April 2023 - Page 2 of 12 - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

Top 10 Startup Mistakes

The following review will provide a number of examples that every entrepreneur should try to avoid when starting a venture. Some of the holes referenced below go in parallel with going out of business. With this in mind, we highly encourage you to carefully follow these guidelines. Remember, It is better to be safe than sorry. Each one of you should take your own decisions based on your due diligence, and other critical factors.

1) Having one founder. Startups should have more than one founder. The reason for this is credibility. Having at least two founders helps to diversify the work. It’s also a good thing if the founders are from different backgrounds, so that each one of them has something different to add to the mix.

Moreover, investments can be difficult to pitch with only one founder. With this in mind, potential investors might feel as though your ideas are not good enough. From a psychological stand point, when you are involved in a startup there are going to be more bad days than good days (yes we know, it is unfortunate). Having another founder that will support you through such days, and vise versa, is key. One of the best things about the early stages of a startup are the brainstorming sessions. It is impossible to describe with words the great satisfaction of coming together as a team with the perfect solution to a problem. Avoid individualism – that kind of spirit does not get you far. Team players are key, try to stay together as one and create an environment where everyone has each other’s back.

2) Wrong Location. Location is key. If you are located in the middle of nowhere it will be very hard not only to attract talent, but also the investment that will help you to build and launch your company. If you have an amazing idea and plan on executing it the best way possible, try to move to a bigger city where there is more action happening. In the beginning it will be hard to get used to a new city and to all the new changes, but you can certainly believe that in the long run it will be worth the struggle.

Some of the best cities to start a company are Silicon Valley, Boston, Seattle, Austin, Denver, and New York.

3) Doing too many things at once. One of the biggest issues that startups have is trying to do too many things at once. This creates distractions and focuses less on the tasks that need to get done. Do not try to go big right away. Make something small and make it better than anyone else. Once you have built your initial idea, then is the time to start adding new features. The easier you make it for the public, the better; otherwise they will get overwhelmed and won’t understand what you are doing.

Remember. There is nothing wrong with changing the idea that you initially started with in spite of what the market is demanding from your product. Some of the greatest projects did not turn out to be the way they were planned.

4) Hiring C- employees. On average it can take around 2 to 3 months to hire a person depending on your location. We advise you to be on the look 24/7 and never stop interviewing people. Talent is hard to find, but not impossible.

In the event you are a startup involved with the tech industry, make sure that you are hiring the best programmers. Before hiring them review projects that they have been working on, see case studies and ask for a first hand account from previous customers. This will help you in making an informed decision.

Furthermore, we recommend that you stay away from recruiters at an early stage. They do not care about your company as much as you do and the only thing they are going after is their 25% commission based on the annual salary of the potential person that you are trying to hire. This is way too much money for a startup to throw out the window. It is a pain taking care of human resources, however, someone’s gotta do it. After all, this is your company!

5) Launching too soon or too late. If a startup launches their project too soon, there could be a possibility that the product is not complete, and will not satisfy consumers. The main problem here is that if the project is not finished, it will completely turn off its users and as a consequence, people will not come back. On the other hand, you may have the problem of launching too late. This issue not only gives a bad image to the company, but since you have not been able to accomplish your milestones, it also creates a hole in the company’s pockets because keeping the lights on is not cheap.

From our point of view, launch when you have something solid. Don’t plan to launch the absolute best while waiting until such process is complete, launch with what you need and keep moving forward.

6) Raising more or less then the capital needed. Startups make this type of mistake all of the time. Make sure you have developed a detailed business plan that you are constantly updating and following carefully. This business plan should be the company’s guidelines when entering a round of financing. Keep track of your finances, and know when you are running out of money. Be sure to plan accordingly so that you can raise a little over the money that you need (in case of surprises) to carry your company until the next round of financing.

7) Lack of budgets. When startups raise money they sometimes forget that money is very easy to burn. Even though you might feel like you have everything covered, that will most likely not be the case. There are always unexpected expenses that come along the way. With this in mind, we highly encourage you to keep all the expenses as low as possible. Try to negotiate every single invoice, and extend as much as you can for the sake of your company’s cash flow. Try to operate only with the necessary number of employees. Another example of spending money could be moving into an expensive office space before the company is making any revenue. There are plenty examples of startups that blow up their bank accounts by renting very nice offices.. The moral – avoid getting an office space. Have it all start from your house if possible and only move into an office space when it is the absolute last resort.

8) Investors with lack of knowledge and expertise. Raising money is a tough battle. Dead money is the kind of investment that comes from a person who does not give an added value to the company. A good example of this would be startups who only bring in any of their friends or family members at an early stage. These kind of investors will not contribute the drive needed to have a successful startup. This can also turn off angel investors and venture capital firms that might want to jump in at a later round of financing. Another piece of advice is to not have a large number of investors at the Seed Round (first round of financing). Otherwise it will get too crazy with the legal paperwork on the next financing round, and as a consequence the attractiveness of the startup towards VC’s and Private Equities will be extremely reduced.

9) Arguments between founders. There are many examples of founders fighting, which can potentially result in losing a team member. Try to avoid fights, establish guidelines so that it never gets to a situation that it is impossible to handle. Make sure your startup has a healthy working environment. Remember, startup life is very hard to begin with, do not add additional obstacles and always try to understand each other. As explained in our article “10 Must-Know Legal Tips For Startups”, having restricted stock will prevent founders from walking out of the company with all the stock. Starting a company is not a joke, and is a long road to follow full of obstacles and darkness. Make sure you have a trusting and special connection with that person that you decide to share this journey with.

