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SEPT / OCT 2017
WARNING: YOU ARE ENTERINGTHE NO-FLUFF ZONE!
As Thomas Jefferson said, “No one and nothing on Earth can help the man who is, himself, uncommitted to his own independence or accomplishment.”
There are roads to riches. It is NOT an “only the lucky” or “winner-takes- all” jungle out there.
HARSH TRUTH.
There are well-established, well-proven, and well-detailed paths to transformational success and wealth in the fitness industry. There are systems that can scale in virtually every type of niche you can image for your future. You are not meant to be broke, living paycheck to paycheck, enduring years of struggle while hoping something finally changes. We do not need to grind for decades and end up burned out. The reality is this: You are not going to get freedom, wealth, reverence, remembrance, notoriety, status, security, and a whole host of other feelings that you deserve the way you’re currently doing things. I sure as hell didn’t get it by staying on the path the industry suggested: 1. Be a trainer. 2. Open a studio.
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COVER CONTINUED ...
I used those stops as stepping stones, but they were only stops along the journey. They were also the only options back in 2005.
And that initiative, which if you have read any of Napoleon Hill’s work is defined as “doing what ought to be done without being told to do it,” is what allowed me to take personal responsibility for where I was and for where I was going.
It’s 2017. The options are endless now. Psst, there’s this thing called the internet now. Are you using it to make more money, have more freedom, and gain more reach? Or are you still just doing what everyone else in the industry is doing?
Because of that, things automatically started growing.
If you take the initiative to grow and learn things, not just in the industry but outside of it, you will see more money, success, and freedom.
When I was in the studio business, I made plans to diversify, protect, and scale .
Let me share with you the three steps that I and many others have used to pave a richer path to success. It’s not new. It just might be new to you. It has been much traveled. What are you waiting for? The on-ramp is open!
That was 2010.
Looking ahead, having foresight , is a skill I’m going to challenge you to consider ASAP.
1. Create a claim-to-fame success in a “normal” Main Street kind of business.
Some of you will listen, others won’t. It’s just reality.
2. Organize those methods and marketing tools into a system.
In 2010, because I had the foresight (the ability to look ahead), which is so much more profitable than hindsight, I was able to see that the industry was going to move online and go more mobile. Also, I saw that at-home fitness was going to become a thing . I either had to evolve and adapt or watch life get increasingly harder, because the industry and how we serve and make money was and has already changed.
3. Package and sell said system to one’s business/industry/professional peers. Establish either a mid to high six-figure second business income or transition to a seven-figure income with info marketing, ultimately replacing the original business.
Here are a few folks who did it:
Anna Renderer spun her knowledge as a trainer to become an online fitness show host. She then created a system with her training methods and packaged them as the Sexy Confident Woman Formula. She built an additional six-figure business and now is converting customers and fans to coaches who want her mentorship so she can scale beyond her own name. Bedros Keuilian spun his years of studio success into business systems for trainers and studio owners. He created dozens of systems, sold them, and still does. Then, he created a boot camp franchise, mastermind group, and info products out the wazoo, and he is probably in the eight-figure range out there.
I made moves. I started studying what others weren’t yet. I went outside the industry.
Everyone in the industry was struggling to make real money. Many were making money. But it wasn’t the financial and time freedom kind of money, and that’s what I wanted. I looked at who was living the way I wanted to and how were they operating. Then, I used my imagination to take what I saw there and transplant it here.
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Vito Lafata • www.vitolafata.com
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Craig Ballantyne took his training methods, packaged them as a system, sold them to other trainers, created Turbulence Training, sold his courses online, developed personal productivity methods and packaged those, and wrote a book. He turned the system into a Perfect Day Formula Kit, a retreat, and seminars. He is now departing the fitness industry and is entering into the personal development space. He’s probably in the seven-figure range. John Romaniello took his methods and created the “Alpha Male” book, a system, online courses, mastermind group, and events. He’s also probably well into the seven-figure range.
realize that doing it alone is a long, slow path filled with many mistakes and a lot of lost time and money. Don’t do it alone.
