Not all metrics are created equal. Learn about the hierarchy of metrics, including targets to improve (TTIs) &amp; key performance indicators (KPIs) and ensure you are measuring what matters.  Not All Metrics Are Created Equal: TTIs &amp; KPIs   Two main categories of metrics exist to help measure progress toward strategic goals and gauge the health of the company: targets to improve (TTIs) and key performance indicators (KPIs). TTIs are your top set of metrics, which have to directly impact your strategic priorities. Your strategic priorities need to align with your tenets and core values. If these metrics improve, you have moved closer to or met your strategic priorities. These are not monthly or quarterly (though you measure them monthly and quarterly and probably more often than that) but likely annual priorities and TTIs. KPIs are snapshots of the health of the company. If they improve, they should help your TTIs and strategic priorities (for the most part). Often times, these are metrics that lower-level employees may care about. The CEO does not need to get into the weeds of Instagram post performance, for example, but the social media manager does. Some metrics will likely not move, but if they do move you need to identify why they moved (either to understand the success or address the underperformance). For Barbell Logic this might be churn. A good example in another industry is engine temperature in an airplane. This should remain constant, but if it starts to go up you need to address it quickly.  Not All Metrics Are Created Equal: Hierarchy of Metrics   What you measure focuses your attention, so pick your metrics carefully. The CEO should not be looking at 100s of metrics. Improvements in your TTIs must actually move you closer toward your strategic priorities. For example, if a strategic priority for you is to earn $50k in coaching revenue this year, revenue is a TTI. KPIs that align with this may be churn, clients, cold calls, and life time value of clients. Make sure your metrics align with your priorities and your priorities align with your values and tenets. Prioritize metrics: do not measure metrics just because you can. Not all metrics are created equal.  This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going&nbsp;. Check out&nbsp;&nbsp;- the new Academy course designed to cover the basics of coaching. It's leaner and tighter than our other offerings (and cheaper). Check out the&nbsp;  Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now:&nbsp; Connect with the hosts      Connect with the show     Or email&nbsp;

All Metrics Are Not Created Equal - Coaching Success - #572

Stop being cheap! Consider the value of your time and invest in things that make you money and provide you value.  Stop Being Cheap: Value per Unit Time   Too many in the fitness industry value their time too little. Comparing options for online coaching platforms, you see one option is $1 cheaper per client per month. The other option prioritizes efficiency, helping you coach more clients in less time. Which to you go with? Too many go with the first option. Start thinking about the value of your time. As a coach, think not only about the , but the value per unit time. Eliminate things that don't provide value, focus on things that do, and become more efficient in delivering those things. Spend more time on . This means you can coach more clients, you can spend more time finding more clients, you can spend more time working on your business, not in your business.  Stop Being Cheap: Consider the Value of Your Time   How much money can you make during the time you perform menial tasks (e.g. grocery shopping, mowing the lawn)? Consider the value of your time and stop being cheap. If you can make $200 per hour, why would you mow your lawn? Instead, do the things that make you money. Think of this as buying "back" your time. Of course, you're actually buying it up front, not buying past time back. So, stop being cheap: consider the value of your time.   This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going . Check out&nbsp;&nbsp;- the new Academy course designed to cover the basics of coaching. It's leaner and tighter than our other offerings (and cheaper). Check out the&nbsp; Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now:&nbsp;  Connect with the hosts      Connect with the show     Or email&nbsp;

