By Chris Cooper
Run a Profitable Gym is packed with business tools for gym owners and CrossFit affiliates. This is actionable, data-backed business advice for all gym owners, including those who own personal train
... more
4.7
8989 ratings
The podcast currently has 992 episodes available.
Want more gym members without slashing your prices? Discounts can undermine your gym’s value, hurt your profit margins and attract the wrong clients. There’s a better way.
In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," host Mike Warkentin is joined by John Franklin, chief marketing officer at Two-Brain and Kilo.
John shares four proven strategies to help you attract and retain new clients without offering discounts: events, holiday challenges, New Year’s Day check-ins and black card referral campaigns. He lays out examples of each tactic and offers practical tips for implementation at your gym.
John’s advice is clear: Focus on attracting high-value members who will stay for years instead of using discounts to lure in low-paying coupon clippers who won’t stick around.
For more support on running a profitable gym without discounts, get Chris Cooper’s free guide "The Gym Owner’s Guide to a Discount-Free Black Friday" by joining Gym Owners United, linked below.
Links
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
01:10 - Get more clients before 2025
06:08 - Holiday nutrition challenge
09:09 - New Year’s Day check-in
12:55 - Duplicate your best members
16:05 - Execution matters the most
Slashing prices for Black Friday is a mistake if you sell coaching.
Discounts attract the wrong clients and teach the right clients to wait for sales instead of renew memberships at full price.
Worse, the discount comes out of your profit. The government still gets paid if you cut your rates, and so does the landlord. But you take home less money.
In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Chris Cooper explains exactly what to say when people ask for discounts—use his lines word for word.
He also tells you what to do instead of gutting your profit. Hint: Build value so you attract great clients who will pay full price and stay for years.
Links
Chris Cooper's e-book "The Gym Owner's Guide to a Discount-Free Black Friday" is available here: Gym Owners United
Book a Call
2:40 - Stay away from discounts
9:28 - The discount snowball
13:35 - "We don’t play those games"
18:23 - Discounts can stop you from giving
24:11 - "Feeling the discounts"
Two-Brain's annual industry-defining report is out!
The 2024 "State of the Industry" guide is packed with the essential data gym owners need to grow their businesses. This year, it even contains 13 ratings scales fitness entrepreneurs can use to evaluate their businesses and target areas for improvement.
How many clients does the average gym have? How much revenue?
What do gym owners pay staff? How many classes do they run?
How large are gyms, and how much of their revenue is used to cover fixed costs?
How fast are gyms responding to leads, and how many clients are they adding each month? How long are they holding those clients, and what's the lifetime value of each one?
How much do gym owners take home each month?
Every question is answered in the guide, which is packed with data from Kilo, Wodify and a huge survey of gym owners.
The guide was released on Nov. 12 on "The Sevan Podcast." Check out this rebroadcast as hosts Sevan Matossian and Matt Souza discuss key stats with Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper.
Use the link below to get the guide and analyze your gym's performance.
Links
2024 "State of the Industry" Guide
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
1:53 - The success rate
7:27 - Political landscape and health
15:45 - "State of the Industry" report
37:01 - Shrinking the sample size
1:05 - Sales in health & fitness
1:21 - The OG spark
1:26 - Video contest winners
1:47 - Two-Brain Summit
Two-Brain’s fifth annual “State of the Industry” report is out, and it’s more useful than ever.
It’s not just a collection of statistics but a practical tool designed to help gym owners assess their strengths and weaknesses and make strategic decisions.
Kilo and Wodify kicked in stats from thousands of gyms around the world, and our greatest survey response ever filled the guide with data on average revenue per member, expenses, client retention, profitability and more. The numbers are broken down by gym type, with visual references to help you determine how your gym is performing in comparison.
Tune in to this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym” to hear Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper highlight key takeaways from the report with host Mike Warkentin.
Then, get the 64-page “State of the Industry” report through the link below and use its data to evaluate and improve your business.
Links
2024 "State of the Industry" Guide
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
02:14 - State of the Industry 2024
08:07 - Big group gyms and revenue
21:39 - Improving good numbers
31:33 - What is left?
38:32 - The best plan for gym owners
Dana Fouche is busy.
In addition to running Reach Athletics, she’s a mother and the owner of a farm. To ensure she never lets her business falter—even when the cows escape again—Dana uses Chris Cooper’s Golden Hour concept: Every day, do one thing to grow your business before you do anything else.
To start her days, Dana goes to a quiet place, clears her head, works on simple but effective marketing tasks and then addresses larger projects. She ends after an hour and makes a plan for the next day. No matter what happens after that, her business has already received a great push forward.
To her, the Golden Hour provides the same accountability she provides to fitness clients. If she tells them they can find an hour to take care of themselves, she can find an hour to focus on her business.
Host Mike Warkentin has Dana run through her exact plan and provide tips for gym owners who are struggling to move their businesses forward. Dana is clear: One hour a day is more than enough to grow your gym if you focus on the right tasks.
To take part in Chris Cooper’s Golden Hour Challenge and build essential entrepreneurial habits, join Gym Owners United using the link below.
And to dig into the concept on your own and set up your own 60-minute plan, get “The Golden Hour," also linked below.
Links
"The Golden Hour"
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
01:21 - Business momentum in one hour
04:24 - Rundown on Dana’s gym
07:09 - Dana’s Golden Hour
11:36 - Lead with marketing reps
17:21 - Tips for those who are struggling
Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper lays out three gym business models that actually work, using case studies from gym owners earning $100,000 per year.
Chris walks through profit-and-loss statements, revealing all the nitty-gritty details, so you can see exactly what levers these gym owners pulled to reach $100,000.
The first gym owner ran big group classes with a decent headcount but had high overhead and struggled to scale. They focused on increasing total members and retention, while adding more classes.
In the second case study, the owner started with group classes but had high churn and low revenue. He introduced an on-ramp process and personal training to help clients hit their goals, and he added a third revenue stream: retail and supplements.
The final gym owner started with one-woman personal training, but the workload was overwhelming and income was inconsistent. She hired a part-time coach and shifted to semi-private training.
What's the business model that will help you reach your financial goals? A mentor can help you build it.
To download our “5 Ways to Make $100k From Your Gym” guide, join Gym Owners United using the link below.
Links
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
0:22 – Infinite business models
0:54 – P&L statements
3:53 – Big-group model
7:12 - Challenges of the group model
9:49 - Adding revenue streams
16:08 – First case study
22:35 – Second case study
28:45 – Third case study
Three years ago, gym owner Magnus Bjorsvik increased rates dramatically, and some of his clients were angry about it.
Today, Magnus is on Two-Brain’s Top 10 leaderboard for net owner benefit (NOB)—salary, dividends and anything else the gym pays its owner. He also won the coveted Clients’ Choice Award at this year’s Two-Brain Summit in Chicago.
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Magnus, owner of CrossFit Uvaer in Norway, to learn how his gym has changed since his rate increase in 2021.
Magnus says the increase allowed him to get rid of members who didn’t fit, and his gym community has vastly improved. The higher price has also pushed the gym and its staff to provide better service, and happy members are getting better results.
Magnus now increases rates annually, and the lack of financial pressure has allowed him to stress less and vacation more.
Tune in to hear Magnus’ full story and his advice for other gym owners looking to fast-track growth.
Links
Magnus' Previous Appearance
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
02:05 - The last three years
06:53 - Thrive with rate increases
10:21 - Success and peace of mind
14:23 - Struggles after opening a gym
17:18 - Mentors hold you responsible
The average fitness entrepreneur earns between $2,500 and $6,000 per month. The top earning gym owner on our leaderboard brings home six times the high end of that average.
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain CEO Chris Cooper presents the Top 10 leaders for net owner benefit (NOB)—profit, salary and anything else a gym owner earns from their business. Then, he shares how they got on our leaderboard.
Some focused heavily on retention and raising client value.
Others reinvested their profit to become even more profitable—increasing ad spend, developing staff or buying a building.
The common theme: All our top gym owners created clear, consistent plans with their mentors and then put them on repeat.
This requires focus and habit building. Starting Nov. 1, Chris will help gym owners develop these skills through the Golden Hour Challenge, based on his new book, “The Golden Hour.”
To join the free challenge, use the link below to join the Gym Owners United group, where Chris will post a prompt every single day and tell you exactly what to do to start building momentum and take charge of your business.
Links
“The Golden Hour” by Chris Cooper
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
1:02 - Importance of being profitable
5:04 - August net owner benefit
8:12 - How did they get to the top?
11:05 - Quotes from the August leaders
18:01 - The Golden Hour
In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Eric Conner shares how he measurably improved his gym in just 60 minutes a day using Chris Cooper’s Golden Hour framework:
Eric sets aside a Golden Hour every morning in which he focuses on high-value, CEO-level work. He puts in marketing reps, such as reaching out to former clients and unconverted leads. Then he works on larger projects, like improving his gym’s 90-day client journey. Finally, he outlines what he needs to do in his next Golden Hour.
Starting Nov. 1, Chris will lead you through the Golden Hour Challenge. He’ll tell you exactly what to do each day in simple, easy-to-follow steps. Then you’ll learn to stack habits and build momentum to produce measurable results in your gym.
To take part in the challenge, use the link below to join the Gym Owners United group.
Links
“The Golden Hour” by Chris Cooper
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
00:20 - The Golden Hour
05:59 - The Golden framework
13:13 - Stacking good habits
15:54 - An all-around improvement
17:49 - Eric’s tips for success
Gym owners with the fastest-growing businesses share one specific skill: focus.
They have access to the same tools, resources and mentors as everyone else. What sets them apart is their ability to consistently do the key things that are required to improve their gyms without second-guessing themselves or getting distracted.
You can learn how to build this entrepreneurial focus by reading “The Golden Hour,” the upcoming book from Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper.
In today’s episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris invites you to join in the Golden Hour Challenge, beginning Nov. 1.
This six-week challenge is designed to help you grow your gym in just one hour a day by developing habits and focusing on activities that measurably improve key metrics.
Each week of the challenge, Chris will introduce new essential habits for you to master. By Week 6, you’ll be a high-speed, ultra-efficient CEO who can push a fitness business forward in 60 minutes a day.
The challenge starts Nov. 1, and you can take part by joining Gym Owners United via the link below.
Links
Pre-order “The Golden Hour” by Chris Cooper
Gym Owners United
Book a Call
0:55 - What top performers are doing
5:54 - Habits and the skill of focus
14:25 - The Golden Hour Challenge
22:01 - Mining for leads
31:27 - Avoiding slow growth
The podcast currently has 992 episodes available.
2,591 Listeners
365 Listeners
2,038 Listeners
235 Listeners
4,045 Listeners
289 Listeners
410 Listeners
622 Listeners
1,028 Listeners
316 Listeners
640 Listeners
504 Listeners
159 Listeners
6 Listeners
772 Listeners