Vince is joined by one of his clients, Alex Neilan, to discuss how Alex overcame failure, limiting beliefs, and maxing out his credit cards to build an incredibly successful business helping an underserved market...while breaking a ton of the rules set by so-called "gurus". If you're looking to simplify, be inspired, and logically grow a business one step at a time, this is one of our best episodes.
Vince is joined by one of his clients, Alex Neilan, to discuss how Alex overcame failure, limiting beliefs, and maxing out his credit cards to build an incredibly successful business helping an underserved market...while breaking a ton of the rules set by so-called "gurus".
If you're looking to simplify, be inspired, and logically grow a business one step at a time, this is one of our best episodes.
In this episode:
0:36 Welcoming Alex Neilan, The Sports Dietitian
1:46 How Alex got into this business
5:14 The first few steps that actually worked in Alex's business
7:40 Counterintuitive things that still work
9:14 Setbacks
14:10 Money mindst
18:10 Alex's business model (Facebook Funnel)
22:03 How to hire setters
23:39 If you're struggling right now...
27:07 Overcoming the biggest challenges
Resources Mentioned:
THE SUSTAINABLE WEIGHT LOSS SUPPORT GROUP
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💰 Get Coached to Start, Grow or Scale Your Fitness Biz: https://fbfitpro.com/12-weeks
🦅 Join Our Free FB Group & Soar Higher: www.VincesFreeGroup.com
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[00:00:36] Vince: All right. Welcome back to the Vince Del Monte podcast. We have got a [00:00:40] long overdue conversation that's about to happen [00:00:45] with the UK's leading coach the sports dietician who has been [00:00:50] helping thousands and thousands of women. Through Europe achieve sustainable [00:00:55] weight loss, uh, through his team of professionals, through his leaderships and, and what I really want to [00:01:00] zone in on today is, the path towards the success and, uh, how he's handled a lot of [00:01:05] difficulties and beat downs and, and just, uh, challenges that come with [00:01:10] growing an online coaching business and, uh, really excited to have Alex Neal in here today.
[00:01:14] Vince: Alex, how you [00:01:15] doing buddy?
[00:01:15] Alex: I am very good my man, Vince. Very good, very grateful, and uh, great to be here. [00:01:20] Great to be
[00:01:20] Vince: Yeah. And I've had the pleasure of, um, you know, working, we've had the pleasure of working together [00:01:25] and, um, hearing just like your growth, um, and the impact that you're having, how [00:01:30] your team's growing and just how you just continue to add, um, more value to [00:01:35] your program, how you add more systems. I know. Um, from the outside, you make it look [00:01:40] easy.
[00:01:41] Vince: Um, you, you show up, you ask questions, you implement [00:01:45] quickly, but I'd love for you to, before we get into some of the hardships and you know, where the business is [00:01:50] at now, let's just go back, take us back to your humble beginnings. Like, how did the sports dietician [00:01:55] start? How did you get into this industry and why, by the way?
[00:01:58] Alex: Of course. So, [00:02:00] I worked as a dietician in the NHS, which is a UK health service, and [00:02:05] um, I just really found that I wasn't really making a big difference there. I [00:02:10] was reading patient notes, I was a slow reader, I wasn't succeeding, and it just wasn't for [00:02:15] me. I left the hospitals and went back to work in a pub at the age of like 26 [00:02:20] and um, decided to go traveling, went to Canada, lived there [00:02:25] for 18 months, tried to get my registration sorted in Canada, never worked.
[00:02:29] Alex: So I was [00:02:30] like 18 months failing at that. And then I was getting like 20 in [00:02:35] tips in Boston Pizza and I kind of said to myself what the fuck you doing like, you know, like you [00:02:40] did four degrees to a master's level and you spent six, seven years in [00:02:45] uni and, and you're just fucking around. So [00:02:50] I decided to get a PT qualification.
[00:02:52] Alex: Um, which was long overdue when I was in Vancouver [00:02:55] and then decided to set up my own business. And this was the kind of [00:03:00] thing where I was waking up at five o'clock in the morning with like all these ideas, but [00:03:05] no clue on how to implement them. So I flew back to the UK, started working [00:03:10] in a regular pure gym.
