The other day I was at a party and there were two women who worked the lunch lines at our local school ... yes, the lunchroom ladies. These ladies started entertaining us with stories and tales of escapades and shenanigans that occur in the lunch room ...they were entertaining, funny - and at times, disturbing.

It made me think of the stories and tales I've come across over the years as a business coach - just as equally entertaining - and disturbing.

I've outlined a few here - knowing that you will relate to some of the stories and learn from the lessons they have ...


Nothing is worse than a boss who doesn't let his or her people do their job. Constantly leaning over shoulders, interrupting sessions, redoing work ... you might as well be the "One Man (or Woman) Show."

The most important component to having a successful business is having good people around you. And, once you get the good people, you have to give these people the ability to do their job. No one wants to work for someone who doesn't allow the work to get done.

Having the right training systems in place - to ensure they understand the job and understand the expectations of the job is the number one step to getting over your micro-manager disease. And then, allowing your staff to do the job - AND MAKE MISTAKES - is the next key. No one will ever learn or want to learn if they don't have the ability to fail. You have to realize that it's ok. There's a learning curve that needs to occur in order for the employee to be who you want them to be. (Of course, there is a limit ...if the mistakes keep occurring - even after you've dealt with them, then this may not be the right person for the job).


I talked to a woman yesterday who has a successful business catering to older, mature women. At least, she calls it successful, and on paper, her numbers look good. But when I peeled back the onion, it became apparent that her success was costing her 14 hour days, she hadn't had a vacation in 3 years and she was unable to reach her goals.

CRAZY!

What is the point of having a business if you can't create the balance in our life? This is a case of the business running you - not you running the business. Having the freedom and leverage to take time off and be with your family and reach the business goals you want to is the true sign of a successful business.

This comes from - having good people around you! It's important to understand that it can't all be done alone - by making sure you've got the right management systems and tools in place - and subsequently getting the right people in place, you will have a successful business.


This person is classic! I talked to a guy who was really starting to build a successful boot camp business. In his mind, he understood that in order to remain successful and continue to grow, he was going to need to get some instructors in place.

But he didn't want to.

My clients will miss me... No one can train better than me... I've got to be the 'face' of the business ...

I tried to make him understand that by spending even 10 hours a week training he was losing valuable time that could be spent getting in front of people - networking, public speaking, building alliances -all things that grow the business.

And - do the math. You're the owner. You're worth at least $150 an hour in time spent in your business. A trainer is worth $25-30. Would you rather spend $1500 a week in training time, or $250 a week in training time? It's a no brainer.

I made him go cold turkey. Send his instructor out to do the class 3 times in the first week. The owner wasn't allowed to show up. No one missed him.

And, as a matter of fact, the clients were so happy to see a new face with energy and enthusiasm that, in the end, it turned out better for everyone.

Bottom line, if what you're working on isn't driving sales and revenue, then you need to re-evaluate why you're the one doing it and get it delegated, systemized or deleted.


This guy is classic. Brand new business, just ramping up - and ramping up fast. We were on a coaching call trying to work through some technology issues. Somehow, it came out that he had three computers in front of him, and didn't know how to use any of them ...seriously!

Key to success #34 - know your strengths, and know your weaknesses. This guy was spinning his wheels, day after day trying to master something he had no idea about - and didn't want to know about. Trying to get his technology infrastructure in place, his contacts all sorted and tagged, cleaning up data - yea, good use of a business owners time ....it was taking him weeks to sort through all the nonsense - and he was not getting anything accomplished.

How simple is it to find a $10/hour person to focus on the nittygritty detail oriented tasks that you're not good at - and again, frankly, you really have no business doing!! Find a temp, a college kid - a client willing to barter ...the bottom line again is ...if what you're working on isn't driving sales and revenue, then you need to re-evaluate why you're the one doing it and get it delegated, systemized or deleted.

Great story - one of our strongest boot camp owners is switching technology platforms. It took him less than one week to transfer over to his new system. Why? He had a strong administrative assistant in place who handled everything - did it all. I asked him - how did you get this done, did you do any of it? He said, oh, no. I don't touch that stuff. I let my admin do it all .... that's what I pay her for ...

Great lesson learned.


Too many of you fall into this category. The category that's all about tracking and knowing your numbers.

I can't tell you the number of times I get on diagnostic calls and have no supporting documentation from folks to review.

"I didn't have time." "We just want to focus on other things." "I don't know where to get the numbers from." "I hate looking at numbers and reviewing."

I get it. It's fear. It's fear of knowing what's really going on in your business and having to deal with the fact that maybe you're not doing as well as you think you're doing.

But there's freedom in facing your fears. You can't fix what you don't know. Putting your head in the sand and hoping it will go away only makes it come back bigger.

Every person I've talked to, who has completed a diagnostic analysis of their business and gotten an understanding of where the numbers stand tell me that they've gotten CLARITY. They get it. Usually that's all the conversation needs to be about. Once they've gotten an understanding of the numbers, they understand the holes and gaps and what needs to be fixed.


Watching the graph lines go up, or the trends, there's freedom in that knowledge. Folks I've worked with recently on really tracking and understanding where each penny is coming from - and going to - are experiencing the most amount of growth in their business.

A successful studio owner came to me about 6 months ago - couldn't understand why he was making money - but not seeing any of it in his bank account. We sat down and accounted for every cent - realized he was paying his trainers too much, realized his marketing budget was way out of whack - realized he could be raising his rates ... all decisions that came about because we started to track.

Now, 6 months later, he's got money in the bank, he's paying off debt, he's taking a salary, his revenue is increasing - and so are his margins. He got his head out of the sand and stopped ignoring what was real.

Because, it's true. It's not real until it's on paper. And if it's on paper, it can't be ignored. What is tracked, can be reviewed. And what is reviewed, can be improved.

As a business owner, it's your responsibility to make sure you are acting like a business owner. Be a leader. Hold yourself - and those around you - accountable. Be the driving force. Make the decisions that allow your company to grow. Don't hold yourself back by falling into one of the groups I've described above.

© 2010 SERG Holdings, LLC * All Rights Reserved


Clarity->Focus->Results

NEW: Advanced Strategies For Closing More Fitness Sales

How You Get Paid: Fitness Business Sales/Packaging, Billing, and Collection Systems

A Rookie's Experience At 2010 NPE MEGA TRAINING Fitness Business Event

The Simplest - and Most Profound - Fitness Business Success Secret

Do You Make These Fitness Business Mistakes?

F.E.A.R.

(Believe In) Your Value