NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Entrepreneur, business coach and Nashville Fit Magazine owner Terry Barga has released his new book, Still Standing: The Entrepreneur’s Real-World Guide to Building a Business That Lasts. It’s available now in paperback and Kindle from Harrington Interactive Media.
The book draws on more than 20 years of building, failing and rebuilding businesses across fitness, landscaping, media and coaching. It’s a practical, honest guide for small business owners, gym and studio owners, coaches and anyone thinking about taking the leap. Still Standing skips the hype. It covers what actually keeps a business alive and how to build one without losing yourself, your family or your peace along the way.
“Still Standing is refreshingly honest,” said Donald Miller, author of Building a StoryBrand. “Terry shows that clarity, discipline, and humility matter more than hype.” The book’s foreword is by Will Hardy.
Why Terry Barga Wrote Still Standing
Terry opens the book with a line most entrepreneurs never say out loud: “My name is Terry, and I am a business failure.” Those failures include his first gym, a $750,000 lesson he shares openly. He also watched fellow entrepreneurs lose their families and their health to the grind, and he learned the hard way that you can’t hang your identity on something as volatile as a business.
So he wrote the book he wishes someone had handed his younger self. In his words, “A business will never consistently outperform the person leading it.” Still Standing is built on that idea: grow the person first, and the business has something solid to stand on.
Terry talks through the story behind the book with co-host Vanessa Hampton on the Ground Up Podcast:
What’s Inside: Four Parts, Fourteen Chapters
Still Standing lays out a start-to-finish path for building a business that lasts:
- Part One: Know Yourself First. Before you can build anything sustainable, you have to understand who you are. Chapters cover failure, fear (“Fear is not the enemy. It’s the messenger.”) and getting clear on where you’re actually going.
- Part Two: Build the Foundation Right. The practical work of revenue, people and goals. That means smaller, winnable goals, proving your idea with real revenue before you polish it, and the “Who Not How” principle: stop asking how and start asking who.
- Part Three: Go to Market. Stop selling to everyone and start serving someone. Learn why your reputation arrives before your logo does, and why social media is a handshake, not a stage.
- Part Four: Scale Without Losing Yourself. Nail it before you scale it. Build discipline that outlasts motivation. Remember that you were never just building a business.
For more on the book’s big ideas, including the Thermostat Principle, listen to Terry’s earlier Ground Up conversation, NFM Owner Terry Barga Shares the Story Behind New Book “Still Standing”.
Who Should Read Still Standing?
- Aspiring entrepreneurs standing on the edge of their first leap
- Gym, studio and wellness business owners who want steady growth without burning out
- Coaches, trainers and solopreneurs building a personal brand and a client base
- Established owners who are years in and wondering why the momentum isn’t there
For more practical help growing your business, check out Nashville Fit’s Ground Up Podcast with Ryan Gleason on building a business and the future of AI.
Celebrate at the Still Standing Book Launch Party
Join Terry and the Nashville Fit community at the official Still Standing Book Launch Party:
- When: Friday, Oct. 23, 6:30 to 8 PM
- Where: B2 Wellness Suites, 5121 Maryland Way, Suite 200 (2nd floor), Brentwood, Tenn.
- Tickets: $25, which includes your own copy of the book, light bites and drinks
- Presented by: Bardstown Bourbon Company
Get your launch party ticket here.
Get Your Copy of Still Standing
Still Standing: The Entrepreneur’s Real-World Guide to Building a Business That Lasts is out now in paperback and Kindle.
- Buy Still Standing on Amazon
- Order a copy directly from Terry
- Shop official Still Standing apparel and gear
- Learn more and see every chapter at terrybarga.com
Follow Terry on Instagram and LinkedIn. For more on fitness, wellness and business in your city, download the free Nashville Fit app.
Author: NFM Staff
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