eStore 
The last time I posted it was about reflecting on your accomplishments which I hope you did. Now, there is a chance that you saw some trends that might have you concerned regarding your business growth and stability... which is actually a good thing. Being able to look at your business and spot negative trends is more important than spotting the good things because the good things don't need any work. The negative trends need your attention.
Here are some trends to be aware of:
Flat bottom line gross for 3 months or more
reduction in profit margin
employees leaving abruptly
losing the same amount of clients as new ones joining
increased work hours with no ROI
If one or more of these things are currently happening at your box you have to do something quickly. If you don't know what to do maybe our seminar could help. We have one coming up in 4 weeks in Austin. It's linked on the Crossfit message board here. If you need to register email me at or call me 310.990.9148.
Post any negative trends that you may need to work on either immediately or during the first part of this year to the comments section.
And here is a video that is about apprenticeship programs in other businesses.
*Lalanne Fitness - Reached over 150 members and is considering capping their membership having ONLY been open for 8 months
* Crossfit Ocean City - Doubled their business
*Crossfit Extreme Fitness - Doubled their business
*Central Oregon CrossFit - Has over 53 members in their first 2 months
*Spark Sport Conditioning - Increased their business by 35% and had their best month
Congrats to everyone!
Best,
John
BTW - I will be taking off for a vacation so this blog will resume the beginning of the year.
If you haven't seen the following trailer for the upcoming CrossFit Movie "Every Second Counts" you should. It's great!
Merry Christmas CFLA!!!! We are at 170 ish and growing and it has only been 6 months, 24 days!! Love it! I can't wait to get down there again. I miss the beautiful weather, fantastic shopping and of course you guys!! Love you all!!
Congrats to you all! I'm looking forward to CrossFit NorthWest Tucson putting up numbers like those. I just registered for the affiliate gathering today. Who all is going? Happy Holidays everyone. To a healthy, prosperous, and FUN 2009!
BWOD:
Write your list of accomplishments to the comments section and reflect.
Enjoy this clip of Tony Robbins
got certified
grew "bootcamp classes" from 3 classes a week to 6
classes a week
developed clients who loved us enough to come back after a month off to...
Have a baby
Affiliated while in the hospital with the baby:)
opened our box
grew to ~ 30 monthly clients and 21 classes a week
added another trainer (3 total)
It's hard not to be excited about 2009 and want to think about it all the time. But gotta buckle down and get back to work!
- unknown
- Albert Camus
What's the difference you ask? Well, work is stuff that (in my definition) sustains your business. Coaching classes, signing people up, answering emails, etc. Business is stuff that grows your business. Developing a local partnership with a supplement store, training your replacement or your team, brainstorming an innovative way to do more work in less time, etc.
It's been my experience that most small business owners don't know how to distinguish between work and business and therefore never have their business grow. Yes, work has to get done but not by you or maybe not in the middle of the day when you should be doing business.
The following is a list of things that could be outsourced because you're too valuable... or at least put low on the priority list:
answering emails (unless it's a potential client)
talking on the phone with friends
trips to the store for supplies
paying bills (reserve this for the 1st and 15th)
building stuff
overhauling your site
going to fed-ex
Is there is something you could think of that is missing please post to comments.
BWOD
Make a list of 5 things that you could move to the end of the day or weekend or, at best, delegate to someone else because it's work
The following video is Tim Ferriss, the author of the great book THE 4 HOUR WORK WEEK. Enjoy.
Well, since we're just starting up, I feel as though I'm about 50/50 with work and business. I am delegating things off to my partners but they all have full time jobs. I hope once we get in the gym, with our scheduling rolling, we'll be able to designate hours of work and hours of business which will clear up hours for family and friends (I'm supposed to be watching the grinch with my kids as I speak...without a laptop on my knees). We should be laying the floor on Wednesday! Next weekend will be HUGE to get everything ready for the 15th! I'm comparing this period to my 39th week of pregnancy where you just want the kid OUT! I will think about my 5 things...I'm sure will become more clear in a month or two.
This is something I need to work on. I am very interested in the making changes. There is never time to do everything, but to eliminate the less urgent would be very helpful. I find it hard to differentiate between what needs to be done and what can wait. It is just my husband and I with our gym so we are it, if it doesn't get done by us, it doesn't get done.
I would say I am primarily doing work rather than doing business. I am like that rat with a cocaine dispenser on the email. Many things need to change on my part! I have ordered the book. Thank you for posting this.
