Run a Profitable Gym

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. 

You've made it. Your business has survived a handful of years, you're not worried about the rent and you're making a comfortable living. What's next? It's time to level up again—it's time to become a Tinker. Two-Brain's Tinker mastermind program brings together successful gym owners who are taking that next step: making investments, expanding their assets, and growing their personal wealth. It's a non-competitive environment of learning and sharing that makes everyone better—faster. Two-Brain mentor Jeff Smith runs the Tinker program, and here, he chats with Chris Cooper about what it means to be a Tinker and how to get there.Links:Gym Owners UnitedReal Estate: The Secret to Wealth for Gym OwnersTimeline:1:20 – Going from Farmer to Tinker.6:49 – The value of imposter syndrome.11:21 – Lessons learned from the challenges of Farmer Phase.16:23 – How much time do you need to be a Tinker? 21:33 – How more gym owners are becoming millionaires faster.24:30 – The advantages of being in the Tinker mastermind group. 26:02 – Aspirations vs. action.

Today's the day you're gonna finally dig into Facebook ads manager. Definitely.  So you sit down and log in—but look! You've got five notifications! Better check those out. A few clicks later and you're lost in a sea of half-written messages, 11 new tabs, and a video about puppies.How on Earth do you get focused and actually DO all the things on your to-do list? Chris Cooper will tell you.Links:Gym Owners UnitedFree ToolsTimeline:00:24 – You don’t have ADD.1:10 – Pick your daily focus hour.2:39 – A walk through Mick’s focus hour.4:50 – Take the opportunity to practice focus.

Your gym's been growing and the business is stable—and you're sick of wearing all the hats. That means it's time to hire a GM, right? Possibly. But probably not. If you're not strategic about when and how you hire a GM, you'll end up right back where you started: doing all the things anyway. But just because it's not time to roll out the red carpet for a GM quite yet doesn't mean you have to keep doing everything yourself. Here's Chris Cooper on exactly how to tell if you're ready to hire a GM, how to get there if you're not, and what to pay them when you are.Links:Gym Owners HandbookWomen In Fitness Business podcastGym Owners UnitedTimeline:00:54 – Climbing the value ladder before you hire a GM.3:28 – A GM’s job is to keep things the same.4:20 – The best coaches don’t necessarily make the best GMs.5:21 – How to compensate a GM.6:46 – When to hire a GM.11:45 – The biggest mistake gym owners make when hiring a GM.