish your expertise. Or, if you’re not a writer, have one of your coaches write something.

Tip: Make sure that your website is listed in the content or your bio.

 

5. Yoast SEO Premium Plugin – Cost: 2 | Time: 5 | Technical Know-How: 4

This is a last line of defense. You can optimize pages and blogs with this plugin, but it can feel a bit tedious and overwhelming if you’re not comfortable on WordPress and with blogging.

Tip: If you don’t have a regular blog, don’t bother here, focus on #1-4 first.

 

These tips are not magic bullets, but they do work if you’re disciplined to make them happen. And you will see, there is a good amount of low-hanging fruit that you will find if you commit yourself to doing the work.

Want step-by-step help? We’ve got and handful of exceptional video courses in Hub that teach you how to optimize your website so that you get found, every time. Check them out for only $10 for the first month of Hub.

 

 

Also… if you haven’t registered yet for the 1st Annual Gym Owner’s Growth Summit, do so today!!  It’s FREE and it’s 3 days of content from some of the greatest minds in our industry!!

Aug 21
0

How One Gym Owner Went From Burnout to Thriving

By | Affiliate Story Telling, Blog, Business Help, Case Studies, Leadership, M3 | No Comments

Melissa Smith, owner of 3 Peaks CrossFit in Madras, OR is a special person. She’s seen her fair share of challenges since she made the choice to open her own gym a few years ago. We thought you might be able to relate to her story, so we asked her to write a guest blog post. What follows is her honest, heartfelt encouragement to you that you’re not alone. It’s lengthy but if you’re feeling discouraged or on the verge of burnout, or just need some encouragement from someone who “gets it”, it’s worth every minute of your time…

From Mel…

Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. Ok, it’s down right rough and certainly not for the weary at heart.

It takes a deep resolve in every bit of your being, and dedication to persevere no matter how rough the waters get. You know that saying by Bob Marley, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have?”  I think that phrase pretty much sums up this last season of my life.

When I was first asked to write a guest blog, my first thought was…

Who would want to hear my story? Would anyone even read it?

But then this overwhelming feeling came over me, that I’m not alone in this journey. If there is even one business owner out there that gets even an inch of hope from my story and my journey, then I would gladly share it to give them hope!

My life over the last few years has felt like a Rocky movie. Seriously. Get knocked down, fight like hell, and get back up to continue taking the punches life may throw. Ha, shoot, even as I type this I’m watching Rocky Balboa (love that movie). I’m not a quitter, but geez it sure was tempting at times. I by no means want to whine on and on about the difficulties I was faced with, but I would like to give you some background for context.

My CrossFit journey began in 2009, before CrossFit was as popular in our area. My husband and I totally fell in love with the challenge in training. I was the Operations Manager at a local gym, and a Personal Trainer. Shortly thereafter, we found ourselves opening a Box with friends and starting our journey as “gym” owners.

We loved every aspect of our Box, but soon realized the “partnership” aspect was not working at all, so we sold our share to them in 2011 and moved on to the next season. Thinking we were done with gym ownership, we built a house in the middle of the woods, and created a rad garage gym that we could kick our own butts in. I found my comfort zone and decided to stay there.

However, my journey as an entrepreneur was far from over.

In 2013 my husband Claude and I found ourselves face to face with the opportunity and renewed passion to bring CrossFit to our home town of Madras, about 40 minutes from our home. One thing you must know about us, as a team, we are unstoppable. We aren’t afraid of hard work and always finish what we start.

3 Peaks CrossFit was born with a passion to change lives – mind, body and spirit – and to create a legacy that would change the cultures of our community and beyond. We faced a heart break before even having our doors open with the death of my brother-in-law. But once again, we pushed through and had our grand opening in Jan. 2014.

This is where we met 321GoProject. We had Clay build our website and during that time, he gave me the best piece of advice. To summarize, he said, whatever I do, just be consistent. Whether it was a blog, or posting WODs, just be consistent with what I do.

Such great advice for a new business owner; sadly, I didn’t do a very good job following it though.

Thus began the hard work, long drives every day, early mornings, late nights and digging deep. With Claude having a full time job, he helped with the before work classes, and after work stuff, and I did the rest. I can honestly tell you, we lived on adrenaline, coffee and a strong passion to help others. That’s great and all for a sprint, but not for longevity.

I had no clue what was about to come our way.

I fully believe that when you are operating where you are called to, trials are inevitable. Those trials are never easy, but we do have a choice for how we handle everything. For 2 years we pushed hard, teaching every class, running every 1-1 training session. Trying to spread a passion for fitness, pouring out of an empty tank, inspiring, and pretty much not getting a break. I didn’t have much time for anything else.

We went into 2016 with drive and hope on the outside, but exhaustion and a high level of stress inside.

During that year, our lives included financial stresses, job loss, transition of our oldest graduating high school and moving to college, a serious car accident where I suffered a shoulder sprain and vertical whiplash, and finishing the year up with relationships lost, proved to test our emotions, marriage, family, and our hope.

I was flat-lined – mentally, emotionally, and physically. I lost my vision, in fact, I can tell you that physically my visual clarity was toast because of exhaustion. It was noticeable to everyone around us.

Our business plateaued, suffered really, as any would. We were operating it out of an empty tank. I was doing everything, but doing nothing well. I was a monkey with a machine gun, putting out fires, and hoping not to piss too many people off.

I can remember telling Claude that I felt like I was barely surviving, not thriving, but for whatever reason, I had zero clue what I could do to change it. All I could see was strife, stress, and failure. After watching our membership dip to a record low, I found myself in a place where I had no choice but face our situation and make a choice. Step away and allow myself to be defeated, or try something different. Not once in my life have I ever given up, but I didn’t see an end to the hits we were taking. This time, I got up because of the help of a community who unsuspectingly yelled, “Get Up.”

Enter 321GoProject again.

I saw an email about the HUB and thought (hoped) I could possibly glean some much needed help, so despite the fact that I didn’t know if I could afford it or not, I joined HUB and was so shocked at the resources available to me. It was kind of my “last ditch effort”. I’m a learner at heart, always have been.

Any opportunity that I get to be taught something, I take it. Even if I’m not very good at something, I make baby steps to getting better and continuing to learn. I began to see some hope, not in the stresses of life changing, but for our business. I was getting some direction for my business yes, but really, for my life. It gave me some hard truths, shook me up and made me get focused.

I started reading books, listening to podcasts, and getting my hands on things that would help me be better at business yes, but more so to help me be the best version of me possible. One of the resources I read was Entrepreneur or Wantrepreneur by John Fosco and Cory Gregory. It was real, raw, and to the point.

Was I an entrepreneur, or a wantrepreneur? They are entirely 2 different things.

It’s the difference between running your CrossFit affiliate as a business or a hobby. It was a deep question, which I had to process and think on for a bit. I really had to search my heart, search my motives, and search my reasons. There was a moment, in listening to that book, when I had a “Heck Yes I’m an entrepreneur” moment rise up in me. Even if I wasn’t clear on what to do next, I knew I was made for this.

Up until this point, I hadn’t paid ourselves 1 dime. Yep you heard right, I’m “that” business owner.

Blood, sweat, and tears, followed with sacrifice and exhaustion… and I wasn’t even getting paid for it. Wake up call for me came was when I joined a M3 Group and had to confess this to my team. They didn’t judge me; in fact, quite the contrary. I was encouraged, and given some focus, and a challenge… To figure out how to write myself a check and cash it before our next meeting. I LOVE CHALLENGES and when someone who has great insight and wisdom, gave me direction and challenged me to “GET UP” and “knock down doors” until I reached my goals, something stirred in me… No, awakened in me.

I committed right then and there to do whatever it took to reach my goals. To get focused, say no to things that distracted me, and not stop until I reached them. I in no way am saying I am or do everything perfectly. But I have a deep resolve with everything in me to push through.

I had to start with renewing my vision, renewing my WHY. I committed to being a student of business again, to learn and glean what I could to see our original vision even exceed that which we had hoped. With a community of amazing people who I didn’t know well, but looked up to, not because of where they were in their business, but because they had similar struggles as I did, just at varying levels. I saw some light, in a really dark place in my life and business and it helped ignite the diligence I already had inside to keep fighting.

