Joe D.'s "SUCCESSFUL 6" (Business Rules for Dummies)

Business Discussion

It's kind of crazy to me that I've received more "Ask Joe" emails regarding business, as opposed to training, during this past month. I say it's "crazy" because the last thing I ever wanted to become was a "business man". But, as the saying goes - "shit happens" - and like it or not, I now have to be as much of a "business man" as I am a Performance Coach.  With that being said, I'm far from a business "expert", but I have learned a lot during the past decade.

[Hopefully I'm receiving so many business questions because more and more people are opening garage/warehouse-style gyms...this gives me hope that "we" (people who actually goto a gym to train and see results) will not let "them" (average, lazy people -- aka, Planet Fitness-types) take over our industry!!!]

The one thing I can say with 100% certainty is that my most valuable business lessons were learned "in the trenches", as opposed to what I read in books. (This is much like training knowledge.) Most business books are filled with "fluff" to make them look more comprehensive and thorough. And the bottom line is that if you're trying to start/run a successful business, you don't have a lot of "free" time to be reading 300+ page business books! So I thought I'd take my decade's worth of business experience - along with what I learned (or didn't learn) from reading 50+ business books - and sum up my most valuable lessons/advice with just six guaranteed rules! If you're looking to take the entrepreneurial plunge; read my following rules very carefully!

And by the way; YOU'RE WELCOME...I just saved you a couple thousand bucks - and hours - from buying/reading long and boring business books! Consider this the "Cliff Notes" version of the most valuable business "book" you can ever read :) Enjoy!  

RULE #1: SLEEP WHEN YOU'RE DEAD!

With all do respect to my good friend, Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-Hour Workweek -- I haven't worked less than 4 hours on any given day, let alone WEEK, since I started my business in 2002! Anyone who knows me knows that I eat, sleep and breathe my gym/business. A four, or even FORTY hour workweek for that matter, would get me one thing and one thing only -- unemployment!

Most business books I've read have chapters on the "keys to success" and "business longevity". These chapters will usually discuss the importance of things like "delegating", "freeing up your time" and finding "balance" in your life. While these things may be important aspects of growing a business; I can tell you first-hand that they are not the KEY(S) to success (especially during the first 5-10 years)! In order to have a successful business, the key is to put in an insane amount of hours and work your ass off! It's that simple. I've had the good fortune of developing relationships with some pretty successful people and I can tell you that the ONLY time they work 9:00-5:00 is during a HALF DAY...or during their vacation!

50 Cent made this quote regarding sleep; he said, "Sleep? Sleep is for those people who are broke. I don't sleep because I have an opportunity to make my dream a reality." It's this type of attitude/work ethic that has turned 50 Cent into a MEGA-SUCCESS (even outside of the rap game).

Lesson to be learned: When I was younger and I saw someone driving a nice car or wearing an expensive watch, I'd say things like, "Wow, must be nice", or, "What a lucky bastard." Now, whenever I see someone driving a nice car, or living in a beautiful home, I inquire about their "back story" and try to learn how they got started and what they did to get to where they are today. The common denomenator(s) with 99% of successful people - regardless of the industry they're in - is that they OUT-WORKED their competition, made insane sacrifices, took risks, and totally engrossed themselves in their craft. "Luck" usually had nothing to do with it! You may have to go days without sleep...you may have to go years without a vacation...hell, you may even forget to friggin' eat sometimes...but if you want to truly be successful, you're going to have to be uncomfortable long before you ever get comfortable! So next time you see a "lucky" businessman driving an expensive car; ask yourself what he did 10, 20 or even 30 years ago to get to where he is today. 

RULE #2: FU#K 'PLAN B'!

This is something I spoke about when I wrote my "Can't Rant" last year. Once again, I can't say this is sound business advice, but it's something I did - or I guess I should say, didn't do - when I started my business; so I feel compelled to share it with my readers.

I was so engrossed in starting my business, I never thought "what if" it didn't work out. Some may call this "stupidity" or "lack of planning" (and I wouldn't necessarily disagree), but it's what I did - even though I wasn't aware at the time. In hindsight, I think this played a big part in the early success of my business. FAILURE WAS NOT AN OPTION. I had no "Plan B", so I HAD to make my business work! Don't get me wrong, I went through tough times, occassionally doubted myself and I even suffered a mental breakdown during my first week in business (after going 48 hours without sleep). But, you'll be surprised at what you're capable of when you have nothing to "fall back on"!

RULE #3: DON'T HATE!

One thing I now know for sure is that if you're the type of person that's consumed with what other people are doing - as opposed to engrossing yourself in your own business/life - you will NEVER be successful. Period.

If you spend your days negatively commenting on internet forums or other people's youtube videos under a fake name; there's a pretty damn good chance you're not successful! I've also come to the conclusion that if you actually take the time to respond to your haters; this is a sign that you're not truly successful. Think about this: Have you ever seen people like Jay-Z, Donald Trump or Vince McMahon get in an "internet argument"?!?! All three of these successful people have had negative blogs and comments written about them on the internet, but you'll be hard-pressed to get a response from them! You wanna know why? Because they're too busy being successful to worry about what people are saying about them!!!!

