How to get started online – Barbell Business
Podcast links: iTunes, Stitcher
This week on Barbell Business, we talk about how you can build a legit online company of your very own.
Barbell Shrugged came together in working form about 3.5 years ago. I say working form because, naturally, we experienced our fair share of failures, slow starts, and hard-earned lessons before that. If there’s any one secret to our success, it’s that we never stopped chopping wood and learning from the mistakes along the way.
There’s nothing stopping you from doing the same thing. In fact, here’s why you should consider it.
Increase your freedom while you amplify your reach.
One of the best things about having an online business is that you never have to go to work ever again.
We won’t lie, being able to do your own thing and work whenever/wherever you want is just as amazing as it sounds. To a large degree, that freedom is where you’ll find happiness and satisfaction in your work. But going online is much bigger than personal convenience. It also affords you global reach.
If you’re interested in educating and transforming as many lives as possible with your coaching (as you should be!) then you must go online. All you need to change the world is a decent internet connection.
Do it once, then evolve.
Going online allows you to build a global audience, but it also keeps you from repeating efforts. As Doug mentioned on the show, that was actually the original motive behind TechniqueWOD.
You could easily spend an entire coaching career delivering the same lessons over and over again in your box and seminars. And sure, you can make good money doing that. But it’s only a matter of time before you get tired of doing that. The far smarter thing to do is to capture all your best stuff on video – one time – and then publish that content online.
From there you can share with as many athletes as possible, anywhere on the planet, without ever having to repeat yourself. Even better, you can easily scale-up, market and profit from the exact same content.
That’s really the game, folks. Learn to work much smarter, but affect way more people.
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Reach is power, but saving cash up front is huge.
Think about what it costs to open a gym – The space itself, the equipment, coaching salaries, insurance, utilities, you name it. If you have $70,000.00 on hand and a well-developed business plan, you will probably be fine (especially if you’ve already been listening to Barbell Business, right?). But that said, this path isn’t for everyone.
You don’t have to have tons of money to get free. You can do the same by working with what you already have.
The clear advantage to going online is that you need very little up-front to make it happen. In fact, with the sum of your experience and a decent smartphone, you’ve got all you need to begin capturing and publishing content. Start earning your audience and solving their problems right now.
You can still own a brick and mortar spot one day, don’t worry. Remember, the advantage of going online is that it gives you lots of options. Once you have built trust with your audience, you’ll have the leverage, resources, reputation, and know-how to build an enduring dream facility of your own one day.
It’s only a matter of time.
You can live the dream, but this is still business – Be prepared to work.
Like I said, building an online business is amazing.
You can work and travel whenever you please, so long as all of the important stuff gets done, of course. You can leverage the internet to amplify your reach, impact and future prospects. That’s dope. But business is still business.
You too will have your fair share of failures, slow starts and hard-earned lessons. Just don’t stop. This old line from Thomas Edison says it all (it’s just as relevant now as it was 100 years ago), “The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; Second, stick-to-itiveness; And third, common sense.”
Work smart, give yourself a change to grow, and most importantly, keep chopping.
Got questions for us? Just leave them in the comments below. We’d love to help you out. Also, don’t forget to check out BarbellBusiness.com. Sign-up for the newsletter and you’ll be the very first to know about some exciting live events we’ve got coming up later this year.
Prepare to have your mind blown!
Chris
4 Responses to “How to get started online – Barbell Business”
As I close in on 20 years of active duty service my mind and heart is constantly drumming, what’s next? DoD civil service is the easy and natural transition, but I’m in love with barbell strength training and would appreciate some guidance on how to make a living being a part of this industry.
Where should I start my strength education and what credentials should I earn over the next couple of years in order to earn a legitimate start in the barbell business? Thanks in advance!
There is never a right place to start. The best thing is simply…START! I would 1). Start reading all that interests you, ever single day. 2). Seminars are a great opportunity for hands on education. Go to all you can possibly afford. 3). Spend more time in gyms. Train. Volunteer. Find ways to help. Soak up all you can, from how to engage clients to how to run the box. Every day should be a learning pursuit. Keep that up and a path will open to you.
Jeff – I’d highly recommend finding someone to intern with. The more willing you are to travel the better. Seek out the best and be willing to hustle your ass off to learn everything you can.
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