Join host Liam J. Ryan, a renowned property expert and entrepreneurial mentor, on The Deal Maker Podcast. This week, Liam talks with Steve McGrath, a transformative figure who pivoted from teaching physics to personal training before making his mark in online business coaching. Dive into Steve’s remarkable journey of scaling his business from £100k to almost £3 million. In this episode, Steve unpacks the critical role of understanding client needs, the challenges of managing rapid business growth, and how personal branding and investment savvy propelled his success. He also shares insights on navigating the business impacts of COVID-19 and his strategic plans for international expansion. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned investor, this episode offers invaluable growth, resilience, and strategic planning lessons
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Steve McGrath transitioned from being a physics teacher to building a successful online personal training and business coaching business.
- Scaling the online training business was easier than in-person training, as it allowed him to focus more on lifestyle and nutrition rather than just the workouts.
- Expanding into business coaching for personal trainers proved to be a major growth driver for the business, with the coaching program generating £100k in the first month.
- Steve emphasizes the importance of understanding investments and not relying solely on others, as he had some challenges with property investments in the past.
BEST MOMENTS
“As soon as I did that first 8k, I was like, I’d never, ever fucking want to be poor again.”
“People was a big one for me. So, like, in our kind of business, you can go anywhere from like 10k a month to 20k a month, as like, on your own without it causing you too many difficulties, and then the difference from, like, 20 km almost, or 100k month, or 200k months, literally just getting other people to do the jobs that you’re doing and stop doing it, that was, that was the hardest bit for me.”
“I think putting in the work and and finding the right thing for the right person, I think, I think a deal becomes easy if you’ve got the right answer to someone’s problem.”
FULL TRANSCRIPT
So, like, in our kind of business, you can go anywhere from like 10k a month to 20k a month, as like, on your own without it causing you too many difficulties, and then the difference from, like, 20 km almost, or 100k month, or 200k months, literally just getting other people to do the jobs that you’re doing and stop doing it, that was, that was the hardest bit for me. What’s been one or two of your biggest challenges, maybe over the last year or so, you know, you’ve scaled the business now just under 3 million what some of the stuff you’re facing now? How have you come overcome it? Or, you know, how can we help you overcome it? Welcome to another edition of the deal maker podcast, and I have a very special guest in the studio, a real entrepreneur, Steve McGrath, who now teaches personal trainers how to run online businesses. And we are going to do a deep dive on everything to do with business, investing the good times, the bad times, and what you can be doing to get out there and get some really, really great results. So Steve, welcome to the studio. Good to have you here, mate. So where are you living in the UK right now?
I’m in Cheshire at the moment. I grew up in North Manchester, and then I got sick of people trying to keep my back door in to get in the house and move to slightly nicer areas. But yeah, in the in the Northwest takes, well, really great to have you travel down to sunny Essex, not that it’s that sunny today, and you’ve got a really inspiring story, and you’re doing some really, really great stuff out there. Just take us back before you got into the world of business. What did life look like? What were you doing and what then led you into getting into business?
So I started off as a physics teacher. I got out of I got out of uni and decided that I was just, I’d done sciences, like, all the way through college and school and stuff, I think just because I was good at it, and the only really thing left to do was be a teacher, because I didn’t want to do a PhD. And I was like, you know, when you’re at that age where, like, I wasn’t, I didn’t feel like I was really ready to leave education, because I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. So, like, the idea is you just stay in education instead of doing a PhD. I kind of went down the teaching route, and then it was really good for, like, the first couple of years, because I just felt like I was still learning. I was getting into it. And then when it like, when the reality of actually doing the job for the rest of my life kind of hit me, I was like, what was it about the reality of doing the job for the rest of life? What certain aspects really stood out for you? And you were like, there is no effing way I am staying here for this couple of like stories I always remember the first one, everyone’s fucking depressed, right?
