Run a Profitable Gym

For decades, CrossFit gyms have programmed workouts according to a prescription: the Rx. With this style of programming, each workout has a singular goal. How athletes execute the workout might vary, but the goal is the same. But what if not all your athletes have the same goal? That's why Brooks DiFiore created Beyond RXD, a programming system that provides workouts and briefs customized acc...

When Ameet Shah first introduced Wodify to the CrossFit community, he had his work cut out for him. Convincing a bunch of gritty, low-tech fitness die-hards to ditch the whiteboard and put up a TV screen was a tall order. But he did it — and today Wodify serves more than 5,000 gyms around the world. Ameet joined Chris Cooper to talk about his journey from crab-sales website designer (yes, you read...

When the entrepreneurship bug hits, it hits hard — and some gym owners find that owning a gym isn't enough. There's so much else to explore: retail, supplements, gear — even coffee. But is it possible to run multiple profitable businesses? And if so, how do you pull it off? For the answers to those questions and more, Chris Cooper turned to Danny Lehr, owner and founder of CrossFit Excel...

Brendon Collins has always had the itch to help people change their lives. At one time, he did it as a pastor. Then, he did it as a fitness coach and gym owner. Now, he's helping people find their way as a life coach touching on all of the above. How'd he get there, and what, exactly, does being a life coach look like? Here, he chats with Coop about all that and more. Links: Chat with Br...

In order for your marketing to be effective, you've got to market to the right people—you have to define your avatar. And a great way to do that is to start with data: Who's actually coming into gyms these days? Nathan Holiday, founder of Level Method, has the numbers. Here, he and Two-Brain Business founder Chris Cooper discuss who's interested in trying fitness programs like Cross...

Chris Cooper's most popular book is "Two-Brain Business," but the book that most say is his best is "Help First." That's because it solved the problem of being afraid of being a slimy salesman: It teaches gym owners how to sell by doing the thing coaches do best—helping. Here's a peek at what's inside. Links: "Help First" Gym Owners United Timeline...

It's that time of year—your Facebook feed is full of athletes hoping to make the leap to elite, and once again you find yourself thinking: "The CrossFit Games are cool—but do they matter for my business?" The answer is yes—and no. Here, Coop addresses that question and provides three strategies that will help if you want to use the competitive CrossFit season to help grow your gym....

Open a gym. Be a phenomenal coach. Make lots of money. If only it were that simple. You do need to be an excellent coach and provide excellent service, but that isn't enough to run a successful gym business—and we've got the data to prove it. We've also got the data that shows what DOES work. Here's Chris Cooper on the three business models of the most successful CrossFit gyms,...

We all know sleep is important, and if you're a fitness trainer, you've probably told your clients to get more of it. But beyond that, most trainers draw a blank. They might toss a sleep hygiene article at clients and tell them to get a sleep tracker. But how helpful are those things really? And how important is it to coach sleep when you've got big fish like exercise and nutrition...

You wouldn't go to the doctor and expect to have to choose your own medication and dosage, right? So why are you leaving the same decision in the hands of your fitness clients? Goal reviews are a key element of the prescriptive model of sales, but they're about more than selling. It's your responsibility as a professional coach to check in with your clients, find out what their goal...

If you're stuck on how to grow your gym, you may be tempted to look at the more successful gym down the street and do what they're doing. Charge what they're charging. Advertise like they're advertising. But the perspective you actually need is that of an outsider—even one as far outside the box as to be outside the fitness industry altogether. There are six key strategies you...

It's the end of the month, and you've got a little nugget left over. Awesome! You can get that air bike you've been salivating over for so long! But is that really the best use for the extra cash? In this episode of Two-Brain Radio, Chris Cooper explains the difference between expenses and investments and how to spend money in ways that will actually give you a measurable return. Li...

