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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.
Chris Cooper used to ask his mentors what they were reading; now, he asks them, "What book have you read five times?"
A side effect of the COVID crisis meant fewer books were published in 2019, but that's OK. A book doesn't have to be new to be great.
Here are Chris's top reads of 2020.
Links:
Arbox
AGuard
Free Tools
Preorder Chris' new book
Timeline:
00:41 – The milkshake revelation.
6:08 – “All Marketers Are Liars”
7:13 – The 75 Hard Challenge
8:20 – “Business Secrets From the Bible”
9:28 – "Vivid Vision"
10:37 – “Fix This Next”
12:10 – “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do”
13:03 – “The Wealthy Fit Pro’s Guide to Getting Clients and Referrals”
14:02 – “Think Like a Rocket Scientist”
15:08 – “The Big Leap”
15:58 – “Blue Ocean Strategy”
Find all the books on Chris' list here.
When the COVID pandemic hit, many gym owners had to let staff members go or stop paying them. Jared Byczko of NapTown Fitness promoted staff members instead, creating new C-suite level positions in the middle of lockdown.
It's just one of many reasons why he earned Two-Brain's Coach Education Award, given to gym owners who've created such a strong business that it supports not only the owners and their families but provides solid careers for staff, too.
Tune in to learn how Jared and his business partner, Peter Brasovan, developed such a resilient business.
Links:
NapTown Fitness
Incite Tax: Profit First for Microgyms
Two-Brain Coaching
Gym Owners United
Timeline:
00:21 – About the Coach Education Award.
3:45 – Shifting from personal development to team development.
5:08 – Hitting their stride with mentorship.
6:30 – Promoting staff despite COVID.
9:08 – Experimenting with staff compensation methods.
11:23 – The Entrepreneur’s Operating System.
15:30 – The importance of empathy.
16:53 – What to do if you’re struggling with staffing.
18:00 – The future of NapTown Fitness.
Think having 500 members will make your gym profitable? It depends on how much each of those members is paying you—and if you have 500 members, chances are they're not paying much.
Microgyms don't become profitable by selling discounted services—group training—in bulk. They become profitable by selling high-value services to the right clients and increasing their ARM (average revenue per member).
Northglenn Health & Fitness has an ARM of $314 per member—even during COVID. Tune in to learn what owner Jennifer Dawson does to keep that number high.
Links:
Northglenn Health & Fitness
Incite Tax: Profit First for Microgyms
Two-Brain Coaching
Free Tools
Timeline:
1:40 – Calculating ARM.
3:18 – The big mistake Jennifer avoided when she opened her gym.
5:52 – What Jennifer did to increase her ARM.
8:16 – How goal-review sessions can help you increase revenue.
10:21 – Helping, not selling.
14:14 – Winning by not making the sale.
18:16 – The easy sale is soon lost.
21:42 – To increase ARM, you have to build relationships.
24:06 – Increasing ARM during COVID.
32:37 – How affinity marketing can keep ARM going strong.
34:53 – The disservice you’re probably doing your clients (and how it undercuts your ARM).
36:08 – Why you need an annual plan.
38:04 – The key to high ARM: Offering multiple services.
Phil Kniep has dealt with many of the same problems most gym owners have: Bad partners, weed clients and COVID. But what sets him apart is how he handled them.
Shortly after taking sole ownership of CrossFit Lincoln, he made the tough call to dismiss some clients who were causing problems. Twenty other members left with them.
With the help of his mentor, he and his wife rebuilt the membership according to their new vision—and then COVID hit. But while other gyms shuttered their doors, CrossFit Lincoln thrived, reporting record revenue at the height of the pandemic.
Tune in to learn how Phil turns devastating situations into opportunities for growth.
Links:
CrossFit Lincoln
Wodify
Gym Lead Machine
Gym Owners United
Timeline:
00:20 – The Comeback of the Year Award.
1:56 – Becoming sole owners and seeking mentorship.
5:55 – Firing weed clients.
8:41 – Dealing with the fallout.
11:40 – How CrossFit Lincoln delivered its most profitable months during COVID.
15:27 – The payoff: Moving closer to Perfect Day.
16:45 – Standing apart from the competition.
18:20 – What to do when you feel hopeless.
Gym owners: What does your marketing process look like? Do you just toss out some ads and hope for the best?
Maybe you're more sophisticated and you've got automations set up to chase after leads. Guess what? That's still not enough.
Here, marketing expert Mateo Lopez breaks down the points of performance for the kind of marketing chain that ends in more sales closed.
Links:
Incite Tax: Profit First for Microgyms
Forever Fierce
Gym Lead Machine
StoryBrand: Can It Help You Acquire More Clients?
Free Tools
Book a Free Call
Timeline:
1:51 – Learning the lingo: Leads, set, show, close.
6:21 – Why gym owners need to learn about the marketing chain.
10:17 – What gym owners do wrong when it comes to lead generation.
14:35 – The top gym-website faux pas.
19:40 – What your website should be doing.
25:50 – How to get more people to book appointments through your website.
28:58 – Fine-tuning the lead-nurture sequence.
30:47 – How to make follow-ups personal.
34:31 – How to increase appointment show rates.
39:23 – Is your appointment-booking software working for or against you?
46:04 – The power of personal touchpoints.
46:59 – How to close the sale.
