Latest / Gym Business Coach Podcast / 17 Years of Gym Ownership: Lessons on Urgency, Vision, and Avoiding Burnout

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17 Years of Gym Ownership: Lessons on Urgency, Vision, and Avoiding Burnout · Gym Business Coach Podcast

• 0:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, right.
• 0:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome back to the gym business coach podcast.
• 0:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm your host, Tim Lyons.
• 0:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hello, how you doing?
• 0:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Join by Randy angst.
• 0:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: What's the minute?
• 0:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Back to the man back in the saddle.
• 0:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Saddled up, saddle up.
• 0:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, you do have a saddle.
• 0:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: You go out on your horse into the town.
• 0:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: I go anywhere.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Anywhere I can take my horse.
• 0:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm good with it.
• 0:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's nice.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: It is nice.
• 0:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's real nice, especially with the weather right now.
• 0:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, it's why we live here right now.
• 0:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
• 0:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: They ask me that in three months, I'll probably have a different opinion, but yep.
• 0:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, great episode for you guys today.
• 0:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Here's what we're going to talk about real quick, because in our iron circle experiences, we do something called campfire.
• 0:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so campfire originated in our second experience ever.
• 0:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was in Sundance, Utah.
• 0:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: The snow was coming down outside.
• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: We were in this beautiful cabin, style, mountain home, big rock fire place.
• 0:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: We turned on the fire and we just kind of sat around and talked.
• 0:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: We talked about,
• 0:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Why, why are we're doing what we're doing?
• 1:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: What was the point?
• 1:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it was really eye-opening because there was a lot of different reasons.
• 1:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we continue that tradition every single girl's somewhat kind of kick off the night.
• 1:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm a circle experience.
• 1:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: To kick off like the weekend, we have dinner, we gather around and you know, hopefully there's a fire, you know, we still call a campfire even if there isn't.
• 1:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: But, uh, long as short of it is, it was like, you know, John Farkis, who's, uh, one of our longest standing circle members, you know, he'd let us in this kind of like, you know, exercise about, you know, urgency and time and, you know, and fortunately had a, you know, a bad, you know, as he lost his father this year and it kind of put things in perspective for him and like, you know, there's only so much time that we have.
• 1:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, urgency to me, urgency is that one skill set that kind of sets people apart.
• 1:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: The most urgent people in life, I believe, are the most successful because they don't wait.
• 2:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, time is continuing to pass.
• 2:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: can never get time back you can always get money back and in items back and you know material things back but a time time is is always ticking and you know you don't ever want to look back and say I wish I would have I could have I should of all these things.
• 2:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: But in that same thread, you can also do too many things.
• 2:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you could be doing things that don't serve you.
• 2:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you could be doing things that waste time because you think you should do them.
• 2:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: But they don't really ever get your closer to what the goal is.
• 2:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that's kind of where I chimed in.
• 2:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: And there was like these,
• 2:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: These kind of three questions or everything that can be done, you have the things you should do, the things you want to do, and the things that you have to do in life.
• 3:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you could put anything into that category, like this podcast, for example.
• 3:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: We should do this.
• 3:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: We actually have to do this for the business.
• 3:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I actually want to do this, right?
• 3:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: So like this podcast, we have to do it, and it's just what we're going to do today, and that's what it is, working out.
• 3:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: We should do it and actually you shouldn't you have to do it and we want to do it.
• 3:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: So like there again, there's three things there, but there's also things like going to your aunt's birthday party celebration across town, you're going to have to go across town and and you know, you should do it, but you really don't want to.
• 3:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: So then you're like, well, I don't like going to.
• 3:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sure.
• 3:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so like everything kind of goes through that filter with me.
• 3:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: But that biggest eye opener, and I think this will be the same thing from anybody listening is the things you do should move you towards the goal.
• 4:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I don't believe that many people know what they want, they just don't know what the end goal is.
• 4:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: They go to work every day, they put fires out, they do the things that gets them through that day, and then they go to bed and they start all over the watchers to pee, they start all over tomorrow, without any real vision of what that end goal looks like.
• 4:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And again,
• 4:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: But you should have some direction, whether or not that's I want to be on the beach and, you know, and believes and so can up the sand, you know, son and sand and have a, you know, peanut collada or it's on Mount Serving and building churches and schools for under privilege and, you know, like, what is it, right?
