Blue Ocean Strategy – personal training style

A red ocean personal trainer competes against the tens of thousands of personal trainers in the market for clients by doing free sessions, cutting prices, handing out brochures and trying to get a competitive edge over the next trainer.

Using a blue ocean strategy, with lessons from the must read book 'Blue Ocean Strategy', by W. Chan Kim and Renee’ Mauborgne, a personal training business focuses on making the competition irrelevant by creating a leap in value for buyers by opening up new and uncontested market space.

Consider what Vision are doing with weight loss and Curves open a store every 4 hours somewhere in the world. Their blue ocean strategy taps into the female clientele, 30 minute workouts and non threatening environment of their gyms.

In the red oceans, industry boundaries are defined and accepted, and the competitive rules of the game are known. Here, companies try to outperform their rivals to grab a greater share of existing demand. As the market space gets crowded, prospects for profits and growth are reduced. Products become commodities, and cutthroat competition turns the red ocean bloody.

Blue oceans in contrast, are defined by untapped market space, demanding creation and the opportunity for highly profitable growth. Most blue ocean businesses are created within a red ocean by expanding existing boundaries like Curves and Vision. Competition is irrelevant because the rules of the game are waiting to be set.

Create your Blue Ocean now.

helplessness

Martin Seligman changed the world of traditional thinking by proving the theory of helplessness. This is an important behaviour to understand if your in business. By containing three different dogs in three different boxes and studying their response to three different circumstances, Martin was able to prove his theory of helplessness.

Circumstance 1: the dog when probed with a light electric shock was able to turn off the shock by nudging the bar with his nose.
Circumstance 2: the dog when probed with a light electric shock was unable to turn off or change the circumstance no matter what he tried.
Circumstance 3: the dog when probed with a light electric shock was given a mixed version of circumstance 1 and 2.

After a few weeks of this 'therapy' all the dogs were put in a small box with sides that allowed the dog to jump out, when probed. Dogs 1 and 3 jumped out of the situation, whilst dog 2 simply gave up and laid down. Seligman had discovered that whenever the efforts to change results seem fruitless the expected behaviour will be to lay down and surrender.

This test was repeated using humans and the exact behaviour was confirmed. Helplessness according to Seligman, sits between pessimism and optimism. For a more detailed overview I suggest reading Seligman’s book titled 'Learned Optimism' for a more thorough overview and detailed explanation. Awesome read.

In striving to achieve business goals, when all around you seems hopeless and there looks like there is no way out you will feel like laying down and giving up. It will be emotion, passion, purpose and desire that drive you from despair. When you feel like you are getting zapped from all directions financially and personally in time consuming activities, it will be the change between the ears that will be the most significant. The lesson is in the journey and quite often we learn the most when we are in tough situations. A common observation of successful business owners is that of having your back against the wall and being in a position of having to fight your way out.

If you find yourself in this position you need to pull yourself up again and keep putting one foot in front of the other. Fight for your cause ethically, stay true to your values and know your on track. Ask yourself, what is the lesson? Then keep on trekking wiser for your journey.

the grass is always greener

There is a great story I heard some time ago told by a tour operator about a young entrepreneur’s decision to cash in on the diamond rush during the 1800’s. His decision somewhat sporadic was to travel the world looking for diamonds as he believed it would take him and his family from poor to be living like kings and queens. Without any research or knowledge or review of his techniques he spent a lifetime looking for diamonds. By the time the man was 50 he had become very angry, frustrated and annoyed with the world and was lonely as his family had left him while he pursued his mission. Diamonds can be found where white sand meets fresh water and sit 2 metres under the sand, tells the tour operator however our entrepreneur only discovered in his late 50’s that this river system was in his home-town. Only minutes from his backyard lay acres of diamonds.

In true 'fitnesspreneur-ship we all look to neighbouring suburbs, bordering towns or foreign countries to develop our big ideas. Immediate opportunity lies in our own backyard. In the people we know or those that know others. In the businesses and communities of our associates. Avoid spending hours of travel, efforts in strategy and moments of thoughts thinking that the grass is greener somewhere else. Create your own world from your own backyard and use this as the leverage to springboard to wherever you want to take you and your business.

so what's your problem?

