Run a Profitable Gym

When you were new to your sport or discipline, you probably made a lot of mistakes. But what was the key to getting better? More reps, yes — but more importantly, better reps. To improve, you had to acknowledge what you were doing incorrectly and do something different. The same goes for entrepreneurship. You're gonna make mistakes. The key is to learn from them and do better — and not get stuck doing something that doesn't work just because you've already invested time and money in it. Chris Cooper is not immune to mistakes; Two-Brain Business is built on the mistakes he's made and learned from. Here, he shares the four simple steps you need to take after making a mistake to improve the outcome the next time around. Links:Incite TaxDrink O2Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:37 – The sunk-costs trap.6:01 – Only make new mistakes.6:59 – Never repeat mistakes.8:15 – Use trial timelines.9:50 – Determine what success looks like in advance.13:01 – Use the impact filter.16:50 – “Make mistakes, make ‘em fast, and learn from every one.”

Your business will never grow if you spend all your time coaching classes and mopping floors. So unless you want to do that for the rest of your life, you've got to make time to work on your business instead of in it. Chris Cooper explains how.Links:The 10-Hour CEOHow To Optimize Your DayDriven NutritionGym Lead MachineGym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:00 – How Coop turned a crazy job into a great business.7:04 – Start with one hour per day. 8:00 – Creating time, space, and capital.9:57 – The principles at work: Parkinson’s law and the Pareto principle.11:08 – Free resources to take you from Founder to Farmer phase.

Nyan Cat. Doge. Charlie Bit My Finger. If all you think of when you hear "NFT" are funny internet things that inexplicably sell for tens of thousands of dollars, you need to listen to this podcast. Web 3.0 — in which creators license and sell their work on their own on the blockchain — is on the horizon, says Two-Brain Business founder Chris Cooper.  And with it comes some great potential opportunities for gym owners. Links:Forever FierceArboxGym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:10 – The dawn of Web 3.0.4:41 – Gym owners and NFTs: Programming.7:39 – NFTs: eliminating the middleman.8:45 – Selling pull-up progressions as NFTs.10:13 – An example from the Two-Brain community.12:33 – Who stands to win big with NFTs.

In the fitness industry, voices will always say, “This worked for me, and it will definitely work for everyone!” Those are the “n = 1 experts.” And maybe their ideas will work for you. But their advice carries risk:What if they’re over-reporting results?What if they’re under-reporting downside?What if their idea only worked once?What if their idea only worked in their gym?What if their idea only worked with their clients?What if their idea will stop working over time?What if they’re incentivized to sell you on the idea?Worse are the n = 0 “biz coaches” who will sell you an idea they haven’t tested themselves. But data? Data eliminates risk and silences those without proof. Data also makes great things possible: Two-Brain created six first-time millionaires in 2021. Real millionaires. Not the shell-game success stories who say “I made $100,000 at my gym last month and expect it to continue forever!” Instead, we helped real gym owners grow their net worths to over $1 million.Our 2021 report contains information from 14,162 gyms. It is the largest and most comprehensive data set ever collected in our industry. It’s the info gym owners need right now.Links:Download the free State of the Fitness Industry 2021 reportArboxPushPressWodifyIncite TaxZen PlannerGym Lead MachineGym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:04 – Why the data matters.4:38 – Where our data comes from.6:22 – Length of time in business.7:13 – How many clients the average microgym has and their avatars.9:23 – Who grew in 2021.13:43 – How much gyms are charging.15:38 – Where the revenue comes from.16:14 – How long members are staying.17:24 – What gyms are selling.23:50 – CrossFit Games Open participation rates.25:16 – Staffing and staff compensation.27:46 – How much gym owners are paying themselves.30:17 – What differentiates high earners from low earners.31:07 – Gym owner hours worked.33:51 – Profitability and square footage.34:45 – Profitability by sector.35:49 – Business debt.36:11 – Profit and post-COVID bounceback.37:15 – Why we made this guide — and are giving it away for free.

