Run a Profitable Gym

At the time Billy Gorham bought out his business partner, the gym was more hobby than business—so Billy joined Two-Brain Business' RampUp program to learn how to level up. One year later, he's surpassed his total revenue for 2020 just five months into 2021. He's increased his membership from 55 members to 130—and also increased average revenue per member by almost $100.  Plus, he&ap...

Do you track your gym's average lifetime value (LTV)? LTV is how much a client pays you over the entire course of your business relationship. It's a marriage of two other important metrics—average revenue per member (ARM) and length of engagement (LEG)—and it's a great way to get some perspective on the health of your business. Jonathan Beckner owns Move Functional Fitness in Decatu...

Kate Spinner has suffered, survived and triumphed over more challenges in the last decade than many do their entire lives. You might know her better as Kate Rawlings, a former CrossFit Games athlete and the founder and owner of Coca CrossFit in Ohio.  She opened her gym just a month after competing at the 2010 CrossFit Games, and since then she has weathered major injuries, shifts in career identi...

In his roughest years, Jeff Jucha was paying his gym's bills by maxing out his personal credit cards. He couldn't afford staff. And his bed was a hammock bolted to the gym office walls. But when an almost life-threatening sickness showed him just how much he'd been worn down, he made some changes. The biggest one? He started paying himself first. Since then, Jeff's become a pro...

"Bro, how much you bench?" How seriously would you take someone who judged your fitness based on just your bench press? Well, the gym owner's equivalent is membership numbers, and more is not always better. Don't believe it? Here's Chris Cooper on why more members won't make you rich—and what you should do instead to increase your net owner benefit by $40,000 per year...

Gym owners: Stop cutting your own pay to make ends meet. It doesn't make your business stronger. Still skeptical? Take it from Ashely Coffey, owner of Get Fit in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. When she first opened her gym, it was a struggle just to pay her coaches, much less herself. She was working 14-hour days and wearing all the hats, but her business wasn't growing. Then she tried Mike...

Money's tight this month. But your gym will make it—as long as you cut your own pay a little. No problem; you're not in this business to get rich, right? But you can't live like that forever. Eventually, your business needs to be profitable and you need a paycheck—or you're going to burn out. But how do you get there? The Profit First system, developed by Mike Michalowicz, is a...

Gym owner Jason Cohen recently did a hard audit of his business, taking a close, honest assessment of its five most critical aspects: the client journey, operations, facility, marketing, and sales. After the audit, he made some changes. Since then, his gym has been more successful than ever. Here's what Jason learned when he got up close and personal with his business—and how you can find and...

You might be over the pandemic, but that doesn't mean the pandemic's over—just ask Ruth Cheng, owner of CrossFit PTBO in Peterborough, Ontario, which just entered its third lockdown. Each of those lockdowns set Ruth to tears as she watched the cancelations pour in. Yet despite the hardships, the gym's gross revenue grew 20 percent in 2020 compared with 2019. Here, she shares her str...

You know you've got a great service that gets people results. But how do you get people to your website to sign up for that service? Good SEO—search-engine optimization—is critical. Your SEO practices (or lack thereof) affect where you rank in search results, and you don't wanna be on page 2. Here, digital-marketing expert Mateo Lopez unpacks some of the secrets of on- and off-page SEO a...

Nutrition coaching is a fantastic way to improve client results while increasing revenue for your gym—if it's done well. The gyms with the most successful nutrition-coaching programs are the ones who treat it with the same level of professionalism as fitness coaching. After completing and implementing the Two-Brain Nutrition Coaching course, designed by registered dietician and Nutrition Rx f...

How many leads do you get a month? Of those, how many book an appointment? And of those, how many actually buy? That's number is your close rate, and in February 2021, Joanne Cogle's was 100 percent. Here, she joins Mike Warkentin to talk about how she did it. Links: Should You Post Your Prices on Your Website? Nutrition Challenges Are Dead. Kickstarts Are the Answer Level Method Gym Own...

