Over the past few weeks I’ve been playing a lot of hockey—well, a lot more than I typically play, which is none—and my long-standing belief has been confirmed without a doubt in my mind. Have you ever played hockey? Or any sport? Even if you haven’t, I’m sure you can use your…
Do you feel like no matter what you do, you can’t move forward? Like every time you make a bit of progress, something yanks you back? Do you feel like you’re in a rut and can’t break free? Like you’re stuck in a hole, unable to climb out? Do you feel like…
When I was growing up, my father always had a plaque in his office that read, “I must do the most productive thing at any given moment.” For as long as I could remember, he preached that to me until I was blue in the face. I remember many times early on when…
The other day a client and I were chatting, and in the middle of me explaining a marketing theory, he cut me off and said “Man, where’d you learn all this?” That really got me thinking, and I realized I never really explained in writing where it all comes from. There’s no…
Typically, I choose to be up and at it long before the rest of my family would even fathom waking up. Heck, by the time their eyes open, I’ve gone to the gym, showered, put in several hours at work and enjoyed my usual Starbucks. But the other morning was different. Everyone…
Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been chatting with one of the great marketing legends of the martial arts industry, Stephen Oliver, and he said something that really stuck with me… He said, “We’ve suffered a great Bozo-Explosion“—and I couldn’t agree more. Now, all comments out of context can be guided a…
I have a confession to make… I’m not naturally motivated. Let me explain… I’ve been self-employed for most of my working life, which essentially started when I was 12 years old and started going around the block cutting lawns. Of course, along the way I did dabble in several odd jobs…
Have you ever watched the television series called Suits? I don’t indulge in a whole lot of TV, but boy, I love this series… In Season 1, Episode 6, the duo super team Harvey Specter and Mike Ross find themselves defending a woman who has been accused of insider trading. As…
I’m going to let you in on a little secret… What I love the most about consulting, teaching, and mentoring is how much I learn myself. It’s almost like getting paid to discover new things! It’s similar to parenting… I am constantly blown away by how much more my kids teach me…
Trick question, do you know—off the top of your head—any P.T. Barnum quotes? How about this one… “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Ever heard that one? A quick search online will confirm his name attached to that quote. But many people are misinformed, and a deeper search past the…
Earlier this month, a local shop closed—and I want to talk about it. You see, statistically most businesses are going to fail. Those are simply the facts, and keeping up with the theme of my blog post titled The Road to Success, acting surprised that it was going out of business is, well,…
This holiday, I put some time aside to enhance my skills by going back to the basics of business. I dug out some worn out CDs, books, and programs I had purchased over 10 years ago when I really started getting serious about business. One by one, I listened, read, and digested everything…
Give yourself the freedom of choice. It’s 7:30am on a nice, warm morning as I sit in a coffee shop writing this. If you’ve known me personally, or follow my blog, you know this is my usual morning routine, and has been for quite some time. But today’s different. During my drive in,…
Your ability to keep your eyes on the prize makes all the difference. Last week, my wife and I were out of town doing some Christmas shopping, and the traffic was, well, exactly what is to be expected. Lesson 1 – Don’t be shocked by things that are expected, it’s just silly. …
Are you driving away those you want? One of the very first questions I ask a new client is, “Who are your customers/prospects?” Invariably, a large percentage of people respond with “anyone.” And when I probe further and ask, “What’s a requirement, what must a person have in order to be called a…
Are you handing all your info over to the big man? [contact-form][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Website” type=”url” /][contact-field label=”Message” type=”textarea” /][/contact-form] Yesterday, after a busy day packed with engaging meetings, torrential brainstorming, and long term planning, I was pretty exhausted, so I went out with my beautiful wife for…
A smile can transform a miserable person into a beacon of joy. Yesterday I was listening to some recordings of a seminar and someone on the recording said something that really stuck with me. I tried to find the author but I couldn’t, so unfortunately I won’t have the source, but it goes like…