Made Better I appreciate you taking my advice on this, but here is what Dan Kennedy recently shared: “What we do as independent entrepreneurs, as owners, builders, developers, and as independent thinkers is an UNNATURAL way of being, an UNNATURAL progression. For most, it is against a lot of childhood conditioning, academic indoctrination, peer and societal pressure, and popular opinion and behavior. While we are hardwired to
be goal-achieving, success is actually opposed by so many forces that, for most, the God-given impulses to create and be a creator are snuffed out and replaced by complacency, comfort-seeking, and convenience. Creating and preserving independence goes against the majority’s thinking and behavior in so many ways that they defy counting and listing.”
Scott Rawcliffe went from trainer to social media coach simply by taking his love of social media, studying it relentlessly, and turning it into an owned skill. It’s a skillset others were struggling with, hence making it valuable and marketable. He packaged it as online courses, info products, one-day seminars, and a membership site. He now has a social media agency and has built himself a nice six-figure income. And he’s not strapped to a studio. Vito Lafata . My own journey started by simply taking group training systems I was good at in my studio, packaging them into a course to help studio owners and trainers
This has never been truer than for the fitness industry.
We have been indoctrinated to spend all our time studying anatomy, physiology, exercise science, etc. And
who were struggling to sell group training back in the day, and using that extra income to launch Fitness Profit Systems, which is now The Fitnesspreneur’s Life and vitolafata.com. I found that I love teaching business and marketing more than training. It’s how I saw I could serve the industry better than just being a lone studio owner out there, since much of the industry was struggling with how to make more money, grow online, and get more lifestyle in and feel like visionaries. So, I went deep into studying high performance, online marketing, sales, and more, so I could leverage it into Beachbody. I repeated my prior success of simply taking my systems and scaling them to a larger number through my Beachbody and online brand, and created courses on how to do it using the Clear Vision Planner, Fitness Marketing 101 Playbook, and the Visionary Planner coaching program and mastermind. Using the 3-step formula above built a seven-figure online brand and, more importantly, a freedom lifestyle. Vince Gabriele is in the process of consulting with me to take his studio business systems and CEO skills and package them into an online brand and product suite to serve studio owners who are struggling to make the transition from trainer to CEO of their own studio. He’s already in talks to create mentorship retreats, coaching programs, and info products aimed at a market that needs help.
yet, we fail to put two and two together when we look at the average income of people in our industry being less than $43,000 per year. And those who are making more are grinding to the point of wearing themselves out, having to sacrifice their family time and best years of their life simply to maintain what they have. Something is wrong. We are not creating the freedom to live the way we want. The way we are thinking and behaving, and what we are being told is important to study is wrong. I should qualify that. If your sole purpose is to be a trainer, then yes, do exactly what the industry is telling you. And make sure you work for someone. Do not open your own business.
If you desire to be a business owner, an entrepreneur, wealthy, and have freedom and independence, then shift gears, mindset, and behavior fast.
The skills of the well-off, the confident, and the secure in the industry moving forward will be marketing, business, online, social media, leadership, high performance, and renegade thinking — the unnatural forces. We are a saturated and commoditized industry, UNLESS we, you, me, and all of us start to think unnaturally, think like fitnesspreneurs, develop into fitnesspreneurs, and behave like fitnesspreneurs.
Why not you, too?
I’m currently accepting five private consulting clients who want to build online brands. With two already sold, I have three spots left. You can email me at vito@vitolafata.com to schedule a time if this path to more riches and an online brand and lifestyle is right for you. If it is, you must
Are you committed to your own independence?
- Vito Lafata
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Fitnesspreneur Life • www.vitolafata.com
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BEING PERSISTENT! STOP
Extreme persistence is one of the 17 “Laws of Success” that Napoleon Hill taught us. I’m happy to be known for dogged persistence. I’m like a dog with a bone when I decide on a project. I don’t rush it; I let it unfold in its time. But I’m gnawing on that project a little bit all the time. But, what I pride myself on just as much, and a lesson I hope to impart to you, as well, is the ability to walk away from something that has run its course, ended up being a bad idea, needed the plug pulled, or was just not working anymore. Not every idea is a winner. Not every partnership is meant to last. Not every deal is meant to go through. Countless people persist in showing up to the same job and the same business, doing the same thing for 30-plus years without ever growing new skills and plans to evolve. They don’t cover their asses for changing economies. This is not the 1970s when you could get one steady job or business and expect to work there for 30 years and one day collect a pension fund. That ship has sailed. It’s very dangerous and lazy thinking to believe that you can just keep doing what you’ve always done and expect to get the same results forever. That is precisely the stubborn doggedness that has led to a decline in America’s productivity as a leading nation. Automation is real, and it’s replacing low-level jobs. If you’re persisting at staying put and doing the same thing, you could one day (and very soon, probably) be blindsided and find yourself out of work and freaking out over what you should do to support your family. Kiss living your dreams goodbye. You’ll be in survival mode, not thrive mode. That’s a shitty way to live life.
