I had a conversation this past week that got me thinking.
People aren’t drawn to desperate.
It’s this weird thing… almost like someone can sniff out desperate from a mile away. It’s as if there is an impenetrable shield around the desperate one to keep other people far away.
You know what I mean. Think of the guy or girl who just went through a breakup and is always on the hunt for someone new. Or the one who can’t get over a person who broke up with them, so all they talk about is that person – story after story after story – to anyone who will listen. Or, the one who meets someone and wants to go from first date to marriage talk within waaay too short amount of time. We’ve all known (or been) this kind of person.
Or, closer to home… think of the gym owner who is down on his or her luck. They have lost 10 members in the last month, keep getting notices for “insufficient funds”, don’t have a plan in place for growth, and continually beat themselves up for either not knowing how to do something or for not doing something right.
Far too many business owners spend way too much time paralyzed by fear (and even hope), and as a result just come across as desperate, fear-ridden, and unsuccessful.
You, like me, probably can recognize desperate in someone else. Desperation has its own distinct scent, and it isn’t pleasant.
Most of us are good at knowing not to cross the line between eagerness and desperation in social situations. But, when your business is on the line, it unfortunately becomes a lot easier to allow good judgment to fly out the window. In your desire to have money in your bank account, you may not even realize you are giving off a desperate vibe.
Desperation is one thing that will destroy your business.
It creates a vibe of… well, desperation.
And the problem is no one is drawn to desperate. People want to hitch their wagons to confident, successful people. We do this because it makes us feel like we’ve made a good choice.
So, by being desperate, a business owner may actually be pushing away the exact people they are hoping to attract as customers.
Desperation comes when people are losing and they think they are out of options. Business owners in this position will grasp at anything they think might “rescue” them.
Determined people, on the other hand, have a very different mentality. These business owners take responsibility for themselves and for their business. They weigh out their decisions, instead of grasping at straws.
If you take a step back, look at the 10,000 ft. view, and you smell desperate in yourself, what can you do?
Do something.
I know that sounds simple, but it’s critical. Do something every day.
Can be anything that is a little out of the normal – write a thank you note to a member or a coach, set up a meeting with your bookkeeper/accountant, create a survey for your members, go out and meet another business owner close to you, take one of your members (or a small group of your members) out to coffee or drinks, write a blog and post it, etc.
The goal here is to jump start your momentum. Start the ball rolling.
Once the ball gets rolling, it’s much easier to build on that momentum.
When you do this you will find that it is the little things that add up over time to create a successful business.
And, the successful business owners I know are the ones who are consistently executing, even when they aren’t sure it’s the right thing.
They try, they fail, then they try again. And, each time they do, they are increasing their confidence and creating a little more momentum.
To help gym owners with this, we’ve created something that can help. Our affordable Hub platform has a Business Check Up course in it. It has a scoring rubric that you can take as soon as you sign up. It will give you clear direction on the areas where you can start to execute on and gain momentum. Joining Hub will also give you access to our private Facebook group that is the best in the industry. The 450+ gym owners in it are unlike any community I’ve seen. They share whatever resources they have to help make other gym owners successful.