Run a Profitable Gym

What would happen to your gym if you got COVID-19 tomorrow? Would you have to cancel two weeks of classes and pump the brakes on your business?At Live Active Charlotte, it was just business as usual when owner Brian Strump tested positive. That's because his gym was already equipped to keep on running whether he's there or not. How? It all comes down to skilled staff members who are in it for the long haul. Here, Brian shares how he cultivates long-term staff with the passion, autonomy and know-how to take the helm.Links:How to Maximize Staff RetentionThe Dream ManagerTwo-Brain Business YouTube channelLive Active CharlotteDriven NutritionArboxFree ToolsTimeline:3:00 – What Brian did after he tested positive for COVID-19.6:32 – How Brian’s gym is set up to run without him.13:05 – Words of wisdom from Brian’s mother.15:45 – Using “love and loathe” to set staff up to stick around.18:02 – How to help staff grow and advance their careers in your business.22:16 – The intrapreneurial model in action.26:20 – Grace, patience and why it’s good to expect mistakes.32:18 – Why you should give feedback regularly—and not just about what staff did wrong.

Karen Hazelton never thought anyone would pay $300 for a gym membership. She could hardly believe people would pay the $140 she was charging—that is, until she joined the Two-Brain family. After overhauling her systems and prioritizing helping first by prescribing exactly what her clients need to reach their goals, Karen is now pulling an average revenue per member around the $300 mark.Here's how she changed her mindset and started selling more high-value services. Links:Telos Strength and ConditioningNutrition Challenges Are Dead. Kickstarts Are the AnswerFree guide: Affinity Marketing Two-Brain ProgrammingIncite Tax: Profit First for MicrogymsTimeline:1:59 – Karen’s ARM pre-Two-Brain.3:10 – How personal training helped her ARM skyrocket.6:26 – How Telos Strength and Conditioning grew its personal-training program.9:21 – Getting comfortable with affinity marketing.13:17 – Telos’ ratio of personal-training- to group-fitness clients.14:24 – Personal-training- vs. group-fitness rates.16:38 – How to sell high-value packages.19:39 – Specialty programs and nutrition.23:35 – Why Karen tells some clients NOT to do nutrition challenges.26:13 – How regular communication with clients leads to more sales.29:24 – “Stop thinking about the money.”

What does it take to be a world-class coach? Tons of technical knowledge? Lots of certifications?Those things might make you good at correcting movement, but they're not the key to exceptional coaching. Here, Two-Brain Coaching mentor Shawn McQueen explains what is.Links:Railroad CrossFitTwo-Brain CoachingAGuardGym Lead MachineGym Owners HandbookContact: shawn@twobraincoaching.comTimeline:2:49 – What does a great coach look like?6:43 – Why you still need to rehearse.8:27 – What a less-than-ideal group glass looks like.12:25 – Why excellence matters.14:46 – World-class coaches are teachers.16:28 – Communication and commanding the room.20:29 – Developing the craft of coaching.24:53 – How to coach coaches.30:19 – The non-technical skills critical to great coaching.33:28 – Providing excellence and affinity marketing.37:34 – Signs you might make a great coach.

Brian Zimmerman's ARM (average revenue per member, per month) is more then $300—and those are lockdown numbers. What's his secret? He does a lot of cool stuff, but perhaps the most effective for boosting ARM while getting clients results is his hybrid package: a combination of group classes and personal training designed to give clients the best of both worlds.Here's how it works.Links:Forever FierceTwo-Brain Programming"How to Run Specialty Courses Every Day of the Year"Free ToolsTimeline:1:37 – How Brian beat $300 in ARM in December.3:24 – Listening to seed clients to develop high-value services.5:54 – What Brian charges for hybrid services.7:36 – How hybrid services improve client retention.9:26 – Hybrid packages provide more opportunities for coaches, too. 12:00 – Pitching the program to clients.16:03 – Providing accountability.19:12 – Why Brian developed an internal marketing role.25:07 – Using speciality programs to drive up ARM.28:07 – The first thing you should do if you want a higher ARM.

When Storm Strout first opened his gym, he charged $70 a month. Today, that's what he charges for one hour of private coaching.By offering a menu of high-value services including private training, private nutrition coaching and specialty classes, he's also notched an ARM—average revenue per member, per month—of $284. Don't think it's possible? He didn't either, at first. Learn how he made the shift in this episode of Two-Brain Radio.Links:VenerationTwo-Brain ProgrammingIncite Tax: Profit First for Microgyms"Help First"Timeline:3:34 – The early days of $70-a-month memberships.7:03 – What’s responsible for Storm’s $284 ARM?8:44 – Navigating rate increases.13:55 – If group class costs $140 a month, where does that $284 come from?16:49 – How Storm built a robust PT program.22:15 – Group class is your discount option.25:29 – Selling $1,500 packages.28:37 – Storm’s next plans for growth.31:57 – Small-group coaching: a win-win-win.33:25 – One easy thing you can do today to increase ARM.

