Run a Profitable Gym

If you think of selling as pushing people to buy things they don't want, you're going to struggle to make sales. When you reframe the sales process as "helping people solve their problems," you'll be able to confidently present solid solutions to prospective clients who will be eager to accept your expert assistance. The Help First concept is a game changer in the fitness...

Want to know how Two-Brain's conversation marketing funnel works? You're in it. In this episode, Chris Cooper walks you through a four-step process for setting up a killer conversation marketing plan at your gym. Remember: Conversations bridge the gap between advertising and sales. Advertising gets a prospective client's attention, and the sales process secures the money and the mem...

Two CrossFit gyms in Santiago, Chile, are home to 1,140 total clients—and Daniel Dobbs Brown owns both of them. Accion CrossFit Providencia earned the No. 1 spot on our August 2023 headcount leaderboard with 723 clients, and the Las Condes location hit No. 4 with 417. So how did Dobbs Brown do it? Host Mike Warkentin digs in to find out. The short answer: Daniel is using a precise, high-volume, da...

Client headcount isn't everything. But it's still important—especially in a gym with great retention and average revenue per member. When gyms with great metrics across the board acquire more members, the results are spectacular. With just 150 clients who pay $205 a month, an owner can earn $100,000 a year. You can imagine what happens when a gym earns 200 or more clients who pay $300 a...

Yes, you can use AI to bring clients to your gym. Gym owner Chris Cooper uses ChatGPT to do that even though he's written seven books and thousands of blogs by hand. But how can you use artificial intelligence effectively without coming across like a misguided robot? And what should fitness entrepreneurs know before getting started with AI? In this episode, Chris Cooper offers his tips for AI...

You can use an email list to build an incredible fitness business. Email might not be as sexy as the latest "social media hacks" presented by online sales gurus, but it's a direct line to clients and prospective clients—and that's worth a lot to any business. In this episode, Chris Cooper explains how he used daily email conversations to build his personal-training business, hi...

Colm O'Reilly helped gym owners solve marketing problems at the 2022 Two-Brain Summit in Chicago. The mentor and owner of CrossFit Ireland ran through four major funnels fitness entrepreneurs need to build to ensure a steady stream of quality clients: referrals, organic social media, content and paid marketing. Each funnel leads to a free consultation called a No Sweat Intro: It's your v...

Most gyms ride a roller coaster because they aren’t consistent in their marketing. They see something, try it, get a few clients and then drop it to try the next thing. There's a better way: four simple marketing funnels that run at all times. Every funnel leads to a free consultation we call a No Sweat Intro (NSI). That's where you can help high-value clients become healthier by present...

Gyms get into legal trouble from time to time, and if you read the news, you'll see some scary stuff. To help you limit your risk as a gym owner, Matthew Becker of Gym Lawyers PLLC digs into the news, explains how some gyms found themselves there, and gives you simple steps to protect your business. From leases to liability for broken equipment to injured clients—Matthew and host Mike Warkent...

To build a successful gym that solves your clients' problems, define your mission, use a strong model, pick a fitness method that gets results and regularly utilize media to get the word out. In this episode, Chris Cooper lays out the blueprint: He explains how your mission guides you and your model supports you, your family and your staff. Selecting your method? That's the fun part: It&...

Gym owner Tina Selix was burned out and on the verge of selling her business. In an attempt to improve the business before the sale, she decided to hire a Two-Brain mentor. When things started to turn around, she saw daylight and was inspired to keep and grow the business.  In July, she earned a spot on our Top 10 leaderboard with an average revenue per member (ARM) of $469. In this episode, she s...

What do gym owners with huge average revenue per member know that you don't? Chris Cooper will tell you in this edition of "Run a Profitable Gym." First, Coop runs through Two-Brain's July leaderboard and lays out what the top gym owners earned per client on average. Then he shares their tips for acquiring, serving and retaining clients who are only too happy to pay more than $...

