Run a Profitable Gym

When should you not buy a gym?

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin dives into this question with Nick Habich, Two-Brain mentor and owner of Shark Bite Fitness and Nutrition in Cape Coral, Florida.

Nick has bought a couple of gyms and passed on several others, and he’s acquired a few horror stories along the way.

Some of the red flags he’s learned to look out for include high expenses—such as a ridiculously costly lease—and mismatches between financial data in the gym’s billing software and its profit and loss statement (P&L).

A lot of gym owners look to acquire businesses because they want to make more money, but they can often find opportunities to generate more revenue within their existing businesses. That’s not to say you should never buy another gym, just that the best plan is to optimize your existing business first.

Nick’s biggest tip? If your gym can’t run without you, don’t even think about buying another one. Start by improving your current gym with mentorship and then pursue other endeavors from a position of strength.

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0:51 - The buying-and-selling experience

6:52 - Buy a gym that’s unprofitable?

12:57 - Verify the numbers

18:46 - Rates that are too low

27:01 - Temptations and business decisions

When a gym owner sells or closes a business, it’s often because they’re burned out, broke or forced to sell for some reason.

But what does a “good exit” from gym ownership look like?

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper talks with two former gym owners who had successful exits—Taryn Dubreuil and John Franklin.

Both entrepreneurs explain why they opened gyms in the first place and detail how successful their gyms were at peak.

Then they share what helped them make the decision to exit and exactly how they sold.

Two things they had in common: knowing what their gyms were worth and having a clear next step.

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3:28 - Why did Taryn open a gym?

9:05 - Selling your gym

20:02 - Was it all worth it?

22:33 - Why did John open a gym?

29:14 - What should I sell?

Using mostly unconventional marketing methods, Mike Doehla built a nutrition company that sold to Anytime Fitness for eight figures.

In today’s episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin chats with Mike, former owner of Stronger U Nutrition.

Prior to its sale, Stronger U had over 50,000 lifetime members, and about half of those members were in its Facebook group, where Mike focused on sharing knowledge and building community.

Outside the group, Mike’s marketing tactics ranged from sticking business cards inside nutrition books to sitting in coffee shops with a giant laptop sticker that read “Hi, I'm Mike. Ask me nutrition questions.”

If you’d like to ask Mike nutrition questions—or business questions—you can reach him on Instagram: @mikedoehla

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3:30 - Creating community

9:00 - First 100 clients

23:04 - Getting traction with groups

35:12 - Generating buzz for small gyms

48:59 - Removing unnecessary boundaries

Conversations equal conversions.

If you’re a gym owner who’s tried running social media ads, blogging and posting reels without seeing a bump in your member count, it’s time to start initiating more conversations with potential clients.

“But how do I do that?”

In this episode, Two-Brain chief marketing officer John Franklin shares proven strategies for having more conversations and getting new members in the door with zero ad spend.

His tips involve reaching out to leads on platform, looking for referral opportunities in local social-media groups, creating your own fitness-focused community group, hosting events like bring-a-friend day and—as uncomfortable as it may sound—going out into the real world.

You’ll walk away from this episode equipped with tried-and-true tactics you can use to accomplish a goal: Talk to five new people about your gym every day.

Links

Sell-by-chat cheat sheet

Kieran O’Dwyer on creating free guides

Gym Owners United

1:34 - Getting clients today

3:28 - 6 ways to have more conversations

16:04 - How to find inspiration

20:06 - The real world

Specialty programs can significantly boost a gym’s revenue—if they’re set up properly.

The key? Don’t run every specialty program under the sun. Determine which option might serve your current clients and local market better, then test it with several six-week blocks before putting a full, ongoing program on the official menu.

Today’s guest on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Brian Foley, is an expert when it comes to running successful programs for older adults—often called “masters” or “legends” classes. His gym, Activate, in Kerry, Ireland, generates about 10 percent of its gross revenue with its 55-plus program.

The program is at capacity, its length-of-engagement stats beat the numbers from Brian’s other programs, and its average revenue per member numbers equal those of his core programs. So it's a clear winner.

Early retirees have time and money to invest in their health, but it isn’t all about the cash for a gym owner. Brian and host Mike Warkentin agree that this is the most rewarding demographic to coach in a gym. Masters clients are generally vibrant, energetic and open to coaching—and they get great results that improve their quality of life and longevity.

Listen to hear some of Brian’s top tips for starting a 55-plus program in your gym—and if you want the full, step-by-step plan, he’ll share it at the Two-Brain Summit on June 8 and 9 in Chicago.

There are only a handful of tickets left, so act fast and get them via the link below.

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Two-Brain Summit

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2:44 - How Brian got clients

9:33 - How did Brian identify his market?

15:03 - Raising rates and keeping clients

21:00 - Program must-haves

25:07 - Tailored personal training

What happens when you find your niche in the fitness industry? Bill Parisi turned his passion for youth performance into a multi-million-dollar business.