[00:03:13] Alex: It's called pure gym. It's like a budget [00:03:15] gym. I was a PT and I started working face to face [00:03:20] and did pretty well there. I was doing like 11 one to one sessions a day. [00:03:25] You know, I had a couple of PTs working under me pretty quickly, but that didn't happen right away. [00:03:30] So for the first 12 months, I was staying in my mate's house for the first six months.[00:03:35]
[00:03:35] Alex: I was sleeping on a mattress in his living room. Not sure if I told you that Vince at like [00:03:40] 27 I was on a mattress cause I had no money at all, completely skint. [00:03:45] And then While I was working in Pure Gym, I decided [00:03:50] to optimize my time by moving into a little box room that didn't [00:03:55] have enough room for the bed and a desk.
[00:03:56] Alex: So you actually go into this box room and your desk is under the [00:04:00] bed. It was cheaper rent, closer to work, and I asked the manager could I [00:04:05] use their utility room, which stored all the toilet rolls, as my office. [00:04:10] And from there, I decided I was going to try and work online, and I [00:04:15] spent 18 months failing, 18 months not succeeding, [00:04:20] and I was so close to jacking it in.
[00:04:22] Alex: I hired a couple of mentors who over promised and then [00:04:25] under delivered, and, um, and then I recognized that it's [00:04:30] doable, because if other people are doing it, like, I can't be that special [00:04:35] that I can't do it if they can. Like, there's no way in hell that these [00:04:40] people can do something, and I can't just learn the recipe.
[00:04:44] Alex: [00:04:45] So, I went from sleeping on the floor, on my [00:04:50] mate's bed, Couch and literally not having two pennies rubbed together to then [00:04:55] scaling the company quickly when it finally clicked and went from having no [00:05:00] clients to then onboarding 50 a month, a team of 20, [00:05:05] team of 30 and now a team of 50 with 1100 online current [00:05:10] clients.
[00:05:10] Vince: Wow. Okay. Let's go back. What were some of the simple [00:05:15] steps, you know, when you were in the utility room, let's take you back to when you were looking for your [00:05:20] first couple of clients. What were some of the simple steps that you started to do that started moving you in this [00:05:25] direction?
[00:05:25] Alex: Well, I recognize that I had to [00:05:30] kind of play, I had to play my strengths and I had to, you know, [00:05:35] Do things that I knew I was good at and would enjoy. And I still believe that now to [00:05:40] this day. So I'm a people's person. So I felt that I could get [00:05:45] people to sign up pretty quickly and pretty easily. So I doubled down on that skillset, getting [00:05:50] people to commit to themselves.
[00:05:52] Alex: I still have no idea how to work Canva. I have [00:05:55] no idea how to create a reel on Instagram or any of that. And [00:06:00] I purposely made sure that I didn't try. Because [00:06:05] trying to learn stuff that isn't my, isn't my superpower, [00:06:10] isn't efficient. And then I knew eventually I'd be able to hire people to do things I [00:06:15] wasn't good at.
[00:06:15] Alex: So my first thing was to, I doubled down on helping people get to commit, believe in [00:06:20] themselves, and not try and get distracted by shiny objects.
[00:06:23] Vince: So are you talking about the [00:06:25] sales skill? Like you focus on sales. Yeah.
[00:06:27] Alex: Absolutely.
[00:06:28] Vince: And I think, and [00:06:30] I know you have a sizable sales team right now. Like you're one of the salesmen as well. Is that right?
[00:06:34] Alex: [00:06:35] Absolutely. And big mistake I've learned as well was listening [00:06:40] to other people who've said you've got to get off the phone, you've got to be working on your business and not in [00:06:45] it. I get that, but if you enjoy speaking to people and you [00:06:50] know how rewarding it is when you hear someone like break down in tears [00:06:55] when they've actually been able to just commit to themselves, like that reminds me why I'm doing it.[00:07:00]
[00:07:00] Alex: It also keeps me motivated. So hyper [00:07:05] aware of my market and the people I help [00:07:10] and that's so important.
[00:07:11] Vince: I can't imagine how encouraging that is to your team as well. Um, [00:07:15] let's go in that direction of things that were counterintuitive, more [00:07:20] counterintuitive things that you didn't do that ended up actually helping you guys grow
[00:07:24] Alex: [00:07:25] Things that I didn't do.
[00:07:27] Vince: counter, counterintuitive things [00:07:30] against the grain advice that you didn't take that people would be surprised by, Oh, you're, you [00:07:35] still do that, um, from tactics to strategy to mindset.
[00:07:39] Alex: [00:07:40] Mm hmm. So the biggest thing that we changed that I was told by a lot of people [00:07:45] was you have to qualify people as to whether or not they can afford your services. Okays. [00:07:50] And you have to ask them to make a commitment to whether or not they're going to sign up in an [00:07:55] application form before you speak to them.