Dane McCarthy owns West Village Athletic in New York City. He signed up for mentorship with Two-Brain Business only looking for some casual tidbits and content suggestions. What he got was a mentor dedicated to helping him overhaul his business—and 80 new clients in the first 30 days. Here's how. Links: West Village Athletics Gym Owners United Timeline: 1:18 – Starting RampUp out of sheer ang...

"Your business will not rise to the level of your marketing. It will fall to the level of your systems." — Chris Cooper No matter how cutting-edge your marketing funnels may be, your business will fall to the level of your systems. There are six systems that you need for your business to thrive — and here's exactly what they look like. Links: Gym Owners United Timeline: 2:07 – You n...

Mike Turnquist has done it all. He's sold million-dollar homes. He's lost more than 100 lb. He's opened a CrossFit gym—and has another one ready to go with an appetite for a third. Before Mike opened his second location, he tripled his monthly revenue at the first. Now, he's ready to launch Gym No. 2 with systems, staff, and even some members ready to go from Day 1. Here's...

If you follow Two-Brain Business on social media, YouTube, TwoBrainBusiness.com or even this very podcast, you may have noticed a pattern: We want to make gym owners millionaires. But why? Have we lost sight of what really matters—saving and changing lives through fitness? Absolutely not. It's because of that very mission—your mission—that we want you to make more money. We want your gym to s...

Retention is the core of your business: Keeping clients longer means you're not constantly at the mercy of the marketing flywheel. So what keeps clients around? It's not great programming or coaching. It's not great community. It's not even great results. All those things are necessary, but they're not sufficient to keep clients for the long haul. Here's what is. Link...

You opened your own gym to get away from red tape and bureaucracy, not to make more rules. So why would you set up a bunch of freedom-limiting systems for your staff? Because systems actually give you more freedom: freedom from decision fatigue, freedom to scale your business, and freedom to focus on the things that really matter. Here's Coop on how building systems for things as minor as the...

Have you fallen prey to the technician's curse? That is, do you think the more credentials you have, the better coach you are and the better your business will do? It's not that simple. "Being good at your job is necessary but insufficient to have the impact that you're trying to have," Chris Cooper says. Here's what clients really care about.  Links: Gym Owners Unite...

Functional-fitness facilities, especially CrossFit gyms, are not known for their machines. "We are the machines!" is a catchphrase touted by many. But at CrossFit Justice in Milford, Michigan, athletes are bringing back the tech—not via elliptical, but with heart-rate monitors. It's not all that different from the "classic" CrossFit workouts you might be used to. But at Cr...

On the surface, selling open gym and 24/7 keycard access sounds like a great way to make some extra money. But in reality, it's more likely to cost you—now and in the future. It presents issues with liability, security and safety, all the while limiting your earning potential (no one's going to upgrade from access to personal training, but many won't hesitate to downgrade). Not conv...

You've made it. Your business has survived a handful of years, you're not worried about the rent and you're making a comfortable living. What's next? It's time to level up again—it's time to become a Tinker. Two-Brain's Tinker mastermind program brings together successful gym owners who are taking that next step: making investments, expanding their assets, and gr...

Today's the day you're gonna finally dig into Facebook ads manager. Definitely.  So you sit down and log in—but look! You've got five notifications! Better check those out. A few clicks later and you're lost in a sea of half-written messages, 11 new tabs, and a video about puppies. How on Earth do you get focused and actually DO all the things on your to-do list? Chris Cooper w...

Your gym's been growing and the business is stable—and you're sick of wearing all the hats. That means it's time to hire a GM, right? Possibly. But probably not. If you're not strategic about when and how you hire a GM, you'll end up right back where you started: doing all the things anyway. But just because it's not time to roll out the red carpet for a GM quite yet...

It's easy to see the value of a coach or mentor when you're neck-deep in problems. But mentorship is just as valuable—maybe even more—when you're further along your entrepreneurship journey. Once you've solved the critical emergency problems of your business, what a mentor provides is speed and clarity. A mentor connects you with the resources you need and helps you capitalize...