Like, I genuinely felt like everyone hated him. Everyone was just always whinging about, like, this is happening, and the union this, and like, we’ve got this meeting then and then genuine. Remember, there was a conversation where there was two teachers talking about the kinds of antidepressants that they were on. And I was like, fuck that. Like, that sounds awful, and then it sounds shit, because it’s like, dead materialistic, but like, when I was growing up, like I was, I just wanted nice things. I wanted to be able to go on nice holidays, like I wanted a nice car, like I wanted nice clothes. And then you look around the car park at school, and they’re all driving, like, fucking seven year old, like, bad Clios. And I was like, these people are 15 years ahead of the career than I am. Like, is that what I’ve got to look forward to?
So I just got to a point where, like, I knew that working in a job with a pay scale like that, it was like, Oh, well done. You’ve done five years. It was an extra 300 quid a month. Yeah, no way. I was like, I can’t be asked. And then I’d always PT, like, I think, I think I qualified when I was, like, 17 or 18, and then I’d worked as, like, a fitness instructor. I’d done lifeguard I’d worked in leisure pretty much all the way through uni and stuff like that. So I was doing like, PT on the side to, like, top up my wage, 80 quid a day, which was sound. And then school got dead. Funny about it, because I was like, Well, I can’t do this meeting. I’ve got to go, like, train my client. And they were, they got to a point where they were like, look, you’re either gonna have to stop doing that or so I just ended up leaving pretty much. I just played the match in my head. And I was like, right, well, I could do four hours work a day as a PT in a gym, not have anyone tell me what to do, not I’ve been told to went to have a fucking lunch break or anything like that. And I could earn more money than doing it and have the freedom. Yeah, yeah. Sometimes, like people, people out there today that are on, you know, 25 3030, 5k a year. You know, they’re having to basically be a slave for that salary.
I don’t know people live on it. I’m going to be really honest. Like, how the fuck would you live on 25 grand a year? I’m sure you can, because people do. But like, well, you’ve literally got to watch every single penny. Like, like, like, you know, I wasn’t born into money, but like, you growing up, I really wanted nice things, like I used to listen to my mum cry herself to sleep because she was skin as and couldn’t put food on the table. And there’s me and my mum and my little brother, like living in some crappy, horrible apartment, like it was and and I used to go and obsess and look at magazines, and I used to really love people in nice suits, and women dress well and fast cars and all that type of stuff. And somewhere at a young age, it was just like, I want to have all of that stuff. What was there anything in your childhood that you wanted nice clothes and nice things? Where did that come from?
I don’t even think it was particularly like I want for like, the nicest things, I think, like, I never thought about, I never designed a clothes when I was a kid. Never thought about wanting designer clothes. Like, I never really wanted like I remember when I was a kid? Well, not when I was a kid, but even when I was like a teenager and growing up, just what you remember when they did the first did, like the AMG Merc with the spoiler on the back, the 45 one. I just really wanted one of them, which is actually now a really fucking expensive car. I don’t know how they’ve got to 50 grand, but they’re out 50 grand now. But at the time they were like, like, a Ford Focus, Rs, I’d still buy one now, yeah, I actually really need to go and buy one, because they’re gonna, they’re not gonna be able to get them soon. But like, that was the, you know, when you just look at that kind of stuff, whereas I still weren’t gonna get that as a teacher. And I don’t know, I don’t know what it was. I don’t, I don’t remember really a trigger point. I just even now, as an adult, I could just think, why would I want to live in an area where I’m not safe, like everyone around is struggling? Because I know what that forces people to do. Don’t really want to live in a situation like that. I don’t really want to be looking at my bank account at the end of the month, worrying about, and I’ve been there worrying about whether I can put in a fucking petrol in my car to get to work.