[00:07:57] Alex: I think that's kind of like trying to bed a woman without speaking to her. [00:08:00] You know what I mean? It's just, it's not, it's not something that we should be encouraging in my opinion. So [00:08:05] instead, I focused on doubling down on the connection. And then if I had the connection, [00:08:10] Then we could qualify people based on their job titles to see whether or not they could afford it.
[00:08:14] Alex: If they can't [00:08:15] afford it, we give them free stuff. So that'll be one of the first things that we stopped doing. We were told by [00:08:20] everybody that you can't just get on the phone with anybody. I don't believe that. I think you can help so [00:08:25] many more people by allowing them the chance to trust you first before you ask [00:08:30] them to commit to a financial investment. I think that's so important. Second thing that I [00:08:35] was told, That you should do and I know Hermosi talks about this and that like reading a [00:08:40] book a week And getting up at four o'clock in the morning and [00:08:45] hustling up at 5am club. One of the best piece of advice [00:08:50] that I've learned in the past is that the number one thing to improve your sales skills is sleep.
[00:08:54] Alex: So I [00:08:55] get eight and a half to nine hours sleep a night, so I don't get up early. I get up at [00:09:00] 7am, start work at half seven, and um, and that's not going to change, because I know [00:09:05] it crushes my performance if you try and overstretch yourself and live [00:09:10] on six hours sleep, which just isn't sustainable or good for your performance.
[00:09:14] Vince: [00:09:15] Let's talk about the first setback you experienced in the journey, you know Think about when you're first [00:09:20] starting out and by the way, when did you launch your online business Alex? What year was it? [00:09:25] Okay, so it's when I see you've been at it for about five years. Okay, so [00:09:30] got five years online Do you recall like what was the [00:09:35] first time where you felt like quitting?
[00:09:36] Vince: Was there a specific? Incident that you know [00:09:40] that really derailed your progress [00:09:45] Interesting.
[00:09:46] Alex: a thousand people in the UK to find out what [00:09:50] they were willing to invest in weight loss. [00:09:55] And it came back as 30 a month was the most people would ever invest. So [00:10:00] that survey instilled a belief in me that, that people will [00:10:05] never invest more than 30 a month because the people have told us that.
[00:10:08] Alex: So I spent [00:10:10] 18 months. Trying to build a company charging 30, 40 [00:10:15] pounds a month to help someone commit to losing weight sustainably. And [00:10:20] 18 months of failing, I was like, I'm just done. [00:10:25] I'm just really, really done. And, and then I listened to a [00:10:30] podcast and I heard a guy who was doing crazy numbers financially [00:10:35] and who was doing it Northern Irish guy as well.
[00:10:37] Alex: So I'm thinking, well, I have a bit in common with them. So I [00:10:40] messaged him, reached out. And I said, will you give me a bit of your time? You know, and obviously I worded it [00:10:45] correctly. He gave me half an hour, showed me it could be done. And then I hired a Facebook [00:10:50] ads guy who could do something that I couldn't do.
[00:10:53] Alex: I was better at than [00:10:55] me and would always be better at than me, but I couldn't afford it. I had no way in [00:11:00] hell could I afford it. I had two pennies to rub together. So I maxed out my credit cards to the tune [00:11:05] of 30, 000 sterling, which is about, I don't know, 40 US, something like that. [00:11:10] I maxed out my overdraft, which was 12 and a half grand sterling.
[00:11:14] Alex: [00:11:15] And, um, I just went all in. And I just had this, like, [00:11:20] belief that, of course, it's going to work. I mean, how can it not work? If other people can do [00:11:25] it, I can do it. So I just went all in. And then, while I got up and running, and the [00:11:30] Facebook ads guy, by the way, didn't know how tight I was on money at the time, and he's told me since he [00:11:35] wouldn't work with me if he'd known that.