Are you the leader of your ship? I’d say once or twice a week I get a call or an email from a business owner that goes something along the lines of this… “Al, I need help. I know I need to be on Facebook, but…. I don’t know where to start/I don’t…
There’s a lie that I hear repeated all the time. I heard it while running my first landscaping business, I heard it repeatedly in my fitness business, and I hear it a lot in my consulting business. And it should be noted that I consult across multiple industries, which means I’ve heard…
You can make it anywhere you want. MLM—Multi-Level-Marketing—has been around for years. We all know someone who’s in it, and have probably been invited to enough “parties,” been involuntarily tagged on Facebook, or pressured in person enough to have developed a real hatred for the industry. Ask the average person what MLM…
Are you seeing what’s all around you? Day in and day out, I help business owners get more out of their business. I help them increase profits, tap into opportunities that deliver immense cash flow, and build a system that keeps working long after I’ve come and gone. And out of all the…
Is this major communication mistake crushing you? One thing I love about business is that it’s continually changing. Every day, week, year, and decade brings new innovations, strategies, and practices that often completely turn the tables upside down. From the advent of billboards, to television commercials, radio and the internet, to Facebook, Instagram,…
A week or so ago, I wrote a blog post called “3 Ways to Grow Any Business” (https://rysmarketing.com/2016/11/01/3-ways-to-grow-any-business/) and in it I talked about the only three ways that exist to grow any business. Do you remember them? They are: 1 – Increase the number of clients you have. 2…
Are you orchestrating a masterpiece or a one-person show? Every morning, as part of my routine, I head to Starbucks with my laptop and write while enjoying my morning coffee. In fact, that’s what I’m doing this very moment. For the past 3 weeks or so, I’ve started getting into rather “deep” business…
“Those who do not learn to fight worry die young” – Dr Alexis Carrel said Last night I was asked to give a quick, 10 minute talk on worry, more specifically, how to stop worrying. Far too many of us live in a constant state of fear, worry, stress and anxiety. Now, when I was…
“The entrepreneurs mind is like a child at a picnic. It can be incredibly focused even when the house is burning down all around, or it can lead them to the river when it doesn’t even know how to swim.” – Dr. Ned Hallowell I’m not sure if Gary Vaynerchuk has had any significant influence…
Not a day goes by that I don’t get asked “what exactly do you do?”. When I explain that I help business owners get the most out of their business for the same time, effort and expenditure that they are currently putting forward, they often ask how that’s even possible. I go on to explain…
Let me tell you a little story… I knew a client in the health care industry who came out with a new, revolutionary product that was, in every possible, the absolute best. The stats we’re unbelievable. I mean, nearly “too good to be true”. They had improved on similar products, fixed every problem imaginable, made…
Have you ever faced some form of challenge, obstacle or road block in your life? We’ve all faced challenges before. A 4 year old trying to put a triangle shape in the triangle hole… A 12 year old kid running out of wood while building a tree house… An 18 year old who wants to…
If there’s one thing I’ve learned first hand, it’s that being a cog is NOT what you should be. Often entrepreneurs are “jack of all trades” or “perfectionist” or just simply suck at letting others do something for them. We like to do everything ourselves. We want to make our own websites. We want to…
I just got off the phone with a client and, well, I’m annoyed – to put it lightly. Every day I go from business to business helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses. And typically, these businesses NEED the growth. The sad truth is that most businesses are NOT booming. They’re barely breaking even. There’s not a…
Last night I had an “aha!” moment, a realization, a “that’s it!” reaction and I just had to tell you about it. I realized that business should feel good. I know, it doesn’t seem like much of a discovery, but let me explain… My daughter, Sariah, is going to be three in December, and for…
Let me ask you something… Aside from the dead give-away coming from the title, how many ways do you , or did you, think there was to grow a business? Any business. 1? 3? 10? 150? When ever I ask this to an audience I get countless people shouting out a variety of answers ranging…
I have a confession to make… Sometimes, heck more often than I’d like to admit, I DON’T practice what I preach… At RYS, we spend so much time, energy and focus making sure our clients get results that, well, we forget about our own stuff. It reminds me of my very first company, a landscaping…
