Money is the Byproduct of Health

When you look at gym owners, gym owner consultants, fitness gurus, personal trainers that are influencers, and folks that are doing things wrong in this industry – you can feel it. It’s a feeling that you get. When you see their posts online, videos they make, hear or read the words they write. You can’t exactly put your finger on it, but it hits you in your gut. Or in the back of the throat where it makes you wince like you’ve smelled shit on the bottom of your shoe you stepped in a few steps back. This gag or cringe reflex is important. What does it mean? Why do you feel this way when you see them?


Glad you asked. Here’s the answer: It’s not the what that matters. It’s the how.


First, let me be clear. I’m talking about anyone that has positioned themselves as a leader of a community. A community is a group of people with shared values and interests. And the easiest way to start to understand why you get that cringy, gross, gaggy feeling when you see various business or coaching “gurus” out there starts with who these community leaders attract and who follow them. Their clients.


Typically, gurus, influencers, and the like will share tons of testimonials, interviews, and more of their most successful clients, students, and followers of their various programs.
Again, don’t get confused, it’s not the what, but the how that matters here.
And most, if not all, will specifically be sharing the amount of revenue their client has generated in the last week, 30 days, quarter, etc. or the amount of weight they’ve lost after working with their coach, gym, personal trainer. While testimonials are not inherently bad (and we spend quite a bit of time harnessing reviews and testimonials, the right way, as a core part of what we do with our clients), the sharing of one’s “most successful” students, clients, and customers in this way is frowned upon because it’s misleading.


Our clients are successful because they earned it.
If you hire us because you saw a testimonial from a client talking about the amount of money they are making or something similar – you are not wanting to work with us for the right reasons.


As a gym owner, you feel this deep down, too. If you are advertising to clients that “they will lose weight” as a reason to join your gym, you’ll find it being one of the worst ways to attract and secure great clients. Or if someone comes to your gym or hires you or one of your coaches as a personal trainer to make them lose weight - how likely are you wanting to take on that client?


I want clients in my world, experiencing what we do, because they want their business, their staff, their family, and themselves to be healthy. The same way that weight loss can by a byproduct of being healthy, so can good and increasing revenues be a byproduct of being healthy.


And that cringy feeling? You feel this because when you look at someone who claims they are “winning” or you look at their clients - it’s your gut signaling the fact that something is off. Their words say one thing, but your gut is saying they do not. Whatever and however they are achieving this success isn’t healthy.


- John



P.S. If you haven’t joined The Gym Owners Revolution Facebook Group, what’s stopping you? Join now at https://community.hackyourgym.com/