[00:11:38] Alex: But the lowest point, to answer your [00:11:40] question, is I was driving from Glasgow to Edinburgh in Scotland. And I had nothing. I was [00:11:45] driving my wife's car because I couldn't afford a car. And I rang her [00:11:50] halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh to say, And I was literally in tears. Like [00:11:55] I say, I've got 2. 93 left in my overdraft allowance.[00:12:00]
[00:12:00] Alex: Can you transfer me 20 quid so I can get home to Edinburgh? Otherwise I'm going to run out [00:12:05] of fuel. And it was the 6th of June, 6th of June, [00:12:10] 2019. And I literally will never forget that [00:12:15] day because I felt, how have I spent my whole life going through [00:12:20] university? And how have I allowed myself to get in this position?[00:12:25]
[00:12:25] Alex: I felt awful. Of
[00:12:29] Vince: Well, [00:12:30] well, Alex, thank you for sharing that. And, um, I guess I want to know [00:12:35] how did you manage that, that [00:12:40] fear when you're that much debt speak to somebody who is like, I'm [00:12:45] already in debt. I like, how did you talk to a belief though, that. Did you just say F it [00:12:50] or was there like did you borrow like success from your past just maybe walk?
[00:12:53] Vince: Deconstruct that a bit [00:12:55] more
[00:12:55] Alex: course, so I knew logically, I knew [00:13:00] logically that it could be done. So logically, if other people could do it, there's [00:13:05] no reason I can't do it either. Like, I think when people start to believe you have to have a special [00:13:10] sauce to achieve high grade things, you don't. You follow a recipe. It's as simple as that.
[00:13:14] Alex: And I just hadn't [00:13:15] found the recipe yet, which I obviously found when I met you, Vince, but I hadn't. [00:13:20] And That was something that I believed it was possible because of that. I didn't mean, I didn't, I [00:13:25] didn't believe that I wasn't good enough, or I didn't think it's to do with the person. I just believed it was [00:13:30] a recipe.
[00:13:30] Alex: And I believe that if I go all in here, and if I don't [00:13:35] succeed, and I end up going back working in the pub, at least I tried. Because I cannot [00:13:40] take the weight of what if or regret, but I can take
[00:13:43] Vince: was it. [00:13:45] That was my mindset too when I started like what's the worst thing that can happen? I'd already tried a bunch of [00:13:50] um Network marketing companies and I'd failed them all so I was gaining a [00:13:55] reputation as a they get rich quick guy in my family So I was embarrassed If this doesn't [00:14:00] work, I'm like, you know, what's the worst case?
[00:14:01] Vince: I stay at the gym and make 48 K per year. And it [00:14:05] really was like running a negative waterfall to the end and seeing that it wasn't that negative.
[00:14:09] Alex: [00:14:10] Yeah.
[00:14:10] Vince: how about like, I want to talk about the money mindset because, you know, I've coached [00:14:15] a lot of guys in the UK and I get this on coaching calls. I want to have you coach these guys. [00:14:20] Think of guys that you know, that you care like, Oh, they won't spend that kind of money. You know, you [00:14:25] can't charge that here. How did you get over that? And just like share with us, [00:14:30] Very different perspective that because you're experiencing that that is not the case right now [00:14:35] Okay,
[00:14:36] Alex: it comes down to getting a verbal slap in the face from somebody actually. Like [00:14:40] I spoke to someone and I said, yeah, I'm really good at helping people commit like, and I, by the way, and I'm not a [00:14:45] snake oil salesman, like I really believe in what I do. So I know that showing someone they can do [00:14:50] something, I don't even like using the word sales.
[00:14:52] Alex: I think it's actually, it's a very powerful skill [00:14:55] to help someone. If you don't have those skills, you won't help anyone. So I was told by [00:15:00] someone, who said to me, Alex, you're not good at sales. You're not good at that. Like you're, you're [00:15:05] selling like 40 quid a month things like that's not sales. That's order [00:15:10] taking.
[00:15:10] Alex: And then all of a sudden I took a seat back and I recognize, wow, there's a huge [00:15:15] gap in terms of where I am and where I could be. So being told [00:15:20] straight that I'm not good at something and being able to see that there's room [00:15:25] for improvement was massive. And then also recognizing that
[00:15:29] Alex: [00:15:30] If you invest in yourself, it always comes back. A car depreciates. Like, [00:15:35] I still wear cheap clothes. My runners are pieces of to be honest. But like, I do [00:15:40] invest an awful lot in myself. Because I think we have a responsibility to do that. [00:15:45] And it doesn't depreciate like anything else. Self investment always comes back.
[00:15:49] Alex: And yes, I've made [00:15:50] some bad investments. And yes, I've hired some coaches who've over promised, under delivered. [00:15:55] But more times than not That hasn't been the [00:16:00] case. And there's no way in hell I would get to where we are now on my own. [00:16:05] And anyone who believes they will, trying to reinvent the wheel, it, it's gonna be [00:16:10] more costly for you in the long run.
