When Matthew Becker first opened Industrial Athletics in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he already had another full-time job — so it didn't really matter if he never saw a dime from it. But when he went all in on gym ownership — and when he finally started acting on his mentor's advice — he realized he'd been throwing away serious money. Here's how Matthew increased his net owner benefit — all the ways in which a gym benefits the gym owner financially — from $250 a month to a whopping 12 grand. Links:Industrial AthleticsDrink O2Beyond the WhiteboardThe Gear You (Don't) Need to Start a GymGym Owners UnitedTimeline:3:08 – Starting with $250. 9:14 – The game-changer that led to increased Net Owner Benefit. 14:44 – Pulling the trigger on high-ticket sales. 18:19 – Increasing revenue with hybrid programs.22:56 – Avoiding unnecessary expenses. 27:02 – Another take on climbing the value ladder.32:46 – Make a plan to distinguish your business. 37:08 – Invest in website and social-media expertise. 40:03 – Standardize and systematize. 44:17 – Calculate when to work in your business and when to work on it. 

Sevan Matossian, former media director for CrossFit Inc., shares his journey from homelessness to happiness, his accidental path to becoming a filmmaker, and the changes in CrossFit. They discuss the origins of CrossFit as an experiment, media misinterpretation, financial independence, and finding happiness through detachment.

On Aug. 12,  Chris Cooper spoke with Eric Roza, CrossFit's new owner and CEO. Among other things, the pair discussed CrossFit's new Affiliate Playbook and other plans to support CrossFit affiliate owners. But doesn't that sound like competition for Two-Brain Business? Here, Chris Cooper addresses that issue and more, including how knowledge isn't the problem, the difference between anecdotes and data, and why gym owners don't need to be afraid of a little competition. Links:Chalk It ProDriven NutritionGym Owners UnitedEric Roza: How CrossFit LLC Can Help Gym Owners MostThe Goldfish (Or How I Learned to Be OK With Bottom-Feeders)Timeline:1:31 – The elephant in the room: CrossFit’s Affiliate Playbook vs. Two-Brain Business.3:15 – Knowledge isn’t the problem. 5:51 – Anecdotes vs. data. 11:14 – Mentorship vs. peer mentorship. 14:22 – When the competition attacks you. 16:51 – Be the best, attract the best. 

Have you owned your gym for years but are still wearing all the hats and pulling 12-hour days? Maybe you're five, even 10 years in, but your business isn't any more profitable than it was the first two years. If that sounds like you, Chris Cooper has some tough news for you: You don't actually have 10 years of experience. You have one year of experience repeated 10 times. You've got to do things differently, and it starts with making time to work on your business, not in it. Here, Coop gives a week-by-week, hour-by-hour roadmap you can follow to move your business forward.Links:AGuardArbox"Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief""Help First"Two-Brain CoachingGym Owners UnitedTimeline:2:06 – Time is a non-renewable resource.5:34 – Write down your Perfect Day.7:12 – Do your services, audience and their goals align? 9:45 – Talk to your staff.10:05 – Get your business out of your head and onto paper.11:05 – Write detailed job descriptions for every role in your business.12:01 – What’s the top revenue-generating service you’re not currently offering?12:37 – Consolidate your best practices.13:28 – Write staff contracts.14:26 – Invite 2-3 new clients to try your new service.14:38 – Evaluate your staff.15:22 – Crunch the numbers.17:22 – Lead, assure and inspire.18:32 – Evaluate your intake process.20:09 – Dump another role off your plate. 21:05 – Bright spots and new revenue sources.22:21 – Tell your first client story.23:18 – Start thinking like a CEO.26:05 – Collaborate with other service professionals.26:26 – Start an email newsletter.29:22 – Create content.31:07 – It’s better with a mentor.32:34 – If you want different results, you have to take different action.

Do you have trouble turning off your brain? Spend your precious relaxation time ruminating about that tough conversation or fretting about the future? There's a reason for that: Your amygdala's in hyperdrive.  So how do you get it to chill out? Try Chris Cooper's go-to exercise.Links:Level MethodTwo-Brain ProgrammingGym Owners United"Think Like a Monk"Notes:1:23 – Why you can’t stop worrying.5:43 – Get present with this simple exercise.8:47 – What to do when you get distracted again.

Most gym owners know how to coach a good squat. But what about building a long-term platform of wealth that sustains you, your family and even your community for generations to come? Chris Cooper breaks down the most important financial objectives of each stage of entrepreneurship and how to meet them — so that your business gives you a legacy, not just a job. Links:"Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief"Incite TaxTwo-Brain CoachingGym Owners UnitedTimeline:0:56 – The four stages of entrepreneurship: an overview.3:39 – Revenue goals — and how to meet them — in the Founder phase.4:50 – Farmer phase: Income and net owner benefit.8:10 – Tinker phase: Wealth (freedom of time and money). 10:06 – Thief phase: Impact.

Adam Robbins owns DNA Fitness in Cutler Bay, Florida, and he was on not one — not two — but THREE of Two-Brain Business' leaderboards for sales and marketing in June. He's got both affinity marketing and cold-lead conversion down to a science with an 80% close rate. And it's not just him — Adam teaches his staff to sell by sharing resources, meeting one on one and role-playing.Here, he joins Two-Brain Radio host Mike Warkentin to share the secrets of his success.Links:DNA FitnessBeyond the WhiteboardDrink O2YouTubeGym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:41 – How Adam uses content to get more leads.7:20 – Guerilla marketing.12:32 – Keeping show rates high.18:24 – Affinity marketing and relationship-building.24:48 – Training staff to sell.29:13 – How mentorship made the difference.

The CrossFit affiliate community has endured a lot of tumult over the last two years. Now, after surviving a global pandemic and watching leadership change hands at the CrossFit Home Office, affiliate owners want to know: What's next? In this episode, Chris Cooper goes straight to the source in an exclusive interview with Eric Roza, CrossFit's new owner and CEO. Tune in to learn about Eric's approach to rebuilding trust in the brand and for details about how CrossFit LLC is working to increase the value of affiliation by providing resources to help gym owners grow and sustain their businesses.Links:Book a free call with a Two-Brain mentorFree ToolsGym Owners UnitedTimeline:0:40 – Rebuilding trust as CrossFit’s new owner and CEO.3:21 – Where CrossFit LLC can help affiliate owners most.5:08 – “Tools, not rules.”9:43 – Why CrossFit Affiliate Programming? 12:50 – Getting people in the door and keeping them there.15:52 – What is CrossFit’s new OnRamp program? 18:18 – Re-engaging the affiliate community. 24:01 – The CrossFit affiliate playbook. 25:49 – What to expect regarding affiliation fees.29:01 – What the CrossFit Foundation’s up to now.34:56 – The state of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at CrossFit.36:12 – Balancing the mission of CrossFit with revenue needs. 37:51 – Reflections after one year in.

So you've got a strong gym business. Maybe you've opened a second or even a third location — and now you want to go even bigger. How do you turn a couple home-spun gyms into a fully scaled operation taking your town by storm? It's simple. Literally. Here, Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper explains how simplicity is key when scaling up your business and exactly what steps to take before you expand.Links:Gym Lead MachineForever FierceGym Owners UnitedTimeline:2:07 – What successful franchisors have in common.7:14 – How to scale up your business.8:59 – Who not to hire. 9:36 – Systemize your operations. 10:00 – Systemize your sales process.11:12 – Systemize your marketing. 12:57 – Scale your staff.15:45 – Simplicity scales.

There's a gym-business guru around every corner of the internet trying to sell you their program. The problem is that most of those "gurus" don't own gyms and have no experience in the industry — and you can't afford to spend all your time and money doing their experimentation for them.That's our job. At Two-Brain, we try all the latest tricks, techniques and resources for you. We test them, track the results, and tell you whether they work and who they work best for. Here, Chris Cooper shares what we found when we tested whether Clubhouse and Sell By Chat help gym owners close more leads.Links:"Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief"Chalk It ProDriven NutritionGym Owners UnitedTimeline:00:48 – The lie entrepreneurs tell themselves.2:36 – Why testing is more important now than ever. 4:24 – Testing at Two-Brain.6:22 – Two-Brain’s review: Clubhouse7:39 – Two-Brain’s review: Sell By Chat13:07 – How an iPad can help you close more sales.17:54 – The question you need to ask before trying the next big thing.