10) Lack of marketing. Your startup may have a unique product or platform, however, if no one knows about your product it’s the same as it not existing. Make sure that you get the word out and reach as many people as possible. Figure out what are the best marketing channels in order to reach the right audience. Keep in mind that print media or advertisements are less affective than online resources nowadays. In any case, as a startup your company should NOT spend too much money on advertisement.

5 Keys for Startup Investors

Hundreds of thousands of businesses are formed every year. Many of them are in significant need of capital, presenting opportunities for investors.

While startup investing is not for everyone, those with a high risk tolerance can find it a stimulating and potentially rewarding pastime. The possibility of getting in on the ground floor of the next Uber or Facebook, speculative as that might be, can be compelling.

Suppose you hear about an exciting new company looking for investors. You are aware that a majority of startups end up failing within the first few years, but you think this one could hit it big. What do you do?

1. Check out the Management

You ultimately are investing not just in a product or an idea, but in the people running the company. No matter how innovative or promising the business concept may seem, the enterprise is unlikely to succeed without capable management. You should assess not only the founders, but also those promoting the investment. An initial review often can be done online. In the case of those with professional licenses (such as brokers, accountants, and attorneys), you can check their license status and any disciplinary history. You want the people running or associated with the company to not only have clean backgrounds, but also a record of success in other ventures. Look for qualities such as experience, intelligence, creativity, integrity, discipline, and leadership ability.

2. Determine How the Business Will Make Money

Lots of companies are based on an intriguing concept. But the company must be able to translate that concept into a product or service that it can produce and sell at a profit and in sufficient quantities to generate reasonable cash flow. What is the startup’s monetization plan? What is the market demand? Who are the competitors? What is the marketing strategy? Is the business scalable, having the ability to grow rapidly without sacrificing quality or profitability? If the company is unable to provide good answers to these questions, its likelihood of success is dubious.

3. Rely on Advisors

If you are buying a used car, it is good practice to hire a mechanic to look the vehicle over to make sure you are not getting a lemon. The same principle applies in evaluating a startup. It is crucial to use qualified professionals, such as an attorney and accountant. Make sure your advisors are familiar with startups-an attorney specializing in personal injury cases probably will not be a good fit. You may also want to consult with experts in the business sector in which the startup operates. Your advisors will provide various insights you would not have on your own. They also will help you command respect from the company.

4. Thoroughly Research the Startup

Ask lots of questions and request lots of documents. If the business is concerned about revealing confidential information, it can have you sign a nondisclosure agreement. You and your advisors will want to examine the startup’s business plan, offering memorandum, financial statements, budgets, capitalization table, and corporate documents (articles, bylaws, prior investor agreements, etc.) If the documents are shoddy or incomplete, that is a bad sign. Be wary of internal financial statements; statements prepared by an outside CPA have more credibility. Audited financial statements are best, but are less common because of their expense. If your investigation raises red flags, insist on complete explanations.

5. Review the Investment Documents

Your advisors can be of great help here. At the very least, you want to be fully informed as to how the deal is being structured and what rights and obligations you and the company will have. Your attorney can advise you as to what document changes might be in your best interests and help you negotiate with the company. Your accountant can let you know whether the valuation seems reasonable. Do not proceed unless everything is fully documented. You should not invest based on a handshake or mere verbal assurances.

Startup investing requires patience and hard work. Although there are no guarantees, you can reduce the risks and boost the chances of success by following the principles discussed above.

Credit Repair Business Plan

Here’s the executive summary of a Credit Repair Business Plan:

a description of your company, including your products and/or services
your mission statement
your business’s management
the market and your customer
marketing and sales
your competition
your business’s operations
financial projections and plans

For someone looking for a credit repair business plan, a simple description might be “Ace Credit restoration provides credit restoration services to help consumers attain good credit and therefore have more attractive financing options. The company provides credit repair on a fee-for-service model charging $800 to $2000 per client and reaches new clients via relationships by credit-dependent professionals (real estate, car dealers, etc.), financial professionals (tax, insurance, financal planners), consumer direct marketing (internet, radio, tv, postcards), and past-client referral cultivation.

Any business plan should then talk about management, which refers to your experience. If you have experience managing a team, attention to detail, and/or financial experience, this is relevant and should be included.

When writing about your client, the consumer, you’ll find there are about 70 to 80 million americans with bad credit, many millions of whom will need to finance a home or car or other purchase and will therefore be interested in purchasing credit repair services. While some people do attempt credit repair on their own, credit is becoming increasingly complex and important. Fewer people succeed or event attempt it, and like dealing with plumbing or auto repairs, most are willing to pay a professional to get it done right.

Next, you should include a specific marketing breakdown. We have found that at first, referral relationships are a great place to start. By offering “credit repair seminars” or “lunch and learn” events to local real estate agents or car dealers, you can quickly position yourself as an expert, develop referral sources, and help them sell more homes or cars. As your business grows, you’ll want to branch out into mass media, internet marketing to increase your visibility and scale up your operations.

