Welcome New Subscribers   A New Award for Justin   Listening Power!   Aussie Clubs for Sale   Is there really a credit crunch – FREE report!   Entrepreneurs Use Facebook   Cool Inventions   Green Tip for the Month   Warren Buffet’s Secrets	And the winner is . . .   This Month Win: 21.5 Marketing Strategies   Tony’s Words of Wisdom   Guerrilla Marketing Tip #28   FitnessBiz Tip on YouTube   Bonus for E-news Subscribers!   Network on Tour   What does Active Management actually do?   Between Now & Then

Welcome New Subscribers

Congratulations on receiving the monthly Active e-news! This is packed full of industry trends and business tips to help you become more successful! We receive great feedback on our e-news, and many people use it as a training tool! So enjoy and if you want to see our old newsletters, click here.

A New Award for Justin

Last week FitnessNSW presented Justin the Outstanding Contribution to the Fitness Industry for 2008. There are so many great people in NSW who contribute to this industry, that this is an incredibly humbling award. Justin doesn’t get involved in the industry happenings and bodies for awards but rather to make a difference, so this is a fantastic surprise.

This award now goes with Justin’s other industry awards: 2005 Fitness Australia Presidential Award and 2008 Australian Fitness Network’s Presenter of the Year.

Listening Power

It seems an older gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%.

A month later he returned to the doctor and the doctor said, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be pleased that you can hear again."

"Oh, I haven't told my family yet," the gentleman said. "I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will three times!"

Aussie Clubs for Sale

This month I can share 2 clubs for sale and if you are interested, please drop Justin an email.

Club 1 – Sydney’s Western Suburbs a 2022m2 facility with a 15 year lease (and an option of 5 plus 5 years) and a very solid membership base is going for a bargain $600K or near offer. This is a walk in and run operation as you will own everything in the Club. It is an excellent opportunity for someone to add a club to their chain or for an owner operator to make a tidy profit.

Club 2 – Sydney’s CBD a women’s only club. Click here for more information.

If you are interested in either of the businesses, email Justin and he will introduce you to the owners.

Is there really a credit crunch?

What a turbulent last month we have seen around the world in regard to the banks, stocks and general financials. But with this ‘challenging time’ I ask you, what spending patterns have you changed?

Many of the people I know, have not changed anything. They are continuing with their gym memberships (including personal training), buying clothes, booking holidays and going out to dinner. They are certainly more conscious of their money but their habits have not changed.

If the media were not telling us how bad the situation is, would we really know?
The reality is this: people will continue to spend their money on anything that they consider important or of value to them. The key, keep creating value within your club! Keep showing you care and make sure your clients and members are getting results – whatever they maybe!

You hold the destiny of your business in your hands based on the product you deliver!

If you would like a copy of the free report on Designing Your Business to be Profitable: 12 Driving Factors from Will Phillips, Founder of REX Round Tables, then click here.

Entrepreneurs Use Facebook.

In this month’s BRW Young Rich List, we were interested to read that young entrepreneurs have key people as their friends! For example, Bluepulse’s founder has the CEO of You Tube as a friend.

In a 2006 survey of college students conducted by Student Monitor, Facebook was named the second most popular 'thing' on the planet. It tied with beer and was beaten by the iPod. In August this year research firm comScore officially declared Facebook the world's most popular social networking site, with a monthly unique visitor count of 132 million, versus MySpace's 117 million. Official figures claim more than 110 million active users.

Facebook is an example of the new way to network. Get yourself a profile and start networking.

Justin will happily be your friend, so search him and add him!

Facebook for the Seniors!

Cool Active Inventions

Toshiba have a new phone – W62T Sportio! What is really cool is this is the first phone with an inbuilt pedometer! It can even count calories!

And for the already active who live by the sea! Check out the Molokini kayak which made from the same material as bullet –proof glass allows you to have your personal glass-bottomed boat!

Leave it to the Kiwi’s! Bike Central in Auckland allows people to to park their bikes for the day, shower and change to head off to work. There is also coffee, fresh food and wireless internet!

And if you don’t want to spend $A2200 on kayak or need a new phone, then check out Fitlinxx newest offering: The Actiped. This simple activity monitor does so much more than just a pedometer. Click here to find out more.

Green Tip for the Month

Warren Buffet’s Secrets

I read recently in the Wall Street Journal just some of the secrets to Warren Buffet’s success:

• He doesn’t have a computer in his office!
• He spends most of his day thinking and reading!
• He makes his decisions swiftly – no matter the size or the implications!
• He trusts his people to run his business, (in his words)’ to the point of abdication!’
• He requires just standard reports from his managers, so they prefer to go to work than play golf!
  

And the winner is Rina at Club Fitness in Hawaii!

Rina attended one of Justin’s IHRSA’s presentations and last month forwarded our e-news. And while Justin really wanted to hand deliver her prize, Younger Next Year for Women, to Rina in Hawaii, it is jetting across the Pacific alone!

On telling Rina she won, here is what she said: “Great!  I'm always looking out to see who would be the next winner in your e-news. Keep it going because I learn many marketing techniques. I have no background in marketing - but your ideas are great.  Thanks so much!”