- Martin Luther King Jr
I think, similar to CrossFit training, if you go 100% for three days solid you really do need to rest on the fourth day. And similar to Zone eating. If you eat strict Zone meals for four to five days you probably need a cheat meal or at least deserve a cheat meal. Additionally, I find on those rest days I tend to reflect on what was accomplished and I feel good.
BTW - this will be the only Biz entry for the week. I'm relaxing.
BWOD:
Take stock of your accomplishments over the past several months and post them to the comments section. No matter how small write it down.
Enjoy this clip from Charlie Brown.
Hey John, Happy Thanksgiving! Had a great day! Was in the moment all day. LOVED IT! I do have to slightly disagree with your comment on food above. Although I didn't stick to my zone blocks today, I did stick with my paleo diet and ate no grains, legumes, or dairy. I did have a glass of wine. People can go off the zone and get back to it but those who follow a stricter food quality, it is slightly more difficult to go off and on. Kevin gets wrecked for days when he has gluten. I haven't consciously or directly ate gluten in 4 months and don't plan to even during the holidays. Don't get me wrong, I made killer pumpkin cheesecake that was all raw and paleo and pumpkin muffins for my kids this morning that were again, all paleo. We do cheat on certain things but not consciously with gluten or legumes. Dairy and corn...yes. Anyways...that's my 2 cents of nutrition...
Things I've accomplished in the past several months...
1. One week away from my family.
2. One week with CrossFit LA's apprenticeship
3. Accepted as a licensee of CrossFit
4. Started a genuine relationship with my brother after many years of despising him.
5. Went off my anti anxiety meds and feel better than ever and know that my DIET has a huge part of this.
6. Love Olympic lifts...Kev never thought I would.
7. Signed up my first client of CrossFit NWT.
8. Learned a new software program for my biz...MBO!
OK...that's enough for now. I feel good about myself and am thankful for it all!!!!!
By the way, Ella loved the Charlie Brown video!
We've found that the best business system in the world is completely useless without a core product that stands head and shoulders above the rest. The affiliates who have been through our program and here at CFLA we are constantly checking and evaluating our coaches. One of the things we found really helpful is to bring in coaches, some formally but most informally, who are masters at CrossFit into our box and share ideas. Recently we had the pleasure of having Dutch visit and share some of his programming ideas and all I could say is that he helped me, personally, raise my game.
Dutch is teaching a seminar on improving your coaching and I think it's great for our CrossFit community. Here's a link: http://crossfitatm.com/blog/training-seminar/
If you don't know who Dutch is here is a video of him doing a WOD.
BWOD:
Make a list of several things that you can do to improve your coaches abilities.
Thank you for the shout out.
I look forward to helping anyone that wants to be a better trainer.
That video is kind of embarrassing... Sorry coach B and Greg you taught me better than that. In my defense this was done before i met ya'll.
-Dutch-
I got the absolute pleasure of meeting Dutch at the Mesa, AZ Level 1 cert and don't get me wrong, all the other instructors were great but Dutch was FANTASTIC. I wish I could have learned all the skills from Dutch. I was so bummed he was out at CrossFit LA the week before I got there. I'll check out his training seminar blog.
How was Vegas John?
- William Makepeace Thackeray
- William James
Unleash the potential within...
But have you done this for your business?
Since most affiliates are running their own business the need to keep a lean ship is paramount and that means you need to have many skills. If you weren't born with a brain for all things business (marketing, public speaking, accounting, social dynamics, motivation, web site design... etc) you need to learn it until your business can support hiring an expert. Yes, we have a seminar coming up in December but that isn't the only thing you should be doing. Any length of seminar could be useful from an afternoon to a weekend retreat.
BWOD
Look online for any seminar or class that will enhance your business knowledge and sign up today.
some examples:
Tony Robbins (motivation, goal setting)
Strategic Coach (business)
Toastmasters (public speaking)
Landmark Forum (life coaching)
Depak Chopra (balancing your life)
Community college (accounting, excel, powerpoint)
Check online
What will you choose? Post to comments.
Enjoy this video by Depak Chopra, a little long, but worth it.
How about business networking - like LeTip (www.letip.com)? What about hiring a personal business coach or life coach? And here's another business coaching program called Rainmaker U (www.rainmakeru.com).
On our combined lists John, I've done or am currently doing 6! And am always looking for what's going to be next for my personal or business development. For me, it's an ongoing necessary expense - like a cell phone, electricity bill or having a computer. If I'm going to be at the top of my game, I've got to do the work - and that means paying the people to show me the things I didn't know I didn't know.
