Celebrating Failure

1) This semester in this class I have failed to do video submissions. . . a lot. Every time I tried to make myself do them I just had a hundred excuses as to why I could not. I did not have enough time or I was going to be out of town even though interviewing random people does not require you to be in town.

2) I learned that I have a weakness. That weakness comes from not wanting to step outside of my comfort zone. I do not like talking to people that I do not know and it is hard for me to make myself do it.

3) My reflection on it is that it is embarrassing as the assignment states. It is just a cowardly thing to not want to talk to people or put my self out there. This is something I will definitely need to improve upon moving forward. Talking to people you do not know and getting outside of your comfort zone is a key factor in marketing for a business or marketing yourself as a professional. The thing this class taught me about that is that I have to make a change. Everything is not going to be handed to me the way I want it to be I may have to go outside of my comfort zone to really achieve what I want.

Your Exit Strategy

1. If Gainer's Gym became a successful franchise I would pass it down in my family.

2. I selected this strategy because if my concept got big it could make a lot of money and as a parent you want to give your children every advantage you can. My kids would go to school get their degrees and immediately have a business to work for if that is what they were interested in doing.

3. I do not think the exit strategy influenced me very much because I never thought of having one. If this concept blew up like I said I would just ride it for as long as possible and hopefully retired and pass it on.


*Hopefully I would look like this when I retire.

Venture Concept No.1

The Opportunity: My target market would be people in small towns or low population areas that want to workout but have no serious gym near them. Only about 20% of Americans get the daily recommended amount of activity. The #1 excuse for not working out is lack of time. This could be alleviated if we could get gyms that are closer to people therefore, being more convenient and taking less time to drive to and from. The way this need is being filled now is in small fitness centers that a lot of these towns have. I do not think that people are loyal to these types of facilities and getting them to switch to a better equipped gym should not be hard. The other thing is some people are just not getting this need met at all by not going to a gym. I feel that this opportunity is huge. The area I grew up in, north west Florida, is littered with small towns and rural areas that would benefit from having a good gym.

The Innovation:

• Convenient locations
• Roll up doors/Skylights
• Educational website linked to memberships
• No big cardio equipment
• Pricing

*My gyms would be smaller but look at how this gym utilizes natural light

The Venture Concept: The basic concept in one sentence is this: A small gym in every small town. I developed this concept by seeing how Dollar General and Family Dollar compete with places like Wal-Mart and Target and that is that they put small stores in convenient locations and people are willing to pay a litter more in exchange for not having to drive to one of the bigger chain stores.  As I said in the opening portion the main reason this is a need that could be met is that there just are not these types of facilities available for people to use. To make it cost efficient to attack such a small market we would have to keep the cost of operating the gym as low as possible. Therefore all of my gyms would be big warehouse garage style buildings with roll up doors and huge skylights. This would keep the cost of utilities as low as possible. We would also not have big treadmills or ellipticals in my gyms. This also keeps the operations cost low. Buying and running power to those big cardio machines cost a lot of money and they also cost a lot for maintenance and they need maintenance often. By keeping those cost down we could translate that into lower membership costs. Over the past few years we have seen Planet Fitness become huge because the membership costs are so low. The other innovation would be a easy to use website that would be free with the memberships but also available to anyone who doesn't go to one our gyms with a subscription fee.. This website would have some tutorials on basic methods of training. Teaching people ways to train would help draw in some of the customers that would turn away due to the lack of cardio equipment. This website could also have other subscriptions for training guides or diets plans. By opening our website up to people other than members it could bring in more money and alleviate some the pressure of getting members. If I am going after small markets to be profitable I need to capture a huge percentage of that market but if I can get website subscriptions from people from anywhere around the world then that could be an effective revenue stream.

The Amazon Whisper

The revenue drivers for my business, Gainer's Gym, would be memberships, classes, and personal training.
The "next" product would be a Gainer's supplement brand. The name is still awesome for marketing purposes. For those of you outside the fitness industry or that do not workout the term "making gains" means that you are building muscle or having some other success from your workouts. There are also different workout out methodologies one of them being a "Hard Gainer". This means you are always trying to build and gain muscle and you never go on weight loss diets your sole interest is getting bigger.
The way Gainer's supplement brand could enhance the experience by having supplements that members could purchase right at the gym. The supplements would be protein shakes for post work out support and a pre-workout stimulant.
-I know personally I have allowed myself to run out of supplements then after a workout you are not taking full advantage of the workout because you are not getting the right supplements. Also for the pre-workout some people do not use pre-workout every time they go to the gym but some days they need that extra boost so selling that on site would be a great convenience to them.



