Run a Profitable Gym

Gyms with huge client counts—how do they do it?Many gym owners reach a certain number of clients—often 150—and then growth stalls. But other gyms go on to hit 300, 400 or even 700-plus clients.In this episode, Chris Cooper reveals the client counts of the Top 10 Two-Brain gyms in March 2023, then he explains exactly what the owners did to reach these levels. Some of the secrets: goal review sessions, affinity marketing, airtight retention, reacquisition campaigns, special events and guidance from a mentor.You won't get this info anywhere else. If you're looking to increase your client count, listen to this show and then take action.LinksBook a CallGym Owners United4:40 - Virtuosity6:14 - Teach staff the "why"7:51 - Cleanliness and "clean systems"10:47 - Focus on retention

Jason Khalipa has learned a lot of hard lessons in gyms. Getting his start in a traditional facility, Jason went on to become one of the most famous CrossFit affiliate owners after winning the 2008 CrossFit Games. In this interview with Chris Cooper, Khalipa describes how his fitness business evolved into NCFIT—a company with bricks-and-mortar locations, digital streams and corporate fitness programs that served the likes of Western Digital, Twitter, GoPro and Lucasfilm. The 2020 pandemic shutdowns forced Jason to adjust his business, so he consolidated NCFIT with the intent of growing anew with California's restrictions behind him. His current plan: Make every aspect of his expanding business world class.This June in Chicago, Jason will share his passion for virtuosity—doing the common uncommonly well—at the Two-Brain Summit. He'll speak about excellence in business ownership and how fitness coaches can move from a rating of 7 to 10 out of 10. As an added bonus, Jason will coach morning workouts each day for attendees to demonstrate what he believes is true excellence as a fitness coach.LinksTwo-Brain Summit ticketsBook a CallGym Owners United0:00 – Intro1:29 – NCFIT 2020-20236:44 – Lessons and the future8:26 – Virtuosity in business16:36 – Coaches: from good to great20:49 – Programming evolution28:00 – NCFIT workouts at the Two-Brain Summit

Joe De Sena is the founder and CEO of Spartan and Death Race, as well as the author of books including "Spartan Up!" and "10 Rules for Resilience."An entrepreneur with a rich history, Joe created brands and events that give runners and fitness athletes a chance to experience exciting challenges. In this interview, Joe and host Chris Cooper discuss Spartan's link to the gym world, certifications for coaches and the new DEKA indoor challenge. Also on the call: Benjamin Killary, Spartan's national field sales director. The trio also discuss the early days, the growth of the company and the future.Watch, then throw on your running shoes and sprint toward a set of monkey bars.LinksBook a CallGym Owners United4:03 - Gym/Spartan connection7:46 - Early days10:44 - Pivotal moments12:39 - Certification17:32- DEKA challenge22:01 - After the race24:50 - Affiliation

Gyms just don't generate enough revenue from nutrition coaching.Despite the fact that nutrition services naturally link up with fitness coaching, most gyms aren't seeing much movement at the bottom line.The stats: About 74 percent of gyms offer some sort of nutrition coaching, but these services only contribute about 4 percent to gross revenue, on average. That number is far too low, and gym owners are leaving money on the table. Worse, they're missing a golden opportunity to help clients get results faster.Ric Thompson of CrossFit PTC implemented a nutrition-coaching program that benefits his gym in a big way. He created Smart and Simple Nutrition to deliver habits-based coaching, and the company also partners with other gyms to help them generate nutrition revenue.In this episode, Ric talks with Chris Cooper to offer advice on selecting nutrition coaches, onboarding clients, navigating legal restrictions, and building a nutrition program that will create long-term success for clients and business owners.LinksBook a CallGym Owners UnitedSmart and Simple Nutrition0:54 - Why your nutrition program is failing1:21 - Finding the right coach10:00 - How to roll out your nutrition coaching13:55 -Smart and Simple integration16:26 - Legalities18:22 - Real-life example21:45 - Social media and marketing

In the gym business, a client's first 90 days are critical.Do a great job onboarding a new client and you'll likely have an opportunity to change a person's life over a period of years. Do a poor job and your new member might be gone in weeks or months, likely never to return to a gym.To help more people and build a great business, you must have a precise plan to set new clients up for long-term success.In this episode, Two-Brain Business founder and CEO Chris Cooper maps out the exact onboarding process in place at his gym, Catalyst Fitness. Coop will walk you through the operations documents his staff members use to onboard new clients so you understand the entire client journey, including key touch points, measurements and milestones, opportunities for positive reinforcement, and much more.If you want to dramatically improve your gym business quickly, create a client journey and invest time to ensure the first 90 days are perfect. If you do, your members will improve their health and fitness and your business will thrive.LinksBook a CallGym Owners United1:30 – 1. Intro and assessment6:08 – 2. Admit and Affirm9:40 - 3. Activate and Acclimate15:40 - 4. Accomplish18:59 - 5. Adopt and advocate22:20 – Ongoing retention

