Play to Win
Are you playing to win?
I've seen way too many yoga studio owners struggle to grow because they are playing it safe. They are trying to solve a revenue and membership problem by offering deeply discounted memberships, over-paying staff members thinking that will get them to stay (or sell), or ditching their studio software to save $100 bucks or so each month. That is not the way to grow revenue, or memberships in the long run.
Look, I get it. COVID and now an impending recession have left many business owners a bit spooked, with a healthy dose of scarcity thinking sprinkled with fear. And the truth is, when we're scared, we often don't make great decisions. Our big, bold vision for ourselves and our businesses gets blurred with the day to day challenges we see as "in the way." We play small, and take the safe approach.
We don't play to win, we play not to lose.
The problem with this approach to business is that when we play not to lose, we may not lose, but we for sure won't win.
Let me tell you a story. Last week, my husband and I were on a cruise to celebrate our 30th anniversary. (I know, I can't believe I am that old, either.)
My husband enjoys the casino, I enjoy the spa. One night after dinner, we wandered into the ship's casino for some Blackjack. Hubby got chips for an amount of money that he was "willing" to lose. Hand after hand, I watched his stack of chips get smaller and smaller, and his bets got smaller and smaller, too, as the chips began to run out. The disappointment, frustration, and the sense of game over was palpable. It had been maybe 10 minutes.
And, here's the thing...the amount of money he put on the table was much less than we had already paid for spa experiences, excursions, and fancy dinners on the boat. But it can be so much harder to part with our money on things we can't touch, or feel, or eat, or experience, or that we can't immediately see the outcome. I'd bet it is the same for you.
When the chips were all gone, and my husband was ready to walk away...I leaned in and said, "Double down. Get more chips. And this time, play to win, don't play not to lose."
About an hour later, we walked away with winnings equal to 4 times the initial investment.
He thanked me for the attitude adjustment.
Are you playing to win?
I challenge to you take a good look at how you are leading your studio business, and ask yourself and your team, are you playing "to win" or playing to “not lose?"
You've likely invested 10s of thousands of dollars in your studio, and untold hours creating a safe space for transformation for your clients. Why are you clinging so tight to small investments of time or money that could help you grow?
If you are playing "not to lose" what you could do differently as a leader to "play to win?"
To be clear, I am not suggesting that you gamble with money you don't have, or that if you stay at the table long enough, so to speak, you end up winning the game. Not necessarily.
I am suggesting that you set your intention to play to win. I am suggesting that you must to be willing to make investments of time and money in your business, perhaps even on things you can't see...like coaching or training on your software, building systems that allow you to scale, a new website, a phone line. (Are you still getting studio calls on your cell phone? Stop.)
Stay the course, and reconnect with your mind-body practice if you have fallen off the wagon. Remember the power of intention...I know you teach this to your clients ALL THE TIME. Practice what you preach.
Set realistic goals for the upcoming quarter and then next year and chart a course to get there. If you don't take the time to set your membership, retention and financial goals for the next year you are definitely NOT in the "playing to win" camp.
Remember, the only people who get hurt on a roller coaster are the ones who jump off. Keep moving forward, and resist making decisions based on fear, or on playing it safe And here's the thing...a well thought out plan to close on a high note so that you can do something else, or to sell you studio, or to double your membership, all of these are valid, "play to win" decisions. Make them with facts, plans and confidence, not from a place of fear.
Don't play small. Make the biggest, boldest decisions you can for your business, right now.
You can't win by playing not to lose.