What We Cover In This Episode:

• Effective strategies for creating recurring revenue with summer-only Memberships [3:20]

• The benefits of summer outdoor fitness classes and how you can leverage  the outdoors in your business [4:50]

• Some ways you can use seasonal promotions and loyalty rewards to maintain summer engagement [9:13]

• The importance of freeze options over cancellations for summer absences [10:46]

• Why you should be considering upgrading classes, adding classes and/or instructors during this time [14:45]

• How to implement referral programs for family and friends who are also on vacation to maintain traffic in your studio, along with other summer-specific programs and events you can tap into [16:09]

Quotes: 

“Incentivizing people to be there when it's easier to not be there is always going to be a good idea, and it's going to be even more true during the summer when it's warm weather, longer sunsets, things like that.” [Nick, 10:33]

“When it comes to decreased traffic, it is just about getting crafty with it. You have to get creative, people are leaving for the summer so say ‘hey, instead of cancelling your membership why don't you freeze it.’” [Megan, 11:39]

“I think that the biggest thing is that you still want them to maintain this lifestyle to some degree, so that when things slow down with them they are ready and they are eager to get back in the studio and really bring that lifestyle back to the forefront.” [Nick, 12:13]

LINKS: 

Perkville

Learn More About All of Our Partners & Get Exclusive Offers

Visit the fitDEGREE Knowledge Base

Send Megan Your Playlist or Discuss the Podcast Here! 

fitDEGREE’s Business Portal

https://calendly.com/fitdegree-support 

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/

​​https://www.instagram.com/fitspot_guru/ 

https://www.fitdegree.com/blog 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJ5rK6zWPXjbxtUQx3ys9Q

https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_fitdegree

What We Cover In This Episode:

• The difference between an LLC and an S-Corp, and how that affects liability, taxation and future growth [4:31]

• What the purpose of a legal entity is, and how it protects your personal assets from business lawsuits [7:04]

• How to negotiate commercial leases effectively, plus the strategies you can use to protect your wealth [15:45]

• What makes membership and staff agreements critical for a new gym business and why not having these in place isn’t an option [19:33]

• The significant financial risks of misclassifying staff and how the true costs this type of mistake can have [25:17]

• What specific lease clauses gym owners should negotiate, and how to get better protection within those contracts [29:32]

• What you need to keep in mind as you future plan for the sale of your business [35:08]

Quotes:   

“The whole purpose of the legal entity is to protect your personal assets. Think about it as we're basically putting a roof over your head so that the lawsuit comes at you, at the legal entity, and it's going to bounce off you personally, and it's going to stick to the legal entity." [Matt, 6:59] 

“The lease is a contract and every contract is negotiable. So the landlord will present you with an initial copy of the lease and recommend that you hire somebody to go through and basically say, we like this language. We don't like this language." [Matt, 15:27] 

"So it's not really a question of whether or not you think you should have a membership agreement. You have to. By law." [Matt & Nick, 22:26] 

“We want to make sure that we are building an asset, this is an investment, this is an asset that is growing and it is nice and packaged up, because it's a nice little LLC and the more you operate in it the more you can remove yourself from the business it is going to increase its evaluation and then ultimately, we are going to try to sell it.” [Matt, 36:40]

LINKS: 

Gym Lawyers Website 

Gym Wealth Strategies Website 

Their Gym Ventures & New Gym Owner Services

Matt’s Previous Episode on fitSpot Guru

Learn More About All of Our Partners & Get Exclusive Offers

Visit the fitDEGREE Knowledge Base

Send Megan Your Playlist or Discuss the Podcast Here! 

fitDEGREE’s Business Portal

https://calendly.com/fitdegree-support 

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/

​​https://www.instagram.com/fitspot_guru/ 

https://www.fitdegree.com/blog 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJ5rK6zWPXjbxtUQx3ys9Q

https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_fitdegree

What We Cover In This Episode:

• How to strategically carve out dedicated "CEO time" each week and why this focused time is so crucial [7:49]

• Why a time audit is essential for business growth [10:18]

• How to implement 90-day planning cycles for more agile and effective business growth [14:50]

• What you can do right now to shift your mindset from an instructor to a leader and why this transition is vital for a studio looking to scale [20:21]

• Tips for effectively delegating tasks to free up your time and how doing this can significantly improve your productivity and team empowerment [21:41]

• How to use journaling prompts to improve your mindset and leadership and you go on your journey to work on, not just in your business [25:17] 

