Hello, my friends,
I just returned from Nashville, TN, the Music City, and had a terrific time between business and fun.
I was attending our quarterly Functional Aging Institute Mastermind meeting. This is a coaching program for fitness business professionals to discuss how to grow our businesses and better serve our clients.
We go through two very intense nine-to-five days full of information, brainstorming ideas, creating action plans, and challenging ourselves to get better. They are typically broken down into one “Coaching Day” and one “Teaching Day.”
On Thursday, we started our Coaching Day at a round table, discussing each business, our struggles, and our successes. What is working and what is not, helping each other to continue to be the best at what we do. We listen, take notes, make plans, and set goals to be accountable for our next meeting.
Friday was Teaching Day, where Dr. Dan Ritchie, our FAI president and coach, brings the best professionals in the country to teach us the latest, cutting-edge information in the fitness industry.
This time I had the opportunity to stand in front of these brilliant people to share my knowledge and passion for creating and sustaining a fitness business for over 20 years. I also talked about designing small group programs for the aging adult. The whole experience was fantastic, fulfilling, and very humbling.
Our first speaker Billy Hockafer is a veteran fitness business owner in New York with a financial background. He talked about the importance of understanding the numbers in our business and creating a vision for the future. He discussed budget, P&L, cash flow, equity vs. net worth, and shared his “Attacking System” plan to reach our goals.
In this matter, I am fortunate to have my partner Mike who truly understands the finances and ensures we have it under control.
Jay Croft, a former writer for CNN and other important publications such as WebMD, talked about creating and writing relevant content, newsletters, and emails to better communicate and deliver our message to our clients.
Dianne Bailey, a certified Tai-Chi, Qigong, and 4th-degree black belt Taekwondo instructor, introduced the principles of Tai-Chi and how to incorporate them into our client’s programs.
Then, I took the floor to talk about how to start, grow, and sustain a One-on-One and Small Group personal training business.
I talked about having a great Team (Mike, Derek, Remy, and Tina) and Clients who believe in and support our purpose. They are, without a doubt, the backbone of Fit Factor.
I discussed the importance of getting involved in our community, the power of referrals, continued education, as well as writing a book to develop a strong and credible business where we are the absolute authority of exercise and fitness for the aging population in our area.
My good friend and colleague Matt Benvie, owner of Evolve Fitness in Halifax, Nova Scotia, ended the day by sharing his ideas and experience on creating brand recognition through partnerships with local businesses. Matt and his team have raised close to 1 million dollars since the pandemic.
It was an incredible two days of brainstorming, networking with friends, and meeting new people. I cannot help to come back so pumped to implement new ideas, solidify what has been working, and continue to grow Fit Factor to better help and serve our clients.
It is easy to get overwhelmed with so much information, so here are my three biggest takeaways from this Mastermind:
1- No business can grow without a solid Team and a financial understanding of where we are now and where we want to be in the future. 2- Communication is critical to reaching our ideal client. 3- We must win our community before winning the internet.
But most of all, what I truly love about these meetings is the camaraderie, the willingness to do whatever it takes to help each other, without jealousy or competition, with one common goal:
Help and inspire our clients to live better lives through exercise and fitness so they can continue to do what they need, love, and dream for the rest of their lives.
See you soon.
916 NE 20th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Phone: 954-522-5250 Email: info@fitfactortraining.com
