Run a Profitable Gym

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

What do we want from life?Misha Saidov has pared it down to an acronym - FERMI: Flow (the experience of optimal feeling of engagement in the moment), Engagement, Relaxation, Meaning and Ideal. Ultimately, people want to feel better. As a life coach, he offers experience which serves to help alter their perspective, and therefore how they feel in their lives.In this episode, Misha and Chris Cooper discuss the idea of emergence, the difference between dreams and goals, limiting beliefs, moving from non-desired outcome to desired outcome, and how to change your behaviour.Ultimately, life coaching is about helping someone create a life that is worth living; gym owners can see a positive return by integrating these principles into their coaching practice. 0:24 - The New FERMI Paradox13:25 - Dreams vs. Goals22:25 - What is Life Coaching?30:33 - What is Metacognitive Programming?37:54 - Misha’s Process for building Life CoachesThink Meta

Entrepreneurial confidence is key to sustaining success - but it's something many gym owners overlook. In this episode, psychotherapist and executive coach Bonnie Skinner breaks down exactly what entrepreneurial confidence is, how a lack of it shows up in your life, and what reps you should be doing to build that muscle. Making a concerted effort to boost your entrepreneurial confidence can result in a better mindset overall; this spills over into both your personal and professional life and will help you grow your gym business. https://www.yourmentalfitness.ca/https://www.facebook.com/groups/mentalfitness4ceos1:30 - What is entrepreneurial confidence?5:56 - Common areas of insecurity8:59 - Confidence vs. Competence11:21 - Overcompensating for lack of confidence12:48 - How personal narratives become your SOPs14:47 - Self-assessment21:28 - Rate increases and how to deal25:48 - How to build confidence

For decades, CrossFit gyms have programmed workouts according to a prescription: the Rx. With this style of programming, each workout has a singular goal. How athletes execute the workout might vary, but the goal is the same. But what if not all your athletes have the same goal? That's why Brooks DiFiore created Beyond RXD, a programming system that provides workouts and briefs customized according to client avatar. Here, he joins Chris Cooper to explain why and how it gets clients results while boosting retention. Links:Beyond RXDGym Owners UnitedTimeline:2:27 – What’s a client avatar? 3:18 – What does Beyond RXD programming look like? 6:35 – Programming by avatar. 8:53 – How to keep track of client goals in a class setting.12:59 – What about cherry-picking? 14:27 – Implementing the system: How long does it take? 16:30 – The retention connection. 18:09 – A fresh take on benchmark workouts.25:55 – Applying Beyond RXD to groups vs. one-on-one training.

When Ameet Shah first introduced Wodify to the CrossFit community, he had his work cut out for him. Convincing a bunch of gritty, low-tech fitness die-hards to ditch the whiteboard and put up a TV screen was a tall order. But he did it — and today Wodify serves more than 5,000 gyms around the world. Ameet joined Chris Cooper to talk about his journey from crab-sales website designer (yes, you read that right) to tech start-up founder to business leader. Links: WodifyGym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:01 – From MBA to ilovecrabs.com.6:23 – Starting his first company.7:42 – The birth of Wodify. 12:05 – Convincing people to trade the whiteboard for a digital tracker.16:55 – Learning from a $750,000 mistake.19:34 – Funding Wodify’s creation. 22:03 – Providing high quality with low overhead. 24:21 – Developing Wodify’s culture. 27:17 – Admitting mistakes.33:21 – Communicating with customers, overselling, and the product roadmap.40:58 – Why Wodify walked away from a partnership with CrossFit, LLC.45:22 – From entrepreneur to boss to leader.

When the entrepreneurship bug hits, it hits hard — and some gym owners find that owning a gym isn't enough. There's so much else to explore: retail, supplements, gear — even coffee. But is it possible to run multiple profitable businesses? And if so, how do you pull it off? For the answers to those questions and more, Chris Cooper turned to Danny Lehr, owner and founder of CrossFit Excel and the wildly successful Caffeine and Kilos.Links:CrossFit ExcelCaffeine and KilosGym Owners UnitedTimeline:2:13 – How Danny become a gym owner. 5:12 – The birth of Caffeine and Kilos. 11:05 – Caffeine and Kilos today. 14:04 – Where Caffeine and Kilos’ sales come from. 17:01 – Building the Caffeine and Kilos brand while also growing a gym. 23:31 – Running both businesses at once. 25:56 – Building systems and hiring the right people. 30:07 – What’s next for Caffeine and Kilos. 33:51 – What to consider if you’re considering a second business.40:07 – Knowing the value of your time. 42:55 – How to get involved with Caffeine and Kilos. 

Brendon Collins has always had the itch to help people change their lives.At one time, he did it as a pastor. Then, he did it as a fitness coach and gym owner. Now, he's helping people find their way as a life coach touching on all of the above. How'd he get there, and what, exactly, does being a life coach look like? Here, he chats with Coop about all that and more.Links: Chat with BrendonTransformation AcademyCertified Life Coach InstituteInternational Coaching FederationTimeline:00:41 – Becoming a gym owner in one fateful night. 4:55 – Post-pandemic weariness and getting the passion back.10:12 – What life coaching isn’t. 13:45 – Life coaches: not here to solve your problems.16:42 – Health and fitness meet life coaching.19:05 – Finding a specialty. 22:39 – Revisiting spirituality. 25:56 – On being a connector. 29:43 – Marketing oneself as a life coach. 33:14 – The credentialing process. 35:15 – Certs vs. results.