As you can tell, I'm pretty passionate about this - if you're not investing in yourself, you're sailing on a sinking ship...
Boy, I need a few more hours in my day...ha, don't we all. Andy, how many additional hours in your week do the 6 groups add and are they local in Santa Monica or via internet.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
So, it's out there... what can we learn from it?
Out of respect for the affiliate I am keeping their identity to myself however I will speak to what I knew about the first-hand information they told me. It is actually kinda simple in explanation. They had major difficulties finding clients and had a big problem keeping the ones they did find.
Why should this matter to you? Because if you look at your numbers of new clients and they are fewer than the number of departing clients you need to act quickly. and when I say quickly anything you do today has a window of return, meaning you're actually working for 60-90 days out because nothing has "immediate" effect on business. You can't just flip a switch and, presto, change your business. This analysis requires you to resist the thinking "oh, that person will be returning because of..." if they are not active they don't count.
BWOD
Look back 6 months in your records and compare the new client numbers to the lost client numbers. If you have 2 months or more where you are in a deficit memorize the book RAVING FANS by Kenneth Blanchard.
Although the following video isn't about CrossFit but there is valuable info in it.
Comments? Let your voice be heard.
Well noted!
Thanks for the nugget. On your advice, I bought and read Raving Fans. Great stuff!
- Zora Neale Hurston
Here is what the dictionary has for underdog:
1. a person who is expected to lose in a contest or conflict.
2. a victim of social or political injustice: The underdogs were beginning to organize their protest
Think about that for a second... I am an underdog... CrossFit is an underdog... honestly, ALL small business owners are underdogs.
If you step back for a moment looking at what WE want to do... topple the Globos, we have a huge DIS-advantage. We are poorly funded (no one from the venture capital community has approached me, have they approached you?). The health and fitness industry easily makes $45 Billion without out us. Yes, that's with a "B." We're challenging the "conventional wisdom" of decades of bad education. We consciously compete with the laziness and apathy of the masses who have been brainwashed into believing that a "gadget" could give them better abs... and that having washboard abs meant they were in shape. And none of us have a 4 year degree in Crossfit because that doesn't exist. Yet.
So I implore everyone to continue to tell everyone your dream of Crossfit world dominance. By doing so you strengthen your commitment to your cause. And you may just inspire the person within earshot to follow their own dreams.
Please proudly post and tell me if you're an Underdog.
Here's a video of one of the most famous underdogs. Plus I'm a Rocky fan.
BTW - I couldn't decide which was best so you tell me.
Cool post, John - I can definitely see people rooting for the underdog all the time in CrossFit. I think because we all know what it feels like to be the new person, or to struggle with a certain exercise, we can really empathize with the heart and work ethic it takes to push through that.
If we can all apply this same mentality to business - dedication to technique (business systems), logging (tracking numbers), and the commitment to performance - then the CrossFit underdogs will come out on top!
Nice post John. We certainly feel like the underdogs here in New Zealand. Hardly anybody has heard of CrossFit, so we've got our work cut out for us. Two more affiliates are in the process of opening, so we'll soon have some help spreading the 'gospel'.
Every new member is a mini-victory over the globo-gym dogma.
Hmmm, two religious metaphors in one paragraph - I must be a CrossFit zealot 
-Richard Cumberland
BWOD:
Choose one of these books to read within the next month. THE E-MYTH, GOOD-TO-GREAT, FIRST, BREAK ALL THE RULES, THE DIP, PURPLE COW, RAVING FANS.
If you have read all of these then you could email me and I will give you another couple of choices.
Enjoy this clip of Seth Godin:
All on my list of must reads. I've read, the Dip and E-Myth and am working on Purple Cow. The Dip is a great book for those of us getting started in a business with the "economy woes". Lean into the wind and separate yourself from the other's. Be remarkable.
Andre Maurois
Just like CrossFit! Finished The Dip. Can't wait to get into Purple Cow.
So, if you're feeling MAD AS HELL... do something about it.
BWOD:
None this week due to the Apprenticeship seminar.
Enjoy the video and see the movie NETWORK if you haven't.
I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to eat grains anymore! I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to eat grains anymore!
And by the way...I full heartedly want to teach that class tomorrow!
And another by the way...Kevin posted your idea about the tabata and we made sure our people new they could thank YOU for that one! www.crossfitnwt.com. Now before you go and butcher us up because we are missing many of the points we've gone over...the site is under construction. I can't wait to use the tools you've given me to make it STELLAR!
See you in the am.
And I spelled new incorrectly...should have been knew....
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