When I look back to the period of 2005-2012, I can honestly say that it was an emotional roller-coaster. On one hand I had huge highlights like my kids being born and then on the other hand I had this constant battle with myself about doing something that I really didn’t enjoy doing – my daily grind in the financial services industry.
I felt an enormous amount of responsibility to keep pushing on in my career so that we could enjoy nice family holidays, take the kids to Disney when they’re old enough, have a nice car, a big house etc.
The only way that I could see myself doing this successfully was in my chosen career of financial services. I was doing really well. The Mortgage industry was booming and in 2004 myself and 4 others bought the brokerage that we were working for for £1.2m!!
It meant borrowing over tens of thousands of pounds from family, putting all of our savings into it and then jointly borrowing over £800,000 from the bank and the company we were buying it off.
I thought that THIS was it though.
I thought that it was what I wanted.
When it all went through though on the Friday, I still had the same feeling about the company on the Monday- I was dreading going to work! I thought that feeling would have gone because it was now my company……..but I still had it.
In 2008 I ended up selling my shares in the company for £1 to my business partner and walking away. This was an expensive lesson.
I then set up another financial services company 1 year later – this was the perfect opportunity for me to try something else. Follow my passion.
But I was shit scared!
I had huge commitments going out each month – to the tune of £4k.
How could I just ignore that and start at the bottom in another industry – especially at 32 years old.
I had to just stick to what I knew and try to figure out a way of enjoying it – another lesson learnt!
No matter how I structured my day.
When you stripped everything right down, I was still doing something that I didn’t enjoy.
I just always had that feeling that I’ve been put on this earth to do so much more than advise people on life insurance, mortgages and pensions. I just couldn’t figure out a way of channelling these thoughts.
By 2011, I had enough. I wasn’t thinking straight. I was applying for jobs as an overseas financial advisor – in places like Africa. I think I was just trying to run away from the real issue.
I just hated my job. I struggled to get motivated. Yet I had to stay motivated because I was self employed and have a responsibility to put food on the table for my family.
Alex, my wife was amazing throughout. She didn’t care about the house, the cars, the nice holidays. She just wanted the ‘old Ricky’ back. She wanted me to be happy again.
She backed me 100% to take the opportunity to follow my passion and finally do what I really wanted. It’s amazing what happens when someone has this much faith in you.
Decision Made!
“I’m going to pursue a new career in health and fitness!”
You should have seen the look on people’s faces when I told them what I wanted to do.
They thought I was being irresponsible.
They thought I was having a breakdown.
“Personal Trainers earn around £15,000 per year – you’re going to have to sell your house”
They didn’t realise that I was not doing this to be a personal trainer for ever. I would get qualified, immerse myself in the industry, start training clients, get amazing results – rinse and repeat until the time was right to get my own premises and have a team of trainers doing all the sessions for me.
The further complication to all of this was a bad business debt that was amounting to around £1500 extra per month that I had to find – the timing was awful. I had to speak to the creditor and agree to pay the debt off at only £100 per month. I just couldn’t do it any other way.
Further conversations were had with the mortgage lender to go interest only, and cut those expenses right down.
All luxuries went.
We had to cut our expenses right down.
I got my initial qualifications and then got to work – at age 36.
I remember it being in the Summer of 2012 as the London Olympics was going on and I was using the effort, mindset and dedication that these Olympians were putting in as inspiration for me to keep moving forward.
In the first month I had 7 clients. Not bad from a cold start but I needed so much more to cover my weekly shopping bill let alone anything else
It was horrible having to say to friends that we couldn’t go out.
Or say to the kids that we weren’t going to have a holiday that year.
But this was the short term price we had to pay in order to get where we wanted.
I wasn’t earning a great deal of money at all BUT I was loving my work.
I was learning how to get amazing results for clients, seeing the impact that these changes were having on their lives and getting enormous job satisfaction , unlike I had ever had before.
However the bills still have to be paid, and I remember sitting down with Alex one evening and realising that we were a long way off being able to do that.
We literally couldn’t pay the mortgage and the only way that I could see us being able to keep the house until things improved was to rent the house out and move the whole family in with Alex’s Mum and Dad. Selling the house wasn’t an option as we had no equity in it.
Now this is embarrassing to write.
This was not part of my life master plan.
Alex’s Mum and Dad had always thought quite highly of me and respected my self made work ethic – that’s why they backed me by lending me tens of thousands of pounds back in 2004. I felt like I was letting them down more than anything else.
As a parent myself I understand that you naturally want the very best for your children, and at the time I was doubting whether I was delivering this desire to them with their daughter.
I felt like I was the crazy, ambitious entrepreneur that just kept failing at stuff. You hear about these guys all the time. They are normally just 1 idea away from making it big! – that’s what I kept telling myself anyway. Keep the faith!
There was no going back though. I would not go back to financial services. No matter what happened. Those bridges were well and truly burnt.
I used to stay awake at night while the whole house was peacefully sleeping absolutely crapping myself though. What if, what if, what if….
It was then that I realised (I think I read it somewhere, but not sure where) that ‘what if’ very rarely happens.
…and even if it does, what’s the absolute worse that can happen?
As long as I have my health and my family around me I can deal with anything.
Then in January 2013 I was struck down with a really bad stomach illness (bugger, I was kind relying on having my health so that I could deal with anything – that scuppered that idea). I lost lots of weight and was being tested for all sorts of weird stuff. It just felt like two steps forward and three back!
This was a major blow to the biz as it was only me working in it at the time (there’s another lesson for you). Alex had to get thrown in at the deep end and take over the sessions whilst going on a fast track training course to get her qualifications. She had a full time job at the time but just had to take unpaid sick leave to help the business out.
It was a real tough time – but we came through it. I guess we’ve been on the way up since then. That period during the early part of 2013 though was our ‘rock bottom’ moment.
Fast forward to now – March 2015:
We now have our own 2900 square feet gym with over 200 members.
There are now 4 trainers (including me) and we have the most amazing time.
I also have a paid membership club called PT100K Club in which I help other PTs to do what I’ve done.
I was recently sitting in a hotel doing some marketing stuff from my laptop when a conference room broke for lunch. I overheard some of the delegates – they were talking about fixed rate mortgages and how life insurance figures have been creeping up! Everything looked false. No one looked like they wanted to be there. It was all very professional looking but also very dull and boring – there was a wry smile on my face as I reflected on the escape that I had made.
There really is no greater feeling than designing your own life – putting it together on your terms.
We are so lucky to live in an age whereby this is more possible than ever – yet I don’t think a lot of people appreciate or take full advantage of this fact.
Even the poorest of kids in the poorest of countries have wifi access and can create an online product that serves a micro niche to a global audience. This isn’t fantasy. This IS REALITY.
As yourself – are you taking full advantage of this time and the technology that we have at our fingertips?
As I sit and write this I am coming up with a plan to take the 4 of us to Spain to have a villa on the beach for the whole of August – 4 weeks. This is a dream that I’ve had for years. There’s work to be done, but I know we can do it.
I’m in control.
The quality time that we will then get to have together as a family will be remembered forever.
There is no way that this would ever have been possible in my previous industry.
Take action now…
Ricky