Fire Me Friday

Tuesday we celebrate our 30th year in business. Today we share some of the most important things we have done to continue to be successful. Thank you to our amazing team and community (past and present) for 30 years of AXIS! #axispersonaltrainers #30thanniversary #smallbusiness #gymbusiness #fitnessbusiness

We meet 3 times/year with each team member to check in, discuss goals, progress, etc. Today we're sharing our process, why we don't do standard annual reviews, and how we have continued to improve the experience and value for our team with these meetings.

Who you listen to matters. There are plenty of people out there who will give you advice about your business. Listen to the ones who have done it themselves, who have failed, who have succeeded and who will admit their mistakes and share their lessons learned. 

Please enjoy our first podcast episode that we recorded from a conference. The Vault was a great mix of interesting speakers and interviews with actionable business operations ideas. It gave us the opportunity to get away and work on the business, rather than in the business. 

We have spent the last few weeks implementing and iterating on our AXIS Academy. What started as a one week training program, then a 4 week Academy, has now become 6 weeks of immersion in our culture, systems and standards, all led by our most experienced team members. We are learning to step back and let our leaders lead.

We usually debrief after our team meetings - how did it go? How was our communication? What we thought was effective, positive, etc... today we saved that for our podcast listeners.  We generally get the whole team together about 3 times per year to discuss the current status of the business, where are, and where we are going. Our meeting this week was truly one of our best.  Please enjoy this une...

To succeed, you have to put in the work. There are no short cuts. Keep learning everyday. Today we are talking about the AXIS Academy and the path of our continuing education program over 30 years.

Today we discuss a recent conference we attended on gym operations and how we continue to learn best practices and empower our leadership team.

How to communicate is essential - this is one of the most important things for anyone in any field to learn. Understand who you are talking to. A high school locker room is not the same as a top tier personal training facility. 

Clients want privacy and discretion. Create a place where they can feel comfortable and normal. Make everyone from the towel delivery person to the movie star feel special - but not more important than anyone else. Create their utopia where they can focus on themselves and be away from the real world for just a bit. 

Today we are talking about the delicate balance between a client and service provider: how to develop deep and lasting relationships while still staying professional and not taking anyone for granted. We give some valuable advice to new personal trainers - but also great reminders for all of us. Happy Friday!

Today we are talking about one of the biggest mistakes we've made in our business, and one many businesses make as well - not putting enough training and focus on the front desk staff. Our concierge team is one of the most important parts of the business. Enjoy this episode as we talk about what to do (and how we have screwed up in the past).  Today also marks Alli's 26 years with AXIS -...

After finishing up several weeks of individual meetings with our team members we are more excited than ever about the leaders who have emerged. We love watching the growth and mentorship. 

Today we are talking about an important lesson in sales or any service business. Clients care about their own pain and problem. Step into their shoes, listen to their needs and wants. Make every interaction about them - not you. 

Today we are talking about complacency and client attrition in the fitness industry. We also discuss how we are thinking abut our business as a start-up (after 30 years).

Today we are celebrating our new gym, the blood sweat and tears that went into it, and the excitement (and small glitches) of our first week.  We had our grand opening on March 16th when we moved from our original home of almost 30 years. Here is a little insight into week #1.

Today is our last Friday at our original location of almost 30 years! It's a bittersweet goodbye to our home at 550 Ravenswood, but we are excited for our move down the street to an all new gym and restoration space. In this episode we share a little of the pain we've gone through to get here, and heartfelt gratitude for our team and community.

After 29 1/2 years in our original location, AXIS is moving! Here is a little look into the last several months of the build out and the last several years of planning for our future. 

Welcome to season 3 of the Fire Me Friday podcast! Happy 2026!

Today we are discussing some of the pricing mistakes we have made in the past and our current thoughts/process on pricing and the value proposition.

Monday we celebrate 29 years in business! Today we wanted to go back to the very beginning and share the blood, sweat and tears that go into starting a business. We are taking it back to 1991 with Scott's story.

Just a few of our gems from Lewis Howes' Summit of Greatness last week in LA. 

Today we discuss the important of building a community and always strengthening the foundation of your business. 

There is a lot of noise in the fitness industry - especially on social media. Today we talk about what really matters for a successful personal training career, and it's not complicated!

Sometimes it's necessary to micromanage, but how do you create an environment where you give your team freedom and still help them along the way without overstepping? We share our thoughts in today's episode.