Here’s a quickie pro–tip to best nurture your facility.
When making improvements, don’t do everything all at once.
If you’re anything like me, you like to get THINGS DONE. FAST.
(I have many lovely qualities. Patience is not among them.)
So when I’m thinking about ways to improve MFF’s physical facility, I want to get it DONE. FAST. NOW. IMMEDIATELY. LET’S GO!
But there are two good reasons to spread out your improvements.
1) You’ll create more impact by spreading out your planned upgrades.
Even small things like a freshly painted wall or changed out art (WAIT YOU DON’T HAVE ART) send a message to clients. These small changes say:
“I see you. I’m investing in you. I’m giving you loving care and attention. I SEE you.”
When you completely renovate your space, that can obviously be impactful as well. And there can be a time and a place for a dramatic reveal.
But because humans adapt to changes over time, I suggest spreading out your upgrades so long as you consider the caveat below.
2) It’s easier on cash flow.
Upgrading your space isn’t free. By constantly making small improvements here and there, you won’t need to spend months saving up or use your line of credit.
It also makes it less likely that you’ll need to temporarily close and/or disrupt your services. While this is inevitable with some larger projects (e.g. new flooring), constant glow-ups can keep your space feeling fresh without a dramatic drag on cash or inconveniencing your clients.
Related, you can set up a specific “Profit First”-style account at your bank and save a certain amount OR a percentage of revenue towards space improvements. This account can be used for your ongoing investments OR to save up for bigger renovations. Depending on your facility, volume, and your market, you could even earmark some of these funds to a quarterly massive deep-clean of your space.
And if you’ve not been doing any kind of regular upgrades? Well, great news. Now you can start saving money towards it. Because after about 18-24 months, this will be necessary to keep your space looking sexy.
IMPORTANT CAVEAT: If there’s an egregious flaw(s) in your facility, this advice goes out the window.
This isn’t an excuse to delay mission-critical upgrades that are hurting your ability to run your business and deliver your services. If members mention an issue when terminating, don’t “dripfeed” the fix.
If your pull-up bands are breaking, look like crap, and becoming a hazard, for the luvagawd, buy new bands.
Grungy powerlifting dungeons are cool but not for most of your clients,
PS Have you checked out my YouTube channel lately?
To see my latest video, click the thumbnail below.
