One of my passions is studying successful fitness business owners. This week, I had an insightful question from someone in the Gym Owners Network. They’re putting in long hours, yet their membership numbers, profitability, and overall results aren’t reflecting their hard work. This got me thinking about a critical factor that separates thriving gyms from those that continue to struggle: implementation.
Now, this isn’t as straightforward as it might appear. Many of us are working 10-12 hour days, but the distinction I want to highlight is that talking about doing the thing is not doing the thing.
Watch the video or read on to find out more:
Let’s dive into this a bit more. Suppose you’ve done some self-analysis or reviewed your business over the past three months and identified a weakness, such as in sales or marketing. The crucial step here is not just recognising this but actively working on it. If marketing is your area of improvement, you must measure how much time you actually spend doing marketing activities.
Here’s an important point: listening to a podcast about marketing is not doing marketing. Planning, discussing, or even learning about marketing isn’t the same as executing marketing strategies. Attending workshops at FILEX, reading books, or watching YouTube clips about marketing—all these activities are valuable but they’re not doing marketing.
In small businesses, it’s easy to deceive ourselves into thinking we’re addressing our weaknesses. We might end the week feeling productive, believing we’ve spent hours on marketing, when in reality, we’ve only engaged in passive learning or discussions. These activities, while related to the topic, actually delay our hands-on work.
So, here’s my challenge for you: if you have a fitness business and you’re working hard without seeing the desired progress, like Sarah from our Gym Owners Network who raised this excellent question, start tracking the time and focus you put into actually doing the work. Distinguish between activities that feel productive because they’re related to the topic and the actual work that moves the needle.
Remember, podcasts, books, YouTube videos, and conversations are all helpful, but they’re not substitutes for real action. Make a conscious effort to spend more time doing the work that directly impacts your business.
