Run a Profitable Gym

Many gym owners are scared to raise rates, even though they probably don’t charge enough for the value they provide.

The good news? There are a few simple tactics you can use to boost revenue before you do a rate increase.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper is joined by Brendan Rice, CEO of Wodify, to talk about two new Wodify features that enable gym owners to make more money without raising rates or adding more members.

One of these features allows gym owners to increase profit by an average of $1,000 each month with just the click of a button.

The second new feature—called Free Unlimited—was designed to get Wodify’s state-of-the-art software in the hands of as many gym owners as possible, no matter where they are in their entrepreneurial journeys.

Tune in to learn more about these exciting new features—and existing Wodify users who want to enable one or both can contact [email protected]. If you’re not yet a member, just head over to wodify.com to get started.

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Wodify

0:38 - Processing fees explained

5:02 - Presenting to members

8:22 - The new initiative

12:09 - Learning from other industries

13:53 - Clients will understand

How much extra revenue would your gym bring in if you increased rates by just $10?

What if each client contributed $300 or more to your gross revenue?

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks average revenue per member (ARM) with Kelly Lorenz, owner of FORM gym in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Kelly’s gym boasts an impressive ARM score: It earned a spot on Two-Brain's December 2023 Top 10 leaderboard, which runs from $427 to $800 per month.

Kelly built her ARM number with a $10 rate increase and the addition of several new, valuable programs that solve clients’ problems. For example, she developed and sold a 10-week program for kids that had a huge effect on her ARM. She also added on-ramps, personal training and small-group training.

Tune in to learn strategies for boosting your ARM, all while retaining high-value clients.

Your first ARM target? $205. If you hit that and serve 150 clients, you can earn $100,000 a year as a gym owner.

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1:53 - How has your ARM changed?

4:38 - Adding value

8:20 - Kids programs

13:45 - High-value clients

19:37 - Baby steps for gym owners

Every month, Two-Brain compiles a leaderboard of the top-performing gyms so we can find out what the best gyms are doing—and tell you.

In December 2023, we focused on average revenue per member (ARM) at more than 1,000 gyms worldwide. ARM measures what clients are paying in return for the value a gym provides, and the businesses on our leaderboard provide a ton of value.

The No. 1 gym earned just shy of US$800 per client per month—and that’s a rolling three-month average, not just a one-hit wonder.

In today’s episode, Chris Cooper presents the Top 10 ARM leaders for December 2023 and shares the tactics behind the numbers, from Affinity Marketing (referrals) to adding new programs.

If you want to hear more from these ARM leaders, our full episode with Kelly Lorenz will air Feb. 1, and Michaela Munsterman’s episode airs on Feb. 8.

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0:55 - The Top 10

4:48 - How’d they get those ARMs?

7:20 - Creating new programs

8:53 - Building value

12:47 - What stops gym owners

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin interviews longtime gym owner Ben Bergeron of CrossFit New England and CompTrain.

After spending more than 15 years in the fitness industry as a gym owner and coach to CrossFit Games athletes including Mat Fraser and Katrin Davidsdottir, Ben says that virtuosity—mastery of the fundamentals—is essential in a successful gym business.

He dials in on four basic areas where every gym owner can improve: leadership, product, marketing and finances.

To help you build an amazing business, Ben shares his top tactics for continually improving your gym—from hiring the right employees to onboarding new clients to creating a vision and mission statement.

If you want to hear more from Ben, he’ll speaking at the Two-Brain Summit this June in Chicago.

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Two-Brain Summit Tickets

Ben Bergeron on Instagram

CompTrain

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1:42 - Meaning of virtuosity

10:21 - Someone good people work with

20:47 - Creating a great environment

33:38 - Building from scratch

40:17 - Practical visualization

How do you dominate your local market?

The key is focus: Don’t try to offer every service under the sun.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin is joined by Jack Wheeler of 360 Fitness in Red Deer and Sherwood Park, Canada. Jack’s flagship location does over 4,000 personal training sessions per month, and if you Google “personal training Red Deer,” his gym is the No. 1 result.

If you just search “gyms Red Deer,” he’s still on Page 1, but not quite at the top.

Jack owns the keyword “personal training” in his market because he dialed in and doubled down on his niche.

Listen to find exactly how he did that, and learn about great tactics for gaining traction in your community, such as good-will marketing and going where your target clients are.

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1:31 - What’s changed?

