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Single location gyms aren’t considered companies by most people.
But with 5 coaches, 3 folks who keep the gym tidy and at least 2-3 welders and machinists who keep our little show running, it is a lot of moving parts.
And there is a culture to a gym. How it is run, how we stand out, how we value the hour, what kind of behaviour is acceptable (or not), how do we treat coaches and the space. So I do think gyms are a business. With culture, rules, norms, etiquette and lots of stuff to manage.
Plus over 300 active clients.
The coaching part of running a gym comes naturally. I can do that for hours a day and be a little tired but still love the job. Even if there was some fire-fighting, improvisation etc involved.
But managing people is not a natural talent for me. And I know some people who are naturally so good at delegating, being empathetic or just reading a colleague’s strengths and speaking to them in a way that helps them improve and stay motivated.
And the self awareness that I can’t do that does not make it easier or simpler to get better at those things. Which is frustrating.
With clients, I can understand if what I am saying is resonating or if they don’t enjoy working with me. Or do they just need me to get out of the way for them to do their thing. Sometimes people just need to do their thing. Even if you have value to add, you keep it to yourself. Or maybe they are just zoned out and need to keep it stupidly simple. I can pick up on those things quickly and do what is necessary.
With my colleagues, there’s feedback, there’s telling them why something makes sense from a business perspective or why body language matters, quality communication is important, why certain coaching choices make more sense or just how to make a client know that you care. I genuinely feel at a loss for words. And coaching can be a rather lone wolf endeavour. It’s you and the client. But managing people is the opposite. It’s the business of the gym, it’s you as a coach and it’s what the client needs the coach and gym to be for them. And as a manager (something I have a very hard time thinking of myself as), I need to help my coaches understand those things better.
Lots to learn!