Entrepreneurship: Taking the Plunge

With the recession in full swing, major corporations showing huge losses, and people from all sectors losing their jobs, folks are looking for other ways to make a living. The idea of becoming your own boss and becoming an entrepreneur seems to cross peoples mind more often during trying times such as these. In fact, throughout history huge fortunes have been made in down-times.

Deciding to become an entrepreneur can be an overwhelming and exciting endeavor. When I bought my first business I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I thought passion for what I was doing would carry me through and I would figure out the rest on my own. WOW. Although passion is a crucial part, passion on its own won't put money in your pocket.

The first thing you need to be is smart enough to realize that you don't know anything and that your going to need help. The first thing I did when I came to that realization was to start reading. I read books on how to be successful in business. The first book I read was one that was recommended to me: E-Myth by Michael.E.Gerber, which radically changed the way I looked at business, how a business should be run, and that I was going to be out of business very soon if I didn't get a handle on things.

I went from a guy who hated reading to reading at least one book a month on my new profession of being an entrepreneur. So my first piece of advice would be to educate yourself before you do something stupid.

Surviving Renovations

Renovating your business can be a stressful affair. Unless you're a multinational corporation or have loads of money and are able to hand over the project to a firm that specializes in this sort of thing, chances are you're overseeing the project yourself.

We started renovating our training center a week ago and we were naive enough to believe that we would only have to close for a couple of days, when in reality we should have closed for two weeks. Fortunately, we had the foresight perform the the work during our slow season.

Our business is dependent on memberships so for every day that we were closed we added a day to our members membership; just because you're stressed out doesn't mean your clients have to be as well.

Choosing the right contractor is crucial--not only do you want to get the work done at a fair price but you want to make sure that they really know their craft. If you don't know anyone off-hand ask friends, family, other business associates, and if you can, try to see some of the their finished projects.

It's also important to note that a residential contractor is different from a commercial contractor, so know the difference. Check to see if you need any permits, make sure you get those in order, and get an estimate in writing. We were lucky that I went to school with my contractor, although my memories of Robert when we were in college consisted of him drinking himself into a stupor, putting a garbage can on his head and asking, "who turned out the lights?", but god bless him, he's a great contractor.

When trying to figure out how much this will cost you believe me, no matter how much you sit and rack your brain about all the possible expenses that will arise it's going to cost you more, so whatever number you come up with add a cushion of about 20%--and that doesn't include lost revenue from having to close down operations.

So when performing renovations a little planning and research will help you to sleep better while your business is undergoing a make over.

Think About It

I've owned my own training center for several years now along with my wife and my friend Eric. We do privates, semi-privates and group classes. My love for combat sports such as boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts has helped me create a business that uses my passion for these disciplines to help others achieve physical fitness, and have fun while doing it.

Most of my clients have no ambition to be professional fighters or pro athletes but were bored with their gyms, training regimes or just decided that they wanted to get in shape for the first time in their lives.

I've always believed that physical fitness should enhance your life and not take away from it. The reason I love using combative sports to get others in shape is that it not only works the body but forces you to think while training.

I don't focus solely on technique while training my clientele so as not to take away from the overall conditioning experience, people want to sweat, but at the end of a session people want to feel like they've learned something as well. If done correctly, they feel a double sense of accomplishment--not only are they working hard physically but they understand the mechanics of a left hook as well.

Your Date With a Personal Trainer Shouldn't Be a Blind One

When considering hiring a personal trainer the quantity of degrees and plaques he or she has on the wall isn't always a clear indication of the type of service that you're going to get. Of course you want someone that is qualified and knows what they are talking about but at the same time you want to find a trainer that is passionate in their approach to fitness.

A private trainers duty is to help you navigate through various exercise routines, help you achieve specific goals that you have set for yourself, and give you advice on nutrition. A trainer also has to be a great motivator, knowing when to push you and when to ease off.

If you're going to pay for private training you're going to need to have some sort of rapport with your trainer. Ask for a meet and greet--the last thing you want to do is spend good money only to realize that you don't even like your trainer.

For new clients I like to have them come to my training center and basically have a chat. Not only does this ensure that the potential client likes what I have to offer, but also ensures that I like and can help them as well. It's a two-way street. I don't want to waste their time and I don't want to waste my own time either.

You should never be charged for the meet and greet.

Drink Water Damn it!

So I was talking to one of our students, (who shall remain anonymous), and the student informed me that she doesn't drink water. Ever.

I couldn't believe what I heard: no water! Our body is made up of water. People-I can't stress how important it is to drink water.

If your urine is the colour of Jack Daniels, you're dehydrated. Your urine should be the colour of lemonade.

Whether you're going out for a heavy night of drinking, exercising, walking or whatever it is, your body needs water.

The first thing you should do when you get up every morning is "start re-hydrating yourself with at least 16 oz. of H2O". Bill Hartman of Men's Health also states that "German scientists recently found that doing this boosts metabolism by 24% for 90 minutes afterward, (a smaller amount had no effect.) What's more, previous studies determined that muscle cells grow faster when they're hydrated."

During your workout you should also sip water, the emphasis on sip as your body uses water much more efficiently this way.

So remember: sip water throughout the day, especially if you plan to train that day. The general rule is as least 3.5 liters of water during the course of a day.