Run a Profitable Gym

Focusing on retention can improve just about every metric in your gym, from average revenue per member to length of engagement.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks with Chris Cooper, Two-Brain founder and CEO, about all things retention.

They dial in on the five pillars of retention: results, fame, compatibility, consistency and referrals. Chris explains what each is and why it matters.

Then he provides five actions you can perform today to start keeping clients in your gym longer. And these strategies aren’t pulled out of thin air—they’re proven to work based on data from about a quarter of a million gym members around the world.

For more support, and to get Chris's new “Never Lose a Client Again” guide, join the Gym Owners United group.

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The Prescriptive Model

Gym Owners United

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0:38 - What is retention and why does it matter?

6:49- 5 pillars of retention

26:42 - Actions you can take today

32:11 - Get after referrals

Could you acquire over 400 members for your gym? And if you hit that total, could you hold onto them?

Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin chats with Rune Laursen, owner of BoxLife/CrossFit 5512 in Denmark. Rune made our December 2023 Top 10 leaderboard for client count, which ran from 324 to 1,034 members.

Rune’s already improved on his late-2023 stats: His gym now has 512 members and is steadily growing. He explains how he brings in and retains so many clients by using No Sweat Intros, Goal Review Sessions and the Prescriptive Model—and he backs up everything he says with data!

Rune credits much of his retention success to adding a CSM—a client success manager. He’s even looking at hiring a second CSM to ensure he holds onto all his hard-earned members.

Tune into this data-packed episode to learn how to expand your gym’s membership and build systems to support its growth.

Links

The Prescriptive Model

Gym Owners United

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1:37 - Rune’s retention

5:17 - Goal reviews & retention

10:36 - Always be calling

17:09 - Systemizing for success

26:33 - Final thoughts

Gym owners often think they have a marketing problem when they actually have a retention problem: It doesn’t matter how many new clients you bring in each month if they aren’t sticking around!

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper presents Two-Brain’s Top 10 leaderboard for client headcount in December 2023.

Each gym on the leaderboard has over 300 members and is super profitable. These gym owners have mastered both marketing and retention, and they’re sharing their top tips with you.

A few of their suggestions? To get clients in the door, use four different marketing funnels and audit them regularly to make sure they’re working. Then improve your length of engagement by setting up Goal Review Sessions with new and at-risk members.

Tune in to get more tips—and hear the astounding headcount of the No. 1 gym on the leaderboard.

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Gym Owners United

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4:02 - Audit your marketing funnels

7:19 - Members per gym (not gyms)

9:58 - No. 1 gym

9:44 - Retention more than marketing

12:25 - Most important funnel for you

Many paths lead to millionaire net worth as a gym owner, and one of them involves buying your gym’s building.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin sits down with Brian Strump, a chiropractor and the owner of Live Active Charlotte, who recently bought his gym’s building for $1.8 million.

The pair get into the details of the huge purchase and discuss the benefits of owning your building—some might surprise you!

Whether you’re ready to buy now or considering real estate as an option in the future, John and Brian share tips to get you moving toward your goal.

To find out how a dozen other gym owners became millionaires, check out Chris Cooper's latest book, “Millionaire Gym Owner,” available via the link below.

Links

"Millionaire Gym Owner"

Gym Owners United

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1:04 - Brian and the CrossFit Forum

9:09 - Brian’s team

17:53 - Brian's building

26:28 - Advice for first-time building owners

39:22 - When is someone ready?

Here are two big staff-related threats to a microgym: Coaches say “I can’t make enough money doing this” and leave the fitness industry. Or they say “I can’t make enough money here” and leave to start their own gyms.

What’s a gym owner to do?

You can start by showing your coaches how they can create great careers at your gym—and bringing them with you to the Two-Brain Summit this June is a fantastic way to do that.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper shares the lineup of speakers who will present to coaches at the summit.

A few big names to note: 2008 CrossFit Games champion Jason Khalipa, the Mayhem crew, and gym owner Oskar Johed, who is also a member of CrossFit’s Seminar Staff.

They’ll be joined by many other great speakers—including Josh Martin from The Refined Art of Coaching—who will get your coaches fired up to create to careers on your platform.

Links

Full lineup and tickets: Two-Brain Summit

Gym Owners United

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0:33 - Inspire your coaches

3:36 - 2024 speakers and topics

8:35 - Career Roadmap Session

12:07 - Mayhem speakers and workout

15:36 - The Refined Art of Coaching

Do you have a business model for your gym?

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin and Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper lay out five gym business models that have been proven to be successful—and that’s based on data from thousands of gyms around the world.

The models are:

1. Group only.
2. Group plus personal training.
3. Group plus high-ticket offers.
4. Semi-private training.
5. Guided access.

Tune in to learn the pros and cons of each model, and then get Coop's full guide to these models via the link below.

In the full guide, “5 Gym Business Models That Work,” you’ll find everything from bulleted executive summaries to spreadsheets full of data, so you can make an informed decision and create the best long-term plan for your gym.

