The entrepreneur is a rare breed. A combination of fearlessness, resilience, and good old-fashioned hard work is needed to succeed. What really separates them from the run of the mill clock puncher is their ability to motivate themselves at critical points in their journey. They need to be consistently optimistic and when they are in the trenches struggling to see a path to success. Conversely, when they have achieved success, they can’t let standards slip and fall behind the competition. In both extremes, their goals may be different, but staying motivated is key.
For the fitness entrepreneur, the struggles are the same. From the days in a run-down studio with only a couple of members to running a multi-location mini-empire and every failure and success in between, the path chosen is never an easy one and it can feel like a constant uphill battle.
So here is a list of some key tips to help you on the way to stay motivated to achieve the success you’re after.
1. Find Your “Why” and Stick to It
Considering many fitness studios flounder, especially in the first year, why would you ever start one?! Ask yourself this question and have a solid answer before you even think of laying down the first exercise mat. Focus on what connects deeply to your soul and makes you wake up in the morning — even when things aren’t going exactly to plan.
As a fitness entrepreneur, your driving passion should be to help people to achieve their fitness goals. This is, in turn, will help you achieve yours by keeping you motivated to stay in the game.
2. Set Attainable Goals
If you don’t get down on paper what you want to achieve, you may drift around aimlessly.
Writing it down makes it real and also allows you to map out how to reach these goals. Goal setting is the cornerstone of any successful quest for the fitness entrepreneur.
The idea is to set clear, definable goals that you want to achieve in each area of the business and for your business overall. Put a timeframe on when you went to want to accomplish these goals and list out the tasks that need to be performed in order to reach them.
3. Every Day Is a School Day
Jack Lalanne, one of the first fitness entrepreneurs and a mainstay of the fitness industry over a number of decades, shared this advice on why constantly learning is of particular interest to the budding fitness titan:
“We don’t know all the answers. If we knew all the answers we’d be bored, wouldn’t we? We keep looking, searching, trying to get more knowledge.”
His advice still rings true today. The most successful entrepreneurs are driven by personal growth, which in turn helps them grow their business. With running your own business, you are more than likely jumping into the unknown with a lot more questions than answers.
Therefore you shouldn’t hesitate to get stuck into the wealth of books, videos, and podcasts on fitness, marketing, entrepreneurship, and general motivation to always be learning and bettering yourself and your business.
4. Surround Yourself with Good People
Success breeds success. It’s a simple, undeniable truth that surrounding yourself with successful and driven people will inspire you to achieve. Surround yourself with negative people and watch as that negativity starts creeping into your everyday life.
The best way to combat this is to build a network of similarly-minded peers and mentors to share ideas and gain insight on how to grow your business. Seek out those who have either been there with a similar journey to you.
Sometimes you need to hear a differing opinion or use a sounding board when obstacles arise — having this type of network can be particularly useful.
5. Establish a Routine
The best of the best swear by routine. From 6.30 a.m. meditations, to taking a cold water plunge, many successful entrepreneurs have mapped out a particular structure that they live by. Routine, especially in the morning, allows you to function at full capacity until the work day is complete.
Establishing a daily routine can bring order to an otherwise chaotic day-to-day of a fitness entrepreneur, producing optimal performance.
Start small by listing out essential tasks for the day to keep you motivated for what needs to be achieved. Try to include meditation or exercise to keep your mind and body focused. Can you guess what the routines of the most successful people have in common? They accomplish things early. It could be time to start setting that alarm a little earlier!
6. Recharge Your Batteries
It may easy to overlook one of the most crucial elements of motivation: rest.
Entrepreneurs often have trouble disconnecting and taking time for themselves. Having an all-consuming passion for what you do can lead to burnout — which in turn can lead to failure. This is particularly dangerous for fitness entrepreneurs who often have to tie in the physical fatigue of teaching classes with the mental stress of running a business.
Taking some time out to relax, both mentally and physically, is vital to keeping motivation levels high. Switching off will give you the energy and stamina you need.. The time away will also allow you to step back and take in the bigger picture with what is going on in your business, leading to a fresh perspective and an influx of new ideas.
The life of a fitness entrepreneur is not for everyone, but for those up for the challenge, these habits will help you keep up the heavy lifting.
This post was contributed by Glofox, the gym management software helping fitness entrepreneurs improve the health of people worldwide. Built to specifically address the intricacies that come with class-based fitness management, the platform enables studio and gym owners to seamlessly manage booking, payments, new leads, and memberships. Click here for a ClassPass partner discount!
