On my health and fitness blog I posted a story today about my neighbor Sam who knocked on my door for a very specific reason last night.

Click here to read the story and see the picture…

be a fitness nomad…

Today, I want to discuss a very important topic he nails in the first 10 pages.  It has to do with you being indispensable.  And it doesn’t matter whether you’re a business owner or someone simply trying to advance your fitness career.  You need a big fat YES answer to the question, “Are you Indispensable?”

In other words, in your place of business and in ALL aspects of your life, would those around you fail to thrive in your absence?  If you’re not that badly needed, you’re in big trouble.

How’s your street corner?

Growing up in Southern California I had the opportunity to work side by side with Mexican-Americans.  In some cases, they were men we hired off the street corner where they would gather each morning hoping to be chosen for work that day.

There was no real extensive thought or evaluation that went into choosing them.  It was almost as if the quickest and most assertive one to the back of the truck got the day’s job.  Many went home each day, wondering no doubt if they would learn to survive on the northern side of the border.  Each of them in his own way was dispensable, replaceable, and just another cheap form of labor needed to get the dirty work of the day done.

The only difference between them and I was the fact that I had a relationship with the owner of the construction company.  But it wasn’t only that.  I also was a terrific soccer player in my day and at that particular time, played on an indoor team with the owner.  He and I both knew that this work was only a summer job for me, but as any owner would, he preferred me over another Mexican guy who couldn’t speak English and was otherwise disconnected from the core of the operation.

Though I could relate this story to almost anyone if I desired, today I want to compare it to your fitness business and your fitness career.  Because the same concepts hold very true.

Your street corner is the place where you do your business working with clients to advance their health and fitness goals and, if desired, guide them toward true and lasting body transformation.  Is your street corner studio unique enough to survive the long run?  Or are you just another fitness studio or gym that someone can choose from when they finally decide to move away from the couch.  Because if you are just another option, you will NEVER survive.

One of the most important pillars of your street corner is your staff, especially your fitness trainers.   If you are not careful in your hiring process, you will end up choosing from that street corner where the workers wait.  And in the end, you will end up with a staff that is not only dispensable, but undesireable, uninspiring and guaranteed to suck the energy right out of your fitness business.  That’s why your recruiting for fitness trainers is so essential and that’s why it should NEVER stop.

Great fitness professionals who are passionate about what they do, can think for themselves and who can inspire and care properly for your client base, are the lifeblood of your business.  And if you’re not continually sifting, sorting, and screening your lifeblood, well…soon you’ll be dead.

To find out more about our recruiting system on Exercise Careers.com and how well it’s worked for so many others, go right now to:

http://www.RecruitLikeANomad.com

Soon, you too will be choosing from the cream of the crop like Shana is…

John

PS  I know this post got a little long but the topic is important and vital to your fitness business, so I hope you made it this far.  Included below is an absolutely appalling “about us” page I ran across today from a nationwide chain of gyms.  A perfect example of being “dispensable.”  My comments are in RED.  And I have done my best to keep the company confidential.  And in now way do I claim to be perfect.

About US…(the most important page on your web site by the way.  Make sure it’s a good one – I still need to clean up a few of mine.  For one of my best, click here.

Company was founded in Year by two fitness industry veterans (explain this to me.  I want to hear the story.  Tell your story) who believed that the traditional health club model wasn’t meeting the needs of the vast majority people (whatever that means). They started Company to give customers more of what they really want out of a fitness membership.

The result is a simple, yet revolutionary fitness club concept: an extremely affordable, family-friendly facility that offers state-of-the-art cardio, strength and free weight equipment (These are ALL features, NOT benefits, and there is nothing here to backup their “revolutionary fitness club”.  I’m ready to walk away already).

Company is focused on offering more value than most other gyms in three areas: Quality (more value in quality?  What does that mean?), Convenience and Price (This statement is so weak, and mis-directed I think I’ll just let it speak for itself – if it even can). We achieve these goals by locating our gyms close to home, offering lots of world-class equipment and providing excellent kids’ room facilities (More features – how will I personal benefit from this stuff).

