I don’t need to tell any of you how badly things can go wrong when you run your own business.
I hear your horror stories all the time, and I’ve shared with you a few of mine.
The thing about these horror stories is that they all come from the same source…
You. Us. The bosses.
That’s part of what it means to be a business owner and entrepreneur – anything that goes wrong in your business is ultimately your fault, or at the very least your responsibility.
And that might sound like a bad thing… but it’s really not. In fact, it’s a great thing.
Why?
Because every mistake that happens in your business is actually a big opportunity.
See, here’s the thing about us entrepreneurs: we’re human. And we’ve got a bunch of humans working for us. That means mistakes will absolutely happen.
And when those mistakes happen, the world will be watching.
Are you seeing the opportunity yet?
When mistakes happen, and the spotlight is on your business, you have the opportunity to really shine. You have the opportunity to show the world that you CARE and you know how to SOLVE PROBLEMS.
This is a really important idea, so I’m gonna give you three examples to show you want I mean:
Example #1 – the Bad Employee
I hear this one all the time, and man is it frustrating.
You’ve got a trainer who’s an absolute nightmare. They seemed fine when you hired them, and they played nice for the first few months, but now they’re causing trouble.
They refuse to show up to their sessions on time and they’re taking a bunch of last-minute sick days.
They’re putting in less effort than ever before and yet somehow they get annoyed when you won’t give them a raise.
And worst of all, there’s rumors that they’re sleeping around with one of your clients. 
Now I probably don’t need to tell you the solution to this problem (FIRE THEM) but I think I should explain how this situation benefits you in the long term.
See, it has to do with a little thing called “people reading.”
You may have heard about “people reading” before – it’s a skill some people are born with and others have to learn. Either way, it’s a skill that will make or break your hiring process.
And I’m going to show you how to learn it.
Once you’ve gotten rid of that troublemaker, sit down and try to create a mental portrait of them (you can even do this with a pen and paper).
List out their primary personality traits. List out the words they tend to use in conversation. Describe their body language and their speaking tone.
Once you have that portrait fixed in your mind, you’ll have an easier time spotting that kind of person so that you can avoid hiring another dud like them!
Like I said, people reading is a skill, and like any skill you learn it through practice. Turns out, crappy people are the best people reading practice you could ever ask for.
You know another situation where people reading is important? When you’re networking! Want to put your networking skills to use while also getting direct, in-person business coaching from me, Bedros Keuilian? Sign up now for my fitness business summit.
Example #2 – the Employee Turned Competitor
I talked a little bit more about this one last week when I talked about setting your prices but I want to expand a little on this scenario here.
The situation goes like this: after your business has been growing splendidly for a few months or even years, two of your trainers decide to jump ship and open their own gym just down the street from you with drastically lower prices.
And they steal your carefully crafted workout and diet formula while they’re at it.
And they also steal a big chunk of your clients.
It’s enough to make you bang your head against the wall, isn’t it?
But hang on – this is another scenario that will actually benefit you in the long run.
You see, that little splinter gym might get an initial boom of clients, and they may even survive well enough for a few months…
However, they will crash and burn eventually, since they don’t know the first thing about GROWING a business.
And when that happens, you have the opportunity to reactivate those clients they stole. Once you do, you’ll have some of the most loyal clients you could ever hope for – since they’ll have seen first hand the difference between a real business and a load of amateurs.
Example #3 – The Angry Client
This situation is the toughest one to deal with, but also the most important.
Since you know how to deliver awesome results, your angry client isn’t upset about that. Truth be told, even when clients are getting crappy results they usually don’t get blow up angry.
No, the real source of the angry client’s rage has almost nothing to do with training.
Maybe you played a song they didn’t like during a workout, or you posted pictures of them online for a promo and they freaked out (even though they already signed a release form).
And because of this tiny offense, they’ve decided to go BALLISTIC.
They’re screaming at you in front of all your other clients.
They’re posting 500 word rants on your Facebook page.
They’re threatening to “warn” all their friends about your business.
Scary situation, right? Clients are the lifeblood of your business – what are you supposed to do when one of them flies off the handle like this?
Actually, it’s quite simple:
You treat them with 100% patience and kindness and you fix whatever issue they’re angry about.
Now here you’re probably thinking that the point of this strategy is to win back that client. That can be a nice side benefit, but it’s not the real point.
The real point of this strategy is to show the rest of your clients what a great person you are, so that they like and trust you even more than before.
And if you really want to make your clients happy and keep them loyal for years on end, I suggest you attend Fitness Business Summit 2016. We’ll teach you how to master every part of the client life cycle from lead generation to retention and referrals. And if you sign up today, you can get a HUGE discount.
Committed to your success,
Bedros