1. Consistency > Knowledge > Inspiration...and it’s really hard.

2. You’re not an island.

3. Opportunity will come when you’re ready.

4. No one cares about your community, programming, or coaching...yet.

5. You will need to learn to market - whatever that means.

6. If it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist.

7. Your clients don’t care about you nearly as much as you do about them.

8. You must actively protect your culture.

9. Measure and test everything.

10. Never. Stop. Moving.

In the 3rd installment of “Tipping Points”, we’re joined by Meddy Paulus of CrossFit Akeso, PJ Menagh from CrossFit Tigard, and Cory Adams from Legacy Fitness.

In this show, we examine some of the more philosophical aspects of entrepreneurship and gym ownership. How do you manage the emotional toll of blurring lines between client and friend? How do you find purpose and “why” during tough times? What are some of the most difficult decisions you’ve made as an entrepreneur?

We also hit on some actionable items: How did you raise your rates? How can you replicate yourself to grow your gym with solid systems and processes?

Today’s show is chock full of ideas - from gym ambassadors to referral programs to celebrating our clients. A huge thanks to the guests for their willingness to share.

If you enjoyed these shows, please share with a friend and rate us on iTunes! Thanks for listening!

This week we continue our series of Tipping Points. I asked the question: "Who has seen a shift, improvement, or change in their business in the last 12 months."

This week we're joined by Shannon Ferguson of Alvin CrossFit and Nicole Harp of Break the Mold CrossFit to discuss their tipping points.

This week we cover:

1. What skills can you take from your previous career into entrepreneurship?

2. When should you outsource something or pay an expert?

3. How did you identify your strategic advantage?

4. What metrics should you track daily, weekly, or monthly?

5. How do you go about writing Standard Operating Procedures.

Thanks for listening, subscribing, and sharing with a friend.

Several weeks ago, I posted a question in our 321Go Think Tank. Who has experienced a “shift” or a “tipping point” in their business that they would like to share on the podcast? The response was overwhelming.

My goal with the question is to share with you - the listener - stories of real gym owners out there hustling everyday. Stories you can relate to. Stories of small, incremental change adding up to HUGE shifts.

Today, we’re joined by Molly Kieland of FUELhouse Gym in Seattle and Dave Greene of CrossFit Spero in Chicagoland.

Molly and Dave share candid stories of success, struggle, and affirmation. They share with us the moments they felt their business “shift”.

Thanks for listening, leaving a review, and sharing with a friend!

We are joined by Marc and Amy Duchene - owners and founders of CrossFit 915 and the subsequent parent company, 915 Sports in El Paso, TX.

A couple years into owning their business, Marc and Amy did something so simple yet so profound - they LISTENED to their clients and offered them what they were looking for. This led Marc and Amy to start FEMMEfit. FEMMEfit is designed to inspire women to take charge of their lives and become the person they desire to be.

The success of FEMMEfit started a snowball effect of diverse program offerings tailored specifically to a target market. New programs that followed were Lil’ Beasts (a kids’ program), Sweat60 (a 60-day fitness and nutrition challenge), 915 Sport (competitive training), a bikini model body-building style program, and many other unique offerings.

It didn’t all come overnight. And they weren’t all home-runs. Marc and Amy share some strategies they used to launch and evaluate new program offerings.

We wrap up today’s show with a discussion around branding. Specifically, Marc and Amy’s decision to brand as 915 Sports to reflect the diverse programs they offer under the same roof. We settle on this: re-branding is not a magic bullet. In fact, a re-brand is a mandate to double-down on your branding efforts - unique content, constant social media presence, and consistent business development. Evaluate your current level of consistency on all those fronts before exploring self-branding.

Thanks for listening, leaving a review, and sharing with a friend!

We’re joined this week by Charlotte entrepreneur Stuart “Stu” Brauer. Stu owns CrossFit Southend and is the founder of Urban Movement - a multi-disciplinary fitness collective in Charlotte - and WTF Gym Talk - a fitness business consulting service.

We spend the majority today’s show exploring trends - from the large footprint of the former “globo” gym to the new commodity-based group fitness model. Specifically, we ask:

1. What is the future of the group class?

2. How can personal training carry the group class into the future?

3. What are some creative ways to diversify your revenue streams?

4. How can you uniquely brand yourself to differentiate?

5. What are some small “game changers” that make you stand out?

6. How can you get people to stick around the gym for extra services?

Thanks for listening, leaving a review, and sharing with a friend!

If there’s one word I would use to describe Zach - it’s Evolution. Constant evolution.

Owning two affiliates in Las Vegas poses unique challenges and opportunities unlike most affiliates in the country. Instead of being frustrated at the transient nature of his city, he adapts. By putting people in the right roles that suit their strength and armed with key metrics, Zach is able to pivot against constant flux.

In this episode, we cover the following:

1. Zach’s history with CrossFit and opening his affiliates.

2. Hiring his Mom.

3. Adapting his business to changing demographics.

4. Putting the right players in key roles.

5. Who does he look for in a coach?

6. How has his staffing priorities changed over the years?

7. How has he adjusted his compensation models and what seems to work best?

Zach references the following books:

The E Myth

Book by Michael Gerber

Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It... and Why the Rest Don't

Book by Verne Harnish

Today’s episode is all about selling a gym or building a business with selling in mind.

We’re joined by Don Moss - owner of CrossFit Apogee and 321Go Project Mastermind Leader - to chat about the recent sale of his gym. We cover:

1. Why should you think about selling now?

2. What factors should you consider prior to selling?

3. How do you select an appropriate buyer?

4. How do you value your gym?

5. What are the steps to sell a gym?

6. How long will it take to finalize the process?

In this episode we reference “Built to Sell: Creating a Business that can Thrive Without You” by John Warrillow.

As a business scales and becomes more successful, there is a strong marker of that success: Organizational Maturity.

The Founder of the business becomes a salesperson. Then she or he moves from salesperson to manager and hires another salesperson. From manager, you move on to CEO and hire managers who manage salespeople and support staff.

The evolution of your gym is no different. On Day 1 you wear all the hats; janitor to marketing. Eventually, you hire people to take over key roles with increasing responsibility and managerial oversight.

This episode is all about assessing whether you’re ready to begin making those moves into organizational structure and expanding your gym. We’re joined by Lindsey Johnson, Director of Customer Advocacy for Wodify to discuss her experience as a GM of a gym during an expansion into a 2nd and 3rd location. She outlines the key responsibilities that made her position as GM incredibly valuable.

Eric Stratman has been in the fitness game for a long time. As an early adopter of CrossFit as a viable fitness business, he’s learned a lot of lessons along the way that he shares with us today.

Eric owned TNL CrossFit Tampa since 2007. He’s since relocated and is pursuing a passion he developed during his tenure as an affiliate owner: running charity events.

According to Eric, a well executed gym event can bring a TON of awareness to the gym, do some real good in the community, and bring your existing members together.

Check out Eric’s next event: www.4allheroes.com