Yeah, I’ve missed parking tickets because I couldn’t pay them at the time when they came through, and then ended up with, like, getting court summons and stuff from literally fucking parking in the wrong space on the side of the street. And I just, I just didn’t really want to leave. Let you know what it sounds so simple, and it can be simple. It sounds to me like you just made the decision. It’s a decision you’ve made that you are going to become successful no matter what. And I think it does come down to making that decision. Now, what’s behind that decision is a whole different world. Yeah, explore that, right? And there’s ups and there’s ups and downs and challenges, and there’s people that are going to get in your way and hold you back. And entrepreneurship can be a really tough, lonely place. I’m not here to sugarcoat anything, but I’d say to anyone listening to this right now, if you are in a position and you you are that on that 25 or 30 or you can’t even do much with 50 or 60 or 100 grand a year this, you just can’t. People hate you for saying it, yeah, it’s not a fucking lot of money. Tax. Yeah, you know, people will lose 30 to 70% of their money every pound 30 p to 70 p goes on tax. So you have to find tax efficient ways to keep your money, and one of those ways is to buy it being entrepreneur and be a business owner and use all the the UK legal loopholes on how to grow a business profitably. So you made that decision, and then you start. PT, ing, right? So you’re out there, you quit your job, and what was the next part of your chapter?
So I was doing, all right? I reckon I got a bit lazy at that point. I was doing like, I’d gone from, you know, 24 grand a year as a teacher to doing like, maybe four, maybe five grand on a good month as a PT. But like, I was in the gym for like, five, five hours. I thought it was basically staying in a living at that point, because coming from somewhere where, like, you had to be in at eight o’clock and you was,
it was almost like you felt like you made it. Do you get complacent? I don’t think I felt like I made it, but I just, I felt, I felt comfortable enough, yeah, like, at that age, and I think sometimes that’s dictated by your environment as well. Like, I didn’t have really any friends that made any more money than that. Like, you know, where I’m from, even earning 40 grand a year was a fucking really good salary. So I think sometimes you just, you do tend to stay at the level of where you are. And then I had an accident in the gym, so I ended up having like, major surgery on both of my knees. I was in a wheelchair for like, a good portion of the year.
So I How did that affect you? I was fucking rough. You know, when people are like, Get get income protection insurance. I fucking will. I don’t know if I’ve still not done it. Probably should. Where I’m like, Yeah, I’ll do that. And then something like that happens where you can’t work. You’re like, Oh, fuck. Like, what am I supposed to do here? So you must have lost your clients, lost all my clients, lost you income. And I couldn’t really go back to the gym because it was loaded on health and so. Safety issues. Like, at that point, I technically, like, wasn’t able bodied enough to be training. So, like, I’m sure you can have a disabled personal trainer, but like, the gym that I was working at wasn’t really well set up for, like, access and stuff like that. So I’d heard about, like, online training. I’d like, I’d done little bits without realizing it, like writing programs for my mates and charging them 50 quid for it and stuff like that. But then I bought this course of like, this is how you actually structure it, and this is how you set it up. I remember I got like, the welcome pack for it, and it was like, it was like a kickstart guide. It was like, do these 10 things to get your first X amount of clients right. And I think I told I sold, like, 20 at 400 quid, right, which isn’t a massive amount, but, like, making eight grand in a month after, you just don’t fuck all for like, 12 months, and basically been in bed, I was like, Oh, this has this has legs in it. This, wow. And then I just carried out, like, luckily, because I’d been a PC for so long, because I’d been around, I’ve been training since I was 15, all my family and friends knew I was, you know, the person to ask if you needed help with, like, a diet or something. So when I launched it, I had a decent reputation already. I was in, I was in a lot better shape than I’m in now, but I was in really good shape myself. So, like, it, it felt easy, yeah, like I was in a good spot for it, like a natural, natural, uh, progression, really, yeah, I just needed the right like, mechanism of like, what to do with it. Like, I think I had all the pieces there. I just needed someone to go, like, right, do this, this, this, and this, and then that’s how you make it work. And I did, like, I think I did 125, in the first year, which is always like when I was growing up. I remember, like, my dad said he did 100 grand one year. Now he run a Groundworks company, so I’m not sure whether he actually made 100 grand or whether he did 100 grand, or whether he just build 100 grands worth of work. And I was like, That’s my head. I’m like, that’s a lot of money. And then I think, like, head teacher salaries are, like, they’re probably not quite 100 but like, they’re up there. So even when I was teaching, I was always like, Oh, I forget there. That’s what I learned. So like to do that in the first year of like, being basically an online personal trainer, sat on my laptop.
