In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the trap of doing what I though I was supposed to be doing, as opposed to doing what I actually enjoyed doing while getting me unique personal training facility, ACLAÍ, off the ground. In this instalment, I would like share with you the rock bottom point that made me realise that I wanted to do things differently.
Like many fresh starts, U-turns, or crazy ideas, my new approach to developing ACLAÍ came from a place of being at a pretty rough low point. Rock bottom if you will.
After 2 years of building the business, through one thing or another, I found myself €20,000 in debt that I didn’t have at the beginning of the business-starting journey, very low membership numbers, with weekly departures, and as I could see it, major gaps in the service, and the way that I was promoting it. To be honest with you, at the time, I was living alone in an overpriced 2 bedroom apartment in Douglas, walking home from the gym one day in the rain after a long day, pouring rain, feeling like I just wanted to quit the whole lot. I was thinking; : “I am here trying to create something different, that helps people. But I am now in big debt. The business is going backwards. I mean,. I am not even from Cork, and all my family are quite far away. I should just quit this whole thing and move on.”
I would love to say that it was my ‘never say die’ attitude that kept me going, but really, I had the realisation that even if I did quit, I would still have this massive debt hanging over me, and would just end up trapped in some other job trying to pay it back for years to come. I just thought to myself; “Well, I am here now. This is now things are. If I have to stick with this thing, I am going to do it the way that I want to do them. I am going to focus on promoting the business by doing things that I enjoy doing, that I would enjoy experiencing as a customer myself, and that will attract like minded people that understand what I am about, and what my business represents. At the very minimum, I will be dealing with great people from different walks of life! On the other hand, maybe this approach will create a group of people that really dig what we do, and maybe they will become fans of ACLAÍ due to the value that they get from the service, and enjoy their time as members!
And so, the new approach was born. Since that day, we have tried and tested quite few methods of promotion, growth, and development, but each of them were things that were fun to do, and in line with my own values and what I would be attracted to myself.In the next section of this series, I will share those methods with you.