Run a Profitable Gym

Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out.

Hiring is scary. You’re taking on real financial risk, and you can’t know in advance whether it will pay off.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin shows you how to figure out how much you can afford to spend on staff, how much to pay your next hire and how to tell whether that hire is working.

John walks through how to find the fair market value of your own work, what your gym’s real profit looks like once you account for it and how to calculate your salary cap.

He also explains how to give a new hire a 90-day trial so you know whether the investment is paying off.

Tune in to learn how to hire with a plan instead of a guess.

Links

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Gym Owners United

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0:00 - Why staffing feels so risky

0:35 - Why burnout comes back to hiring

1:36 - What your own work is really worth

2:58 - Is your gym actually profitable?

3:28 - What to do if you’re not profitable yet

4:13 - How to calculate your salary cap

6:12 - How to raise your salary cap

7:54 - How to know if a hire is working

8:59 - How to hire with confidence

Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out.

Matt Michaud grew his gym’s monthly revenue from about $12,000 to more than $80,000. He now has six full-time staff, with at least two coaches making six figures.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” John Franklin talks with Two-Brain mentor Matt Michaud about how he broke through revenue plateaus at $20,000 and $30,000 a month.

Matt explains how he moved from part-time coaches to full-time careers, and how “intrapreneurialism” lets coaches earn more by building their own programs inside his gym.

Matt also shares the story that changed how he thinks about his work, and walks through his current project: a 20,000-square-foot commercial building that will house his gym and other tenants.

Tune in to learn how to create real careers for your coaches and grow your gym with them.

Links

Full-Time Coach Calculator

Gym Owners United

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0:00 - Intro

1:06 - Where Matt's gym was when he joined Two-Brain

1:58 - The note that changed how Matt ran his gym

6:37 - Going from side hobby to professional gym

9:03 - Breaking through the first revenue plateau

15:44 - The second plateau and the coach who bought a house

20:04 - What coach intrapreneurialism looks like

23:26 - The math behind paying a coach six figures

28:55 - Why Matt is building his own commercial building

39:34 - Where to start if you want this for your gym

Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out.

Every gym owner has looked at a staff member and thought, “I need to get rid of this person.”

Chris Cooper says that instinct is usually wrong.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper shares the diagnostic he uses before he considers replacing anyone on his team: four questions that usually show the problem is the process, and three that tell you when it’s really a people problem.

He explains how he once poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into staff before writing down the processes his gym should run on.

Chris also covers what to do once you know which problem you have, and how to document your gym’s tasks and group them into clear roles so your team can succeed.

Tune in to learn how to fix the process first and replace fewer people.

Links

Full-Time Coach Calculator

Gym Owners United

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0:00 - Why your instinct to fire a staff member is usually wrong

1:03 - What unclear processes really cost a gym

1:44 - The cleaning mistake that wasn't the cleaner's fault

2:19 - Four questions to ask before you blame your staff

3:49 - How to know when it really is a people problem

5:29 - What to do once you’ve made the diagnosis

7:38 - The day in the life exercise for writing checklists

9:28 - Why stacking roles can cost you a great coach

Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out.

The average coach at Corey’s gym stays more than eight years. He didn’t get there by accident.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” John Franklin talks with Two-Brain mentor Corey Lewis, who has owned his gym for 15 years.

Corey shares how he screens candidates with a three-minute video and a 60-minute walk, how he makes a new coach’s first week memorable and how he uses weekly check-ins and career roadmaps to keep staff engaged.

He also covers how to celebrate your team without spending much money, how to have the hard conversations when a coach isn’t performing and what to do when a coach leaves.

Corey shares the mistakes he made early on too.

Tune in to learn how to hire the right people and keep them for the long haul.

Links

Full-Time Coach Calculator

Gym Owners United

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0:00 - How Corey keeps staff for over eight years on average

6:28 - Why the first 90 days decide if a new coach stays

11:35 - The meeting cadence that keeps coaches around for years

14:25 - Using career roadmaps to talk pay with your coaches

19:46 - How to get part-time coaches to staff meetings

23:47 - The staff mistakes Corey made early on

28:14 - Low-cost ways to make your staff feel appreciated

31:54 - What to do when a coach isn't meeting the standard

35:22 - How to handle a coach leaving your gym

38:51 - Getting coach buy-in when you change your business model

Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out.