Open your eyes and open your mind to new opportunities.
I know you have been working at many things and done great things. But I say, if there is one thing to persist at, it’s evolution. I persisted with one thing above all others in my life, and it has served me well: the ability to evolve. If you are going to persist, persist with the ability to replace things that no longer serve you. I replaced a studio business with an online one and a network marketing business, because it no longer served me and my passions. I persisted in being an entrepreneur, but I walked away from being a studio owner because I saw market factors withering it away to the point of not being worth it. You do not have to stay in the “good fight” if the fight is no longer worth it, if it’s not making you happy, or if it’s not bringing you the ROI for your time and energy. It’s what you apply your persistence to that matters. It’s not simply the act of being persistent. We shouldn’t let ego, time, and investment hold us back from letting go. The motivational quotes on office walls are not as precise about this as they need to be. What you persist at matters. Persist with innovation on a systematic and scientific basis, not just because something is how it was once done or because of what you once were. Ask yourself this: What are you persisting at and in? Some endeavors deserve it and some don’t. But, I can say with certainty that Hill was right about one thing: The person with little persistence at anything never leaves a mark and makes no dent in this field or any for that matter. Now, what are you going to STOP being persistent at that has already served its course? And what is the next thing that will move the needle? Write it down. You will need this reminder.
Plan better now.
Develop new skills.
Invest in technologies.
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Vito Lafata • www.vitolafata.com
TheTop 2 Strategies to Live inYour DREAM HOME
Do you know the two things you need to make your dreams a reality?
It took seven years to make that intention of having a Tuscan villa real.
It was seven years ago, in February of 2010, when I was sitting at a Todd Durkin mastermind meeting and Larry Indiviglia reiterated to me with certainty what my intention was: One day you will live in a Tuscan villa.
It took a lot of twists and turns.
Here are some things you should prepare for as you figure out your way to your dreams: Don’t expect the path to be straight, that you will know everything, or that it will be easy.
He felt it.
You will evolve. You must evolve.
He even wrote it down on a 3-by-5 postcard and said, “Hold on to this. You’re going to make it happen.”
The secret is clarity. With clarity, I was able to make choices, take certain strategic actions, align with the right people, and study the things I had to learn so that my dream wouldn’t stay a dream. Instead, it would become a reality.
I had that intention set. Clear. Crystal clear.
I had no idea how to get there.
If you’re not clear what your vision is yet, STOP.
That wasn’t what was important. First things first. Certainty.
Do that before anything else.
You need certainty and clarity for the vision you want to live if you ever hope to stop living the “wishful” life and make things more the “certain” life. I had that. I could feel it in my bones that I would make that happen … to the point that people outside of me sensed it.
Don’t do another thing until you’re clear on what you want, where you want to go, who you have to serve to get it, and why you’re doing it.
Then, set the intention and create your clear vision planner!
Join the Clear Vision Movement and be on the waitlist right here: bit.ly/CVPWaitlist .
That’s the power of clarity and certainty.
You can’t get to your dreams with a wishy-washy vision.
Or, wait another seven years to set the intention.
You can’t get to your dreams with hope. It’s not a strategy.
One thing is for certain: If you’re thinking you want it now and keep pushing back, you will always wonder, “What if?” That pushing back this time could just be too late. Join the movement. You’re not alone. The Fitnesspreneur’s Life is ready for you!
You need clarity of vision so you can aim your actions, aim your intentions, and aim your focus. The world is a nonstop blitzkrieg on your attention. Intention, clarity, and vision are skills you have to develop. Without clarity, you will be reactionary all your life, and then you can kiss your dreams goodbye.
