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Dare
To Define If You Are A Business Or A Hobby?
Apr
3, 2006
Author: Tom Perkins - Business Solutions Coach and Certified
Personal Trainer
For whatever reason,
it’s not uncommon to find personal trainers who tend to
treat their business more like a hobby than a business.
Reasons could range from fear of failure to a lack of
experience in running a business.
Maybe, it’s just psychologically easier to ultimately
accept the failure of a hobby than it would be a full-blown
business.
Whatever the reason may
be, treating a business as a hobby can be a costly mistake
that no one can afford to make.
If you are trying to determine how you treat your
personal training business, take a look at the following
characteristics of a profitable hobby versus a small business.
People operating a
profitable hobby:
-
Started
it because it was fun, easy, fulfilling and lucrative.
-
Attribute
their success/failure to things beyond their control
(i.e., the industry, the economy, fads/trends, etc.)
-
Do
not have a specific plan for the future.
In fact, they are happy with the way things are
here and now, and don’t foresee much need to expand in
the future.
-
Do
not keep any type of records regarding business
performance over time.
They don’t know if business was up or down
compared to a year ago or even six months ago.
-
Think
in terms of the here and now and seek only immediate
results.
-
Any
additional training undertaken is solely for the purpose
of performing their” hobby” better.
People operating a small
business:
-
Started
it because they had a clear vision of what their service
was; what benefits they could provide people; and what
personal goals their business had the potential of
addressing.
-
Attribute
their success/failure to a combination of their service
and business professional skills.
Small business owners take responsibility for
whatever happens whether it is good or bad.
-
Engage
in regular, systematic business planning throughout every
phase of their business so that they can grow and prosper.
-
Think
in terms of the future and long-term results and
consequences.
-
Any
additional training undertaken is for the purpose of
optimizing the potential of their business.
So, which do you have?
If you are treating your personal training business
more like a hobby than a business, you need to change your
mindset if you want to truly be successful.
With 95% of small businesses failing within the first
five years, you can not afford to treat your business as
anything but a business.
A popular business saying
states that if you treat your business like a business, it
will pay you like a business should.
If you treat it like a hobby, it will cost you.
Typically, hobbies do not pay.
You cannot afford to “try” personal training to see
if it’s something you want to do.
You either commit to doing it or you don’t.
There is no middle of the road here.
If you choose to commit
yourself and your resources to developing your personal
training business, learn to stay consistent, to use the best
tools possible, and to take your business seriously.
The end result will be both professionally and
personally rewarding.
Tom
Perkins is a business solutions coach and certified personal
trainer who leads fitness professionals to profitability.
Send
an email to thecoach1-140208@autocontactor.com
to receive the Essential Fitness Business Success Checklist.
Or visit his website at http://www.fitnessindustrysolutions.com
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