What’s amazing about the 321go Team, is they were the “crowd” in my “Rocky movie story”, cheering me on with words, ideas, education, and so many resources to encourage me to get back up and continue fighting! They were my Micky saying, “You can do it ROCKO”.

“You can do it Mel!”

Having someone believe in you, believe in your mission, your heart, your fight and struggle makes all the difference. It’s the difference between having the strength to get up and throw another punch, to dig deeper, punch harder, with precision; or giving up.

“It ain’t about how hard you get hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

We are all going to take hits in this life. But only you can choose to get back up again.

If you find yourself like I was, deep in a pit, struggling, and losing hope, here are some tips to help you get back up:

1. Remember your Why.

Take a day off, shut off your phone, have a good cry, and remember why you started your business. If you aren’t sure, there are so many resources available to help you even determine what your WHY is? (Start With Why – Simon Sinek, is a great one) Biggest thing you MUST do, is allow yourself to have vision. Without vision, you’ll go nowhere. You may find in this process, that you determine you are more of a wantrepreneur instead of an entrepreneur. It’s ok, you’re not a failure. You’re a great person who loves what you do. There is no shame, only opportunity to put your focus on what you should be doing.

When you remember your WHY, write it down where you can see it every day! Let it be a reminder daily, since life will continue to happen. You’ll need to see it.

2. Find a mentor.

I get it, asking for help isn’t easy. It takes humility, and if you’ve gotten this far, what do you have to lose? 321GoProject was my lighthouse and I can’t say enough amazing things about how they’ve helped me grow as an owner and person. But I know there are more options out there. Find that mentor or accountability partner who can stand by you and offer direction when your vision isn’t clear. Ask questions and seek wise council.

Then take action. Good intentions don’t equal action. If you want change, you have to take action.

3. Think outside the Box.

It’s ok to try new things. Don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work, try something different. Don’t get down on yourself. Chalk it up, give yourself grace, and keep moving forward.

4. Perfectionism is your enemy.

Waiting until something is perfect is unreasonable. You can analyze something until you become paralyzed, then nothing will get done. Yes, you want to do it right… I get it, but don’t let that need to be perfect stop you from getting anything accomplished.

5. Delegate everything you can.

Make a list of everything you can delegate to someone else (whether it’s one of your coaches, a member of your gym, or outsourcing it). If that’s cleaning your gym, coaching every class, programming, website work, whatever, lessen your plate on the stuff “In” the business so you can focus “On” growing the business. Sure there will be costs, but the return is more than worth it.

6. Know your finances.

I cannot state the importance of this enough. If you’re not operating with a budget, if you don’t know some basic financial numbers for your business how do you expect to grow? You have to know where you are now, in order to move forward. If finances aren’t your thing, get help. The HUB has awesome resources to get you started. Get a bookkeeper, do something to learn about the financial state of your business. Then and only then, can you assess a plan to move forward and grow.

7. Lastly… Take care of you.

If you’re burnt out, barely keeping your head above water because you’re doing everything yourself, there is hope. If you’re not paying yourself, that has to stop today! Yes be reasonable, but if you don’t take care of you, how in the world are you being a good role model for your members at your gym? Seems harsh to say, but it’s so important to hear it. Taking care of you also means saying no to other things, getting your workouts in, getting adequate nutrition (instead of living off of protein shakes or bars), hydration (not talking about coffee here), of course sleep, and finally the biggy… de-stress. Your members are watching you, and you can’t lead from an empty tank. So find an outlet to let stress go, do something fun, laugh more, (even if it’s forced), and do what you need to do to be the best version of you every day.

The biggest thing I can tell you as a business owner, is by doing the work – digging your heels in deep and being resilient to continue on your journey – you will see dividends, both literally and figuratively. You’ll have a bigger impact on others, smile more, and feel so much better. It will not be easy, but when you surround yourselves with like-minded people who hold you accountable, inspire you, and help you move out of your comfort zone, amazing things happen.

Do you hear that? Listen. (Cue the Rocky theme music).

Do you hear your name being chanted? Do you hear their belief in you?

