Run a Profitable Gym

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...

Karen Hazelton never thought anyone would pay $300 for a gym membership. She could hardly believe people would pay the $140 she was charging—that is, until she joined the Two-Brain family. After overhauling her systems and prioritizing helping first by prescribing exactly what her clients need to reach their goals, Karen is now pulling an average revenue per member around the $300 mark. Here'...

What does it take to be a world-class coach? Tons of technical knowledge? Lots of certifications? Those things might make you good at correcting movement, but they're not the key to exceptional coaching. Here, Two-Brain Coaching mentor Shawn McQueen explains what is. Links: Railroad CrossFit Two-Brain Coaching AGuard Gym Lead Machine Gym Owners Handbook Contact: shawn@twobraincoaching.com Tim...

Brian Zimmerman's ARM (average revenue per member, per month) is more then $300—and those are lockdown numbers. What's his secret? He does a lot of cool stuff, but perhaps the most effective for boosting ARM while getting clients results is his hybrid package: a combination of group classes and personal training designed to give clients the best of both worlds. Here's how it works....

When Storm Strout first opened his gym, he charged $70 a month. Today, that's what he charges for one hour of private coaching. By offering a menu of high-value services including private training, private nutrition coaching and specialty classes, he's also notched an ARM—average revenue per member, per month—of $284. Don't think it's possible? He didn't either, at first....

How do you tell a staff member he or she is doing something wrong without getting into an argument? It's all about establishing a feedback culture, says Per Mattson, Certified Two-Brain mentor. When you clearly communicate how constructive feedback helps improve the business and makes everyone better, staff members will be more open to receiving—and giving—it. Here's how to do it. Links:...

Jim Adams knows a few things about the fitness business—after all, he's been in it for more than 30 years. He's been a personal trainer in big-box gyms and he's opened his own studio. He's worn all the hats of his business and he's learned how to hire and develop a great team. He's also the founder and host of the Masters in Fitness Business Podcast, where he speaks w...

In Chris Cooper's new book, "Gym Owners Handbook,"  he writes all about the 400-plus things you need to do to grow your gym and achieve freedom of time and money. In this podcast, he'll tell you how to do each of those things. Here, Coop starts by teaching you how to measure success in your business, explaining the six areas of excellence you need to develop and how to develop...

How many clients does a microgym owner need to be successful? How does he or she find them? And how do operations change as client base grows?  The answers are in the data. Here, Chris Cooper pulls important numbers from Two-Brain's State of the Industry Guide—like how many clients gyms have and how profitable those gyms are—and explains how they're connected. If you're wondering wh...

The best coaches know they need coaches, too. Mike Watson is one of those coaches. As a mentor for Two-Brain Coaching's First Degree course, he helps new and veteran coaches grow as trainers and develop their careers, whether that looks like personal training, group-fitness coaching, nutrition coaching, mindset coaching or something else. He joined Two-Brain Coaching co-founder Josh Martin to...

The gyms that had the best retention during lockdown were the ones that customized group programming to every client's needs—and if they keep doing that, they'll continue to be successful long after the COVID crisis is over. But customization is a lot of work. That's where Two-Brain Programming comes in: to help gym owners deliver excellent, customized service while saving time and...

The average long-term value of a client at CrossFit MASS is over $10,000. So what's owner Joe Venuti's secret? Is it about rates? Specialty programs? Sales wizardry? And how does he plan to keep that number high? Mike Warkentin digs in with all those questions and more in this episode of Two-Brain Radio. Links: CrossFit Mass Incite Tax: Profit First for Microgyms Driven Nutrition The Sta...

You've heard of ARM (average revenue per member) and LEG (length of engagement), but what do you know about LTV—lifetime value? Lifetime value is just what it sounds like: how much a client pays you over the course of their entire relationship with your business. And at Chalkline CrossFit in California, it was over $9,000 per client in October. Here's how owner Emily Cabral achieved such...

The COVID crisis fast-tracked the evolution of the fitness industry, but it's about more than online coaching. The gyms that retained the most clients were the ones whose coaches had the deepest relationships with those clients—and that means teaching more than exercise. That's why Two-Brain Coaching teaches the SEMM model: Sleep, eat, move, manage. World-class coaches help their clients...

Certified Two-Brain Mentor Josh Price has mentored some of the best gym owners in the business—including four of this year’s Two-Brain Award winners. Here’s what they have in common, how they’ve become so good at what they do and tactics you can use to level up your game in 2021. Links: When No One Sees Your Vision (and It’s all Your Fault) How to Be a Better Leader in 2021 The State of the Indust...

There's never been a resource like this before.  Eighty-four pages of data-backed information on the state of the fitness industry, including: The types of gyms that are the most profitable. Where the most profitable gyms get the bulk of their revenue. How much gyms are paying their employees. How many gyms had to fire staff during COVID. Most gyms’ typical lead costs. How many gym owners are...

If you're a gym owner, you're also a leader—whether you like it or not. You set the example for your staff and members, and how well you lead has a direct correlation to how well your business performs. But what does good leadership look like? And can you get better at it if it doesn't come naturally? Here, certified Two-Brain mentor and gym owner Anastasia Bennett shares five chara...

Oskar Johed and business partner Karl Solberg have some of the best Net Owner Benefit numbers in the Two-Brain family. That means their business is working to their benefit and providing things like good salaries, dividends, pension plans, life insurance and more. But you don't get a high Net Owner Benefit by accident. The owners of CrossFit Medis in Sweden are now reaping the benefit of year...

In September, Pep Leppers got 40 leads. All of them booked appointments, 39 showed up and 28 of them bought something. You could call it a lucky month, but he's maintained those numbers—a set rate of 30-40, a 95 percent show rate and a 70-80 percent close rate—ever since. Learn how he does it and how you can improve your gym's set, show and close rates in this episode. Links: All Round C...

After Jen Broxterman switched her nutrition-coaching program from a macros-based method to a habits-based method, her revenue increased from $40,000 a year to $150,000. When Lindsey VanSchoyck made the switch, hers went from $56,000 to $116,000—and her length of engagement went from three or four months to almost a year. Here’s how you can get the same results. Links: Two-Brain Coaching Take the T...

Some of the toughest lessons about leadership Ashley Haun learned in an ocean storm. The co-owner of Nika Athletics was a contestant on Eco-Challenge Fiji, a 10-day expedition race and TV show. During the race, Ashley and her team had to sail an ancient sailboat with no wind, climb a volcano in the dead of night and more. It was a grueling physical test—and a great lesson in leadership. Here'...

It's exciting to get lots of leads, but what really matters is how many of them show up—and how many buy. Matt Andrus, owner of Sequoia Fitness in Oakland, California, closed 75% of his leads in September. In this episode, he shares how he does it. Tune in to learn his approach to advertising, lead nurture and sales—and how he builds trust with potential new clients. Links Sequoia Fitness Inc...