» Canadian Forum
Creating Business
MOMENTUM
mentum, tasks appear easier, your people are more engaged and your business thrives. It puts victory within reach so people believe that anything is possible.
When your business has mo-
BY DONNA HUTCHINSON
ness businesses to be ever more flexible and adaptable if they are to remain competitive in today’s difficult busi- ness environment. Attracting and retaining members requires a whole new game plan with a different set of rules. Learning the secret behind creating business mo- mentum is one way of helping your business grow and thrive. With momentum on your side, the future looks bright, obstacles appear small, and trouble seems tem- porary. And with enough momentum nearly any kind of improvement is possible. You can kick-start your company’s
T
momentum with these three funda- mental strategies.
1. Understand the process
Whether your objective is to attract
Donna Hutchinson
or retain new members, provide excep- tional customer service or open up new markets for your programs, you need to understand the process of business momentum along with how to create a well thought out plan. Then you need to take those ideas and put them into action and stay the course. Avoid get- ting side tracked when opportunities or challenges are thrown in your path.
To keep the momentum rolling, do something related
to your plan every day to keep moving closer to your goal. Be open to taking risks. While taking a risk can be scary, sometimes a leap of faith is what is needed to move your business forward. Lastly, be patient because it can take time for the labour of your efforts to pay off.
2. Say no to negativity and create positive momentum
In your business, you may have reached a point where
growth has stalled, you’re struggling to fill programs or maybe your team isn’t as motivated as it used to be. All
54 Fitness Business Canada July/August 2009
he economy is down, taxes are up and people are choosing to be more discretionary about when and where they decide to spend their money. These challenges create a need for fit-
Winning
teams…
• Have great leaders • Attract good people • Work hard to win • Help make every team member more successful • Find ways to continue improving
organizations go through cycles of negative momentum due to layoffs, re-structuring, funding cutbacks or a change in leader- ship. It’s how you handle these situations and what you do to break the negative momentum that matters the most.
How can you break the cycle?
If you find your organization in this position, call a time-
out. Find out what’s really going on and then shake things up. • Consider shuffling your work teams. When staff members
have a chance to interact with other people it changes the dy- namics of the team. • Give the team a juicy project to work on – something that
requires lots of creativity, interactivity and fun. • Focus on the positive aspects of your employees’ contribu-
tions. Create a recognition program where once a month mem- bers of the team are recognized for their input. • Publicly acknowledge the meaning and purpose of the
work people do in your organization. Share a story about the impact their work has had on a client. • Let employees help set goals for their parts of the business. • Set clear expectations and find time to review these expec- tations on a regular basis.
3. Build your “A” team
It’s a lot easier to build business momentum with the right
team on your side. You know you can’t do it alone, so choose good people to help you achieve your objectives. In most jobs, the talents and skills of employees are seriously underuti- lized. But given the right circumstances, employees jump at the chance to share their expertise. The next time you have a special project approach individuals and share your vision. Ask if they would be willing to lend their expertise to the project. Be specific about what you think their expertise is and why it would benefit the project. Then listen to their suggestions. Building business momentum takes a plan, putting in a dai-
ly effort and the willingness to see things through even during tough times. It’s the small things you do on a daily basis that have the greatest impact to your business. Use the three strate- gies outlined to get you started and working towards building a successful business. FBC
Donna Hutchinson is the owner of On The Edge Fitness Educators which provides business coaching services geared towards business growth. Her expertise lies in assisting businesses to recruit and hire top level perform- ers, staff training and development, and creating and maintaining business
momentum. Donna is the author of The How To Guide to Starting Your Own
Personal Training Business. Contact her at
edgefit@shaw.ca or visit her web- site at www.edgefit.ca.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56