When was the last time you took a long, hard look at your entire business model, your business processes and procedures, and your employee efficiency, and completely gutted those established systems to make way for new and improved methods?

Last year? Two years ago? Have you ever done something this?

Well, perhaps a complete overhaul might not be the greatest idea, but I am certain there are areas of your business, maybe small pockets or possibly massive sections, in need of in-depth evaluation and restructuring.

Businesses spring leaks. There are always issues and problems that develop over time or hide in the shadows until you seek them out and discover them. Fit Body Boot Camp has some complicated and complex systems, with nuances and details unique to each location and each owner. There’s no getting out of it, there will be problem areas that develop with your business structure— this is normal and unavoidable.

However, that does not give you a free pass to ignore this phenomenon. I know it can be easy to sweep things under the rug, especially when they seem like small issues with little significance. But any inefficiency, any problem that slows processes or prevents any aspect of your Boot Camp from operating at peak and optimal performance will, without a doubt, cost you money. And it may seem minimal, but after months, or even years, all those little inefficiencies add up and become huge costs for you and your business.

It becomes crucial, then, for us as business owners and operators to periodically set aside time to discover problem areas, make plans to address them, and implement action that fixes those issues wasting money and time. That is what I regularly do with my many businesses and it’s what I encourage you to do with your Boot Camp businesses.

So where should you start?

You should start with the simplest place to identify problems— the simplest place to identify yet incredibility difficult to address: yourself.

I’m sure you know exactly where many of your problems areas are. Those times when you make the easy but less optimal choice, those areas where you don’t know everything you should, or those tasks to which you never commit enough time. I’m talking about your lazy moments, people. When you know you should do more, you feel you should do more, but you decide not to do more.

And often times, there’s good reason for your behavior. You have other, more dire needs to address. You simply cannot take the time it requires to make these changes. That’s exactly why I am encouraging you to plan for this period of change. Unless you sit down with the intention of fixing your own problem areas, you are never going to be able to fit in such a difficult task.

For those issues about your management style or your leadership that you might not be able to identify yourself, ask trusted employees or managers to give you some confidential feedback regarding areas where you can improve. This is especially difficult. No one wants to hear about what they’ve done wrong or what they need to change, but you must put your pride and ego aside in order to realize and recognize the areas that require addressing.

And I’m not saying this with any kind of moral or ethical bent. I am simply talking dollars and cents here. If you aren’t managing your people correctly problems will develop: disrespect, laziness, poor work quality, advantage taking, all of these awful employee behaviors can stem directly from ineptitudes in leadership. And each and every one of these issues will most definitely cost YOU money. So get over whatever hang-ups you have about being the best and never making mistakes and fix your problems. No matter who you are, you aren’t perfect and there will be areas that need improvement. I guarantee that the only outcome of this kind of behavior will be appreciation, positive recognition, increased efficiency, and ultimately, more profits.

That leads me directly into the next area that requires your attention: employees.

But this time, I’m not talking about issues you may have caused, I’m talking about the problems people come up with all on there own. Finding and utilizing the right team can be one of the most incredible and rewarding aspects of any business, and especially a boot camp business. We work in the industry of self-improvement and body transformation, so when you find others who share in your vision and love helping people in the same ways you enjoy, you can truly form wonderful and meaningful connections.

But your employees can also grow into an absolutely massive headache.

Sometimes, these problems are not cause for major alarm. If you pay close attention, keep a watchful yet respectful eye on your employee work and interaction, you should be able to identify and solve minor issues as they come. There may be some behaviors you have allowed to go on without addressing. Well, now’s the time to make those changes that will bring the efficiency you have been missing within your team.

But bigger problems will require major action, in some cases, even termination. This is especially crucial with managers or trusted employees you have placed into leadership positions. There may be problem areas with their leadership that their egos aren’t allowing them to address. You must step in and instigate those necessary changes.

Once again, this all goes back to efficiency and profits. Of course it is incredibly important that we create a safe and healthy working environment for those workers for which we are responsible, but you aren’t paying those people to make them feel comfortable. You pay employees to make you money and if their poor behavior or attitude is hindering that in any way, do not hesitate to make the necessary changes. It’s difficult but necessary.

Lastly, check over your business practices and processes and find areas that are bleeding you cash. You might be ordering too much soap for the restrooms, maybe there is a cheaper printer paper you can purchase, maybe your cleaning service has gotten too expensive, there are so many different ways to trim the fat off your spending. I’m not telling you to be cheap. You don’t need to pick the cheapest option for every product or service that keeps your Boot Camp running, but you should decide on the quality you are willing to purchase and find the best way to do so.

The New Year is the perfect time for this kind of work. Take advantage of our global sense of renewal and get work done on your crucial areas in need of improvement.

This entry was posted on December 18, 2014 at 3:20 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Boot Camp Business, Lifestyle and Self Improvement by Steve Hochman | No Comments Yet