As this image shows, itโs taken 7 years & counting ๐
So here are 7 things I wish I knew when I startedโฆ
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1๏ธโฃ Include VAT from the get-go!
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Or in other words, charge more
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And itโs crazy to think that when I started I charged ยฃ200pm for โDone for Youโ ads management
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I see this almost every day in fitness businesses, where theyโve just picked a price without doing a deep dive into what they really should be charging
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2๏ธโฃ Set Expectations
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Youโll know this one, a client joins & wants to drop a stone in a week or 3 stone in a month
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In order to make the sale, we awkwardly nod, knowing itโs never going to happen
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These days, we share the worst-case scenario, so when we do overdeliver, they are blown away
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3๏ธโฃ Take Charge Right Away
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I remember one of our first clients, he came across all confident & said to spend ยฃ100pd
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I went with it, one month later ยฃ3000 down & not a single sale made
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Did he phone the leads: NO! Did he email the leads: NO!
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To be honest, Iโm not really sure what he did
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These days, we set the rules for clients to ensure they have success with us ๐ช
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4๏ธโฃ KPIs!
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Omg, I wish I knew this stuff before I started hiring staff
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KPIs make it so much easier for you to hold staff accountable & perform
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But also make it super easy for you to get rid ๐
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Fail your KPIs 3 months in a row & that could very much be the end
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5๏ธโฃ SOPs
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Sorry for all the acronyms today ๐
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But getting this one in place now allows me to be right here in Turkey
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Not having to be glued to my laptop, answering questions & helping staff get things set up
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SOPs give the staff a clear idea of what needs to be done, how to do it & FAQs if things arenโt going to plan
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6๏ธโฃ Let Go Sooner
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This will always be hard
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I never had it when we had DKnine Fitness in Southampton
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But I knew almost from the minute go in Cardiff with FitHub30 that I needed to be out as quick as possible
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This doesnโt mean you are leaving your business, it just means you start releasing certain elements of your business to others
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7๏ธโฃ Find People Better Than You
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Once upon a time I used to think I was the best at running ads, saying that, I still think I am ๐
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But what I have now is an expert team who know more than me on many other things
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Like, I walk into meetings now & they have new SOPs, systems, ideas & even implement new strategies
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Allowing us to get better & grow quicker
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So there you have itโฆ
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7 years ago today, I said I was going to get my first 5 clients
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Today, we work with a few hundred clients each week across our services ๐คฉ
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You got this ๐ช
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David ๐