Stop Being Cheap: Consider the Value of Your Time - Coaching Success - #487

Be a person of integrity, every day, always. If you screw up, own it. This leads to business success (and it's the right thing to do).  Person of Integrity: Be One, Always   Integrity underpins business success. Yes, you may think of business that have seemingly grown despite scummy business practices. Don't worry about them. Life is not fair. Still, you will create loyal customers, have great reviews, and gain word-of-mouth marketing if you show up and do what you say you're going to do and the price you quoted. Be a person of integrity. Close loops you say you will close. Do things you say you will do. Be reliable, be honest, do the work to ensure you fulfill your promises. Integrity involves many values. It includes honesty. It includes work ethic.  Person of Integrity: One Bad Action Can Destroy Trust   One failure, even an honest failure, can demolish trust and destroy a relationship. Matt shares an example of where, in his business running a gym, he was finally able to go on a vacation. He had been coaching someone who was preparing for a powerlifting meet and failed to send her programming. During her workout, two weeks before the meet, she injured her shoulder. Not only did that client fire Matt as his coach, but he lost a friend. Matt and his wife had developed a friendship with the couple. That relationship has not healed, even to this day. So, be a person of integrity, today, tomorrow, and every day until you die.   This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going . Check out&nbsp;&nbsp;- the new Academy course designed to cover the basics of coaching. It's leaner and tighter than our other offerings (and cheaper). Check out the&nbsp; Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now:&nbsp;  Connect with the hosts      Connect with the show     Or email&nbsp;

Be a Person of Integrity - Coaching Success - #489

Automated metrics are awesome - measure &amp; celebrate progress toward your or your clients' goals AUTOMATICALLY. Awesome. This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going&nbsp;. Check out  - the new Academy course designed to cover the basics of coaching. It's leaner and tighter than our other offerings (and cheaper). Check out the&nbsp;  Automated Metrics Are Awesome -    PRs matter because PRs measure progress toward your or your clients' goals. They let you know you're on the right track (or they indicate a change is needed). You first must develop goals based on your deep motivations and values. Then, decide on metrics that align with this goal. If these metrics increase - if you hit PRs - you are moving closer toward your goals. Over time, you'll need to reassess your goals and PRs. You may get injured or reach a point where all-time, outright PRs are behind you (no more 1RMs). This is okay. What you'll have to do is create new PRs to track. Maybe you track PRs after 40. You could track PRs at your lighter weight. Tracking volume PRs, consistency PRs, PRs at different rep &amp; set schemes, or PRs for accessory or supplemental lifts could help you assess progress toward your goals. Ultimately, PRs motivate clients and measure progress toward goals, indicating if you and your client are on the right path, or you need to change something.  Automated Metrics Are Awesome -    Don't go out of your way to remember client PRs - track them automatically. How? TurnKey Coach automatically tracks PRs across different rep and set schemes, for conditioning, and for consistency. As you provide video feedback, the PRs appear on the screen at the top. It's the first thing to notice and celebrate with your client. In your programming, you can scroll through PRs for a certain lift and aim for a PR that is there for the taking. For example, a client's last 1RM and 5RM were all-out, RPE 10 grinders. The client, though, may not have gone for a 3RM for a long time. Instead of trying to eke out a small 1RM or 5RM PR that might not be there, go for the easier 3RM PR.   Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now:&nbsp;  Connect with the hosts      Connect with the show     Or email&nbsp;

Automated Metrics are Awesome - Coaching Success - #491

You need excellent customer service for online coaching, not just in-person coaching. Set your online coaching apart from the crowd, provide your clients more value, get more clients, and make more money. This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going&nbsp;. Check out&nbsp;&nbsp;- the new Academy course designed to cover the basics of coaching. It's leaner and tighter than our other offerings (and cheaper). Check out the&nbsp;  Excellent Customer Service for Online Coaching (Not Just In-Person)   Customer service, especially in a post-COVID world, sets your business apart. Many coaches and gyms provide excellent customer service. Matt sees three common gyms types: boutique gyms with excellent customer service but poor training, black iron or CrossFit gyms with hard training but poor customer service, and big box gyms that have good customer service with laissez faire training (you can train hard or not). Coaches who follow something akin to Barbell Logic coaching, with high-quality, 1-on-1 coaching, you know how to provide excellent customer service: show up on time, be prepared, greet your client with enthusiasm even if you're in a bad mood, dress well, etc. You need to have excellent customer service for online coaching. Don't treat your online coaching differently. Take the principles of high-quality, high-touch coaching and apply it to your online coaching business.  Excellent Customer Service for Online Coaching: Set &amp; Maintain a High Standard   How can you set and maintain a high standard of service for your online coaching business. Look at the list below for some basic things:  programming done in advance (always) communicate where programming is going technique feedback 24-hour feedback screen recording, not just text well-dressed high-quality microphone  Think about the online coaching experience like you would the in-person experience. As opposed to your client walking into the gym, how does the client interact with you, receive feedback, upload videos, ask questions? How do they pay? Can they expect consistent, high-quality customer service from you?  Have excellent customer service for online coaching.  Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now:&nbsp;  Connect with the hosts      Connect with the show     Or email&nbsp;