How To Learn Faster…And Get Ahead of the Competition A quick tip… If you’re serious about self-improvement and forward momentum, odds are you’re constantly filling your head with new knowledge and learning every chance you can. Over the years my personal library has grown quite a bit, but lately I don’t have as much time…
A Small Rant About Business and Social Media I’ve been seeing way too much of this, and I figure since we’re all business owners in here, or aspiring entrepreneurs, it’s the best place to voice my thoughts… MOST, I’d be willing to say 90%, of businesses do NOT use social media properly. (And…
Many car dealerships I’ve worked with are still living in the past and using outdated methods to try and drive sales. Ever notice that traditional media such as radio, television and newspapers don’t even use traditional media to promote themselves? I mean, why is it that I see radio channels being promoted online? Or newspapers…
*** This is a talk I gave at a goal setting seminar last night. To learn more about my keynote speeches, please contact alain@rysmarketing.com *** Hello everyone! For those who don’t know me, my name is Al, and I am a husband, father and passionate entrepreneur. At any given time I have dozens of projects…
Don’t Even Think About Operating A Fitness Business Until You Read This… From: Al Blais Monday, September 12th, 2016 Ontario, Canada Dear Friend, In just a moment, I hope to make you so angry you’ll roundhouse the open sign right off the wall. What I have to tell you involves the scandal going around…
Hey guys! Here is part TWO of the 4 part series called “Al’s big list of business and marketing mistakes”. If you missed part 1, mistakes 1 to 25, you can read them all HERE. Now that post received a lot of praise, but here’s two quick comments that came up that I thought I…
Hello! Over the past few months I’ve been making an effort to put on paper mistakes I’ve made or seen made throughout my decade and a half in business and am ready to share that list with you! Now, be warned… It’s long. In fact, the list is well over 100 mistakes now so what…
Good evening everyone! I just finished a long chat with a client on the importance of strategy – and how MOST businesses have absolutely NO strategy. Let me start by asking you this? Have you ever ran an ad in the paper? Have you ever had a billboard? Have you ever ran a radio campaign?…
Hey everyone! Today I want to talk about something that I see business get wrong very often, and I just had a close encounter with it again so while it’s fresh in my mind, I’ll write about it. First, let me ask you something… Can you become an Olympic athlete without a coach? Can you…
Hey guys! I was just having a chat with an old client from my fitness studio, (well, he’s not old, but he’s been with me for a long time!) and he was telling me how his wife goes to a different fitness center in town and the owner always complains to her about how lucky…
Hey Guys! I’m in town from camp for a few hours while the kids are at a birthday party so I though I’d take a minute to teach you a great marketing strategy I use to get loads of leads for nearly free! This strategy is great if you’re trying to reach college/university prospects. I…
Have you ever known someone that was incredibly lucky? Where it just seemed like they “made it” overnight? Or that everything just falls into place for them? I’m here to tell you that you alone make your own luck. But you already knew that, right? Still, to this day I hear people say things like…
Do you have prospects telling you they see you everywhere? Are you at the top of your prospects minds all the time? Do you stay in front of your potential clients constantly? One major mistake I see many businesses make is marketing when they have to. Let me explain… Have you ever used an old…
*** This is an excerpt (the first chapter) from my book You VS You *** www.youvsyoubook.com YOU ARE POWERFUL How To Take charge of your life and unleash the success inside of you If you are looking to create lasting change in any area of life, there’s one thing that stands consistent: YOU. Master…
Today I want to talk about something that really bites me… Loyalty. When I was working day-to-day in my kickboxing studio and creaming my “competition” (more on that in another post!) they used to make post on social media continuously pushing loyalty, and it’s importance. Listen, it’s 2015, there is no loyalty. Wait! What? No…
Hey guy’s! Today I want to talk about something I’d say 99.9% of schools/gyms/clubs I consult for do, and view, completely wrong – and it HURTS them. I’m talking about competition. I’m talking about like-minded studios that either teach the same or similar things as you, or that are after the same clients. I know…