The next section generally will cover competition, which of course varies by market. Currently, the credit repair business is still open and largely driven on referrals at time of need, meaning people often get their credit restored when preparing to buy a home or car, or after being declined for some type of financing (i.e. a credit card at better terms than they have presently). Longer term, the internet is a massive source of business that still has substantial opportunity. One still largely untapped area needing someone to execute their credit repair business plan is in the area of social marketing (i.e. Facebook) and joint ventures with point-of-need media i.e. a referral relationship with leading real estate websites, car dealer websites, etc. who depend on attractive financing.

Next, your plan should cover operations. You can run a credit repair home based business, or you can use office space. One under-used idea is renting a desk inside a busy real estate office. This can provide more than just a professional meeting place, but the proximity of agents who depend on their clients having good financing will virtually guarantee some clients are delivered to you. This can also help embed your credit repair business into the local ecosystem of potential referring businesses such as mortgage, insurance, and financial professionals. Most real estate offices would be open to renting a desk or office within or nearby the facility. Another option for your credit repair business plan is to run a home based credit repair business, but have a set schedule at local real estate offices or car dealers to review any new files and answer questions the agents or dealers might have.

Financial projections and plans in your credit repair business plan should address startup costs and revenue, and possibly even exit such as sale of the company. Since there are systems that provide more than just software, but complete turn-key systems (similar to a franchise) including training to make you the expert, unlimited paralegal support, annual conferences, marketing support, legal support, and much more you should investigate your options.

Obviously success varies by talent, work, resources and abilities with any business opportunity. That said, we know of affiliates who have taken their credit repair business plan and executed on that plan, grossing over $100,000 per month. If you like the idea of being your own boss and earning an executive level income, we encourage you to take look at your business plan as just the first step an an exciting new venture.

Why Do Startups Need Business Coaching?

If you think about it, a startup is like a football team at the start of the season. The right combination of skills, talent, leadership, and vision for success is needed to get a jumpstart and surpass the competition. But even if you got all of that, there is still high chance it won’t work without the right business coach to catalyze it.

A lot of companies have been using business coaches for decades. With talent and creativity flocking to startup companies, it is only normal for them to turn to business coaches as well. An executive coach has the potential to help companies evolve out of their business plan and truly prosper. Here are few ways that an executive coach can aid a startup company in reaching the next level:

They are objective – startups have an inherently obvious drawback: their leaders see their ventures like their own children and are too emotionally invested and attached to the business decisions they make. Emotion and passion are important, but they can often cloud perception, planning, and execution of business plans. The objectivity that an executive coach provides goes a long way in enhancing the performance of the startup. A leader of such venture can learn a great deal from an objective coach.

Help leaders develop their personal style – leadership qualities are essential for the success of any startup venture. That is why it is important to foster them right from the start and working with an executive coach can greatly help in that regard. Not only can they evaluate individual skills and see what needs to be improved, but they can also work with the leaders to do just that. Coaches bring out the best in people. Good coaches offer the right insight on behavior and thinking that fosters a suitable leadership style for the startup.

Help team building – the dynamics of the team are tricky business. The reason lies in the fact that every team member brings unique experiences and it can be difficult to make it all work. A good coach can help identify differences and recommend ways of making team gel better. The effectiveness of the team is an important part of every startup project.

Preemptively point out weak links – did you know that 8 out of 10 startups fail within the first year and a half? The reason is that companies do not have an action plan for possible issue down the road. Even skilled leaders might have a hard time reading coming changes and reacting accordingly. A good coach can lend their expertise in that regard and point out possible pitfalls before they manifest themselves.

Setting goals – a unified sense of growth is needed for a startup to grow successfully. An executive coach can work with the leader to align the goals and vision of the company. Not only that, but the coach can align the goals of the company with the leader’s personal goals for professional development and growth.

It is evident that an executive coach does wonders in regards to startups. The business coaching expertise they bring to the table can make a world of difference.

A Few Tips on How to Do a Team Building Activity

Team building activities help teams learn and grow. It is important to educate teams in teaming concepts and help them with work processes during all the team-building stages. For those leading teams, a few tips on planning a team building activity can be instrumental to the success of the team.

First, determine the purpose of the team building activity to determine if it can be part of a meeting or should be a separate event. Is the activity to introduce a topic, communicate a point, improve relationships, review previous training or teach a new technique? All of these can be done in a meeting as long as a safe environment and enough time is provided. Otherwise plan a special event so that other work does not interfere with the learning process.

Decide how much time to spend on the team building activity and when it would be best to do it. If the activity is to be part of a team meeting, plan it for the appropriate spot on the specific meeting agenda. At the beginning of the agenda is a good time for “getting to know you” type of activities and icebreakers, or revisiting points from a recent training course. If a non-controversial topic is to be presented or a new technique is to be taught during a few minutes of the meeting, those can fit anywhere within the agenda where it needs to occur. For example if a new decision making process is to be taught, explain it just before the team needs to use it to make a decision. Applying techniques immediately to work makes them more meaningful. Introducing new training concepts that are not to be used within the meeting should happen near the end of the meeting time.

If the time/date for the team building should be outside of a regular team meeting, plan a special training session or team-building event. This will require extra work by a team member or the leader to find a good date and a location that meets the needs of the activities to be done. Decide on activities before choosing a location or rescheduling may become necessary in order to meeting physical requirements. In selecting an activity for the event or training, take into consideration any physical limitations of team members. When planning a multi-exercise team-building event, activities that every team member can participate in should be considered before those that may require a member to “sit out” during the exercise because it may make them to feel excluded.

Find the activities or exercises that best make the intended training point or exemplifies the desired team concept. Then narrow down the selection list to which ones maybe best to use based on the materials necessary, the time available, relevancy to particular team, and fun factor. It is a success key for team-building events to be fun as well as informative. In meetings, it is nice to have a fun activity but relevancy to work at hand will mean more to the team, so aim for relevant first and both whenever possible.

Before the date of the meeting, training session, or team-building event: decide who will facilitate, invite participants, provide the agenda if appropriate, and gather necessary supplies. If it is a special session rather than a team meeting, it may be more fun to surprise the team with the agenda at the beginning instead of in advance. If facilitating the activity, arrive early and be prepared with all necessary materials. If someone else is to facilitate, then make sure they understand the expectations they are to meet, as well as when to be there and where to go. It may be beneficial to have someone from outside the team facilitate if the activity requires special training, facilities, or materials that a member of the team does not possess.

Use these tips when planning to do any type of team activity. Continual learning will motivate the team to contribute even better results as they mature and move through various stages.

Apple’s Hostility Toward Adobe Products – The Impact on Websites

As a web designer/developer, a search engine optimization specialist, and website manager and overseer for my clients, I have registered many of the websites I have created with Google Analytics, an enormously helpful tool to monitor visitor sources, interests and preferences. Each day, after checking my email, I spend a generous part of my morning analyzing its reports which include how many visitors viewed each website, how they were referred, what keywords they used, what pages they visited, how long they spent on each page and what service provider they utilize, among other things. I check the last item because it often specifies the name of a company, a university, a government agency or other specific source as opposed to a behemoth IT provider like Verizon or Comcast. Often this is critical information about who is visiting our sites.

Recently, and I admit I am late in addressing this subject, I have been intrigued by what page they “landed on.” The reason for my interest has to do with a concern about their ability to receive Flash, currently a contentious topic due to Apple Computer’s refusal to include this technology on some of its latest, very popular products which include the iPhone, the iPod and the iPad.

As a lifelong Mac user and lover, I usually admire and support anything and everything Apple, based on firsthand positive experience with their fantastic products and stock performance. I have benefited greatly from both. However, after having purchased Adobe’s Creative Suite software several years ago and exerted the arduous effort to teach myself Flash, I have a vested interest in being able to continue to utilize those sophisticated files on many of my major websites, particularly since my clients have paid me for their creation and they add glamour and pizzazz to any page they appear on.

But this recent development sadly appears to be little more than a nasty, competitive rivalry between two outstanding technology companies. Whether prompted by gluttony for market dominance or lack of compromise or cooperation under the guise of a better user experience, it has impacted everyone who has a website that uses Flash in its presentations. In researching what the consensus of opinion is on this topic, I read one account of a professional woman who was entertaining business guests in Great Britain. One of the guests was proudly showing off his new iPad and asked for the hostess’ URL address so they could admire her website together on this new stage. What happened next is what triggered my worry. When he arrived at her website, all they saw were big black holes because her website was primarily dependent on Flash. Her embarrassment was mortifying.

Realizing that my own company website home page is composed of three rather large Flash files along with some requisite HTML text, not to mention that some of my clients’ newly showcased home pages also flaunt large Flash movies to inspire, bedazzle and impress, I focused on my recent curiosity about some of the Google Analytics’ reports I had seen which showed 0:00 time spent on the landing page. In the case of my own website, the landing page is almost always the home page. It occurred to me that if visitors arrived there to view nothing but black, who could blame them for defecting immediately? Could such visitors be using the latest Apple products? Although Google Analytics does not specify the brand or type of computer or device used, it does pinpoint the operating system and browser which in this case would be OS X and Safari.

Changing what happened in the past is a fruitless pursuit so my goal now centered on controlling website visitations in the future. Having used Adobe’s Dreamweaver software to create my Flash files, I was aware and had already utilized a behavioral control which places a sensor on the page to identify whether a visitor has the Flash software necessary to view a Flash movie. If not, the visitor is automatically rerouted to an alternate page made specifically without Flash to accommodate this somewhat rare situation. But as with everything we encounter these days, the sensor does not work with all browsers (in this case, the old standby culprit: Microsoft’s Internet Explorer which historically, in my experience, has always included ubiquitous roadblocks to user-friendliness) so the web designer is left with a dilemma. What to do? While the intuitive sensor gives you the option to choose to reroute the visitor to a new page or just allow him to stay on the original Flash page if no detection is possible, this does not solve the problem. Everyone knows that Windows and Internet Explorer has been the predominant platform for most Internet use, despite Apple’s surge in popularity in recent years. But it seems that Google’s new Chrome browser has just overtaken that honor. That means that it probably makes sense to allow such visitors to stay on the original Flash page since they in all likelihood would have the Flash reader. After all, it was the Mac user which prompted this quandary, and only certain Macs at that. And supposedly the sensor would be able to detect Flash presence on a Mac operating system. To confirm this assumption, I researched further and found that Adobe’s Flash 10.1 is officially WP7 bound. This new update will be launched for all WP7 devices; this means that the entirety of the internet will be available on the browser for Microsoft’s latest mobile platform. The Google Android OS was the first to receive support for Flash 10.1 on the 2.2 Froyo version of the open source mobile platform. According to Adobe, the Flash player will also be adapted to other operating systems – except for Apple.”

Next hurdle, how to replicate the sophistication of Flash on an alternate page without Flash? After some investigation via a variety of Google searches, I learned that Apple is promoting an open source coding language called html5 for just such a problem. For me, that was not an option since I have not recently upgraded my operating system beyond Mac OS X 10.4.11 to the required level of advancement, 10.5.8. The other possible solution was to utilize javascript in some kind of slide show. There is one other solution as well but it is not terribly effective if you have large original Flash files. Should you have a small subtle effect created in Flash, you can choose to convert that file to an animated gif file which may be larger than the original Flash file but can still suffice as a replacement in this instance.

While these suggestions may be an acceptable interim strategy, I believe this conflict of interests is the beginning of a changing of the guard on the Internet as I notice that more and more websites are eliminating Flash from their files and are converting to use of html5 or javascript instead. By the same token, RedmondPie.com reports that a new entrepreneurial company is seizing this situation as a business opportunity with the release of a new product to receive Flash on iPhone: “… you can now get a very alpha version of Flash (aka Frash) to run right on your iPhone 4.” How many more innovators will soon follow this trend? I have already seen that the mobile phone market has been quick to jump into the fray with blatant marketing messages about their products’ warmhearted reception of Flash! Apple in the meantime has clarified its “hostile” stance by saying that its decision to restrict inclusion of the Adobe Flash Readers on its newest machines that still can receive Flash was made with concern that users receive the latest version of that software which they can get for free directly from Adobe. OK, that makes sense. But where is Apple going to draw the line? What is the plan for Adobe PDF technology? Will they be banning that too?

Although I was hoping to try to get another year out of my present operating system and dependent software, I think I have confronted a major reason why I need to upgrade soon, probably before the end of the tax year to get the benefit of these necessary business expenses. Unfortunately for me that will mean a possible expensive or cumbersome conversion to OS X 10.6.5, along with a need to also reinstall Parallels to simultaneously run Windows, which allows me to check how each browser and operating system is displaying my website creations. And as if that isn’t enough, doing such an upgrade will truly be the proverbial “opening a can of worms” because now I will need to upgrade all my other creative software, the least of which will include Quark 8.0 (which, by the way, now currently offers Flash creativity, a function I have until now been snubbing), Adobe CS5 Photoshop, Adobe CS5 Acrobat Professional, Adobe CS5 Illustrator, and Adobe CS5 Fireworks. Sorely missing from that list is my beloved Adobe CS5 Dreamweaver. Without being able to predict the future, who will prevail in the technology wars over open source vs. proprietary coding, or whether we all will eventually switch to smaller devices for Internet access, the question remains: To Flash or not to Flash?

The Business of Personal Training – Your Very Own Fitness Business

Time and again, I find myself talking with trainers who work for a gym, and are planning on “going independent”, or “taking their client’s private”.

Sounds great doesn’t it, but it’s always important to start with the end in mind, so I have to ask; Do you mean “make a little extra money and have a little more freedom” or do you mean “build a business from the ground up that can support the achievement of my life’s greatest ambitions”?

Obviously, there is a big difference between these two answers, and chances are you fall somewhere in the middle. But I want to encourage you to dream big and meditate on the possibility of achieving something much greater then “a little more money and freedom”. There are too many who need our help and too many societal and environmental factors that are working against them; we trainers need to start thinking big. Real big.

I am talking about complete freedom. I am talking about REAL money, not a little extra. I am talking about helping more people, in less time, with less physical effort and a little more mental effort.If you are really serious about pushing our industry forward and redefining what it means to be a trainer, 1-on-1 training is only the beginning. Now that’s what I am talking about!

So the question changes, from “When should I go private?” to “How do I build a Successful Fitness Business?” Remember, a better quality question will lead to a better quality answer. Always. If you can answer the latter question, you’ll already know when to go private, how to raise rates, how to define your ideal client and attract them, how to manage and grow your business etc…

Don’t fall into the “PRIVATE TRAINER TRAP”. For the love of god, please.

There are way too many trainers who are content to run around the city chasing money and burning them out doing 8+ sessions/day 6 days/week, instead of building a business, attracting money, and working smarter. There is a BIG DIFFERENCE, especially in the quality of life you will have.

If you can’t be completely healthy for your client, a living and breathing example of what a balanced lifestyle can achieve, well rested, focused, and in control, then what the hell is the point anyway?

Here are some of the basics you will need to address, so that you can hit the ground running with your business.

The alternative is to run all around town training at 5 different places, teaching classes here and there, with no exit strategy and no understanding that all that travel time and lack of direction cuts directly into your profit per hour and the growth of your business. At the same time, these “private trainers” are developing poor habits that will create more inertia that will need to be overcome when they finally decide to take the next step.

I am serious. If you are at least aware of all of the questions below and can honestly give a good answer to half of them, you are already ahead of the curve. So read on and don’t fall into the “PRIVATE TRAINER TRAP”.

Shift Perspective- There are two central tenets that should form the foundation of every decision you make in regards to your job as a personal training. Everything else is secondary.

#1) You own a training business.

