Run a Profitable Gym

As a gym owner, you'll likely face some issues when it comes to your lease. Three of the most important elements: rent (including CAM expenses), use of premises, and additional costs you're responsible for through "triple net" leases (insurance, maintenance, etc.). How do you negotiate a better lease for your gym business? Is your rent increase justified? What happens when your use of the premises—dropping plates, loud music—becomes a problem for other tenants? We pose these questions and more to Gym Lawyers founder Matthew Becker. Matthew—a gym owner himself—gives you tips for covering your bases and protecting yourself as you navigate the tricky terrain of gym leases.Links"Breaking the Sound Barrier" by Chris Cooper2:15 - The "big 3": rent, use of premises, and what you're responsible for3:07 - What comprises rent 9:08 - Base rent plus fees12:52 - Recourse if base rent goes up 14:55 - Use of premises18:06 - Noise issues23:39 - "Everything is negotiable"27:07 - Protecting yourself32:27 - Cost of legal fees

Every successful entrepreneur needs to master four habits in order to make  $1 million, $10 million or more: discipline, respect, influence and behavior.  You need to do one thing each day to grow your business before you do anything else. You need to respect others and teach everyone around you to behave the same way.You need to share your mission every single day with people inside and outside your business.You need to identify your heroes and take the actions they would take.These four habits put together—discipline, respect, influence and behavior—will create the impact you want to have on the world.1:06 - Habit 1: discipline2:56 - Habit 2: respect3:43 - Habit 3: influence6:45 - Habit 4: behavior

As a gym owner, your method and your model will likely evolve over time. Your method should be "client centric": It should be based on what your clients need. Your model is there to give clients your service in the way they want to buy it. At Chris Cooper's gym, Catalyst, the Prescriptive Model guides the business. The prescription changes over time to serve the exact needs of clients, and the model reflects that. Your method might be Pilates or yoga or CrossFit—but the "meta" model should always be prescriptive: tailored to the needs of the client. The Prescriptive Model helps you provide clients with 10-out-of-10 service now and evolve to keep doing that forever.2:10 - Focused strength story: parking lot barbells4:19 - Reaching the limits of the model7:37 - The method and the model11:47 - Adapting your method and your model 13:38 - Maintaining a client-centered approach16:58 - Striking a balance

What's holding you back from reaching the next level with your gym business? Check your bias.In this episode, Chris Cooper goes over the common biases that interfere with our growth. In identifying these blind spots, you can make a plan to keep them in check and take positive action with the things that count. 3:14 - Confirmation bias and novelty bias4:45 - Busy-ness bias6:27 - Multi-tasking bias7:00 - Blame9:35 - Ego

Acquiring more knowledge is not going to solve your problems; it's actually a trap that stops you from taking action. Knowledge is not the solution; getting a mentor is. As a gym owner, you might be furiously studying as much as you can when it comes to business. But how much of the information are you actually acting on? A great mentor works because they give you a clear focus: Do this one thing right now. Mentorship brings 10x the value of your initial investment. Top performers in every field will not waste their time trying to figure it out when they don't have to. For most gym owners, the solution you need is focus, not more knowledge.Talk to us about mentorship: https://twobrainbusiness.com/book-a-call/3:36 - The trap of more info, less action5:33 - The ROI on mentorship8:25 - The importance of 1-1 mentorship from people who've been there before10:16 - Why you need to book a call with our Two-Brain team now

In this episode, Two-Brain Business founder Chris Cooper breaks down the tweaks you can make to your gym business today to improve your ROI tomorrow. From staffing audits to maximizing your use of space to analyzing your software, you need to take a clear-eyed approach to assess your expenses and implement the measures that will bring the most bang for your buck in your gym business. You can't cut your way to wealth, but you can definitely improve your return on the money you invest; in this podcast, Chris will give you the tools to get started.3:23 - Measuring return on space7:55 - Gauging return on staff: contribution margin12:10 - Getting more value from professional services14:36 - Evaluating software and ROI20:13 - Measuring value of equipment - how will this make me money?24:00 - Pre-sales and supplements

How much content should I be creating? Is Facebook advertising dead? Should I hire a GM? What about supplements?In this podcast, Two-Brain Business founder and CEO Chris Cooper answers your burning questions on a slew of topics. Got a question for Chris? Email him at chris@twobrainbusiness.com or post it in the Gym Owners United Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gymownersonly0:58 - How much content is too much?4:59 - Is Facebook advertising dead?7:33 - Should I hire a marketing agency?11:30 - Should I hire a general manager?15:24 - How do I buy a building?18:00 - Should I sell supplements?21:05 - What should my core programs be?

"Help First" is the title of one of Chris Cooper's most quoted books—but what does "help first" really mean? Does this mean "help (for free) always"?In this episode, Chris shares what a meaningful approach to Help First looks like. You want to get the client to a point where they're ready to purchase your service, not just to benefit from your free advice and never sign up. Chris maps out exactly how to apply Help First in your gym business in order to benefit both your prospective client and your gym."Help First" on Amazon 3:00 - The intention of Help First5:00 - Giving too much for free6:00 - Steps to a productive Help First approach11:41 - The problem of being overly generous13:48 - Get people in your program to get results

You might be the best gym around but no one will know about you unless you tell them. In his mentorship practice, Chris Cooper stresses the need for his clients to produce meaningful, consistent content in order to get and maintain clients. But where to start? In this podcast, Chris lays out a content model that will get you in the practice of regularly producing content. In this clear, step-by-step guide, you'll learn what you must do each day to produce great content that resonates with your existing clients and attracts new ones.Book a free call2:50 - Publish 5x per week on a platform that you own3:23 - Motivation Monday: Give people a reason to come to your gym4:13 - Teaching Tuesday: Teach something helpful (meal prep, how to do a squat, etc)5:00 - "Who" Wednesday: Who is coming to your gym? Tell their story6:15 - Thank-you Thursday: Gratitude post8:00 - Bright Spot Friday

New gym owner Jason Tebedo was able to open his doors at CrossFit Angier on launch day with a whopping 83 members. In this episode, he dishes the secrets to his opening-day success. Working with his Two-Brain Mentor as part of the StartUp program, Jason laid out his foundation in advance and got the right plan in place to acquire and keep members from the get-go. Jason breaks down what exactly he did to set up his Founders Club, social events, 1:1 nutrition counseling, social media marketing, No Sweat Intro system and more. LinksCrossFit Gym Business Plan2:06 - Founders Club5:22 - Getting new clients and client avatar7:33 - First steps and mistakes14:53 - Two-Brain resources19:27 - Leasing and finding the right space23:00 - Setting rates27:01 - Staffing and programming