Run a Profitable Gym

What's in a name? Would a gym by any other name still draw people to you? What's the value of the CrossFit brand on YOUR front door? This week on the podcast, I ask some original affiliates some questions about the value of the brand. Recorded from July 18-July 27.

This episode is sponsored by Liquid State Design and Healthy Steps Nutrition . The TwoBrain Summit ended yesterday. It was JAMMED with great conversation, some excellent presentations and amazing food. We might have lifted a few weights, too. Our goal at TwoBrain Business is to ask bigger, better questions, and create an entirely new paradigm for gym owners and coaches. Why DON’T average gyms gros...

For full show notes, including a sweet banded power clean demo video, visit: http://twobrainbusiness.com/episode-36-programming-with-jason-brown/

From Wikipedia: Dunbar's number is a suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. These are relationships in which an individual knows who each person is and how each person relates to every other person.[

We think all the time, "How do I attract more people to me?" But the first question should be, "What's STOPPING people?"

Ken Andrukow is a Two-Brain Mentor and owner of Reebok CrossFit Ramsay. Ken charges one of his clients over $2,000 per month. He's working on a deal with a major hotel chain. His secret? Ken asks his clients how he can help them. As I wrote in "Help First," it sounds almost too simple. But identifying opportunities doesn't come naturally to most first-time entrepreneurs. We tea...

Every Friday, I give you a BIG-PICTURE question to chew on over the weekend. This week: turning Garbage into GOLD.

Michael Scott and Mike Collette are co-owners of CrossFit Prototype in MA. They’ve been open for three years, and now they’re expanding. Instead of opening a second location or adding space to their original box, Michael and Mike are starting to acquire other local boxes. I’m in a privileged position of trust: box owners are more willing to talk openly when I’m in the room as a “broker”. So at the...

Another HUGE question for you to ponder this weekend...are you projecting your OWN fears and biases onto your clients? What's that costing you?

Vaughn Vernon is the guy behind Affiliate Guard . Vaughn insures over 2200 affiliate gyms, and we get together whenever possible to share “War Stories.” Some of these are funny, it’s true. But the point is to identify the potential tripping stones for gyms. This is NOT a boring episode about insurance. It’s a glimpse into the future. It’s a chance to analyze your defense. Vaughn is definitely not...

The purpose of this episode is to give you a "BIG PICTURE QUESTION" to ponder over your weekend. It's a doozy! Special bonus: a special signup rate for our TwoBrain Summit, July 15-17, 2016.

AJ and Megan Dwyer own MAD Strength and Conditioning and CrossFit SwampFox. Since December 2015, they’ve affiliated and opened a second location. Their rapid growth is fueled by AJ’s focus on youth athletes, and sports teams. AJ brings a unique approach to intake, testing, prescription and training, and he’ll share his methods in this podcast. 00:5:00 – AJ’s story: MMA, bodybuilding, military depl...

Zach Even-Esh is the founder of UnderGround Strength. I first encountered Even-Esh's work in T-Nation in 2005. The "Old School Training" article was less an epiphany about training methods to me than a potential business model: suddenly, I could foresee a way to own a gym without investing hundreds of thousands of dollars. This guy - Even-Esh - was doing it. He didn't have a pe...

Since I started this podcast six months ago, I've received an increasing amount of questions via email. Originally, I thought I'd answer one or two every few weeks. But as the volume - and quality - of questions increased, I realized the necessity of dedicating one full episode to answering them. These were asked via email, Twitter (@TwoBrainCoach) or on our Facebook page. 3:00 - "H...

This episode is sponsored by InBody. Commander Mark Divine is the founder of SEALFit. He’s the author of Unbeatable Mind, The Way of the SEAL, 8 Weeks To SEALFIT and his new book, Kokoro Yoga. In this episode, Mark talks about using Yoga to develop a warrior’s mindset and improve athleticism. This isn’t the foo-foo stretchy-pants-and-fancy-mats yoga from a Lululemon poster: this is the battle-born...

Jim Wendler is one of the best-known names in modern powerlifting. Thanks to his association with Westside Barbell, EliteFTS and his book, you probably think you know a lot about him already. In this episode, we go deeper than the Wikipedia page to talk about Jim's mentors, his values, and his concept of "freedom."

On August 12, 2011, Jason Brown and Danielle Bjorkman went for coffee. By September 19, they owned an affiliate together. The CrossFit gym was their first bond, but not their last. Within that first month, they started a relationship and moved in together."I don't like to gamble, but if there's one thing I'll bet on, it's myself."6:35: "No one outworks my husband...

People who do Obstacle Races want three things:1. Something new2. Something they can do with their friends3. Something that scares them a little. They can find all of those things in CrossFit, of course, but many don't know it yet. Rich Borgatti sits at the nexus between Obstacle Course Racing and CrossFit. In this episode, he talks about the overlap; how to train racers; and how to get them...

Dr. Ryan DeBell is founder of The Movement Fix. He's been doing CrossFit for 9 years. When he opened his clinic, Dr. DeBell began traveling around to CrossFit gyms with a little two-hour presentation to help lifters. After he published a watershed post, "The Best-Kept Secret: Why People Have to Squat Differently," he was invited to bring his paid seminar to over 20 boxes. That was t...

F your Funnel. Why start your marketing plan with the people LEAST likely to want your service, and then try to filter out 90% of your audience? It's like cutting down a whole tree to find the right twig. Instead, start from a seed. Build a tree on which EVERY branch bears fruit. That's Affinity Marketing. Affinity marketing starts with your SEED clients: those perfect members who are mo...

You should be able to make a great living from 150 clients. The "low-rate, high-volume" approach doesn't work. Every week, I get on a phone call with a gym owner who sums up their failing business this way:"I just need more clients." Usually, they don't. As strong gyms begin to absorb weak ones, owners on the cusp of success are finding their way to our mentorship at...

Pieter-Jan Buysmans is the owner of CrossFit Hasselt in Belgium. He's also an innovator. When a back injury sidelined his career as a professional snowboarder, Pieter found CrossFit. Now he owns two gyms, and his systems are so dialed he ran both remotely for six weeks after a recent surgery. This time away from the day-to-day operation gave him weeks to pursue new ideas and growth--the thing...

Ray Gowlett is a professional MMA fighter, motocross racer and research skeptic. His lab contains almost 600 subjects (it's a high school) and Ray is constantly seeking new ways to teach and coach. Many of these kids are high-level athletes; just as many don't want to be in the class at all. He's always trying new things, but this cross-pollination of students means every innovation...

Larris Hutton is a Major in the US Army, a JAG lawyer, and a box owner. He has a unique model: fewer clients with higher value in a smaller space. CrossFit Prelude provides full-time careers for his coaches. Larris' box isn't one of the most expensive in the area, but his ARM is very high. And he does it all in 1100 square feet. How? He believes a box owner should behave like a LEADER in...