Most businesses have a great idea when they get started. They often create some success and then begin diluting themselves and their resources. There will be some days that will be more challenging than others, and you may feel like quitting. It requires mental and emotional fortitude to build a successful business.
Running a business is stressful and not for everyone. There will be days you feel like your world is collapsing, and you may feel disheveled at times. It’s important to come back to your foundation. What drives people into your business? Typically, most of your stress is built up in your mind because you are thinking about irrational fears in the future. Your world is not unwinding; it’s all in your head. On those days, go back to your foundation and don’t allow your irrational thoughts to slow progress. A lot of those irrational thoughts disappeared when I started Snap Fitness because I was removing clutter from the business. Mental, physical, and emotional clutter.
When I decided to remove the aerobics studio, childcare, racquetball courts, and swimming pools, I knew that I would be losing customers. I knew some parents would go elsewhere because they needed the childcare or enjoyed the aerobics classes. I removed those items because they required a lot of space, had expensive overhead to operate, and only 30% of my members were using those amenities. In my mind, those amenities were not worth the financial or human capital to build and manage.
I realized by not having some of the higher ticket items, I would limit my potential to reach 100% of customers. I knew there would be a trade-off, but the exchange was foregoing some of my sales potential for significantly less upfront capital and overhead. I realized I didn’t need to appeal to 100% of the market to be successful. I just had to appeal to 70%. With the Snap Fitness model, I could focus all of my attention on scaling without diluting my focus. I could scale quickly without the mental or physical clutter of building and operating a large fitness club.
My goal was to build a foolproof system and process with a proven model of success that was affordable for any potential franchisee. Why? Because I needed franchisees to help me grow if I was ever going to accomplish my goal. I knew I had to simplify and streamline every aspect of owning a fitness facility if I was ever going to reach 1000 locations. My initial simplifications were:
- Removing some of the big box health club amenities in exchange for a smaller, more efficient product offering and footprint.
- The cost of getting into my business was a fraction of a larger full-service facility.
- Two employees as opposed to 50.
- Much less startup and monthly overhead, thus reducing the risk exposure dramatically.
Now that I simplified the franchise model to operate, I also removed the barriers that keep most people from buying into a franchise. My goals were:
- Create a cost-effective model where most people could financially qualify.
- Streamline & simplify the day to day operations, so you didn’t need a wellness background to run a successful club.
- Reduce operating costs from a full-service facility, making my member breakeven significantly lower and increasing my chances of business success.
We had to make it easy for a franchisee to choose to start a Snap Fitness, instead of starting their own company. We eliminated all of the guesswork of creating systems, processes, and infrastructure that typically comes with starting a business. With our proven model, they could eliminate the pressure of making those difficult and costly decisions.
Remember, hope is not a business plan. Before you ever think of franchising or expanding, you must validate your concept at scale. This is why I built a club in an urban market, a midsize market, and a small market. Before I start accepting peoples hard-earned money as an investment opportunity, I needed to know where the product would thrive. This is part of the reason why I grew my product from an idea to 1000 locations so quickly. I knew that our product was validated and relevant in the marketplace. Franchisees knew it would work in every market, no matter what size. They had the confidence to say yes and open locations with speed.
Create a product that’s easy to build, easy to train, making it easy to scale. This is done by continually evaluating, assessing, and refining your entire process. Once completed, create a chronologically defined checklist for accountability on every location worldwide. We have a punch list on how to build out a store, and our franchisees know that if they follow those steps in order they leave little to chance
Here are the three types of clutter you should remove so that your business can scale with speed:
Physical Clutter
At Snap Fitness, this meant removing the swimming pools, racquetball courts, aerobics classes, and childcare. That also meant removing old work out machines and creating a stretching area. Don’t keep things just to keep them. Look at your business and understand where you have clutter. Remove old equipment, rearrange the room, and simplify your location to make it simple to scale.
Mental Clutter
Do you ever wonder why Mark Zuckerberg wears the same outfit every day? So he doesn’t waste time picking out his outfit. You don’t have to be as militant about your attire as Mark Zuckerberg, but there is a reason he does it. It’s one less thing he needs to think about each day, which frees him up to think more intentionally about the components that materially drive his company and motivate his employees. Save that energy for growing your business.
This was my mindset when creating the systems and processes that went into opening every Snap Fitness location worldwide. Removing mental clutter meant flawless granularity with each task written in chronological order. It also meant including detailed projected costs and timelines to complete. This attention to detail was necessary if I was going to successfully reach my goals.
We didn’t want franchisees to worry about anything that could slow down the process, and we held their hands through the crucial decisions. Every process was thought out and simplified.
Every person that started a Snap Fitness had the mental peace and clarity that they would succeed as long as they followed our process.
Some might ask why such attention to detail, it was important that my franchisees realized and appreciated the time and detail that went into the store opening process. When they saw I had a detailed list of office supplies for the front desk, it gave them a comfort level that I didn’t miss anything. They could focus on driving their business through our membership pre-sales strategy.
How can you reduce the mental clutter in your life? What is keeping you up at night? What does your mind worry about constantly?
It’s critical that you remove the mental hurdles in your life and create a simplified but intentional to-do list each day. You’re going to find that being diligent and disciplined in this thought process will simplify your life and enhance your productivity immensely.
