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Run a Profitable Gym is packed with business tools for gym owners and CrossFit affiliates. This is actionable, data-backed business advice for all gym owners, including those who own personal training studios, fitness franchises, and strength and conditioning gyms. Broke gym owner Chris Cooper turned a struggling gym into an asset, then built a multi-million-dollar mentoring company to help other fitness entrepreneurs do the same thing. Every week, Chris presents the top tactics for building a profitable gym, as well as real success stories from gym owners who have found incredible success through Two-Brain Business mentorship. Chris’s goal is to create millionaire gym owners. Subscribe to Run a Profitable Gym and you could be one of them.</p>
Every gym owner must raise prices at some point—and it can be nerve wracking.
Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” you’ll learn exactly how to implement a rate increase, step by step, without generating a flood of cancellations.
In this episode, Mike Warkentin chats with longtime Two-Brain mentor and former gym owner Greg Strauch, who shares Two-Brain’s battle-tested plan.
Greg has helped 81 fitness entrepreneurs increase rates and stabilize their businesses so they generate profit and allow the owner to earn a good wage.
This episode lays out everything you need to know to implement a rate increase—but doing it on your own can be disastrous.
For example, you’re going to be tempted to write a long, defensive, apologetic email to your clients when you announce the increase. That’s a mistake—but it’s very hard to resist without an expert in your corner.
When you boost prices, nothing can replace the assistance of an experienced mentor who will guide you, support you and tell you, “Do this exactly like this right now.”
Key points:
1. Every single person Greg has worked with has raised rates successfully, so why would you be any different?
2. In most cases, a rate increase alone more than pays for the cost of mentorship, so getting help is a great investment in your business and your family.
Links
Chris Cooper: "Denying Discounts: A Short Guide for Gym Owners"
“How to Say 'No' to Discounts"
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1:59 - Why are rate increases inevitable?
11:16 - Essential elements of a rate increase
32:23 - Client success stories
40:06 - Get a mentor
Imagine paying yourself $16,000-$38,000 per month as a gym owner. Today’s guest on “Run a Profitable Gym” does just that.
In this episode, host Mike Warkentin sits down with top-earning gym owner Darren Thornton of Defy Functional Fitness in Toronto, Canada.
Darren, a regular on Two-Brain’s leaderboards, shares actionable steps you can take right now to grow your business and pay yourself more.
For starters, he says to figure out how much you need to earn, then work backward to determine how many clients you need and what you need to charge to meet that target.
Focus on reaching a high average revenue per member (ARM) by offering premium services to help clients reach their goals faster. Then figure out what roles you can easily replace yourself in so you can focus on high-value roles that generate more money for your business.
A mentor can help you do all this quickly and effectively.
Tune in to hear more of Darren’s top income-boosting tips, and you can also check out his last appearance on the show via the link below.
Links
Tips for Extreme Average Revenue Per Member
Gym Owners United
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1:24 - Increasing Darren’s ARM
5:19 - Value Ladder exercise
8:19 - Tactics for increasing ARM
12:10 - The rundown on Darren’s gym
18:52 - How mentors help you reach goals
If an emergency pulled you away, could your gym operate without you?
In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," host Mike Warkentin and Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper dive into one of the most crucial aspects of running a successful gym: systemization—aka, building a business that runs smoothly even when you’re not there.
They lay out the steps you need to take to create effective standard operating procedures (SOPs) for every task from cleaning to sales, and they explain why these systems are essential for freeing up your time and protecting your focus.
You’ll learn how to delegate efficiently and use evaluations to coach your staff to meet and exceed standards.
Tune in for actionable steps you can use to get your business out of your head so you can offload tasks and reclaim your time as owner.
Links
Gym Owners United
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0:00 - The day Chris’ daughter was born
4:43 - Protect your focus
8:26 - Laying out your process
15:28 - Get the most out of your system
22:20 - What you can do today
Saara Snellman has succeeded where many other CrossFit affiliate owners have failed: CrossFit Kreis 9 in Zurich, Switzerland, has 340 members and generates most of its revenue through group classes.