I was like, wow. So at this point, just so we’re clear, this is, this is training other people. This is training people to lose weight and to lose weight. Oh, great. So you’re in your comfort of your own home, you’re teaching people, also, you’re training people how to get into better shape. And what was the difference between doing it online and in person? Did you the clients getting better results? Was it easier to scale?
It’s way easy to scale. So the time you spend per client is way, way less. I think it works better because you have to focus more on the things that people actually need. So when you’re in the gym, they just turn up for the hour. Some people, it’s like, just a fucking accountability appointment where they’re like, Well, I’m here. I’ve paid so this counts as most of it, whereas, like when you do online training, it’s more like, it’s more around the lifestyle and the nutrition, which I think is what 90% of people need. So it was really well suited towards that. And when I first started, like, I was on spreadsheets, but then really quickly, like, software started coming out to help people, like, to help you manage it better. Um, because at one point I had like 40 clients, and I was like, text them all every morning, and then text them all before I went to bed and sending people out. Still have some of the Excel sheets on my computer, weirdly. But like, it was really haphazard, like I would have struggled. I ended up at like, my peak of, like, on my own, before I had staff, end up doing like, 95 clients. Wow.
So it’s a lot of people to manage. It’s a lot of people to manage, but, like, I also used to teach like, fucking five classes of physics with kids in it. To me, I was like, it’s not actually that fucking difficult compared to
it. And then once you got to that level, you know, and you’re on this road of entrepreneurship, and you made your first 100k. What was going on for you then, you know, mentally, what had How did you feel like, being in that spot? Did you get hunger to keep growing? Did you get complacent? How did it make you feel so, like, as soon as I did that first 8k? Yeah, I was like, I’d never, ever fucking want to be poor again, just because. And you know what? It’s, it’s, it’s a fucking good feeling when you get paid, yeah, money, and you you’ve worked for that, and you’re up at eight, 910, 12k, a month. Life can if you’re smart, and it can really start to change. And people tuning in here, it is absolutely possible for anyone listening to this, with the right opportunity and the right people around them, they can start generating that type of income, right? Yeah, I think for me, like, the the life change was, like, the biggest between, like, doing fuck all and making under grand. I think that was like, Well, the biggest like worry change is, like, I weren’t worried about bills anymore. I weren’t worried about X, Y and Z. I think, like, as a case of, like, safety and stability for myself that was and then the difference from like, 100k to a million was, like, I think that’s where, like, my mindset really changed on it, and like, my outlook on life was really different. I don’t think the actual day to day of my life was probably already doing, yeah, but like, that was. Where, like, my mind really, how did you go from your 100 so anyone tuning in now that’s maybe got 100 grand a year business, because business is business, right? As long as you’ve got a good product and you’ve got good clients and you serve properly, anyone can scale. So how did you go from 100k to that first million people?
Okay, people was a big one for me. So like, in our kind of business, you can, depending on what you charge, you can go anywhere from like 10k a month or 20k a month, as like, on your own without it causing you too many difficulties. And then the difference from like 20k a month to 100k month or 200k month is literally just getting other people to do the jobs that you’re doing and stop you doing it. That was, that was the hardest bit for me to be honest, right? Because what, what was hard about
that, and how did you overcome it?
