Trust, Stability, and The Future of Small Business
- Cody Johnson
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Hey everyone, welcome to another installment of Fitlosophies! It's been quite some time since my last podcast, and even longer since my last writing, but don't fret, cause we're back! I've been taking some much-needed recharge time while focusing on behind-the-scenes infrastructure work at CHT, which meant much less time to write and culminate ideas. I've certainly had some thoughts, and I think it's finally time to share them with you. So, without further ado, let's get into it!
The current socio-economic situation in the US is… tumultuous, to say the least.
In terms of economic outlook, the average individual is seeing (or will see) higher prices across the board: durable goods, non-durable goods, services, and just about everything that encompasses normal spending. Deloitte's aggregate data suggests that 2026 will bring growth in unemployment, reduction in real wages and purchasing power, increases in healthcare costs, and more. In North Carolina, the NC Budget and Tax Center, a non-profit, non-political organization, paints a woeful picture for those outside the top 10% of earners, with the living income standard rising to a household income of $97,500/year, or roughly $8,100/month.
Socially speaking, we've got some real concerns facing us. Mobilization of ICE, states' national guards, potential military deployment on US soil, tensions with NATO allies, abysmal approval ratings across every branch of government, and a ton of socio-political unrest. Cool.
All that being said, how the heck do we, as fitness business owners, hope to navigate this situation? How do we best take care of our staff? How do we ensure stable income for our business? How do we make sure our consumer bases continue to support us, and that we continue to support them?
I won't pretend to have all the answers, but I do have some thoughts. And it starts with understanding some core tenets of consumer value.
In previous discussions, I've argued that businesses are a group of people all working towards the same vision, and our first answer for navigating the 2026 environment is to look back at that.
The current vision of CHT starts with understanding our customer and what they want: information from individuals they can trust, an environment they can step into and forget (or vent) about the happenings around them, and some level of hard accountability with built-in grace as needed. These are somewhat abstract, but they make sense when you consider that we're a personal training studio. People pay us to take care of them, and that encompasses knowledge, expertise, mental health, life outlook, physical ability, and so much more.
You don't have to take my word for it. I regularly send out surveys, and here's what our clients valued most at the end of 2025:
Okay, so with that in mind, how do we continue this trend knowing that there may be a drop-off in clients' ability to maintain their current spend?
That would be a very hard question to answer, if I hadn't been working on it for my entire career, especially since the Covid pandemic. Maybe it's PTSD from the shock of figuring out how to evolve in 2020 and 2021, I don't know, but it's been the itch I can't quite scratch yet continue to work on ever since.
In short: to assuage the concerns of the consumer, you have to have the systemic infrastructure to promote creativity of service and of the worker. The only way to thrive during conflict is to recognize the conflict and innovate out of it. Sometimes that innovation can be stubbornness, but in most cases, we MUST look at ways to change HOW we conduct our business, for WHOM we conduct that business, WHAT those consumers value most, and HOW we can meet those new standards across that consumer base.
In practice, that meant spending 2025 reworking how I view Chapel Hill Training and what I could make possible through new initiatives across a broader spectrum of possibilities. Last year, I invested in:
Staff: new benefits, burnout reduction initiatives, access to continuing education
Location infrastructure: new equipment, new location, ease of accessibility
Systemic infrastructure: new CHT app, new primary service in Hybrid Training, Open Gym
The goal was to reset the baseline and redefine what it means to train at CHT, while allowing a LOT more creativity in our services.
Our in-person services remain our most frequented purchase and remain at a premium. But I've created the possibility of reworking training frequency, utilizing digital accessibility, and providing access to information from our staff. All of this opens up lower total cost training options while still letting clients access trainer knowledge and personality at the place they know and love.
To continually be the best, one has to continually think better than the rest. That means being willing to evolve beyond a singular methodology of service style. After all, every individual's needs are different, so shouldn't we be able to adapt to those needs and boundaries?
The biggest goal of 2026 is to continue allowing my staff to have the MOST amount of creativity within their roles, while maintaining the most valuable currency we can collect: trust.
If I had to pick the number one reason we made it through the pandemic, and the number one reason we will continue to thrive in 2026, it's that my staff and I have built a culture of trust amongst ourselves and our clientele.
Trust isn't earned easily. It takes time, accountability, faith in each other, and ACTION when and where it matters. All while consistently considering the needs and wants of the client alongside the capabilities and desires of ourselves, within a business that maintains the ability to do both. I believe we at CHT created that ability in 2025. This year, we're going to go beyond.
Stability is hard to find these days, and it comes at a premium price. But it's a price that can't be paid in dollars or any real currency. Stability is exchanged for trust. And trust? Well, we may all be short on that these days.
The socioeconomic landscape has eroded, and we're all hoping for a lifeboat when we know that the only way forward is to learn how to float together.
This year, I want to do better at showing you that your trust is worth it, and that your trust in CHT holds immense value with us. I want to show you who we are, so if and when times get harder, you know we're here to provide that stability. The same consistency we've always had. It just may look different.
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