“…For some, I realise, business is the all-out pursuit of profits, period, full stop, but for us business was no more about making money than being human is about making blood. Yes, the human body needs blood… But that day-to-day business of the human body isn’t our mission as human beings. It’s a basic process that enables our higher aims… We wanted, as all great businesses do, to create, to contribute, and we dared to say so aloud. When you make something, when you add some new thing or service to the lives of strangers, making them happier or healthier, or safer, or better, and when you do it all crisply and efficiently, smartly, the way everything should be done but so seldom is – you’re participating more fully in the whole grand human drama. More than simply alive, you’re helping others to live more fully, and if that’s business, all right, call me a businessman.”
This is one of my favourite quotes of all time. It’s from Phil Knight, the founder of Nike.
I relate to these words deeply, but why?
I think it’s because they speak to the coaches struggle; to my struggle; really to the struggle of any vocational, creative career.
The struggle being that most/all purpose and meaning lies within our doing of the do – our work, our creation, our connections, our service, our contribution – and less so in the selling of it.
But we mustn’t get it twisted – without clients, we can’t coach…or indeed live our lives.
We can be nightmares for complaining about a lack of business without having taken any actionable steps towards change.
We don’t need a fancy system, we don’t need to pay a business mentor, and we don’t need to spend a fortune on paid ads, we simply need to get stuck in.
As we’re in the business of relationships, conversation and stories, then it makes sense that “getting stuck in” = building trust through value created and given + conversations with potential clients + narrating the story – a lot, and consistently – leading to increased quality and efficiency over time.
Struggling with Sales? Get to work – take your first steps to get the blood flowing through the body of your business in order to create your magic.
If you’ve already completed your level 3 personal trainer course, and you’re looking to grow your personal training business, then be sure to check out our Personal Training business accelerator course, GROW.