Justin Dickson once earned nothing from his gym. Then he earned a spot on our Top 10 leaderboard for gym-owner income How did he do it? In this episode, Justin explains his incredible turnaround: The key was an emphasis on high-value services, staff development, client retention and consistent delivery. If you've ever wondered how the best gym owners generate income, this is the show for you....

You can manage a full-time career and own a gym—it just takes some finesse. In this episode, Chris Cooper explains how you should set up your side-hustle gym to ensure profitability. Then you have the option to leave your day job or keep the gym as an income generator on the side. Whatever you do, don't just leap and try to build wings on the way down. The chasm between a solid day job and en...

Great gym businesses run on hard data, and Two-Brain's annual "State of the Industry" report is a gym owner's best source for verified fitness-industry numbers. We're collecting data right now, and we're inviting you to spend about six minutes entering your info here . When our report comes out in mid-November, you'll get access to our collected numbers and exper...

Since 2020, we've been collecting, analyzing and publishing hard numbers so gym owners get the info they need to improve their businesses. No one else has. In this episode, Chris Cooper will tell you why the annual "State of the Industry" report is so important and why we need your help to make it even better this year. We're collecting data right now, and we're inviting y...

So you're a gym owner—that means you've got to grind and can't ever take a vacation, right? Wrong. In this episode, Two-Brain Business founder and CEO Chris Cooper will explain how you can free yourself from low-level jobs to become a CEO who can take time off. When Coop got food poisoning in 2019 before Two-Brain's huge annual summit for gym owners, it was a blessing in disgui...

How can you make your gym run like a finely tuned self-driving car? By systemizing and optimizing before automating. If you just hit the "autopilot" button without getting solid systems in place, you should prepare for a crash. Every aspect of a gym—from cleaning to marketing to sales to coaching—must be governed by a process. You need to carefully document your processes, then test and...

Growing a booming kids program is easier than you think—you just have to know how to do it. Chris Cooper has the exact steps, and he lays them out for you in this short episode. In 15 minutes, Coop explains how to set up a kids program, market it and run it successfully. Follow the steps and you'll have everything you need to change lives, please parents, create a career for a coach and gener...

Building a great fitness program for kids requires a very specific approach tailored to young people—and their parents. For example, you can't scream like a drill sergeant and hope pre-teens will develop a lifelong love of movement. You also can't just promote a "super-fun program" to parents who want more than balloon and parachute games for their young ones. Remember: The par...

How much do gym owners make each month? Chris Cooper has the exact figures. In this edition of "Run a Profitable Gym," he serves up the Top 10 leaderboard for net owner benefit in June 2023. It runs from US$17,000 to $45,000! And this isn't gross revenue for the business. It's exactly what each gym owner took home. The numbers are actually three-month rolling averages that ensu...

In his speech at the 2022 Two-Brain Summit in Chicago, Chris Cooper highlighted the power of entrepreneurial impact. Passionate fitness entrepreneurs have the ability to change lives on a one-to-one basis in the gym, but they can also expand their influence to affect the communities around them. To help the gym owners in the room increase their impact, Chris led them through an exercise to help th...

To move from owner-operator to CEO, you'll have to develop staff, and gym owner Chris Williams of CFT Fitness has cracked the code. In fact, Williams earned an award for Coach Education and Opportunity at this year's Two-Brain Summit for fitness entrepreneurs. In this episode, Chris explains how he built up his staff and prepared them to take over gym operations, coaching, customer servi...

If you want to move into the CEO role, you must offload lower-value tasks to staff. As each task comes off your plate, you'll have more time to grow the business. So how do you start buying back your time? Chris Cooper has the answer. In this episode, he explains how he offloaded tasks at his gym, and he provides a plan to help you create standard operating procedures and a priority list for...

When should I switch mentors? How do I buy my building? How can I get more out of mentorship? Is it even possible to become a millionaire as a gym owner? Chris Cooper answers these and other burning questions about mentorship with Two-Brain Business. If you've ever wondered what mentorship is all about, this is the show for you. If you have a question Coop didn't answer, leave a comment...