[00:16:12] Alex: And to be honest, your family will tell you to [00:16:15] stop even before you do, if that happens, and eventually you'll quit. So you have an [00:16:20] opportunity now, and people should take that, because if we fail, who cares? If we don't [00:16:25] try, that's um, that's a much tougher pill to swallow.
[00:16:29] Vince: [00:16:30] so you're saying that if you're in a marketplace if you have this [00:16:35] scarcity mindset around money. You feel that if you're good enough at what you do [00:16:40] and being able to pretty much work a proper sales process, people will figure out how to come up with money. Am I [00:16:45] hearing that right?
[00:16:45] Alex: Absolutely. There's always a way. Being resourceful. Like I said, I maxed out my credit cards.
[00:16:49] [00:16:50] [00:16:55] [00:17:00] [00:17:05]
[00:17:08] Vince: So [00:17:10] great. And maybe let's talk about your model. Like you've got a really, really like simple two step model. [00:17:15] You open to sharing, like just how the business model is set up and just also take us a step back. [00:17:20] Who are you specifically serving? Women that want to lose weight? Is that, does that sound right?
[00:17:23] Vince: And is it through training and [00:17:25] nutrition or just nutrition?
[00:17:26] Alex: All of the above. And we do ladies from 45 to [00:17:30] 70. Ladies specifically in the UK or Ireland, typically gone through the menopause already. [00:17:35] And the reason we do that is because these women feel invisible. They've been [00:17:40] ignored for years and years. They have struggles that I think are greater than any [00:17:45] other, any other form of individuals.
[00:17:47] Alex: From anxiety to having narcissistic [00:17:50] parents, some of them even sexual abuse, which means they put on weight as a safety net [00:17:55] to stop someone from finding them attractive. Like, unpick, [00:18:00] so I love what I do. Because I know we're making a gigantic difference. [00:18:05] So in terms of how we do that and how we help people, like again, going back to your previous [00:18:10] question, like double down on referrals, that hasn't been the answer.
[00:18:13] Alex: Like I think you should double [00:18:15] down on one or two things that you know, work rather than trying [00:18:20] to try lots of things. So we have a, not a scatter gun approach. [00:18:25] We have a very specific reliable approach that has been working [00:18:30] and doubling down on what's working is important. So we have [00:18:35] a Facebook ad That's built around the individual, [00:18:40] not built around me, built around that person's pain points, their [00:18:45] struggles, their desires, and things that we know will attract the right kind [00:18:50] of person. click on the ads, they're moved through to a page. [00:18:55] We offer them access to our free support group, which now has 80, 000 members. [00:19:00] So even if they ever work with us and 99 percent of people who we actually [00:19:05] come into our space don't invest with us. So our mission is to help a million [00:19:10] people. And if 99 percent don't and the other 1 percent do, [00:19:15] then we can keep running the company.
[00:19:17] Alex: Through that group, I do live weight loss [00:19:20] clinics, which builds trust. I give value to everybody, regardless of whether they invest. [00:19:25] And then through some softwares, we have text communications from myself and [00:19:30] some of our setters who help the person diagnose why they're [00:19:35] struggling, offer them a complimentary support call when enough trust is built.[00:19:40]
[00:19:40] Alex: And then we decide on that call whether or not that person will be good for our program or [00:19:45] not. It's invitation only, and then that person is brought into our [00:19:50] community, we do some live events, and we ensure that they get full [00:19:55] MDT support from psychologists, physios, menopause specialists, even a pelvic floor [00:20:00] specialist, and also PTs.
[00:20:01] Alex: That didn't happen overnight, that took time to build out that big [00:20:05] fulfillment team.
[00:20:05] Vince: Right. How did you start? What was your first, um, like, [00:20:10] let's walk through maybe your hiring process. What did your team, how did your team [00:20:15] evolve from you? What was your second hire, third hire, like, walk us through your hiring process, because now you're at [00:20:20] 50, that's a big, big team.
[00:20:22] Alex: So obviously it started with me, [00:20:25] then I had a random guy from Scotland, named Aidan, who reached out to me asking for a coffee, because he'd seen [00:20:30] my website. He did a sports nutrition course, and he was my first hire, [00:20:35] and he was a setter. And he was starting doing Texan, he started off as a coach as well, [00:20:40] we were splitting the income half, 50 50 at the start.
[00:20:44] Alex: So he was a [00:20:45] setter. Um, then I was doing the coaching and I was doing the selling and I was doing [00:20:50] everything else. Then I found another guy online who was backing [00:20:55] me up. Someone was giving me some hate online. This random lad just jumped in and, and [00:21:00] started, um, just having my back and I ended up getting friendly with him.