Quotes: 

“There's always going be work to do, there's always going to be little things to do, and at some point, those little things stop moving the needle and they start to become distractions.” [Nick, 5:45]

“We can't go on vibes, we need data to make informed decisions. After you are in the nitty-gritty, in the thick of it, you have developed an informed decision because you have data, both quantitative and qualitative.” [Nick, 17:47]

“You should be hiring someone for things that you are either not good at or hate doing. That person is signing up knowing that this is going to be their job, so they have to be into it just a little bit to know what they are signing up for.” [Nick, 22:48]

LINKS: 

Learn More About All of Our Partners & Get Exclusive Offers

Visit the fitDEGREE Knowledge Base

Send Megan Your Playlist or Discuss the Podcast Here! 

fitDEGREE’s Business Portal

https://calendly.com/fitdegree-support 

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/

​​https://www.instagram.com/fitspot_guru/ 

https://www.fitdegree.com/blog 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJ5rK6zWPXjbxtUQx3ys9Q

https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_fitdegree

What We Cover In This Episode:

• A look at our recent key feature updates, including schedule visibility, gift card discounts, and more [1:17]

• The flexible gift card redemption feature now available that will enhance user experience [6:32]

• Some use cases that highlight why these new features will be valuable to you [9:58[

• What we’ve done to simplify the refund process for drop-in classes and how this will improve administrative efficiency [12:10]

• Why it’s important to understand where these new features are coming from and next steps to submit your own feedback [19:10] 

Quotes: 

“Discounts for a gift card only work on the public app for users, not for guests, and the reason that we had to build that is because someone can get into an infinite loop where they are using gift card balances to buy more gift card balance.” [Nick, 5:03]

“We've always had the ability of having flexibility around your billing, where you could bill within a matter of weeks, months or years, but with perks, we have only had it on a monthly basis, or a per week basis. So, now we have extended that so that membership perks can now be renewed on a four-week basis, two-week basis, three-week basis, three-month basis, whatever you want to do to get creative.” [Nick, 7:42]

“One of our goals in mind was Mother's Day. We really wanted this [feature] before that next holiday, where we do see an uptick in gift cards.” [Megan, 13:15]

LINKS: 

Learn More About All of Our Partners & Get Exclusive Offers

Visit the fitDEGREE Knowledge Base

Send Megan Your Playlist or Discuss the Podcast Here! 

fitDEGREE’s Business Portal

https://calendly.com/fitdegree-support 

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/

​​https://www.instagram.com/fitspot_guru/ 

https://www.fitdegree.com/blog 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJ5rK6zWPXjbxtUQx3ys9Q

https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_fitdegree

What We Cover In This Episode:

• Strategies for onboarding new clients and communicating studio policies effectively so that clear expectations are set from Day One [4:24]

• Why enforcing policies fairly across the board is essential to prevent accusations of favoritism and to maintain member respect [9:56]

• How enforcing policies contributes to a better experience for both members and the business, rather than just being a “tyrant” [11:03]

• Tips for maintaining boundaries with members while still being friendly [11:44]

• What you can do to effectively communicate policy updates to members, using multiple channels [12:29]

• The importance of training staff to confidently enforce policies and communicate them effectively [14:45]

Quotes:

“We believe by enforcing all these policies based on our modality, based on our studio, based on our community, that this is going to create the overall better experience when a new member walks in the door.” [Nick, 11:20]

“You don’t want to be the bad person of your studio as the owner. You want to train your staff up, to not only know all the policies, but how to communicate these policies without conflict.” [Nick, 14:46] 

“At the end of the day, enforcing policies does not make you a villain, it makes you a responsible business owner and the most important rule of business is to stay in business.” [Nick,19:58]

LINKS: 

Learn More About All of Our Partners & Get Exclusive Offers

Visit the fitDEGREE Knowledge Base

Send Megan Your Playlist or Discuss the Podcast Here! 

fitDEGREE’s Business Portal

https://calendly.com/fitdegree-support 

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/

​​https://www.instagram.com/fitspot_guru/ 

https://www.fitdegree.com/blog 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJ5rK6zWPXjbxtUQx3ys9Q

https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_fitdegree

What We Cover In This Episode:

• Why quality over quantity matters when it comes to social media followers [7:29]

• The dangers of adding more options you to your studio, both for your business and your clients [12:17]

• The key reasons that a multi-modality studio should have a multi room studio [16:15]

