Just today, I spent some quality time reviewing outcome data for my #1 account – Wind River Financial.  I do corporate coaching for Wind River and the bottom line is that every account like Wind River is worth at least 50K to my fitness business every year.   That’s what you call working smart!

I hear Sean, Eric, and Dick talking about this all the time.  And if you read any business books, or any other kind of better your life book, you will find that the “working smarter” concept is a common theme.  It can begin to sound cliche, unless you truly take the time to understand what it means, or could mean to your business and your life.

Working smart is everything…and staying focused is the key!

I only spend one day a week at Wind River, yet it has generated significant income for my fitness business this year, and finding more accounts like this one is one of my primary areas of focus right now.  How and why can this be?  That one account could be so fruitful, and produce so much for only about 5 hours of my work each week?

The answer is leverage!

In order to really work smart, you also have to understand the concept of LEVERAGE.  Think about that word for a moment.  What does it really mean?  Because it’s another one of those phrases that gets tossed around a lot, but is easy to either dis-regard, mis-interperet, or mis-handle altogether.

You see, each new corporate fitness and coaching account I land is worth 50K + because in all aspects of my business I’m working smart to maximize the exposure this account provides.  Only about 21K of that account is the actually coaching I do at the company.  The rest of the income is generated from personal training at the studio, nutrition coaching, and product sales.  And the last one has the potential of generating income for me and my business for years to come – long after my work with Wind River might be done…

I also need to point out that I only do about 1/3 of the work it takes to manage this account.  And as this aspect of my business increases, that number will drop lower and lower all the time, until the only thing I’m doing is going out, find new accounts, and making sure they are being taken care of the way I feel they need to be.  That’s true LEVERAGE.  That’s what being a rain maker is all about.

So why is all of this so important, John?

Because running a business is a lot of hard work.  It takes a tremendous amount of intelligence, forethought, and steadfast commitment.  It’s definitely now for everyone.  There are reasons (very good reasons) why most people go to work for someone else…

Right now, our economy is in real big trouble.  Make no mistake about it, the country as a whole has made some real big mistakes and now we are scrambling to clean up the mess.  Will that affect your business?

It’s likely that in more than one way, the process our economy will have to go through to shape itself back up again, will affect your business and force you to work with even more intelligence and an even more focused pursuit of your goals.

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August of 2008 was my biggest month ever and it was exciting.  But September was somewhat quiet as far as new clients go.  Am I concerned?  Of course I am.  No good business owner wouldn’t be.  But what I am also not doing is thinking or acting like a victim.  Instead, I’m trying to think of ways to work even smarter so that The Fitness Nomad can continue to thrive, even during a tough time for out country and out economy.

The NPE Mega Training Event will take place this month, and I will be speaking there.  At this event, those in attendance will become privy to some of the best minds in the business.  They will be exposed to cutting edge marketing, sales, and business strategies that all have the potential to launch your business into a whole new paradigm.  But not if you can’t implement.   And Implementing means working smart.

For the next two to three months I will focus on 4 very important aspects of my business.  And at the same time, spend a lot of time streamlining expenses and making sure that I’m getting every last ounce of effort for the money I’m investing in my staff.

The first two areas of focus will be Corporate Fitness and Coaching along with Nurtion Coaching and product sales.  Why?  Because as I pointed out earlier, the two go hand-in-hand.  Not only that, corporations will not feel the economic slow-down as quickly or as significantly as each middle class individual will.  It will be easier to sell to them.

Second, nutrition coaching and supplement sales continues to grow at a rapid rate here at The Fitness Nomad regardless of what is happening in the economy.  That’s a sure sign that I need to be spending more time on these services.

Third, I’ve launched my boot camp program through NPE and this service offers a low-end product that will work extremely well as an income stream on it’s own, as well as a lead generation system for the nutrition and perosnal training services offered at the studio.

And fourth, I will cultivate, cultivate, cultivate…

What does that mean, cultivate?  It means while all 3 of the above are getitng their adequate and smart attendion, I will be focused heavily on cultivating what I already have – my acres of diamonds so to speak.  It’s often easy to forget the clients that ARE with you when you are so fucsed on finding MORE.  Along with that, it’s also far too easy to ignore that house list that is already hearing from you on a regular basis.  If you are doing what you’re supposed to that is…

And actually, there’s a fifth area that needs more attention and that is ExerciseCareers.com.  At the NPE Mega Training Event I will be speaking with passion and great assertiveness about everything I’ve learned over the last two years about why People and Systems are the key to your success.  After all, without them, I would not be writing this article right now, while clients are being seen, phones are being answered, reports are being generated, marketing is being sent out the door, etc.

ExerciseCareers.com needs more attention because it too is an important part of the business model and income generation systems I’ve put in place in my business.  But more importantly, there is a mission I need to launch with more passion and assertiveness.  And it is the mission if helping other business owners like you truly understand that it means to work smart, and leverage your people and systems into a business that supports your life.

I’m off to coach soccer practice now, and I hope to see you at the big event.

Where are you off to next?

Take care,

John