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‘3 Sets of 10’
forYour Business
Would you ever build a fitness program for a newbie without, in some way or another, teaching and including the squat, the pushup, and the crunch? No. You teach those fundamentals as the basics of exercise science. You teach those moves as the principle foundations that all future complex movements are based on. It would be considered bad training if you didn’t impart these “best bang for your buck” exercise moves, right? As a matter of fact, the beginner program we normally give a newbie is “Do three sets of 10 of just the basics, please.” We don’t give them 15 different complex moves, just three to five basic moves that we help them to master. Then, we build off that foundation. Yet, the moment you decided to become a business owner, did you start investing time, money, experience, and brainpower into learning the “three sets of 10” for your business?
When I made that first leap to becoming a business owner, I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t know the fundamentals of what it takes to be successful as a fitness business owner. I was taught all about getting certifications, buying equipment, and fancy toys. Now, I see tech and media being pitched at conferences as the “solution to more money and more growth.” And all of those are simply not the fundamentals. Yes, you need to be certified. But the moment you decided to be a business owner, whether offline or online, you needed to make the decision to put aside those pursuits and focus on your business and marketing muscles. You can’t have wimpy marketing muscles and expect to succeed in the highly competitive industry and world that exists now. Certifications, equipment, and cool toys are not what make you more money. And they are not what elevate your growth. There are seven fundamentals that you must know as a fitness business owner if you ever hope to have more money, feel confident you can grow your business without being stuck in the grind, wake up without stress, and finally be able to focus more on your family and deep passions. Life is short, and you either figure out how to live more of it right now or you keep wishing one day to have more time and then realize there is no more time.
That’s a question you need to read again.
I know I didn’t when I opened my studio. That critical mistake cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars (near bankruptcy) and a few girlfriends along the way.
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Vito Lafata • www.vitolafata.com
‘3 SETS OF 10’
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Here are the seven fundamentals to fitness business mastery that you must have clarity on:
I like to consider these seven fundamentals the “Three Sets of 10” of fitness business mastery.
1. How to identify a niche and what they want
Just like how the squat, the push up, and the crunch will never change — after all, they are the basics we build all our advanced programming on — these seven fundamentals are the basics every single massively successful fitness business has with absolute CLARITY! If you miss any of these, your chances of being successful drop. Let’s qualify this: I’m not talking about the kind of success where you start a business and make good money but have to always show up, train everyone yourself, and risk having the business reverse on you the minute you walk away. That’s not freedom. That’s having a job disguised as a business. To truly have what we like to call the “Fitnesspreneur’s Life,” where you have FREEDOM to make as much money as you want, work when you want, serve as big as you want, live where you want, and leave your legacy the way you want, well then, that requires a whole different skillset. It’s like the difference between being interested in general fitness and being an Olympic athlete. It’s a whole different level of commitment, discipline, understanding, application, and willingness to get uncomfortable. How bad do you want to be the Olympic athlete of your business? If you want it, have something burning deep inside you to build a vision, and want to leave a legacy … know that you deserve to have your voice heard!
2. How to be productive and get shit done
3. How to make money and achieve your goals
4. How to build a business with a vision and mission
5. How to build your values into your business
6. How to design a freedom lifestyle
7. How to have clarity to always know how to do “the right things”
If you want to train your business muscles, be a stronger, more confident business owner, and master the fundamentals of fitness business mastery in two weeks, stop by vitolafata.com and check out the Clear Vision Planner. It is quite simply the most straightforward, no-fluff coaching program. It covers the fundamentals, gives you the worksheets and the sets and reps you have to do so you can practice what you learn, and then moves onto more advanced fit-biz mastery.
The choice is yours about when you start. If you don’t, the choice won’t be yours as to when your business comes to an end.
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FEAR
As funny as that was, people laughed, and so did I; but I laughed because of how real his words were.
When I watch the news, read journals, attend conferences, and pay attention to technology, I always think about the movie “The Terminator” and how the robots one day rose up and took over. I used to think it was a movie, but now I realize it truly has the potential to be real. I’ve been reading, studying, and paying a lot of attention to artificial intelligence. AI and “The Terminator” days are not far off. A great read on this topic is “The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future,” by Kevin Kelly. If you want to be ahead of the curve about where things are going, read this. My friend, Mark Fisher of MFF, cracked a very real joke at this year’s IDEA Club and Studio Summit, where he said, “Fear the robots, they are coming.”
I have been thinking about how technology, online tools, and AI are going to affect our industry for the last few years. I’m not a pro at it yet, but I do spend quite a bit of time preparing for it, mulling over the implications, and pondering how to make sure I’m not taken by surprise.
Are you?
