Chris Cooper discusses the motivations and challenges of gym owners, who often sacrifice higher-paying careers to pursue their passion despite low earnings. He argues that wealth creation is essential for personal and societal progress, emphasizing that wealth enables freedom, problem-solving, and opportunities for others. Cooper highlights the importance of entrepreneurship in driving economic growth and democracy, noting that wealth creation is necessary for job creation and tax generation. He advocates for building wealth to solve personal financial issues, compound wealth, create opportunities for others, and ultimately, to give back through philanthropy.

https://otter.ai/u/gI_vGIJuGHfXY77z5D1AzbS4MD0?view=transcript

• [ ] Develop the skill of making money.
• [ ] Aim to have a personal net worth of $20 million to be able to give away $1 million per year.

• Chris Cooper discusses the low earnings in the fitness industry, with average wages for trainers at $28,000 and gym owners at $42,000, unchanged in recent years.
• Despite the low pay, gym owners often leave lucrative careers in banking, teaching, or firefighting to pursue their mission-driven work.
• Gym owners are willing to sacrifice personal financial stability to help others improve their lives, even going hungry to keep their gyms running.
• Chris Cooper emphasizes that gym owners are less interested in becoming millionaires due to their mission-driven mindset and the challenges of their profession.

• Chris Cooper argues that wealth creation is essential for prosperity and peace, driving our way of life and democracy.
• He explains that entrepreneurship, not government or unions, creates jobs and wealth, which in turn support the economy and democratic processes.
• Cooper highlights the historical context of wealth creation, noting that even 100 years ago, many Americans were still struggling with poverty and poor working conditions.
• He stresses that wealth creation is a fundamental driver of human progress, allowing for improvements in healthcare, education, and other essential services.

• Chris Cooper defines wealth as the freedom of resources and time, not just money, and explains that true wealth involves balancing both.
• He shares that solving money problems is crucial for entrepreneurs, as financial struggles can follow them home and impact their personal lives.
• Cooper provides a personal example of how solving money problems allowed him and his wife to afford Christmas presents and other necessities.
• He emphasizes that wealth solves many problems in Western society, such as access to clean water and child brides, though some issues like boredom and addiction are more complex.

• Chris Cooper explains how wealth compounds over time, using his own experience of paying off a mortgage in seven years instead of 25.
• He describes the snowball effect of eliminating debt, where extra money saved from debt repayment is applied to other debts, creating more financial freedom.
• Cooper shares a story of buying a car with cash, highlighting the long-term benefits of wealth compounding.
• He discusses the importance of setting up opportunities for others, such as creating jobs and investing in the future.

• Chris Cooper argues that wealth creates opportunities for others, contrasting bureaucratic jobs with entrepreneurial jobs that add value to the economy.
• He shares an example of a successful equipment manufacturer in Ohio that creates jobs and opportunities for its employees and the local economy.
• Cooper highlights the importance of creating better jobs that pay well and allow employees to build wealth.
• He emphasizes that wealth creation is essential for creating sustainable opportunities for others, rather than just redistributing a fixed pie.

• Chris Cooper discusses how wealth creates carryover opportunities, where high earners use their wealth to support local businesses and create jobs.
• He explains that high earners often use their wealth to buy services like personal training, which in turn supports local businesses and creates more jobs.
• Cooper shares that wealth flows through the economy, benefiting various sectors and creating a ripple effect of opportunities.
• He emphasizes that wealth is transitory and must be passed on to others, ensuring that it continues to create opportunities and support the economy.

• Chris Cooper argues that making money is a skill that can be developed and is essential for solving personal and societal problems.
• He explains that many people lack the skill of making money, which is why they struggle despite having opportunities.
• Cooper provides examples of how people can develop entrepreneurial skills, such as driving for Uber or selling handmade products.
• He emphasizes that learning to make money is not a sin or a crime, but a necessary skill for creating wealth and supporting others.

• Chris Cooper discusses the importance of giving back and using wealth to support others, contrasting Mother Teresa's selfless work with Bill Gates' philanthropy.
• He argues that both types of contributions are valuable, with Mother Teresa providing direct care and Bill Gates funding solutions through his wealth.
• Cooper shares his personal goal of achieving a $20 million net worth to support charitable causes and help as many people as possible.
• He emphasizes that wealth creation allows individuals to make a significant impact by giving back and supporting others.

• Chris Cooper summarizes the four reasons to become wealthy: solving personal problems, solving future problems, solving others' problems, and solving societal problems.
• He argues that wealth creation is essential for personal and societal progress, and that it should not be seen as a negative or selfish pursuit.
• Cooper emphasizes that learning to make money is a valuable skill that can be used to help others and support the economy.
• He concludes by reiterating the importance of wealth creation for personal and societal well-being.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

why you want the hard times

Dave tate: business is a battle of attrition

what determines who lasts and who doesn't? the hard stuff

nobody wanted covid lockdowns, but when they reopened there was far less competition

Tadej Pogacar - I want the steepest, hardest climbs becuase they're the separator

when you ahve stafff quit - so do they

when your rent goes up - so does theirs

maybe not the same day, but over the 3-year span, everything that happens to you will happen to your competition

They might not survive it

You also don't have to create hardship by attacking them or running them down. They have enough. eVen if they don't show it, they're facing the same stuff you are. and many won't survive

also, you need the reps

you want to practice the hard stuff when the stakes are low

there are reasons things tget hard. one is they're new. one is they're personal. one is the stakes are high.

Break them apart. If the hardship you're going through is because you've never faced that problem before, get a mentor. Don't take advice from someone else who's never done it before.

If it's hard because it's personal, get an objective perspective. don't ask your mom or your bff or your husband. ask a mentor.

if it's hard because the stakes are high, you might need a different kind of mentor to help with perspective, but you still need a mentor

After the trouble is over, you have two jobs:

one - never repeat it

two - learn what you can from it. You've heard the term 'if I win, I win, if I lose, I learn' - or some variation. But most people don't actually learn becaues they don't pick apart the elsson. They keep repeating the same mistakes. so here's how you do an AAR

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

No matter what kind of service business you own, you must carefully consider their first 3 visits into your service. These first 3 interactions set you up for long-term client retention...or early washout.

Here's how to do it.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Last week I shared the story of the Smokejumpers, and the horrible tragedy that happened in Mann Gulch, Montana in 1949.

But as in all tragedies and all business setbacks, there's a lesson that we can learn and take from this. In this lesson, the foreman of the Smokejumpers--Wagg Dodge-- did something that seemed counterintuitive and didn't make sense to his team: he lit an escape fire. And this brave act ultimately saved his life, and it shares profound lessons for businesses facing their own kind of wildfires.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

In the annals of firefighting history, few events are as heartbreaking and instructive as the tragedy of the Smoke Jumpers in Mann Gulch. This group of elite wildland firefighters met their fate in a devastating fire in 1949, which claimed the lives of 13 brave souls. Their story is not only a poignant reminder of the hazards faced by firefighters but also serves as a metaphor for businesses navigating the treacherous landscapes of change and competition.

Smoke Jumpers are specially trained firefighters who parachute into remote areas to combat wildfires. They are the first line of defense against some of the most dangerous fires in rural and wilderness areas. On that fateful day in August 1949, a team of 15 Smoke Jumpers descended into Mann Gulch in Montana to fight a fire that had erupted in the area. What seemed like a routine operation soon turned into a nightmare as the wind shifted unexpectedly, causing the fire to engulf the gulch at a breakneck speed.

The tragedy was compounded by the terrain—a steep 70-degree slope that the firefighters had to climb to escape the rapidly advancing flames. Investigators later found that none of the fallen Smoke Jumpers had dropped their heavy gear; they perished with their packs intact, loaded with heavy saws, shovels, and poleaxes. It was speculated that had they discarded this burdensome equipment, some might have outrun the disaster.

This tragic event underscores a crucial lesson: the importance of agility and the ability to let go of unnecessary weight when facing an existential threat. For businesses, especially those that have been around for decades, this can be a metaphor for shedding institutional baggage to stay relevant and competitive.

Long-established companies often carry their own kind of heavy equipment in the form of outdated practices, legacy systems, and old ways of thinking that no longer serve their purpose. These can drag a company down, making it less nimble and unable to pivot quickly in response to market changes or technological advances. Like the Smoke Jumpers, companies might find themselves racing uphill against challenges that are exacerbated by the weight they carry.

The first step in avoiding this fate is recognizing what constitutes unnecessary weight. This could be an inefficient process that consumes valuable resources, a product line that no longer meets customer needs, or policies that stifle innovation rather than foster it. Once identified, the difficult but necessary task of letting go must commence. This might mean restructurings, like streamlining operations, investing in new technologies, or overhauling management practices to enhance decision-making speed and efficacy.

The lesson from Mann Gulch is clear: survival might depend on the ability to drop what’s heavy and run unencumbered towards safety. For businesses, this doesn’t just mean surviving but thriving—turning potential disasters into opportunities for growth and renewal.

By learning from the past and being willing to adapt, businesses can navigate the uncertainties of the future more effectively. Just as the landscape of wildland firefighting has evolved since the Mann Gulch fire, so too must businesses evolve by shedding the institutional baggage that can hold them back. It’s a vital strategy for staying ahead of the curve and ensuring long-term success in an ever-changing world.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Chris Cooper emphasizes the importance of dedicating an hour each day to growing one's business, citing the benefits of uninterrupted time for focus and consistency in practicing the 'golden hour.' He advises listeners to prioritize their mentor's tasks during this hour and highlights the ease of entering a state of focus with consistent practice.