If you just think of yourself as just a trainer, you are limiting yourself. How many times have you been at a party, introduced yourself as a trainer, and met with this response? “Oh, wow, really what exercise can I do to lose my stomach?” This person usually will not have the money or real desire to commit to a trainer, so they probably are not a great prospect for a “trainer”. But they probably are a great prospect for fitness entrepreneur who sells a $10 PDF titled “The biggest factor for a Flat Stomach” being sold on his website.

If you own a business, you can have multiple price points for various services, which means even the person at the party with the belly and the martini glass can be a “client”. Sell to everyone! That way, as a fitness entrepreneur, you can say “I have just the thing, go to my website and get this product” and be done with it, instead of wasting your time at a party explaining why cardio and diet is more important for having a toned stomach then any one exercise.

#2) Your clients are your product.

Cultivating a successful and empowered roster of clients is critical to attracting quality opportunities and the foundation of a solid business model. There are 3 major competencies- ways to grow your business, expand your sphere of influence, and make shit happen. Each has several sub-competencies. You don’t have to be a master at all of them, in fact, you should focus on what you are great at and enjoy, and outsource everything else. You should, at least, be aware of all of them so you can account for them one way (doing it yourself) or another (outsourcing to someone else).

A great exercise is to give yourself a grade from 1-10 for each of these competencies, a self-assesment based on how well your business model can account for each of these 18 sub-competencies. Grade yourself hard and layout a plan to emphasize strengths and address weaknesses!!!

#1) Business Skills

A) Branding – What is your brand? Who is your market? What niche do you fill? Who are the high quality clients that you want to attract? What kind of client to you enjoys the most? What distinguishes them? What are there goals?

B) Marketing -How will you penetrate your market and get leads? What relationships have you built with experts in complimentary industries? What is your web strategy? What PR/media contacts have you established?

C) Prospecting Skills – What is your elevator pitch? What is your 30 second commercial? Can you adapt and improvise your pitch to the individual prospects needs? What are your qualifying and disqualifying questions?

D) Sales Skills – Do you know how to uncover the emotional needs of your prospect and close every qualifying client? What other revenue streams have you created? Do you up sell, cross sell, or down sell your clients to other services? Do you have a network of health professionals you can work with as a team to achieve optimal health for your clients? How will you collect payment and keep track of packages?

E) Policy Development/Business Model – When are you going to incorporate?What is your referral system? How and when will you raise your rates? What is your self-investment strategy and educational path for creating more value for your clients? How many hours a week will you schedule to work ON your business? What is your budget and time commitment each month to continuing education? How will you organize your business into a automated system, so that it can run on its own? How will you keep track of client information, workouts, and programs? What sheets and/or software will you use?

F) Advisory Board – What other professionals and business owners are on your advisory board? Do you have an accountant, lawyer, business mentor, computer programmer, etc? How many people do you know that are successful, trustworthy, and willing to listen to your business ideas and give you valuable feedback?

#2) Interpersonal/Customer Service Skills

A) Personality/Compassion/Communication- How good are you at building strong relationships using these 3 qualities?

B) Leadership/Accountability/Education- How good are you at teaching your client new information that they will retain? Will they be more knowledgeable after they stop training with you? Do they consistently workout intelligently on their own? Do they follow your lead or take control of the relationship? Do you give them exercise Homework, and follow up with them to make sure they did it, so that you teach them to be self-accountable and empowered?

C) Motivational/Psychological Skills – How good are you at unlocking the motivation inside the client? Do you know how to utilize their psychological frame of reference and personality to ignite their drive?

D) Response Time/Attentiveness – How fast do you return phone calls and emails? How good are you at focusing your undivided attention on the client when you are with them? Are you always ready for the workout, with a workout already designed, and the gym floor set up to meet your needs?

E) Exercise Experience – How will you balance what the client needs with what the client wants? How do you use creativity to keep the client engaged, stimulated, and having fun?

#3) Exercise Knowledge-

You do not have to master all of these, but A, B, C, and D are essential. Obviously, this list is not exhaustive, but it is a great start. If you have no personal interest in something in particular, like nutrition, then don’t focus on it, just find a nutritionist to work with.

A) Exercise Mechanics and Bio Mechanics

B) Physiology

C) Anatomy

D) Program Design

E) Nutrition

F) Psychology

G) Energy Medicine

So are you ready to build a business much bigger then you or your clients, and make a real difference? Are you ready to attract money and opportunities?

Or are you going to choose to be just another “private trainer”, running around the city chasing money? Again, you don’t need to answer all of these questions before you get started, but you should keep them in mind and continually work on them, so that you don’t fall into the “PRIVATE TRAINER TRAP!”

If you can’t answer at least half of these questions, It may be more productive to continue working for someone else, while you develop an evolved business model, test different policies and referral systems, develop some media contacts etc etc. It may seem like you are ready, but look at these questions for an answer to how ready you are.

Don’t get excited by all the trainers out there charging $150 running around the city. Fight the urge to jump into the fray if you don’t feel confident about the answers to the preceding questions. I promise you, in 3 yrs, most of those trainer will still be charging $150, and/or will be burnt out and switching industry’s. When they look back they will say, “Yeah, training was fun, and it seemed like good money at the time, but man was it hard running around, I just could do it anymore”.

No one can keep that pace for long, but it is not the only way, it’s just the easiest way, the path of least resistance. We all know, what is easiest is rarely, if ever, what is best for us.