-ON- Gold Standard Whey. Most of the reviews are positive because they talk about the flavor or that they have been using this product a long time but the negative ones all say the same thing, they changed the formula. I have personally done some research on the product before and it is true the formula has changed and in a negative way. It says right on the front in huge letters 100% Whey Isolate, but just by simply looking at the ingredients you see that it is no longer an isolate and has switched to a protein blend. This is a HUGE deal. See the reason you want an isolate, to keep it simple, is that it absorbs into your muscles more efficiently and effectively.
If I were to make any changes it would be to use the isolate and keep the formula true to make sure you keep brand loyalty.

-Nitraflex-All the reviews for this product were good. I personally just purchased this product and love it.
I wouldn't change anything. I would try to emulate that product and use it as the standard.
  

Week 11 reading reflection

Nothing was very surprising. In every marketing or business class I have taken there has been at least some mention of innovation and its necessity.

Also nothing confused me too much as I said I have read on this subject a few times before.

Has the author ever came up with a successful innovation? If so how did he come up with the idea and implement it successfully?

I did not disagree with the author on any of his points

My Unfair Advantage

 
1. Fitness knowledge- (V-Y)  (R-N) (I-Y) (N-N)

2.Market Knowledge- (V-Y) (R-N.) (I-Y) (N-N)

3. Contacts within the market- (V-Y) (R-N) (I-Y) (N-N)

4. Business Idea- (V-Y) (R-Y) (I-Y) (N-N)

5. Experience in customer service- (V-Y) (R-N) (I-Y) (N-N)

6. Great Credit- (V-Y) (R-Y) (I-N) (N-N)

7. Passion for the business- (V-Y) (R-N) (I-Y) (N-N)

8. Connection the location of my business - (V-Y) (R-Y) (I-N) (N-N)

9. I know people with similar businesses - (V-Y) (R-N) (I-Y) (N-N)

10. A hate for all things Planet Fitness or any fitness fads- (V-Y) (R-N) (I-Y) (N-N)

In conclusion, I do not possess many thing that are rare right now or anything that could not be easily copied by someone else. I do know people that own gyms and could go to them for advice. I also have a lot of work experience in the fitness industry and in customer service.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

- Nothing was very surprising about the material. The material itself was surprising. I have taken a few accounting classes and I do not like accounting so I was surprised I had to see more accounting than I thought I would today.

- Nothing confused me because I have seen it all before

- What makes accounting so important for entrepreneurs?
Should an entrepreneur hire accountants a soon as possible or handle the accounting themselves.

- The author was not wrong about anything.

Elevator pitch #3

The main criticism I got from my last elevator pitch is that "so many people use cardio equipment everyday." That made me realize how uneducated the general population is on fitness. If all you do for your health is get on an elliptical, treadmill, or stairstepper for 30min to an hour you are not doing that much for your health. Long slow cardio, while better than sitting on the couch, is one of the worst things you can do to get into shape. Things like taking little rest in between exercises while lifting, no more than 90 seconds, or taking no rest with circuit style training are much more effective and efficient. To help with those concerns I came up with the idea of a simple website to have some basic information are fitness. This website would have a few videos and some articles to show that you do not absolutely need those cardio machines. Another thing is I changed it from zero cardio equipment to no big cardio equipment. The reason behind this is there are many bikes and rowers that are self powered using the motion of the machine to power the machine itself so in terms of cutting electricity cost having those machines would not have any effect. Bikes and rowers are also much simpler machines mechanically and do not break nearly as often as the big treadmills and ellipticals. At my gym there is always at least one treadmill and elliptical that is broken or needs maintenance.

My Secret Sauce

1. I have what I call a diverse personality. This means I can usually identify with almost anyone. I am a fitness addict I love the gym but I am also a huge nerd in that I love to play video games, read comics and watch anime. I am also very much at home in the woods hunting or on the water fishing. You may see me wearing a t shirt and some dirty jeans one day and in a dress shirt and slacks the next. My Pandora has Motzart, Tupac, George Strait, and Metallica.
2. I am also strong willed some call it stubborn. This is a two pronged trait because it means when I set my mind to something I will get it done. The negative side of that is it is very hard to get me to step out of my comfort zone.
3. I am also extremely easy going. Again this is positive and negative. On one hand I can keep a level head in most situations no matter what is going on. I often find myself to be the least stressed out person at work. The other side of that is that it translates to procrastinating sometimes. The fact that I am even doing this assignment the day before it is due is a small miracle.
4. I have always been a leader. From playing sports in high school, to being a Marine, to just going to work everyday I always find myself in a leadership role or have people looking to me for some type of guidance.
5.I am very passionate about fitness which is unique compared to most. That is where my passion and it is different because even other people who workout do not understand how I am so motivated to go to the gym 6 days a week. I just love it to the point where it is has started to define me.

