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A few years ago, I probably would have looked at a former client, player, or business relationship differently than I do today.
When I was 23, I was thinking about winning. I was thinking about what was right in front of me. I wasn't thinking much about alumni, former players, former clients, or what those relationships might look like 10, 20, or 25 years down the road.
Now I think about it very differently.
In this episode of The Winning Coach, I talk about the importance of building bridges—not just avoiding burning them.
A client may leave your gym. A player may transfer. A coach may move on. A former client may stop working with you. And when that happens, it's easy to get frustrated because there's a business impact attached to it.
But what if you looked at that relationship differently?
What if you understood that someone doesn't have to keep paying you to still be valuable to you—and for you to still be valuable to them?
For gym owners, fitness business owners, coaches, and entrepreneurs, I think there's a big lesson here about client lifetime value, referrals, reputation, relationships, and playing the long game.
Sometimes the relationship isn't about what somebody can do for your business today. It's about staying connected, supporting people, leaving them better than you found them, and knowing that you never really know what that relationship might mean years from now.
I've had people I've worked with on and off for 15 years. I've got players I coached 25-plus years ago that I still think of as my players. And I want to support those people whether or not there's ever a direct business benefit to me.
That's what I mean by building bridges.
Be proactive. Reach out. Stay in touch. Don't get bitter when somebody makes a decision that's right for them. And don't look at every relationship through the lens of, "How much money can this person make me?"
If you build enough strong relationships and leave enough people better than you found them, the professional rewards tend to take care of themselves.
That's a big part of what coaching...and building a business...should be about.
Build bridges. Develop relationships. Play the long game.