• 4:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: how much money should you have?
• 4:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Where will you be?
• 4:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: What's your family look like?
• 4:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: What are you doing?
• 4:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like, are you still working, you know, 10 years, 20 years down the road?
• 5:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I could tell you, I look at the picture over there on the wall, in my other office with the grand opening.
• 5:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: It literally feels like yesterday when we're open this gym.
• 5:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: Was 17 years ago?
• 5:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: He's not 16 and a half, 17 years ago.
• 5:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it's like, man, I remember that day.
• 5:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was like, we're cutting this ribbon.
• 5:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: We had done radio spots and we had this food set up.
• 5:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I was member talking to people coming in and it was so funny because I was like, these people are literally here to eat the food.
• 5:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: They came for the food.
• 5:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And like, where do you live?
• 5:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: I live in South Phoenix.
• 5:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like you literally heard it on the radio, heard there was food and you came.
• 5:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like that's how a vivid it was.
• 5:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: I remember the office.
• 5:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: I remember having my parents there and grandparents there.
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: And all was like, it was a pretty cool time.
• 5:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: But like, here we are, 17 years later, thank God I can look back and say, hey, that's been pretty successful 17-year ride.
• 5:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like, I cannot, I don't have any regrets on that.
• 6:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: But not one letter, one letter, one letter.
• 6:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: But the problem I believe is most owners, Jim owners and even trainers and everybody in between, just, you know, you're just going through the motions.
• 6:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: And there's no real vision of what, what is going to get you closer to the end goal?
• 6:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, that's good point.
• 6:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that all of the actions, all of everything kind of comes from that goal and it is a, it's a, it's a, it's a juggle of priorities.
• 6:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's, it's not always easy.
• 6:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes you make hard decisions for the things that maybe you feel like you're obligated or should do, but when you take that set back.
• 6:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: and you look at like what is my vision for what I want in life, sometimes some of those things just don't fit and it could be business stuff, it could be relational stuff with family, it could be I mean it could be the next step in business or an opportunity in business but it doesn't really align with what you see yourself doing for the future or what you want to be doing for the future.
• 7:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: So sometimes there are those opportunities where yeah you do you do have to weigh and measure
• 7:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Is this something I should do I feel obligated that I do I have to or is this something I want to and ultimately I think the the the winning.
• 7:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: script, I guess, or position to be in would be if you looked at everything that you do each day, every one of those is something that you want to do.
• 7:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, right.
• 7:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I made formula.
• 7:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, well, I mean, it would be like the winning formula, right?
• 7:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: But we have to look at it and you kind of got, you kind of mentioned it, but I wanted to reframe it, right?
• 7:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Things either take from like they they suck the energy out of you, or they provide you with energy, they reinvigorate you,
• 7:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: And it's not necessarily the effort that goes into it, right?
• 7:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: You might, like, for example, are gross on it.
• 7:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Massive demand on our energy, our time, financial resources.
• 7:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's massive.
• 7:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: And going into it, we're all like, this is such a big deal.
• 8:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: We all take it, you know, is this massive project on our plate.
• 8:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: And it does, it's draining at times, but the second we get there, yeah, it's like, we, we're all, oh, man, we're all energized.
• 8:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: We know that like, oh,
• 8:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Through all that hardship, this was the right thing to do.
• 8:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: We do want to do this, even though we should, and what, you know, sometimes we feel obligated that we have to, right?
• 8:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: But when you're there and when you're actually living and experiencing it, it's pouring so much energy into you as opposed to taking it away.
• 8:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's a tough thing to do, but I think to your point, if you don't have a vision in mind for what your life in life, meaning business, relationships,
• 8:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you don't have a clear vision of that, you can spend your days putting out fires or just going through the motions and as an entrepreneur, I think that you don't, you don't own, you kind of have, you're almost forced to create somewhat of that vision, but it can be lost.
• 9:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jim owners, you guys made a hard choice to go open up a business and but you did it with something in mind.
• 9:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't necessarily, it's not the four walls, it's not the equipment, it's not the tangibles when you walk into the business.
• 9:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's the vision that you have for what the impact is going to be on the community.
• 9:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: What this can do for you as an individual owning the business and the life solid can create for you.
