In Favour of Reinventing the Wheel...

As we usher in a New Year – perhaps to many the most challenging of year in business – we at Active Management have had a busy last 6 weeks . . . as you can see! We have modernised our logo (love to know what you think), branded many of the activities we do and put it all together with a brand new website!

Thanks to Sherry Robb from Market My Club, we are very excited with our new brand and site. And you should be too, with loads of interactive sections, heaps of information and education and of course a wonderful range of products to make 2009 successful for you.

As you can see we also have a new looking newsletter – which we are excited about!  But of course, we would love to know your thoughts. So this month you can win an awesome prize for telling us!

Email us with your thoughts on our new website and our newsletter by the end of January and you will have a chance of winning Justin’s presentation he did at IHRSA last year: 21.5 Marketing Strategies that Produce Profit. Click here to tell us.

What Economic Challenges?

2009 is predicted to be a growth year for health clubs!  That’s right - a growth year, according to The Financial Week – the European Wall Street Journal reported on the Winners and Losers from the world wide recession of 2008.

“As the U.S. economy spirals deeper into an abyss, researcher Ibis World has identified a handful of industries it believes will actually grow in 2009: 1-Corn and Soybeans, 2-Video Games, 3-Turbines, 4-Biotechnology, and get this 5-Health and Fitness Clubs!” 

“With more people focusing on achieving healthier lifestyles, this industry is expected to increase 2.2% in 2009. As baby boomers pass through their 40s and 50s, health-care costs are forecast to rise dramatically, creating an incentive for insurers to promote preventive practices, like hitting the gym. Corporate fitness programs are also expected to become more popular, further driving growth in the sector”, Ibis says.

My friends you are in a pretty special group!

 
1. Do you feel lucky? You should.
We are fortunate during these tough times. That’s right, we are much more fortunate than our big business brethren. It is much easier for us to have a good month since it only takes one more customer to turn around our small business. In the fitness industry a few more customers can really have an impact on your bottom line. You only need to find a few to make sure your business thrives.

2. Focus on profitability not growth.
Many times we need to invest in order to grow our business. In a recession, you can only grow if you are profitable. As a small business owner, if you cannot be profitable and grow at the same time, then focus on just being profitable and learn to market yourself. For 2009, growth can wait.

3. Sell painkillers.
During difficult economic times, people only buy when they are in pain or have a very great need. Focus on selling the painkillers in business, not vitamins. Find your niche and understand who is in pain and what you can do to solve that pain. Do some research – find out who solves your customers pain now and give them a reason to switch to you. Face your fears and start asking prospective clients “will you buy our products?” That answer will be the only one your small business needs.

4. Challenge all of your business assumptions.
This is no time for sacred cows. If your business can be done in another more efficient way, then adapt – or die. Think about what you can do to increase your gross margin. How can you satisfy your clients at a lower cost? What parts of your business make a profit? Which clients are profitable? What are the nice-to–haves and luxuries in your business? Take no prisoners.

5. Focus on cash flow.
Forget about the sales line on your profit and loss statement. Look at your own cash flow statement. Focus on getting paid from your clients, extending your payments to vendors and keeping your inventory as low as possible.

6. Cut costs now, even if revenue has not gone down.
No business owner has ever regretted cutting costs too soon. In deciding which costs to cut, use the “cringe factor”. Which bills make you “cringe” as you pay them at the end of each month? If you’re cringing at these costs, it means that you are not getting value out of the expense and you need to either cut it or find another way to get by.

Remember your resiliency. Economic cycles come and go. You have been here before and survived. Cheer the good times with parties, awards and trophies. Mourn the bad times, but then let go. Value action so you have more chances at success.

Purchase the 3 DVD set from FitnessBiz 08 and receive Justin’s presentation he did at IHRSA last year: 21.5 Marketing Strategies that Produce Profit. That is 6 hours of quality education for just $175!

Click on the ad to the right to order your DVD set with bonus disk!

FitnessBiz DVD Winner is . . . Katrina from Citicorp!

