How I went to Europe for 5 weeks and still made money in my Studio!

WOW! What a suggestion.. I'd never been to Europe and the kids were finally old enough to hopefully appreciate it.

While I was excited as hell, it also scared the crap out of me!

It scared me because I immediately wondered what I would do with my businesses while I was away... if they would survive with me not being there, and if I would come back to more work than it was worth.

I mean, I'd left the Studio for days and weeks at a time before, but never for 5 weeks and never on the other side of the world.

Let me be clear - it was a lifetime ambition of mine to be able to take the family to Europe (just like the Griswolds :) ) and the opportunity was finally here. I'd worked hard for 16 years and never taken a break like this so it was my turn to reward myself for the success I've had.

So, I turned fear into action and below you'll find the 5 step process to how I made money while I went away on the trip of a lifetime.

The beauty of it was, I had time to prepare what needed to be done to save the money, and ensure my staff had the best possible opportunity to succeed while I was away.

In fact, the only time I was involved with the Studio while I was away was when I did all the staff's pays. And to be honest, it wasn't even a chore - especially as I was in a different location each week! It was also a very pleasant feeling to see there was more than enough money in the business account every time I went to pay the staff!

THE EUROPEAN HOLIDAY PROCESS:

1. Get Organized - set a plan of what needs to be done.
Set up daily, weekly, monthly checklists, a strategic marketing plan, daily admin duties, other day to day tasks, set goals with timelines, set expectations for the staff and for the Studio as a whole. Set up your systems (email vacation message, autoresponders, and scheduled social media posts in advance)
You should already have most of these automated in your business but it's good to fine tune them for your successors. If you need these items, check out our FitbizDocs store.

2. Pick Out Your A-Team
You should have a solid team of trainers to look after the day to day processes in your Studio. Further to that, a network of professionals in their respective fields that can handle any hiccups while you're away. I am fortunate enough to have 3 senior staff (10 years with me) who know the Studio inside out. However, it's one thing to be a great trainer but another to be committed to the business you have created. This second part is where most businesses lack. They haven't allowed their team to grow into the business and outsourced responsibility along the way. By giving my team responsibility, rewarding their commitment to the business and developing their leadership skills for years on end made this whole process of going away for 5 weeks much easier.

3. Trust the process
Set things up so that you have taken care of the things that you can control , and believe in the systems and the support crew you have in place to handle the things you cannot control . I knew that I had done all I could to ensure things COULD run smoothly while I was away, but it was now in the hands of my capable staff to follow through and execute the processes.

4. Let it go
Understand the worst case scenario and be OK with it. Play devil's advocate in your head and like I mentioned previously, apply systems to scenarios that 'may happen' but be OK with the scenarios you cannot control. For example, if one of your staff calls in sick one day and the clients are left stranded with no one to train them, is it the end of your business as you know it? What is the WORST thing that could happen? What will it mean, will the clients get over it? Will you have a replacement staff member on call? Take care of all these 'situations that may happen' and let go of the ones you cannot control - like the place burning down!

5. Radio Silence
I made a deal with myself and my family that for the first week of the holiday I would check in everyday and chat to my Studio Manager to make sure things were running smoothly. My wife was completely OK with it, as she saw my angst around leaving the Studio for so long. She knew I wouldn't relax properly unless I knew it was going OK. Then, for the remaining 4 weeks I would only check in weekly.
Little did I know, this plan was about to get flipped on its head..
Before I left, my Studio manager pulled me aside and said 'Go away and have a great trip with the family, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I would be honoured if you left me with the entire responsibility of the Studio while you're away. That means no contact. You will only hear from me if it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. I need this opportunity for myself as much as you need to let go."
WOW! I was completely shocked. This was hard for me to accept but he was right, we both needed this and I would be disrespecting him to not acknowledge his request. So, I accepted his suggestion and the only time he contacted me was 3 days before I was due back home in Sydney to inform me they had made 15 new sales while I was away and everything had run smoothly!

What this did was give me the confidence to leave my studio now whenever I needed to, or wanted to.

I travel once a month for 3-4 days at a time for business, and have 2 week holidays with my family every 6 months. I could take longer periods off, and will once again as I know it is entirely possible.

PS I rewarded my Studio Manager with a cash bonus on my return (he was not expecting this and was blown away!) and I rewarded the rest of the team with a social day out. None of them expected this either but were very grateful, as was I to them, for giving me the opportunity to have the experience of a lifetime!