How do you tell a staff member he or she is doing something wrong without getting into an argument? It's all about establishing a feedback culture, says Per Mattson, Certified Two-Brain mentor. When you clearly communicate how constructive feedback helps improve the business and makes everyone better, staff members will be more open to receiving—and giving—it. Here's how to do it.Links:Two-Brain ProgrammingBuilding a Feedback CultureTwo-Brain Business February Regional EventWhen No One Sees Your Vision (and It’s all Your Fault)The State of the IndustryAGuardTimeline:1:56 – Feedback vs. criticism.3:30 – How to minimize hurt feelings.6:14 – How to help your staff accept feedback.7:45 – Leading from the front: Asking for feedback from staff.13:01 – The scary question brave gyms owners need to ask their staff.16:04 – How to develop a feedback culture are your gym.19:10 – What you’ll learn about feedback at the February Two-Brain Regional Event.20:40 – The biggest mistakes gym owners make when it comes to feedback.22:11 – The importance of deep listening.25:01 – Feedback in action: Per and Mike get reps with roleplay. 30:49 – The value of practice.32:13 – One easy thing you can do to start building a feedback culture at your gym today.

Jim Adams knows a few things about the fitness business—after all, he's been in it for more than 30 years.He's been a personal trainer in big-box gyms and he's opened his own studio. He's worn all the hats of his business and he's learned how to hire and develop a great team. He's also the founder and host of the Masters in Fitness Business Podcast, where he speaks with successful fitness entrepreneurs.In this episode, Chris picks Jim's brain on everything from the lessons he's learned developing his business acumen to where the fitness industry is going today and the top marketing mistakes microgym owners make.Links:Masters in Fitness BusinessCatalyst Strength and Functional NutritionIncite Tax: Profit First for MicrogymsDriven NutritionGym Owners HandbookContact:Jim: Jim: trainerjimfe@gmail.net or jim_a@catalyststl.comChris: chris@twobrainbusiness.comTimeline:1:24 – Scratching his own itch with the Masters in Fitness Business Podcast.3:24 – Great trainer, bad business owner.5:18 – Overcoming ego.7:02 – Where the fitness industry is headed.10:29 – Why microgyms are perfectly poised to take over the market.11:12 – What gym owners need to do to set themselves apart. 14:38 – How COVID has changed marketing in the fitness industry. 19:39 – If he could start all over again.21:10 – The biggest marketing mistake gym owners make.23:41 – Market to the 80%, not the 20%.27:23 – Choosing his target demographic. 28:54 – How to appeal to the 80%.30:13 – The problem with egos in the training business.32:18 – How to build and maintain a career in fitness.

In Chris Cooper's new book, "Gym Owners Handbook,"  he writes all about the 400-plus things you need to do to grow your gym and achieve freedom of time and money. In this podcast, he'll tell you how to do each of those things. Here, Coop starts by teaching you how to measure success in your business, explaining the six areas of excellence you need to develop and how to develop them by tacking actionable steps laid out for you on the Two-Brain Roadmap.Links:Get your copy of "Gym Owners Handbook""Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief"Two-Brain CoachingGym Lead MachineTimeline:1:47 – The two parts of your business.3:24 – Measuring success.4:54 – Defining success.6:48 – The six areas of excellence in your business.9:22 – Taking action.12:17 – The phases of entrepreneurship.

How many clients does a microgym owner need to be successful? How does he or she find them? And how do operations change as client base grows?  The answers are in the data.Here, Chris Cooper pulls important numbers from Two-Brain's State of the Industry Guide—like how many clients gyms have and how profitable those gyms are—and explains how they're connected. If you're wondering why you're stuck at 100 clients—or why you've got 300 but aren't making any money—you won't want to miss this episode.Links:The State of the Industry guideThe Ultimate Business Plan for Gym OwnersThe Tipping PointTribal LeadershipHow to Start an Online Training Program, With Jonathan GoodmanFounder, Farmer, Tinker, ThiefGym Owners HandbookAGuardDriven NutritionTwo-Brain CoachingContact:chris@twobrainbusiness.comTimeline:5:18 – The stages of tribes.8:32 – The vocational level: 0 to 5 clients.10:28 – Getting to the 5- 15-client mark—and establishing a home base.13:14 – Opening a studio at 15-50 clients.14:41 – When you hit the ceiling on your time.18:15 – The hardest jump: going from 50-150 clients.20:48 – The marketing mistake gym owners make trying to get 150 clients.22:49 – Hiring according to the value ladder.24:-04 – Triads: What they are and why you need them.26:51 – Where gyms go wrong at 150-plus members.28:24 – You made it to 150. Now what?31:05 – Systemizing marketing.33:08 – Want 500 members? You need a unique model.36:44 – Coop’s journey through each stage of client membership.41:05 – How Greg Glassman scaled his model.46:24 – Why 150 clients is a great target to shoot for.

The best coaches know they need coaches, too.Mike Watson is one of those coaches. As a mentor for Two-Brain Coaching's First Degree course, he helps new and veteran coaches grow as trainers and develop their careers, whether that looks like personal training, group-fitness coaching, nutrition coaching, mindset coaching or something else.He joined Two-Brain Coaching co-founder Josh Martin to talk in detail about the program and how coaches and gym owners can benefit from it. Links:Two-Brain Coaching Driven NutritionFree ToolsContact:mike@twobraincoaching.comTimeline:1:14 – In the beginning: Training, working and phone-book flipping with Chris Cooper.4:40 – From training people to training coaches.6:59 – The Two-Brain Coaching First Degree Course10:29 – Finding “confidence in our competence.”11:45 – Incorporating content creation into coaches training.15:45 – Personal training: the golden opportunity. 21:59 – Personalizing the course experience.25:00 – Combating burnout.27:10 – Professor Mike.29:34 – Two-Brain Programming and the SEMM model.33:36 – Translating the SEMM model for real-world application.36:34 – How to get a new coach up to speed with the First Degree Course.