Delivering a Consistent High Standard of Service for Online Coaching - Coaching Success - #495

Why you should take a vacation: to get into the important, get out from under the tyranny of the urgent, and reset (for work &amp; what is important to you).  Why You Should Take a Vacation - Reset &amp; Relax   Life naturally contains cycles. You stress yourself in the gym, then you rest to allow recovery and adaptation to occur. Without the rest, there is no adaptation. Without the stress, there is no adaptation. Both contribute to the goal: improvement toward your goal. After day comes night. Following the cold of winter, comes the blooming and growth of spring, the heat of summer, and the harvest that leads back into winter. Traditionally, many religions have times of fasting and feasting - and the largest feasts are often preceded by the severest fasts. If you overreach in training, you deload. Even within a workout, you can lift more weight between sets or run harder on an interval only after you have rested. We cannot, as humans, grind all the time. It is inhuman.  Why You Should Take a Vacation -    You need times to overcome the tyranny of the urgent and prioritize the important. This includes working "on the business, not in the business." It also includes spending time with friends and family, self-improvement and professional development, leisure and exercise. Business people and artists build time to allow thoughts to arise in their minds. This may be a daily walk, weekly "no cell phone" days, or quarterly or annual retreats. Just as we cannot and will not become strong if we were to decide to start a workout today and never end it (sets until you die), neither can we work with sleep, food, leisure, and rest. Why you should take a vacation (or a walk, a retreat, a break, a day without social media, celebrate a holiday or feast): because you're human.   Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now:&nbsp;  Connect with the hosts      Connect with the show     Or email&nbsp;

Why You Should Take a Vacation - Coaching Success - #493

We discuss 3 lifter pathways: competing, just training (thriving), and recovering. How do these looks, who might find themselves in one of these pathways (and why)? Andrew &amp; Niki explore this. 3 Lifter Pathways - Competing This pathway involves a state of life where life can support training. For these lifters, training is a high priority. Nutrition supports training, lifters likely give up other pursuits to support training. Obviously, life needs to cooperate (and sometimes it does not), but insofar as you can prioritize training you do. 6 months out from the competition, the training can remain fairly general, though the more advanced the lifter is the earlier the training has to be more specific. As the meet approaches, training will incorporate more heavy singles and doubles. The competition lift will be practiced. The lifter may perform a mock meet. Lastly, the lifter will peak, letting build up fatigue dissipate and allowing performance to increase (it's easy to screw the timing up here). 3 Lifter Pathways - Just Training This is really where most people should be most of the time. Training is a priority, but not the top priority. Training is a tool for their deep goals of health and fitness, and nutrition and sleep can support that. Ultimately, though, if you want to go for a run or a hike, you don't sacrifice this or other physical pursuits for your training. The volume slot in a training week is the primary stress and needs to be productive. For the intensity slot, it's more akin to practice or skill work. It is heavy, but not scary or grindy. 3 Lifter Pathways - Recovering For these lifters, training has to take a back seat. This could be due to  or major life setback. It could be, however, a phase of life where time and recovery ability is limited. The lifter wants to continue lifting, but it cannot be as high a priority as the other two pathways. Metrics may need to reflect the shift in focus. This could be going for rep PRs. It could be consistency. It could be pain (looking for less pain). It could be enjoyment of time in the gym. 3 lifter pathways exist, and they reflect different stages and phases of life. If you train long enough, you'll experience all of these. Check out the . Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now:&nbsp;  Connect with the hosts      Connect with the show     Or email&nbsp;

