Run a Profitable Gym

You can manage a full-time career and own a gym—it just takes some finesse.In this episode, Chris Cooper explains how you should set up your side-hustle gym to ensure profitability. Then you have the option to leave your day job or keep the gym as an income generator on the side.Whatever you do, don't just leap and try to build wings on the way down. The chasm between a solid day job and entrepreneurship is filled with wreckage. But Coop's got a host of ways to reduce your risk and ensure success.If you have ever thought of opening a gym on the side, listen to this show first!And if you eventually want to own a gym without running it personally, Coop will tell you how to offload tasks so you can do that, too.LinksGym Business PlanPersonal Trainer Business Plan Book a CallGym Owners United0:45 - Charge premium rates2:23 - Go small4:38 - Coaching elsewhere5:22 - Full-time transition7:21 - Bridging the gap10:37 - Making the leap13:32 - Remote ownership19:11 - Mentoring your manager

Great gym businesses run on hard data, and Two-Brain's annual "State of the Industry" report is a gym owner's best source for verified fitness-industry numbers. We're collecting data right now, and we're inviting you to spend about six minutes entering your info here. When our report comes out in mid-November, you'll get access to our collected numbers and expert analysis so you can use the info to grow your gym.In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Chris Cooper and Mike Warkentin set the table for 2023 by going over five key stats from 2022.Coop reviews interesting numbers on nutrition coaching, kids programs, staff pay, owner pay and group-class rates, then offers tactical tips to help owners change these numbers. For example, is it more profitable to start a nutrition program or to add a few more members to an existing program at your gym? Coop has the answer because he has the data.Listen to this episode, then be sure to fill out our 2023 survey to get the numbers you need to earn more from your gym.Links2023 State of the Industry Survey for Gym OwnersBook a CallGym Owners United2:35 - Nutrition coaching6:45 - Kids programs11:36 - Staff pay15:28 - Owner pay20:08 - Group class price

Since 2020, we've been collecting, analyzing and publishing hard numbers so gym owners get the info they need to improve their businesses. No one else has. In this episode, Chris Cooper will tell you why the annual "State of the Industry" report is so important and why we need your help to make it even better this year.We're collecting data right now, and we're inviting you to spend about six minutes entering your numbers here.Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey. Your data will help us to complete our guide—an unbiased, comprehensive and illuminating snapshot of the microgym industry. You'll get the final report in mid-November for free. Use it with our compliments to grow your gym business!Links2023 State of the Industry Survey for Gym OwnersBook a CallGym Owners United0:26 - What’s good advice?4:56 - Why do our survey?9:04 - Collective power11:09 - Why track metrics?12:29 - 6 Key Metrics

So you're a gym owner—that means you've got to grind and can't ever take a vacation, right?Wrong. In this episode, Two-Brain Business founder and CEO Chris Cooper will explain how you can free yourself from low-level jobs to become a CEO who can take time off.When Coop got food poisoning in 2019 before Two-Brain's huge annual summit for gym owners, it was a blessing in disguise. He suddenly realized he could let his team members run the show, then audit and improve things after the fact with their input. He didn't need to do everything himself if staff members knew the plan and could execute it.You can use the same strategy at your gym. Develop and document your systems and operations, then teach them to others. Give them the space to perform. Then evaluate and upgrade as needed. When you've got things humming, try a greater test: Take a week off from the gym with no contact and see what happens. When you return, figure out what broke and then upgrade your systems so it doesn't happen again.If you follow this plan, your business will constantly improve with minimal oversight from you. And you'll get to take a well-deserved vacation. LinksBook a CallGym Owners United0:17 - Coop gets sick2:44 - Win with systems4:49 - Two examples9:34 - Testing and improving

How can you make your gym run like a finely tuned self-driving car? By systemizing and optimizing before automating. If you just hit the "autopilot" button without getting solid systems in place, you should prepare for a crash.Every aspect of a gym—from cleaning to marketing to sales to coaching—must be governed by a process. You need to carefully document your processes, then test and optimize them. When they're perfect, you can automate them, either by delegating or outsourcing.If your get the order wrong, you'll find yourself back at Square 1 every time.To help you level up, Chris Cooper explains how to automate your gym correctly so you can increase speed, reduce stress and grow your business.LinksBook a CallGym Owners United0:56 - DIY then delegate3:07 - Systems and processes4:25 - Don’t abdicate6:02 - Metrics and optimization