• How setting boundaries and creating systems, rather than being available 24/7, leads to better business management and prevents burnout [21:26]

• How keeping your clients happy before you worry about getting more of them will pay dividends [26:05]

Quotes:

 “Perfectionism is the cancer for business owners. Done is better than perfect should be the tattoo everyone gets when they become a business owner.” [3:41]

“Think about that emotional burden that you're putting on yourself when you are piling up to-do lists. What is actually worth your time and what is not?” [6:30]

“Over accessibility its going to lead to burn out and clients are always going to expect more and more and more. You are going to realize that you are not charging enough for how much you are trying to offer right now.” [22:24]

LINKS: 

Learn More About All of Our Partners & Get Exclusive Offers

Visit the fitDEGREE Knowledge Base

Send Megan Your Playlist or Discuss the Podcast Here! 

fitDEGREE’s Business Portal

https://calendly.com/fitdegree-support 

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/

​​https://www.instagram.com/fitspot_guru/ 

https://www.fitdegree.com/blog 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJ5rK6zWPXjbxtUQx3ys9Q

https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_fitdegree

What We Cover In This Episode:

• What you can do to maximize profit through regular, not once-a-year, audits of your numbers [3:33]

• How to stop membership leaks and strategies for handling expired cards and follow-ups [4:49]

• Ways to reduce overall studio expenses by focusing on your software and payment fees [11:20]

• Why your pricing matters and what you can do to avoid undervaluing memberships [13:28]

• How to free up your time using delegation and simple loyalty programs [23:31] 

Quotes:

“If you’re doing big audits or a big analysis once a year, sometimes it’s already too late. So, really focus on monthly and quarterly improvements and audits and don’t just focus on once a year, because who knows if you’ll be around by that time next year.” [Nick, 3:31] 

“At some point, you have to build a process and trust them to be capable people. If they are not capable people maybe either you have to spend more time on development and training, or maybe they're just not the right fit.” [16:57]

“I think there is such an obsession with new leads, but how many people are coming through the door that you are not converting and are people cancelling their memberships after 6 months, 12 months, things like that.” [19:00]

LINKS: 

Episode 229: Unlocking Studio Financial Prosperity: Terri Fry on Perkville, Profit, and Paying It Forward

The Value of Keeping the Right Customers (Harvard Business Review) 

The State of Health Club Industry Retention Strategies (IHRSA)

Customer Retention and Business Profitability (Bain & Company)

PayWorks & Payably 

Learn More About All of Our Partners & Get Exclusive Offers

Visit the fitDEGREE Knowledge Base

Send Megan Your Playlist or Discuss the Podcast Here! 

fitDEGREE’s Business Portal

https://calendly.com/fitdegree-support 

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/

​​https://www.instagram.com/fitspot_guru/ 

https://www.fitdegree.com/blog 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJ5rK6zWPXjbxtUQx3ys9Q

https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_fitdegree

What We Cover In This Episode: 

• The true cost of a bad hire and why hiring the wrong person is even worse than being short-staffed [2:18]

• How delegating tasks can free you to work on your business, not just in it [3:52]

• Which key roles are essential for your studio's success and how to structure your staffing for maximum impact [6:41]

• What the real secret is to having happy and loyal employees [8:43]

• Who you need to hire and how to avoid nightmare hires [15:03]

• The number one interview question that's going to tell if your potential new hire is a good fit [18:51]

• A look at the pay structures that will motivate your team to buy into your studio’s vision and help you scale in the process [20:03]

• How to shift your mindset from micromanaging to leading, setting clear expectations, and fostering a thriving team environment [23:22] 

Quotes:  

“Burnout isn't a badge of honor. When you are trying to do everything, eventually you are going to start sucking at some of the things that you are doing and you realize you're just holding your business back, instead of letting go and empowering people and letting them do the things that you used to do so that you can do things that you're never getting to.” [Nick, 6:05]

“The worst thing that you can do is hire in desperation. You don't want to settle for ‘good enough’. Your staff should align with the studios cultures and values. They should be proud to work at the studio. [Nick, 17:39]

“The key to growth is hiring smart and training well and leading with confidence. When you build a team that aligns with your vision you create a studio that thrives without you doing everything, and let me tell you, it just feels amazing.” [Nick, 25:44]

LINKS: 

Episode 246: Onboarding and Maintaining a Proper Team with Katie Santos of Fitness HR

