Q 1. Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business.
Ans: Hi, My name is Chris Mason and I am the owner of CMPGyms. We are a private personal training facility that specializes in body transformation coaching through diet and exercise. Our top class private facilities offer premium personal training to clients who are serious about results. Right now, we’re based in Sheffield and also available for coaching online. As the company continues it’s growth, it’s possible that we will open more facilities.
Q 2. Kindly give us a brief description about yourself.
Ans: If I am being honest with you, nothing has been handed to me. My family background is very much working class. Growing up, we never went without but we also didn’t have a lot of money to throw around. I was a promising flanker in rugby but had to retire from sport at 17 after I suffered a bad ACL injury and then subsequently suffered the same injury again after an 18 month rehab phase. I was working in a call centre at the time to be able to afford to put myself through college.
From there I continued to work in the call centre, funding myself through university (the first ever in my family to go to uni) where I studied sport and exercise science. This is where my interest really flourished and over the last 12 years I have gone from newbie personal trainer in a commercial gym with zero clients to experience personal training and private gym owner who has built a thriving business. When I started my business I knew very little about marketing or advertising and spent just as much money learning from the likes of Frank Kern, Paul Mort, Dan Meredith, Dan Kennedy, Ben Settle, Jon Goodman and so on learning how to grow and develop my business.
This year I also launched my second business, Chris Mason Consulting, which is business coaching for personal trainers. I aim to grow both my businesses concurrently.
Q 3. How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans: The standard of current personal training and how clients / customers were viewed by big commercial gyms. I knew that I could offer better and offer more, where the service would be results focused.
Q 4. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans: There will be setbacks
Never make long term business decisions based on temporary emotions
And drop entitlement very quickly if you want success. You’re going to have to work hard and in most cases for a long time before you’ve ‘made it’
Q 5. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Vision
Focus
A product / service that people actually want
Q 6. How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: 10 on average
Q 7. To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: Being handed nothing and having to work for everything
Q 8. How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans: Content and direct marketing on social media where I market success stories, hints and tips for our potential audiences problems and build ‘relationships’ through offering value.
Q 9. Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: No investors. For the first 5 years, I could have gone out of business at any point! I started my business with just £4.5k and have flown by the seat of my pants since to get to the position where my business is strong and I can predict income and success.
Q 10. What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: To not play the short game and to try to not be reactive in your business to every little thing that happens.
Q 11. Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans: Helping thousands of people achieve the body, health and fitness results they want through my private facility and online personal training programs
Q 12. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: Nick Mitchell’s Ultimate Performance. They’re very much the founders of private personal training gyms that produce results and were one of the influences inspired me to set up my own place and business.
Q 13. How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: Very important. But also employees that didn’t work out have been vital too. Each person you employ is an opportunity to learn about what makes people tick and behave the way that they do in your business.
Q 14. How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: Depends on if it’s a successful idea or not.
Q 15. What motivates you?
Ans: Not being poor and unable to afford the luxuries in life that we all want. Being able to provide a stable future for my family.
Q 16. How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: I put myself in the position of our potential clients, what are they struggling with? What do they need help with? And base ideas around serving them
Q 17. How do you define success?
Ans: Being happy and grateful for what you have. I’ve known millionaires be miserable and those with less living amazing, fulfilled and happy lives.
Q 18. How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: Give them what they want
Q 19. What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: That I am in charge of my own destiny. Whether I show up is 100% on me and so is my success.
Q 20. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans: Succeeding where others thought I would fail.
Q 21. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans: Mindset
Q 22. What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Ans: Results focused and driven. We’re the total sum of each moving part in our business and so we all need to be on the same page
Q 23. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans: All consuming.
Q 24. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ans: I know it sounds clichéd but I wouldn’t change a thing
Q 25. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: It’s taken my focus at times but provided opportunities and an improvement in our lifestyle.
Q 26. What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ans: One of my loved ones dying or suffering.
Q 27. How did you decide on the location for your business?
Ans: I already had a client base built in Sheffield before opening my gym
Q 28. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Most likely, and it starts with responsibility and accountability. Knowing that no one but you can show up and do the work.
Q 29. If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Ans: Winston Churchill
Q 30. Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Ans: Interesting question. I would say my baby, Mollie. No one inspires me to work hard more than her. When I was younger, I would have been motivated by money, success and status for sure, but now I’m motivated more by being able to provide a prosperous future for her that allows her to believe she can be and do anything she wants.
Q 31. What book has inspired you the most?
Ans: Favorite book right now is Man Up by Bedros Keuililan
Q 32. What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Ans: Caring about what people think about me and being too reactive to situations in the past
Q 33. How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Ans: Remove emotion and opinion.
Q 34. What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Ans: Be a dad?! Beyond work and home life, there isn’t much time for anything else.
Q 35. What makes you happy?
Ans: Eating and training with the odd glass of red wine or beer thrown in. I’m a basic man with basic needs, ha ha. Mostly, seeing my baby happy.
Q 36. What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: I haven’t been on lads holidays, in the early days I couldn’t afford a holiday and I’ve sacrificed a lot of home time over the years. I would now say that this is more balanced
Company Detail:
Company : Chris Mason Performance
Contact : Chris Mason
Address : 376 Cemetery Road, Sharrowvale
City : Sheffield
State : South Yorkshire
Zip : S11 8FT
Country : England
Phone : 01142 661 157
Email : apps@chrismasonperformance.com