Our knowledgeable, friendly staff, non-commissioned sales force (this is supposed to make me feel more at ease I think) and local management combine to make Fitness 19 the club for families who want a healthy lifestyle without the hassle or hefty cost. Come check us out! (This is as weak as an offer can be, painful to see!)

Access to the level of information we have today has the potential to do much more good than harm.  What you really need is a system for your information download.  That’s right, just like everywhere else in your fitness business, your fitness career, and in your life, having a system for your information consumption will produce for you the ability to download quality and relevant information that will enhance your life and the lives of those you train, coach, and touch in other ways.

I have developed and continue to refine my own elaborate system for this purpose, because it’s essential for my blogs, my new membership site, and everything else I plan to do as a writer and information marketer.  You may not need a system so intricate, but you do need a system.  And you need to be willing to refine that system on a regular basis. 

In my next post on this subject, I will detail my system.  Actually, it might take a few posts to do it.  So stay tuned for that.  In the mean time, I wanted to share with you a fantastic article I read on this subject the other day.

I also wanted to share with you the latest development at The Fitness Nomad Membership site.  It has to do exactly with this subject.  In addition to pushing great content into my new site (designed specifically to help you advance your fitness career), I’ve also turned the public side of the site into my primary broadcasting channel.  Click Here to check it out.

If you’re a fitness pro trying to advance your fitness career and/or your fitness business, I encourage you to consider creating a channel like this one.  You don’t need a separate site like I have, you could use your blog.  But you really should have it. 

Why?

Because it’s an excellent way to develop a relationship with those who follow you and those you consider your colleagues.  There is nothing more powerful than the mastermind style collaboration this kind of channel provides you.  I look forward to sharing with you on a daily basis.  And if you have submissions or ideas about how I can make it better, use this form to send them in…

Two pieces of content I think you might find useful were added last night.  They are shorter versions of the news feeds you find on the home page of this new site.  Feel free to use them on your web sites and blogs.  You’ll have to register for membership first and you can do that here.

be a fitness nomad…

PS  Here’s the article I mentioned earlier and a few of the quotes I really liked in it.

Great article on the subject by Steven Pinker

“…Yes, the constant arrival of information packets can be distracting or addictive, especially to people with attention deficit disorder. But distraction is not a new phenomenon. The solution is not to bemoan technology but to develop strategies of self-control, as we do with every other temptation in life. Turn off e-mail or Twitter when you work, put away your Blackberry at dinner time, ask your spouse to call you to bed at a designated hour.”

Book mentioned in the article…“The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us,”

“…And to encourage intellectual depth, don’t rail at PowerPoint or Google. It’s not as if habits of deep reflection, thorough research and rigorous reasoning ever came naturally to people. They must be acquired in special institutions, which we call universities, and maintained with constant upkeep, which we call analysis, criticism and debate. They are not granted by propping a heavy encyclopedia on your lap, nor are they taken away by efficient access to information on the Internet.

“…The new media have caught on for a reason. Knowledge is increasing exponentially; human brainpower and waking hours are not.”

Steven’s Book: “The stuff of Thought” by Steven Pinker

According to someone I know on the inside, they often sit ALL day long in some of the worst chairs you’ll fine.  And keep in mind, Humana is a health insurance company.  But they make the bulk of their money on processing Medicare claims so that do they care about preventive medicine.

So, just put this in the category of the illogical stuff we do in this culture that runs counter to living a healthy, fit and balanced life.  Not to mention a life that’s a lot more fun.

My guess is that there is likely no real data that suggests that falls off a gym ball contribute to more injuries and more costs than does sitting on your butt for years on end slumped in the same position.  Eventually making claims for your diabetes, heart disease, carpel tunnel syndrome, tension headaches, low back pain, etc.

I’m not buying that.

And never mind the balls, you’re not even allowed to bring your own chair for “liability reasons.”  So, you’re stuck with what I’m told are some of the worst seats you’ll find anywhere.

They say that you can tell an entrepreneur by the fact that even if he’s working for someone else, he’ll still invest top dollar in his own chair.  I must confess that this is true for me, and that I’ll always prefer the risk.

If you’re trying to advance your fitness career through your own fitness business, then you likely know exactly what I’m talking about.  It seems like almost every day I’m reminded that my ability to sell, and my level of success in the fitness business are in direct proportion to each other.

Recently, I bought a new pair of Chaco sandals.   I bought them from a very specific place for specific reasons that I want to touch on today.  The shop I frequent for my shoe purchases locally is Morgan’s Shoes.  It’s located in a small upscale strip mall about a mile from my home, and en route between my home and my fitness studio.  I love the place!  Packed in to about 1,000 square feet is one of the best sales systems around.  You will find high-end shoes for both men and women and some of the best shoes sales people I’ve ever experienced.  If you want to see a system in place for sales, you must purchase a pair of shoes from Morgan’s.

The real genius in the operation is that there are three completely different shoe stores adjacent to each other and in the busiest corner of that little mall.  All of these stores are owned by the same guy and all possess a clear and well-defined sales system that is implemented day after day by their staff.  The one I’m referring to today, one for kids, and one for runners.

Right down to the end of the sale, there are a series of steps that move along like a ticking clock until you walk out the door.   They don’t even hand you the box of shoes over the counter, they walk them around to you so that ALL barriers have been demolished, and you walk away feeling like someone really took care of you.  Because they really did.

And then it’s the other little things like the punch card.  One more reason to come back so that eventually, I’m saving some serious cash on a nice pair of shoes.  You should have seen the guy walk me through his system when I bought my new Birkenstocks a month and a half ago.  The guy really knew how to fit a shoe, and even better, how to facilitate my purchasing decision so that I could buy the shoes and not have them sold to me.  Genius!

Yes, I own two pairs of sandals for very specific reasons that I might just right about one day.  The point here is that I wear sandals to work every day when it’s warm. 

I sell a lot of fitness training in these sandals and my clients don’t care.  You know why?  Well, my sales and marketing systems speak for themselves.  I come along for the ride and I might as well be comfortable…

John

PS  Speaking of systems…I’ve created a good one by teaming up with the local news anchor I work with here in Madison.  This one will teach you how to gain local media exposure in your market, and hopefully turn yourself into a local fitness celebrity like I have.  Check it out at:

http://www.WorkLikeANomad.com

Just then, and seemingly with the breeze, an idea seeps deep into your soul and stirs that part of you that was born to be an entrepreneur.  You take another sip of tea, and then race to find your pen and pad so that you can gather those thoughts before they blow away…

This is something that happens to me on a regular basis, and I love it!  The chance to be creative and unique at any moment is exciting, invigorating and the stuff that life is made on.  There’s only one problem… 

Very often, when shared, these ideas go to die in the hands of those who cannot fully understand them. In other words, they die in the hands of the people with whom you decide to share them.  You’ve experienced that right?  You share your great idea and the person you’re talking to gives you that blank stare, and suddenly you’re questioning the value of something you were sure had merrit?  Terrible…

My new Fitness Nomad membership site is an excellent example of this phenomenon.  The idea came long ago, and has now finally manifested. The initial work of creation is complete and now the fun begins.  Or so I thought…

Something seems out of place, which is what spurred this blog post and email to you today.  There is no doubt that I’ve created something unique, interesting, and important for the next phase of my career, and for fellow fitness professionals  The question now is whether or not you agree.  Whether or not you can see it like I do.

My plan is to place my entire life’s work into the system, and then keep going.  I’m planning to include every resource, tool, system, and strategy I’ve created over the last 20 years and give them to you.  Actually, I’d like to charge your a little bit for the work, but I’m not going to do that.