His company, Parisi Speed School, has more than 100 facilities around the world and has served over one million athletes, including more than 130 eventual NFL draft picks.

But Bill isn’t focused on the guys who run world-class 40-yard dashes at the NFL Combine. They appear later because he’s locked in on helping younger kids get faster so they make the team, play more and develop character through sport.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Bill, who shares how he identified his specialty in the youth performance niche: speed training. Bill narrowed his focus very early in his career, and he offers gym owners tips on finding their own niches.

Bill says you must figure out what area of fitness you’re most passionate about and then become an expert in it.

If you couple expertise with sound business practices, your niche can make you rich as you help others accomplish their health and fitness goals.

Bill will be sharing more of his knowledge at the Two-Brain Summit on June 8 and 9 in Chicago to help coaches further their careers and stand out in a crowd.

Only a few summit tickets are left, so get yours today through the link below.

Links

Two-Brain Summit

Gym Owners United

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1:57 - Nailing your niche fast

5:43 - Strength vs. speed: speed wins

14:24 - Focusing on a niche for success

22:22 - Top advice for opening a gym

28:32 - Tailoring your services

After six months of mentorship with Two-Brain, gym owner Wesley Kalkhoven doubled his income, earned more time with his family, and claimed spots on the February 2024 leaderboards for set rate and show rate.

His gym, Calisthenics Amsterdam in the Netherlands, had a whopping 76 No Sweat Intro appointments booked, and 37 people showed up.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks with Wesley, who shares exactly how his mentor, Gary Walsh, helped him rev up his marketing to bring in more leads.

Wesley also reveals his secret to getting so many leads to show up for their appointments: consistent follow-up.

Now, with only 20 group training spots left to fill, Wesley is setting his sights on growing other revenue streams, like personal training.

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0:50 - How did Wesley get so many clients?

6:12 - Why do people come to you?

10:33 - Improving the numbers

17:05 - Before Two-Brain and now

26:07 - How common are no-shows?

Gym owners often ask “how do I get more leads?” when they really need more customers.

The problem usually isn’t lead generation—it’s leads that don’t move down the marketing funnel.

How do you know if your funnel is clogged? You have to track and analyze metrics.

To help you add more clients, our February 2024 leaderboard show dials in on three critical lead-tracking metrics: set rate, show rate and close rate. How many leads set appointments, how many people show up, and how many buy?

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper runs through each Top 10 leaderboard, sharing data from the best gyms around the world.

Then he gives you tips directly from the owners of these gyms so you can find out exactly what they’re doing to get more clients in the door.

One tip came up in every interview: speed—reach out to leads as fast as possible.

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1:35 - February 2024 leaderboards

3:11 - NSIs set

5:15 - NSIs showed

6:51 - NSIs closed

8:43 - Marketing tips

Make his gym profitable by Christmas or shut down.

That was the goal set by Brandon Sundwall, owner of Virtuo Personal Training in L.A., around this time last year.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain Business chief marketing officer John Franklin is joined by Brandon, who shares his gym’s epic turnaround.

In just six months, Brandon doubled his gym’s revenue and cut his working hours in half—all with the support of his Two-Brain mentor, Anastasia Bennett.

The keys to reaching his goal? Focus and systems.

Brandon has systematized every aspect of his business so it won’t crumble if he’s gone for a few weeks. Now he thinks like an owner, always asking himself, “What’s most worth my time and effort?”

Tune in to hear exactly how Brandon revived his gym—and to find out what his goal is for 2024.


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0:44 - What is Virtuo?

8:22 - More clients and expansion

14:58 - Expanding business and family

23:37 - How Brandon found Two-Brain

33:11 - What’s on your Monday checklist?

When you buy mentorship, you buy speed.

In today’s episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper walks you through the mentorship process to show what’s possible and how fast you can move.

It’s all about setting a goal, creating a plan with expert assistance, and having someone hold you to the plan so you get the results you want.

At the start of the program, we’ll help you score quick wins. We want you to earn the money you need to pay for mentorship, so your mentor will help you create and sell a better offer. As you gain momentum, you’ll build a rock-solid foundation to your business by focusing on marketing, sales, cost control, retention, operations and team building.

In the Growth stage, your mentor will create a customized roadmap to get you where you want to go, and you’ll learn to track your metrics so you know you’re making progress. The focus here: Reach your ideal income level—$100,000 is a common target.

Once you have a strong, profitable business and some extra time and money, you can join the elite gym owners in our Tinker program. Here, the goal is to invest to build long-term wealth for your family, while increasing your lifespan and healthspan.

Two-Brain Business has produced 48 millionaire gym owners, with more added to the total every month.

How long will it take to get there? We move fast: The average Two-Brain client reaches $100,000 in income in just over two years (regardless of starting point), and $1 million net worth can be achieved about two years after that with the help of a mentor.

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0:47 - Buy mentorship and buy speed

3:29 - Six key areas

6:18 - An inside look

8:49 - Hitting your target income

10:22 - Think like an investor