50:01 – Conviction: You need to put in the reps.
54:00 – Resources to help you improve your marketing chain and close more sales.
Gym ownership can feel like a thankless job at times. No one sees all the late nights, early mornings, blood, sweat and tears you put into your business.
That's why Two-Brain Business' Clients' Choice Award is so meaningful. It's more than a trophy. It's a signal from your clients that you're doing things right and that they appreciate you.
The 2020 Clients' Choice award winner is Nick Seabock, owner of Off the Grid CrossFit in New Jersey.
Links:
CrossFit Off the Grid
Arbox
Driven Nutrition
Gym Owners United
Timeline:
00:23 – All about the Clients’ Choice Award.
3:34 – What sets Off the Grid CrossFit apart.
4:38 – Nick’s approach to client care.
6:13 – When the pandemic hit.
8:22 – Maintaining community during the COVID shutdown.
10:28 – Positive takeaways from the shutdown experience.
The average length of engagement—the average amount of time a member sticks around—for most gyms is 7.8 months. At CrossFit Moncton, it's 4.5 years.
CrossFit Moncton owner Kevin Wood joined Mike Warkentin to share how he gets his members to stay for so long. It's about actually caring about your members, he said, and following that care up with action.
Tune in for some actionable advice you can implement today to figure out exactly when and why your members leave, how to stop those leaks and what you can do to increase your gym's length of engagement.
Links:
CrossFit Moncton
CrossFit Moncton: "Gyms are high-risk areas ... really?"
Wodify
Free Tools
Timeline:
1:51 – Calculating length of engagement.
6:27 – Showcasing your clients.
9:06 – Length of engagement and the client-intake process.
11:18 – Finding the leaks.
14:15 – Why people leave after 30-50 days.
15:16 – What happened when Kevin made a 50-year-old man cry.
17:15 – The sniper effect.
18:20 – Using systems to catch lagging members before they disappear.
21:26 – Showing members you care about them.
24:17 – Evolving with your audience.
25:53 – Managing LEG during COVID.
30:25 – Getting lost members back after COVID closures.
32:19 – Two simple things you can do today to increase LEG.
Mike Collette had just split from his business partner, gotten married, bought a house and gotten a dog—then COVID hit.
Six months later, his gym is not only still standing but is also turning a 30% profit—likely because of how well Mike was running his business before the crisis.
Learn how he did it—and why he earned Two-Brain's Left Brain Gym of the Year Award—here.
Links:
Prototype Training Systems
AGuard
Wodify
Gym Owners United
Timeline:
00:27 – All about the Left Brain Gym of the Year award.
4:16 – The secret to Prototype Training Systems’ success.
6:46 – Creating great careers for coaches.
10:00 – Learning how to sell fitness.
14:30 – Looking back—and appreciating failure.
16:47 – Marketing and the power of content creation.
18:46 – Maintaining consistent communication with staff and clients.
21:06 – Dealing with the COVID shutdown.
25:22 – Turning necessities into opportunities.
30:06 – Choosing to be a leader during times of crisis.
Australians have faced some of the most severe COVID lockdown restrictions in the world: Evening curfews. Travel restricted to a 5-kilometer radius from home. Multiple total shutdowns.
The severity of the restrictions has many Australian gyms hanging by a thread. But not Tribe MVMNT.
Despite these extreme challenges, gym owner James Mawson says his gym has actually grown. Revenue and membership are both up, and he's even planning on opening a second location soon.
But he didn't just get lucky, and it wasn't easy. Tune in to learn how James increased revenue, kept his staff paid and increased his membership during the COVID crisis.
Links:
Tribe MVMNT
Incite Tax: Profit First for Microgyms
Two-Brain Coaching
The Second Shutdown Plan for Gym Owners
Deanna Mawson, online nutrition coach
Timeline:
2:24 – Lockdown in Australia.
6:39 – Surviving the first lockdown: all about the quick transition.
8:30 – The power of membership suspension and automatic renewal.
10:14 – Lending equipment.
12:34 – The importance of attitude and leadership.
14:40 – Moving the gym outside.
17:24 – When the second shutdown hit.
18:27 – Communication is critical.
22:18 – Making the best of the new norm.
27:43 – Increasing personal training.
29:56 – Boosting revenue by 25%.
30:54 – Listen to your members.
35:12 – The power of confidence.
38:36 – Getting the landlord on board.
40:14 – Supporting staff during COVID.
43:43 – How to get new clients during COVID.
45:09 – Lessons learned that will stick for the long haul.
Before Brandon Evans started mentorship with Two-Brain Business, his gym, Heart and Hustle Fitness, was operating at a $7k deficit each month. Within four months of joining Two-Brain, the gym was back in the black.
Here, Brandon shares some of the key lessons that have helped him shed the debt and stress and move into a true CEO role—and toward his Perfect Day.
Links:
Heart and Hustle Fitness
Driven Nutrition
Forever Fierce
Gym Owners United
Timeline:
00:26 – The Future Star award.
2:44 – Brandon Evans’ secret to success.
4:34 – Pre-Two-Brain: Stressed and in the red.
6:33 – Learning to take a singular focus.
9:50 – Learning how to face challenges without panicking.
12:50 – Becoming a leader.
15:39 – How Heart and Hustle got out of debt.
17:52 – The power of accountability.
20:48 – Looking to the future: A future of freedom.
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