Growing a booming kids program is easier than you think—you just have to know how to do it.Chris Cooper has the exact steps, and he lays them out for you in this short episode. In 15 minutes, Coop explains how to set up a kids program, market it and run it successfully. Follow the steps and you'll have everything you need to change lives, please parents, create a career for a coach and generate more revenue at your gym.LinksBook a CallGym Owners United1:35 - Why it's easier to grow a kids program2:36 - Appeal to clients first3:52 - Six-week time frame4:51 - Referrals6:50 - Reaching sports teams9:37 - Building relationships with parents

Building a great fitness program for kids requires a very specific approach tailored to young people—and their parents.For example, you can't scream like a drill sergeant and hope pre-teens will develop a lifelong love of movement. You also can't just promote a "super-fun program" to parents who want more than balloon and parachute games for their young ones.Remember: The parents are the actual clients, and you must solve their problems and help them accomplish their goals with your program.In this lecture delivered  at the 2022 Two-Brain Summit in Chicago, Brand X Method co-founder Jeff Martin explains how to approach kids coaching so you can satisfy parents and set young athletes up for a lifetime of movement and health.Listen, then use Jeff's advice to improve or start your own kids program—a key revenue stream for a microgym.LinksBook a CallGym Owners United2:38 - Excelling kids4:09 - Target lessons9:32 - Learning to move16:02 - Breaking it down21:32 - Maximizing potential24:42 - Succeeding with youth programs

How much do gym owners make each month?Chris Cooper has the exact figures.In this edition of "Run a Profitable Gym," he serves up the Top 10 leaderboard for net owner benefit in June 2023. It runs from US$17,000 to $45,000! And this isn't gross revenue for the business. It's exactly what each gym owner took home. The numbers are actually three-month rolling averages that ensure huge year-end disbursements and other anomalies don't cloud the stats. These are consistent, sustainable levels of income.After a run through the numbers, Coop offers four reasons gym owners must focus on making money. Then he explains how financial success allows fitness entrepreneurs to invest and transform the communities around them.Take inspiration from these gym owners, then build your own business to provide for your family, serve clients, create careers and improve your city or town.LinksBook a CallGym Owners United0:48 - The Top 103:16 - Four reasons gym owners must make money9:47 - From income to investment13:52 - Tinkers: top-level gym owners who invest15:43 - Entrepreneurial success helps communities

In his speech at the 2022 Two-Brain Summit in Chicago, Chris Cooper highlighted the power of entrepreneurial impact. Passionate fitness entrepreneurs have the ability to change lives on a one-to-one basis in the gym, but they can also expand their influence to affect the communities around them. To help the gym owners in the room increase their impact, Chris led them through an exercise to help them identify the people they need around them, then make a precise plan to guide their actions over the next year. You can make that same plan right now. Download the worksheet via the link below and fill it out as Chris talks. Then dedicate yourself to personal and entrepreneurial growth over the next 12 months. If you do, you'll be amazed at what happens to your business, your family and the world around you.LinksImpact worksheetBook a CallGym Owners United6:26 - The North Star and key crew16:23 - Fuel and income22:30 - Investing in yourself32:26 - New tools for gym owners35:56 - Impact vs. legacy41:44 - Lion Flag awards45:04 - Impact pledge

To move from owner-operator to CEO, you'll have to develop staff, and gym owner Chris Williams of CFT Fitness has cracked the code.In fact, Williams earned an award for Coach Education and Opportunity at this year's Two-Brain Summit for fitness entrepreneurs.In this episode, Chris explains how he built up his staff and prepared them to take over gym operations, coaching, customer service, client retention and other aspects of the business. By developing a system and delegating to team members, Chris freed himself to spend more time with his family and grow his business.Chris also shares some of the mistakes he made as an inexperienced gym owner so you can avoid them.To take your first step toward being the CEO of a thriving fitness business, listen to this show. Then focus on developing your staff.LinksThe Value LadderBook a CallGym Owners United5:08 - Owner-operator to CEO8:11 - Departmentalization and tasks14:00 - Staff development22:36 - How to start