Be honest with yourself. Think bigger. Develop these different skill sets on someone else’s dime (in other words, stay at your gym and work on your business), so you don’t have to lose money when it is time to implement them in your business. Yes, no matter what, you will and should make mistakes. But jumping into the fray without a plan is not a recipe for success. I had to say something, I am getting tired of watching trainers sell themselves short and develop bad business habits that will limit their future. Do you know how to utilize their psychological frame of reference and personality to ignite their drive?

I had to say something, I am getting tired of watching trainers sell themselves short and develop bad business habits that will limit their future.

The Business and Government Leadership Rift – Jobs and Political Rhetoric Discussed

We keep hearing how the President Obama and the Democrats in Congress are going to provide jobs for Americans. They tell us that as we switch to alternative energy they will provide millions of jobs, but that is simply poppycock and nonsense. The reality is that wind power and solar combined is only 1% of our total usage, and they haven’t told you that it took 3-decades to get to that point. The leadership tells us how their stimulus and bailouts will help revive employment, that’s utter nonsense, and let me explain.

If you will recall the US Government had bailed out Wall Street to re-capitalize the banks and to unfreeze credit markets, but very few banks are lending to small businesses, the real job creators. You see, 80% of Americans are employed by small business not large US corporation. Still, the President continually has business round tables with big business not little ones. Worse, in one recent business and jobs meeting there were no CEOs there at all, actually no small business owners either. In fact, no one who’d ever had to make a payroll was there in the room at all.

Recall that the Obama Administration promised Americans healthcare, an entitlement and still claimed that we’d lower medical costs, insurance, and save Medicare. In my opinion that’s nuts, and I say; “what a bunch of malarkey indeed.” Health care costs continue to sky rocket, an emergency room visit with NO operation is $7500 for only 3-4 hours, most of that is usually spent waiting in line. Sure health care insurance can pick up the tab, but that means higher insurance for everyone.

President Obama’s solution; simple theaten Health Care Insurance companies that he’ll increase regulations and audits if they raise premiums? Catch-22 for them, but that can only work so long. A business that cannot raise prises as costs skyrocket cannot stay in business. Are we going to bail them out too? And with whose money may I ask? And if we go to a completely government run health care insurance plan, we already know what will happen; they will spend 45% in the administration of the bureaucracy before one dollar is spent on actual health care costs. That 45% is pretty much straight across the board in all government agencies, I am not making this up or throwing out numbers from my underpants here.

And when it comes to trade President Obama claims he is on top of things? “Oh really,” I ask? He claims he will increase our exports three-fold? Sure, our exports will increase three-fold as the global economy returns but our inflows of products will also increase, by more than increase 5-fold. That’s just slightly higher than they were prior to the Global economic meltdown. Thus, the trade deficits will be a nightmare, and job recovery is wishful thinking. The reality is that the Obama Administration [in my observation, opinion, and from my point-of-view] is a complete nightmare to free-enterprise and industry, and utter failure in creating jobs in my opinion [just look at all the charts]. Many who were unemployed and whose unemployment benefits ran out have stopped looking for jobs.

Why? Well, we either made them weak by giving them free fishes rather than teaching them to fish or, there just are not any jobs, they know it and reason that it is a waste of their time to try. Meanwhile, small businesses are not hiring to any large degree. Again why should they with all the uncertainty. Big Parma is the latest to take their production overseas to South Korea and China, and President Obama is going to re-sign the South Korea trade treaty, but why – it has always been lopsided and unbalanced trade. How does that help jobs in America?Am I overdoing it here? Am I too over the top with condemnation for the performance of the Obama Administration you ask? Certainly not, and it’s not just me who is stating this anymore, there are hundreds of articles in the mainstream media every day on this reality – it’s no secret.

You see, I’ve been carefully clipping various articles, real data, and putting it against those speeches and by the Obama Administration’s, Democrats in Congress, and reading the actual teleprompter scripts from President Obama himself. Turns out, hardly any of this political rhetoric is reality based, it’s just a lot of PR with very little viable leadership in my opinion. No you are not surprised, nor am I naive enough to believe anything will ever change regardless of who gets into office. Still, we all know that it’s not working, as we all have friends and/or neighbors, acquaintances who do not have jobs.

Our current leadership in my opinion is unfit to lead, and these speeches have run their course and are now ineffectual. You and I should not be fooled, and so, we aren’t; neither are most Americans, and the best thing the Obama Administration can do at this point is to get out of the way. Let’s help them do that, let’s vote them out of office along with all the Democrat Leadership in Congress. Please consider all this.

**Below I put together some reading material for you, so you know I am not blowing smoke and this is not purely a political hit piece. It’s just the way I see it, after reviewing the situation. Each of these articles contains bits and pieces to the puzzle and the truth, (I say pieces because we all realize we cannot believe everything in the news, just like we cannot believe everything our politicians tell us at the podium). I hope you will do your own research and consider what I am saying.

