Taking the Leap: Embracing In-Person Continuing Education

You're listening to the PT Proffit podcast, episode 233. Today I'm talking about taking the leap and embracing in person, continuing education. Are you ready? Let's get started.

Hi, I'm Beverly Simpson, former fitness manager turned online personal training business owner. And this podcast is where smart fitness professionals, including trainers and clinicians, discover how to increase client performance, performance in movement, package and position their products and services, and get out of their own way so that they can increase their revenue to live a life that they love without sleazy sales. Welcome to the PT Profit Podcast.

Welcome back to the PT Profit Podcast. I am your guest host once again, Chris Little. Today I am going to be talking to you about live continuing education in person, continuing education. The cool thing is that if you've been in the industry since before 2020, you have probably been missing that opportunity to connect with people that you may have known for years through Instagram, through social media. You might talk to them every day, and some of them you might not have ever met in. Some of them you might not have seen for four or five years. So we're going to be talking about that. We're going to highlight the upcoming Fit Biz Live event that'll be taking place in New York City in 10 days and 13 hours as of the time of this recording. So as I talk to you now, I want to be honest with you and say that I am pretty good at rambling on podcasts. I have a lot of practice with it. And as I was preparing for this when I wanted to be more concise, so I was putting all this prep, preparation and planning into it. I had this, like, list of things that I wanted to touch on. And I would press record and I would talk for like three minutes, stop, get frustrated, and then leave, and then go back into the platform, actually use Riverside for this. And I press start, record, stumble on my words, stop, leave. And it was just this vicious cycle of stop, start, stop, start. The lesson to be had here is that sometimes you just have to push through. And I think that's probably something that's common among a lot of people within the industry, a lot of people that might gravitate towards this podcast is you want to do something that, you know needs to get done, that, you know, you need to put the reps in that you know is going to serve your business, help your goals, help you get better, help you improve, help you serve more people. And it's just that, like second guessing yourself that makes you just stop in your tracks and it's oftentimes the reason that a lot of people don't take the leap that they need to take. And it's a lot of time the reason that people second guess themselves. And from my perspective in the industry, I've generally spent a lot of my career either as a contractor or being in some regard self employed. And so there's been a lot of times when I've really had to get introspective, look in the mirror and decide like, do I want this or do I want to go back to my like regular boring 9 to 5 job? Like, do I want to be in a career that I'm passionate about or do I want to take the easy road and maybe do manual labor or go back to school and do something in a totally different industry or be a plumber or an electrician? Like, the list goes on. And I'm sure a lot of people will second guess themselves on, on their journey and some people find that they like the change. But I know for myself I'm very proud to work with people and help people and leave the world better than I found it. So my hope with this episode is to not only encourage you to seek out in person continuing education, but to also take the leap and just do it during those times that you feel like it has to be perfect and you keep starting over and you're being hard on yourself and you're paus and you're second guessing yourself and you're critical. Like everybody starts somewhere and very likely if it is your first time, it's not going to be perfect. But go look at everybody else's first time. I think one of the best things that you can do for yourself is consider anybody that you look up to in your space, whether it be someone who has a big following or whether it be someone who helped you out at the first gym that you worked out of. Maybe it's your coach, maybe it's your mentor. Go try and see if you can find their day one scroll back on their social media or go listen find their podcast and listen to the episode one and contrast that with whatever episode they are on. Now if we went this is episode 233. Go to episode one of the PT Profit podcast. Or if you want to hear me, go to episode one of the Lifestyle Chase podcast. That's where you'll get to hear me at the start of my journey as a podcast host. And my tone sounds different, the words I use sound different. I probably sound more confident now. The the roles that I am in are different. And so that is a way to, to give yourself some grace. So before we get too far into this episode, I want to highlight some of the reasons why you should consider going to FitBiz live if you have the opportunity to do so. If you listen to this episode on time and at a moment in which you can message Beverly on Instagram and still get a spot, because spots are limited, we are keeping this a fairly intimate event just because of the size of the venue. And we kind of wanted to get something where people are guaranteed to walk away with more than they invest in the event, where they're guaranteed to walk away with actual resources that they can integrate into their business, whether it be media or the gift of knowledge. So I just want to highlight a few of our special guests. So we have Justin Schumann coming through. So