Your future successes are determined by overcoming the problem that sits in your life right now. So what is it?

The problem I had recently was productivity and getting tasks completed. I had a mindset that I had to be in bed by 10pm each night and up around 6am. By changing my mindset and habits and by getting up earlier I found I had extra hours in the week that made me even more productive and I established a greater sense of achievement through the completion of these big tasks. Now I can work less.

Traditional thinking and coaching models tell us that you need to do your coaching face to face. In running a business with international clientele as well as having a young family this is simply not an option. By overcoming the problem we now have an online, ongoing coaching program that we can roll out to more people in more countries, more regularly.

But this isn’t about us, this is about you. So what’s your problem and how do you flip your existing problem to help you get to the next level of success. If you can, the world will open up more opportunity as you jump another hurdle and head in the direction of your goals. So what is your problem?

Does it lay in your personal life? A relationship issue, maybe a money mindset or is it a belief system about something in your business? What are you telling yourself that you can’t do?

More importantly, in going forward what do you need to do to move on? Will you take on the problem or keep repeating the existing cycle with the same result. Your future is in overcoming the problem.

Ivan Frangi - BBC07

Ivan Frangi - BBC07



To get excited for Business Bootcamp 2009, please have a listen to a segment of Business Bootcamp 2007!

anxiety

Ah anxiety; that nauseous, gut-wrenching feeling that starts in your stomach and plays with your mind. The result is quite often procrastination or a paralysis similar to a deer caught in the headlights of an approaching car on a dark night. Anxiety over time stops movement.

We are the only known species to have developed a frontal lobe as an extension to a normal part of our brain. In fact for 70 million years our brains developed similar to most species before growing what science has called the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe gives us an amazing ability to think forward and develop a business plan, to start a savings plan or to eat well now so that we will be healthier later in life.

If our current situation is great our future is even better thanks to our frontal lobe. However when we hit a rough patch we see future problems. This ability causes the emotions of fear and anxiousness. Because we don’t have control of the future and it looks ugly, our fight or flight mechanism kicks in and stops us from moving forward. What a cool process for survival!! Not so when your in a state of reflux caused by rising stomach acid as a result of anxiety. This is a sign to stop and review.

If you find you get a bit caught up in the future, as opposed to living in the present then there is every chance that you will be the anxious kind. Know that all you can do is your best possible effort today and then prepare for tomorrow. You cannot control future outcomes and if you get too caught up in the future, what will you enjoy about today? I read somewhere that life’s gold nuggets are our great past memories, you can look forward to a diamond like future but the platinum moment is the present.

In times when the financial future is painted as bleak, learn to enjoy the current moment, it’s all you have right now and it is not so bad.

i might wait until i am fit!

Have you ever had this response 'I might wait until I am fit'. A potential client who was thinking about using your services to get fit and healthy comes in and goes through the whole induction process only to decide 'I might wait until I am fit before I join your program'. As health professionals we know their results can be fast tracked by a personalised plan and professional input. So why go and get fit incorrectly and risk slipping back into old habits as opposed to working with someone who has a vested interest in your success and will provide the best advice? I have never been able to understand that thought process.

In our world as health and fitness professionals we may know it as the 'I might wait until I am fit' syndrome but be aware it is not only our clients who are prone to this kind of mindset, it is very standard for most humans to go through this phase in other areas of their life. As business owners we will wait for the next course before we increase our rate or next year until we see that corporate client or later to action that big idea. Well the sun, stars and moon very rarely align and you will need to take action. Action cures waiting.

It is a bit like that game you played as a child where you would spin around 10 times and then try to walk straight. Sometimes our lives are spinning so fast that we fail to walk directly and grab the opportunities available.

What are you waiting to get fit for? Is it more money, setting up your own facility, starting a speaking career, increasing your rates or how about your best year of revenue ever? Avoid waiting until you get fit and in borrowing a Bransonism (Sir Richard Bransons) 'Screw it, just do it!'

If you feel that you want to get 'Business fit' go to our website at www.ptplus.com.au for a range of free tools to help you get started. If you want to fast track your success contact our office on info@ptplus.com.au to discuss the best way to get started.