Emotional Clutter
The most important clutter that you should analyze in your own life is the emotional clutter. Emotional clutter will drain your energy and put limits on what you think you can accomplish.
You have heard the saying, “you are the five friends you spend the most time with.” That is 100% true.
You have friends and people in your life right now that are not contributing to your growth. Maybe they are outwardly questioning your goals and saying things like, “why would ever want to do that? or “if you do that, you’re going to lose all your money” The people you spend the most time with are either fanning your flame or dousing it. Make sure that you are spending time with people that inspire you to grow and expand.
Removing emotional clutter can be difficult because oftentimes, those people are the people we love the most. I’ve often wondered why in most cases, it’s family members or close friends that dampen your spirits or inject doubt in your dreams. Don’t let other people’s fear of failure or lack of taking action impact the narrative of your life story. Remember, misery loves company.
It’s not that you have to cut friends or family members out of your life. Instead, try to be a beacon of light in their lives and share your excitement and passion for chasing your dream. If they see you living a fulfilled life, it may encourage them to create their own life story with initiatives and timelines. Regardless of their reaction, go back through your hilltaker method and make sure they know why you are working towards your North star. Let them know that you want their support, even if they don’t understand you.
At the end of the day, let them be innocent bystanders as they watch you demonstrate discipline and accountability in creating a better life for yourself and your family. Demonstration is the best way to convert others to believe in you. Once they see your commitment and personal growth, they will ask you how you did it.
You can do every step in the hilltaker method, but if you forget to remove obstacles and clutter from your life, your setbacks will be more prevalent. Look at your life and your business, understand what clutter is holding you back, and remove it before you move forward. Leave no stone unturned, take a full inventory of your physical, mental, or emotional baggage, then release it from your mindset. The success and growth you’re looking for starts with attitude. We don’t want anything holding you back from your full potential or success.
Sometimes, clutter can be disguised by success. I recently became a partner in an acai bowl business that benefited from our streamlining their current business and customer ordering process. It’s one thing to remove clutter for yourself, but you may also have to remove clutter for your customers. This particular acai bowl company was no different. We found that allowing our customers to build their own bowl actually slowed down the ordering process, affecting our customer experience. We found that in most cases, our customers were not sure which bowl options blended well together. We created eight signature bowls to combat this inefficiency, each uniquely different from the next, with the perfect balance of taste and variety. By incorporating the change, we not only made the buying experience more pleasurable for our customers, but we also picked up exponential efficiencies in our bowl production.
I initially met the two founders as a consultant to help them evaluate their business and chart a course to grow their business organically. After digging in and streamlining the operations, store build-out, and customer experience, it became clear that this business could be a viable franchise concept. We were able to simplify the business so that it was very easy to operate and simple to explain the value proposition to our franchise prospects.
Originally, they explored the idea of adding kombucha and coffee to the menu to increase profits. It reminded me of our experience with franchisees at Snap Fitness. Our franchisees would often come to us with an idea to incorporate a smoothie shop into our model. I never fault anyone for developing new ideas or wanting to expand their business. However, they didn’t think about the costs associated with the expansion.
Smoothies may add revenue to the top line, but once you compare the added costs to the income potential, it proves to be a distraction from the company’s original North star. They hadn’t thought about the build-out costs to add a smoothie bar, the increased staffing and sanitation, inventory, or upkeep costs to run it successfully.
Along with that, it goes back to discipline. Only a small percentage of your members will buy smoothies and you might need to change the entire business plan to accommodate the smoothie bar. Don’t let distractions disguised as opportunities take off course. Instead, don’t be afraid to double or triple
you down on what is driving your business’s core profits. Always navigate back to your North star and pursue your goal with unstoppable fire.
You didn’t start this journey to just be comfortable. If you started chasing a big North star, it’s probably because you wanted great. Eliminate your fears and ask yourself, what are you truly afraid of? Consider these thoughts on fear:
- What are you afraid of? Don’t confuse fear with apprehension or caution. Our caution can be our best asset because we will be thorough and diligent with our decision-making process.
- What’s the worst that could happen (by removing clutter)? Removing the clutter will help you create your path to making the impossible possible.
- What’s the best possible outcome (once that clutter is removed)? It’s important to visualize your North star, but equally as important to create small milestones that can be measured monthly. Progress brings inspiration and motivation.
- Does my decision align with my North star? Each decision should align with reaching your vision. Vision along with planning and action will be the key ingredient that creates
your success.
Your North star navigates all of your decisions. Navigating towards that North star means not chasing clutter disguised as opportunity. It’s important you’re diligent and intentional with the processes you’ve created. Once you build those processes, set up your rules to be accountable in your life and in your business. You don’t have time for pit stops and wrong turns.
Remain focused on the material components that are the driving force to your reaching your North star. Occasionally in your journey, you may need to pivot because of competition or unforeseen challenges. Trust yourself in the work you’ve done up to this point. Trust that you’re taking the right precautions and thought through your plan of execution with undeniable detail.
Don’t become distracted or let your dream become watered down or diluted by other people pulling you from your dream. Stay focused on your climb, measure your progress, and inspire everyone around you with your passion.