[00:21:03] Alex: Next thing he's [00:21:05] hired as a coach and he's been with us now for since, since like six [00:21:10] months in. And he earns as a coach, like, 10k us a month, [00:21:15] you know what I mean? Like he does really well for himself, which has obviously allowed him to have a [00:21:20] bigger house for his family and obviously provide for his family.
[00:21:23] Alex: And then from there, and we had a [00:21:25] Facebook ads guy from the start, rewinding a bit, we had a Facebook ads guy at the start and then the [00:21:30] Facebook ads guy, Aidan and Francis. And then from there it went to hire a [00:21:35] closer, hire a setter, hire a coach, and just repeat that. Hire a couple of VAs to do [00:21:40] the jobs that don't need to be done by the specific individuals.
[00:21:43] Alex: And um, [00:21:45] and then to hire people, I used Upwork. I [00:21:50] shouldn't be sharing this, but, but I would put an ad up on Upwork and I would [00:21:55] then open a conversation. And then I would get them on WhatsApp and then hire them externally from [00:22:00] Upwork, which is kind of like cheating, but it worked out better.
[00:22:03] Vince: I don't think you're the first [00:22:05] person who's done that. Yeah. What about on setters? Where are you finding setters? That's the question I was getting. How do you [00:22:10] find reliable setters? Is that even something that's a common job or are you just kind of [00:22:15] internal or external? I
[00:22:16] Alex: So I hired a recruitment agency like back in the [00:22:20] day who brought me like three, three setters. And then them three setters then [00:22:25] brought their friends in and that got us like at least half the way [00:22:30] there. And then after that I heard, this is again based on your recommendation. [00:22:35] I heard a head sales guy.
[00:22:36] Alex: Okay. Call Jermod and then Jermod was [00:22:40] able to, I suppose, open up a network of talent that [00:22:45] he had already connected with where we found Vladimir, who you had the pleasure of meeting, [00:22:50] who is our head setter and now obviously director of front end operations and client [00:22:55] acquisition. And then he has other spaces and Facebook groups.
[00:22:58] Alex: where he knows high [00:23:00] quality setters. And then we now have a system where these people are vetted [00:23:05] hard at the beginning for talent and critical thinking skills and [00:23:10] then they're put on trial and they have to jump through hoops to make it in. And if they [00:23:15] don't perform they're let go immediately. And it's the same with closers.
[00:23:18] Vince: love it. That's [00:23:20] fantastic. Let's talk about some of the difficulties. Let's kind of loop back. Um, a lot of people are [00:23:25] experiencing a beat down right now. You're hearing more people struggle than, you know, grow. Um, [00:23:30] what do you think? What's your perspective on that? What do you feel [00:23:35] if somebody's struggling right now, what would, how would you coach them through it and then give them some encouragement?
[00:23:39] Alex: [00:23:40] two bits of advice. One is everyone gets struggles like at one stage, [00:23:45] like our entire company's built on Facebook ads, and I lived [00:23:50] in Canada for a while, as I mentioned, and then randomly my Facebook [00:23:55] count got blocked and the only way I could reactivate it [00:24:00] was to be able to authenticate it using my phone number, which was a [00:24:05] Canadian number that was deactivated.
[00:24:07] Alex: So I ran into my wife, I says, Babs. [00:24:10] We gotta go. And she says, where? To Canada. When? We're [00:24:15] leaving in 30 minutes. Alright, the flight's booked. [00:24:20] So we went to Canada. And, um, I had rang the phone shop in the meantime, I got [00:24:25] them to reactivate my number for 30 minutes. I got back into Facebook. I brought my [00:24:30] wife to Canada for an hour and a half and then flew right back to Ireland again.
[00:24:34] Alex: So [00:24:35] that's the kind of stuff that you have to be willing to do when you have a full team of 30 people [00:24:40] that you know are not going to have jobs if you don't build this and fix this. So that was [00:24:45] like shit hit the fan. How you move past it and for anyone [00:24:50] struggling, stop building a do not do list. Start building a system that stops you from being [00:24:55] distracted.