3 Lifter Pathways - Beast Over Burden - #496

Learn the business economics - the metrics that matter - for your business. Matt Reynolds dives into macroeconomics and microeconomic or unit statistics, healthy rates, and how to calculate these statistics. You don't know the health of your business if you don't know these metrics.   Business Economics: Know the Health of Your Business   You cannot go off how you feel about your business to know if your business is doing well. The reality is real, and if you fail to know the economic realities of your business, the economic realities will confront you when abject failure slaps you in the face. It's okay, though. Even if the metrics are bad or trending in the wrong direction, have a true, clear picture helps you identify problems and where you need to put your energy and effort to turn things around. If your waist goes up month after month, you're getting unhealthier, whether you're measuring it or not. These metrics give you an objective measuring standard to assess your business' health.  Business Economics: Metrics that Matter for Your Business   Matt goes through each metric one-by-one. First, though, here are the metrics, organized into macroeconomic or business-level and microeconomic or unit-level.  Macroeconomic (business-level)  top line revenue cost of goods gross margin or gross profit operating expenses net profit   Microeconomic (unit-level)  churn rate (or retention rate) number of subscribers average ticket price lifetime value of client (LTV)  per gross revenue per gross margin/profit   customer acquisition cost (CAC) CAC:LTV ratio (as gross margin) monthly recurring revenue (MRR)     Business Economics: Macroeconomic Metrics that Matter   The first and easiest metric to calculate is top line revenue. This is the money that is coming in over a period of time, typically calculated monthly (and eventually quarterly and annually - though quarterly and annual numbers matter more for larger businesses). Whether you're looking at Stripe, ACH, the business bank account, this is simply calculating all the incoming money in a month. The cost of goods is the cost to produce the good itself. So, for producing a product, this is the cost of materials you purchase that go into the item and costs such as shipping. For a service business such as Barbell Logic, this looks like the pay to the 1099 contractor coaches per client. You calculate gross margin or gross profit by subtracting the cost of goods from top line revenue. Next, you need to identify operating expenses. These are things that are required for the business but not directly related to producing the individual service or good. This might be payroll for full-time employees, printer ink, paying for a new computer, squat racks, or taking a client to lunch. The last critical business-level metric to determine is your net profit. You calculate this by subtracting your operating expenses from your gross profit. This is truly how much money the business is making each month. If you're a one-man team, then you get paid from this. If you lose money, you don't get paid. As the owner or CEO, though, while you get paid last you also get fired last.  Business Economics: Microeconomic Metrics that Matter   Calculate your churn rate. This is the percentage of clients you lose each month. The retention rate is the opposite (100% - churn rate). Next note your number of subscribers. Matt says subscribers, because a customer who makes a one-time purchase (a one-time coaching session or purchases one widget) does not lead you to know what your recurring revenue is. You don't have recurring revenue in this situation. Next know your average ticket price. What are your subscribers paying each month on average. The number of subscribers multiplied by average ticked price equals your monthly recurring revenue (MRR). An important statistic to calculate is your lifetime value of client (LTV - especially at gross margin). The first thing you need to do is calculate the average customer...

Business Economics: The Metrics that Matter for Your Business - Coaching Success - #497

Learn how to avoid, identify, and get out of occupational burnout. Like overtraining, this is better to avoid then dig yourself out of.  Burnout: Definition &amp; Identification   This is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. It comes from doing too much for too long, especially too many urgent things. Some people have performed some great feats of endurance in their lives, but they often focus on the important, not the urgent. You will experience a lack of desire to work, even with things that used to motivated and excited you. It will affect all areas of your life. There is a clear parallel with overtraining. Overtraining is actually less common than most people think, but if you become overtrained it is debilitating. Overtraining and becoming burned out are better to avoid than dig yourself out of.  Burnout: Avoidance versus Digging Yourself Out   This is one of those instances when important things become urgent. You drown in an overwhelming amount of urgency for too long, and you will have to confront it. It is better to get out in front of it. Ensure that you are making time for the important. You are taking days off and there are things you do unrelated to the urgent every day. Take care of your health always: physical, medical, spiritual, psychological, social. Do not medicate with activities that can exacerbate the problem, such as alcohol or other drugs, unhealthy foods, empty pleasures, risky behaviors, or excessive spending or gambling. To dig yourself out will require more work and greater effort than if you had never found yourself burned out in the first place. And, of course, some people never dig themselves out. Avoid burnout, but reach out for help if you find yourself burned out.  PS - This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going&nbsp;. Check out&nbsp;&nbsp;- the new Academy course designed to cover the basics of coaching. It's leaner and tighter than our other offerings (and cheaper). Check out the&nbsp;  Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now:&nbsp; Connect with the hosts      Connect with the show     Or email&nbsp;

