Business Coaches Let Down Fitness Business Owners
It is incredibly easy to let yourself off the hook when you are the boss. So easy. 
When you own a fitness business, you are the ultimate authority and decision maker. You set the targets, you write the strategy, and you manage the team. But there is no one above you to hold you accountable:
- To celebrate your success;
- To ask questions to get better; or
- To confide in.
I used to set massive, ambitious annual goals for my club every January. I would rally the team, write the numbers on the whiteboard, and declare that this was going to be our best year yet.
By March, we would inevitably “just miss” those targets. And I would immediately justify it with:
- “The market is tough right now.”
- “We had unexpected staff turnover.”
- “Things just got busy with operations.”
Of course, in hindsight they were just excuses.
When you are the boss, no one calls you out on them. Your staff certainly won’t tell you that your leadership is the problem. And if you are relying solely on yourself for discipline, those excuses quickly become your reality.
The Problem With Hired Accountability
Many gym owners realise they have an accountability problem, so they hire a fitness business coach. They pay for a weekly check-in call, hoping that having someone to report to will force them to hit their targets.
But here is the uncomfortable truth about fitness business coaching: when you pay someone to give you advice, the dynamic is fundamentally different. It is very hard for someone on your payroll to tell you the brutal, unvarnished truth. A hired coach might let those excuses slide to protect the relationship.
A room full of your peers will not.
What True Accountability Actually Looks Like
Accountability isn’t a weekly 30-minute check-in call where you report on your lead generation numbers.
True accountability is sitting at a table with 15 other highly successful fitness business owners, opening up your business, and explaining exactly why you missed the target. It is looking a fellow CEO in the eye and having them say, “That’s an excuse. What is the real reason your profit margin dropped?”
It is uncomfortable. It is challenging. It strips away the ego and forces you to confront the operational realities of your business.
And it is exactly why REX Roundtable members are 1.5 to 2 times more profitable than the average club.
Elevating Your Standards
When you surround yourself with people who refuse to settle for average, your own standards automatically rise. You stop accepting your own excuses because you know the room won’t accept them either. You stop playing small because you are constantly benchmarking yourself against peers who are playing a much bigger game.
If you are letting yourself off the hook, you don’t need another course, and you might not need another coach. You need a better room.
We are currently interviewing owners for our June & July meetings. If you are ready to stop guessing and start building real value, send me a message directly. Tell me your biggest current challenge, and let’s see if there is a seat at the table for you.
Apply Here ↓
Justin is the Managing Director of Active Management, which he began January 2004. He offers coaching to businesses worldwide in everything from start up and design to marketing and sales systems. Justin also facilitates four Australian and New Zealand ‘fitness industry roundtables’ events, which allows him to see a huge cross section of business models.