The Twelve Days of FitBizMas
Twelve days of business tips + gifts to assist with catapulting your fitness brand into the new year!
for studio owners + personal trainers
Here at The Business Movement, we are proud to be the FIRST and ONLY celebration of FitBizMas in the entire World!
We are excited to be sharing twelve straight days of valuable business owner tips and gifts in order to boost the success of fitness entrepreneurs as you head into the new year.
HAPPY FITBIZMAS EVERYONE!
DAY ONE: NOURISH YOUR COMMUNITY
DAY TWO: research your competition
DAY THREE: RECHARGE TO ACCELERATE
DAY FOUR: THE ‘11 STAR’ EXPERIENCE
DAY FIVE: BUILD YOUR 12 MONTH VISION
DAY SIX: SPREAD THE LOVE
DAY SEVEN: BOOST YOUR SOCIAL PROOF
DAY EIGHT: MARKET A DAY IN THE LIFE
DAY NINE: PRIORITIZE YOUR GLOW
DAY TEN: CALENDARS, SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION
DAY ELEVEN: UPGRADE YOUR INTAKE PROCESS
DAY TWELVE: YOU MUST DIFFERENTIATE IN 2022
DAY ONE - dec. 6
NOURISH YOUR COMMUNITY
day one TIP
Today’s fitness business owner TIP is a reminder to take a moment to show your appreciation for your current community of clients. No matter what you celebrate, the end of each year offers an ideal moment to say ’Thank You’ to the community that has supported you with their business and their trust. These are the folks that have kept food on your table and a roof over your head throughout the last year, so definitely do all that you can with going above + beyond with showing them some love.
day one GIFT
For today’s GIFT, I am sharing my ’Top Client Appreciation Gift Ideas’, that would pair perfectly with a handwritten card. Happy gift giving!
Create a custom designed luggage tag for your client’s gym bag or a photo ornament if they celebrate with a Christmas tree. Add a photo of you and your client as well as your brand’s logo so that they have a constant reminder of the success they found while working with you. Walgreens and Shutterfly have tons of budget friendly options for all types of luggage tags and ornaments.
Prepare one of your favorite healthy recipes for them, and give them a branded recipe card and/or digital link to a page on your website where they can find the recipe and prepare it themselves.
Plant a small succulent or herb garden in a pot for them to inspire their green thumb and the development of a small home garden.
How about dinner on you? You may not be able to afford to take them to a nice restaurant, but how about getting them some nice steaks or fish and/or a bottle of wine? For your remote clients, my favorite organic farm Frog Hollow delivers the most delicious fruit all across the country and their mandarin oranges are truly sweeter than candy!
Purchase them a membership or subscription that will thrill them. Maybe a month of Masterclass or a year to a healthy living publication like my personal favorite Cook’s Illustrated, which is just $25!
For Studio Owners, obviously you cannot buy every one of your clients a steak dinner! Instead, here are some creative ways to say ‘We Appreciate You!’ to a larger community:
During the weeks leading up to the end of the year, offer special treats in the club like specialty holiday teas, hot cocoa, or other holiday treats.
Handwritten ‘Thank You’ notes are always my recommendation when the numbers make sense. But for those of us that have hundreds of clients, try adding a personalized video message of ‘Thanks’ from you and your team to your electronic greeting card. Giving every member the chance to see you and hear your voice can go a LONG way!
Host a raffle for an end of year BIG prize like a nice dinner for two or a spa day, so that everyone in the club who comes in for a certain number of sessions in December is entered to win!
DAY TWO - dec. 7
RESEARCH YOUR COMPETITION
day two TIP
After all of the major changes that have occurred in the fitness industry throughout the last couple of years, it is essential that fitness business owners take the time to fully research their competitive market in order to make strategic decisions around their pricing, product + service offerings, and the true differentiators that set them apart as the unique leaders in their marketplaces.