Yeah, I just, it’s just new, isn’t it like I was mid 20s? Well, late 20s, probably by that point, I’d never done management, I’d never been in management. I’d always been in a job or worked on my own for myself, and, like, the way I’d kind of grown the business, everyone was like, teaching, like, Oh, here’s how you get your first 10 clients, or is how you make your first three to five grand. And I did eight grand month one. So I just felt like I was like, Oh, fuck. Like, none of that’s relevant for me anymore. Then everyone I would ask that had been in there long ago, like, was already still running the business, so they weren’t gonna fucking speak to me, because why would they help me? I’m competition. Yeah. So I just kind of fumbled through the dark on it. A lot. Felt like you was on your own. I had my friends to be honest, which is a really shit idea, but like, if any of them still, you might still, that’s a question for another fucking podcast. No, is the short answer. Yeah, it’s tough, but I did what I thought was right at the time, and I just wanted people that I could trust, and it got me forward.
And at this point, had your business model changed into coaching other person? No, no, this was
still right online. I had coaches training the clients when I was doing the sales and the lead generation. We had like a feeder program. So we had like an eight week program that was quite it wasn’t low ticket, but it was, like 150 quid for eight weeks they do that, and then they’d ascend into the high ticket one. Okay, so we, at any point, we had like three, 400 people on this group one, and then we had like four coaches dealing with like 40 clients each, great on the top end. So it was, it was bonkers. And then the business coaching started when covid happened. So I didn’t actually do it on purpose. I think it was like a it was a balance of covid happened. Then people started going, Oh, I’ve definitely got to go online now, because the gym was short. So then everyone was like, well, who’s the top online, I think. And this is one of the reasons why I kick myself for getting rid of my fitness business a little bit. Because I think when people look at business coaches, they go, Ah, you’re trying to make money off me, whereas when you’ve got a fitness business, they go to you and they go, Oh, you’re doing exactly what I want to do. So can I ask you for help I get it in the property space.
Oh, you’re now just making money from teaching people how to do property. Now, I’ve got a property portfolio, and I’m very active in property, right? But people just have, like, this weird mindset. Sometimes, when it comes to coaches, mentors, they don’t actually see the bigger picture. They find that’s worth of English people, yeah, you know what? They just think, we’re after their cash. And ultimately, I’m not a fucking charity, yeah? And I’m a good guy, and I’ll provide a good service, but you when you pay you pay attention. And people just don’t get that. And they want all the reward, but they’re not willing to put an element of the risk in. Yeah, it’s absolutely, I think it’s quite funny, though, when, like, your program helps other people make money because, like, how do you think I’m still in business? Yeah, like, I’m not in business because I’m shit. I’m like, if nobody ever made any fucking money by paying me, they wouldn’t pay me for very long, success, and they become your biggest fans. They don’t become your client testimonials. They’re the people that are shouting about you online that then generates more business, and that’s how you’ve grown a fantastic movement over the last few years. And you know, you’re going from strength to strength. So okay, so then that started, and then this is where we are today, right?
Yeah, we did. So like, when we launched, like, I dabbled in it at first, I think, like everyone does, like, I had a few different I was, like, trying to figure out how I wanted to do it. Did I want to do a course, or did I want to do, like, a weekly thing? And then I settled on, like, the coaching model that we’ve got now, which is obviously then gone through different bits. But I think when we properly launched, we did, like, 100 grand month one. And I was like, Oh, this is probably definitely got legs then, because, like, before we’d done similar numbers, but it was like, through, like, off splits of like, three or four different products, whether this was just, like one thing, and I was like, right? This definitely has a route forward. And then I put so much focus onto growing that that that I kind of left the fitness business, I left the coaches to kind of do it. And I was like, You guys just, and then a bit, surely, yes, I just slowly removed myself from it to the point where I could turn around to the guys and was like, Look, I’ve got fuck all involvement in this anymore. So here’s, I think at that point I’d, I’d let my kind of salary from it dwindle down. So like. Money was still going to those guys, but I kind of built mine over here. So we got to the point where, like, I was taking the money to pay them. So it’s a bit like, look, just have the clients, like, look after him. I’m doing this now. And we kind of left it there, and then we went full into it. And we did, like, I think we did 1.5 year wise. And then we did just on, I think just under three last year. We moved to Dubai last year. So, like, I’m a bit hazy with, like, what point we got, like, three different servers from that. So you based Dubai and the UK, or just fully I live in the UK, but I’m not operational. So a lot of our central staff are in Dubai home. I kind of, COO is permanent resident over there. Yeah.
