(1-minute read)

So, what are you passionate about? I ask new and aspiring gym owners this question almost every day of the week.

The good news is that I’ve yet to find a fitness professional who is unable to answer this question. The bad news is that a whole bunch of them wont ever pursue their passion in any capacity because someone else arrived at that space in the fitness industry first.

An observational guest at Cressey Sports Performance (CSP) recently told me that his dream is to be a thought leader in the realm of performance training for golfers. I agreed that this is a massive market and insinuated that I also saw opportunity in this segment. Instead of diving further in to the discussion, he hit me with this:

“I’ll never do it, though. The Titleist Performance Institute already owns that niche.”

Consider this: Google was the 27th search engine to pop on to the scene. Do you think that they were afraid to get in the game with the first 26?

I wont argue that TPI is doing something wrong, but I can guarantee you that they’re vulnerable just like any other brand that owns the bulk of the market share in their space. Capturing a big chunk of the baseball-specific strength training market from CSP in Massachusetts or Florida will be difficult, but if a gym comes along with better ideas or a more effective approach, it’s going to happen.

First-to-market can be a valuable advantage, but it doesn’t always equal best.