Links

Full guide: "5 Gym Business Models That Work"

Brian Bott on semi-private training

Joe Venuti and Alessandra Bisalti on guided access

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1:21 - Is the group model still viable?

7:51 - Is on-ramp a barrier?

11:53 - Other revenue for group models

18:47 - Semi-private training

27:39 - Guided access and how it works

With just 1,700 square feet of usable space, Daniel Purington’s gym averages around $50,000 in revenue per month, allowing him to earn over $100,000 in net owner benefit, provide careers for four full-time staff members and pay two part-timers.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin sits down with Daniel, owner of Woodslawn Fitness in Portland, Oregon, to uncover the secrets of his success: consultative selling, diversified revenue streams, strong systems and mentorship.

By pairing carefully created programs and consultative selling—aka, No Sweat Intros—Daniel gives clients the services they need, while boosting profit and retention.

Solid systems enable Daniel to focus his time where he chooses, both inside and outside the gym.

And having a trusted mentor to hold you accountable and celebrate your successes is, in Daniel’s words, “like dumping gas on the flame.”

Check out Daniel’s tips, and then use them to determine whether you’re making the most of your time and space.

Links

Daniel's Instagram

Woodslawn Fitness

Gym Owners United

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0:34 - What Dan’s gym does

7:17 - Dan’s pricing model

15:49 - The process and how it works

26:13 - Incorporating the hybrid

30:41 - What has Dan been planning?

This episode of “Run a Profitable Gym” was recorded live in Dallas, Texas, during a meetup of the world’s best gym owners—some of whom are featured in Chris Cooper’s latest book, “Millionaire Gym Owner."

Host John Franklin sits down with Taryn Dubreuil of CrossFit Function and Joleen Bingham of 13 Stripes Fitness. Both Taryn and Joleen are Two-Brain mentors and certified millionaire gym owners.

Tune in to hear Taryn's and Joleen’s individual paths to success—from hitting rock bottom to reaching and exceeding $1 million net worth. For both, it all started with building a profitable gym and then reinvesting wealth somewhere it can compound.

To read more stories and see how other gym owners achieved millionaire status, get your copy of “Millionaire Gym Owner” today.

Links

"Millionaire Gym Owner" by Chris Cooper

Gym Owners United

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1:13 - Taryn's and Joleen's paths

12:35 - Gyms as cash-flow generators

17:56 - Investing in real estate

27:40 - Staying focused on a plan

32:07 - Impostor syndrome

34:10 - When are you ready to create your own plan?

“How can I stop working 70 hours a week?”

“What will I do if an unexpected expense comes up?”

“How am I ever going to retire?”

As a young gym owner, Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper asked all these questions, and at first he couldn’t find any answers.

This led him to search inside and outside the fitness industry for a path that led to freedom of money and freedom of time—aka, retirement.

He found that path, and it's the foundation of his latest book, “Millionaire Gym Owner,” which he and host Mike Warkentin discuss today on “Run a Profitable Gym.”

In the book, Chris shares his personal journey to $1 million net worth and beyond. But there’s more than one way to reach this milestone, and that’s why the book also includes the step-by-step paths of a dozen other millionaire gym owners.

Two-Brain has certified over 40 millionaire gym owners who have created jobs, saved lives and improved their local communities. We’d like you to join the ranks!

Links

“Millionaire Gym Owner” by Chris Cooper (Kindle version free until Feb. 16!)

Gym Owners United

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0:28 - Why did Chris write the book?

4:35 - A timeline for earning

7:47 - Struggling gym owner to millionaire

13:34 - Community around million-dollar gym owners

16:49 - Get your business into a good spot

This month’s leaderboard show is all about average revenue per member (ARM)—how much a gym earns on average from each client in a month.

In this episode, host Mike Warkentin is joined by Two-Brain ARM leader Michaela Munsterman. Her gym, Elite Medical Exercise, in Austin, Texas, has a gigantic ARM—but Michaela doesn’t spend any money on ads to attract her high-value clients.

Instead, she built a dedicated wellness community entirely through word of mouth and focused local networking, and she’s here to share her strategies with you.

Her top tip? Start charging what you’re worth. If you don’t, everyone around you will suffer, from your family to your staff to your clients. Two-Brain even has an exact template to help clients raise rates while minimizing risk so gym owners can have healthy, sustainable businesses and help as many people as possible.

Another top tip: Introduce yourself to other local business owners—and don't forget to bring the baked goods!

Chris Cooper's Help First concept has been instrumental to Michael’s success, and you can read all about it in his book of the same name, linked below.

What would happen to your gym if you introduced yourself to one local business owner every week? Head across the parking lot with coffee today and find out for yourself.

Links

"Help First" by Chris Cooper

Gym Owners United

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2:24 - What does Michaela do?

8:54 - Where does Michaela find clients?

15:57 - No paid advertising

20:52 - Other revenue streams

23:38 - Charging what you’re worth