Okay, great. So you say 3.5 million. Wow, that’s, that’s, that’s good going.
Um, sorry, no, just under three, we just done like five, 1.5 then, so just under three. What is it about business that you enjoy the most? I think it’s just like challenging, isn’t it? It’s like problem solving all the time. I think it’s the same reason why he goes to the gym. Like, when you go to the gym, you get the most results in, like, the first kind of year, and then, like, your body’s you’re kind of a gym person. Then, like, you have a good but then you can, you keep going, even though there’s no real need for you to keep going and putting as much effort into it as you do. But you do because you just enjoy the process. And I think that’s where I’m at the business now is like, there’s still goals that I’ve got, and there’s still like, stuff. I want to do this stuff, want to buy this stuff, want to buy for my family and stuff. But like, really, if you took all that away, I’d still do it. Because it’s like, I think what the fuck else you supposed to
do? And I think as well, one of the great things about having a fantastic business that’s profitable is that, okay, you can pay yourself some good money. You can be tax efficient. You can run expenses through your business. And then ultimately, one of the reasons why I just love business is because I want to become an investor, yeah, and I ultimately want to invest in that money into different types of investments. Where are you at with investing, and what’s your what’s your view on that element?
Ah, so, and this is, this is probably a good thing for, I think, a lot of your audience, I would highly recommend anyone that’s investing to learn how to do it instead of giving you money to other people, I am so 100% I went down that road and there’s, there’s nothing wrong with it. There’s nothing wrong with what like. So I invested with couple of guys that I know quite well. It’s, it’s been fine. The problem is, like, I’m so I’m so balanced on like, I don’t I didn’t know what the fuck was going on. So I didn’t understand, like, how deals could change and how mortgage rates could change and how mortgage percentages could change. So I, at one point, I think I invested like, 150 grand into this project, and then somebody bought the development next to it, and then started building very similar apartments, and then the rental yields changed, and all of that stuff. And then too many, like offshore investors bought the property so they wouldn’t invest certain mortgage lenders would lend on it. So I ended up only, only being offered, like, I think it was a 55% mortgage when they told me it was going to be 75 this was like, three weeks before completion. So basically, I was like, What the fuck were you gonna tell me this? And we’re like, yeah, we’ve been trying to sort it. And I’m like, you’ve not sorted it though. I’ve been like, Nah, and now you’ve got a gun to your head on it. So, like, cool.
We need buy another 200 grand in three weeks. And I was like, You could have told me that fucking seven or eight months ago, and it might have been a bit easier. Like, you’re asking, you’re asking me to strip out my business now to, like, afford this investment. It was supposed to be, like, a safe, you know, got that aside from somewhere, knock it out. And now they’re like, cool, now you need to go fucking generate some cash from it. And I was like, I’m never doing this painful so, like, now I’m definitely in the position where, like, every investment I make, I want to learn it, and I want to understand it, even if, if I don’t do that, I’m just going to put it into stocks, and just fucking leave it because at least it doesn’t need me to understand the whole different thing. But I think property for me was one that I’d like the idea of, but didn’t do the work that I needed to do, and just went, Oh yeah, someone else will take care of it for me. Now I think, I think it’s really important. I’ve had similar experiences where I’ve given people money or investing to certain projects, and it’s all going to be fine, and it’s not fine, and lost a lot of money. And over these last, you know, seven or eight years, I’ve really took it upon myself to really understand investing, how to make, manage and multiply money, because you’ve got people in their 70s and 80s, the pensions, most pensions, aren’t worth what they’re written on. People can’t afford the electric bills, inflation and interest rates on the rise, and cost of living, and all this stuff is really affecting people right now.
So I’m, I’m a big one on teaching people how to or suggesting to people how they can go and invest their money, you know, through different asset classes, you know, property, gold, ETFs, you know, all that type of stuff. I think that’s really, really, really, really important. Nobody ever teaches you that neither nobody I’ve got an investing mentor. Now, you know, I’ve signed mentor people, but I’ve got my own investing mentor, as you should really it’s been in it, and I invest, I invest in that, and it’s fantastic. And I’ve sessions with him, and I’m in a fantastic mastermind group. And this is why I absolutely love coaching and mentoring and. Masterminding and all this type of stuff. You know, I do it in the property business and wealth space. You do it in the personal training development space. I think it’s an incredible thing that you’re doing. And more and more people out there, they’re waking up to the fact that the schooling system for most people, is broken, the way we’ve been told, the 40, 4040 plan is definitely not working, and people are basically saying, I’ve got to do something different. And the fact that you’re out there, Steve, helping people and showing people how to do this, I think it’s an incredible thing. It really, really, really, really, is what’s been one or two of your biggest challenges, maybe over the last year or so, you know, you’ve scaled the business now, just under 3 million. What? What some of the stuff you’re facing now, have you come overcome it? Or, you know, how can we help you overcome it?
I think, I think, for me, it’s kind of, we had a little bit of a chat earlier, didn’t we about, like, scaling a business, and like, the costs that are required to do so. And I think that’s been, I think from because from the outside, everyone’s like, Oh, you’re so successful. You’re doing this and you’re doing that, but like, when you see this such a big journey in front of you, I’m like, I’m still, like, you know, I’ve been in business for five years. I’ve been in this business for like, two and a half. So I’m like, I’m still really new to this. I’m still, I’m still getting my feet wet. Like, the stuff that I teach is all early level business. So, like, that’s fine, and I’m confident with that me growing this company from 3 million to 10 million plus is a big jump. And like, I’m still learning the lessons that I need to. So that’s managing that, managing the fact that I’m not there yet. Sometimes people expect you to like, oh, yeah, I’ve got seven houses and I’ve got this because they look on paper about how much money you’re making, and they’re like, oh, you should be, you know, on holiday every week and stuff. And I’m like, now I’m investing a lot of that still back into the company, because the next step in it, technology staff all this time, people don’t realize the same. People think it’s a risk when it’s like, your last five grand? And I’m like, No, it’s not, because if it’s my last five grand, guess what happens in that five grand on I’m just fucking exactly the same, like, nothing’s got any worse, yeah, if I gamble everything and it’s gone, yeah, it’s gonna go anywhere Exactly, yeah. And I think that’s a big thing for people, you know, listening in, is that they want the reward, but they’re not willing to put an element of risk in. And you’ve got to have, you’ve got to have skin in the game, right? It’s so important. And, but you’ve got, like you’re saying, You’ve got to have the right people around you, for sure, and, you know, just to, just to share some bits, you know, I’ve gone through that transition. We’re probably 18 million this year. My just my training business, and, you know, it wasn’t that long ago, we were sitting at 3 million, and I was really excited, and it was like, oh my goodness, now I’ve got to do 50 or 60 grand on ads, and we got to grow the team. You know, I went through phases where many, many months on the P and L, we were losing money. You know, we were, we were down, mate, yeah. So, like we were right in the business, but we were the P and L and I lost the business. My business before this I lost, wiped me out minus 392,000 pounds. Didn’t, wasn’t getting managed accounts. So I always say to people, it’s really important to have your monthly managed accounts be absolutely on your numbers, and just be prepared to there may be some losing months, as you know, anyway, but it’s about building that momentum with the clients and the success rates. And then the other thing that’s really helped us, which may help you at some point as well, is just trying to get as many different cross sales in or see what other products and services you know, you can offer out to the same client base and and retention as well. You know that’s that, that that’s been massive for us is the retention and doing everything we can to make sure the clients renew with us for a second, third or fourth year. But yeah, I’m really confident you’re going to get there. You know, if you, if you’ve got a desire for it and a drive for it, you will definitely get there, for sure. So look, any anyone tuning in now, anyone tuning in now, and perhaps they’re at a crossroads. They’ve got a passion.