Now is the time for you to believe in yourself, and Get Up! Just like in a WOD, just like when you’re coaching your athletes to keep going, you can do this, just keep moving.

If I can do it, anyone can.

~Mel Smith, info@3peakscrossfit.com
Owner, 3 Peaks CrossFit in Madras, OR

 

Want more help with this? Check out Hub. This month, we’re focused on helping Hubsters get found online and getting reviews is just one piece of that. For only $10 for the first month, you can get your online “house” in order.

 

Also… if you haven’t registered yet for the 1st Annual Gym Owner’s Growth Summit, do so today!!  It’s FREE and it’s 3 days of content from some of the greatest minds in our industry!!

Aug 14
1

Why Customer Reviews Are So Important To Your Business

By | Blog, Branding & Website Advice, Business Help, Digital Marketing, Julie Weldon, Marketing, SEO Help | No Comments

Think about the last time you bought something online, or reserved a place to stay, or chose a restaurant. Before making a decision, what was one of the FIRST things you did?  If you’re like most people, you looked at the reviews.

How many reviews are there? Have they primarily been given 5 stars… or 1-2 stars? If they have mostly 4-5 stars, what do people love about it? And, if there are 1-2 star ratings, what are their biggest complaints?

If there are no ratings and reviews, what are your thoughts? You’re most likely a little leary to purchase, aren’t you? If no one else is trying it, you probably will keep looking for another product that someone else testifies is good, or (hopefully) amazing.

Ratings and reviews – good, bad, or non-existent – can make or break a business.

Customers trust other people’s opinion in today’s social media saturated world more than they trust what a brand says about themselves.

In 2015, BrightLocal released the findings of their Local Consumer Review Survey. They found that 92% of people said they read reviews to determine the quality of a local business before visiting a business. NINETY-TWO PERCENT.

So, what does that mean for you?

If you don’t have a lot of reviews all saying how amazing someone’s experience is at your place of business, chances are you are losing people, and probably a lot of them.

Here are a few other statistics that communicate the importance of online reviews:

  

 

 

 

 

Reviews matter. And they matter a lot.

So, given that, here are a few things that are key to know and remember:

  1. Volume of reviews you have – many customers form an opinion after only reading a few reviews, but they want to at least know that there are many similar reviews just like the ones they read.
  2. All on the same day – Google doesn’t look favorably on all your reviews happening around the same time frame. Spread them out and consistently ask for reviews. Sort your members alphabetically and reach out to the A-E’s the first week, then F’J’s the following, etc.
  3. Incentivize – You certainly don’t have to incentivize your members to leave you a review, but it wouldn’t hurt, would it? You can enter them in a raffle for a $25 credit to your retail, or a $5 giftcard to Starbucks, etc. For drop-in’s, you can offer them a 2nd drop-in for free if they leave you a review. Their efforts will be well worth the investment you spend. 
  4. Reviews impact your search ranking – Google likes it when a business has a bunch of reviews so they will use these to rank you higher in searches.
  5. New customers will pay more for highly rated products or services – You know as well as I do if you read awesome positive reviews about a product, you are more willing to open up your wallet.
  6. Have reviews on different platforms – The main platforms to have a healthy dose of glowing reviews are Google and Facebook, but it never hurts to have a good handful of positive reviews on Yelp as well.
  7. Make it “stupid simple” for people to leave a review – Use our template to help people with the review-leaving process. The less clicks they have to do, the more likely they’ll actually leave you a review.

We cannot understate the importance of getting at least 35-50 positive reviews, spread out over the course of time. The more, the better. Invest time in this and it will pay you back in dividends.

Want more help with this? Check out Hub. This month, we’re focused on helping Hubsters get found online and getting reviews is just one piece of that. For only $10 for the first month, you can get your online “house” in order.

 

 

Also… if you haven’t registered yet for the 1st Annual Gym Owner’s Growth Summit, do so today!!  It’s FREE and it’s 3 days of content from some of the greatest minds in our industry!!

May 01
0

4 Things to Maximize Your Chances of Success in Your Business

By | Blog, Business Help, Financial Help, How To, Julie Weldon, Leadership, Marketing, Starting a Gym | No Comments

We’ve all heard the sobering statistics from the SBA that only 50% make it to the five-year mark and just one-third get to celebrate their 10-year anniversary.