While many gym owners struggle to acquire and maintain 150 members, Saara loses only 10 of 340 members a month. To replace them, she just goes to her waiting list—so her marketing costs are $0.
This model was once the ideal for many affiliate owners, but gyms like Saara's are rare in the market because they must be well-oiled machines with airtight business systems. Only a very skilled entrepreneur can build a coaching gym that can handle more than 300 members.
Saara’s reward for building this incredible business: She took a spot on Two-Brain’s March leaderboard for net owner benefit (NOB): earnings, dividends and any other perks the owner receives.
Based on rolling three-month averages, our Top 10 earners take home anywhere from $16,215 to $37,935 USD per month. This is not top-line revenue; it’s owner earnings.
One of the secrets to Saara’s success is boosting average revenue per member (ARM) with hybrid memberships—offering personal training to group-class members to help them reach specific goals. A few other secrets: Saara has A+ business systems and an impeccable retention plan.
You don’t need 340 group members to earn more than $100,000 a year. But if you do plan to pursue the large-group model, you’ll want Saara’s insight and the help of an expert mentor.
Links
Gym Owners United
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1:15 - Success and avoiding failure
6:33 - Group, personal training or both?
10:55 - Big things that made a big difference
15:56 - Mentorship helps your number move
20:38 - Getting former clients back
Two-Brain’s March leaderboard tracked net owner benefit (NOB)—profit, salary and anything extra the gym pays for.
Every gym owner on the leaderboard brought home more than $16,000 USD in March, based on a rolling three-month average. The top number? Way over $30,000!
In this episode, Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper reveals the Top 10 NOB figures and then tells you exactly what these gym owners did to achieve elite earnings.
A few themes came up in the top earners’ interviews: business systems, mentorship and high-value services.
The key: Build sustainable income that isn’t tied to flash-in-the-pan profit boosts from tactics such as challenges and paid-in-full discounts. To do that and earn what you deserve every month, you’ve got to make business decisions based on data, not hype or random ads on social media.
Tune in to hear real numbers and discover proven tactics for boosting your monthly earnings.
Links
Gym Owners United
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1:40 - March 2024 leaderboard
4:10 - Secrets from the leaders
9:20 - High-value services to high-value clients
Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin is joined by Jason Khalipa, 2008 CrossFit Games champion, founder of NCFIT Gyms and TRAIN HARD online training, and host of the “Jason Khalipa Podcast.”
Jason gives listeners a sneak peek into his value-packed presentation for the 2024 Two-Brain Summit, set for June 8-9 in Chicago.
Between his business ventures and responsibilities as a husband and father of two, Jason is pulled in a lot of directions.
To stay present and productive in each area of his life, Jason uses the “AMRAP mentality.” This mindset is all about prioritizing and segmenting your day, and it allows Jason to show up for his team, his family and himself.
Something else that’s on Jason’s mind: the idea of “train, protect, provide.” Essentially, training allows you to better protect and provide for your loved ones—and as a gym owner you get to give others the ability to do so.
The Two-Brain Summit is sold out—be sure to follow Two-Brain on social media to see highlights!
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2:37 - What it means to run a business
9:07 - Protecting and providing
17:46 - Living the lifestyle
21:58 - Committing and going all-in
35:12 - Feelings on CrossFit HQ and community
Every sale you don’t close at your gym costs you time and money.
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin is joined by Matt Temby, head of sales at Two-Brain Business and owner of Vault Health & Fitness. Matt’s on the mic to share proven tactics for improving your close rate.
He walks you through the sales process from start to finish: how to discover a potential client’s real problem, help them realize your solution is perfect and close the sale.
Sounds simple, right?
But before you close, you’ll inevitably hear objections such as “I need to think about it” or “I have to talk to my partner.”