[00:24:56] Alex: Stop trying to create posh canvas and get [00:25:00] Instagram likes and followers. Focus on three things. Having more [00:25:05] conversations. Booking more calls. And then getting more [00:25:10] clients. If you only focus on them three things, like a posh website, posh [00:25:15] canva, all that's irrelevant. Get good with people and forget everything else.[00:25:20]
[00:25:20] Alex: So
[00:25:21] Vince: That's fantastic. Alex has been fantastic. What would [00:25:25] you say to somebody further along in the journey? [00:25:30] You know, who's doing over seven figures already? What have been some of your [00:25:35] challenges for continuing to grow? From a, from the lens of leadership and management and team building [00:25:40] and culture, speak to some of those areas, some of those departments, lessons you've learned, maybe mistakes to [00:25:45] avoid.
[00:25:46] Alex: for example, we have gifts to celebrate our wins in the [00:25:50] day. The coaches celebrate the closers and vice versa. We don't allow any money [00:25:55] gifts in our company ever. Ever. We're here to help people live [00:26:00] longer, healthier and happier lives. So we don't allow people to celebrate with gifts that celebrate [00:26:05] having money or being a baller.
[00:26:07] Alex: like that. Because that shows the wrong [00:26:10] messaging. Instead, we celebrate people, staff members, and build our [00:26:15] culture and our core values, which is instilling belief, care, over [00:26:20] deliver, attention to detail, and internal and personal growth. [00:26:25] So whenever we're hiring or firing, we come back to these core values.
[00:26:29] Alex: [00:26:30] We celebrate. We never pull someone up in public in a group. We only pull people up [00:26:35] in private. We celebrate in a group, pull them up in private, and we make [00:26:40] sure that we give someone compliments at least ten times more than pulling someone [00:26:45] up. And if you're pulling someone up, do not do it by a message.
[00:26:47] Alex: Do it by a phone call. Be a human. [00:26:50] And in the long run, you'll get more respect for it.
[00:26:52] Vince: That's really good. What's been one of your [00:26:55] biggest challenges that you're personally working on to continue to lead and [00:27:00] grow the company?
[00:27:01] Alex: Biggest challenge, I'm going to talk past [00:27:05] tense for a minute. Biggest challenge for me, Vince, was self limiting beliefs. I [00:27:10] fundamentally believed that our company would only get to a certain level because we were selling B to [00:27:15] C. And I did not believe there was any possible way we could grow past a certain [00:27:20] size.
[00:27:20] Alex: And that belief had me stagnant for 18 months. [00:27:25] 18 months. And then I first got in contact with you, Edward Stranks, a friend of mine, [00:27:30] recommended in June. And I procrastinated like a, like a idiot. [00:27:35] And um, and then didn't reach out. And then I hopped on a call and [00:27:40] I showcased, or you guys obviously have guys that were like way bigger than me.
[00:27:44] Alex: And I'm [00:27:45] like, well, if they can do it, I can do it. They're not special. It's not about an individual. It's about following a [00:27:50] recipe. So I had a application form from [00:27:55] Alejandro and he says to me, what's the goal? And as I said to you before, I sat with this [00:28:00] question for like 15 minutes because For me to answer that goal, [00:28:05] I had to overcome that self-limiting belief that it was possible to grow a big company.[00:28:10]
[00:28:10] Alex: And I wrote it down as, as soon as I wrote it down, it was like I'm all in. And [00:28:15] then we just doubled immediately. Like the investment I paid to you, Vince, I got [00:28:20] back within 24 hours, like from having longer programs. Immediately the company doubled and then doubled [00:28:25] again. And now we're like 18 months down the line and we are 1, 2, 3.[00:28:30]
[00:28:30] Alex: Five times bigger than we were before we met you. Like, that's not a coincidence, [00:28:35] Vince.
[00:28:35] Vince: That's amazing. Yeah,
[00:28:36] Alex: mean?
[00:28:37] Vince: that's incredible. Why don't you share, um, three [00:28:40] things that, um, helped you guys, maybe some specifics around Um, I [00:28:45] love, I mean, you got a great model. Yeah, I really like your singularity of focus around the [00:28:50] Facebook group. You are excellent at this setting. I think these are things that a lot of people have [00:28:55] already been told, and I think they're literally leaving programs, going to look for [00:29:00] something different, and you know, maybe the question here is how do [00:29:05] you manage red shiny object syndrome.
[00:29:07] Vince: You know, there's a lot of distractions. You've said [00:29:10] make it, you know, a list of things not to do, but how, how do you personally not get [00:29:15] distracted by, Hey, we should go try this guys. Hey, how do you maintain your mindset to stay [00:29:20] a stable force for the company, not pull them in a million directions?