What do you tell your clients about the last few weeks of the year?  Do you tell them "Eh, forget it; eat all the trash you want and start fresh next year"? No! You teach them to take advantage of those last few weeks to keep working on their fitness and start the New Year on a roll. The same concept applies to revenue. Just because the holidays are upon us and the end of the year looms near doesn't mean your 2021 earning potential is capped.  Try one—or all!—of Coop's top-five tactics to bring in extra revenue before you close the year's books.Links:"Nutrition Challenges Are Dead. Kickstarts Are the Answer.""How to Run Specialty Courses Every Day of the Year"Affinity Marketing guideBook a Free Call with a MentorDrink O2Forever FierceBeyond the WhiteboardGym Owners UnitedTimeline:2:42 – The retail pre-sale.4:10 – Write a “top gifts for …” blog post.6:43 – Run a “save-your-spot-for-January” promotion.7:59 – Host a Bring-a-Friend holiday party.9:21 – Run a January kickstart. 

This episode of Two-Brain Radio is short but powerful—just like the tactics it's about.Tune in and learn how to make more money and improve retention with 12 simple text messages.Links:FOMO Alert: Three Minutes for Marketing (and Retention)"Building $86,000 Monthly Revenue Through Retention (and Sales)" with John HeringerHow to Fix the Weak Links in Your Marketing ChainTwo-Brain ProgrammingIncite TaxGym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:32 – You’re gonna want to hit “pause.”4:13 – Why it’s more important to be clear than unique. 5:53 – The three-minute drill to make more money. 7:05 – Why it works.

The gym down the road from you isn't doing so hot. One day, you get a call from the owner: "Do you wanna buy my gym?"There's a lot to consider—more than just gross revenue and client headcount.  How profitable is it? What mistakes and liabilities would you be acquiring? Do you actually need to buy that gym to get its clients? Two-Brain Business founder Chris Cooper breaks it down step-by-step with exactly what to consider and how to crunch the numbers before you buy—or sell—a gym.Links:Driven NutritionTwo-Brain CoachingFree ToolsGym Owners UnitedTimeline:5:36 – How to determine what a gym is worth.7:38 – Equipment and assets.10:32 – Accounting for liabilities. 14:22 – How it can all go wrong.15:57 – Why you should interview the coaches before you buy.17:13 – Talk to the seed clients.18:39 – Buying out a partner.20:01 – The importance of non-competes.21:49 – The question you need to ask yourself before you buy a gym.

Ever seen an ad promising "exponential growth" with one easy trick? "Buy this lead program and grow your gym exponentially!"It's a catchy buzzphrase, but true exponential growth—growth that continues to grow and expand on itself—requires intention. Here, Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper shares how to make referral marketing an active process to achieve truly exponential growth.Links:Level MethodDrink O2Affinity Marketing Cheat Sheet"Help First"Gym Owners UnitedTimeline:1:01 – Defining “exponential growth.”2:16 – What exponential growth looks like in the gym business.4:00 – Create a culture of referral.5:08 – How to ask for referrals.9:29 – Play the long game.10:57 – Using events to bring in new clients.15:07 – The events that don’t work.18:18 – Why you shouldn’t trade discounts for referrals.20:24 – How discounts for long-term contracts hurt your business.

The three most important stats when it comes to marketing are these: Set rates (how many appointments you book), show rates (how many people actually show up to those appointments) and close rates (how many of those people actually buy something in those appointments). In October, Kyle McGough of D1 Training Columbus led Two-Brain Business clients in all three. Here's how he did it. Links:D1 Training ColumbusGym Lead MachineForever FierceGym Owners UnitedTimeline:2:22 – The challenges of being a “legacy” franchise.5:24 – Flipping the system from high volume, low value to one-on-one relationships and high-value sales.8:51 – Merging mentorship and the franchise model. 12:33 – Franchise plus autonomy: The best of both worlds. 15:27 – Implementing Two-Brain practices in to the D1 model. 17:40 – The prescriptive model meets free trial workout.23:14 – The intro and consultative process.24:28 – One good month follows another: A peek at November’s numbers.27:25 – How Kyle gets so many leads — and how he gets them to show up. 33:19 – Who has time for all that lead nurture? 36:14 – The secret to closing. 39:11 – Finding the sweet spot between mentorship and the franchise model. 

You're an entrepreneur: You've got ideas, you're creative, and you want to do things your own way. We get that. But don't let your independent spirit cost you time and money.Instead, ask yourself the same three questions Chris Cooper asks himself before he tackles any new business venture—and watch as you save gobs of resources.Links:Chalk It ProArboxGym Owners UnitedFree ToolsTimeline:1:51 – “Who has solved this before me?”5:41 – “Who has solved this better than anyone else?”7:50 – “What’s the average solution?”10:10 – How to use the answers to those three questions to improve your business.