The Sales Arms 

Learn More About All of Our Partners & Get Exclusive Offers

Visit the fitDEGREE Knowledge Base

Send Megan Your Playlist or Discuss the Podcast Here! 

fitDEGREE’s Business Portal

https://calendly.com/fitdegree-support 

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/

​​https://www.instagram.com/fitspot_guru/ 

https://www.fitdegree.com/blog 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJ5rK6zWPXjbxtUQx3ys9Q

https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_fitdegree

What We Cover In This Episode: 

• Why a strategic approach, not just "vibes," is essential for client experience and retention [0:27]

• What recent data is showing about customer retention and the importance of first impressions [2:50]

• The reasons that the first five seconds a client interacts with your studio is so critical, and what can do to ensure it’s a positive experience [8:16]

• The “30-Second Hook Formula” you can use to guide them through the space, engage in conversation, and invite them to the next step [15:08]

• Tactics for enhancement, including why strategically placed mirrors will help boost confidence and familiarity for your new members [18:19]

• How to address any awkwardness clients may feel and create a welcoming environment for everyone [23:43]

Quotes:

“You should be following a formula on how to make people feel comfortable, but when you are a new customer in a business, it is all vibes. You know you get that ick feeling, and once you get that ick feeling, it is really hard to shake it.” [Nick, 1:20]

“I cannot stress that enough, [that] you are a VIP expense, a VIP investment to these people, so you have to create a VIP experience. This is not group classes at the YMCA, this is not Group classes at LA Fitness. You are trying to prove that you are worth that top dollar, so you need to create that VIP experience.” [Nick, 6:45]

“First impressions are not just important, they are everything….your studio should feel like home within the first 30 seconds of someone walking in the door, [and] I’d argue even less.” [Nick, 25:19]

LINKS: 

Customer Experience is Everything (PwC report)

Learn More About All of Our Partners & Get Exclusive Offers

Visit the fitDEGREE Knowledge Base

Send Megan Your Playlist or Discuss the Podcast Here! 

fitDEGREE’s Business Portal

https://calendly.com/fitdegree-support 

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/

​​https://www.instagram.com/fitspot_guru/ 

https://www.fitdegree.com/blog 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJ5rK6zWPXjbxtUQx3ys9Q

https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_fitdegree

What We Cover In This Episode: 

• Why Spring is the perfect time to review and refresh your business operations [0:23]

• How updating your contracts and waivers will ensure you're legally protected and aligned with industry best practices [8:39]

• The way that clear policies on late cancellations, no-shows, and general studio etiquette will create a smoother, more professional experience for everyone [11:25]

• Actionable strategies for streamlining studio operations for peak efficiency [12:48]

• The importance of simplifying onboarding and member communication and the benefits you’ll see as a result of doing this [14:30]

• A reminder to use this time to check your studio supplies, inventory, and equipment to ensure everything is in top shape [16:08]

• Tips for assessing your studio software to ensure it is properly supporting your business growth and efficiency [21:14] 

Quotes:

“Liability waivers and membership contracts are not supposed to be fun, short, easy reads. You know, the more you can pull out the legalese and the more you can humanize the waiver so people can actually read it is wonderful, but it shouldn't be so short and sweet to the point that you're making yourself vulnerable.” [Nick, 5:59] 

“Simplify onboarding and member communication. So, are new clients getting all the information they need up front and creating an automated welcome email sequence? I think this is, you know, that drip campaign we talked about earlier, separating out of those, what's an email, what's a text, what's fluff and what's important.” [Nick, 14:33] 

 “Spring is a perfect time to do a deep clean, not just for your physical space but for your business operations too. Updating contracts and waivers keeps you protected, and streamlining operations boosts efficiency and leveraging tech makes you work smarter and not harder.” [Nick, 23:38]

LINKS: 

Lisa Fraley 

Matthew Becker (Gym Lawyers)

Learn More About All of Our Partners Mentioned in this Episode

Episode 143: Industry Tea with Connie Holen 

Visit the fitDEGREE Knowledge Base

Send Megan Your Playlist or Discuss the Podcast Here! 

fitDEGREE’s Business Portal

https://calendly.com/fitdegree-support 

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/fitdegree/

​​https://www.instagram.com/fitspot_guru/ 

https://www.fitdegree.com/blog 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJ5rK6zWPXjbxtUQx3ys9Q

https://www.tiktok.com/@megan_fitdegree