Business Lessons 101
- My truthful assessment about self-employment
- Blood, sweat and tears for two years
Monday marked the second anniversary of me starting my company and it brought back a lot of memories.
Two years that has definitely stressed me out perhaps more than the previous 27 combined! Not only was I running my own business but so many things happened that really strengthened my resolve.
In fact, if it hadn’t been for the way things worked out in my previous employment, I would probably have chucked the towel in. Without giving too much in the way of gory detail, I was significantly short changed and it completely decimated my trust in working for others – so self employment was the only solution.
In fact, the dispute almost got as far as court and in the end the company folded.
It had taken serious adjustment from my employment prior to that which had a lucrative pay packet into a smaller business and a substantial wage cut. All in all, it was a good learning curve and I would certainly not have been in as strong a position today if not for the challenges that I had faced.
In terms of being hands-on, working for a smaller company certainly progressed my own knowledge and skill set. Don’t get me wrong, I am nowhere near perfect and every day is about learning more.
It really was a case of more fool me, when I took a pay cut to continue with this company who subsequently tried to move to a larger premises.
I will spare you the details and it is something that I haven’t talked about at great depth but to those of you who know me will understand exactly what I am talking about. I pride myself on keeping my chin up and not getting dragged into any kind of dog fight because it’s a waste of time and energy! It just shows that as much as you trust people’s word, you can always be betrayed: unfortunately that is a powerful and true lesson in business.
The two years have taught me numerous things (many of which have alarmed me and I wouldn’t have thought prior). These include being conned by salesmen of big national companies to take products that made no discernible difference to my business, learning about different spheres of business (like networking, which I regret not doing sooner) and also the general frustrations of having a fantastic product but being unable to convince people even with free samples.
Self-employment is the most challenging thing I have ever attempted and that comes from a man who had run three marathons, taken on numerous new jobs, moved cities three times, existed without owning a car for almost ten years (trust me coordinating public transport is a nightmare in a new city), taught in front of 40 people and started an online video channel – just to name a few.
I suppose you could say I’ve failed at it – having just taken up a full time position in an effort to gain some stability in my life. My online business will continue and so will my goal of progressing it into something much bigger (I’ve not compromised on my efforts despite 50 hour weeks) and regardless of how exhausting it is, my passion still remains. Blogs, vlogs and regular content will continue (like the fitness hack of the day on the Facebook page).
If you do what you love, you will gain success even if it is eventually.
Life is never smooth sailing and self-employment is sometimes like taking a canoe out in the middle of a storm.
I’ve seen a couple of images online lately that have really brought home to me just how much pain is actually involved.
One of my biggest frustrations (and it’s not egotistical) is that healthcare professionals and especially fitness coaches / personal trainers are so poorly paid – it’s actually disgraceful. Having spent time in five different gyms, I could honestly say that unless there was a promotion to a manager position, only one position offered a wage that gave a good quality of life – which is exactly what a fitness coach tries to preach about.
Ultimately, the effort, the grind, the dedication is relentless and it broke me financially, emotionally and physically. I’m not ashamed to say that many tears were shed when the effort put in did not equate to anything near the outcome. I was close to leaving it all behind but the fact that it would provide happiness to those who doubted me kept the fire in my belly – even if it was spitefulness.
I love the job satisfaction, helping people change their lives to become healthier, happier and new versions of themselves don’t get me wrong. Online provides a new dimension and I hope to help more people (albeit for a lower cost) achieve the same with their lives. Showcasing my expertise is more difficult without the face-to-face aspect but it won’t stop me from using my time to help those are lost with fitness!
So hopefully you will persist with RYPT as much as I have done (even though reading the content may not be as stressful as producing it!).
I would like to thank every single one of you for taking the time to read my content, also to every single one of my clients, current and old, who are the life blood of my business. Who knows what the future holds?
So here’s to another year and another fresh start for RYPT. There is more than meets the eye and I can certainly appreciate that after the last two years.
Ross