References:

LA Times; “Hiring at Small Businesses the Usual Engine of Growth, Sputters” [showing how things are not working as planned].
Editorial by Daniel Henninger in his weekly column Wonder Land; “Obama and the Spending Volcano” [a slamming article that cuts through Obama’s teleprompting rhetoric and eloquent speeches].
USA Today; “Doctors Limit New Medicare Patients; Surveys point to payment concerns” [shortages in health care getting worse, the opposite of what Obama intended].
USA Today; “New RN Grads Feel Squeeze for Jobs – Economy Hits Flow of Nurses in System” [showing how economy is hurting even the industries propped up by socialism and partially funded through our tax dollars, nothing is working].
WSJ; “President’s Jobs Push Shifts to Exports” [article shows it’s not working].
WSJ; “Politics, Personality Fuel Rift Between CEOs, Obama” [article explains the mistrust, uncertainty, and anger from the business community and low confidence of CEOs].
WSJ; “Unemployment Benefits Aren’t Stimulus” [a reality check on Obama-nomics].
Wall Street Journal; “Merck to Shut 16 Sites in Cost Move” July 9, 2010 [moving jobs to India for making the drugs].
Wall Street Journal; “New Detroit Rises in India’s South” July 8, 2010 [US Automakers, including those who were bailed out move manufacturing overseas not only to sell in those markets but to save costs].

Creating Presentations

When asked to give a presentation, consider using the four P’s of presentation steps to help you with your creation. The four P’s are: Plan, Prepare, Practice, and Perform. This article will address steps one and two, which are about planning and preparing the presentation.

1. During Plan, you will consider your audience and why you are giving the presentation along with what generally appeals to them and why they may want to know about your subject. You will determine with the person requesting the presentation how much time you will have and what type of visual aids may be relevant and usable at the location of final presentation. You can find some hints in the Briefing section of the book “R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizards’ Approach” that aids in development of planning questions to ask during this step such as:

When do I need to be there? Date of presentation with start/end times and location.
Who will be there? Description of primary audience and names of decision makers.
What will appeal to this audience and why do they want to know about this subject? Reason(s) presentation is necessary or relevant to this audience.
What types of supporting documents and audio/visuals are preferred by audience? Items such as projection or handouts that is preferred by or available with this audience.
How much of presentation time should be allowed for questions and answers at the end? Most presentations are followed by Q&A from audience to speaker and knowing the desired timeframe allows better time allotment of prepared speaking points.

2. Prepare your presentation by thinking about both the beginning and ending, and then add the detail in the middle that supports your strong start and end. Now that you know what to say and are aware of your visual aid limitation, think about how you can make the presentation memorable by developing any visuals that may accompany the presentation making sure their flow matches the presentation. When developing visuals, remember you don’t want people fumbling with handouts or noting spelling errors when they could be listening. When preparing, consider what the Presentation Plan form in the book “R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizards’ Approach” suggests as possible outline questions for a briefing presentation:

Why are we here? Reasons presentation is necessary or desirable at this time.
What have we done? History, work, or statistics related to purpose or presentation.
What do we plan to do? Possible future outcomes or actions as result of presentation or decision to be made based on presentation.
What have we learned? Summary of presentation or recommendations.
What have we to share? Stories, statistics, charts, or other data to prove points.
What do we need? Resources to facilitate presentation and discussion or to accomplish actions.

With the Plan and Prepare steps, you have learned to ask questions to help you develop speaking points and visuals aids. To understand the Practice and Perform steps, see article on “Delivering Presentations”.

Internet Marketing Running on Steroids!

Our goal is to build an Internet business second to none. Is that possible or maybe we need to work on new plans and get more focused if we’re going to bulk up like we’ve been hitting the steroid bottle or too many energy pills.

Anyway, as “they” say, there’s no free lunch and that does seem to be true at our house and I’m guessing yours too. Even with a few challenges we believe that GRATITUDE is our mainstay for living to enjoy the good life.

Internet Marketing and “possibilityTHINKING” go hand in hand. Nothing seems to offer the same or even a similar opportunity for us to build our own home business and turn it into a “cash cow” of huge returns. We like that option for you along with our entire mastermind team. I’m confident you agree and

we’re programed (focused) on making it happen.

Where’s the problem with this picture? Sometimes our family members or close friends bring out the negative board with NO way or impossible, you’ll never make any money so get yourself a job, right? J.O.B = “JustOverBroke” or you’re not smart enough, you don’t know how or worse, it’s a stupid idea.

Some will say that YOU need to get yourself settled into a big corporate position, big salary, perks and all the goodies, a retirement pension, nice car, insurance extraOrdinary. Maybe an NFL starting line position, right?

Unfortunately, times have changed across America, the entire world seems likewise, many former “grunt” jobs are long gone along with many executive positions most of us have known in the past.

A high percentage of the “workforce” today is living with parents well into their 20’s and 30’s for survival. Many starting jobs are low pay often found in the food industry, sales jobs on commission or large box stores packing and shipping to name just a few employers hiring in most areas.

All you have to do is look around your local environment, notice where most of your peers are working, others standing on the corner doing “nobody” knows what except it’s illegal, criminal or financially a poor choice in the marketplace.

Any of us can “paint” a bad picture or see things from the negative side but there are still opportunities available for the go-getter willing to start at the bottom and work up the ladder to prove their value to an employer.

I’m convinced there will always be new industries, new discoveries, inventions showing up as income possibilities for the dreamers and thinkers willing to believe in “possibilityTHINKING” along with a few trials and tribulations.

Sitting back on your hands will never get the fire started but those with some ambition and motivation are the ones with a “fire in the belly” worth our notice and a knowing that good will come and develop into a valuable asset in time.

Many people are turning to the Internet Marketing challenge, learning from those trainers and coaches with good tracks, integrity, honesty that remains intact for the discerning to validate, vet with due diligence prior to making a leap into the world of building your own home based business.