So this was the hard part of this assignment because all of my friends are, to keep it PG, buttholes. I could not make them take this seriously. I talked to them at work and we are not allowed to have phones so there is no video not that it would have made it any better.

I asked what makes me different from other people and they said things like "Biceps" Eyebrows" (apparently I have Jack Nicholson-esque eyebrows).
The only one who would give me a decent answer was my manger and he said my strength. Recently I went through a break-up recently and he said the way I carried myself through that adverse situation was different in that I was able to compartmentalize and still come to work and do what I had to do. The criticism for me was that when I like something I will kill it whatever it is it will get done and there is no worries but, I have the extreme opposite of that too when I do not like something I don't care and will not put effort into it.

So the one good answer I actually got lined up with my #2 on the list. The criticism is fair and is something I already knew about myself. From this exercise I kinda feel like I did not learn much. Which hopefully means I know myself pretty well which is a great thing.  

Week 9 Reading Reflection

- To be honest nothing was really all that surprising I have had a couple of marketing classes already and it was just more of the same. It is amazing the number of ways there is to segment the market for any given product and all the different strategies that can be used.

- I did not find anything confusing

- Two questions would be : What is the most significant change to happen in marketing strategy in recent memory?
How has that change effected the way you would market a product?

-I did not disagree with anything from the reading

Idea Napkin #2

You: I am Josh Gainer. I have been into fitness since I was 12 years old. I started working at a gym almost two years ago and have been a personal trainer for a little less than 2 years. If I started my business of Gainer's gym it would be a huge part of my life, hopefully. I say hopefully because if it were to succeed then it would become my career and a source of income.
What I offer to customers: I offer the anti-Planet Fitness. To the general public everyone loves PF but to people in the fitness industry they are a joke. They serve pizza and bagels on certain days and have rates so low that you do not feel bad about not going to the gym. Planet fitness does these things because their favorite customers are the ones that pay for memberships and never workout. I have actually researched a few articles on this and they do this on purpose to subconsciously make you feel like you get your money's with without exercising. That is why they give you a free shirt to join. Subconsciously you think I paid $10 and got a shirt that's worth it. Then the pizza and bagels if you get those most people would pay $10 for some pizza, again in your mind you just made that $10 worth spending without having touched a weight or cardio machine.
Who I am offering it to: I offer it to people that are serious about getting in shape. I offer it to people who are in shape that want to stay in shape or make even more progress. They will pay because it will be a great fitness environment, no ridiculous colors, no pizza, no hunk alarms. You wanna do some power lifting and bang some weights around? Go ahead. You wanna grunt because you are pushing yourself to the limit? Do it! Wear your stringers or sports bras it is not gymtimidation its motivation.
Core Competencies: What would set this environment apart is that we would make it all about fitness. We are not here to hold your hand and tell you that being 40% body fat is ok. We are here to make sure you have the things available to be a better person physically. I would encourage my members to help each other. Like I said no gymtimidation just motivation. See someone that looks bigger or better than you and you want to get to the level of fitness they are at? Just ask them. I would want my gym to be a hardcore fitness environment but also a family type bond between the customers.

The feedback I got was mostly positive. The only negative I would need to address is how to attract people who are not as serious about fitness into a gym of this kind. That part would be the hardest and yet most important part because as we know gyms like Planet Fitness are successful because they attract the "casual" fitness crowd. This would all come in the marketing aspect. We would have to craft a campaign that would show people that casual is not how you should look at fitness it is your life and health we are talking about. Heart disease is one of the biggest killers in America. Being overweight can cause all kinds of problems not just cardiovascular but joint and back pain as well. Working out properly can greatly decrease those risks. Things like the Adkins diet have made huge waves because people love to believe that fitness can be reached just by eating right and will always look for a way to put forth minimal effort. We would have to carefully show people that there is no shortcut to fitness and health in a positive to way.