Here’s why…

Should I charge a fee and run the risk of scaring you away?  Or, probably better, give you access to most of it and use the PayPal donation option and Google Adsense to generate a little revenue.  I like the latter idea better for the following reasons:

1. The site is still in the beta phase and it will take months yet to get it the way I truly want it. And to get the content I want in there finished
2. You benefit no matter what – I really like that!
3. I don’t get disappointed with a low number of early subscribers and then let that kill my motivation for sticking with something that I believe is really important both for me and for you

So, here’s my current offer:

Free access to most of the site so that you can ‘test-drive’ the system and provide me some feedback.

There is no catch.  Really, I’m committed to making this thing as awesome as I can, and I believe that in offering you this opportunity, I’m taking a good step in that direction.

There are a couple footnotes though and here they are…

First, I will continue to charge for The Fitness Pro Public Relations membership ($97/month and not quite ready yet).  This membership level is the one you will need to purchase to get the content for your fitness blog and everything else that Leigh (The NBC anchor I work with) and I are creating to help fitness pros become a local fitness celebrity in their local area.

Second, if you’re interested in licensing the fitness and nutrition content for use with your own clients, you will need to pay a monthly subscription rate of $97.  And what this would allow you to do is set-up memberships for your own clients so that they could use the system as part of their work with you.  More details on that coming soon…

For now, click here to take advantage of my offer and enjoy. 

I look forward to this journey…

John

PS  If you’re interested in the first 3-part video series I’ve created with the local news anchor I work with, click here for the details.  It will provide you with ALL the inside information you need to become a local fitness celebrity in your area just like I have.

http://www.worklikeanomad.com

Two different clients…past clients came back for an uninvited visit. One came back from more than three years hence, if only for a moment. Both of them wondering what they might have left in their ‘account.’

If you’re a fellow fitness business owner, I’m sure you can relate to the phenomenon. Those clients who for some reason decide that their choice to purchase training was not quite enough to help them past other obstacles standing between themselves and their health and fitness goals. Money talks and bullshit walks, and sometimes the two take place at the same time.

This is a warning for all you fitness pros out there who want to run your own businesses…

Contracts between you and your clients are paramount to your success, and they are worth nothing if you don’t have the guts to honor them. Because remember…they are in place for two very important reasons and in the following order of importance. First, they allow you to run an effective and profitable service business. Second, they help (for some more than others) to hold your clients accountable to the process. Accountable to the consistency of the training and coaching that is necessary to achieve significant body transformation results.

I guarantee you that your stance on these contracts will be difficult at first. After all, you’re a caring person and you want to give people the benefit of the doubt whenever you can. And you should. But not at the expense of taking care of both you and your business and ultimately your ability to deliver for those who ARE fully committed to the work.

No one else will look out for you except you. Remember that. And don’t go getting all self-conscious about how selfish you might feel in thinking and acting in this way. Your selfishness is essential for your success, and for the success of your clients.

be a fitness nomad…

“Yeh, I’ve seen you on TV a number of times and I really liked what you had to say. I’ve been thinking about getting back into shape and so I decided that I should purchase some sessions with you.”

I’m the first and last person he called and he was sold before he got here. Beautiful! The way it should be. And the way it’s happened for me over and over again since I started doing my regular fitness segment on NBC locally here in Madison, WI.

One press release sent in just the right way. One performance that went off swimmingly, and I was on my way to becoming a local fitness celebrity. I’ve had a lot of fun, and the work has been great for business and my fitness career. So good for my career that I have a splendid surprise for you today!

I just finished uploading video #2 of three total that I just finished creating with the local news anchor I work with, Leigh Mills. Imagine that, Leigh and I have become great friends and she is a lot of fun to be around. She’s also a fitness nut like me and always willing to take on new, fun, and interesting projects that will serve the greater good.

We have a lot in store for you so stay tuned. Right off the bat I have this 3-part video series designed to teach you how to do just what I’ve done.

You can read all about it here:

http://www.worklikeanomad.com

Hope to have you in this private club soon…

John

PS I have put together a series of emails and posts covering the topics Leigh and I have covered in this 3-part video series. Those alone will help you succeed. But if you want everything, including a copy of the EXACT press release I used to initially get Leigh’s attention head on over right now to:

http://www.worklikeanomad.com