Is your negative attitude pushing away potential gym clients? Are you turning off your members with social-media rants? Are you trying to impress clients with random fitness knowledge instead of actually listening to people? Do you let the stress of entrepreneurship show in public? Do people think you're more interested in your cell phone than what they're saying? Being likable is incredibly important. You can be the best trainer in the world, but you won't have any clients if people don't want to be around you.Good news: You can become more likable by reducing stress, cultivating positivity and committing to self-improvement.In this episode, Chris Cooper and Mike Warkentin reflect on their own mistakes and share the lessons they've learned about how to be more likable to those they serve. LinksBook a CallGym Owners UnitedThe CALM Model: How to Lead in a CrisisChris Cooper's 10 Tips for Being More Likable Don't Be a Jerk of a Gym Owner1:33 - Stop complaining and shaming5:20 - Social-media traps9:23 - Why you're unlikable14:29 - Hire likable staff18:49 - Find an objective place to vent21:20 - How mentorship helps

Every year, the Two-Brain Summit brings together hundreds of gym owners and coaches for an epic weekend of learning and action, connection and motivation. It's not a sit-and-listen conference. This is an immersive experience for fitness professionals who are ready to do the work and take their careers and businesses to the next level. In this episode, Chris Cooper gives you the lowdown on featured speakers—including Jason Khalipa and Dan Martell—and some special bonuses, including NCFIT workouts and a mix-and-mingle cocktail hour. Here's what's up for gym owners:Connect—Chris CooperBuy Back Your Time—Dan MartellVirtuosity in Business—Jason KhalipaThe Wealthy Gym Owner and Team—Shawn RiderConnect Your Goals With the Players—Karl SolbergThe Link Between Content and Sales—John Franklin Growing and Retaining Staff—Joleen BinghamLegendary Leadership—Andrea SavardEntrepreneurial Maturity—Bonnie SkinnerGoal Reviews: Simple Structure and Process—Karen HazeltonHow to Zero in Your Focus Every Day—Taryn Dubreuil The lineup for fitness coaches and trainers:Connecting Powerful Moments—Peter BrasovanSpartan/DEKA—Yancy CulpHow to Get Clients to Follow Our Advice—Colm O'ReillyHaving Hard Conversations—Brian StrumpCoaching Kids—The Brand X MethodCoach Development: Moving From 7 to 10—Jason KhalipaPerfect Nutrition Client Avatars—Anastasia Bennett         Habits-Based Nutrition—Cynthia FottiSemi-Private Training—Brian BottHundreds of the world's best gym owners and coaches will be in Chicago, Illinois, from June 3 to 4. Join us!LinksBook a CallGym Owners UnitedSummit tickets1:49 - Day 1 speaker lineup11:50 - Day 2 speaker lineup20:09 - Taking action20:59 - Special features

You know the scenario: An athletic gym owner spends a lot of time training for fitness competitions. So what happens to the business? Does it lumber along and eventually crumble because the owner's attention is elsewhere? Or can some owners divide their focus and achieve competition goals while building thriving businesses?Chris Cooper digs into the question today with the help of two gym-owning athletes.Two-Brain mentor Taryn Dubreuil runs CrossFit Function and says "competition" is her middle name. She narrowly missed qualifying for the CrossFit Games back in the day and still trains hard for other competitions.Travis Mayer has competed in the CrossFit Games eight times, he owns CrossFit UNTD, and he's got four kids. Taryn and Travis chat with Coop to give their perspective on building a great business and achieving personal athletic goals. As you can imagine, time management is critical. What do you think? Can a gym owner compete and build a great business at the same time?LinksBook a CallGym Owners United1:27 - Stress4:13 - Taryn Dubreuil's story8:59- Time management16:25 - Case study21:20 - Travis Mayer's story26:14 - Balance34:47 - Advice: staff and systems40:09 - Delegation and staffing

If you wanted to kill your gym, what would you do?This can be a helpful question to ask yourself. Here's why: Your answers will highlight paths you should avoid at all costs, and you might even discover you're actually doing some things that are hurting your business. From there, you can make corrections, take new actions and double-down on tactics that are actually driving growth. In this episode, Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper does the exercise himself and reveals the four things he would do if he wanted to stop growth dead at his gym. Get this: Chris absentmindedly did all four things at some point during his early career as a gym owner. Review Coop's list, make your own, then focus on the actions that will measurably improve your gym business fast.LinksBook a CallGym Owners United0:47 - Turn off media and marketing2:23 - Repel people5:24 - Abdicate responsibility7:35 - Stop focusing on retention

Darren Thornton owns Defy Functional Fitness, where he's worked hard to generate average revenue per member of more than USD$370 per month. That earned him a place on Two-Brain's Top 10 leaderboard for February 2023. In this episode, Darren spills his secrets. He'll talk about what he offers at his business in Toronto, Canada, and why his clients find it so valuable. Get this: Darren doesn't spend a ton of money on marketing. But his gym is full of high-value clients because he uses a tried-and-tested referral strategy that generates hot leads regularly. His closing rate for sales? It's an incredible 80 percent. If your average revenue per member could use a boost, Darren and host Mike Warkentin have a few things you can start doing right now to drive the number up.LinksBook a CallGym Owners United5:05 - Prescriptions and fundamentals11:15 - Adding personal training22:46 - Affinity Marketing27:05 - Things you can do today to improve ARM