Statements like this are smokescreens in front of the real objection: fear, money or logistics. Matt explains how to push through the smoke, identify the real objection and overcome it to close the sale.
Coaches can hear more from Matt at the Two-Brain Summit on June 8 and 9 in Chicago. Tickets are available via the link below.
Links
Two-Brain Summit
Gym Owners United
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0:25 - Matt's journey in sales
6:08 - Creating strong closers
16:41 - Making sales and maintaining your vibe
21:22 - Ending the sales pitch
31:17 - Incorporating tech
When should you not buy a gym?
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin dives into this question with Nick Habich, Two-Brain mentor and owner of Shark Bite Fitness and Nutrition in Cape Coral, Florida.
Nick has bought a couple of gyms and passed on several others, and he’s acquired a few horror stories along the way.
Some of the red flags he’s learned to look out for include high expenses—such as a ridiculously costly lease—and mismatches between financial data in the gym’s billing software and its profit and loss statement (P&L).
A lot of gym owners look to acquire businesses because they want to make more money, but they can often find opportunities to generate more revenue within their existing businesses. That’s not to say you should never buy another gym, just that the best plan is to optimize your existing business first.
Nick’s biggest tip? If your gym can’t run without you, don’t even think about buying another one. Start by improving your current gym with mentorship and then pursue other endeavors from a position of strength.
Links
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0:51 - The buying-and-selling experience
6:52 - Buy a gym that’s unprofitable?
12:57 - Verify the numbers
18:46 - Rates that are too low
27:01 - Temptations and business decisions
When a gym owner sells or closes a business, it’s often because they’re burned out, broke or forced to sell for some reason.
But what does a “good exit” from gym ownership look like?
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper talks with two former gym owners who had successful exits—Taryn Dubreuil and John Franklin.
Both entrepreneurs explain why they opened gyms in the first place and detail how successful their gyms were at peak.
Then they share what helped them make the decision to exit and exactly how they sold.
Two things they had in common: knowing what their gyms were worth and having a clear next step.
Links
Gym Owners United
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3:28 - Why did Taryn open a gym?
9:05 - Selling your gym
20:02 - Was it all worth it?
22:33 - Why did John open a gym?
29:14 - What should I sell?
Using mostly unconventional marketing methods, Mike Doehla built a nutrition company that sold to Anytime Fitness for eight figures.
In today’s episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin chats with Mike, former owner of Stronger U Nutrition.
Prior to its sale, Stronger U had over 50,000 lifetime members, and about half of those members were in its Facebook group, where Mike focused on sharing knowledge and building community.
Outside the group, Mike’s marketing tactics ranged from sticking business cards inside nutrition books to sitting in coffee shops with a giant laptop sticker that read “Hi, I'm Mike. Ask me nutrition questions.”
If you’d like to ask Mike nutrition questions—or business questions—you can reach him on Instagram: @mikedoehla
Links
Gym Owners United
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3:30 - Creating community
9:00 - First 100 clients
23:04 - Getting traction with groups
35:12 - Generating buzz for small gyms
48:59 - Removing unnecessary boundaries
Amanda is a wife. A mother. A blogger. A Christian.
A charming, beautiful, bubbly, young woman who lives life to the fullest.
But Amanda is dying, with a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know.
She starts a blog detailing her cancer journey, and becomes an inspiration, touching and
captivating her local community as well as followers all over the world.
Until one day investigative producer Nancy gets an anonymous tip telling her to look at Amanda’s
blog, setting Nancy on an unimaginable road to uncover Amanda’s secret.
Award winning journalist Charlie Webster explores this unbelievable and bizarre, but
all-too-real tale, of a woman from San Jose, California whose secret ripped a family apart and
left a community in shock.
Scamanda is the true story of a woman whose own words held the key to her secret.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow Scamanda on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Amanda’s blog posts are read by actor Kendall Horn.