Burnout - Coaching Success - #582

When you know you have a good product, service, or solution, you have unshakeable confidence. How do you develop this? Learn what this is and how you develop it! Unshakeable Confidence: Is It Possible &amp; What Is It?  Andrew saw a video of someone handing out bags of money and reacting to people accepting or not accepting it. Seems pretty crazy, to turn a bag of money, right!? Now, in a big city, we can acknowledge that people might not fully understand what is going on, might be skeptical, and other reasons may exist. But in a situation this obvious - do you want free money? - the person handing it out is not insulted if you turn it down. Why? Well, because this person is delivering such obvious value. Andrew realized that when you know you have a good product, good service, good solution, this is how you react to rejection. You don't get incredibly defensive or emotional. You might take it as a learning opportunity. While you want to spread the word about the good thing you have, your emotions are not so wrapped up in defending the value because you know, deep down, this thing has value. Unshakeable Confidence: How to Develop It  Be honest with yourself and invest in ability, integrity, and benevolence. If the product needs work, be honest with yourself. That might be part of your pitch and you should charge accordingly. For example, if you are trying to become a coach, you might initially charge nothing or very little and pitch it as something that will likely provide them value while allowing you to improve your coaching. If they receive value, request a testimonial. Pick something that keeps you curious, and grow and expand your limits within that thing. Improve your craft. Improvement requires honesty, because you have to acknowledge your deficiencies and work to improve those areas. When it comes to sales, this will look like not being obsessed with closing the sale, but rather offering a service where you help the other make a decision. Occasionally, it will not be a good fit. That's okay. Do not force something bad when it does not make sense. Develop unshakeable confidence and then deliver.   PS&nbsp;- If you're interested in taking online coaching with Barbell Logic for a test run, check it out&nbsp;.   Check out the&nbsp;.  Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now:&nbsp; Connect with the hosts      Connect with the show     Or email&nbsp;

Unshakeable Confidence - Beast Over Burden - #583

Learn how many go from client to coach, crushing the client life cycle. This is Micaela Bickel's story.  Client to Coach: Fitness to Strength   Barbell Logic has identified a somewhat typical progression among a cohort of its clientele. These folks go from fan to strength client to Academy client to coach using TurnKey Coach. Micaela Bickel followed this path. She began more in the fitness space, programming circuits and endurance. Barbells were sprinkled in. Despite her skepticism and fears, training with barbells produced the results she wanted and not only did not hurt her back but actually helped her back. She attended a seminar and left humbled but ready to pivot to strength-based training for both herself and her clients.  Client to Coach: The Business of Coaching   She soon found the Academy and learned many of the practical and academic things it teaches. Despite having an exercise science degree, she derived a huge value from the academy. She opened a gym in February 2023. That was a steeper learning curve. She learned as she went, though the Academy also not spends more time addressing the business of coaching. Her first important transition was from charging per session to charging monthly. Soon thereafter, she moved to a hybrid model of coaching, where clients receive usually 2-3 months of in-person coaching from her and then are moved to online through TurnKey Coach. This has increased her ability to coach more clients and decreased her time at work. The way TKC measures progress and PRs has encouraged compliance, and clients are able to train while away from the gym (and Micaela can coach away from the gym). Learn about Micaela's story from client to coach and how she crushed the client life cycle.   PS - This podcast is brought to you by TurnKey Coach. Enhance your coaching effectiveness and efficiency with TurnKey Coach. You can learn more by going . Check out&nbsp;&nbsp;- the new Academy course designed to cover the basics of coaching. It's leaner and tighter than our other offerings (and cheaper). Check out the&nbsp;  Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE! No contract with us, just commitment to yourself: Start experiencing strength now:&nbsp; Connect with the hosts      Connect with the show     Or email&nbsp;

All Metrics Are Not Created Equal - Coaching Success - #572

Barbell Logic

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