8 years ago today we registered CFAO as a CrossFit affiliate - a garage gym at our home, whilst still working hard to gain planning permission for change of use of Unit 8. We had endless phonecalls, meetings, site visits and reports to the Council, but it was 7 months later that we finally gained change of use and got the keys to the unit, after 2 years of hard work! Then the real work began...
We've received a lot of advice over the years especially in the early days as a new business, but 8 years in, our advice to other small businesses is this...nothing is final. If you really believe in what you do, just keep going. It took 2 years for us to open but we never gave up. Looking back, maybe the timing was actually better for us how it played out...
Now we have a place that not only survived the last year but is thriving again. That is thanks to the strength of our community that has been built over the years. It gets easier, you get more comfortable, more confident with time, but remember nothing is ever final. Keep striving for better as a team.
Don't look at others, you'll only lose focus - don't copy anyone else or dilute what it is that you're trying to deliver. Don't be a jack of all trades, be a master of yours. We've never diluted CrossFit to deliver mainstream classes for example, as our belief is 100% in delivering CrossFit to all abilities. We do CrossFit and we want to do it well.
Focus on improving your service for your clients, focus on what you're truly passionate about and what they need - deliver it personally, with your own stamp and your own passion at the centre of it - every single day.
Everyone has an opinion, everyone has their own story - you write yours with the words you use and actions you take - choose wisely.
Only work with those who share your core values. Let those inevitable moments of self-doubt, go. Only you know how hard you've worked to get here and those who align with you will stay and thrive with you. Trust your instinct always. You get one life - live it 🙌🖤
Team All Out, thank you! You are the heart and soul of all we do! We're just getting started!! 🙏❤