If you’re reading this and you’ve made it to your 2 year mark, your 5 year mark, or maybe even your 10 year mark… huge congratulations!  We all know getting to any of these milestones is no small feat.

Because, let’s be honest… the road of an entrepreneur is never an easy one.

It often feels like going on a hike… barefoot, through a densely wooded mountainous forest, at night, with no flashlight, no food or water, and certainly no cell phone reception.

Even for the ones who seem like they have it all together.

What about the road for those who don’t make it to the 5 year mark? Or, maybe even a better question… for those that do? Starting a business and staying open 5 years is a monumental undertaking.

We’ve spoken with countless gym owners who are tired. We’ve spoken to ones who look like they’ve built a huge business because of the number of members they have, but they’re not profitable. For those people, business isn’t fun, it’s stressful. These owners got into the business because they loved helping others, and now it’s turned into the exhausting business of well, running a business.

So how can you make sure that you’re in the small percentage of folks who actually succeed and don’t get burnt out along the way?

Here are a few of the key things based on our experience:

1. Pay Attention to Your Cash Flow. This is the number one sinker for small businesses. Most people who start a business aren’t a “numbers person”, so they don’t ever really have control over or understanding of their numbers. Huge mistake. As a result, they don’t pay themselves, and are constantly focused on not having enough.

Suggestion: If this is you, stop putting this off. Commit now to focusing on getting comfortable with and knowing your numbers. First things first, order a copy of Profit First today, and set up your business using this financial system. It will get you in control of your numbers, have you paying yourself right away, and radically change your cash flow challenges. But, be prepared to work the system. There are no magic bullets!

2. Have a Marketing Strategy in Place. You would never (or very rarely) start a vacation or a building project without a plan. So, why do so many small businesses open their doors without a plan for how they are going to grow? Many owners we talk with are years in and haven’t created a marketing plan. Working without a plan will only get you so far. With so much competition rising up, those who have a plan that they’re executing on will be the ones who get out in front of the pack.

Suggestion: Join Hub. For the month of May in Hub, we’re focused on helping all Hub subscribers develop and execute on their Marketing Plan. We provide the how to, templates, courses, resources, and the expertise needed to ensure Hubsters are focused on the right thing.

3. Surround Yourself with Other Like-Minded Owners. A strong, supportive group offers you the ability to positively change. To see what others are doing, and use their experience to make changes in your own business, can be a game changer for your business. It gives you the accountability to actually make the changes. And then it provides encouragement and high fives when those changes happen.

Suggestion: Again, join Hub. Our Hub subscribers have come together to form one of the most powerful communities of gym owners that exists in the industry. They are quick to say that our private Facebook group has been one of the biggest benefits of being a Hub subscriber. It’s a safe place of question asking, idea sharing, and high fiving. Just being a part of this group is worth the price of admission. To take it a step farther, you can apply to join a M3 (Momentum MasterMind) group. These are small groups of 6-8 like-minded gym owners who meet weekly. They are led by a 321Go Business Coach and are all in similar places in their business.

4. Admit What You Don’t Know and Get Help. Another big reason businesses fail is because of the incompetence of the leader. This is not meant to be a derogatory statement at all, it’s just that many gym owners aren’t equipped to run a business. They just don’t know what they don’t know. And none of us know everything. But, the ones who admit what they don’t know and are willing to invest the time and money into really learning and applying what they learn are the business owners who will be around for the long haul.

Suggestion: Find a business mentor, join an accountability group, listen to podcasts, read blogs, and become a part of a motivating and inspiring FB group. The resources are there, you just need to tap into them. Invest your time and money in ways that will grow your knowledge, and ultimately your business.

Your business is your baby. Your creation. It’s everything to you. It can become everything you dream it to be, you just have to choose the best ways to invest in it. And then, execute on what you learn.

We very much want you to succeed. So much so that everything we create and offer here at 321GoProject is geared towards that. Want to jump on a call with us? Click here to schedule one. We’d love to chat!

The act of taking the first step is what separates the winners from everyone else.  – Brian Tracy