Run a Profitable Gym

CrossFit trainers: How familiar is this scenario? Tomorrow's workout has just been posted. It's a max deadlift followed by Diane, 21-15-9 reps of deadlifts and handstand push-ups. You know what to do; you've done that workout dozens of times. No need to prepare a lesson plan, right? Wrong — according to Railroad CrossFit owner Shawn McQueen. Here, Shawn joins Two-Brain Business mentor Josh Martin for a candid discussion about what separates the average coaches from the greats. Links:Railroad CrossFitDrink O2Beyond the WhiteboardGym Owners UnitedTimeline:2:49 – The struggles of group-fitness coaching. 5:19 – Preparation is key. 8:25 – What happens when you don’t prepare. 13:30 – Why lesson planning is worth the time. 16:42 – Why every coach should make their own lesson plan. 18:55 – Failing to plan is planning to fail. 26:11 – Remember your why. 29:04 – Body language and feedback.33:32 – Building rapport. 

Do you know what your Effective Hourly Rate (EHR) is? That is, your pay, divided by the number of hours it took to earn it?Joleen Bingham's is $290.But it wasn't always that high. Here's how she multiplied a $10 starting EHR by 29 — and how you can, too.Links:Two-Brain ProgrammingLevel MethodGym Owners UnitedLevel Up Your Staff (and Fire Them Up Instead of Firing Them)Timeline:2:26 – Joleen’s starting EHR: $104:22 – What happened when Joleen started listening to her mentor. 6:58 – Climbing the value ladder.9:24 – Offloading tasks and becoming a tinker.11:13 – Taking the first step toward higher EHR.14:34 – Lessons learned post-COVID.17:32 – Narrowing the client avatar.23:37 – The top three things to focus on right now to increase EHR.28:29 – The three things to focus on to go from a $50 to $100 EHR. 

So you're ready to scale up and out. Maybe you want to open a second location; maybe you want to start a new business altogether. First, you're going to have to cross the Valley of Death. The Valley of Death is the gap that lies between your first successful business and your second. It's the money gap. The knowledge gap. The tools gap. Chris Cooper has crossed the Valley of Death more than once. Here, he'll tell you how to get safely to the other side. Links:Two-Brain CoachingIncite TaxGym Owners United"Simple Numbers""Traction""Get a Grip"Timeline:1:30 – The Valley of Death.3:19 – Gaps that kill.6:13 – The gaps that almost got Coop.8:27 – Operational skills vs. management skills.11:36 – Change is inevitable.12:36 – Upgrading to expert-level knowledge.15:39 – To cross the Valley, start with a big buffer.20:01 – Trade where you can.21:57 – Join a mastermind. 22:31 – Partner with caution. 26:37 – Set up commercial agreements in advance. 28:41 – Simplicity scales faster.29:17 – Maintain financial guidelines.30:27 – Mentor your team. 30:57 – Layer your marketing. 32:48 – Think about your impact.33:17 – Be patient. 

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.