Run a Profitable Gym

I spent New Year's Eve with a friend named Matt. Matt's a farmer. We sat at his handmade kitchen table drinking Mad Jack, both of us stifling yawns: I'd been up since 4am. Matt had been up all night, fixing power lines in -30 weather for his "real job". Matt works for the power company, but he's still a farmer. Our wives were talking about a mutual friend who'd w...

Do you have any idea how special you are? Over the last 72 hours, half a million people did the same crazy workout and then shared their score in public. Most of those people didn't win first place. Most of them didn't even want to compete. They didn't do it because Dave Castro made a workout so compelling that it made everyone jump off their couches and start exercising. They didn&...

Go ahead, give them a salary.   Then type up the contract on your Electrolux typewriter, send them a turkey at Christmas, and flip your calendar ahead to 1983.   35 years from now, you'll ask your staff what they like; find their strengths; and put them in a job that rewards them financially and emotionally.   Or feel free to jump ahead to 2018 now.   Pay your staff for the value they bring t...

One of the most common questions asked by CrossFit gym owners is one of the most difficult to solve.   Like so many things in fitness, the correct answer is "It depends."   But I've never been satisfied on that answer, and when I hear it, I always want to reply: "Depends on WHAT?" So here you go: the real answer.   Should you put your prices on your website?   It depends w...

It's no secret that many CrossFit affiliates have opened a second location and had a very bad experience. The mistake usually comes from the old, flawed model of "the more clients, the better" and has sometimes been fatal.   As I wrote in " Should You Open A Second Location? " A second location doesn’t double your work; it quadruples it. There's a checklist in that ar...

On this episode, we talk to Tammy Friedt. Tammy is one our amazing mentors here at TwoBrain, and she recently sold her business! Selling a business or a gym is not an easy task and it takes a lot of patience in order to do it correctly. Today hear directly from someone who has lived through this process and gains some insight and tips into how it all happens. Learn about what needs to be done to p...

Episode 147 – 1099 or W-2? With John Briggs of InciteTax  Recently, I have started to see a trend where gym owners are increasingly being audited by the IRS. Today we talk about such things as how to survive an IRS audit, Tax Planning for the New Year, and what exactly is a 1099 contractor .  As the year draws to a close, now is the time to start thinking about closing out your books and taxes for...

Today we are talking about a very productive task that you can do for any business: mapping a client’s journey. This is all about determining what process you want a client to go through and what experiences you want them to have with your business. Today is all about the big picture and it is also an interactive session so be sure to have a whiteboard or notepad ready to write your own client sto...

On this episode, we sit down with Chris Cooper, the founder of Two-Brain Business.  Nearly ten years ago, Chris ran into trouble with his first business--a CrossFit gym--and hired a mentor. He began feverishly writing down all the lessons he was learning and blogging them along his journey to help others. Hundreds of blog posts later, Chris launched his first book, Two Brain Business, which is now...

Episode 144– The LinkedIn Expert – AJ Wilcox   I've always been puzzled by LinkedIn. On one hand, all of my ideal clients seem to be on there. LinkedIn is the social media for professionals, where you can identify high earners and find local entrepreneurs. And I think entrepreneurs are great CrossFit clients: they can afford it; they have a more open schedule; and they understand my rates and...

On this episode, I interview Matt Albrizio of Forever Fierce. Forever Fierce is a custom apparel company that is hyper-focused on affiliate owners worldwide. Matt walks us through just how important retail is and why it should become a priority within your CrossFit Gym starting now. We talk about apparel in the fourth quarter of 2018, the importance of having a theme, and what you should be lookin...

Every few months on this podcast, I like to take a chance to answer the big questions within the CrossFit World. Usually, the answers to these questions are tactical: "Should I raise my rates?" or "Should I deaffiliate?" But there are three BIG questions that I've been sitting on and rolling around for months. These questions have been coming up more and more: either throu...

Kaleda Connell has made it to Tinker Phase:  She makes more than enough money at her gym  She only does the work she wants  Her staff initiate programs and sell memberships  She owns her building  ...and, as you'll hear, she's practically the mayor of her town. She even invites other entrepreneurs in to help THEM! And she's done it in UNDER THREE YEARS. In a town of 2500 PEOPLE.

It's the Hallowe'en Spooktacular!   Not really--but it's a fitting time to do a Business PreMortem. With the end of the year coming, I'm sure you're booking calls with your mentor to set up your 2019 strategic plan. In the TwoBrain family, we start this process in November. If you're not in the TwoBrain family yet, you can use this exercise to kickstart the process (a...