The dichotomy of growth and the coach you should be afraid of...
Now in the interest of transparency I hope I have used dichotomy in the right way there as I'm sure I have but I'm also beginning to doubt myself.
This is an idea myself and the staff have spoke about at length recently.
I am a regular customer at a variety of 'small businesses'.
Hairdressers, physio, masseuse, cafe's, coffee shops and much more.
Selfishly there are times when for my own good I DON'T want them to grow.
I remember the days when I could get a hair appointment 90 minutes after I decided I needed it whereas now I have to book a little more in advance (anyone looking for a haircut David at Boombarbers is your man).
Similarly the masseuse moved to a swanky new place which I LOVE but also misses some of the novel touches the old, somewhat 'dingier' space had.
I'm talking about businesses I frequent but if you hadn't realised some relate to my business too...
So, don't grow is the message?
Well, not quite.
If we as a gym hadn't grew we wouldn't have the plethora of unbelievable space and kit we have.
We wouldn't have coaches who have come on leaps and bounds from continued investment in their development.
We wouldn't have had some of the LEGENDS that have joined us in the last 6 months.
We wouldn't have been able to offer THE most flexible and expansive timetable in Edinburgh.
So I guess there is good and bad. However that's not the reason I've been ruminating on this idea recently.
If a small business doesn't grow the staff (the key people) lose their lust and enthusiasm.
A little bit of them 'checks out' year on year. They are a bit less fresh and a bit less invested.
We have thus far managed to avoid it because we are growing steadily as a business. This means staff are excited to come to work and push boundaries, thus giving you as the member the best possible version of themselves.
We've all seen places become 'tired' or 'dated' and that's what we want to avoid.
I suppose what I'm truly saying is that there is no solution, simply trade off to be made.
The above also made me consider the coach you don't want to hire (for you as an individual but also for us as a business).
It's a coach that never changes their mind.
The fitness industry is constantly evolving. There are new studies, products and offerings coming to market all the time, as well as you, the customer, having different needs as the world all around us moves.
As a coach goes through seasons and works with more people I actually believe they should realise they were wrong about a few things, I know I certainly have.
Anyway, hopefully this makes some kind of sense. It's really just the ramblings of my brain so it could have missed the mark entirely haha!
I hope you have a FANTASTIC Christmas and New year when it comes. It truly is a pleasure to try and impact you all in some capacity whether it's as a gym member or simply a reader of my weekly thoughts.
P.S. Would you like an email/blog on some of the things I've changed my mind on in the fitness industry?
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