Take the time to study your competitors’ digital marketing presence, secret shopper their intake process and maybe even purchase some of their classes or products. You are looking for opportunities to truly rise above all of the options in your market place while hopefully discovering missed opportunities where you can capitalize on offering a product service that perfectly matches your target customer’s goals and is NOT currently being offered by anyone else in your market.
day two GIFT
Here are a couple of my most shared TBM resources for you to use for your competitor analysis and rate adjustment decisions:
Our FE101 Chapter on Competitive Research with the basic competitor research spreadsheet linked inside the chapter content
Our more in-depth DIAKADI Competitor Analysis Spreadsheet
A short TBM blog with a few additional thoughts on successfully setting and raising rates
DAY THREE - dec. 8
RECHARGE TO ACCELERATE
day THREE TIP
In order to be the best coach, manager, trainer, peer, friend, and leader that you can possibly be, FIRST you must do everything you can to make sure that you are the healthiest, happiest, most rested, strongest version of yourself. This has not been easy for any of us recently and I will be the first to admit that there were many times during the last two years that I completely threw my own health and fitness OUT THE WINDOW! But I also know that those were the times when I had no creative inspiration to offer and no GLOW to brighten the room. I now work hard daily to keep those poor decisions in the past because as a fitness business owner, that was definitely a short term plan that needed improvement.
DAY three GIFT
I am psyched to share two items with you today that have made big impacts on the improvement of my self care.
Several years ago I was deeply in need of bringing a sense of calm into my life. Based on a wonderful recommendation from one of my coaches, I spent five days in SILENT meditation at an amazing meditation center called Spirit Rock here in Marin, CA. Spirit Rock is not some fancy resort, but is a peaceful oasis that is available for all people, with a wonderful sliding scale to keep it affordable.
Recently, I discovered this NY Times article that greatly helped me with riding the waves of the pandemic and relaxing into a simple and positive mindset and outlook for the unexpected challenges that we have all faced throughout the last year. I hope that it speaks to you as it did for me.
DAY FOUR - dec. 9
THE ‘11 STAR’ EXPERIENCE
day FOUR TIP
Simply having a ‘5 Star’ client experience will no longer make the cut in our saturated and highly competitive markets. With the countless options available to our potential customers, we all need to be going ‘Above + Beyond’ in offering UNEXPECTED, ’11 Star’ level experiences throughout our marketing, intake + consultation process, new client onboarding and integration, individualized programming and longterm client engagement + appreciation. I am here to assist you with thinking FAR outside of your current customer experience box.
DAY FOUR GIFT
If you have ever attended one of my customer experience courses, then you have definitely heard me mention one of my favorite exercises: The ’11 Star’ Experience! I am PSYCHED to share with you today the source for where ‘The 11 Star’ experience exercise began for me. My incredible business coach Tom Andrews originally recommended that I listen to this Masters of Scale podcast with Brian Chesky, the Co-founder + CEO of Airbnb, where he describes the inspirational and extreme thinking exercise that his team at Airbnb used to craft their unexpectedly incredible experiences. I hope that the interview inspires you to imagine in BIGGER ways, just as it did for me!
DAY FIVE - dec. 10
BUILD YOUR 12 Month BUSINESS VISION
day FIVE TIP
‘If you aim at nothing, you hit nothing.’
If you don’t imagine it, how can you possibly build and achieve it? So today’s tip is all about helping you imagine the BIG POSSIBILITIES for your fitness business in the year ahead. In dreaming up your vision, be sure and consider the following areas:
Educational upgrades to better meet your client’s needs
Additional revenue streams for you to develop
More powerful ways of giving back and becoming a more heart-led leader
New technology and systems to introduce into your practice
New ways of boosting your already incredible customer experience
day FIVE GIFT
Today’s gift is the PERFECT TOOLKIT for building you 12 month business vision - It is our TBM Vision Planning Guide and Do Work[book]! The course will also assist you with assessing what is going well in your business and what areas need attention, as well as determining the potential roadblocks that you may need to clear in order to achieve your ideal vision.
I hope that you dream up some unexpectedly amazing business visions for the year ahead.
