Lessons Learned from the High Performance Summit
There was a period of my life where I took a lot of pride in trying to figure things out on my own. It’s like I thought there was a prize at the end if I didn’t ask for help. That meant being really frustrated and overworked trying to figure out solutions. Solutions that someone else already figured out.
All I had to do was find those people and learn from them. Luckily, it didn’t take me long to figure this out. Ever since, I’ve done whatever I can to accelerate my learning by surrounding myself with successful people.
The rapid learning and growth that comes from things like mastermind groups and coaching programs is insane. If you’ve never experienced it before I sure hope you get the chance to at some point.
Recently we hosted our first annual High Performance Business Summit with 22 of our highest level mastermind members. We brought 4 groups together to collaborate, share and connect.
The lessons were amazing. And while this isn’t a sales pitch for the mastermind program, I sure hope you entertain the idea of joining when you’re ready. Until then here are the top 10 lessons I learned from our members that I thought would be valuable to you…
1. Keep More of What You Make
Dean Carlson, owner of Get Fit New Hampshire and current High Performing Business Owner of the Year, shared a ton of valuable insights into managing the cash in your business.
Too many business owners are not taking home a profit in their business. They focus solely on selling more which often leads to spending more. They spin their wheels growing a business only to be stuck making the same amount they did when they started.
Dean shared a great plan for ensuring you set aside your profits first and manage your cash so that you can take home what you deserve from your business.
2. Gamify Your Business
Trevor Warnke, owner of Game Changing Performance, is a master of productivity. This guy moves at light speed!
His key to success was measuring his daily activity and trying to hit as close to a perfect score as possible. He had a system that gave a perfect score of 300 points. The benchmark for success was hitting 250 points in a day.
Assigning hourly points to tasks allowed him to focus on the highest level activities. Why use up time to do a 5 point per hour task when you have a few 30 point per hour tasks to complete?
If you choose not to create a system like this you can still gamify your productivity by tracking your most important priorities, limiting the number to get done in a day and then checking them off. I know for me I have 5 big activities each day on my priority tracker and the goal is to get at least 80% of them done that day.
This allows you to feel good with leaving the gym knowing you accomplished a lot that day.
3. Focus on Family
This theme was in several presentations but Adam Farrell, owner of Pinnacle Performance & Fitness, shared his journey and a few steps that he’s taking to build a strong family and a business.
The first step was saying no to things that aren’t important. Adam schedules time to spend with his kids and sometimes that means leaving early from the gym. Leaving early means not taking appointments or meetings.
Biggest lesson for me? Prioritization! What do my actions say about my priorities?
4. Be A Servant Leader
Jeff McDaniels, owner of FastFit, had a really interesting approach to training his team as his business grew. He told the story of how he started with just 5 clients in a park after leaving his corporate job. Building relationships with those 5 clients and truly caring about them was key to his growth.
Now he has a team of 5 trainers and those are his new clients. He has to build relationships with them. His role as the leader is to build them up and ensure they take care of his clients.
I’d never approached building a team this way and really loved the idea. If more business owners would train their staff like they trained their first 4-5 clients they would have a much better business.
5. Treat Your Staff Like Family
Johnny Fukumoto, owner of Fukumoto Fitness, has a very strong and unique culture in his business. It’s a result of his dedication to nurturing and creating that culture. He is committed to building strong relationships with his team and clients.
Like many businesses have a marketing plan, Johnny has a plan that he follows to build this community. From hosting team dinners to ensuring his team knows they are appreciated, he goes above and beyond.
While there aren’t many that can replicate the culture and community he’s fostered, you can take the principles of what he’s done to build it and start your own.
6. The Secret of Branding
William Savoy, owner of Savoy Fitness, has built a strong social media following through consistent branding of his business. There is purpose in everything he posts on social media, all the marketing materials he puts out and even the type of content he shares.
Branding is a long-term play for your business but has a ton of benefits. The keys to making it work are consistency and authenticity.
Simple things like using the same colors in your marketing materials, having an attractive logo that you can use on all marketing materials, and keeping your brand message consistent in your videos and pictures goes a long way.
7. Empower Your Team
You’ll constantly be trapped in your business if you don’t learn to empower your team for success. Pearla Phillips, owner of Fit Body Transformations, simply said “you have to let go.”
Many business owners often think they are the only ones that can do a job well in their business. So, even if they have hired someone to do the job they step in and get in the way.
However, if you take time to train your staff, empower them with the right tools to do the job and then allow them to do it they usually do really well. You have to let them make mistakes, and it’s your job to help them learn.
8. Stick to Your Strengths
Jared Markiewicz, owner of Functional Integrated Training, has built a great business. It’s also diverse in what it offers.
His message was simple though…
Stick to your strengths. He talked about his journey, and how he wants to create a program that is so much better than the competition that they can never catch up. Instead of continually adding more and more, he’s narrowing his focus and really trying to build up one specific program.
It’s easy to get caught up in adding more and doing what everyone else is doing. But often times the path to success lies in playing to your strengths and mastering them.
That could mean your business model or your skills as a business owner. What strengths do you have that you can harness instead of focusing on improving weaknesses that won’t provide the same return?
9. The Power of “US”
Anthony Dix, co-owner of Fitness Lying Down, delivered an incredibly powerful message. Maybe the most powerful of the weekend.
Too often business owners sacrifice relationships to make their business successful. But, there’s hope! Anthony shared a few tips to connect with your spouse, significant other and even your team.
Resolving conflict, understanding your reactions to conflict and being able to develop your relationships with conversation is a huge part of mastering the power of us.
10. What Does Your Business Support?
Vaughn Bethell, Fitness Revolution High Performance Mastermind Chairman, asked a really powerful question…
Do you have a lifestyle that supports your business? Or a business that supports your lifestyle?
It made everyone in the room stop and think. Are you always saying no to your family or friends so that you can run your business?
While you will likely never have a perfect work-life balance, it is critical that you make time for enjoying life, your family and your friends. I know I’m working hard to have a business that supports my lifestyle. I’ve had the other and don’t want to go back.
Wrap Up
There were dozens of other powerful lessons learned at the High Performance Business Summit. These were 10 that I thought would be valuable to you right now.
The most impactful outcome of the entire event wasn’t the lessons learned though…
It was from the relationships that were developed. The laughs that were shared during the meals and at the bar. The bonding that took place on our trip to Tonto Natural Bridge. The conversations that were shared sitting by the fire at night.
If I have one call to action for you it is to make sure that you take steps to get around great people that can help you not only accelerate your business growth but your personal growth as well.
Whether it’s a mastermind or a conference, commit to having an experience where you are given the opportunity to learn and grow this year.