he has built a multiple six figure business on TikTok completely organically and is going to come in person to help you think about your content in a different way. And that is an opportunity where people are going to be actually creating content. At this live event, we're also going to have Michelle Fernandez who will be able to help you with your ad spend and your marketing aspect of your business, being able to use skills and tools and knowledge that she has used in the real world. So she's not just all talk, she is action. And she can help you create some, some action steps in your business to kind of take it to the next level. We also have Eve Guzman who is coming. She is a internationally acclaimed nutritionist, personal trainer, business coach, public speaker, and People magazine half their size ambassador. Her resume is expansive. It goes on and on. What I think is really cool is she did something that very few people will get the opportunity to do in their career, where she built something from the ground up and was able to impact more than just herself. From what I listened to on her episode with Beverly, if you dig back, I think it's in the episode 30 something. She was actually able to allow her husband to leave his corporate job with the momentum that she had with her industry, fitness industry career. So if you have been around in the industry for a while, that is pretty impressive. And to be able to learn from the experiences of somebody like that is not something to take for granted because it's rare to get that opportunity where somebody is presenting in front of you and you're able to ask questions and you're able to be there face to face, network, connect. And that brings us to the things that I really wanted to highlight because since 2020, there has been a lot of live events, a lot of travel that's had to be put on pause. And we are now at a place where, where people feel almost electric when they get the opportunity to see their colleagues, their friends, network, see the people that they look up to, learn new things, get back home with a new outlook on just your business, your perspective, how you think about things, how you see things, your frame of mind. We didn't have that opportunity for a few years and I think during that time a lot of us have, were able to just really reflect on how we may have taken that sort of privilege for granted. And while it may not always feel like the right time to go to a live event, I'll tell you that the first fitness conference that I went to, first large scale fitness conference, because I went to a few ones that were hosted locally, I think they were back in 2018 and those were exciting. I actually got to see Sohee Lee speak in my city that I live, and that was very convenient. Saw her, saw Spencer Nadolski and a few. I saw Martin McDonald, actually, now that I think about it. So I've had the opportunity to go to a few conferences and events, but the one that stands out the most is one where I went in 2019, where it was like I had to do everything that I could to go to this event. But the value that I got from learning from people in person, from being able to see like the, the hands on presentations actually there, doing stuff where you're going through some of the lessons that help people in their business and you're able to actually like see people's point of view and perspective from their expertise and their years in the industry. That is a game changer. Like it goes leaps and bounds beyond what you would get from watching modules and videos. And that's not to say that I devalue modules and videos, because those have also been very helpful in my career. But just sharing energy with other people and being in the same room and being able to kind of build trust among your colleagues and actually bond and give people high fives and hugs and handshakes, that is sort of like an experience that sticks with you for the rest of your career. So I would never want to undersell one of those things because it can make or break your career. It can be the reason that you stay in the industry for decades instead of quitting on yourself after three years, which is so common in an industry like ours, where it takes a lot of dedication, a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifice to Make a go of this stuff, because while from the outside looking in, a lot of people may look like an overnight success, what we don't often see is those long days, the frustration, the emotion, everything that goes into something like this. Where you're in the industry to help other people, but sometimes you feel like your helpers aren't there. And what I want to make super, super clear is this is an industry full of helpers. And when you're able to meet those helpers in person, it's sort of like having, like a cozy blanket that reassures you that there are going to be all kinds of opportunities to improve on yourself as a human being, as a business owner, as a speaker, as a marketer, as someone who can listen and someone who can take feedback and someone who can apply those skills and then in turn give back to the industry and help other people as well. So when you go to a live event, not only do you get to learn from speakers, you also get to learn from people who are on the same journey as you. So for myself, I've actually got a friend and colleague in the industry who I met at the Kansas City Fitness Summit who will be going to Beverly's event and I will be there too. So we're both flying to New York City for this event. My friend that I'm referring to, I'll give him a shout out. Alex McBr of a team Fitness. We actually bonded over. There's this little hand signal, and you basically put your hands together and you wiggle your thumb and it looks like