Yesterday I wrote in the big group about the time I clocked in at the gym for a week. If you didn’t get a chance to read that, you can do so HERE.
I want to expand for our Academy on that a little more though. Back in those days, I was making about $600 per week at my gym. I had taken a pay cut to leave my full-time job, and I couldn’t work for free, but I also wasn’t making what I had made at my job. Remember I said I had worked 88 hours in 5 days with two more days left in the week? Let’s just say I worked 100 that week (that would probably be a low estimate, but that makes the math easier.)
What was my hourly rate? I was making $600 per week and working 100 hours.
Guys, I was getting paid $6/hour. The sad part is – I know I was working more than that. I bet it was closer to $5.50 per hour when it was all said and done.
That’s less than I was making working as a busboy (because I don’t think a busgirl is a thing) at a restaurant when I was 14.
I would have been mortified to admit that to anyone. Even more embarrassing? I used our entire savings account and two credit cards to open the gym. I was making less and had more bills than every before. I don’t recommend people start gyms that way, but in an act of desperation to work for myself and make my dream a reality, that was what we had decided to do.
After I started making the first few changes in our business to systemize and properly staff, I was amazed at how much growth we saw. I was able to call people back who wanted to enroll. I could promptly return their emails. I could attend festivals and fairs where I marketed our program. I taught myself how to run Facebook ads and do email marketing. It took me 10 years to learn how to be paid what I think I’m worth.
I made one hard, fast rule back then. If it was a job I could pay someone else to do for $10 or less (our minimum wage was just $8 back then, so put that in perspective for you), then I was going to pay someone else to do it and I was going to find something bigger to do.
Now, it was a new challenge. I would delegate any tasks worth under $25/hour to someone else and I would set my sights on something bigger. What happened when I vowed to do that?
- We opened a second location. (I realize I don’t have it today…but it was actually very profitable, so don’t be misled by that.)
- We started a mobile tumbling program and brought in $30,000.
- We visited other gyms and learned what their owners did all day and asked for advice on how we could be more effective owners in our gyms.
- We dove into the numbers, because if you don’t know the numbers you’re essentially operating off feeling.
- We invested “work time” into learning. I spent 2 hours per week away from the gym reading business books, listening to podcasts, searching the internet for business advice, etc.
Today, my rate is far above $5.50/hour. Thank God. Do you think I would have made it 10 years working that many hours and going home with that little pay? It was OK for a year, but I would have thrown in the towel a long time ago.
So now I’ll ask you. Are you doing jobs that are $10/hour jobs? What’s your hourly rate? Could you hire someone as great as you for what you are paying yourself? If not, you need to work with your coach to increase your hourly rate.
