A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to sharea plane ride with my first business mentor (frequently referred to as "The Consultant" in many posts on this site.) I was on my way to Boston; he was headed to Toronto for more Consulting work. At $500 per hour, he has no trouble filling his time.
He also usually draws a crowd, even on a commuter flight, so our conversation was a short one. I mentioned that I was helping others in the role of Mentor for 321GoProject.com; he was pleased. "You've certainly earned it," he said. I asked what he meant. I expected him to say, "You've made more mistakes in 16 years than most make in a lifetime," but not this guy.
Instead, The Consultant picked highlights of our business from his memory:
- We're the first CrossFit Affiliate (and, likely, the first Garage Gym) to receive funding from Insurance Companies, at least at this magnitude.
- We're the first gym to run studies, at our own expense, purely in the interest of helping our clients.
- We're probably the first gym ANYWHERE to win "Innovation Company Of The Year," an award that spans ALL industries. We beat out energy companies, Tech companies, and inventors.
- We're bigger than a 'gym': people who haven't been here in two YEARS still identify themselves as part of the 'Catalyst Family.'
- We're probably the first gym in the world to offer math classes, guitar lessons, drama, and French Tutoring on the same nights as Strongman, Powerlifting, and CrossFit groups.
- Our adherence rate (93% last year) is almost exactly DOUBLE that of the fitness industry (47%.)
- The Catalyst 'Family' is a top-level goal of our business. Not a means to an end: a corporate goal. "You have enough friends YET?" he joked. "No," I said.
- When people 'leave' Catalyst, they very rarely leave forever. They don't join a GloboGym, for instance. They just take a break.
- We're perhaps the first gym to have a library where our Family brings books to share and takes others home. This is a member-driven initiative; we don't have library cards.
- We have (possibly) the lowest monthly rate of any CrossFit Box in the world, but (equally possibly) the highest monthly revenue per member.
- People identify themselves as PART of Catalyst, not a Catalyst 'client.' They take ownership because they achieve self-fulfillment here through education, donation, and sweat. We do a LOT of fundraisers, and for many, this helps fulfill their spiritual needs.
Yes, it's impressive that The Consultant could remember these things off the top of his head - but he IS a genius, after all. When folks visit YOUR website, what are three things they'll remember three months later?
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