a. It's the. The signal is for an awkward turtle. So I've shown it on video. I don't know if we'll end up using that for our social media clip. But basically the awkward turtle is if something just crazy is going on, that's your signal to, like, be in solidarity with the other person that's also noticing something crazy going on. And that's kind of how we clicked. It was just a session where we were able to talk after one of the seminars. And that's how you can make some lifelong friends in the industry is just the silly things that happen in between learning moments, maybe around meals or in the evening after, like, the structured events are over. And these are things that are priceless. Like, even if it's like the biggest investment that you made of the year was to go to in person continuing education, it serves you for years to come. The aha moments that you can get from people's presentations are substantial. I still remember learning about the different kinds of bread preparation. I still remember learning about different case studies for clients. I still remember different ways of communicating through emails. All these things from presentations from years long, long ago. Despite the fact that I may have had all kinds of other things happen in my life that I forget what I had for supper yesterday, I'm still remembering a lot of the aha moments that I've had from past learning opportunities. So what I think is important is that you don't hesitate to take a chance and really bet on yourself. Whether that be investing in your business through continuing education virtually or better yet, investing in yourself in in person continuing education, getting to check out some new scenery if you're not local to New York or if you are local to New York, because I've gone to plenty of continuing education stuff in my own region. So for context, for anybody who can't pick up on my Canadian accent, I am from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. And so we have done a few continuing education events up here. We actually have pretty substantial one coming up in the fall. But when I'm going to things that are in my backyard, I get to network with people internationally. And those friendships, whether it be you're picking up a friend at the airport or whether it be that you are bonding with someone over your favorite flavor of ice cream, like, those things help us in the times when the industry is challenging, when we are finding ourselves facing adversity in our personal life, people in this industry come together. I've seen it within many, many colleagues. Beverly is a key person that comes forward for people when they encounter struggles. She's a very compassionate human being, which is why I enjoy working with her. So when you consider all of the value that you get from these experiences, this is why it was so important for me to highlight that on this episode. So I wanted to keep it short and sweet so that you have time to soak it in, but then take action. And if it happens that you are listening to this episode a little bit later, maybe it's after the event or maybe the event sold out. I have an ask. I have a call to action for you. So what we are looking at doing is growing the audience of the PT Profit podcast. And in order to do so, we rely on the support of you not only to take a screenshot of the player that you're using, whether it be Apple Podcasts or Spotify, take the screenshot, put that in your Instagram story tag Simpson Fitness. You can also tag me at Christian Little. That allows us to hear your feedback on the show, maybe hear your takeaways, then we can also repost it. That allows us to show people who's listening to show what episode they're listening to, perhaps reshare the link to spread the word of which episodes are really hitting the mark. And the second ask would be that you can leave a five star on Spotify, but on Apple podcasts you can leave a five star and a review, which always gives us a jump on the charts. We really benefit from getting exposure through Apple podcast charts, Spotify charts, any of the charts. Because then when people are browsing to find a new show, we end up on the list. If we get enough support, we end up charting at like maybe number 20 or number 13. We've found ourselves in all kinds of countries in Europe and Canada at times. I know we actually charted in the entrepreneur category in Canada recently, which is super, super cool. So those little gestures of support go leaps and bounds. And we like to be able to chat with the people who are checking out the show. And the best way to do that is to just give us a nudge. But I wanted to keep this something that you could listen to on your commute perhaps as you're getting ready to start your day. And if you have any questions, be sure to reach out. You can reach out to Beverly Simpson Fitness to learn more about the event, perhaps learn about the details of location cost. Hopefully you are listening to this in time that you can join us if you are there. I will see you there. And thanks for listening. We will catch you on the next episode.

Thank you for listening to the PT Prophet podcast. If you like this episode, chances are your friends will too. So it would be a huge service to us if you would please leave us a review and share with your friends on your social media channels. When you leave us a review, be sure to take a screenshot of it and email that screenshot to my team atinfo simpson fitness.com and we'll send you a very special Instagram podcast that will share you how to create compelling content so that your ideal clients come to you and you go from wanting clients to a wait list of clients ready for your services. Thank you so much for listening and we'll see you on the next episode.