Excitement and passion are great qualities to have if you are starting a new venture. I would often have franchisees come to me after buying their first franchise license and say, “I’m going to be your best franchisee, I’m going to own ten of these locations. As much as I love their enthusiasm, the reality is, it’s easy to make bold statements without perspective. They haven’t started their journey yet and lack perspective on what they are getting into. If they expect to open ten stores, and they only have one successful store, they might even feel like they are failing. No matter what your goals are, set a manageable cadence of consistent continued progress every day.
The franchise owners’ excitement slows down once they realize the time and commitment required to build your membership base. Also, there’s staff to hire and critical leadership that goes into creating a successful business. Oftentimes, they don’t understand the time commitment or the capital they would need to reach 10 locations. They quickly realize that although there is a high potential financial success, it will require work and consistent discipline.
The Snap Fitness franchise offers a turn-key solution, but it’s not automated. It requires a lot of work to open a successful club, especially at the beginning. That’s why they must follow our well thought out action plan. The first step is to create a vision, the second step is to create the plan, and the third step is execution. In many cases, people underestimate the effort that one needs to put forth to be successful. This is why discipline and accountability work hand-in-hand with progress and perspective. The only way to open ten locations is to open one at a time, through small daily actions and compounded progress.
We all want people in our lives that are inspired and passionate. If you don’t have passion and energy, you don’t stand a chance. But you also have to understand this is a game of infinite progress, one step at a time and one day at a time.
If you remember the last chapter, we talked about Dunning Kruger effect, where excitement quickly leads to burnout. I want somebody excited to be in the gym for the first time, but I also want to make sure they feel good the next day, not beaten down. If they have never worked out before, let’s start by walking a mile. If you feel good tomorrow, bump it up to 1.25 miles. Play the long game of consistency and compounded improvement each day. Preparing for the journey ahead and set a realistic timeline required to reach our goals.
Never forget the timeless lesson of the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise always wins because the tortoise doesn’t stop. I want you to be the steady tortoise in your own life. Remember the
hilltaker method, one step at a time in the right direction. Most people fail to climb the impossible hills in their life because they lacked confidence or consider past failures they have endured.
They assume that this time will end up like all of the previous opportunities.
In many cases, this could be because they lack a realistic perspective of the effort and timeline it will take to succeed, so they quit before they ever reach success. People don’t intentionally set out to fail. They fail because they feel the progress is too slow compared to what they thought it would take. Realistically the pace at which they’re moving is right on track. They just lack the perspective on where they are at on the journey. The only way to climb that mountain is by putting one foot in front of the other, over and over, and over again. It may sound like a long trail, but it’s the only way to build and maintain
success.
Think about your business like a skateboard without wheels on a dirt road. You are not going to go anywhere if you jump on the skateboard and start pushing. You start by carrying the skateboard as you walk. After a while, you learn to use your resources, make money, and begin to build your pavement. Eventually, you add wheels to your skateboard and make your first push. That first push is the hardest because you have to create momentum. Eventually, that skateboard builds up steam, and
you can jump on to enjoy the ride.
When I was building Snap Fitness, my impossible hill was opening one store every day. That goal wasn’t going to happen in the first month or first year. My focus was taking one day at a time while making sure my growth and infrastructure worked hand-in-hand. To reach my goal’s capacity and velocity, I had to systemize every small detail in my business. Those action steps might not be fun, but they’re necessary.
Every day I created a mindset or process that helped keep me accountable to the material things that helped me grow my business. Often, it’s easy for us to get distracted by daily challenges that arise. Over time it can be easy to slip away from your core competency and slip into managing small fires that arise rather than focusing on the big picture. I call that working “in” the business instead of working “on” the business. If you’re not careful you can end up running from one fire to the next, eventually losing focus of your core business, which is the catalyst that pushes you forward.
As you grow, be cautious not to focus on expansion until the last store you opened is profitable or strongly trending that way. Often, I get involved with companies that have focused on growth, but in the wake of their expansion, they have struggling locations taking up human and financial capital.
People become overly consumed by growth. But it doesn’t matter how many stores you
have if they are not making money. Don’t compound your problems just because you want to grow. Make sure every store you open is performing and systemized before
you open your next. I would rather have one location with 400 members than 3 locations with 250. Remember, when it comes to revenue and profitability, it’s not what you bring in the front door; it’s what you take out the back.
When my franchisees vision towards success would become clouded or misdirected, I would often bring them back to these four principles:
Step 1: Find People- There was no social media during the early days of Snap Fitness, so we had to rely on guerilla marketing or hand to hand combat to get people in the door. Word of mouth, passing out flyers, member referrals, and our commitment to being part of the community we served. Bottom line, if the people in your trade area don’t know about you, they’ll never find you.
Step 2: Get them in the door- The first step in winning was getting people through our doors. I knew if we got someone in our door, we had an opportunity to sell them. There was no online enrollment at the time, so we had to get people in the location. Once they came in, there was a strong probability to convert them to a membership. The advertising got them in the door, but it’s up to us to sell them.
Step 3: Sell them- Make sure your value proposition is strong, easy to articulate, and relevant to what the customer is looking for. Like all successful companies, you will evolve over time, but early on, our value proposition was five easy points:
- We were open 24 hours a day.
- An excellent array of equipment. We had everything you needed to get fit.
- When you joined one club, you had access to them all. Full reciprocity across all locations.
- Free fitness and nutrition assessment upon joining
- No contract; it was on us to earn your business and your trust every day.
Focusing on these five points resonated with our clients, and it was easy for our franchisees to remember. As a business owner, it’s critical never to lose sight of what brought the customer to your door in the first place. You must remain diligent to your founding principles and value propositions while always ensuring you’re in line with the consumers expectations.
