Run a Profitable Gym

Tyler Welch owns six gyms (four of which he bought in the last six months). Not all were profitable when he bought them—in fact, he prefers them not to be—but all were profitable within the first month. By his own admission, he's sort of a Tinker-Founder hybrid. Yes, he's collecting more and more businesses and expanding across multiple cities, but he's got his hands deep in each of...

To move closer to wealth, you need to work on your business, not just in it. But who has time for that? You do. Or you will—after you listen to this podcast. Here's Coop on how to make the time to take your business to the next level, regardless of which phase of entrepreneurship you're in. Links: "Start A Gym: Everything You Need to Start and Scale a Fitness Business" Gym Owne...

Clients leave. They move away. Circumstances change. Maybe they're just bored. But that doesn't mean they're gone forever. Here's Coop on how to prime them to come back without gimmicks or giveaways. Links: Gym Owners United Timeline: 00:14 – It’s not personal. 1:02 – Make sure they know they’re always welcome back. 1:39 – Maintain a constant line of communication. 3:47 – Be th...

Late in 2021, Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper issued a challenge to gym owners: get 100 leads ASAP. He provided an exact plan to help them start conversations with prospective clients, then said “go!” Amanda Chace of CrossFit Torque had great results with the sell-by-chat strategy and joins host Mike Warkentin to talk about them. Amanda shares how many leads she got and how many sales she made, and...

If you don't post pictures of torn, bloody hands like you did in the old days, is it really your gym? If there isn't a shirtless athlete vomiting in the corner, is it really your gym? If you aren't the one unlocking the doors at 5 a.m. and locking them again at 9 p.m., is it really your gym? Things change, and so will your business if it's to survive the test of time. Here&apos...

You get a scary-looking letter in the mail. The gist: "Pay us now or stop playing music in your gym!" Is it legit? Are they watching you? The truth is that's the smallest of mines gym owners must navigate on the legal battleground of gym ownership. Matt Becker knows firsthand. He's a gym owner, laywer and founder of gymlawyers.com, and here, he joins Chris Cooper to answer your...

Aspiring gym owners: What if you had the solutions to all the newbie gym-owner mistakes BEFORE you made them? Current gym owners: What if you could get the answers to the problems that have been plaguing you since you opened your doors? Sit tight — all that and more is coming your way in Chris Cooper's latest book, "Start a Gym" (both the book and its namesake course will be availab...

The client/member journey. Helping people lead better lives. Leadership and relationship-building. All of the above and more are key for building a healthy community with healthy community members — and Tres Kennedy is doing just that in two places: Move Church, where he serves as a pastor, and CrossFit Wotown, the gym he owns with his wife Erin. Here, he shares some of the lessons he's learn...

Chris Cooper sits down with CrossFit Home Office reps Gary Gaines, Austin Malleolo and Daniel Chaffey to talk about CrossFit affiliation and more. First question from Chris: What is the value proposition for CrossFit affiliation now with Eric Roza at the helm? The four also discuss CrossFit's mission, new and upcoming CrossFit products, lobbying efforts, CrossFit in the era after Greg Glassma...

When you were new to your sport or discipline, you probably made a lot of mistakes. But what was the key to getting better? More reps, yes — but more importantly, better reps. To improve, you had to acknowledge what you were doing incorrectly and do something different. The same goes for entrepreneurship. You're gonna make mistakes. The key is to learn from them and do better — and not get st...

Your business will never grow if you spend all your time coaching classes and mopping floors. So unless you want to do that for the rest of your life, you've got to make time to work on your business instead of in it. Chris Cooper explains how. Links: The 10-Hour CEO How To Optimize Your Day Driven Nutrition Gym Lead Machine Gym Owners United Timeline: 1:00 – How Coop turned a crazy job into...

Nyan Cat. Doge. Charlie Bit My Finger. If all you think of when you hear "NFT" are funny internet things that inexplicably sell for tens of thousands of dollars, you need to listen to this podcast. Web 3.0 — in which creators license and sell their work on their own on the blockchain — is on the horizon, says Two-Brain Business founder Chris Cooper.  And with it comes some great potentia...

