The better question is do smart gym owners understand how smartphones have effected their business? With all this talk about Facebook and Twitter, and whether or not hipsters should have sideburns, we seem to have forgotten one constant – that’s 60% of the US population has a smartphone and that number is growing every day. So what are you doing about that? If you still think that having a mobile strategy is for the birds then you better be ready to pack up and fly south so you can join all the other gym owners who will have time on their hands. But there is hope , right?

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I have a cell phone. My cell phone has a camera. I take pictures of my food, my pets, and my friends doing stupid things and post them to Facebook. Thus I am a photographer and social media guru. And all I have ever wanted in life was to dance and to be a guru. One out of two ain’t bad. So what does this have to do with you? Well if you want advice on how to dance, you now know who to turn to. But more importantly, this shines the light on one of the most common mistakes I see in business…

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There are times when I am so proud of our industry. So proud of our growth and understanding of the changing world. So proud of our willingness to think differently. So proud when we, to borrow a phrase from Bobby Kennedy, “Don’t look at things that are and ask why, but rather look at things that aren’t and ask ‘why not’?” Which is why, I am so proud of Gold’s Gym.

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There has been a shift in the health and wellness industry over the last 5 years – it’s called Facebook. One of my favorite quotes is by Mark Twain, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” The amount of bad or wrong information about how facilities should be using Facebook is astonishing. So to help bring some clarity and understanding, this blog will deal with a few of the most pressing issues that you need answered.

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Have you ever driven by a shopping center and thought to yourself, “Man that would be the best place to build a gym?” If you haven’t then you probably shouldn’t bother reading this blog. But if you have then you know people, just as you do, react to easy-to-find locations, high visibility areas, and inviting exteriors. If you agree, then you might want to take a few minutes to see what I have to say…

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My favorite children’s book growing up was by Shel Silverstein – The Giving Tree. If you have never read this book, well in many ways you are dead to me . But you have a chance to redeem yourself, and you can do it quickly. Go to Amazon right now and buy it. Have it shipped overnight, and you can read it from beginning to end in about 7 minutes. There are a lot of great lessons in The Giving Tree, and one of them is something that can help your business grow…

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As we watched the Space Shuttle Discovery fly by our Motionsoft 5th floor office, almost at eye level, a great lesson in marketing was learned.

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If anybody tells you otherwise they are selling you snake oil. There is no such thing as social media. The collective users of Twitter, LinkedIn, Badoo, MySpace, Friendster, and Renren are still less than the total number of users on Facebook. So let’s stop calling it social media, and let’s start calling it what it really is…Facebook. So why is Angry Hossein…well angry today? Let me tell you.

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Do you remember my 13 Reasons why I thought you shouldn’t go to IHRSA? Of course, I was being facetious. You don’t want to miss IHRSA. But I did have one hesitancy. It was a seed planted in my head by our VP of Communications, Leigh (who you may recognize from such webinars as “Understanding Retail: The art & Science of Retail-ology” and “How to create sales scripts for your staff – part 2”. Both available on demand!). So do you want to know the one reason I really didn’t want to go to IHRSA?

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You know I am always preaching new, fun ways to engage your members. Well, I think this is gonna be a huge year for doing that! 2012 is rife with opportunities to literally get, keep & know your members better. And I’m talking your new folks and current ones. So here, are my list of the Top 5 promotions you can plan for in your gym specifically because its 2012.

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