Stay ConnectedWe’ve already helped 3,000 gym owners become more profitable, and we’re the #1 gym mentorship program in the world.
This channel (presented by Two-Brain Business) is packed with business tools for gym owners and CrossFit affiliates. We provide actionable, data-backed business advice for all gym owners, including those who own personal training studios, fitness franchises, and strength and conditioning gyms.
In this episode, Two-Brain Business founder Chris Cooper breaks down the tweaks you can make to your gym business today to improve your ROI tomorrow.
From staffing audits to maximizing your use of space to analyzing your software, you need to take a clear-eyed approach to assess your expenses and implement the measures that will bring the most bang for your buck in your gym business. You can't cut your way to wealth, but you can definitely improve your return on the money you invest; in this podcast, Chris will give you the tools to get started.
3:23 - Measuring return on space
7:55 - Gauging return on staff: contribution margin
12:10 - Getting more value from professional services
14:36 - Evaluating software and ROI
20:13 - Measuring value of equipment - how will this make me money?
24:00 - Pre-sales and supplements
How much content should I be creating? Is Facebook advertising dead? Should I hire a GM? What about supplements?
In this podcast, Two-Brain Business founder and CEO Chris Cooper answers your burning questions on a slew of topics.
Got a question for Chris? Email him at chris@twobrainbusiness.com or post it in the Gym Owners United Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gymownersonly
0:58 - How much content is too much?
4:59 - Is Facebook advertising dead?
7:33 - Should I hire a marketing agency?
11:30 - Should I hire a general manager?
15:24 - How do I buy a building?
18:00 - Should I sell supplements?
21:05 - What should my core programs be?
"Help First" is the title of one of Chris Cooper's most quoted books—but what does "help first" really mean? Does this mean"help (for free) always"?
In this episode, Chris shares what a meaningful approach to Help First looks like. You want to get the client to a point where they're ready to purchase your service, not just to benefit from your free advice and never sign up.
Chris maps out exactly how to apply Help First in your gym business in order to benefit both your prospective client and your gym.
"Help First" on Amazon
3:00 - The intention of Help First
5:00 - Giving too much for free
6:00 - Steps to a productive Help First approach
11:41 - The problem of being overly generous
13:48 - Get people in your program to get results
You might be the best gym around but no one will know about you unless you tell them.
In his mentorship practice, Chris Cooper stresses the need for his clients to produce meaningful, consistent content in order to get and maintain clients. But where to start?
In this podcast, Chris lays out a content model that will get you in the practice of regularly producing content. In this clear, step-by-step guide, you'll learn what you must do each day to produce great content that resonates with your existing clients and attracts new ones.
Book a free call
2:50 - Publish 5x per week on a platform that you own
3:23 - Motivation Monday: Give people a reason to come to your gym
4:13 - Teaching Tuesday: Teach something helpful (meal prep, how to do a squat, etc)
5:00 - "Who" Wednesday: Who is coming to your gym? Tell their story
6:15 - Thank-you Thursday: Gratitude post
8:00 - Bright Spot Friday
New gym owner Jason Tebedo was able to open his doors at CrossFit Angier on launch day with a whopping 83 members. In this episode, he dishes the secrets to his opening-day success.
Working with his Two-Brain Mentor as part of the StartUp program, Jason laid out his foundation in advance and got the right plan in place to acquire and keep members from the get-go. Jason breaks down what exactly he did to set up his Founders Club, social events, 1:1 nutrition counseling, social media marketing, No Sweat Intro system and more.
Links
CrossFit Gym Business Plan
2:06 - Founders Club
5:22 - Getting new clients and client avatar
7:33 - First steps and mistakes
14:53 - Two-Brain resources
19:27 - Leasing and finding the right space
23:00 - Setting rates
27:01 - Staffing and programming
What do we want from life?
Misha Saidov has pared it down to an acronym - FERMI: Flow (the experience of optimal feeling of engagement in the moment), Engagement, Relaxation, Meaning and Ideal. Ultimately, people want to feel better. As a life coach, he offers experience which serves to help alter their perspective, and therefore how they feel in their lives.
In this episode, Misha and Chris Cooper discuss the idea of emergence, the difference between dreams and goals, limiting beliefs, moving from non-desired outcome to desired outcome, and how to change your behaviour.
Ultimately, life coaching is about helping someone create a life that is worth living; gym owners can see a positive return by integrating these principles into their coaching practice.
0:24 - The New FERMI Paradox
13:25 - Dreams vs. Goals
22:25 - What is Life Coaching?
30:33 - What is Metacognitive Programming?
37:54 - Misha’s Process for building Life Coaches
Entrepreneurial confidence is key to sustaining success - but it's something many gym owners overlook.
In this episode, psychotherapist and executive coach Bonnie Skinner breaks down exactly what entrepreneurial confidence is, how a lack of it shows up in your life, and what reps you should be doing to build that muscle. Making a concerted effort to boost your entrepreneurial confidence can result in a better mindset overall; this spills over into both your personal and professional life and will help you grow your gym business.
https://www.yourmentalfitness.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mentalfitness4ceos
1:30 - What is entrepreneurial confidence?
5:56 - Common areas of insecurity
8:59 - Confidence vs. Competence
11:21 - Overcompensating for lack of confidence
12:48 - How personal narratives become your SOPs
14:47 - Self-assessment
21:28 - Rate increases and how to deal
25:48 - How to build confidence
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 according to client avatar.
Here, he joins Chris Cooper to explain why and how it gets clients results while boosting retention.
Links:
Beyond RXD
Gym Owners United
Timeline:
2:27 – What’s a client avatar?
3:18 – What does Beyond RXD programming look like?
6:35 – Programming by avatar.
8:53 – How to keep track of client goals in a class setting.
12:59 – What about cherry-picking?
14:27 – Implementing the system: How long does it take?
16:30 – The retention connection.
18:09 – A fresh take on benchmark workouts.
25:55 – Applying Beyond RXD to groups vs. one-on-one training.
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 that right) to tech start-up founder to business leader.
Links:
Wodify
Gym Owners United
Timeline:
1:01 – From MBA to ilovecrabs.com.
6:23 – Starting his first company.
7:42 – The birth of Wodify.
12:05 – Convincing people to trade the whiteboard for a digital tracker.
16:55 – Learning from a $750,000 mistake.
19:34 – Funding Wodify’s creation.
22:03 – Providing high quality with low overhead.
24:21 – Developing Wodify’s culture.
27:17 – Admitting mistakes.
33:21 – Communicating with customers, overselling, and the product roadmap.
40:58 – Why Wodify walked away from a partnership with CrossFit, LLC.
45:22 – From entrepreneur to boss to leader.
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 and the wildly successful Caffeine and Kilos.
Links:
CrossFit Excel
Caffeine and Kilos
Gym Owners United
Timeline:
2:13 – How Danny become a gym owner.
5:12 – The birth of Caffeine and Kilos.
11:05 – Caffeine and Kilos today.
14:04 – Where Caffeine and Kilos’ sales come from.
17:01 – Building the Caffeine and Kilos brand while also growing a gym.
23:31 – Running both businesses at once.
25:56 – Building systems and hiring the right people.
30:07 – What’s next for Caffeine and Kilos.
33:51 – What to consider if you’re considering a second business.
40:07 – Knowing the value of your time.
42:55 – How to get involved with Caffeine and Kilos.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