In the fitness industry, voices will always say, “This worked for me, and it will definitely work for everyone!” Those are the “n = 1 experts.” And maybe their ideas will work for you. But their advice carries risk: What if they’re over-reporting results? What if they’re under-reporting downside? What if their idea only worked once? What if their idea only worked in their gym? What if their idea o...

What do you tell your clients about the last few weeks of the year?  Do you tell them "Eh, forget it; eat all the trash you want and start fresh next year"? No! You teach them to take advantage of those last few weeks to keep working on their fitness and start the New Year on a roll. The same concept applies to revenue. Just because the holidays are upon us and the end of the year looms...

This episode of Two-Brain Radio is short but powerful—just like the tactics it's about. Tune in and learn how to make more money and improve retention with 12 simple text messages. Links: FOMO Alert: Three Minutes for Marketing (and Retention) "Building $86,000 Monthly Revenue Through Retention (and Sales)" with John Heringer How to Fix the Weak Links in Your Marketing Chain Two-Bra...

The gym down the road from you isn't doing so hot. One day, you get a call from the owner: "Do you wanna buy my gym?" There's a lot to consider—more than just gross revenue and client headcount.  How profitable is it? What mistakes and liabilities would you be acquiring? Do you actually need to buy that gym to get its clients? Two-Brain Business founder Chris Cooper breaks it d...

Ever seen an ad promising "exponential growth" with one easy trick? "Buy this lead program and grow your gym exponentially!" It's a catchy buzzphrase, but true exponential growth—growth that continues to grow and expand on itself—requires intention. Here, Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper shares how to make referral marketing an active process to achieve truly exponential gro...

The three most important stats when it comes to marketing are these: Set rates (how many appointments you book), show rates (how many people actually show up to those appointments) and close rates (how many of those people actually buy something in those appointments). In October, Kyle McGough of D1 Training Columbus led Two-Brain Business clients in all three. Here's how he did it. Links: D1...

You're an entrepreneur: You've got ideas, you're creative, and you want to do things your own way. We get that. But don't let your independent spirit cost you time and money. Instead, ask yourself the same three questions Chris Cooper asks himself before he tackles any new business venture—and watch as you save gobs of resources. Links: Chalk It Pro Arbox Gym Owners United Free...

What's better than a free trial?  Providing value. Free knowledge won't get you long-term clients. Providing something of value will — and value isn't free. Here's Chris Cooper on the difference between value and price, and why you're doing yourself a disservice by offering free trials. Links: AGuard Beyond the Whiteboard Gym Owners United Timeline: 1:08 – Value vs. price....

You want your coaches to make a good living at your gym. But how can you pay them more without hurting your bottom line? It's not about giving staff a bigger piece of the pie, Chris Cooper says. It's about baking a bigger pie. Here's how to do it. Links: Two-Brain Coaching Two-Brain Programming Gym Management: The Case for Part-Time Coaches Intrapreneurialism 101 Go With Them Timeli...

If there's a business book out there, chances are Chris Cooper's read it. That's good news for you, because it means you don't have to guess which ones are worth your while. Here are Chris Cooper's top reads — books that actually made a measurable difference in his business — from 2021, as well as which ones you can stand to skip. Links: Incite Tax Driven Nutrition Gym Own...

The holiday season: Chris Cooper calls it the "black hole of hedonism." Schedules fill up, good eating habits go out the window for weeks on end and frustrated clients pause their memberships—or even quit altogether. How do you keep your clients from getting sucked in? Here's Coop on the best way to retain clients during the holidays. Links: Drink O2 Gym Lead Machine Gym Owners Unit...

Want to sell a higher-value service?  Or increase the value of the service you already provide? You've got to increase your "with-ness." "With-ness" is the degree to which your service is a "done-with-you" service. That means you're not selling a commodity (done for you) and you're not selling an instruction manual (do it yourself). You're walking...

Sales and marketing may be trendy and sexy, but retention is where you make your money. It's easier—and more cost-effective—to keep a client than to gain a new one. Nick Seabock owns CrossFit Off the Grid in New Jersey, and with an average length of engagement of 41 months per client, he was Two-Brain's retention leader for July. Here, he joins Mike Warkentin to talk retention tactics: H...