Step 4: Keep them- Selling your customer is one thing; retaining them as a repeat customer requires consistency in everything you do each day. Our non-negotiables provided a clean and friendly atmosphere, the best equipment money could buy, and a community or culture with our members where they knew we genuinely cared about helping them reach their wellness goals.
For someone with big ambitions, I had to exercise patience. My vision was to open Snap Fitness franchises all over the world.
But I also realized that in order for this to happen, I needed to commit to paying attention to the small details early on. It was those basic fundamentals and patience that allowed me to build a global brand. I looked at every new location and each member as one step closer towards my reaching my North star. Patience is your biggest virtue, but don’t use patience as an excuse for your lack of progress. Patience without progress won’t get you anywhere. Your goal is to move at a manageable cadence every day, moving towards your goal, but never forgetting that it’s thousands of small wins that lead to climbing the impossible hill-give yourself some tools to help you manage your daily tasks to keep yourself accountable. For me, that was creating a to-do list every day. I started making lists when I was 12 years old, and I have done it every day since. It keeps me accountable and provides the discipline to help me reach my daily goals.
Remember, it’s the sum of small everyday actions that creates big progress.
Part of manageable cadence starts with your attitude. You not only need to have a great attitude; you need to be consistent in your positive attitude each day. If your attitude fluctuates with your business’s success, your chances of long-term success will suffer, as will your chances of maintaining a consistent workforce. In most cases, people will only endure so much negative energy from their work environment before they look for their next opportunity. Attitude has a trickle-down effect, starting with you, your management team, your staff, and eventually the customer.
The one thing we all control every day is our attitude, and it’s not anyone else’s responsibility to make sure we stay positive. That’s a mindset that you choose every day getting out of bed. You’re going to find when you’re positive you’re also more approachable. Generally speaking, it’s no coincidence as you look at senior roles within an organization; the higher up you go, the more positive the attitudes become.
If you struggle to maintain a positive attitude, here are a couple of practices to consider:
- Before falling asleep at night and first thing when you wake up in the morning, think of five things you’re grateful for.
- On a Post-it note, write the word attitude in big, bold letters and draw a smiley face. ATTITUDE! Put one of these on your vanity mirror, on your refrigerator, on the dashboard of your car, and on your office computer.
As silly and rudimentary as this may sound, try it, and you will notice a difference.
Consistency with your management style is also critical. You could never tell the difference between my best days and my worst days. That should be your goal as well. Even, steady and consistent. Remember, as a leader, its your job to set non- negotiables and a manageable cadence with your team. How was my staff showing up? Every day I knew that the receptionist at the front desk would be the first impression for every member and potential member.
I credited at least 50% of my first business success to my attitude when I showed up at the club in the morning. I would bring in coffee, ask my staff how things were going, set intentions for the day, and create energy in the building. I wanted my staff to perform at their highest ability, and I know that meant I had to show up on fire each day. This consistency showed them I was engaged with them and appreciated their efforts.
We made sure that when a new potential member came in, we found out their name and made them feel welcomed. Anytime a member came in, we greeted them by name and with a smile.
It was my job to light up my staff because I knew creating a company culture each day was the only way we could ever expand.
Consistency and discipline will hold you accountable while moving towards your long-term goals. Set a clear vision and set non-negotiables even on days you don’t feel 100%. Some days wake up full of wind, feeling like Superman, and somedays you feel like Clark Kent. Your discipline and accountability will be tested on those days the most. Every time you feel like quitting or taking those days off, force yourself to show up. Re- enroll yourself into the hilltaker method.
Step 1: Solidify your decision- Once you’ve made the decision to go for it, decide to go all-in. Don’t limp into battle; approach each day as if you are going to battle. Just like a Spartan warrior, be mentally prepared for whatever the day throws at you. You are a hilltaker, and nothing will stand in your way. These are your non-negotiables each day that will get you started.
Step 2: Take one step- There will be days when you feel like progress is at a standstill. Understand there will be days like that, and that’s normal. Sometimes progress just simply moves slower than other times. The key is realizing progress is momentum, and as long as you’re moving the ball forward, it’s a positive day. Take one step towards your North star each day.
Step 3: Bring people with you- Share in the vision, the work, and the profits. I’ve implemented a cash bonus incentive plan based on efforts and financial goals in every company I’ve ever owned. These incentives involved every employee, based on their responsibility and salary. Each employee was compensated for their efforts in growing the company. I knew if I ever wanted to reach our companies North star, I had to do it with great people.
Step 4: Set milestones & track progress- It can be difficult to remember how far you’ve come when your feet are in the fire. While chasing your North star, it’s important to set milestones along the way and celebrate those small victories. I remember one of my first milestones being the opening of our tenth location. I had proven to myself that I could visualize the concept, create a plan to succeed, and execute by selling franchises while opening locations. Once it was clear I would launch a successful franchise, I shifted my goal to open 100 locations before eventually raising the number to 1000.
From there, my goal shifted to building a worldwide brand. Finally, my goal moved to build one of the largest franchise wellness companies housing several brands under one umbrella. Today
Lift Brands holds over 6000+ franchise locations or licenses in 28 countries and growing.
Manageable cadence goes right alongside infinite progress. Many times, people will hit a milestone with their business or weight loss goal, only to celebrate and lose their momentum. Set milestones to show you how far you have come and reward yourself when you hit your goals. Then set new goals, realign with your North star, and keep going. This is the game of life, and it never stops. Remember it’s the small decisions and little victories that contribute and allow you to climb your impossible hill.