Where Is Your Invisible Cat Shit?

Or: How First User Experiences Mean Everything

Imagine walking into a gym for the first time and seeing some cat poop in a bush right by the entrance. Gross, right?

Now, picture that same piece of cat poop sitting there, unnoticed and unaddressed, for two whole years.

Impossible? Not quite.

This was my second gym. I think everyone got used to that turd sitting there - and just walked right past it. FOR YEARS.

Let this serve as a reminder of how easily we can become blind to the flaws all around us because we become accustomed to them.

However, these "invisible" issues are glaringly obvious to new members walking in for the first time.

And details like these can significantly impact their decision to join or stay.

I think about this 💩 on our doorstep often. It’s our job, as business people, to regularly walk through our business frequently with the eyes and ears of a lead or a new member.

What do they see? Feel? Experience?

So, take a walk through your gym. Start from the outside, enter as a lead, sign up as a new member. Note every detail, from the entrance's cleanliness to the greeting's warmth.

These moments matter immensely—they differ between a fleeting visit and a lasting membership.

Ask yourself, "What's my gym's version of the invisible cat poop?" (I hope you don’t have a literal poop to deal with here…)

Then, make it your mission to see—and clean up—these oversights.

Your gym, and your new members, will thank you for it.