It's the end of the month, and you've got a little nugget left over. Awesome! You can get that air bike you've been salivating over for so long! But is that really the best use for the extra cash? In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Chris Cooper explains the difference between expenses and investments and how to spend money in ways that will actually give you a measurable return.Links:Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:52 – Expenses vs. investments. 4:47 – Drawing a clear path from money spent to ROI.

Dane McCarthy owns West Village Athletic in New York City. He signed up for mentorship with Two-Brain Business only looking for some casual tidbits and content suggestions.What he got was a mentor dedicated to helping him overhaul his business—and 80 new clients in the first 30 days.Here's how.Links:West Village AthleticsGym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:18 – Starting RampUp out of sheer anger.3:34 – Revamping the intake process.4:56 – The power of the sales binder.6:17 – What’s the deal with squads?9:51 – Seeking mentorship.11:14 – When he knew it was working.13:03 – Conquering the fear of the rate increase.15:56 – Making it in Manhattan.18:13 – Getting staff on board with changes.19:36 – Creating a staff playbook.23:37 – Looking to the future: Making more money with more services.28:14 – The cost of mentorship: Is it worth it? 

"Your business will not rise to the level of your marketing. It will fall to the level of your systems." — Chris Cooper No matter how cutting-edge your marketing funnels may be, your business will fall to the level of your systems. There are six systems that you need for your business to thrive — and here's exactly what they look like. Links:Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:2:07 – You need a self-payment system. 3:46 – You need a marketing and sales system.6:36 – Earning more per client.8:38 – Retention.11:49 – Ascending yourself.13:28 – Improving ROI.14:46 – The five audits.

Mike Turnquist has done it all. He's sold million-dollar homes. He's lost more than 100 lb. He's opened a CrossFit gym—and has another one ready to go with an appetite for a third.Before Mike opened his second location, he tripled his monthly revenue at the first. Now, he's ready to launch Gym No. 2 with systems, staff, and even some members ready to go from Day 1. Here's how.Links:Start a GymProfit First for MicrogymsGym Owners UnitedTimeline:3:12 – Helping build a gym—and then buying it.7:38 – Tripling revenue with the Profit First model.8:38 – Eyes on another and biding his time.12:06 – Starting with a blank slate.13:09 – Dividing staff and time between two gyms.15:14 – A jumpstart on membership with the Founders Club.19:59 – From selling million-dollar mansions to hundred-dollar gym memberships.21:46 – The magic of onboarding.24:23 – The power of systems.26:19 – What you need most before opening a second gym.

If you follow Two-Brain Business on social media, YouTube, TwoBrainBusiness.com or even this very podcast, you may have noticed a pattern: We want to make gym owners millionaires. But why? Have we lost sight of what really matters—saving and changing lives through fitness? Absolutely not. It's because of that very mission—your mission—that we want you to make more money. We want your gym to survive for the long haul and support you and your family well into your golden years when you might not want to coach that 4:30-a.m. class or mop the floors at 9 every night. Financial freedom is not greed. It's an opportunity. Links:Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:00:16 – Coop gets you—because he is you. 2:35 – Why Two-Brain Business talks so much about money. 3:40 – How much money you need to make to live the life you want. 5:31 – Why we want you to make more than you need. 7:25 – The mistake gym owners make with their money—and what to do instead. 9:46 – It’s about your future. 

Retention is the core of your business: Keeping clients longer means you're not constantly at the mercy of the marketing flywheel. So what keeps clients around? It's not great programming or coaching. It's not great community. It's not even great results. All those things are necessary, but they're not sufficient to keep clients for the long haul. Here's what is.Links:Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:05 – The biggest retention myths.3:23 – Getting to the 50-yard line with the prescriptive model.4:45 – One-on-one onboarding to the 70-yard line.5:56 – The power of the triad.7:33 – How referrals keep both parties longer.9:10 – The final five yards: the finishing touches.9:59 – Consistency over time.

You opened your own gym to get away from red tape and bureaucracy, not to make more rules. So why would you set up a bunch of freedom-limiting systems for your staff? Because systems actually give you more freedom: freedom from decision fatigue, freedom to scale your business, and freedom to focus on the things that really matter. Here's Coop on how building systems for things as minor as the music you play in your gym has the power to make or break your business.Links:Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:09 – Systems matter—even if they’re just about the music in your gym.5:12 – Systems prevent decision fatigue.7:13 – Systems scale your business.

Have you fallen prey to the technician's curse? That is, do you think the more credentials you have, the better coach you are and the better your business will do? It's not that simple. "Being good at your job is necessary but insufficient to have the impact that you're trying to have," Chris Cooper says.Here's what clients really care about. Links:Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:20 – What clients actually care about. 3:14 – Being a great trainer isn’t enough. 

Functional-fitness facilities, especially CrossFit gyms, are not known for their machines. "We are the machines!" is a catchphrase touted by many. But at CrossFit Justice in Milford, Michigan, athletes are bringing back the tech—not via elliptical, but with heart-rate monitors. It's not all that different from the "classic" CrossFit workouts you might be used to. But at CrossFit Justice, you're more likely to find athletes dutifully responding to heart-rate-driven coach cues to get the right stimulus for the workout—and less likely to find someone puking in the corner. Two-Brain Radio host Mike Warkentin sat down with CrossFit Justice owner Chris Follick to get the details on how heart-rate training works and how it benefits the affiliate as a sales and retention tool.Links:CrossFit JusticeGym Owners UnitedTimeline:2:46 – How CrossFit Justice came upon heart-rate training. 4:01 – What it costs to implement heart-rate training in the gym.6:42 – What a typical class looks like.9:03 – Coaching an athlete via heart-rate training.11:07 – Benefits for the clients.12:36 – Benefits for the business.13:46 – How heart-rate training yields improved performance. 15:11 – Selling heart-rate training to new clients.17:44 – Selling it to the old-school crowd.21:10 – How the shift changed the membership at CrossFit Justice. 22:17 – Not another Orangetheory.24:29 – What to expect if you shift your gym to heart-rate training.

On the surface, selling open gym and 24/7 keycard access sounds like a great way to make some extra money. But in reality, it's more likely to cost you—now and in the future. It presents issues with liability, security and safety, all the while limiting your earning potential (no one's going to upgrade from access to personal training, but many won't hesitate to downgrade). Not convinced? Here's Coop on what happened when he tried selling access, what the top-performing gym owners have to say about it, and how to decide if it's worth the trouble.Links:Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:16 – Lessons from Coop’s past mistakes selling access.4:58 – It costs more to sell access than selling access brings in.6:03 – Downgrades and weed clients.13:13 – Top-performing gym owners on the 24/7 question.15:52 – The added risks and problems with keycard access.18:24 – Still tempted? Do the math.