Last month Katrina was randomly selected for forwarding on the Active E-news to her friends and business associates. Katrina wins 4 hours of educational material from the FitnessBiz conference in 2008. Thank you to the following who also forwarded our newsletter:

• Jodi from Healthy Inspirations
• Adam & Nadine from the YMCA
• Cath from Splash
• Bruce from f.i.t. Goolwa
• Brian from Village Fitness
• And the team at Star Fitness

Little Black Book of Connections by Jeffrey Gitomer.

This book is loaded with powerful tips and strategies for developing a network of friends and business associates to help you grow personally and professionally. This book is a must for any professional library!

Win a copy this month by forwarding our e-mail newsletter! The winner will be announced in the February newsletter. Don’t worry, your friends are not then automatically subscribed . . . they have to do that themselves!

Want to buy this book now . . . click here

We are getting prepared for a month full of Round Table meetings in February.  We will be looking at the 2009 Trend Report from trendwatching.com!  This report is fascinating (and expensive to buy) and we are sure it will give the RT members some powerful insights in to their business for 2009.

Currently we have vacancies in a couple of our Round Tables:
·    Australia Personal Trainer’s Round Table
·    Australian Fitness Club Owners Round Table
·    Round Table Western Australia

And we have the first meeting for the New Zealand Round Table in March.

If you would like any more information on the Round Table program, click here
or email Justin by clicking here.

 

A new column this year which will share some basic business tips that I have learned from my new daughter!  Being less than 8 weeks old, we can’t really expect analysis of the NASDEQ – yet! But we can learn much from our kids . . . In just a short time I have learned these 2 simple characteristics:

Snuggling. Almost no matter the mood, when she snuggles in with her mum or dad, she is quiet.  She is happy with a controlled breathing and a very small glint in her eye. The books say she feels safe and confident in our arms. I am not suggesting you snuggle all your employees! But your actions assure them their safety which is reflected in their mood and confidence. Maybe in the next 30 days ‘snuggle’ with your employees so that in these uncertain times, they feel safe and secure. Then watch their productivity improve!

For every action there is a reaction. When she eats she poos; when she poos she is tired; when she is tired she sleeps; when she wakes up she cries; when she cries she eats and so we go again! This is a finely oiled machine with only small variation on a daily basis. In our business we also know there is a reaction for every action. As leaders of our organisations we must only have positive actions, to see positive reactions. The difference between a good leader and a great leader is what these actions are – chatting with members, closing sales, asking for the little amounts of money from members, training hard. These positive actions will create positive reactions in your team.

Stay tuned for what Zoessons there will be next month! Email me if you have business insights that you learned from your kids.

This month’s awesome tip from Jay Conrad Levinson is relevant for every business as it is about solving the problem!

As you already know, people do not buy shampoo; they buy clean, great-looking hair. That means selling a benefit. A way that some shampoos have achieved profits is by reassuring people that the shampoo cleans hair, then stressing that it solves the problem of unmanageable hair -- a benefit and a solution to a problem.Right now, products and services that are enjoying success are those that help people quit smoking, lose weight, earn more money, improve health, grow hair, eliminate wrinkles, and save time. These are problem-solving products and services.

You can be sure that some of these can also be positioned as offerings that accentuate a positive, but savvy company presidents saw to it that their offerings were positioned as things that could eliminate a negative. Your biggest job is to be sure your products and services do the same. We told you it was relevant to you!

Since we last chatted, so much has happened and yet so little! Of course the hi-light was the birth of Zoe Madyson.  She was born the 28th November and fighting fit. That was the so much bit! The so little bit, is nothing after that! For those without kids, you have no idea what time wasters your own child is . . . you simply just sit and watch them for hours! To be honest they are doing nothing (usually sleeping) but you sit there and admire what a special thing is your off spring. It is still a bit surreal but 2am feeds helps in reality kicking in!

Over the Christmas period, I also experienced the other end of life – death.  One of my former employee’s dad died after not receiving his diabetic treatment fast enough.  Another, fell down a set of stairs in a pub in Sydney.  Both were unexpected and of course a real shock to the families and myself.

These experiences made me realise just how important it is to live life to the fullest. When your number is up, it's up. I encourage you to take 5 minutes now and write a list [not a ‘To do Before I Kick The Bucket List) of what you would like to achieve for yourself in 2009!  What will make you happy, so that on December 31st, 2009 you have no regrets?

See you next month!

Justin Tamsett