There is no denying the impact the coronavirus is having on our world.
It’s painfully obvious that this is just the beginning. The Stock Market is falling fast, and we have challenging times ahead.
Every aspect of our lives will be impacted, including our fitness businesses.
This is something we have not seen in our lifetimes and we have no model to follow.
Fitness has become much more mainstream in the last few years, but it’s still an “extra,” in many people’s minds. People don’t have to go to the gym and risk exposing themselves to other people with the potential to transmit the virus.
At the same time staying healthy is one of the most important things people can do. Their workouts and social connections are more important right now than ever before.
People need assurances. People need your leadership.
Here is your immediate leadership action plan for today.
- Get comfortable with the reality of the situation. Denial will not serve you well. Recognize that gyms have been long known as a hotbed for germs.
- Educate yourself on the coronavirus from reputable sources such as the CDC. Knowledge is power.
- Review your routine cleaning procedures and timetable. If you haven’t already done so, make sure this schedule is in writing. Make any necessary adjustments.
- Begin thinking through a campaign to educate your members with credible information and the preventive, extra-cautionary steps you are taking. Spend time on this to make sure your communication plans will be factual, assuring and not panic producing.
- A great starting place is with a handwashing campaign. Print out some how-to flyers and post them over the sinks where people wash their hands.
- Make sure all sinks have plenty of soap.
- Put big (huge) bottles of hand sanitizer in places where people congregate.
- Check your stock of sanitizing wipes for wiping the equipment down. Re-order if necessary to keep the stock adequate.
Be PROACTIVE and get ahead of the curve on this. How you handle this situation will have a huge impact on your business.
This is just the beginning of your action plan, part 1. Stay tuned for further action steps.
