6 Lessons I Learned From Doubling My Business
Last year, my business doubled in revenue. I coached twice as many people as I did in 2022. All while having my kids at home with me 1-3 days per week.
Here are 6 things I learned and how they apply to fitness:
1. We control the process not the outcome
I can’t control if someone decides to work with me. I also can’t control if they’re successful. At the end of the day, that’s their decision (and it has to be). But I control what I do to put myself in front of the right people, communicate with them, and show up for them.
We’re fruit-driven people, not root-driven people.
The fruit is the last part of the tree to grow & we don’t get it unless the roots are healthy. We focus on the results rather than the process, but the process is what drives the result. Focus on what you can control. The results are a bi-product of the work.
2. Consistency isn’t measured by how often we fail but by how quickly we rebound after we do
Last January, I got into a rut & it took me nearly 4 weeks to get right. In June, I hit another one & I was back at it in a week. September, it was 3 days. Everyone fails. Success is about shortening the time between failure & the next attempt.
3. We’re the product of who we’re surrounded by
I went to 3 live events this year. I’m part of a mastermind of 600+ world-class coaches. The relationships I built in the industry this year were one of the highlights for me. They all pushed me to do better because I saw their success.
4. Success isn’t the same for everyone
More isn’t always better. More revenue. More followers. More weight loss. Because there’s a cost to everything. I choose to make less money now so I can spend more time with my family. Would I like to make more? Of course, but I’m not willing to pay the cost. I also choose to be a little less lean so I can eat pizza more. You can have anything, but you can’t have everything. Choose what matters & be ok with the cost.
5. Zoom out
I didn’t realize how much my business had grown until I looked at the whole year. In the midst of it, it felt slow & like I wasn’t doing enough. It’s hard to see success day-to-day. But, by zooming out, I was able to see the overall trend. Don’t let daily struggles distract you from lasting victories.
6. Just keep swimming
Last January (big month for coaches), was horrible for me. I didn’t add a single client & made next to no money. I felt like a total failure & wanted to pack it in for the year. It’s normal to feel that way, but we can give up. The only thing I can say for sure I did right this year was I didn’t quit. Because the only thing quitting guarantees us is that we’ll never get there.
At some point I realized: fitness lessons apply to everything in life.
The principles are the same; it’s just a matter of how we apply them. For me, at this point, the fitness stuff is a little bit second nature, but, as I work with clients, I realize, as I’m talking to them, that I need to do the same stuff for my business. Success, in anything, is marked by these same concepts. We try to complicate fitness to make it seem like there’s some secret solution, but, at the end of the day, it’s more about our execution than the plan itself.
The same has held true for business for me. It’s easy to get caught up in the nuanced conversations about the IG algorithm or email marketing just like we do with macro breakdowns and exercise structure. But what it always comes down to is who does the simple, basic things consistently & well.
Consistency with basic things trumps the most sophisticated strategy done sporadically.
Let’s not overcomplicate this. I’m in it with you - we’re playing the same game, just on different fields. Let’s go out there and execute.
