It Is Not Your Fault

You may feel that a whole lot has gone sideways in the past few years for boutique fitness businesses like yours.

COVID, closures, politics, natural disasters, inflation, war....

I find myself over and over again falling into the "rabbit hole" of watching the news, reading articles and scrolling social media soundbites. Maybe you do this, too. 

Do you know what I have noticed? 

Whatever the crisis is, it is always someone's fault. There's always someone or something to blame.

Do you know what else I have noticed?

Assigning blame does exactly nothing towards solving the problem.

The past two years have been SO HARD for boutique fitness owners. And just when things are starting to look up, there are world events whose impacts are guaranteed to trickle down to small businesses like yours.

Are you paying attention? These world events will eventually impact the time, attention and wallets of our clients. 

And if you feel like you once more have to deal with stuff in your business that is not your fault, you are 100% right.

But it is your problem to solve.

It can be lonely at the top, but as the leader of your business, you are the Chief Problem Solver. Congratulations. 😀

Several years ago, a studio owner friend of mine told me that she had done such a good job at systematizing, automating, and delegating the tasks at her studio that all she had left to do was the "yucky stuff." That made me sad for her, because even the "yucky stuff" doesn't need to surprise you...it can still be part of your planning process for your studio. And planning for the future should be fun! Responding to a crisis that you weren't prepared for is not fun at all.

I share a lot about deleting, delegating and automating so that you have free time in your business for self-care, vacations, and your own yoga practice. But when your business runs on auto-pilot because of the systems you have created, you also have time for high-level planning and problem solving that only you, as the leader of your business, can do.

In my work with studio owners, we talk about how to plan and prepare for the future, good and bad.

We craft pricing and retention strategies that allow for profits and savings, so that when the next struggle hits (and it will) they are prepared. 

If you are still waiting for "things to settle" or for a "new normal" to make big changes in your studio business, it is time to stop waiting and to take some BIG actions. It is time to DIG IN, clean up your systems, and create a different reality TODAY so that you studio is prepared for TOMORROW. 

When you make a decision to stop giving the blame game a voice and shift your focus to figuring out the next best steps and how to shore up your systems so that you have more control next time, your businesses begin to run much more smoothly, and your mind can be at ease when you inevitably head into the next storm.

Acknowledge that the struggle is not your fault, but it is your problem. Great leaders look for solutions.