I highly suggest you do. As a matter of fact, you must. You’ve done amazing things to date with the tools that we’ve come up with in the industry. But, how are you setting yourself up so the robots don’t put you out of a job?
Just the other day, I was reading The Week, and I saw this:
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Vito Lafata • www.vitolafata.com
FEAR THE ROBOTS ... continued from page 8
Start studying, researching, and investigating how to change what you do so that it works with tech and so that it includes mobile capabilities, intelligent software and data, and the growing online tools at your fingertips.
Are you looking deeply at this picture? Read what these apps do! These apps literally do some of the work you get paid for: tracking food; planning
Here are some things I would suggest as a protective body armor:
1. INSERT MORE OF YOUR PERSONALITY/EMPOWERMENT INTO YOUR PROGRAMS BY GOING AFTER A MORE TARGETED NICHE THAN PURE FAT LOSS, LEAN MUSCLE, AND BODY TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMMING.
meals; providing questionnaires to design personal
programs; motivating a person by reminding them of an internal motivation, like helping a charity. They even
recognize and identify foods people eat!
The robots are here!
But don’t panic just yet.
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I’m going to share with you a starting sliver of how to think about this.
But, before that, let’s talk about this upcoming worry a little deeper. The reality is this: We can’t afford to just gloss over this topic or bury our heads in the sand and pretend like the tech world and AI aren’t coming. We have to spend some time over the next few years preparing for this eventuality. If we go beyond the alarmist level and the “fear of the robots coming,” we can discuss this deeper. I do not believe robots can replace us. But AI and tech do signify new tools and new ways people will willingly choose to get fit, and that means you can lose clients and money.
The general population of the body transformation market is
Can you afford that? For how long? Will you be blindsided by it?
saturated and looking for free programs. That is, unless
I have to reiterate that I’m not trying to be an alarmist here; I just want you to be prepared to think and to plan appropriately.
you can package the offer in new ways that represent larger
People’s behavior is changing and so are their preferences. We shop differently now, right? We text versus call. We let Amazon suggest to us our preferences, and we gladly take them. Why would we think it’s not going to happen to the way people interact with our businesses? That needs a few drinks to think through.
value propositions to your niche/avatar or you can demonstrate high social proof and a guarantee of results.
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Here’s a suggestion: Think ahead.
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807 Brooks Ave. Venice, CA 90291 www.vitolafata.com
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE
WARNING: You Are Entering the NO-FLUFF ZONE!
1
STOP Being Persistent!
4
The Top 2 Strategies to Live in Your Dream Home
5
‘3 Sets of 10’ for Your Business
6
FEAR THE ROBOTS
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FEAR THE ROBOTS ... continued from page 9
5. USE YOUR VOICE TO BE A THOUGHT LEADER.
2. EVOLVE AND EXPAND YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE.
No. 5 is the most critical. If you choose to use your voice as the ultimate lead generator, robots can never take your place. Your message is not something a robot can mimic. You are the inspirer and the challenger for others, which is a uniquely human gift. Robots can do tasks and suggest direction, but they can’t lead. They can’t teach others how to think. They can collect data, aggregate it, pool it, and predict. But they are not human. They can’t connect us, and they can’t bond us.
You really have no option here anymore. Your message is either still operating via the Pony Express or it’s getting online and becoming the silver bullet train speeding around.
3. BUILD AN APP.
Every program I see being built out there — in our space and outside of it — is going to incorporate apps of some kind, whether it’s for motivation, notifications, lessons, community, ease of access, etc. In some way or another, we all need to think about this necessary component.
Only we as a tribe can touch one another, lift each other, and inspire one another to greatness.
4. USE TECH TO YOUR ADVANTAGE AND SYNC WITH IT.
Use the fear of the robots as your motivation to do better, to get better in your field, and to innovate; but use your voice
Wearables are eventually going to become artificial intelligence embedded into our clothes, skin, eyes, glasses, you name it. It’s coming. The cloud is where everything will go, data will drive suggestion, and data will aid us in decision-making. Whatever ways you can think of to use tech to streamline things to reduce overhead, increase efficiency, collect data, connect people, and analyze data, will make you more competitive. You’ll be a better producer of what people want you to develop, which ultimately leads to more profit and a happier tribe.
as the ultimate growth tool and protector of your vision!
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Vito Lafata • www.vitolafata.com
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