7:36 - Dominating the local market

19:12 - Differentiate from online competition

23:09 - Getting involved with the community

34:50 - How Jack does marketing

Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper is a household name in his community of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where his gym, Catalyst Fitness, is located. He’s a true authority when it comes to dominating your local market.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin prompts Chris to reveal the strategies behind his success in making his gym the obvious choice for people in the community.

Chris doesn’t mention huge ad spends and earth-shaking marketing campaigns. Instead, he talks about offering value to potential clients, having genuine conversations and maintaining a “Help First mindset.”

Chris shares how he built a strong referral web and impressive email list long before the days of Facebook ads. And you might be surprised how powerful a simple cup of coffee can be.

Tune in for actionable insights and proven methods from a seasoned pro. Then use Coop's tactics to make your gym the dominant fitness facility in your local market.

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1:20 - Making local connections

6:39 - No ads, just buns

11:17 - Going where your clients are

17:22 - Approaching clients and leads

21:59 - Getting clients that don’t sign up right away

Most people are still working the same 40-hour workweek introduced just under 100 years ago, and gym owners often go way beyond 40. In fact, many work closer to 80 hours a week.

This can quickly lead to burnout—a killer of small businesses.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper is joined by John Briggs, accountant and author of “Profit First for Microgyms.”

The two discuss John’s latest book, “The 3.3 Rule.” In the book, John pushes back against the idea that entrepreneurs—and their teams—should work until they drop. Instead, they can maximize productivity and avoid burnout by structuring their workdays into periods of focused work and breaks.

The structure is incredibly simple but effective—and it’s backed by science.

John wrote the “The 3.3 Rule” because he was tired of seeing small businesses close shop; he wants to help entrepreneurs preserve the energy and focus they need to build stable, profitable businesses.

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"The 3.3 Rule"

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0:35 - Inspiration for the 3.3 Rule

8:23 - 3.3 Rule breakdown

16:48 - Implementing the 3.3 Framework

25:08 - 3.3 Rule and balance

31:29 - Challenges with the 3.3 Rule

Virtuosity—it’s the theme of this year’s Two-Brain Summit. But what is it exactly?

Simply put, virtuosity means mastery of the fundamentals.

In today’s episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper discusses the basics that every gym owner should focus on and explains how mastering fundamentals will help you grow your gym faster than searching for new trends.

The allure of novelty is strong, but the key to entrepreneurial success is maintaining focus on what matters most—from reading a profit and loss statement (P&L) to improving your close rate.

Tune in to learn more, and we hope you’ll join us at the Two-Brain Summit this June in Chicago.

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Two-Brain Summit

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0:53 - Practice virtuosity

2:04 - Basics can be boring

2:43 - The novice’s curse

3:52 - Mastering the essentials

5:47- Summary

Two-Brain’s most recent leaderboard tracked net owner benefit (NOB): salary, dividends and anything else the business pays for. Every single fitness entrepreneur in the Top 10 is earning between $15,000 and $25,000 per month from their gym.

In today’s episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with one of these Top 10 earners to lay out the path to success.

Ashley Reese, owner of Defining Moment Fitness in Charleston, South Carolina, shares how he jumped from earning $3,000 a month to $10,000 and beyond just by doing the “simple stuff” consistently well.

So what are those simple things? Ashley invests his time and attention in three main areas of his business: leadership, the client journey and staffing. Listen to learn exactly how he leveraged his efforts to become one of Two-Brain’s top earners.

Whatever you’re currently earning from your gym, sound, simple entrepreneurial strategies can help you boost your take-home pay.

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0:54 - The simple stuff

4:48 - Net owner benefit

8:07 - Milestones and timelines

11:51 - Why mentorship is important

16:17 - The big jump

Competition season is approaching—and it can be a stressful time for gym owners, who often take on extra work without seeing a reward.

To help, Two-Brain has a step-by-step, plug-and-play guide you can use to reduce stress, boost retention, make money and ramp up the fun during the Open.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper tells the origin story of the Intramural Open and how it’s been continuously improved over the last 13 years. The event has now been used in thousands of fitness businesses around the world, and it’s been proven to drive revenue and retention in gyms.

The "2024 Intramural Open Guide" is packed with revenue generators, and Coop shares one with you today: He’s got a simple but effective tactic that will have a significant effect on key business metrics before the Open even begins.

To get the full "2024 Intramural Open Guide," visit Gymownersunited.com and ask Coop for it by DM.

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0:39 - CrossFit Open

2:08 - The Open is fun but it isn't everything

4:15 - Intramural Open

8:11 - Revenue-generating tactic

10:41 - Copy my plan