Would you pay me?

[gb155]

Following on from my first ever motivational speaking gig o have been offered a job/ share in a company.

There would be a " partner" doing nutrition ( with my eating disorder I can't ) and I'd give the motivation and workouts

It would be a weekly weigh in/ support style group session like weight watchers et el

The question is, would you pay someone like me for advice/ support / motivation or would you stick with slimming world / weight watchers ?

 

[zizou]

No - but nothing personal against you i wouldnt pay for slimming world or weight watchers either.

If i was to take racing seriously rather than a bit of 'fun' then i'd pay for professional coaching but otherwise not.

 

[gb155]

No - but nothing personal against you i wouldnt pay for slimming world or weight watchers either.

If i was to take racing seriously rather than a bit of 'fun' then i'd pay for professional coaching but otherwise not.

With someone like yourself it would be viable I totally agree

 

[smokeysmoo]

I would. I've done weightwatchers a few times, and to be honest I get bored after a while, either the leader moves on and I lose interest with the new leader, or I just feel I'm wasting my time going over the same ground week in week out.

Whereas I think you'd be very different Gary. I know all ww leaders are gold memebers, but I doubt many, (if any), have come from where you did and acheived a fraction of what you have. I've seen ww leaders who have only lost about a stone, and I'm sorry, but while a stone is a great acheivement, it's hardly motivational when you probably need to lose 3-4 stone, (as I probably do!).

So to re-cap, yes I would Gary. How about taking it on the road? You could have local workshops for all us cc fatties

 

[screenman]

What have you got to lose, nothing ventured nothing gained. A big part of my business is helping start ups that have learned the skills I teach, with the determination and strength of character you have shown then anything is possible.

This is a not a good pace to ask the question, try on a weight loss forum. Trouble is with most forums you will always get more negatives back than positive often from people who have no real experience of starting and running a business. I had a guy on the phone today who has been taking advice from a guy who went bankrupt last year, and the only thing he owns is a pair of second hand underpants, when I told him that it might be a good idea to talk to somebody successful he could not understand why.

 

[smokeysmoo]

What have you got to lose

Did you have to

 

[HelenD123]

If nothing else, there must be a market for male role models. I get the impression that the weight loss clubs are very female dominated (purely anecdotal as I've never attended one myself).

 

[JohnHenry]

If nothing else, there must be a market for male role models. I get the impression that the weight loss clubs are very female dominated (purely anecdotal as I've never attended one myself).

Absolutely - I've been attending Slimming World for over a year and, when I joined, was the only chap which was pretty scary. I now have a "posse" of six guys and we are very competitive which is good (I was VERY sceptical - expecting something like Marjorie Dawes from FatFighters) as I have now shed three stone. However the women who run it don't really inspire - when they were at Head Office one week we had a stand in chap who was very motivational.

As has been said - what have you got to lose and, as the guy said to us - hope to see less of you next week .

 

[gb155]

Thanks guys

& Helen, thats a damn fine point

 

[Rebel Ian]

I don't think I'd hire you for the purpose of weight loss, like others have said I wouldn't pay for Weight Watchers or the like either, but I absolutely would consider hiring you in a motivational capacity if I wanted to demonstrate that the seemingly impossible IS possible.

What you've done is truly amazing and it would be good in a business context to show people that they shouldn't limit their ambitions. That's where I would consider hiring you.

The best motivational speaker I ever saw was Kriss Akabusi. His website says his talks are "high energy". Blimey that's an understatement!! He talked entirely unscripted and without a pause for about 45 minutes and had the entire audience captivated. I felt like I needed a lie down after it!

 

[Bayerd]

I agree with RI, I think you'd be limiting yourself too much if you only concentrated on the weight loss area as motivational speaking can touch all areas of life.

 

[e-rider]

depends on the price

 

[eldudino]

I've thought about it too. I think a lot of people (myself included when I was obese) lack motivation to do something about it, and as Smokeysmoo points out, it's quite daunting when you've got 3-4 stone to lose (or 8 like me, or 26 like you, Gaz). I've often wondered if a morning ride to work club would help people get out of their cars and onto their bikes; having a ride leader/motivator would help. Of course that relies on people going to work in the same direction! I think it could help a lot of people take that first step and also keep their motivation up once they've started.

 

[Rob3rt]

I will completelly dodge your main question for the 1st part of my response and simply ask you to please consider very very carefully about investing or risking anything substantial in a business aimed at weightloss, even in an apparently niche market, its a hugely contested market and the chances of your business being shat out of the ugly end might possibly be very high!

Nice sentiments and big thinking are one thing, business is another, its all too easy to think big you need to make sure that you are going into this with a business head on.

BTW, I have little to no knowledge of business, I am just trying to approach this from another angle.


To answer your posed question, no I wouldnt pay you a penny, nor would I pay weight watchers or any other "support" group.

My reasons being that I can read, do simple arithmatic and do not need someone to simplify the maths for me, in addition I own a set of bathroom scales, a set of kitchen scales and a clock/calendar + a tape measure thus can keep track of things myself! I also like to think I have a reasonable knowledge of general fitness and training. If I needed help, I would pay a trained, qualified professional, with a track record and reputation of helping others, not themselves (helping others and helping yourself are two very different beasts) to back up the pieces of paper on their office walls.

As a side note, I think the amount of weight the leader or guide has lost to be completelly irrelevant, what counts is knowledge and the ability to apply said knowledge.



BTW, I dont meant to be disrespectful to you or anyone else who does enjoy success as a result of such groups and methods, just in case this is how it reads, its simply how I would go about things for myself.

 

[smokeysmoo]

I get the impression that the weight loss clubs are very female dominated.

Totally. The scariest thing I've ever done was to walk into a WW meeting for the first time