Me at the gym with a Newbie in the background.
January and February are extremely frustrating for someone who’s been hitting the gym consistently and persistently for 23 years.
An influx of Newbies arrive. Shiny new expensive gym clothes and spotless trainers. All energised and enthusiastic about getting started and becoming a new, healthier and fitter person.
The gym get’s overcrowded. There’s queues for the popular equipment. The place is heaving. I wait forever to take my turn on the machines. I end up going at odd times of the day to avoid the throngs of Newbies.
But they all quit after about 6 weeks.
Why?
- They realise that it’s hard work and it hurts to exercise.
- They don’t get a coach because the gym fees are extortionate and adding a trainer to the cost makes it ridiculously expensive.
- They don’t put together a structured exercise routine, they just go on the equipment in a random way.
- They thought they’d see some results after a month… but realise that the excess weight does not shift easily and muscle takes time to build. So they get demotivated.
- Some of them give themselves an injury trying too hard. They pull a muscle and BAM! That’s it.
So in mid-February everything goes back to normal. I get to go on the machines I like, push the weights I want, and it’s nice and quiet with just the regulars in attendance.
It’s the same in business. I’ve been running businesses for 30 years. When someone starts a new business:
- They are all enthusiastic and work really hard at it. But it’s not as easy as they imagined. It’s hard and it hurts.
- They don’t get a coach or mentor because they think they can do it on their own and starting a business is expensive enough without adding a coach to the cost.
- They don’t build the business in a structured, tried and tested way. They just wing it.
- They think that if they build a product or service that it will sell itself. It doesn’t. And they have to learn about sales & marketing. And it takes time, and effort. And money. So they get demotivated.
- Some business owners work themselves into the ground. Doing themselves a mental injury. And BAM! That’s it.
And that’s a few of the reasons why 80% of businesses fail in the first 5 years.
If you’re a business owner with a team of more than 5 people and you’d like a free discussion on how to grow your business then book a call with me on the below app:
