Strength Training Your Business

Doctors and Physical Therapists recommend weightlifting in addition to cardio as part of a healthy exercise plan. It builds muscle, strength and endurance.

Just like your body, your business needs muscle, strength and endurance. So, what should you do to physically train your business?

Be consistent

As any gym will tell you, people make their New Year’s Resolutions, join the gym and go all out for the first few weeks.

And then…

You start making excuses. You promise yourself that you’ll do better next week when you aren’t so busy. You lose motivation.

Businesses make their business plan at the end of the year. They list the things they want to accomplish. They put quarterly meetings into the calendar.

And then…

Things get busy. One missed deadline pushes everything back. Emergencies come up that must be dealt with immediately. They get off track. The quarterly meeting arrives and goals haven’t been met so they get pushed back. Again. Or worse, they scramble to meet the goals and do them badly or halfway.

For exercise to work, you have to commit to doing it multiple times each week and then do it.

Set up consistent processes to keep the company on track.

• Weekly meetings

It can be tempting to skip these when things are moving along. Don’t! A weekly check-in with the whole team, even for half an hour maintains accountability and momentum. It breaks tasks down into manageable, achievable bites.

• Regular one-on-one meetings between management and employees

Everyone is different. Everyone has a different work style, AND everyone needs to feel appreciated. One-on-one check-ins make employees feel like they are seen and appreciated as individuals. It builds personal responsibility and ownership.

• Create and follow Standard Operating Procedures

To exercise effectively, you have to maintain proper form. If you don’t, you can hurt yourself and your exercise won’t be as effective. If a company doesn’t have a set of standard Operating Procedures that are followed consistently, mistakes are made, sometimes costly ones. Small but important steps are missed because no one knows they need to be done. In addition, if one person leaves, other team members are left scrambling to cover their work.

Set smaller achievable goals as well as bigger long-term plans

You aren’t going to lose twenty pounds in the first week, and you aren’t going to be able to bench press your own weight. That isn’t realistic. Many people become discouraged when they begin exercising because they don’t see immediate results. Setting realistic goals will give you a sense of accomplishment and keep you motivated. Aim to do a few more reps per session. Congratulate yourself when you can pick up the next size barbel.

• Break the larger goals into manageable pieces

If your larger goal is ten new clients in a quarter, calculate how many prospects you need to contact each week. When you are consistently reaching that number, increase the goal.

• Congratulate yourself and the team when the small goals are met

Take time in the weekly meetings to check off the smaller goals and celebrate them.

• Break the goal into even smaller pieces if necessary

If you can’t meet your prospecting goal, ask yourself why. What do you need to do to find more prospects?

Challenge Yourself

As you exercise, what was first challenging becomes easy. You add more weight and more reps to keep challenging yourself to become stronger.

Your business should be growing consistently. That may mean ongoing research into new systems and processes. It may mean branching out into new areas or cutting away areas that aren’t producing. It means pushing past your comfort zone.

Hire a Business Advisor

For many people, a good personal trainer can make all the difference between reaching their fitness goals and giving up.

A business advisor is a trainer for your business. They keep you on track. They point out problems with your form. They work with you to set both short-term manageable achievements and long-term goals.

They can see your potential, even when you can’t articulate it, and they encourage you when you feel discouraged.

Like a good physical trainer, they keep you moving.

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Blue Sky Exit Planning offers business advisory services that can help you manage and build your business. Reach out for a free consultation today.