Every day, I'm lucky enough to get 2 or 3 emails just like this one:
"Hi. I fell in love with CrossFit in 2010, after my friend dragged me to a class. It was tough, but I stayed with it, and I've lost 60 pounds! In December, I finally took my Level 1 course. I want to help people be as happy as I've become, and show them anything is possible. If I can do it, anyone can! How many rowers should I buy?"
My first thought is always, "Congratulations!" because I KNOW exactly how they feel. I remember all of it: the feelings of jumping off a cliff, the confidence and doubt, the fear...and the elation of cutting all ties, running away, joining the Circus. Every week, I live this vicariously through half a dozen new Affiliates. I'm a lucky guy.
My duty is to make sure the parachute opens; to make sure they land on their feet, chests still pumped out, marching forward.
There's s difference between owning a business and buying yourself a job. I didn't know the difference at first, because when you start setting up your business, your first goal is to eat. Not to pay the rent; not to deliver CrossFit to people; to buy groceries. Not to change lives, but to maintain your own lifestyle - or, at least, the minimum. For now. The rain is off your head, and you're happy.
One year later, you're working more...but still taking home the same pay. You're doing the right things for your clients; you're taking more Certification classes; you're bringing in guest speakers and delivering knowledge that is broad and inclusive. You're reading and watching and programming hard. You're reinvesting every dollar you take in. You're working for yourself...and it's not too bad.
After another two years, though, things start to sink in: there's no one to ask for a raise. Your hard work merits more money...but there isn't any. Clients are joining at about the same rate they're leaving; you're paying your bills, but there's nothing in reserve, and worse - there are rumours that one of your clients is leaving to start his own Box. Congratulations: you've bought yourself a job. You haven't created a business. Not yet.
A business is a series of systems that support what YOU want in life. If what you want is to be hands-off, and have more free time; to set your own schedule and spend money the way you want, then that's how we'll set up your business. If you want to coach people and change lives and work every day, then that's how we'll set up your business. Failing to consider these goals and work backward, though, is doing yourself a disservice and potentially harming your clients.
Consider this scenario: you've built a solid base of 100 people. Their lives are forever changed. They can't go back to McGym...no way. Unfortunately, you're not paying the rent - or yourself - and you're starting to resent the 6am to 9pm workday. You have debt, and kids. You are not providing for them in the way you'd like, and so, when a job appears at another company, you're tempted to take it. What happens to your clients if your Box closes?
It is your duty to be profitable. It's your duty to be open and STAY open. Others have taken this risk - social, financial, and time - and they deserve to capitalize on it. YOU deserve to get what you want in life, because the real risk is time spent...not cash invested. Time can be well-invested, or it can be wasted, just like dollars and cents.
Have you ever bought a piece of equipment you don't use? We have. Have you ever poured a lot of energy into a program that no one attends? Us, too. And it's not a sin, if you don't repeat it. Business planning isn't like a crystal ball; it won't tell you when the storms will appear. It IS like a boat. When growth comes, you'll be ready. When the baby comes, you'll be ready. When a client asks for a refund, sends in a referral, wants to sign up, you'll be ready.
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