Matthew Kornblatt

Prioritizing your health with help amplify your life.

 

Native to Highland Park, IL, company CEO and founder Matthew Kornblatt graduated from the University of Illinois in 2010 with a BS in Advertising. A lifelong athlete and fitness enthusiast, Matthew saw unlimited opportunity in the personal training industry and founded RightFit Personal Training. Matthew currently resides in Chicago and he received his personal training certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Where did the idea for your company come from?

This is a funny question, because the idea for my company was not my own. I was having a conversation with my brother, and the concept of matching consumers with personal trainers popped out of his mouth. To this day, I remember that 2011 conversation like it was yesterday. He had no desire to execute on the idea, but I was full speed ahead. RightFit Personal Training is a double sided marketplace that helps people get fit, and personal trainers build business.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I don’t really think there is a “typical” day in the life of an entrepreneur, but there are a few consistencies. I wake up around 6:15am, and the first things that I do is practice 10 minutes of meditation through the Calm app, immediately followed by coffee and a healthy breakfast. I’ll then open a note on my laptop and create a task list of things I want to accomplish throughout the day, which helps me prioritize and stay focused and motivated. I’d be remise if I didn’t mention the most important daily staple; the workout. 60 minutes of daily exercise keeps me healthy in body and mind.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Whenever an idea pops into my head, I’ll add it to the “ideas” note on my laptop (here we go again with the notes). After a day or two of letting the thought marinate, I will circle back to the idea to consider whether or not it is worthwhile to pursuit. If my conviction is strong enough, I’ll implement a plan to execute the idea.

What’s one trend that excites you?

The fact that preventative healthcare continues to grow in popularity is very exciting. Consumers are becoming more educated every year on what they can do keep themselves healthy and fit, and our government is even beginning to shift its focus away from tradition healthcare.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

It has to be exercise. Some of the best ideas come to me during a workout, and staying physically fit helps me stay focused on long term goals. Exercise clears my mind and keeps me relaxed (relatively), which allows me to think critically and work smart.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don’t be scared to take calculated risks.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I like my routines, so setting the coffee the night before and making the bed first thing in the morning are the two most important daily tasks!

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

There are going to be days that you doubt yourself and your business as an entrepreneur. It is essential to stick to your guns, and see everything through to the end. If something doesn’t go according to plan, evaluate the situation and make the necessary adjustments that will improve your business.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

To be specific, learning search engine optimization (SEO) helped me start and grow my business. RightFit Personal Training connects consumers with independent personal trainers, and we generate revenue by selling personal training sessions to our customers. When I was starting the business, I knew that my website had to be at the top of search engines when users were searching “personal trainers”. What did I do? I bought SEO For Dummies! After reading the book a light switch flipped on in my brain. I learned how to implement best SEO practices and RightFit Personal Training has been at the top of Google ever since.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

How do I choose one? That’s like asking me to name my favorite child! Anyways, the failure that sticks out in my head the most was when I paid a king’s ransom for web development. Without naming any names, I hired a Chicago based dev shop that led me to believe they would be my “tech partner”. I never knew how a “partner” could continually gauge it’s counterpart on price… With that said, this was a lesson well learned. From that point forward, I learned how to be more resourceful when looking for web development help, or any other outsourced assistance. I have since found a few trustworthy and talented contractors that did great work at a fraction of the cost of this dev shop.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Now why would I go ahead and divulge my billion dollar ideas?

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

$100 isn’t exactly what it used to be, but I recently found a contractor to do PR outreach, and she has been amazing! She has approached me with multiple opportunities in the under two weeks we have been working together.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

HubSpot has been an amazing CRM tool. It keeps me and my employees super organized, and its automated follow-up functions have helped improve our efficiency.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

Built to Sell by John Warrillow. This fictional story is a quick and entertaining read that taught me how to effectively scale my business and focus on the big picture.

What is your favorite quote?

“The harder you work, the luckier you get.”

Key Learnings:

• Never stop working towards your goals
• Quality over quantity, always
• Prioritizing your health with help amplify your life

Connect: