Gym World Worldwide

John Franklin (https://twitter.com/JohnIsBuilding) & Mateo Lopez chat with Mike Doehla (https://www.instagram.com/mikedoehla/?hl=en), the former CEO and Co-founder of Stronger U Nutrition, about how he bootstrapped a nutrition business and sold it for 8-figures.

Show notes:

(1:26) What is Stronger U Nutrition?

(2:49) How Mike got into the nutrition business

(6:28) Pricing nutrition programs & client numbers

(11:29) How the business grew without paid marketing

(15:20) Mike's system to managing thousands of clients

(17:43) How do you have a work-life balance when scaling a biz?

(19:31) What made Stronger U more successful than anyone else?

(24:08) Mike discusses his social media strategy

(29:02) How Mike hired the best coaches for Stronger U?

(35:33) Advice for gym owners trying to add nutrition to their biz

(38:40) Selling Stronger U Nutrition for 8-figures

(43:16) The importance of doubling down on your strengths

(45:54) How do you sell healthy habits?

(54:55) Why Facebook is the best platform & how to use it

(1:02:27) Navigating life after retiring & selling a business

(1:04:16) Predicting opportunities in the fitness/nutrition industry

(1:09:20) AI in the fitness industry

(1:12:26) What's next for Mike?

John Franklin (https://twitter.com/JohnIsBuilding) & Mateo Lopez talk to Angelo Medici, a senior VP at Live Oak Bank (https://www.liveoakbank.com/), where he reveals exactly how gym owners can use the bank to build their wealth really fast.

Show notes:

(1:39) What is Life Oak Bank and SBA lending?

(6:12) What makes a gym bankable? (aka, good target to get a loan)

(9:09) What is the debt service coverage ratio?

(11:48) How can gym owners value their business?

(13:33) Example of a deal structure as a buyer with SBA

(15:51) Benefits of SBA lending

(17:47) How can gym owners qualify for an SBA loan?

(18:47) What do payments & rates look like for a $1M loan?

(23:17) How do interest rates affect a business's value?

(25:53) Can you borrow from other lenders to put equity into an SBA?

(28:17) What does the SBA timeline & process look like?

(33:41) Can you have multiple SBA loans?

(37:35) If you're not profitable, can you still qualify for a loan?

(39:06) How do banks calculate a gym's EBITDA number?

(42:31) The BEST use of an SBA loan

(46:27) If I profit more, am I obligated to pay off the loan faster?

(48:15) What is a line of credit and how does it work?

(52:49) Where should gym owners look for a broker?

(55:10) I have no experience in business, can I still qualify for a loan?

John Franklin (https://twitter.com/JohnIsBuilding) & Mateo Lopez chat with Jeff Schumacher, the Co-Founder of Engage Personal Training (https://engagepersonaltraining.com/), about how he opened 3 gyms in 10-months. Jeff provides insight for gym owners on how to run and scale multiple profitable gyms.

Show Notes:

(0:36) Introducing Jeff Schumacher

(3:47) The most difficult part of running multiple gyms

(5:19) Explaining Engage Personal Training–why it works so well

(9:38) The economics of Engage locations

(15:00) The secret to obtaining high profit margins

(17:00) How do you run a gym successfully with 2 staff members?

(23:26) Jeff's strategies & offers to get bodies in the door

(27:49) Why great customer-service is important

(30:44) How Jeff finds the right operator & staff for his gyms

(33:44) What's the onboarding process like?

(36:23) Where does the cash come from to open a new facility?

(37:58) How are staff members compensated at Engage?

(42:26) Breaking down the costs of opening multiple locations

(44:18) Would Jeff ever consider franchising?

(47:05) Buying real estate vs. renting for multi-location

(49:16) Launching a new location Out-of-State

John Franklin (⁠https://twitter.com/JohnIsBuilding)⁠, Mateo Lopez, and Mark Fisher (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpI_I0QUkOsTOVi-HYS-y1g) sat down with David Thomas Tao (https://twitter.com/d_tao?lang=en) to talk about how he built and sold BarBend.com (https://barbend.com/) – the next great fitness content brand in the industry.

Show notes:

(00:58) Introducing David & being on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list

(05:26) What it's like being a Spirits writer 🥃

(09:33) What is BarBend.com and how did it start?

(13:10) How did David know starting a media company would work?

(16:08) Explaining Pillar4 Media and what they do

(23:09) Flying under the radar while building a massive brand

(27:39) What to do to drive more traffic to your page

(33:36) How can gym owners become the go-to source for training content?

(36:58) Quality vs. quantity of content

(40:03) Choosing the right social platform to post

(43:25) How to balance posting content across different socials

(46:06) What parts of the fitness industry are on an uptrend?

John Franklin (⁠https://twitter.com/JohnIsBuilding)⁠ & Mateo Lopez are joined by Mark Fisher  (https://www.youtube.com/@MarkFisherHumanBeing) to discuss semaglutides–diabetes drugs that are creeping their way into the fitness industry.

Show Notes:

(0:42) What are semaglutides?

(2:20) WeightWatchers buys a telehealth company

(5:01) Semaglutides will be easier to market

(11:18) Mark's hot take on Ozempic

(15:05) Will these drugs disrupt the fitness industry?

(18:26) Pharmaceuticals are a big business

(22:03) Beachbody's in an ideal position to hop on this opportunity

(24:41) Why gym owners should care

(31:25) Get a free shirt from Mateo

John Franklin (https://twitter.com/JohnIsBuilding) & Mateo Lopez chat with Vince Gabriele (https://www.instagram.com/vgabriele71/?hl=en) – gym owner, author, and a marketing expert with a whole host of fitness business projects on his resumé – about how he structured his small group training model to generate 7-figures in revenue.

Check out https://www.vincegabriele.com/ to snatch a free copy of The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Your Gym.

Show notes:

(1:11) Introducing Vince & how he got started in the gym space

(6:07) Becoming a gym consultant to help other gym owners

(8:42) Generating 7-figures in revenue

(10:19) Packaging & pricing a small group personal training model

(15:54) The importance of your gym's footprint & efficiency

(17:56) How do you successfully transition from large- to small-group?

(20:55) Making the max amount of $ with the least amount of people

(24:35) What it means to "showcase your steak"

(26:49) Vince explains the "squirrel marketing" mindset

(28:15) Facebook ads can still work for you

(31:18) The marketing glove – important pieces in your marketing

(36:19) How to get more leads & turn around a gym for the better?

(39:59) Three components of a solid marketing plan

(41:43) What are today's most successful offers to attract clients?

(46:45) 6-week challenges will get people to come to you

(48:01) Advice to build wealth outside the gym

(51:39) Building a second revenue stream

John Franklin (https://twitter.com/JohnIsBuilding) sits down with Brian Bott (https://www.instagram.com/brianbottfitness/?hl=en), the Founder of Aspire Fitness, to talk about the fundamental business processes behind running multiple gym locations that generate 7-figures and owning 7-figures in real estate.

Show notes:

(0:44) Introducing Brian's gym & his training structure

(2:52) The transition from one to two gym locations

(5:53) Packaging agreements & pricing memberships

(8:16) Brian talks margins – explaining the 44% model

(9:53) Pros and cons of the 44% model

(12:35) How do you track all of your client data?

(16:12) Monitoring coaching, responsibilities, and compensation

(20:42) How to successfully run multiple gym locations

(23:26) The problem with large group gyms & mistakes they make

(29:57) Brian discusses the process of buying his building

(34:39) The importance of having an agreed-upon price

(36:16) What is a Right of First Refusal in real estate?

(37:27) Coming up with $1.1M to purchase a building

(40:27) The hardest part of the buying process

(41:59) Next steps – opening a 3rd location vs. buying a struggling gym

(45:35) Finding a way to make the gym work in your town

(49:44) Can you run a fitness business with zero overhead?

(51:57) Fitness entrepreneurship – take big risks when you're young

(56:00) Final words of advice from Brian

John Franklin (https://twitter.com/JohnIsBuilding) & Mateo Lopez chat with Kaleda Connell (https://twitter.com/KaledaConnell) – the CEO of Kilo (https://usekilo.com), a gym software with marketing and website automation to make gym owner's lives easier – about lessons learned over the years when growing a business and the importance of updating your Google Business profile.

Show notes:

(1:26) Introducing Kaleda & Kilo

(4:01) How John & Mateo connected with Kaleda

(6:27) What are SOPs?

(8:23) Lessons learned over the years as a gym owner

(10:55) How to approach hiring people with no experience

(14:58) Tips for gym owners to improve their online presence

(16:52) The biggest mistake gym owners make on their socials

(19:33) Why updating your Google Business profile matters

(21:39) The first thing people look for before looking at a business' website

(25:14) How to bump your biz to the top of Google

(28:11) The biggest mistake on gym websites that hurt leads & how to fix it

(30:55) Should gym owners hide or share their pricing?

(32:22) Are gym owners passionate about their websites?

(36:07) How to stand out in a crowded market & get more leads

(38:11) How to have the most success with software

(40:20) A new service to help rank your gym #1 on Google

John Franklin (https://twitter.com/JohnIsBuilding) & Mateo Lopez talk with Andrea Savard (https://www.instagram.com/asavard_firepower/) – a Two-Brain Business mentor and the co-owner of Reebok CrossFit FirePower – where she shares the ups & downs, and twists & turns of using real estate as a financial lever.

How Andrea got started in real estate (1:18)

The economics of buying a large gym (6:20)

What Andrea wouldn't do when buying a gym (11:33)

Top- and bottom-line for the gym (16:59)

The beginning of Andrea's 7-year nightmare (18:02)

How much goes into finding a sufficient property to buy (23:43)

What happens when a deal falls through (25:53)

Finding money again for a new building (30:46)

I bought a space right when the pandemic hit. Now what? (34:11)

What if we bought a farm and moved our gym to a rural setting? (42:46)

Selling yet again. The gym still needs a home… (46:19)

Real estate strategies from a real estate veteran (50:19)

Advice for gym owners wanting to get into real estate (56:13)

The importance of starting small (59:05)

The one thing gym owners should never do (1:02:17)

John Franklin (https://twitter.com/JohnIsBuilding) & Mateo Lopez chat with Cassie Day (https://www.instagram.com/cassiedayyy/?hl=en) — an award-winning personal trainer and the Founder & CEO of All Day Fit — about all things social media and how to make big money by creating organic content.

Introducing Cassie Day & her gym All Day Fit (1:53)

The inspiration behind a lane gym & what it is (5:38)

How much money does ADF bring in? (10:54)

Getting clients through organic social posts without using ads (12:15)

Planning out marketing content for the full year (15:27)

Why creating content that provides value to others is important (19:04)

How to create high-quality content (24:04)

Biggest lessons learned from having a digital marketing/content creation background (27:39)

The four-week cycle of content & content team (32:05)

How to turn leads into clients via social media (36:13)

Offering a "hot commodity" service that sells out (40:50)

Building a personal brand vs. a gym brand (45:35)

Be the expert & stand out — where do you find inspiration? (51:02)