• 9:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: But sometimes you just get into it and there's so much that's happening on a day to day basis you forget what that really looks like and I think part of your your challenge for those for the listeners is do you still have a vision for what what you want out of life.
• 9:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: What this business can do for you as an owner.
• 9:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and it can do a lot, guys.
• 9:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's a tough business.
• 9:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's not the easiest one out there.
• 9:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: You can be doing, but it's very fulfilling.
• 9:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: I will be honest with you, the relationship you make with members and with your team, and having like, I mean, there's something to be said about, hey, there's a,
• 10:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: head quarters, right?
• 10:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: You get down to headquarters or we call it HQ or whatever.
• 10:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Some cool about that.
• 10:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like yeah, you got a cool gym and like you're the envy of a lot of people that like didn't take any risk.
• 10:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: You like you own a gym.
• 10:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: That is like, you know, so you get rewarded for like the decisions you may.
• 10:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: But then in the backside of that, it's it's a catch going to because everybody thinks it's all, you know, sunshine and rainbows and unicorns, you know the real grind.
• 10:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, this isn't easy.
• 10:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, and it's sometimes can't, sometimes isn't fulfilling.
• 10:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sure.
• 10:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: You could actually despise your gym.
• 10:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if you ever get into that point, um, two things need to happen.
• 10:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: One, you need to decide to move on and let's just get out of this operation and, you know, whatever.
• 10:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Or obviously, I think the second, uh, and better choice is to fix it.
• 10:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Figure out where the, the problems are.
• 10:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's what we do in our coaching program is to, you know,
• 11:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, you know, I'll be honest with people, like there was a point time where pulse fitness that the gym just prior to this one before we would rebrand it.
• 11:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was a little stale.
• 11:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was like, you know, it's like not really exciting.
• 11:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, revenue was great and people would have like where we were at at the time.
• 11:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: People would love to been in that position.
• 11:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: But it was just like, yeah, I don't hold home.
• 11:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then we did the rebrand and all the energy came back.
• 11:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was like, man,
• 11:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: you know, one because I enjoyed the construction and the moving parts of that side of the business, but also when we reopen it was like a new, it was like a new vision had been created in.
• 11:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, so while that's a big undertaking, there's guys in our iron circle, especially that have gone through that revamp, and their business takes off again, and it's not just because of the rebrand or the remodel or whatever, it's because
• 11:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: because the owners invigorate it again, there's a new vision again, and sometimes that is the actual kick in the ass that you need to do, because if you're in your operation every day and it's so boring and you're like, yeah, another day, nothing exciting today.
• 12:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, then, you know, you kind of lose that that energy and it's like it's almost like, what are we doing this for?
• 12:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you kind of take your foot off the gas.
• 12:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think there's a trickle done effect too, though.
• 12:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that, you know, through the rebrand, not only did you feel that, but the team feels it.
• 12:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's carried over into the excitement when they're when they're not working with clients, the clients getting aspect of that, right?
• 12:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: They feel part of something not necessarily new, but new in a way, you know, it's a
• 12:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's again, it's new energy and that energy, energy breeds more energy.
• 12:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, look, this studio here, new podcast set, new logos on our shirts, like, you know, it's kind of, it's kind of weird to kind of like throw away 10 years of brain identity, but like at the same time, it's worth it because you're, you just got a new energy, new vision.
• 13:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so anyway, guys, I mean, the point to the messages this is time is finite.
• 13:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: have time.
• 13:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: You do not have time to wait.
• 13:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: You do not have time to say, you know, we'll see what happens.
• 13:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: You must take action.
• 13:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's it's cliche to say that.
• 13:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hey, you know, you can have all the information on the world.
• 13:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Nothing happens if you don't take action.
• 13:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's true.
• 13:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: But you know what else is true.
• 13:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: is you'll never get that time back.
• 13:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so the longer you wait, the worst things get and the harder it is to turn the ship around.
• 13:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you guys are going down into a dark hole, the longer you wait,
• 13:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: To finally face that problem, you know, the harder it's going to be to ever get out of it.
• 13:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, bottom line is this, what do you want?
• 13:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Take some time, you know, today tomorrow this weekend, as you're listening to this, what do you want?
• 13:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it's like, so funny to say, like, you don't know what you want.