[00:29:23] Alex: One rule I [00:29:25] have is we only have one new project every quarter. So right now we're working on YouTube, [00:29:30] and we're also working on a low ticket product to be able to liquidate ad spend and [00:29:35] get people into our environment and community for free. [00:29:40] They're the only two things we're doing right now. And it's what?
[00:29:42] Alex: What? Month? Month. Eight, eight months in and [00:29:45] we're only working them two things. That's it. So one thing per quarter and number two, [00:29:50] and actually this is something I've only learned like literally three weeks ago, Vince, so [00:29:55] this has changed everything and I don't believe in the universe, but I believe that [00:30:00] goals influence behaviors and not having long-term goals, [00:30:05] having daily goals.
[00:30:06] Alex: So every day I have committed to myself. That [00:30:10] we are going to bring in eight new people, or eight people are going to sign up with us. [00:30:15] I'm going to get four people over the line who need help. Our team will get four people, eight [00:30:20] people Monday to Friday, and then two people on a Saturday, two on a Sunday.[00:30:25]
[00:30:25] Alex: That goal was only built three weeks ago. Previously, I didn't really have one. [00:30:30] And that means that I look at that goal and write down every single day. So [00:30:35] when I've got, whatever it is, an eight hour day, I asked myself, is that going to be [00:30:40] moving it towards that goal? If it's reviewing a call for one of the closers, that will do it.
[00:30:44] Alex: [00:30:45] If it's like jumping up and down in a friendly way to one of our [00:30:50] headsetters, my diary isn't filled. I'm not going to help four people today. If I haven't got seven [00:30:55] calls, why haven't I got seven calls? Like, The diaries are empty. What's happened? Where's [00:31:00] the break? Rather than focusing on looking on Instagram I never use Instagram [00:31:05] rather than focusing on on like learning a new thing or a new skill [00:31:10] or looking at the likes and follows, or I do an admin with the [00:31:15] team either.
[00:31:15] Alex: Like I'll do that for like five, 10 minutes of the day. So daily goals. [00:31:20] If you set goals that are daily, you will change your behaviors accordingly. Make sure their goals are in line [00:31:25] with your mission of helping more people. And that's key.
[00:31:27] Vince: I love it. All right, Alex, that was [00:31:30] amazing, man. Thank you so much for sharing. I learned so much. Um, dude, I'm so, so [00:31:35] happy for you guys and your team. I love your vision.
[00:31:36] Vince: I love what you're building. I love the. [00:31:40] Um, let's, uh, send people to your Facebook group. We've got a lot of men listening with [00:31:45] wives who I think would be a perfect fit for what you're doing. Uh, where can, um, men [00:31:50] direct their women to, um, get supported by you guys? Where is the Facebook [00:31:55] group?
[00:31:55] Alex: For sure, it's called the Sustainable Weight Loss Support group? The Sustainable Weight Loss [00:32:00] Support Group has got about 80, 000 members at the time of this video [00:32:05] and we give lots of free support there in terms of YouTube videos, in [00:32:10] terms of recipes, mindset work. So come along on a Monday night, [00:32:15] 7pm UK time.
[00:32:15] Alex: I'm always there. I've been there every single Monday at 7pm for the last five years. It's not [00:32:20] going to change now. And, uh, give me a wave and
[00:32:22] Alex: say hello.
[00:32:23] Vince: That's amazing, dude. I love that, [00:32:25] man. I love that, consistency. So, um, guys, that's Alex Neil into the sports dietitian. [00:32:30] So, so grateful that you guys were here listening. And I trust that you got inspired to [00:32:35] continue to grow your successful and profitable online business, pursuing your dreams, knowing that [00:32:40] difficulties are normal.
[00:32:41] Vince: And if you got value from this Think of somebody, uh, where's All of our [00:32:45] UK folk listening today. Let's send this out specifically all around Ireland, the [00:32:50] UK. Let's really let's, uh, smash those self limiting beliefs and get people to the levels where [00:32:55] they can impact at the
[00:32:55] Vince: highest level. Alex, thanks for leading by example, brother, really respect you and appreciate you, [00:33:00] man.
[00:33:00] Alex: Vince, thank you for all the help. I wouldn't be where I am today only
[00:33:03] Alex: for you. I
[00:33:03] Alex: really appreciate what you've [00:33:05] done.
[00:33:05] Vince: I appreciate that, brother. Thank
[00:33:06] Vince: you.
[00:33:07] Alex: Thanks guys. Bye bye. Bye bye. Bye [00:33:10] bye.