Here’s another teaser to the documentary on our client Lou Mars and his attempt at the Guinness book drumming marathon record, an event we hosted at NorCal SC in January! Brian has been working diligently on this and it looks brilliant! In the words of Craig Zielinski “Awesomesauce!”
The Power of Excel: Making and Crushing Dreams in a Single Spreadsheet
How do you know if adding a particular offering to your service menu is a good idea? How do you know if changing your pricing structure is a good idea? How many clients will you have in July of this year? December? Do you even have targets? Accounting for modest attrition, how many new people do you need beginning your program each month in order to hit those targets? What margin does your business make on each private training session that takes place in your gym? How much money is your business really making each month? How might you compensate a key manager in your business in a way that’s incentivizing the behavior you are wanting from them yet simultaneously in a way your business can continue to grow and be profitable?
95% of small business owners have NO IDEA how to answer the above questions. Most folks see they have a positive balance in their checking account and spend according to that balance. They have never been shown how to analyze different decisions to see whether or not they make sense.
I recently had a CrossFit affiliate contact me for feedback on a new pricing structure for their box. It sounded like a pretty good concept and the reasoning behind it (some pricing incentives based on how long a client was a member) seemed logical. The word doc I received to review the new model showed the yearly revenue per client to be the same as this affiliate’s current pricing structure. At first blush it seemed like a totally reasonable model. Alas the shortcomings of the simple word doc!
Truth is in the numbers, and a word doc doesn’t show everything we need to see when evaluating a significant change to one’s business model. Yearly revenue was the same for the first year only! When I projected the model out 3 years I found that the box would be profitable only during months 5-10 and would never be profitable again….in fact the model clearly showed the affiliate would be bleeding an increasing amount of money each month of operation!
I’m going to share some of the beauties of having a solid Profit and Loss spreadsheet from which to grow your business when I speak next month at the Black Box Summit on April 24-25th! If you are in the 95% of business owners that doesn’t know what’s REALLY happening month to month or if you are dreaming of one day opening your own box but have no idea how to project how much working capital you will need or how much growth might be reasonable in the first year, you will definitely benefit from my talk at the BBS! Hope to see you there!
Posted in Business, CrossFit Affiliates
6 Comments
Are you cut out to be an entrepreneur?
I came across this brief article and quiz by Daniel Isenberg, “Should you be an entrepreneur?” in the Harvard Business Review blog. Check it out…and take the quiz. If you now own your own business are there questions you think he has left out? What do you think about the scoring system? 17 yes’s = entrepreneur…
Posted in Business
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Lou Mars Documentary brewing…
Check out this short little clip of the upcoming documentary of the Guinness Book Drumming marathon event that we put on at NorCalSC last month. Many thanks to Brian Peterson for his excellent work on this film!
Lou began training with us on October 1, 2009 to prepare for the Guinness event and the drumming marathon began on January 14th 2010. In those 3 and a half months he was 100% compliant with a gluten free paleo diet and lost over 30lbs! As Robb likes to say: “it’s almost like this stuff works!”
Lou Mars made it to 108.5 hours before we pulled him…just eleven and a half hours short of the record. It was one of the most amazing (and amazingly exhausting) things I have ever been a part of in my life. Good stuff 
Mark your calendars: Black Box Summit #2
We’ll be on the West coast this time at Catalyst Athletics in Sunnyvale, CA on April 24 and 25. It’s going to be a packed weekend of solid information! Check the Black Box Summit site for all the details regarding speakers and content!
Posted in Business, CrossFit Affiliates, Trainers
1 Comment
OPT’s Coaching Certification Program
If you’re looking to add to your arsenal of tools and knowledge as a strength and conditioning coach you must check out James Fitzgerald’s OPT Coaching Certification Program. James is one of the classiest, brightest guys in this community and offers a wealth of knowledge and experience. Put this on your Santa list!
Posted in Business, CrossFit Affiliates, Trainers
4 Comments
Heat at last!
We are excited to say that we will not be freezing our fannies this winter at NorCal! Dave Werner of CrossFit Seattle turned us on to these Dayton heaters when we were visiting his place last March. Not forced air, but radiant. They are much more efficient and work beautifully. Our previous location had a Reznor, a forced air type of industrial heater. It worked well, but was super loud. These on the other hand barely make a sound! Super stoked!
Even Kayden approves!
Posted in CrossFit Affiliates
8 Comments
What does it mean to Love?
This might seem a right angle post to what I usually talk about on this blog, but bear with me…it actually has much to do with you, your business and CrossFit.
Love means helping. Helping to make someone or something you are a part of better. Helping people and organizations to reach their highest potential.
Love means constructive criticism. Carefully pointing out weaknesses in order that work may be done to strengthen those weaknesses.
Love means willingness to look objectively at people and things. Not turning a blind eye to the ugly spots, but instead looking for ways to make the ugly spots beautiful.
In these circumstances Love is challenging. It is not easy to look at weaknesses and speak about them. It is uncomfortable to truly assess the points where you are falling down.
Finally, love is telling someone they have spinach in their teeth when they are in the middle of a group of people.
Fear is in not helping. Fear is not open to constructive criticism. Fear is unwillingness to look at things objectively. Fear is hiding weaknesses to avoid addressing them. Fear turns your head to avoid looking at the spinach.
The Black Box Summit was born entirely of LOVE.
Posted in CrossFit Affiliates
19 Comments
Black Box Summit Underway!
We are on Day 2 of the Black Box Summit at CrossFit Central in Austin, TX! Great presenters and great questions from the attendees. Check out SicFit for updated videos and content from the weekend!
BTW, if you ever get the chance to learn from James Fitzgerald of OPT, you must do it! It’s jaw dropping the degree of professionalism with which he operates his box and takes care of his clients.
Posted in Business, CrossFit Affiliates
2 Comments
#1 On Ramp question answered
Here it is folks, the number 1 question I get regarding the On Ramp. “How do you schedule it? How can I turn someone away if we are in the middle of an On Ramp and the next one starts in 2 weeks?”
A fellow at a recent CrossFit Nutrition cert mentioned he didn’t want to tell the client “I can’t accommodate you right now.” I wouldn’t want him to say that either. It really is all in the language you use, how you talk to the client, how you sell it.
Here’s an 8 step scenario:
Step 1: client phones/emails/walks in
Step 2: you determine in pretty quick order if they are a potential client. If they are, proceed to Step 3. If they are looking for a swimming pool or spa, do not proceed.
Step 3: schedule a time for them to come to your facility for a complimentary ½ hour fitness consult. You get to meet them, they get to meet you, i.e. you get to generate some rapport. They get to see the facility. You ask what they are looking for, you talk about your program and how you can get them the results they want.
Step 4: you mention how folks get started – must complete 12 sessions of private training or the On Ramp class. You explain the benefits of both. You listen to what they say. If they are interested in the “beginning group class/On Ramp” proceed to Step 5. If they are interested in private training find out what they’re schedule looks like and sign them up and schedule them.
Step 5: you say: “Great! Our next On Ramp class begins on (some date in the next 2-3 weeks) at 7pm (or whatever time). We cap the class at 10 people and have 2 coaches on to ensure a great coach to trainee ratio. We do this to ensure everyone gets great coaching and a solid steeping in the mechanics of the CF movements. The classes fill up quickly, and we currently only have 4 spots left in the upcoming class. Would you like to sign up and reserve a spot in that class?”
Step 6: Enroll them
Step 7: Wow them in the On Ramp!
Step 8: Sign them up for on going group classes.