DAY SIX - dec. 11
SPREAD THE LOVE
day SIX TIP
Today’s business owner tip is a reminder of the power of being a heart-led business owner. As fitness business owners, I honestly believe that we all have a responsibility to do anything that we can to assist the individuals of our community with living their healthiest and happiest lives. This includes everyone in our vastly diverse communities. I know that a lot of us are simply trying to make ends meet as we recover from the last two years, so if that is true for you, then let others spread a little love for you. That is the Ubuntu philosophy at its finest. Every bit of love spread will always come back to you ten-fold in the long run.
DAY SIX GIFT
For today’s gifts, I am so excited to share three items with you!
UBUNTU: In the middle of the pandemic, I was introduced to an amazing philosophy known as Ubuntu, which is a South African philosophy which translates into ‘I am because we are.’ To learn more about this beautiful philosophy, check out The Netflix series ‘The Playbook’, the Doc Rivers episode. It was a life changing lesson for me.
SMILE.AMAZON: For all of you Amazon users, be sure and use their incredible Smile.Amazon site where all of your Amazon purchases will donate 0.5% to your favorite charity.
INSPIRATION FOR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS: I am excited to share the list of charitable organizations that we have recently partnered with at DIAKADI in hopes that it inspires some ideas for you and your brand:
Keep spreading the love wide and far everyone!
DAY SEVEN - dec. 12
BOOST YOUR SOCIAL PROOF
day SEVEN TIP
With over 80% of new clients searching for some form of a review of your business before making a purchase, it is ESSENTIAL that fitness business owner’s take full advantage of spotlighting social proof and their clients’ feedback and testimonials throughout your entire digital marketing presence (I.e. website, social media, review sites, etc). Systematizing the process of consistently gathering new reviews and testimonials is one of your most powerful marketing action items.
DAY SEVEN GIFT
For today’s gifts, I am sharing two TBM blogs that list the most important steps that you can take in order to take full advantage of your client’s social proof. Be sure to stack up as many new reviews as possible before the new year’s rush hits!
DAY EIGHT - dec. 13
MARKET A DAY IN THE LIFE
day EIGHT TIP
In your marketing, you have less than 6 seconds to explain to a potential customer (a) exactly what a ‘day in life’ would be if they purchased your product or service and (b) how you will improve their life! Is your website currently successful in meeting these goals? Do all of your photos show clients that match your target customer’s profile? Are your current COVID protocols represented clearly? Are you client reviews up front and center? I am here to help you with all of these ideas with today’s GIFT!
DAY EIGHT GIFT
Day 8’s gift is BY FAR the biggest of the FitBizMas gifts, because I am giving you full access to our entire ‘Invigorate Your Website’ coursework and workbook in order to give you an exact checklist of how to tweak and adjust your website in preparation for the year ahead!
Use the THIS LINK to access the ‘Invigorate Your Website’ coursework videos and workbook. Definitely feel free to pass any website adjustments by me for feedback if I can assist in any creative ways.
DAY NINE - dec. 14
PRIORITIZE YOUR GLOW
day NINE TIP
One of my favorite mentors once told me, ‘With the incredible work that we get to do in the fitness industry, if there is ever a day that you are not PSYCHED to jump out of bed and get to work, then immediately start making changes in your life until you get your GLOW + HAPPINESS back!’
These words have stuck with me ever since and I fully follow this advice. I know that I have to keep my GLOW and joy in my daily work in order to truly do my best. So, when the days come that I am not feeling psyched to live my life at 100%, I immediately take an inventory of what is causing the sadness and set out to correct the problem.
DAY NINE GIFT
For today’s gift, I am trying to bring a little bit of laughter and inspiration to your day by sharing my own personal list of ‘Billy’s Top Holiday Movies for Laughs + Inspiration’. This will also give you some insight into the 13 year old level of humor that I enjoy.
I hope you experience a little FitBizMas style entertainment, on me!!
Just Friends - I literally watched it the day after Thanksgiving this year to put me in the holiday spirit. Ryan Reynolds and Anna Faris are HILARIOUS!
The Night Before - Doing psychedelic mushrooms on Christmas Eve will always lead to outrageous laughs and unexpected adventures.
Bad Moms Christmas - I can only wish my mom was as wildly entertaining as this crew of moms.
Office Christmas Party - How I wish I could have been AT THIS PARTY!!!
Last Holiday - An amazing reminder of living every day as if it is your last!
Love Actually - If this movie doesn’t crank up your GLOW, you are going to be visited by three ghosts tonight Ebeneezer!
Family Stone - An amazing cast leads us through big laughs, horribly awkward moments and amazingly heartfelt tears. 11 Stars!
Krampus - Combining my two favorite holidays into one movie - HECK YEAH!
Will + Grace - ‘A Little Christmas Queer’ - I know, not a movie! But Jack and Will’s Nephew’s ‘Christmas Pageant’ is legendary!
Elf - Combining both Santa’s and New York’s magic during the holidays! I cry at the end EVERY time!
EXTRA CREDIT - The SNL Holiday Skits - My mentor Tom Andrews just shared these with me and they are definitely worthy of the list!
DAY TEN - dec. 15
CALENDARS, SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION
day TEN TIP
Today I have three quick business owner tips that are guaranteed to boost your success and improve your business development.
CALENDAR IT - You can write ’To Do’ lists all day, but until you actually make time in your calendar to get the work done, there is no guarantee of its completion. As a business owner, I eat, drink and breathe using my calendar, so that I can make strategic decisions about my abilities to complete tasks on time.
SYSTEMATIZE IT - As a business owner, every task you are responsible for, from marketing to client onboarding to your ‘above + beyond’ customer experience, should become part of a system that makes it easy to duplicate, delegate and consistently complete. If systems are a new thing for you, the book ’The E Myth’ in my GIFTS below is a must read!
AUTOMATE IT - Every single task that you are doing more than once is a prime candidate for automation. From new client onboarding, to review and referral requests, to billing and session tracking, let this year be your year to eliminate your hours of office work and install the proper automation software(s) for your practice.
DAY TEN GIFT
For today’s gifts:
I am passing along our TBM Time Tracker Exercise to help you with studying where all of your time currently goes, removing tasks that are slowing you down and finding more time to focus on your top priorities.
I am sharing my recommendation for a project management software called Asana. We use it with our team at DIAKADI and have found great success with staying organized with our tasks, creating helpful business systems, and keeping on track with our deadlines.
I am recommending one of my favorite books to assist with building systems and processes for your business - The E Myth by Michael Gerber.
DAY ELEVEN - dec. 16
UPGRADE YOUR INTAKE
day ELEVEN TIP
Your intake process is your first and only chance to nail your first impression with new customers, so make it count!
Make SCHEDULING sessions with you a seamless task by using a scheduling software that allows clients to choose a time directly from your calendar, sends them a confirmation email, and sends them a 24 hour reminder. I recommend Calendly.
Absolutely NO MORE PAPER FORMS! Ideally imbed all of your new client paperwork into your database for a well branded experience. We currently use SquareSpace forms, Typeform and Dropbox Sign.
Lastly, and most importantly, go above and beyond in PERSONALIZING YOUR INITIAL CONTACT with clients. I have fallen in love with VidYard, which allows me to record personalized videos for clients.
DAY ELEVEN GIFT
For today’s gifts:
I am sharing the links to two of our TBM blogs to assist with upgrading your intake process:
And a link to my new favorite personalization software - VidYard.
DAY TWELVE - DEC. 17
YOU MUST DIFFERENTIATE!
DAY TWELVE TIP
For today’s fitness entrepreneur tip, I am asking you to take a good, honest look at your brand and answer three questions:
How are you a unique option for your target customer?
How are you the leader in your competitive market?
Out of ALL of the options that your potential clients have, how are you the very best fit for your client’s needs?
If you have a clear answer for all three of these questions, then you are rocking! If you are unable to answer any of these with an outstanding response, then I have the perfect ‘TBM Differentiation Starter Tool’ for you as today’s gift.
DAY TWELVE GIFT
For today’s gift, enjoy our ‘4 Steps to Becoming the Leading Option in Your Market’ PDF workbook that contains actionable steps to better differentiate your fitness brand.
Enjoy the homework and do not hesitate to send me your differentiator list if I can assist you with review or creative insights in any way!