I’d had had my gym for about six months before I started working with Pat and we started with zero clients. At the beginning of our business, we were really struggling. My personal life was rough because I had two boys and a wife, and I wasn’t making any money. Before we started working with him was quite tough. We were only into our business about six months though.

We had to find a way to make it work. My wife actually had just got laid off as well, so it was stressful.

From a business standpoint, I had no idea what to do. None, whatsoever. I knew how to coach. I was a former College Strength Coach. I knew that side, but when it came to the business side of it, we literally had no idea.

So, I always followed Eric Cressey and Eric was speaking at one of Pat’s events, so I actually went to get more coaching, like on the coaching side of things from Eric. It ended up being the best move we’ve ever made, because I met Pat and kind of went from there.

There are a few things I noticed about Pat. For one, he was genuine. He wasn’t trying to impress anybody. He was blunt in a way. He wasn’t a salesman. He wasn’t fake at all. Then, after I talked to him, I actually called a couple that he worked with. Kind of sight unseen, just cold called them and asked them about Pat. They both had unbelievable things to say about him, so that’s when we decided to go with Pat.

He has a different way of looking at things a lot of times. To be honest with you, in the beginning, he would tell us to do certain things and I’d just think to myself, “There’s no way this is ever going to work. That’s outrageous to even do that or think that.” But I’d hired him for a reason, so I just kind of did whatever he said, kind of blindly. Then, I’d tell my wife all the time, “Everything he told us to do has turned to gold so far.”

He’s very approachable. Very grounded. I met with him and one other business owner not too long ago and the other business owner had just stated that their revenue was less than a $1,000 a month and it was just awesome to see how much he could help me and the other business owner at the exact same time. I’ve worked with people before where you are kind of afraid to say certain things or admit certain things, because of what they might say or how they might react. But I feel like, with him, I can just lay out everything. Whether I’m proud of it or not. Within my business, pretty much whatever he asks us to do, works with the information we’ve given him.

Before we started working with Pat, we were probably around $1,500 of gross revenue a month. We had, I think at that time, we had like nine or 10 clients. Four years later after working with him, we’re at 360-some clients and about $45,000 in gross revenue a month. We have two full-time coaches and one more that we’re about to turn full-time. We have an admin that does all office work, so I don’t have to mess with that. I’m able to take evenings off and spend them with my boys. It’s pretty much a 180 from where we were.

Just the idea of having an ideal business, the whole idea of it, has change the way I think about my business. I’m a competitive person, so it was always like, “Okay, get more people, make more money, open a bigger facility, all this.” Matter of fact, when I met with him a few months ago, I was thinking about opening a second location and he said, “What’s your ideal business? What does your ideal life look like? Because if you want to spend more time with your kids, opening a second location is not the answer.”

So, he totally changed my thinking. Instead of it’s all about growth in your business, now it’s all about having my business serve me and my ideal life through serving other people, obviously. Just the idea of the whole “ideal business” thing has been a complete game changer, for not only me, but for my sons and my wife, as well.

It went from my business kind of owning me, even though we were doing really well by all standards, to now I take off pretty much any time I want. I like to work, so I do a lot, but I can take off pretty much any time I want now, which is nice.

I’m just an overall happier person. I’m not as tired all the time, so I’m not as grouchy all the time, and we’re able to deliver a better service and overall better atmosphere when I’m not burned-out and I’m not tired all the time. My coaches like me more when I’m not that way, as well.

I can tell you, unequivocally, that if you do what he says, he will transform your business. He will help you transform your business. If we hadn’t made that move six months in, within a year, we’d have been out of business. There’s no question. He doesn’t like to take all the credit, but most of it could go to him.

I text him all the time and call him—he’s always available. He truly, truly cares about our success. I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s been such a good fit for us. Our gym, we care so much about each person’s success—it’s not just a gym membership. We’re going to make sure that you succeed. I think that’s why he’s been such a good fit for us, because I have that same mentality towards my clients. If I’m not doing as well as I should be, he takes that personally. He’s always, always happy to assist me.