• [ ] Block out a daily one hour "golden hour" time on your calendar to work on your business
• [ ] Visit Chris Cooper's website (businessesgood.com) and utilize the daily directives and resources provided
• [ ] Track your daily progress such as words written
• [ ] Spend 5 minutes each evening reflecting on your day's successes

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Today on the podcast, Business Mentor Ashley Haun shares the importance of rest for entrepreneurs, highlighting three types of rest: physical, emotional, and mental.

She shares personal experiences of feeling exhausted after a 72-hour race and the need for emotional rest to avoid burnout. Haun encouraged entrepreneurs to prioritize rest to make better decisions, see things from a different perspective, and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

• Tips for entrepreneurs to prioritize physical, emotional, and mental rest to avoid brain fog and improve decision-making.
• Personal experience with the benefits of emotional rest in decision-making.
• Tips on how entrepreneurs can mentally rest and reset, emphasizing the importance of alone time and relaxation.
• Haun encourages entrepreneurs to prioritize rest and self-care to avoid burnout and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Want more from Ashley? Read her blog and listen to her podcast here.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Episode Summary:

In this episode, we’re talking about how business owners—especially gym owners—often make the mistake of overcomplicating their businesses. It’s easy to add unnecessary options, details, and management layers, but that can slow down growth, create confusion, and reduce profit. Many of us became entrepreneurs to flex our creative muscles, but there’s a point where experimentation becomes a barrier to success. We’ll dive into why simplifying back to a minimum viable product (MVP) is essential for increasing profitability and reducing stress.

Key Takeaways:

• How business owners complicate their businesses by adding unnecessary features.
• The importance of going back to a minimum viable product (MVP).
• Why every product you sell should be easy to explain and fulfill with minimal resources.
• How complexity takes you further away from product-market fit.
• Practical steps to simplify your business.

Episode Outline:

1. Introduction

• Today’s topic: How overcomplicating your business is costing you time, money, and stress.
• Entrepreneurs often treat their business as a creative outlet, adding options or details that hurt growth.
• We’ll talk about how to get back to your core product and maximize profit by simplifying.

1. Story 1: Back to Basics – Creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

• A gym owner struggled with offering too many services, confusing clients.
• Solution: They stripped the business down to focus on 1:1 personal training, which was the highest-margin service.
• Result: Simplifying increased their revenue per client and reduced operational headaches.

1. Problem: Complexity Hurts Product-Market Fit

• Adding more services, features, or options may feel creative, but it confuses buyers and slows purchasing decisions.
• Imagine you’re starting from scratch—what is the one product that solves a clear problem?
• Your core offer should be easy to sell, easy to explain, and require minimal resources to deliver.

1. Story 2: Unnecessary Features

• Example of a business owner who kept adding services and packages, hoping to appeal to more clients.
• The result: More complexity, slower sales, and clients were unsure of what to choose.
• Lesson: Simplifying the offering brought more clarity and increased client retention.

1. Avoiding Unnecessary Management Layers

• Many owners add managerial staff too early because they think it’s a sign of growth.
• This adds extra work for the owner (training, managing) and cuts into profit.
• Story 3: A gym owner added a layer of middle management that created bottlenecks and made decisions slower, instead of solving problems.
• The result: They ended up with more tasks on their plate and less profitability. Once they scaled back, their business ran smoother and profits increased.

1. Practical Exercise: Designing Your MVP

• Take a step back and imagine you’re building your business from scratch.
• Ask yourself: What would the minimum viable product look like?
• It should solve one clear problem, be easy to explain, and maximize profitability without adding complexity.
• Tips on how to focus on the core offering, eliminate unnecessary layers, and create a more streamlined operation.

1. Closing Thoughts

• Complexity kills growth. Simplify your business down to what really matters: solving your clients’ problems.
• Reminder: The goal is to focus on what drives the most profit with the least stress.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

• Limiting growth by trying to do too many things. 0:01
• Chris Cooper highlights the common mistake of trying to do too many things at once, leading to watered-down core services and distraction from the main business.
• Limiting growth by building multiple, mediocre businesses instead of focusing on one great business, resulting in more stress and less money.
• Chris Cooper shares his struggles with juggling multiple projects and the importance of focusing on one thing at a time.
• He reveals that he has a tendency to jump on opportunities quickly due to fear of missing out, rather than trusting himself to remember good ideas.
• Prioritizing business growth and avoiding distractions. 4:28
• Chris Cooper shares tips on avoiding distractions and focusing on one thing at a time.
• He emphasizes the importance of finding a partner to help with various ventures.
• Chris Cooper emphasizes the importance of having a supportive team that keeps the CEO focused on building one excellent product instead of multiple mediocre ones.
• Chris warns against trying to build multiple $10 million companies at once, as it can lead to lack of momentum and compounding benefits.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Motivation is not about fear or money. True motivation comes from those 3.

Autonomy, mastery and purpose - dan pink

Autonomy:

the 4 Ts: their task, their time, their technique and their team

Freedom and responsibility within a framework

Mastery

You don’t get motivated and then start winning. You start winning and then get motivated.

Counting tiny wins - gap and the gain

Habit stacking becomes win-stacking. At first, the work is the win.

Purpose

A Noble Purpose: The Foundation for Happiness

Many people will say they “had a bad day at work” but also “love their job.”

If your vocation serves a noble purpose, some short-term setbacks or stress won’t derail your happiness for long.

For example, when I’m working with gym owners who are going through a hard time, I tend to carry a lot of their burdens personally. I lose sleep when they’re going through a rate increase. I comb their social media nonstop when they fire a coach. I wouldn’t describe these days as “happy” ones, because I care a lot about my clients.

But I also benefit from having a strong sense of purpose: I know, from vast experience, that they’re doing the right thing in the long term. And if I can get them through hard action, they’ll eventually become far happier. Their families will benefit. Their staffs will benefit. And their clients will benefit most of all. That’s why being a mentor makes me happy.

How do you know if your job or vocation fulfills a noble purpose? When you’d do it for free. I would do this job for free—hell, I have. You probably would do your job for free, too.

When owning a gym was my only job, I daydreamed many times: “If someone would just come along and pay me a salary, they could have the gym and I’d be happy.” I just wanted enough to survive and keep going. The job made me happy. Unfortunately, the necessities of ownership soon began to outweigh the happiness I received from coaching. Until I fixed the business, coaching made me unhappy.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

• Identifying ideal clients and product market fit. 0:01
• Chris Cooper identifies the challenge of identifying ideal clients and explains the importance of product market fit for business growth.
• He observes that businesses have a small group of loyal long-term clients and a larger group of newer clients with a higher churn rate, highlighting the need to serve the former for optimal growth.
• Identifying and retaining ideal clients in a business. 2:30
• Chris Cooper emphasizes the importance of identifying and retaining the right clients for a sustainable business, rather than constantly bringing in new ones who may not have a long-term fit.
• Product market fit is achieved when clients get the results they want and can afford the service, while bad fit occurs when clients are working towards a goal that they don't care about.
• Identify best clients by ranking top 10 clients by payment amount and happiness level.
• Seed clients are those who appear on both lists, they are the best clients who get the most value from your service and make you happy to work with.
• Understanding ideal clients through interviews. 6:22
• Chris Cooper advises business owners to ask potential clients about their needs and preferences to better serve them.
• Identifying ideal clients and tailoring a business to meet their needs. 7:53
• Chris Cooper realized he wasn't his own ideal client when a personal training client quit due to not fitting in with other clients in his gym.
• To find good product market fit, Chris recommends identifying best clients through exercise and surveying only those clients, then identifying common traits among them to create avatars for marketing.
• Chris tailors gym service to high-paying client after epiphany.
• Finding product market fit and growing a business. 11:34
• Find product market fit by iterating and upgrading services based on client feedback, rather than appealing to a broad and vague market.
• Focus on best clients, product market fit, and speed to reach goals.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

• Why businesses should fire underperforming staff quickly. 0:03
• Chris argues that it's best to fire people quickly, rather than psychoanalyzing their personal problems or taking on their troubles, and explains why this approach is best for everyone involved.
• The impact of bad team members on business success. 2:15
• Chris Cooper emphasizes the importance of removing bad staff members to boost morale and productivity, citing examples of how a single negative team member can demotivate the rest of the team.
• Staff members look to the leader for guidance and action, hoping to elevate their performance by removing the weakest link.
• The importance of hiring and retaining top talent in business. 4:46
• Chris Cooper reflects on instances where an "almost perfect" person left a job, creating an opportunity for a "perfect fit" candidate to step in.
• Chris Cooper highlights the negative impact of keeping a lower quality staff member on a business, including harming current staff, restricting future better staff, and losing client trust.
• Clients often hold back negative feedback due to fear of conflict, leading to unaddressed problems only surfacing after the staff member has left or been removed.
• Removing bad staff members for business success. 7:54
• Chris Cooper emphasizes the importance of removing bad staff members quickly to avoid torturing both the staff and oneself.
• Firing employees for the benefit of the business. 9:32
• Chris Cooper emphasizes the importance of not keeping employees who can't be seen working for the company in a year.
• Chris Cooper advises on how to handle a difficult staff member: be direct, be clear, and give them a push off your dock to start their next journey.
• Chris emphasizes the importance of asking oneself if they are willing to make the best people in their life sad, angry, or frustrated, rather than holding onto a bad staff member.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

There are two types of marketing. Brand Marketing is your long term play. Direct Marketing is your short term play. In this two part podcast series, I'll walk you through what each means as succinctly as possible. I'll tell you the opportunities and challenges with both. And I'll tell you what you can do today to grow your business using both brand and direct marketing.

Key points covered in the episode include:

• The distinction between brand marketing (focusing on reputation and awareness) and direct marketing (aiming for immediate sales).
• The challenges of measuring the success of brand marketing and the importance of affinity in building a strong brand.
• Real-world examples, including a gym owner's experience, to illustrate the consequences of neglecting affinity in marketing efforts.
• Strategies for effective brand marketing, such as content publication and maintaining a positive reputation to foster customer loyalty.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

In a perfect world, a business goes through four phases:

Ideation - you craft your original idea, test and tweak it until you have good product-market fit.

Income - you build your business to give you a good predictable income.

Investment - you build your team to give you time freedom. And you build your wealth to give you financial freedom.

Impact - you build your community.

Good businesses are focused on eventually making an impact, but don't try to skip steps to get there. In today's episode, I'll tell you how to focus on one step at a time, get through each phase quickly and maximize each one!

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Years ago, I thought about making my gym a co-op. I told myself I wanted to give 'ownership' to the clients and let them guide the future...but really, I was trying to avoid responsibility.

In this episode of Business Is Good, I discuss the common - but sometimes unconscious - desire for the owner to say "It's not my fault!"

It's up to you to make the decisions and bear the consequences: you get the upside, if you make good decisions. And you also bear the downside, if you make bad ones.

It's this risk that separates the owner from everybody else.

But if you share decision making, and you build committees in your company, what you wind up with is a bureaucracy.

• 
  
• Sharing responsibility in a business co-op.0:02
• Chris Cooper learns to embrace business responsibility as owner.

• The drawbacks of bureaucracy in business.1:44

• Bureaucracies prioritize employing people over solving problems or serving needs, unlike businesses that exist to solve problems or meet needs.

• Decision-making and leadership.2:55

• Chris Cooper emphasizes the importance of making decisions and taking responsibility, even if not everyone agrees.

• He shares an example of a trust-building moment with his daughter's birth, where the doctor took quick action without worrying about his feelings.

• Effective decision-making and communication in crisis situations.5:07

• In a crisis, prioritize decision-making and communication over bedside manner.

• Decision-making and leadership in business.6:38

• Chris Cooper emphasizes the importance of making tough decisions and standing by them, even if it means going against staff members' opinions.

• Chris Cooper emphasizes the importance of decision-making in business, arguing that owners must take responsibility and make decisions to succeed.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

This week, we're going to build entrepreneurial resilience: the ability to just keep going when things go wrong.

Listen to this episode, and then visit the Daily Directives section at BusinessIsGood.com to complete daily exercises for resilience all week.

I'm Chris Cooper, and today I'm discussing strategies for overcoming adversity in business. Setbacks are inevitable, but they can be managed by spreading them out over time and making them less impactful. I've found that taking a long-term view, recognizing small wins, and maintaining a practice mindset can prepare us for future challenges. It's also crucial to evolve and improve with clients, staff, or products, and to view departures as opportunities for growth. Every challenge is a stepping stone to greater opportunities, so it's essential to stay resilient and see setbacks as part of the journey.

Understanding Adversity in Entrepreneurship

I kick off the podcast by emphasizing the importance of learning from mistakes and sharing those lessons with other entrepreneurs. I introduce the concept of "$13 days," those times when progress feels like a step backward. This is a normal part of the entrepreneurial journey. The goal is to spread out these backward steps over time, making them smaller and less catastrophic. I share a personal anecdote about my mentor asking me about the last significant setback, which highlights the importance of perspective.

The Long View and Bright Spots

I advise taking a long-term view. Look back at past rough weeks, and you'll see that they happen less frequently and with less impact over time. I introduce "Bright Spots Fridays," where we reflect on our achievements to train our minds to focus on positive outcomes. Recognizing and celebrating small wins helps us stay resilient and better handle adversity. The purpose of Bright Spots Fridays isn't to brag; it's to acknowledge and learn from our successes.

Practice and Preparation for Future Challenges

Every challenge is practice for a bigger but similar challenge in the future. Each setback is a learning opportunity. I use the example of a staff member quitting as a rehearsal for handling more significant departures down the line. By preparing processes to prevent similar issues, we become better equipped to handle adversity with less impact. This cycle of audit and improvement is crucial for continuous growth and resilience.

Client Relationships and Successful Exits

I talk about the natural end date for client relationships and how important it is to view client departures as a success rather than a failure. I share my criteria for a successful client exit, like the client continuing their fitness habit or achieving significant life changes. By focusing on the positive outcomes of client departures, we can feel more confident and prepared for future changes. This concept extends to our staff, products, and services, underscoring the importance of continuous improvement and evolution.

Creating Opportunities Through Adversity

I suggest seeing every challenge as an opportunity to create a seat at the table for something better. I share Emerson's quote, "Heartily no, when demigods go, the gods arrive," to illustrate how removing one challenge opens up space for a greater opportunity. Examples include replacing a damaged company car with a better one or using a staff departure to attract a more suitable candidate. I emphasize the importance of a linear approach to growth, where overcoming one challenge paves the way for the next opportunity.

Top Tips for Working Through Adversity

To sum up, here are my top tips for working through adversity: take the long-term view, maintain a practice mindset, recognize that nothing lasts forever, and see challenges as opportunities. Count your wins, prepare for future challenges, and evolve with your business. Remember, setbacks are part of the journey. Stay resilient by focusing on the positive outcomes.

I invite you to join the private Facebook group for entrepreneurs for additional support and discussion. Let's continue this conversation and work through these challenges together.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Many entrepreneurs will tell others they "have ADD" or have a "slight case of attention-deficit disorder".

But most don't: they're just scattered. They're trying to multitask instead of focusing. They're unclear on what to do next in their business. They love starting things, but not finishing; they're usually juggling a dozen things in their head at once; their workday is incredibly long, but they rarely finish everything.

I first took the ADD short-form test in 2011 and wrote about it on my IgniteGym blog at the time. I should note that ADD is an outdated term for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: they're the same thing.

However, ADHD isn't always a downside for entrepreneurs.

“ADD people are high-energy and incredibly good brainstormers. They will often happily work 12 to 15 hours by choice. The business community should not fear ADD. Instead, they should see that they have a potential gold mine here.” 

– Dr. Kathleen Nadeau, a psychologist who is ADD herself (from an ABC News Report)

People with ADD are excellent at seeing a situation from all sides, says Dr. John Ratey. Emergency-room doctors, nurses, entrepreneurs….the ability to approach an obstacle from ten different ways is of enormous value.  Likewise, the ability to imagine oneself in the shoes of others – to empathize – has helped me be more empathetic than others.

And as Leighton Bingham shares on today's podcast, people with ADHD are actually capable of VERY deep focused work.

Is my truck untidy? Heck, yeah. Can I tell you the phone number of a client from five years ago? Yes. Do I send emails, and then think of another detail, and send a second one…a few seconds apart? All the time.

Do I actually have ADHD? I doubt it. I just lose focus if I'm not disciplined with my attention.

However, even this low-level of distraction sometimes pays off: I’m able to generate ideas rapidly. I can ‘see’ shapes while I’m listening to music, and that helps me appreciate it more. I can switch rapidly between creative and academic tasks, like math. I can incorporate successful ideas from other industries into ours.  And I can write for 5 blogs in the same hour.

Instead of ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ I’d love to see the education system appreciate the gifts bestowed by ADHD. Frankly, in a business environment that’s fracturing our attention more and more, entrepreneurs need to be able to balance focus with mental dexterity.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Taryn is an experienced business mentor, and she's worked with a lot of small businesses.

Based in Yorkton, SK, Taryn started a gym to pursue her CrossFit passion. Like many of us, she quickly realized that her job skills didn't translate into ownership skills. She sought a mentor and turned her gym around.

But during that process, she began sharing her lessons with other entrepreneurs (as I did.) That unlocked a new passion for coaching small businesses to help them avoid the mistakes she made...and scale up faster.

Taryn's in a unique position: she's a popular mentor in my mentorship practice for gyms, AND she's successfully opened her own practice to help other types of businesses. Many have tried to do it, but Taryn is successful. In this episode, you'll see why.

Links:

perfectdaybusinessmentorship.com

Taryn's Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/theceoclubhouse or https://www.theceoclubhouse.com 

IG: @perfectdaybizmentorship

TikTok: @perfectdaybizmentorship

YT: youtube.com/perfectdaybizmentorship

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

In a lecture to Entrepreneurship students at a local university this month, I shared a simple business plan that you can use in a week to launch a business, and continue to use for years.

In this podcast, I walk through the model step by step, with examples you can use for different businesses. It's never too soon to start a business...and it's never too late!

To see the full model, click here:

https://businessisgood.com/the-simplest-business-plan-for-2024/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Starting your own company often means wearing many hats and mastering a wide array of skills. When I founded my first business, a gym, I had to be adept at various tasks from entering daily sales to ensuring a clean and welcoming environment for my clients. While I considered myself an A-level trainer, my skills in other areas, like bookkeeping and cleaning, were decidedly less polished. I quickly learned that entrepreneurship demands generalist abilities—you can’t just be an expert at your service, whether it's personal training, hair styling, or driving a cab; you need to have a competent understanding of all aspects of the business.

However, as the business expands and staff are brought on board, a shift occurs. You're no longer looking for jack-of-all-trades. Instead, you seek out specialists—individuals who excel in a singular field. This is evident in any large company, where specialists are often employed by generalists. The key is understanding when to bring in these specialists to fill roles you are less adept at handling.

Consider the wisdom of John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach, who knew how to position his players to their strengths. Unlike most coaches, Wooden didn’t force his players to become proficient in every aspect of the game. He observed where each player excelled and then designed plays to optimize their strengths, significantly increasing their success rate. His strategy illustrates an essential leadership principle: put people where they can succeed the most, rather than trying to make them good at everything.

As a gym owner, I juggled multiple responsibilities—crossfit coach, client success manager, cleaner, nutrition coach, among others. But as Michael Gerber explains in his book, "The E-Myth," good leaders excel at assigning the right people to the right roles. For instance, hiring an account manager requires someone with a keen eye for detail, a strong handle on bookkeeping and math, and a diplomatic touch—not necessarily someone who's an excellent crossfit coach.

Growing a business means recognizing you shouldn't be the best at everything. My own experience led me to hire an account manager and a client success manager who were better suited to those roles than I was, freeing me up to focus on other areas. This concept holds true in any small business—aim to fill specific, narrowly defined roles with people who excel in those areas, rather than looking for a "unicorn" who can do it all.

We live in a gig economy where it's feasible to find and hire specialists for particular tasks. As a business owner, your role evolves from doing to connecting—finding the right people and creating systems that enable them to collaborate effectively. Placing staff in roles where they can't succeed is detrimental to morale, retention, job completion, and overall culture. A misguided approach, like expecting everyone to share cleaning duties or to participate in round-robin sales, can backfire by reducing productivity and damaging morale.

To conclude, it's imperative to understand your role as a generalist and entrepreneur, while also recognizing when and how to employ specialists to further your company's growth. This approach not only fosters a successful business but also creates a culture where every individual has the opportunity to excel in their niche. If you're keen to explore this topic further, join our free Facebook community at businessesgood.com, where you can connect with fellow generalists and discuss hiring specialists. For more insights on this subject and others related to the entrepreneurial journey, head over to the Business is Good website and click "Join the Movement." Let's continue the conversation there.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

What do you do when your system crashes, or gets really slow, or spins around when doing normal tasks?

You reboot it. You clear the memory and start from scratch.

When you reboot a computer, you shut down all the programs that are running in the background. You clear its memory. When the computer reboots, it starts with the basics: just the systems that are required to run, and nothing else.

If your business is slowly going backward and you can't figure out why; if you feel like you're just spinning your wheels, working harder and not growing, then you might need more than a new tactic or MORE stuff to do: you might need a complete reboot.

A reboot kills the stuff that is slowing you down, starts over from the basics. And builds up from there. It's not a blank slate. More like digging down to bedrock and repairing the damage from the ground up.

Here's how to do it - and how I did it in one business I own (my gym).

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

For the last 15 years, I've almost always had a 1:1 mentor. I've participated in masterminds, had specific coaches, but always paid someone to help me set goals, build a plan and stay on course. I pay between $100,000 and $250,000 per year, but the ROI is unmeasurable (though it's in the millions.)

Working with a mentor is a two-way street. These are professionals whose time is almost always worth more than my time; who have done the hard (and sometimes boring) work to get where they are. They are not my personal assistant - they are not going to do the work for me. They are not Google--they're not going to go seeking answers that I can easily find myself. They see things that I don't; they remove obstacles in advance; and they stop me from taking wrong turns that would waste time and money. But to get that benefit, I have to be a good client. Over the last 15 years, I've learned that, to get a great return on mentorship, I have to be a good mentee. I have to be coachable. Here are my top tips:

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

“My staff never cleans up before they go home.”

“Our front office is a pigsty!”

“No one returns phone calls or emails quickly.”

“No one cares except for me!”

If you struggle to get consistent action from your staff, there are two possible causes.

The first probable cause is your process. The second probable cause is your people.

Read the full article: https://businessisgood.com/the-two-types-of-problems/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

You’re busy. You probably work a longer day than anyone else you know.

You probably start early and finish late. And every minute is packed: you hit the ground running and don’t stop until bedtime.

So why don’t you feel like you’re getting anywhere?

For most of us, it’s because we’re avoiding the work that will actually grow our business. We’re really good at distracting ourselves, lying to ourselves about what matters most, or falling into the trap of urgency. We’ve become skilled at procrastination. We confuse the pursuit of knowledge with the pursuit of progress. Today, I’m going to tell you how to get over it and actually grow your business.

First, know your enemy: This is what Avoidance looks like.

1. Collecting more info before you act. “I need to find one more podcast on firing a bad staff person before I actually do it.”
2. Gathering more opinions instead of acting. “I was struggling with paying my staff, so I kept asking opinions on the 4/9 model until I found a guy who said ‘it won’t work in the UK’–that let me off the hook!” We seek confirmation that things won’t work so we don’t have to do them.
3. “Checking” stuff – we start our day playing defense. We think we have to respond to emails and social media before we do anything else. Once we get on that ‘urgency’ bus though, we say goodbye to the important stuff. Social Media is literally built to derail your brain and stop you from doing the stuff you had planned to do.
4. Doing low-value work – we know we need more clients, but instead we do the “easy-hard” stuff: switching payment processors, building our own CRM, changing our logo, designing tshirts, customizing supplements. We know there are pros out there who do this for almost nothing. But doing it ourselves lets us say “I’m busy!”
5. Gathering ideas you don’t need. How many podcasts do you listen to in day? What’s the last one on which you took action? The entrepreneurs who read 50 books in a year don’t impress me anymore.
6. Procrastination: “I need to be in a better headspace to do this…” or “I need to wait for the banks to open” or “This isn’t the best time to take my neighbor a coffee.” Yes it is. At least it’s better now than never.
7. Looking for the ‘next thing’ instead of repeating the thing that worked before. We all need to be reminded sometimes, but if something’s working, don’t stop doing it.
8. Having a “morning routine”. Somehow, we’ve been led down this road to believe you need a 6-step routine around meditation, cold plunges, deep breathing, reading…but really successful people don’t have a complicated morning routine. Here’s mine:
9. – get up
10. – walk down the hall and press the ‘on’ button on the Keurig
11. – walk downstairs and pee
12. – wash my hands
13. – walk up the stairs and get the coffee
14. – walk back downstairs and open my laptop
15. – open a clean blog page and start typing.
16. I do this at 5:30 because my dog wants to go out at 6:30.

What’s interesting from this list is that none of these things are BAD. We just employ them at the wrong time, or give them priority over doing the stuff that actually grows our business.

Here’s how I fell into the trap: I started listening to podcasts in the morning. I can’t write a blog post while I’m listening to podcasts, so I’d fire up my kid’s Xbox and play NHL for 40 minutes while I listened to Naval or Alex or Sharran or whoever. I’d tell myself I was learning and I’d do a blog post later.

This lasted almost a year. At the end of the day, I was exhausted from meetings and doing stuff on demand. I was creating content because that’s a big part of my job, but I was stressed, anxious and kinda angry all the time. My businesses were growing because they had good momentum, but the growth was slowing and I didn’t know what would drive them forward.

Worst of all, this was a very addictive rut. It was very easy to tell myself that the 40 minutes of ‘education’ was the most important part of my day: morning peace, coffee, uninterrupted lessons…sounds great, right?

BUT it stopped my business from growing.

I can’t tell you the topic of one single podcast I listened to during that time, let alone how any grew my business.

Here’s how to solve the problem.

1 – Every day, do 1 thing to grow your biz before you do anything else. Maybe you can do this later in the day, but for me – when I open my email, that’s it. My opportunity to grow my business is lost to distraction.

2 – Get up earlier, keep your notifications turned off, and get to work. I like to write to clear my head and organize my thoughts, but these are side effects. Writing grows my business. If you’re not sure what will grow your business, ask your mentor. Work on ONLY that.

3 – At the end of the day, ask yourself, “Did I do one thing to grow my business today?” The size of the action doesn’t matter – the momentum does. If you can look back and say “Yeah, I did a blog post” or “Yeah, I emailed my list” – those might seem small, but they keep up your momentum. That’s a successful day. Don’t dwell on it more than that.

The biggest obstacle to a business’ growth is often between the ears of its founder. This makes the obstacle very hard to overcome, because we don’t see it. Working with a mentor helps–but so does knowing the problem, acknowledging it, and taking action to fix it.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

I own the largest mentorship practice in the world for gym owners. There are over 900 gyms currently in the program, each with their own 1:1 mentor.

The mentors are trained, drilled, tested and taught nonstop. They're quizzed on our material--but, more importantly, they're taught how to mentor and coach someone. When I started mentoring others, I didn't have any of these skills, and didn't know how to get them. As I got better, I became obsessed with developing myself as a mentor, and sharing these lessons with my team. Even if you're not a business coach, these will help you lead your clients, your team and anyone who seeks your guidance.

https://businessisgood.com/4-skills-every-mentor-needs/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

"I believe entrepreneurship and business development are key for Indigenous individuals, like myself, and communities, to escape situations of poverty and become sustainable, independent and positive contributors to the overall greater good while reclaiming our economic independence within the local, regional, national and international markets.

Growing up a poor brown kid in the city of Sault Ste Marie, I witnessed enough poverty early on in life and I remember telling myself that I never wanted to be poor as an adult.

I looked around and I saw people in business who were not poor and that is what I decided to become, not really aware of anything particular when it came to business, just a general sense that I wanted to be a businessman.

Now, as an Indigenous adult entrepreneur, I can honestly say it was well worth the effort to stay in school, invest in myself and follow my childhood dreams of escaping poverty through business."

Contact Steven McCoy: www.thestevenmccoy.com

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Why founders don’t make money

They are product oriented -inventors not investors 

They quit too soon - in the product crew successful, they have done its job

They failed to scale - They are irreplaceable in their business.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

"Freedom and responsibility within a framework."

In his book "Good to Great", Jim Collins lists "A culture of discipline" as one of the six necessary elements that make a company great. It's a really profound concept, but I'm going to make it actionable for you.

Read the post here:

https://businessisgood.com/a-culture-of-discipline/

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

In his book, "Good to Great", Jim Collins shares 6 big ideas that great companies have in common.

The unifying theme of the companies in his book is that they didn't start out great, but became great when they acted on these big ideas.

One of the biggest is the "hedgehog concept", which is a strategy of focusing hard on the thing you can do better than anyone else, and repeating it over and over.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Entrepreneurs spend most of their time looking for the next problem to solve.

This is often good for business, but bad for the entrepreneur.

According to Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy in The Gap and the Gain, "Gap Thinking means looking at the distance between where we are and where we want to be (or comparing ourselves to what other people have achieved)."

When you're "in the gap", you can't be happy, because you're always desiring the next thing - the next revenue milestone, the next acquisition, the next hire. Unfortunately, this means you can never be happy, no matter how successful you are.

Sullivan's advice is to focus on "The Gain": look back at your progress you've already made. He calls this "measuring backward, not forward" - which means comparing your current position against your former position, instead of your ideal position.

This makes conceptual sense. Buddhists have been preaching the pitfalls of comparison and desire for millennia. But in a world of constant comparison, where we're watching everyone else's highlight reel on Instagram every single day, how do we avoid comparison--or even jealousy?

Here's how to build the habit of living in "The Gain".

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

In my book "Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief", I broke the entrepreneurial journey down into four phases.

In the Founder Phase, the entrepreneur is wearing all the hats. They're bootstrapping, staying up late, building and testing products, learning to sell, opening the business early and closing it late. In many cases, they're self-employed: they've really just bought themselves a job.

In Farmer Phase, the founder begins to add staff and systems to make the business grow. They turn their attention to the crops (products or services) that grow well; hire people to plant, tend and harvest the crops; and focus on growth of the business.

In Tinker Phase, the farmer begins to reinvest their profits and scale. They might buy up more farms, or invest in faster equipment, or automate their production. They might invest in other businesses or visit other farmers to learn about new crops and processes.

These stages are easy to understand, and I use examples from many different industries in the book.

But what the heck is "Thief Phase?"

The book was originally written as "Founder, Farmer, Tinker, King" to describe the rise of an entrepreneur from scrappy startup to a leader in their niche. But the term "King" didn't sit well with me for a few reasons:

1 - I knew many readers would naturally associate the title with my own journey, and I'd never call myself "King" of anything;

2 - Kings consolidate money. They build shrines and vaults and temples and palaces. Their money doesn't move--it stays with them. That's not what I want to teach.

3 - There's only one King. A King has to spend most of his time defending his throne. Kings must stay in a mindset of scarcity because they hold a scarce position in the world. They're either THE KING, or they're not.

So I asked myself, who has similar freedoms to a King, but still lives a life of service to others? Who reaches a high place of success that can be reached by others--indeed, it's possible for anyone and everyone to reach at the same time without killing each other?

And I thought of Robin Hood.

Robin Hood wasn't 'rich' in the conventional sense. He didn't ride around in a gold-plated carriage. But:

1 - He has freedom of time

2 - He has more than enough for himself and his band - if they had more, they couldn't store it anywhere, so they don't accumulate wealth

3 - He 'steals from the rich and gives to the poor' - in other words, he redistributes wealth. Ironically, that's his protection, because the poor villagers will do anything to help him

4 - He keeps his money moving - any money he collects is reinvested in the people around him. He doesn't have to build a vault and defend it all the time

5 - He's an outlaw. By the original definition, he's 'outside the law' - meaning he doesn't have to funnel his money through the tax collectors and bureaucrats and layers of government. He just hands it out.

Obviously, Robin Hood didn't live a life of ease. He had to find new food for himself and his band almost daily; he had to fight; when it rained, he got wet. And he broke laws. I'm not encouraging any of that. However, Robin Hood had a level of wealth that most "Kings" would envy.

How does the story of Robin Hood apply to entrepreneurs?

At a certain level of success, entrepreneurs can lose their sense of purpose.

Through Farmer Phase, the entrepreneur is fighting to keep their business going. It's easy to get motivated when you're working for an income.

In Tinker Phase, the entrepreneur is often excited to have a little bit more than what they need. The pursuit of new knowledge and ideas - and a little vacation - is enough. They shift from focusing on income to investing in their business; other businesses; and themselves.

But at some level - maybe around 5M or 10M net worth - they don't need to work anymore. If they're young enough, this is actually a dangerous spot, because they have enough money to last their whole lives, but no purpose. Ironically, this level of security can lead to depression and anxiety.

At this level, entrepreneurs have to find purpose or they'll be unhappy. When they find that purpose, their story becomes a beautiful one, because they have the leverage to be of great service to others.

For example, Robin Hood's purpose wasn't to take down the King; it was to lift up the people around him.

He guided his men on raids and hunts.

He gave money from his projects to local villagers and poor people.

When someone needed help, he just gave it to them instead of waiting for someone else to step in.

I won't say I'm fully in the Thief Phase yet. But I'm enjoying the freedom to do some modern Robin Hood stuff:

When local kids need bikes, I just go buy them.

When local entrepreneurs seek funding through Angel investing, I just write a cheque.

When my kids want to go to a concert, we just go--and we often take their friends.

When a movie producer sees an opportunity to tell an important story, I can just pay for it.

When one of my clients has a fire at their gym, I can send help.

Not every action in the Thief Phase is altruistic. I have a really expensive bicycle. But everything I do is mission-driven (including writing this blog). That's why, at this level, the work makes me happier than ever. And that's what the Thief Phase really means: appreciating what you have; having what you need; and needing to continue to serve others.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

We content creators live in a miraculous time. We can talk to more people than ever before in history. The power of marketing is astronomically stronger than it's ever been. Our audience knows no geographical limit.

The real foundation for all of this power and reach is the content we produce. We can publish for free anytime we want--and people will listen. We can be our own TV station, our own radio network, our own newspaper.

And now, thanks to Artificial Intelligence tools like ChatGPT, we don't even have to write the material ourselves. There's an army of robots ready and eager to write blog posts, send emails, or even deepfake podcasts and videos. We can publish as often as we want to, for free, with almost no effort.

Here's the really amazing part: more content is still more important than good content. Quantity still beats quality in the online marketing game. Show up more often, and you'll win.

This perfect storm of free attention won't last forever. It probably won't last more than another year or so. Eventually, Google or another search engine will figure out how to filter content that's been written by robots, and find the real stuff. The real tech race is actually between the robots that produce content and the robots that find and filter content. But for now, everyone can--and IS--producing a ton of content that would earn you a B+ grade in most high schools.

It's amazing news for everyone who should be publishing more, but isn't.

It can seem like scary news for content producers who are worried their hard work will be buried by blogging droids.

Here's how to make your content stand out from ChatGPT content and other content-bots.

1. 
   
2. Niche down. The narrower your expertise, the less a robot will understand it. For example, a blog about the fitness industry can be written by AI, because that's a general topic with statistics everywhere. A blog about personal training studios can probably be done pretty well by AI. A blog about getting and keeping personal training clients in their mid-40s in Ipswich, PA is best done by someone with experience.
3. A robot might be able to write a blog about how a rocket works, but it can't explain how it feels to be strapped into the seat at liftoff. The more specific your experience, and the narrower your audience, the more irreplaceable you become and the more valuable your content.
4. 
   
5. 
   
6. 
   
7. 
   
8. 
   
9. Be very specific. Your content should be closer to a checklist than an editorial. For example, Jasper (another AI writing tool) could write a broad article about "How to keep your clients longer." The article would give general advice that's directionally correct, but imprecise. For example, when I asked an AI engine how to keep clients at my gym longer, it said "Give your clients a world-class experience". True, but...what does that actually mean? Not much.
10. Real professionals would go much deeper. For example, at Two-Brain, an article on keeping clients longer would include "The 5 Steps To Running A Goal Review". We know that goal reviews keep clients longer, and have the data to prove it, and--because we've done them thousands of times--we can be very specific about how to do it. Like this:
11. Sit down with your client every three months.
12. Measure their progress on your InBody scale.
13. Ask them, "Are you completely satisfied with your progress?"
14. If they say "YES!" then move to the testimonial script.
15. If they say "Not TOTALLY satisfied..." then move to the new prescription script.
16. And then, of course, we have those two scripts ready too.
17. Robots just can't get that deep, because they don't have actual experience.
18. 
    
19. 
    
20. 
    
21. 
    
22. Use stories. Stories stick. Leveraging your personal experience pays off again here, because you've actually done the thing you're talking about.
23. For example, when I'm talking about turning my gym around, I can share a story about sitting on a park bench in the hot afternoon sun in total despair. I can describe that rock-bottom moment: the readiness to quit, the dejection that I hadn't figured out how to run a business, how I trudged back up the fire escape to the gym to train the next client feeling absolutely defeated. I can tell that story, because it actually happened -- and a similar story is happening to my audience. They get to walk up that clanking fire escape in my shoes. Many repeat these stories back to me at conferences. Robots can't do that.
24. 
    
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27. 
    
28. 
    
29. Be directive. Tell people exactly what to do. While Google Bard could write a 700-word blog post on "5 Daily Habits To Help You Focus," and might even give some useful advice, you can be more specific.
30. Like this: "Every day, do one thing to grow your business before you do anything else."
31. Or, even better: "By 5pm today, produce one blog post and send it to your email list."
32. 
    
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37. Share the steps. For example, using the above directive:
38. 1. Set an alarm for 50 minutes earlier than your normal wake-up time.
39. 2. Place the alarm three steps away from your bed.
40. 3. When the alarm goes off, shut it down before it wakes up your wife.
41. 4. Now that you're standing up, walk to the coffee pot and press the "on" button.
42. 5. Use the bathroom.
43. 6. Wash your hands.
44. 7. Walk back to the coffee pot.
45. 8. Carry your coffee to your office.
46. 9. Open your laptop.
47. 10. Open 750words.com.
48. 11. Close all other tabs.
49. 12. Write one blog post.
50. 13. Copy the blog post onto your website.
51. 14. etc.
52. 
    
53. That's my morning routine. Many of my clients--entrepreneurs who face a huge mountain of work and decisions every single day--need this kind of detail to get things done. The simpler you can make your content or your courses, the more likely they are to get done. Focus on the outcome and make the steps as small as possible.
54. Your content should be closer to a checklist than an editorial.
55. 
    
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57. 
    
58. 
    
59. Interview other people. Have them tell their story; share specific advice; and all of the other stuff I've already mentioned. Chatbots can talk about people, but can't talk TO them. Get the details a robot wouldn't think to ask about.
60. 
    
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62. 
    
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65. Get better. The AI robots are improving their researching and creative skills. They're already producing content at a B+ level. That means your competitors are publishing a lot of pretty-good stuff. If you want to rise above the roar, you must improve your skills at writing, podcasting, and producing video.
66. To start, read "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser.
67. Then find an editor who can turn your good content into great content.
68. 
    

The more valuable you are to your audience, the more irreplaceable you become.

How to Lose to AI

Be vague.

Be general.

Hold back your best advice.

Talk about trends and industries instead of Jack and Mary.

Share opinions instead of experience.

I see "gym business advice" from robots every day--and I see people reading it and believing it and saying "great article". Most of it is directionally correct, but not directive--like "survey your gym members". No one would argue with that, right?

But what do you ask your gym members? When do you send the survey? How long should it be?

What will you do with the results? How should you interpret the answers?

...should you do it at all? Why or why not?

In time, search engines and media platforms will learn to filter the best content. Someday, schools might even teach students how to be skeptical about what they see online. Entrepreneurs will develop mental filters to help them filter the A+ material from the fluff.

Until then, we have a massive opportunity to stand out: to be better than the robots. To use the AI engines to push us to be more valuable. Start with the tips above.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Jason Katzenback is the cofounder of Amazing.com, a company that did $45M per year selling on Amazon.

As you'll hear in this episode, Jason--an early seller on Amazon--quickly flipped his niche skill into coaching others. He took the time to figure out something that made him a lot of money, and then multiplied that knowledge by helping others do the same.

Jason was actually a client in my gym when Amazing was starting to form in his mind. He'd talk about shooting videos in his basement and producing content, but I didn't get it (and I was too chicken to go and see, or too time-pressed to really dig in.)

A decade later, I was riding in an Uber in San Diego with some huge SaaS founders. We were going to dinner, and one of them casually mentioned "Katzenback". That's not a name you forget, so I locked in on the conversation. They were talking about Amazing.com, and their massive Summit events with very high-level guests. I was shocked to hear it was the same guy.

We reconnected when Jason sold Amazing.com, left Austin to return home to Sault Ste. Marie and agreed to do this show. It's an amazing story, but it also includes some great little nuggets to help any entrepreneur.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Want your clients to get results faster? Make the steps smaller.

This is a meta-skill for great coaches in every field: fitness, business and even spiritual leadership.

There are many reasons clients can't hit their goals:

• the goal isn't clear enough
• they don't have time to work on it
• they don't know where to start
• the amount of work required to reach the goal is overwhelming
• they "don't have enough time".
• they're not motivated or incentivized
• they don't believe they can reach the goal

All of these problems can be overcome by making a goal or task smaller. Here's how to do it:

1. Get really clear on the goal. ("Point B".)
2. Measure their starting point. ("Point A".)

3. Measure the distance between the two points.

4. Identify the halfway point.

5. Identify the "halfway to halfway" point.

6. Break the "halfway to halfway" point in half again.

7. Continue to break down the problem until you find the Minimum Effective Task (MET). This is the smallest irreducible step that a client can make--usually right now. This step should take less than 30 minutes to complete, so they can do it within their daily allotted work window.

This is hard to understand in the abstract, so here's an example:

A client wants to earn $100k NOB from their business. That's Point B--their goal.

They're currently making $50k NOB from their business--that's Point A.

How do we get there? Doubling their net owner benefit is a huge, daunting task. If you assigned "Make 50k more per year!" as their goal, they wouldn't know where to start.

Breaking the problem down, we see that $75k NOB is the halfway point. That's still a huge goal, but it seems more likely.

If we break the goal down further, we create the "halfway to halfway" goal of $62,500 NOB. That's only an increase if $12,500 per year - a modest goal, but still too large to be actionable.

Breaking the goal in half again gets us to $56,250. Doing it one more time brings us to $53,125.

Could you give a client clear action steps to increase their NOB by $3,125 this month? If not, break the goal down further.

If a client is really stuck, you might break the goal down to something as small as $500. Then you can tell them "Here's how you'll make an additional $500 this month."

Then you might give them some small steps to make an extra $500:

1 - hold meetings with your ten best clients;

2 - ask each for a referral;

3 - aim to get two referrals for $250 each.

Great mentors would break that process down even further.

1 - "On Monday, send THIS email to your twenty best clients."

2 - "On Tuesday, get ten of them scheduled for a 15-minute chat."

3- "On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, meet with 3-4 clients for 15 minutes each. Follow this script to ask for a referral."

4 - "On Friday, call the referrals and book THEM for a chat next week."

5 - "Sign up at least two new clients for your $250 package by the end of next week."

If you can't break that goal down into actionable steps, make the goal smaller.

The most important thing isn't the size of the goal, but progress toward that goal. Hitting tiny goals creates measurable outcomes over time, but it really creates momentum. It beats overwhelm (anyone can copy and paste an email to their 20 best clients) and lets them feel like they're getting small wins.

Here are some additional tips:

1 - have the client tell YOU what they're going to do as soon as they get off the call.

2 - there's no such thing as "too small" - the more a client is stuck, the smaller the steps need to be.

3 - Show the client the whole process, so they can attach their little task to the ultimate goal.

4 - The smaller the goal, the more irresistible it becomes (this has a name - Lowenstein's Gap Theory.)

5 - Always draw a line back to the overall goal so the client remembers WHY they're doing the small task.

6 - Have the client reflect on their completed tasks weekly, so they start to feel the momentum.

7 - Ask yourself, "is this a task that can be completed in 30 minutes or less?" That will help you know if you've broken the task down enough.

The primary reason people don't reach their goals? They don't know how to get started; how to keep moving; and how to stay motivated. Any client should be able to answer the question "What am I going to do TODAY to grow my business?" nect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

"Fix the leader, fix the business". - Aaron Stokes, ShopFixAcademy

In this series, I've been talking about the natural evolution of a business...and the things that stop it from growing. The things that stop the business from evolving are usually inside the founder's head.

In the Systemize phase, the founder must get the operating instructions for the business out of their head and into the heads of their employees. If they don't, they've bought themselves a job instead of a business. They must overcome the Swamp of Perfection and the thought that they can "just do it better/faster myself."

In the Optimize phase, the founder must hire people who are more skilled at their particular skill than the founder can be. Founders are generalists--they're pretty okay at every part of the business--but they must hire specialists to take them to the next level. Specialists are expensive. And it's scary for the founder to say "I'm not the best person for this job." This is the Valley of Death.

If the founder can get out of their own way, they can reach some pretty respectable heights: multi-million-dollar businesses, run by excellent staff and polished systems. Their business is valuable and attractive to buyers for the first time, and could probably carry on for a decade if the founder doesn't make any big mistakes. It has momentum, and the founder's job is simply to keep pushing the team forward.

But to really scale--to reach the next level, where the business becomes self-replicating; the clients are self-referring; and the business becomes the default choice--the business must begin to generate its own momentum. That means the founder--who pushed the car up the hill alone, then pushed it faster with a team, and eventually got in to steer while his team pushed--must sometimes hand over the wheel.

Decisions should be led by data. The company must produce metrics and dashboards to understand its progress at a glance. For example, our dashboard includes leads, sales calls booked, sales calls showed, sales calls closed, conversions, ascensions, retention, client headcount, gross profit and net profit.

Historical performance should then be modelled into financial projections. Should the company increase pricing, or increase the marketing budget? The first step is to look at retention and conversion metrics, and then build financial projections to help the leaders decide.

Next, an executive team with high levels of trust should lead and manage their own specialties. At this level, these leaders should really run the company. If the founder disappeared, the staff might notice, but the key metrics would not change.

Many companies follow a "Traction" model for reporting and executive leadership.

The executive team might have managers to lead different departments or teams. For example, we have a head of Media and head of Sales (reporting to the CMO); a lead Mentor, app developer and lead curriculum developer (reporting to the COO). Their job is to manage quality of their team and work to improve it. If improvement is driven by the founder, the company doesn't have its own momentum yet. This is important, because if the founder is creating the product updates, they'll always be "tinkering" with the product instead of making decisions based on data.

When a business escapes the Quicksand of Control, it can become a movement.

However, if the owner still has the responsibility to inspire the movement and create energy and passion for the customers and team.

And if the owner relinquishes control too early, the business could lose momentum and slide backward. There are certainly days when every founder is tempted to just walk away...but if their operations aren't sound, or their marketing lags without them, the business will lose momentum and slide backward.

This is a paradox of leadership: letting go of control is ultimately required for scale. But done too early, and the company will lose its way. You have to see signs of momentum, recognize them, and know when to get out of the way bit by bit.

How does the founder know it's time to back away?

When operations are running without the owner's participation; and

Failures are caught and corrected by the team; and

Upgrades are found, tested and implemented by the team; and

Mistakes are corrected by the team.

Also, when clients begin to find "hacks" to the system, and create new pathways on their own. For example, when a group of clients starts their own regular monthly group calls, the team considers adding monthly small-group calls for everyone. But the key is that the team identifies these 'hacks'; tests them; and decides whether to implement them or not.

In effect, the team owns every facet of the feedback loop: they initiate new ideas, remove ideas that aren't working, catch and correct problems on their own.

When the team owns the feedback loop, it can own the upgrade process and make each part of the business better than the owner could.

For example, I got food poisoning before our 2019 Summit event, and missed my flight to the venue.

The team arrived on time and set up; I arrived two days later, when registration was open and the event was about to start.

To my surprise (and delight), I walked into the conference room to find happy clients being greeted by excited staff; getting bags of swag and hugging. There was music playing and an atmosphere of reunion among long-lost friends.

Then I watched the event unfold, delivered my one-hour keynote, got on the plane and left.

The event was twice as good as the events where I was coordinator and MC.

While these events are a small part of our business, it was the first real proof that the team could run a facet of the business better than I could. Now I stay out of their way.

Handing over control of the product, the marketing and the operations can be an act of retirement. But it can also be the ultimate act of service.

The founder of the company must get over their own ego and say "this event or product or process is better for everyone if I'm not involved".

It's hard to hand over your baby, because you've cared for it for so long. It's scary--and since most founders determine their self-worth by the success of their business, it's sometimes impossible to detach.

The key is to ask yourself, "What's the best thing for my clients here?" and recognizing when they're better served by someone else.

For me, this meant handing over control to my team...and to my community.

Our CSMs are now more welcoming and empathetic than I am.

Our mentors are now more experienced and better trained than I am.

My COO is a better manager of process and people than I am.

Our head of sales is better at enrolling clients than I am.

Our media director is better at producing media than I am.

Our CMO is better at coordinating ads, events, media and promotion than I am.

Our events director is better at putting on amazing events than I am.

Our community is better at supporting each other than I am.

My job is to connect these people and inspire the movement. Luckily, I'm so inspired by our clients (gym owners) that inspiration is not hard to find and share.

To steal a line from Ted Lasso,

"We own it, but it belongs to them."

One final example: when I announced that we were capping our clientele at 1000, my Ops team was on board. My sales and marketing teams were reluctant, but they accepted the rationale. The pushback came from our community. It went like this:

"Coop, how can we possibly turn a gym away who needs our help?"

One of our clients sent me that message.

That was powerful. I had consulted the team, but the movement has its own momentum, and I realize that I would be dumb to fight it.

Our clients don't see our metrics, but they see our ethos: "Help first".

I explained to the client that we'd continue to publish free help to all gym owners, whether we had space in our program or not. But the explanation felt hollow, because I knew that I can't resist the tide. The movement has its own momentum. If clients keep pulling in their friends, I'll step out of the way and let the momentum take the company where it will.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

"I can't take on more business without more staff...but I don't have the money to hire anyone!"

I'm sure you've been there. Your business is busy, but you're not making enough money. You have cash flow, but not enough to hire someone else without cutting your own pay.

This is the Valley of Death: when you have to hire for capacity ahead of cash flow.

Greg Crabtree coined the phrase "Valley of Death" in his book, "Simple Numbers".

The Valley of Death is when you have to hire ahead of cash flow, so your profitability drops. Then you race to generate new cash flow. You get out of the Valley when your profitability grows higher than it would have before the hire.

For example, when Two-Brain reached $1M in revenue, it plateaued. I couldn't fit more sales calls into my schedule; didn't have capacity to take more clients; and didn't have time to train more mentors for the team. I was absolutely stuck.

The only way forward was to hire an Admin. This cost money, and cut into my profitability. But hiring Joyce bought me back a lot of time: she processed payments, helped clients find resources, shipped our 'welcome boxes' and filtered my emails. While her role didn't generate revenue directly, she created the bandwidth I needed to find, hire and train two mentors for the team. Within two months, we were more profitable than we could have been without her.

A few years later, we hit another - larger - Valley. I couldn't move forward without people who were more skilled than me: a dedicated marketing expert and a real, experienced COO. I also had to hire someone to lead our growing tech team, and someone to lead our Media production. Finally, we needed to upgrade our bookkeeping and accounting. Together, these roles cost more than our annual profit...but I knew we couldn't reach the next level without them.

Of course, the new CMO paid for their role--and more--very quickly. The head of Media upgraded our content, boosting sales and retention. The COO took every headache off my plate, took over HR (the hardest part of any business) and started running operations. The new Chief Information Officer oversaw app development (another huge investment) and doubled as part-time financial analyst. We hired a fractional CFO to guide us on big decisions. Our profitability dropped to nearly zero...but we'd built the team we needed to take us to the next level.

Here are the keys to beating the Valley of Death:

1. 
   
2. You can't avoid it; the best thing you can do is get out of it fast.
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8. View every new hire as an investment. Either they generate more revenue than they cost, OR they buy you the time to generate more revenue than they cost.
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14. Hire the revenue-generating people first. This is a balancing act, because you don't want to sell a service you can't deliver well. But the marketers pay for the operators. Hire them very close together, but if you need cash, hire the marketer a month or two ahead.
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20. Hire people who are already better than you. I've often tried to train a beloved staff person to do a new role. But they're always limited by my own skill; it rarely works out; and it's actually more expensive to train them than it is to hire an expert.
21. 
    

The hires that will lift your business are, by definition, better than you are at their job. That's what makes the Valley of Death so scary: you're hiring experts, and experts are expensive. But if you want to make it to the next level of business, you need people who are ready for that level and can pull you forward.

I got lucky: my CMO was a former client; my Media head was a former boss; and my COO was my sister, who had enormous experience as COO for larger companies. That didn't make the Valley less scary, or the race to generate new revenue less urgent. In fact, hiring friends and family made the race to grow even more critical, because I didn't want to let them down (and they didn't want to let me down, either.)

Someday, you will reach the limits of your skills.

At that point, you can choose to cap your business, or to hire experts.

Neither is the "right" choice for everyone.

If you choose to hire expensive experts, be prepared to sprint fast--but know you've made the necessary step. You can't achieve your maximum potential alone.Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

"Nobody can do this as well as I can!" - every entrepreneur, ever

"Never mind. I'll just do it myself!!!" - every human who thinks they're saving time

Early in my career as a fitness coach, a mentor told me to work more ON my business and less IN my business.

Since I had no time in the day, I decided to hire another coach to run the 6am group at my gym. I thought, "She can run the group. I'll show up at the same time, and do my homework while she's coaching."

Logically, this made sense. But in practice, here's what actually happened:

The group started a few minutes late. I paced around, trying to make eye contact with the coach, getting aggravated. But I was determined to let her run the group.

Then some members of the group were talking while the coach was talking. I wanted to step in and yell at them to give her the same attention they gave me.

Then she demonstrated an exercise in an imperfect way. She gave the clients a cue that didn't really make sense to me.

Within twenty minutes, I was in the mix, "helping" her coach better. I wasn't doing anything to grow my business, because I was so focused on controlling what happened IN my business.

After the group, I went down the list of problems. I tried to soften the blow of my feedback, but there were so many details to fix that she went away feeling totally beaten.

Here's what I should have done, and how you can avoid my mistakes.

Small businesses progress in stages: systemization, optimization, growth, and scale.

The first real pitfall of most entrepreneurs is the "swamp of perfection" - the need to have every staff person do it exactly as the owner would. This is a dangerous trap that can actually stop a small business from growing.

The 'swamp of perfection' looks like:

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• micromanagement -
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• constant oversight (I once watched our cleaner working through our security cameras--don't do that.)
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• recurring enforcement of "rules" for clients and staff
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• high staff churn
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• growing frustration and a desire to be a "one-man shop"
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Here's how to get through the Swamp of Perfection.

1. 
   
2. Get your business out of your head. Record how you do everything - from opening the door in the morning to closing it at night.
3. This is a constant process, so don't try to remember everything all at once. Keep an open notebook and add to it whenever you do something "new".
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9. Shoot for a C+ level to start. Your staff should follow your recorded systems perfectly, but still deliver only "pretty well" to start. Your first attempt at systemization won't be perfect. This is an iterative process, and you'll get better over time.
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15. Set up an evaluation process. Improve each system at each evaluation. This is the start of the move into "optimization".
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Your first systems won't be perfect. But consistency is the first step. Your clients and staff must be able to deliver in a predictable way, even if that method isn't perfect.

In the above example, I should have:

1. 
   
2. Recorded a step-by-step process to running a group class, including an instruction to start exactly on time;
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8. Reviewed the coach's performance after their first group; then after a week; then after a month; and then quarterly forever. During these reviews, I should have picked one thing to improve at a time, instead of beating them over the head with a laundry basket of problems;
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14. Updated the process when the coach eventually did something better than my original version.
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Your business will never be perfect. And even when it is, you'll want to tweak it.

That's okay, as long as you're recording your base standard; teaching your staff to deliver to that level every time; and raising the standard through evaluation and improvement. It's critical to include evaluation in this process, because "better" doesn't just happen without pruning the "less good".

The 'swamp of perfection' is a mental one. You get through it by playing an infinite game: seeking constant improvement and adopting a growth mindset.

Eventually, I learned that every repetition of a system in my business is just practice for the next repetition. We began to seek "better" instead of "perfect". After a few months, my group classes were far better than the classes I ran myself. Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

I'm a product guy.

I want to believe that if I keep making my product better, I'll make it more profitable.

Unfortunately, that almost never works - we get caught in the Technician's Curse and never stop iterating on our product, tweaking it, improving it...and never having time to market it.

But there are SOME ways that improving your product CAN make it more profitable:

Being the best in class creates a huge advantage, because the best clients will ascend to your service (if they know about it.)

Tactically, you can also try:

• Outcome-based pricing 
• Pursuing greatness as a marketing strategy. 
• Improving client retention by improving client outcomes.

I walk through all of this on today's episode!

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

Every business grows through four phases:

Systemization - optimization - growth - and scale.

Systemization means getting every process in your business out of your head.

Optimization means repeating the processes that work best, over and over. It also means pursuing virtuosity in those processes - doing them well, without wasted effort or excessive "tweaking". Optimization often means avoiding novelty in favor of repeating what works, even when it gets boring. This is also where delegation occurs and metrics are tracked to make sure staff can deliver at the owner's level.

Growth means focusing on activities that grow the business instead of delivering the service yourself. This usually means focusing more on sales and marketing instead of coaching the clients or baking the muffins.

Scale means replicating your business over and over. This usually means a second location, but it could also mean placing your model over another business or simply adding a management layer to your current business to scale it up. Growth phase is incremental (one new client or one unit at a time); scale phase is exponential (50 new clients at a time or a new distribution channel).

My friend Sharran Srivatsaa introduced this simple pathway in his podcast. You can listen here:

https://sharran.com/episode105/

This week, I've been writing about The Novice's Curse. Many entrepreneurs are tripped up because they don't follow this process of systemize-optimize-grow-scale.

Like me, they try to attract new clients before their business is ready to serve them well. So they run Instagram ads before they have systems in place for delivery (growth before systemization). Or they try to open a second location before their staff can run a sales consultation effectively (scale before optimization).

My first business simply didn't grow until I mastered the fundamentals of systemization. As hard as I worked, as long as I worked, and as much as I tried to grow, I was always taking one step forward and two steps backward.

For example, I'd work hard to get a new client in the door. But they'd show up when I wasn't available. No other coach knew how to sell them on the gym, so the client would leave. My 'growth' initiative would fail because my system (sales) wasn't optimized (my staff didn't know how to do it.)

In my mentorship practice, I created a logjam when, during an early period of fast growth, I failed to systemize our onboarding process. I once found myself packing 'welcome boxes', driving them to a shipping outlet, loading them into two shopping carts, wrestling with doors, and standing in line for an hour to get them out--because I hadn't recorded the process for my administrator. Meanwhile, new clients were waiting for their first call (and others were waiting to sign up and pay.)

Our business doesn't rise to the level of our marketing; it falls to the level of our preparedness. Businesses without clear, written systems will always be on a marketing treadmill of gain a client/lose a client. Their owners will always be burned out and angry at their staff.

Entrepreneurs that don't track metrics will never be able to delegate work to their staff; never know what marketing is actually working; and always be in a rut of "trying stuff" instead of identifying what works and repeating it over and over.

Entrepreneurs who can't afford to invest in marketing can't grow their business, and if they aren't clear on their ideal clients and value proposition, their marketing won't work.

Finally, entrepreneurs who can't replace themselves in management roles can't scale their business because they'll spend all of their time watching their people.

The four phases of business are systemize-optimize-grow-scale. Every business has to pass through each, in order. Businesses don't grow to the level of their marketing; they fall to the level of their systems.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

"If you want to succeed in business, you're going to have to make a lot of mistakes."

That's true. But...

it's not the mistakes themselves that matter.

Many business owners make lots of mistakes, and don't survive them. In fact, that's true for the majority of small businesses.

They make pricing mistakes; they order too much inventory; they shoot for the moon with their restaurant design or gym equipment. Then they run out of money and it kills their business.

The more fragile your business, the more impact a single mistake can make. In a book that I wrote for gym owners ("Start A Gym",) I wrote that every mistake made at startup requires at least six months to correct...and, sadly, many gyms can't survive long enough to fix their mistakes.

The key to success isn't making mistakes--it's learning from mistakes, and never repeating the same mistakes twice.

The US military calls this the "OODA loop". In previous articles, I've referred to it as the Audit Cycle. Business schools call it the "Evaluation Process". My seventh-grade teacher called it "The Scientific Method" and my high school teacher called it "Evidence-based decision making."

It goes like this:

1. Try something
2. Measure the result
3. Compare the result against other results
4. If the result is better, keep doing it. If the result is worse, stop.

Of course, this system only works if you measure your results.

If you try something -- like running Instagram ads -- and you get ten new leads, then you don't really know if the advertising was successful until you compare it to something else.

Did you get ten new leads without the ads last month?

Could you have earned twenty new leads if you'd done the same ads on Facebook instead?

Would you have earned twenty leads with a different Instagram ad?

Would you have earned twenty leads if you'd doubled your ad spend with the same ads?

You don't know--yet. But measuring the efficacy of the first ad means you have a baseline to compare against.

The next month, you can change one of these variables, and measure against your baseline: ten leads.

This is how science works. This is the process of empiricism on which empires are built.

Now let's apply this to making mistakes.

Let's say you have people coming into your shop, but they're not signing up.

Are your prices too high?

Does your service not solve their problem?

Did you not explain your service in a way that evokes value?

Does your advertising attract the wrong people?

Your hypothesis is that your prices are too high. But you don't know until you measure, because your first attempt at pricing your service was a straight-up guess.

First, you measure your close rate.

Then, you look at the variables you can control: your price, your advertising, your sales process, your sales skill.

Then you choose one--and only one--variable to change. Since changing your prices carries the largest risk (if you're wrong, you're underpriced; if you're right, you have a different problem), you change your sales process.

You try a new sales process for the next ten leads, and measure the change.

If you sell more of your service, great - you keep the new sales process going.

The next test might be upgrading your sales skills. You work on those, and track the results over the next two months. Did your sales improve?

Real business "experience" has little to do with how much time an entrepreneur has spent owning a business, and everything to do with how many mistakes they've corrected.

The biggest challenge in entrepreneurship isn't that our first decisions are guesses. Of course they are--and most of our guesses will be wrong. We're going to make mistakes. What kills businesses is when entrepreneurs compound their guesses--and compound their mistakes.

For example, many gym owners will tell our mentors, "I can't charge that much for our coaching service."

When asked, "What else have you tried?" the answer is always "nothing."

Maybe they could charge more; maybe they couldn't. They don't know.

Maybe they tried raising their prices and fewer people signed up. But was the mistake in raising prices, or something else? They don't know for sure--they're layering a guess on top of a guess.

I'm absolutely guilty of this. As a new entrepreneur, I was overconfident in my guesses. I thought I was smart enough to guess right most of the time (which was wrong) and hardworking enough to just grind through my mistakes (also wrong). As I've matured, I've come to see every decision I make through an empirical lens: "we're going to try this. We're going to measure the outcome. If it works, we'll commit to doing it until we find something better. If it doesn't, we'll go back to the old way. We're not going to commit to doing it forever." Not only has this grown my business exponentially, but it's also removed the stress from making decisions, because every decision is just the next experiment.

The best part about taking an empirical approach is that your stress drops immensely, because you're no longer making 'forever' decisions. Your'e testing.

I'm comfortable with change, because I have a feedback loop in place. Not all of my decisions are good--but the good ones pull me forward, and the bad ones don't drag me backward for long.

"You don't win or lose - you win or learn." I've heard that one before. Learning - evaluation, measurement - is the key.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

How do you scale up a one on one coaching program? I'm Chris Cooper, this is BusinessISGood.

Today I'm going to tell you what is in between one on one mentorship and a big group coaching program.

In the past, there have been a few different models where people have delivered their mentorship or their coaching, and it started off mostly like one on one -- kind of like a personal trainer, you would have this mentor who would get on a call with you and work one on one. And this is actually how Two-Brain Business was built.

At the other end of the spectrum, you have these big group coaching programs. These are usually lifestyle businesses for the mentor or the coach, they build themselves up to be an icon on Instagram or Tiktok, or whatever, they bring you into the program and you get on a massive group call.

Now there are pros and cons to both. Obviously, it's tougher to scale a one on one mentorship practice because every mentor has to be thoroughly trained, there has to be ongoing training, if one mentor isn't doing a great job that affects several clients, etc.

On the other hand, the one to many approach has very high churn, clients don't feel like anybody is taking a long term view of what they're doing, and they have trouble finding access to materials or figuring out "how does this even apply to me?"

What sits in the middle is a mentor-coach-concierge model that a few clients in our META program are now using with their business coaching practices.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/

When your clients run out of future, they’ll quit.

If they can’t see the ultimate goal, they’ll question why they’re in your coaching program.

If they can’t see how your prescription will get them to that goal, they’ll be distracted by other ideas.

If they can’t see the very next step in front of them, they’ll be overwhelmed and fail to make progress.

Here’s how to show them the future: long-term, near-term and short-term.

Start with their Perfect Day.

Ask a client to describe their perfect day. Go into great detail: what time would they wake up in the morning? What would they do first? What would they have for breakfast? Would they go into work, or do something else? Who would they see first? How would they greet that person?

Where would they go next? Who would they invite to lunch? What would they do in the afternoon? Would they eat an early dinner, or a late one?

Break down the steps to get there.

Ask, “What do you think that lifestyle would cost you per year?”

“Who would you need to have on your team to give you that kind of free time?”

“What does the team need to know for you to take that time away?”

If you can correlate their Perfect Day to metrics, that’s even better.

Finally, identify one single step they can take to start their journey.

Be very specific. “Earn $100 more per week” isn’t helpful. “Launch a preorder program” is slightly better. “Follow this checklist between 8am and 9am tomorrow, and text me when done” is best.

Big jobs require motivation.

Big jobs require grit and determination.

Big jobs require hustle and focus.

Small jobs get done.

Make the big jobs small.

When clients can see their future waiting, they’ll find it hard NOT to get there. The key is to make each step so small, simple and easy that it’s hard for them NOT to do it.

The key? Keep showing them exactly what to do. When they run out of future–when they can’t see the long-term, near-term or short-term goal–they’ll give up on themselves and your program.

Connect with Chris Cooper:

Website - https://businessisgood.com/