The BUSINESS of Gym MOMENTUM has been pretty good. Lately I have been spending about as much time doing business consulting as I have spent time doing gymnastics consulting with about 2 weeks a month on the road.
The last 2 clubs asked:
“What’s your secret? How can you spend as much time AWAY from your gym as you spend at your gym and still be successful?”
My answer is was the same.
- – Work SMART and HARD
- – Hire Great People
- – Let them do their jobs.
- – Hold them responsible
I find myself increasingly appreciative of the jobs my staff do. Nearly every meeting has me saying-
“I’d ask Dina (The General Manager) to do this….”
or
“Matt (Head Coach) would….”
or
“Cori (Co-head Coach) did …”
All with good results.
This past week up in the Canada. The director of the club was spending too much time micro-managing everyones job and not focusing enough on the group she was coaching or the business she was trying to run.
We spent a lot of time trying to get her to “let go” of some of the responsibilities.
It is easy to say you want to empower your staff. It is difficult to actually do it.
She asked how am I able to TRUST everyone to do their job and I said it is fairly simple-
I have clear expectations and make sure that everyone knows that they can not have the authority without the responsibility. “
None of us like “Helicopter Parents” nor should you like a “Helicopter Owner”
She asked how my business can afford for me to be away . When I started coaching IN the gym less, I took less money from the team program in salary. I spent more time working ON the gym. Marketing, Management and business planning. The increased revenue from this contributed to my salary. The money I make in clinics offsets the “lost income” from not taking the same salary due to reduced coaching hours.
I said- NEVER pay for a job that is not being done or being done to your expectations. And that includes yourself. If I have to do someone else’s job or continuing to clean up someone else’s mess then I would pay myself more and pay that person less. I still plow my parking lots and I have 1 night I am responsible for the gym to be clean for the morning. Everything has a price and at this time I am not willing to pay someone else to do those jobs.
At one consulting job an owner talked about one staff member who was always undermining their authority and causing unnecessary drama.
Long story short- That employee was fired on Saturday before I left.
Be the boss. Responsible and fair. If someone is NOT doing their job, doing their job poorly or undermining you, they are stealing. Stealing your energy and time and money. You can (and should) get by without them.
And to ANY of my staff who read this- just so you know- I say great things I say about you when I am called on to consult. Thank you. You’re the best.
Just having fun