Lesson to be learned: Nobody talks about "average" people! If people are "hatin'" on you, there's no need to get mad and there's definitely no need to respond! The only thing you should be doing is smiling...because if they're talking about you, that means you're doing something right!

RULE #4: TUNNEL VISION!

There is much truth to the phrase, "Jack of all trades; master of none." Learning a little bit about everything gets you nowhere! If you want to dramatically increase your chances of having a successful business, my advice is to be the best at ONE thing! Period. 

RULE #5: BE YOURSELF!

When I opened my "gym" (aka, storage closet), it was the "SAQ" (Speed, Agility, Quickness) Facilities that were the big trend in the performance training industry. SAQ facilities catered to young kids, played pop music and didn't dedicate much square-footage to the iron; but they were extremely profitable and marketable.

My passion  has always been strength training and an "old school" gym atmosphere (not fancy health clubs). So instead of following the "SAQ trend" that had proven success, I decided to start a business that fit my individual passion and personality. My personal taste just happened to be the anti-SAQ type of facility, but I really didn't care. I was never much of a follower anyway. And even though my "business model" wasn't as pretty or even close to as profitable (on paper) as SAQ facilities, something very interesting happened...

Athletes weren't just signing up for my program because of the incredible results we were getting; many athletes showed up just to see the "crazy back room" they had been hearing about from their friends! Basically, my "gym" was so unique and so different from every other place out there; many people just wanted to see what the hell this place was! There was a certain aura surrounding my "gym" that no other gym in the area had (because all the other gyms were similar to one another). My "gym" was so completely different than anything else that it developed a crazy buzz in the area -- "Was it really a storage closet?"... "Was it really only 500 square feet?"... "Do they really let kids bring their own music? "Were there really that many members of the NY Giants training in a small storage closet?"... 

You see, the pure "uniqueness" of my storage closet/gym got many people through my door during the early years. (We then obviously kept them in the door by showing them we knew what the hell we were doing and getting extaordinary results!) 

NOTE: I am NOT telling anyone to be different just for the sake of "being different"! But, we are all unique in our own way so no one should ever do something just because "everyone else is doing it". BE YOURSELF and good things will happen! 

RULE #6: FOLLOW YOUR PASSION!

One of my all-time favorite quotes is, "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." There is so much truth to this statement. Want to know how you become too busy to be looking for success? You do this by finding your passion in life...and make it your career! Trust me; if your hobby also happens to be your "job", you will rarely feel like you're "working" and eventually "success" will follow.

Lesson to be learned: Throughout high school and college, my sister constantly made fun of me (and rightfully so) for not working. I did have jobs here and there, but they usually didn't last long because I hated them! Truth be told; I often had nightmares about what the hell I was going to do after college and for the rest of my life because I dreaded going to work. The only thing I loved doing after school/class was playing football and/or working out. So after graduating college, I made "working out" my career...PROBLEM SOLVED!  

Hopefully my decade's worth of business lessons can help point some future gym owners/strength coaches in the right direction!

If you would like to share some business advice or have some feedback on this article, please share your thoughts in the comments section below!

-Joe D. 

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New Facility Virtual Tour & the 'Secret' to our Success REVEALED!

Business Discussion

As many of you probably already know, two months ago I moved my gym into a bigger, more badass facility! This move was a far cry from our humble beginnings in the storage closet!

Just in case there are people reading this who aren't familiar with the DeFranco's Gym "story", here's a quick timeline for you...

DeFranco's Gym: Through the years...

February 2003: "DeFranco's Gym" is founded...although my "gym" wasn't much of a "gym"...it was the back of my truck!

March 2003 - August 2005: "DeFranco's Gym" moves into a 500sq. ft. storage closet (literally) that was located downstairs from a health club.

September 2005 - June 2010: After being politely asked to leave the storage closet due to "obnoxious" music and a "conflict of interest" with some health club members, DeFranco's finally moves into its own 2500sq. ft. warehouse!

July 2010 - present: DeFranco's Gym moves next door (740/750 Braen Ave.) into a 5000sq. ft. warehouse!!!

At this time, I am very proud to present this virtual tour of our new facility! The sleepless nights, missed vacations and endless sacrifices have paid off! I think you'll see that we've come a long way since our humble beginnings...

Before I end this blog post, I wanted to post another video. I felt this video was very fitting to add to this post. You see, I get many business emails asking about how my gym continues to grow steadily and be successful in such a shitty economy, etc. People basically want to know the "secret" to our success. Well, you will not get better business advice than what you're about to hear in this video! The below video reveals THE secret to success...I couldn't have said it better myself...

Check this out.

"When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful!"

THAT, my friends, is the "secret" to success!

Here's to YOUR success,

-Joe D.

