Remarkable:
It’s a new year and lots of people are looking to make some remarkable changes in their lives. I use the word remarkable in this context: People remark on whatever it is that you have done. So for example,
“That guy can walk around on his hands”
“She looks amazing”
“You have lost so much weight”
“You can deadlift 230kg at a bodyweight of 82kg”
“Did you see how smooth through that bend he was on that bike” **
**That one is specifically for me.
Any of these are going to take a remarkable amount of work, sacrifice and effort for anyone. There is no debating it, if I want to achieve something remarkable I need to do some pretty remarkable things.
Is your goal remarkable? Are you prepared to do all the remarkable things required?
Biz: For other box owners reading this, the biggest place we see this having an impact is on the initial phonecall I recieve. I have to set and manage somebodies expectations from the very start. If they are looking to have a big impact on their life and physique, then I make it clear that we need to see a big investment from them. If they want to look like the cover of a magazine and are looking at your minimum investment, then you MUST have that frank and honest conversation with them.
This is the fair and decent thing to do. Anything less creates a problem for you downstream, these problems can be big or small but it will create a problem. Be honest. Do not sell them magic beans and make clients accountable for their results. It is not down to us, it is directly affected by the effort they put in.
Sharpening the Axe
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln
So, I have decided to step away for a few days, the offer of a holiday in Croatia with an old mate who knows the place like the back of his hand was too good to turn down. I also decided after a chat with my mate Paul, when little things start to piss you off it’s time to sit down and see where you are going. I deal with stress poorly, it closes in on me and affects how I do things and my ability to look more than 3 days ahead. Fire-Fighting in your own head is not fun.
No e-mails. No phone calls. No alarm clock. Then I will get over the initial feeling of guilt, that niggle telling me that I should be doing something but accepting it and spending a little longer over lunch and dinner. As the break gets a little longer the head will clear and I will relax, giving me the chance to see things from a different perspective. Right now the business feels somewhat like reading a big long book in a tiny room, if that makes any sense.
A few long lunches and relaxing dinners with a few beers thrown in will have me wound down pretty quickly, from there I can have a different perspective on the business and take some satisfaction in what we have achieved.
Poor Colm and Will then have to tell me to SHUT-UP and stop coming up with 25 ideas and doing none of them. I am excited about the break and having a proper rest, it’s been a hell of a run for the last 550 odd days and it’s gonna be even more fun when I get back. (I put in the days to remind myself, it’s not a 5/6 day week for us. We never switch off, there is always something to do and a plan to implement. See you guys soon,
P.S. As this is the business blog, are you pushing hard or coasting? Do you need to up your game or find some headspace and back off a touch?
Estimating Cashflow
The final video in the latest series on what it takes to start up your CrossFit box.
Costing a Facility – Premises
In this video, Tom talks through the numbers you could spend in a year on running the facility, from rent to toiletries, fire safety certs to admin costs and everything in between.
CrossFit Ireland (Biz) – Costings for Premises from CrossFit Ireland on Vimeo.
Disclaimer: We have left out professional fees as these can be dramatically different depending on who you use and how much preparatory work you do beforehand. You will need a solicitor and an accountant, trust me.
All the numbers in this video are realistic but will move around depending on the premises and how you want to do things in your business. Please use your discretion when interpreting this information, I am no expert but wanted to provide people with an outline. I hope you find this useful and appreciate any comments. – Tom
Meeting with the Accountant
Now that we’re into year two and have a number of months of accounts behind us we can have regular meetings with our accountant – who aside from being a top notch number cruncher also built a very successful business himself from scratch.
These meetings give us a steer month to month on how we’re progressing and where to focus on.
Our first one revealed that we’d managed to keep our costs down. “In any service business, you’d expect to see a minimum of €100,000 keeping the place open”. It was comforting to know that we hadn’t been reckless with our spending in the first year, as we really didn’t know the full extent of the costs of running the business at the start.
Secondly we were given permission to spend on upgrading the equipment and facilities. This gives us a boost as it allows us to continue bringing the entire place up the standard we want it to be in for you all. We’ve plenty of improvements in the pipeline and will keep you up to date on all the proceedings as they start to happen.
Referral Partners
by Tom:
Do you own a business and train with CrossFit Ireland? If so then I want to know what it is you do and how I can get you a great customer. I want to start this all off by asking you to drop in at least ten business cards at reception, we will have envelopes here for you on the notice board all you have to do is pop them into it and I will take care of everything else for you. If you want to bring it to the next stage write me a small note outlining what your ideal customer looks like but cards on their own will be a great start.
Dreamers
Where you are today, right now, was once your dream
This was said to me recently about CrossFit Ireland and where we are. The funny thing about it is that I had forgotten that, getting too caught up in trying to get more done and bring this further. I had forgotten that less than a year ago we had 20 clients and were hanging on by the skin of our teeth. No paint on the walls, no paint on the floor and a list of jobs that went on forever.
Now we are a long way from that point, investing heavily in improving the premises and equipment and arranging a full calendar of events for you all. We always look at new ways to make this better for you all, pushing one another past our comfort zone in the pursuit of the perfect box.
This is one of the funny things about human nature, you are never content. If you told me a year ago we would be here I would of been over the moon, now that I am here I am looking to double the number of CrossFitters that are with us in the Institute. Do you think we can do it?
Take a moment to look at 2010 and where you started, then share your dream to comments.