What's It Worth?
I'm doing some Bob Villa-like home improvements this weekend. Lots of painting and laying a new floor among other things. In theory, some of this stuff should enhance the resale value of the house. Well, this got my wheels turning. It made me wonder...
What's your business worth?
If you wanted to sell it, could you? For how much?
Do you plan on training clients when you're 60? (If you're 60 already, I guess the answer is "yes.")
Do you have an exit strategy?
Can you take a vacation or a few "sick days" without going broke?
Look, I'm not trying to piss you off. What I am doing is letting you know that most trainers don't think about these things...and that's why most trainers don't last very long in this business. Most trainers (who are making any money) look at things this way:
"I'm young and I'm making $50 an hour working in a gym while all my friends are stuck in corporate-world. I can drive a BMW and live in a great apartment and all I have to do is get up and train at 5 a.m. I can get my workout in during the middle of the day and train some more in the evening."
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this is a very short-sighted approach. Sure, there's some immediate gratification in making some quick cash, but where's the leverage? Where's the equity?
I think you should take this approach:
1. Decide what you want your business and your life to look like in 3-5 years. Maybe even further down the road.
2. Work backwards from there in a "step-by-step" fashion until you get to the point that you're currently at.
Decide if you plan on continuing to train the volume of clients that you currently train or if you're going to open your own facility. Decide if you want to create your own information products or hire employees. But most importantly, decide how you're going to keep from being forced to train clients 12 hours a day until you start collecting Social Security to make ends meet.
Back to work.
What's your business worth?
If you wanted to sell it, could you? For how much?
Do you plan on training clients when you're 60? (If you're 60 already, I guess the answer is "yes.")
Do you have an exit strategy?
Can you take a vacation or a few "sick days" without going broke?
Look, I'm not trying to piss you off. What I am doing is letting you know that most trainers don't think about these things...and that's why most trainers don't last very long in this business. Most trainers (who are making any money) look at things this way:
"I'm young and I'm making $50 an hour working in a gym while all my friends are stuck in corporate-world. I can drive a BMW and live in a great apartment and all I have to do is get up and train at 5 a.m. I can get my workout in during the middle of the day and train some more in the evening."
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this is a very short-sighted approach. Sure, there's some immediate gratification in making some quick cash, but where's the leverage? Where's the equity?
I think you should take this approach:
1. Decide what you want your business and your life to look like in 3-5 years. Maybe even further down the road.
2. Work backwards from there in a "step-by-step" fashion until you get to the point that you're currently at.
Decide if you plan on continuing to train the volume of clients that you currently train or if you're going to open your own facility. Decide if you want to create your own information products or hire employees. But most importantly, decide how you're going to keep from being forced to train clients 12 hours a day until you start collecting Social Security to make ends meet.
Back to work.
posted by Pat Rigsby at 8:03 AM
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