P.S. Don't forget...If you want to succeed, you're going to have to be willing to go without sleep! And when you're pulling an all-nighter and you need to be at your best, I highly recommend you EAT THIS!

Drop me a comment below and let me know what you think of our new facility!

9 Comments

4 Tips for the Aspiring Strength Coach

Business Discussion

Here is a quick, easy-to-read article that was just posted on EliteFTS.com. I thought it would be of interest to our readers who own - or aspire to own - a private training facility. Check out the article by clicking on the link below...

4 Tips for the Aspiring Strength Coach

-Joe D.

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Lost Secrets of Strength - THE BUSINESS FILES

Business Discussion

NEW PRODUCT!!!

Lost Secrets of Strength - THE BUSINESS FILES (dvd/cd)

Have you spent thousands of dollars and endless hours reading business books without ever getting a return on your investment?

How many hours do you usually spend reading before you find that one "gem" or sound piece of advice that actually pertains to you and your business?

Do you have the time to read separate books on marketing, public speaking, employee rights, business systems, motivating people and every single other aspect of owning and operating your own business?

Chances are - if you're like me - you can no longer waste valuable time reading books when there's no guarantee that any of the information in those books will actually pertain to you! After all, finding quality information that pertains to the warehouse/garage gym business is not exactly easy to do! Plus, you should be spending 90% of your valuable time in the trenches - training people - so you can gain experience...and pay your bills!

HELP HAS ARRIVED!

What if I told you - in order to learn the warehouse/garage gym business - the business section of your library no longer needs to look like this...

The books pictured above can now be replaced with THIS...

Here's the deal: A couple of months ago, my homeboy Zach Even-Esh and I gave a private, closed-door seminar to a small group of serious dudes that own - or aspire to own - a warehouse or garage gym. Here are two video "teasers" from the private seminar...

One week after the seminar, we got on the phone and covered all of the most popular business questions that have been emailed to us during the past year!

Lost Secrets of Strength - THE BUSINESS FILES contains the private seminar on dvd, as well as the audio CD from my phone conversation with Zach.

This 2-hour DVD and 55-minute audio CD reveals the blueprint that I followed to turn a vacant storage closet into a world-renowned, profitable training business! This one product will end up saving you thousands of dollars on business books and self-help seminars! EVERYTHING you need to know about owning and operating your very own warehouse or garage gym is revealed by two men that are living proof that it CAN BE DONE!  Here are just some of the topics that are covered in this DVD/CD set:

• How to get clients
• How to “sell yourself” without selling yourself (This will make sense in the CD.)
• Essential equipment recommendations to get started
• Facility square-footage recommendations
• How to capitalize on the clients you have to bring in more business
• How/why to get an LLC or Incorporated
• Trade-marking advice
• Joe D. reveals his “Bipolar” coaching & motivational methods!
• How to find quality employees/trainers
• How to structure your employee payroll and your client billing
• Joe D & Zach’s TOP BUSINESS RULES revealed!
• How to instantly double or triple traffic to your website/blog
• How to leverage the power of YouTube!
• Balancing your budget
• The most profitable way to structure your schedule
• How to double your income while working less hours
• Mistakes we made that you WON'T make
• How to "protect" yourself from "friends", copycats and haters that try to rip you off and cash in on your ideas and hard work
• How/when to launch your 1st product

…and much, much more!!!

This product was created for SERIOUS men and women who have a passion for training people and want to learn how to make a living doing what they love!

I only had 50 of these DVD/CD packages made because I realize that this product is NOT for everyone. But, if you want to know exactly what needs to be done in order to start a hardcore gym business - without wasting thousands of dollars and endless hours searching through random business books - THIS PRODUCT IS FOR YOU!!!

This product will go on sale Friday, December 18th, at approximately 9:00am EST.

You can order Lost Secrets of Strength - THE BUSINESS FILES by clicking HERE!

NOTE: For those that have been asking, we finally re-stocked our classic black tees! We currently have all sizes in stock and the good news is we've switched over to American Apparel brand! Anyone who has ever worn an American Apparel tee knows that they are the softest, best-fitting tees on the market! (The only bad news is that  American Apparel doesn't show any love to the big boys yet...so unfortunately, they don't make any 3X's). So if you're interested, GET 'EM WHILE THEY'RE HOT...AND IN STOCK!!!

In case I don't make it back on here for a few days, have a HEALTHY, HAPPY HOLIDAY!

You can expect BIG things from US in 2010... But the question is, can we expect big things from YOU?! I want to hear what all of our readers are going to do in 2010 to take their training and/or their business to the next level! Drop us a comment below so we know what we can expect out of everyone this year! Remember, if you're not moving forward, you're going backward! Just in case you're the type of person who needs a little extra "kick in the ass" to get motivated...check out THIS VIDEO LINK of Brian Cushing Mic'd Up against the Seahawks last week! If that video doesn't make you want to KICK ASS, nothing will!

GET STRONG(ER) in 2010!

-Joe D.

7 Comments