Thanks to the following for also forwarding our e-news:

• Gaynor Pope
• Kellie
• Richard from Leisure People
• Sarah Pearce in the UK

Win: 21.5 Marketing Strategies That Produce Profit

Tony’s Words of Wisdom

Last month saw the original MD of Fitness First Australia move on, to ‘semi-retirement.’ If you know Tony, then this will be impossible! But I read in the Fitness First staff newsletter Tony’s top 10 values he has lived by:

1. Your best security in life is your ability to produce consistency.
2. If it aint broke – break it!
3. Perception is reality.
4. If you think you can, or if you think you can’t, you are right!
5. Treat others the way you would like to be treated.
6. If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.
7. People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
8. The first person to cross the bridge gets most of the arrows – but if theysurvive they are first!
9. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.
10. The only thing constant is change.

Tony . . . good luck in whatever you do and thank you for providing such an inspiration to many people around the world!

Guerrilla Marketing Tip #28

This month’s tip from the guru Jay Conrad Levinson is about rejection. It happens to all of us but how well we handle it, shows the type of person we are. Because it's hard to be gracious when a prospect tells you that you were not chosen as their gym to join or personal trainer – for whatever reason?

Yet, your "grace under fire" is important. One reason is that it's a small world, and the fact that you even qualified for them to consider you, puts you in a relatively rarefied atmosphere. Out of all the people in the world, you were one of the few who made the initial cut!

More important, taking the time to thank your prospect for the opportunity of talking with them keeps you in the running for future opportunities – we know people change gyms and trainers.

Never burn a bridge or fail to acknowledge a rejection with a Thank You. Your Thank You is the first step towards ensuring your consideration for the next opportunity to come along.

FitnessBiz Tip on YouTube

You can view it here.

Bonus for E-news Subscribers

FIT is the only specialist job site in Australia for the health & fitness, sport & recreation and spa & beauty markets. Our focus is entirely on your industry and ensuring you FIND YOUR FIT!

Advertisers on FIT can be assured that our visitors are the right people for your roles. Career seekers visiting FIT do so knowing that they will find the roles they are looking for in their industry of choice.
For Active Management E-News Subscribers FIT would like to offer 30% discount off all Job Advert Packs purchased prior to 31 December 2008 – all Job Advert packs are valid for 12 months!!

Visit FIT now at www.fitaus.com.au/activmngmt

Network 08 On Tour – coming to a city near you!

This November, Australian Fitness Network is taking Network 08 on the road to deliver a comprehensive 1-day PT and Freestyle group exercise event to you. Travelling through four different states, Network 08 On Tour comprises an incredible dual program delivered by top-class presenters with the experience and credentials to raise you to the top of your game, be it personal training or group exercise. If you want to learn from the best, you can’t afford to miss Network 08 On Tour!

For further information, call Network on 02 8424 7200 or click here

What does Active Management actually do?

Our goal is to provide you the missing pieces to make your business more successful and profitable. We do that through:

Business Coaching

• Round Tables – a unique group of business owners who come together to improve their businesses;
• You can work 1:1 with Justin in improving your business and work-life balance. This program is tailored to your needs, so click here to find out more.

• Round Tables – a unique group of business owners who come together to improve their businesses;
• Training DVD’s – You can now own education seminars from conferences that Justin has presented at.
• Staff Training – if you would like training in customer service, sales, management or even key note presentations for your staff meetings, conferences we can help. To book a time for 2009, click here.

• 2008 Christmas Promotion! Have your own Christmas Promotion on your club’s door step by the 25th November! Click here to find out more.
• We can help design marketing pieces for any promotion! We have 100’s of flyers we can use as templates, so check out www.clubads.com.au
• We can help you design your 12 month marketing plan. To book a time to do your marketing plan for 2009, click here.

• If you need Thank you cards or Birthday cards we can have them to you in 10 days! For Birthday Cards click here for more information and to order click here. For Thank you cards click here and to order click here.

• We have 3 awesome lead box packages that you can choose from, so click here to find out more and click here to order.

• We can now offer experienced industry consultants all over the world to phone shop your club. You receive a thorough report on every call plus a summary of recommendations to improve. If you would like to know more, contact us.

Between Then & Now

Since we last chatted I have been to the UK to Fitpro. From this trip I gleaned a few interesting things:

• Pole dancing is huge in the UK!
• Outdoor gyms are growing in popularity and appeared to be very basic in look. I know councils traditionally build them in Australia but I wonder if this would be a powerful marketing tool for a club to build or sponsor an outdoor gym. Check out www.fresh-airfitness.co.uk
• This country has the best research on retention. There are so powerful numbers and research that indicates that by having your staff interact with members you can have a profound effect on retention. When the staff speak with members personally, numbers improve!
• Fitpro run the best awards ceremony in the fitness industry that I have attended – well done Brent & Andy!

I will report back in the November e-news my take on the Chinese Fitness Industry, as I head to the IHRSA Asia Pacific Conference as a speaker the first week of next month.

This week I start 4 weeks of back to back Round Table meetings. This will prove very insightful to see how some of Australia’s best health clubs are being effected by the credit crunch.

I also plan to launch a NSW RT in November and a NZ Round Table in 2009, so if you are keen on joining, drop me an email.