Top 10 Mistakes Made By Fitness Business Owners

by Compiled by Gymlink (Business Marketing)

The Top 10 mistakes made by business owners and managers in the fitness industry.

1. Falling In Love With Their Own Ideas
Don’t get caught up in one single idea. Bounce ideas off others, come up with more than one million dollar idea and go through them to find the ones that will bring money and success. Remember that’s it’s very easy to be seduced by your own ideas.

2. No Marketing Plan.
Not having a marketing plan is like opening up a milk bar in the desert, you’ll definitely be able to quench a thirst at some stage , but first they’ll have to find you. Your business needs to have a marketing plan, it’s the road map for your business. Without a marketing plan too many businesses get lost and find themselves hitting their heads against a brick wall wondering where all the customers are.

3. Not Knowing Your Customers.
Changes in your customers' preferences and your competitors' products and services can leave you in the dust unless you get to know your customers well, what they want now and will likely want in the future, what their buying patterns are, and how you can be a resource for them even if you don't have the right products or services for them now! (See below for low cost techniques to gather facts about your customers and the people you'd like to have for customers).

4. Ignoring Your Cash Position.
The world (aka customers) doesn't respond to even superior products in the timeframe that you think they should. You'll need plenty of cash to sustain yourself in the meantime. (See below for how to forecast your cash needs and protect yourself from cash crisis situations).

5. Ignoring Employees.
Motivating, coaching and managing your staff is probably one of your toughest challenges as an entrepreneur/business owner today! Without your patience, persistence and "people skills," your problems can multiply quickly. Morale, productivity AND PROFITS can easily be destroyed! (See below for how to get your employees' full commitment to job performance).

6. Confusing Likelihood With Reality.
The successful entrepreneur lives in a world of likelihood but spends money in the world of reality.

7. No Sales Plan.
Without a sales plan, there's no serious way to gage the financial growth and progress of your business. You need a realistic map for where the sales will come from, how they'll come and from whom.

8. Being a Lone Ranger.
You might be the key to everything BUT you cannot DO everything and grow at the same time. Even modest success can overwhelm you unless you hire the right staff and delegate responsibility.

9. No Mastermind.
Get an advisory board or a mentor! Sounds crazy for a small operation? It's not! The board can be family members that you trust, or friends. Ask them to be your board of directors and review your business plans and results with them. Having someone to bounce ideas off and get an objective opinion is critical.

10. Giving Up.
Some of the most successful entrepreneurs failed several times before doing extremely well. So, if you're failing, fail. And fail fast. And learn. And try again, with this new wisdom. Do NOT give up. Yet, do not suffer, either!