How to (maybe) Succeed in Business. Sort of.

Over the past handful of years, various friends of mine from all over the world have started their own businesses, and, thanks to the wonders of Facebook, I’ve been able to follow them on their new ventures.  Some have bought or taken over restaurants or bars, others created their own clothing and/or jewelry lines, and others are simply working online to promote a side business, separate from their daily full-time gigs.  Most recently as the app world has seemingly exploded all over the place, a bunch of my close friends have created app’s which have then turned into full time work, and I’m continually amazed by their dedication, creativity and business acumen.  Rest assured, running a small business, or any business for that matter, is really, really hard work, and not everyone can do it.  I myself am learning that first hand, and these last 4 years have had their fair share of ups and downs along the way.

When people ask me what I do for a living and I tell them that I am a personal trainer and have my own business, I usually get very positive responses, some even a little envious because they want to start businesses of their own but have no idea where to start.  My response is usually the same:  I still have no idea what I am doing even after doing this for 4 years, and I am still trying to figure it out where I am and where I want to go.  Even though I am technically a small business owner, I still see myself as someone scrounging for hours and exposure wherever I can get them and am in a constant daily re-evaluation of the best way to achieve my goals.  Along the way, I’ve gotten a ton of great advice and some not so great advice, but the good thing is that after years of struggling I’ve finally found something that I like to do and something that I think I am pretty good at.  So now that I’ve figured that part out, I’m still trying to figure out the business side of things, and that, at least for me, is the hardest part.

Looking around town where I live, there are dozens of businesses that look like they have been around for years, dozens of new businesses cropping up all over the place and the forever empty store fronts where new businesses have come and gone, tried and failed for one reason or another.  I’ve always wondered why this is the case, why some succeed where others fail, and although I am far, far from an expert, there are a few things that I have learned along the way, and other things that I am trying to learn as well.  So, for what it’s worth, the best advice I can give to myself and to others as I plug along with the thousands of small business owners out there:

• There’s no substitute for face-to-face, personal contact with your clients.  I realize that the business world is very flat, and tons of communication these days takes place online, on Skype, through e-mail and social media, etc., and for many businesses it is almost impossible to see people in person, but no matter how many times I e-mail or call someone there is no substitute for seeing them face-to-face.  I experimented a bit ago with an online training forum, and I couldn’t do it because it just felt way too awkward and impersonal.  Maybe this is a factor of what I do, but for me, it just wasn’t the way to go.
• There is also no substitute for word-of-mouth referrals.  I’ve had a handful of people find me and hire me through my website or from another forum online, and that’s great and I hope it continues, but my absolute best referrals are from another person directly to me, whether it’s a client, a friend, a family member or a business associate.  When someone you trust tells you about a great plumber or lawyer or massage therapist, that trust goes much further then an online link or ad placed in a magazine.
• That said, online consistency is still important.  I went a few years without having a website or much of an online/social media presence, and, in hindsight, that was pretty silly.  Even though I’m still learning how to put it all together, just the fact that I am active and in social media is important for the “brand”, and also because you never know who might be browsing on Google for one of your services.
• It’s a constant struggle between work and rest.  Except for when I am sleeping, training or hanging out with the fam (mostly), my iPhone is attached to my hip as text’s, e-mails and Twitter posts and feeds fly regularly throughout the day.  It’s certainly a challenge finding a balance and I’ve gotten better at leaving my phone behind, especially on the weekends, but in a hyper-competitive industry (I’m sure others can relate, no matter what field you are in) I feel the need to be on top of everything and get back to people as quickly as I can.
• Set goals and have a business plan, maybe?  I recently spoke to a business coach and she implored me to have a business plan.  I haven’t done this.  I should.  I need to.  Will it make me a success?  I have no idea, but that and setting specific, concrete goals, yeah, needs to be done.
• Life changes, people change, always.  I’ve had clients drop training who I thought would be training forever, and I’ve had people sign up for sessions and remain some of my best clients after thinking there was no way they would stick around.  People move, they get jobs, they lose jobs, they have kids, they have grand-kids, they make money, they lose money, it happens.  Sometimes, circumstances change for everyone, all the more reason to …
• Stay in touch!  One of my biggest failures, among others, is my lack of continued communication with past clients, be it on e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, e-letters, etc.  Even though they might not be in need of my services anymore, maybe they have a friend or family member who might need a trainer, or perhaps enough time has passed that they have gotten a better, higher-paying job, they are training for a marathon or just need to get back to the gym.  My first goal for the fall is to get back in touch with a lot of people, even if they don’t want to hear from me!

Many more years to go and many more things to learn, try, fail, and do again, but cheers to all you out there that are on your own, you deserve high praise and, hopefully, much success.