Look at all those clients and staff members—what would think if they knew the real you? If they knew what a fraud you actually are? If you've ever had thoughts like those, welcome: You're a fellow sufferer of imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is that voice inside our heads that tells us we're not actually as good as everyone thinks we are; that we've got them all fooled. Eve...

You know your program works. You're confident you can help clients reach their goals and change their lives. So why do you sweat and stammer when it comes time to ask for the sale? You're not actually bad at sales, says Jeff Burlingame, Two-Brain sales expert. You just have a bad sales process. On April 24, Jeff will join renowned sales expert Joe Marcoux to deliver a virtual Sales Maste...

No one said owning a gym would be easy, and it certainly hasn't been for Tina Ferringer. Her gym's roof collapsed. A staff member stole her ideas, opened a new gym and undercut her on prices. Then COVID-19 hit and shut her gym down for two months. But Tina's not complaining. In fact, she says she's thankful for the opportunities for growth. Tune in to learn how she sprung back...

Chris Doster swore he'd never go to work high. Or drink and drive. Or use intravenous drugs. But he did all three, and he couldn't stop—until he decided to fight to give his son a chance at life. He threw away the drug paraphernalia and got a sponsor—and got into fitness. It didn't take long before he had a new mission in life: to help other people improve their lives with health. B...

Your bookshelf is full of business books. You listen to all the podcasts and join all the right groups on social media. So why aren't you making more money? You don't need more knowledge, you need clarity. You need to know what to do right now. Start by getting off Facebook and taking action in these six core areas of your business. Links: Level Method Two-Brain Affinity Marketing guide...

Why did you get into the fitness business? It probably wasn't to spend all day marketing and worrying about sales. But that's what you'll be doing if you don't prioritize retention. Join Chris Cooper for a fireside chat on why retention is more important than marketing—and how you can improve it. Links: Gym Lead Machine Microgym Myths: The Market Chases Excellence Two-Brain Ram...

Running a business with your significant other can be awesome and inspiring while also being stressful and demanding. You see each other all day. You talk shop all day. Pretty soon, work problems become home problems and vice versa—and you can't even go home and vent to your spouse! Two-Brain fitness-business mentor Kenny Markwardt gets it. He runs Sandpoint Strength and Conditioning with his...

Gareth Wayt, owner of Second City Fitness in the United Kingdom, has been through three lockdowns since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The gym is still in that third lockdown, yet now, their retention, average revenue per member, and life-time value are all higher than ever. Here's what Gareth and co-owners did to make their business even stronger during the pandemic. Links: Second City...

Staff meetings are such a hassle. They're hard to schedule, nothing really gets done and they usually end in arguments. Sound about right? But what if they weren't a waste of time? What if you could use them to get your staff members to take action and even increase revenue right then and there? That's what staff meetings are like at 416 Fitness Club. Here, owner Dan Visentin explai...

You're busy. You've got tons of ideas—what about this new marketing technique? This new speciality-class idea?—but day-to-day tasks keep getting in the way. By the time your head hits the pillow each night, it feels like you spent the day treading water at best and trying not to drown at worst. Here's how to swim—how to focus and prioritize to move your business forward. Links: The...

Nutrition challenges are quick fixes that don't deliver long-term results—for your clients or your business. Kickstarts, on the other hand, are designed for ongoing progress. When Lindsey VanShoyck swapped the word "challenge" for "kickstart"—and made sure participants understood it was just the beginning of long-term change—she doubled the program's front-end revenue...

A gym owner in Atlanta once told Chris Cooper it was impossible to sell CrossFit in his area for more than $79 a month. Why? The market was saturated, and the only way for gyms to differentiate themselves was to be cheaper than the next guy. But that strategy doesn't keep the lights on for long. Here, CrossFit South Cobb owner and Atlanta microgym-industry leader Miles Davis explains how to g...

What would happen to your gym if you got COVID-19 tomorrow? Would you have to cancel two weeks of classes and pump the brakes on your business? At Live Active Charlotte, it was just business as usual when owner Brian Strump tested positive. That's because his gym was already equipped to keep on running whether he's there or not. How? It all comes down to skilled staff members who are in...