They want to take that into profit. What would be some words of wisdom, top tips, suggestions that you’d like to say to the audience, Steve, make sure your passion is actually fucking sellable because, because that’s mint in it, like, I’ll sell your passion. But if no one wants to fucking buy you what you’re passionate about, yeah, about? Yeah, probably not a business, make sure somebody will buy your passion from you. Yeah, will be my second point, because you can fucking sell it. Well, that’s the point. Yeah. Like, they might like it, but they might not fucking like it from you. And like, we deal with mainly, like, personal brand style businesses. Like, if you’re a PT, it’s a personal brand style people buy you. You’re all fucking doing training and diet plans. It’s not rocket science. They’re buying to you. So like, make sure that you’ve got yourself in a good situation where you can do it. And then the third one would be, you just gotta have to I think it’s Extreme Ownership of all of it, isn’t it? Like, because accountability, it’s a risk, but like, it’s your risk, and it’s your job. To make the risk pay off. Like, I find our space one of the weirdest fucking spaces in the world, because it’s like, I think the owner sometimes feels like it’s on us, like, if someone paid you, it’s like you’ve got to make it work. For me was that when I was a school teacher, like, if the kid did no fucking work all year and then got shit grades, you be like, What’s your fucking fault? You did no work. Oh yeah. So it’s make sure you’re willing to actually do the work of what it takes. I think that’s really important. And there’s a lot of people out there selling courses and mentorship and programs, and it’s like every other person on the world wants to be an influencer right now, and there’s a lot of noise out there. But actually, if you have a great product, yeah, if your service is absolute world class, I just literally had our end of h1 vision meeting with the company just last week, and the whole model was, it’s got to be client focused. You know, we’ve got to continue to be client focused. They are the most important person in our business, because without them, we’re screwed, and it’s so easy to get a bad reputation in the training, just like schools and colleges the same, right? So no, I think, I think they are incredible, incredible tips. So really, what is next for you? Over the next one or two years, continue to build out where we’re at, I think probably reach into different mind. We’re predominantly UK based now. We definitely want to we’ve got some really, like, good photos in Australia, and that’s the market really on coming. So we’re going to expand into there. And then we want to build our like, UK training system. So we started very recently, like, running like eight week mastermind sessions with the UK clients, instead of sort of having everything online like it used to be, and that’s something that we really want to kind of build up and build into, and create that sense of community around. So I think those would be great, awesome.
Awesome, man, I’m really excited to see your journey. It’s been fantastic having you in the studio. The podcast is called the deal maker podcast. So in your own words, Steve, what does being a deal maker mean to you?
I think putting in the work and and finding the right thing for the right person, I think, I think a deal becomes easy if you’ve got the right answer to someone’s problem. Great thing. That would be great. Love that.
Where can people hook you up? Mate, social media, channel, yeah, across everything. So like, my personal one is stemograph official. That’s Instagram, Youtube. I think that’s the main one. And then if you’re a personal trainer that’s looking to go online, and we have a free community as well where we put, like, all the basic level stuff in that you need to get your business off the ground. Great. So if you give me a message on any of those platforms, we can get you hooked up with that and good to go. Great. Lovely.
GET IN TOUCH
Click here to register your interest for one of my upcoming FREE events.