• 14:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like, it's, but that's a very difficult question to answer.
• 14:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: not because it's personal, not because it's like, you know, how do I know what I want?
• 14:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: If I don't know what's available?
• 14:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like, that there's a lot of reasons why that question's hard.
• 14:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I would take it a step further and be like, you know, look at the calendar, put it out to the end of the year, even next year and be like, okay, this is how much money I need to have.
• 14:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is how much, you know, where I need to live.
• 14:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is what my business is doing.
• 14:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: But in order for you to get to the goal, you need to know what the goal is, okay?
• 14:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, so I know it's weird to say that on a podcast.
• 14:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Everybody's going to be different.
• 14:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: But some of you might be selling your gym.
• 14:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Some of you might be growing to five gyms.
• 14:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Some of you, it might be keeping your gym doing something else.
• 14:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, some of you might be starting a family getting married, getting divorced.
• 14:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, moving.
• 15:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: selling your gym to one of your coaches and then being an investor.
• 15:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Who knows?
• 15:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.
• 15:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Whatever you want to do.
• 15:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, for me, it's going to be snowboarding somewhere, but I need snow to do it, right?
• 15:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but it's 70 degrees right now.
• 15:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: So it's off.
• 15:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: So it's such a bummer.
• 15:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: But guys, time, there is, you do not have time.
• 15:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's the bottom line.
• 15:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: You don't have time.
• 15:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Take action.
• 15:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Be urgent.
• 15:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: and get into action.
• 15:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: I guess don't be paralyzed by the fear of what it's gonna take to get where you wanna be.
• 15:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Just take the damn action.
• 15:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: If part of taking action is booking and call with us, I welcome you guys to do that.
• 15:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: The link will be in the show notes.
• 15:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because if there's one thing that I know after being in this business for so damn long is that,
• 15:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Two gyms could be in the same place the day and the one that take action could be in a different place at the end of the year and looking back and seeing.
• 16:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'll give you a quick example and I hate to I'm not throwing anybody into the bus.
• 16:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was in a mastermind group before we started the iron circle.
• 16:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Great group of guys.
• 16:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we were all we're about the same.
• 16:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, honestly, we were all about the same.
• 16:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: And this would have been probably what, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, somewhere in there.
• 16:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it was 2015 to 2019.
• 16:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, that was, that was when that other group was around.
• 16:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's not that long ago.
• 16:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: No.
• 16:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I look back, and unfortunately, there's some of those operators in that Mastermind, they're literally in the same place.
• 16:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it's tough to look back and say that, but like we were all equal, and now we're in Dramatically different places, and it came down to the actions and the decisions that they made, like period, and you know, and So many small but there's or ours or not there's right, but there's circumstances life things but like how can
• 16:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: 25 gems be in the same place and then like half of them are quadruple in 5 and 12x what they were and some are the same or even worse and it's just it's tough to say but it's the reality and it was just the action because there's no urgency
• 17:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: And back to like how we started the podcast, to make sure that those actions aren't aligned with what you want.
• 17:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Don't let the shiny bald, you know, just steer you over here, or the consistent repetition of putting out fires every day, think that you're going to get to that goal at the end of the, like you have to be hyper intentional about the actions that you're taking.
• 17:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: and sometimes that requires less, sometimes that requires not doing, not taking less action.
• 17:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me be clear.
• 17:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes it requires less across the plate, right?
• 17:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: Figure out all of the things that I can go apply attention to.
• 17:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: What are the ones that are going to move the needle for me?
• 17:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: In my life, the business that I have,
• 17:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're going to get me to the goal and the vision that I have for myself, my family, etc.
• 18:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: And some of that does require subtraction.
• 18:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: We only have finite number of time, resources, finances, energy.
• 18:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: And if you're allowing yourself to just pour it into everything, you're probably not going to get there.
• 18:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so be very intentional about the actions that you're taking.
• 18:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Make sure it's in alignment with that vision that you have at the end.
• 18:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 18:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: Awesome guys.
• 18:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, we'll leave you with that.
• 18:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hopefully that helps you guys.
• 18:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you do need help, you know how to find us that's it for this episode until next time.
• 18:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Keep changing lives.
• 18:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: See you on the next one.
• 18:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: Bye.