Hiring a general manager won’t save a gym that isn’t paying its owner well yet.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper explains how to know when you’re ready to hire a GM, how to pay one without guessing and how to train them so they can run your gym at your standard.

He shares what went wrong with the first GM he hired and why the role works best as one of the last hires you make.

Chris also covers the questions to answer before you write the job ad and the mistakes that cause GM hires to fall apart in the first year.

Tune in to learn how to hire a GM who buys back your time instead of creating more work.

Links

Full-Time Coach Calculator

Gym Owners United

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0:00 - Why hiring a general manager can make your gym worse

0:57 - What went wrong with Chris’ first GM hire

1:45 - Why hiring a GM too early backfires

3:01 - Two questions to answer before you write the job ad

3:53 - How to pay a general manager without guessing

4:56 - Commission, profit share and bonuses for your GM

5:46 - How to train a GM to run your gym without you

6:39 - The GM training plan, step by step

8:23 - What a GM can’t fix in your gym

8:58 - The question to ask before you hire a GM

Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out.

Hiring the wrong coach costs you money, and it costs you time you never get back.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” John Franklin talks with Two-Brain mentor Brian Bott, who runs three gyms in New Jersey that bring in over $1.5 million a year in revenue, with coaches who have stayed for a decade or more.

Brian explains what he screens for, how he onboards new coaches, how he pays them and what he does when a hire goes wrong.

He also shares how to decide who to hire first, how to find candidates without relying on job boards and how to keep quality consistent across multiple locations.

Tune in to learn how to hire right the first time and build a team that wants to stay.

Links

Full-Time Coach Calculator

Gym Owners United

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0:00 - Why a bad hire makes gym owners afraid to hire again

0:53 - How a three-location gym structures its coaching team

4:17 - What to look for when hiring a coach

6:57 - How new coaches are onboarded on the floor

9:32 - Where to find great coaches for your gym

13:03 - How to post the job and structure coach pay

20:21 - What to do when a hire doesn’t work out

23:12 - How to keep great coaches for years

28:58 - Who to hire first and how to hand off clients

36:42 - How to keep coaching quality consistent across locations

Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out.

Tres Kennedy charged $150 a month for personal training plus unlimited group classes. He thought no one in his small Alabama town would pay more.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” John Franklin sits down with Two-Brain mentor Tres Kennedy to talk about packaging, pricing and handling objections.

Tres explains how he moved from giving away his on-ramp to prescribing coaching at nearly double the price, and what happened to his gym’s close rate, staff pay and retention.

Then John and Tres role-play a real consultation, working through the objections gym owners hear most: “I need to think about it,” price pushback and “I need to talk to my spouse.”

Tune in to learn how to charge what you’re worth and keep the sale moving when a prospect hesitates.

Links

Full-Time Coach Calculator

Gym Owners United

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0:00 - How he first priced and packaged his gym

2:37 - His offer today and the fear of charging more

5:41 - His average prospect and what changed after raising prices

10:04 - Building conviction and checking your pricing

13:10 - Objection-handling role-play

16:34 - Framing the solution and presenting the price

19:18 - Handling “I need to think about it” and price objections

25:00 - Standing firm when prospects want something cheaper

31:50 - Handling “I need to talk to my spouse”

34:25 - Advice for owners who struggle to charge what they're worth

Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out.

Nearly 60% of gym owners say not earning enough is their biggest struggle, more than double the number who say staffing is the problem.

According to Chris Cooper, the fix is hiring, but only if you hire in the right order.

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris explains why the order of your hires matters more than how many people are on your payroll.

He shares the story of the first hire that taught him how buying back your time actually works, and why the right hire isn’t the one that feels most urgent.

Chris shows you how to figure out what you’re really paying yourself per hour, which task to hand off first and how to plan what you’ll do with your reclaimed time so each hire pays you back.

Tune in to learn how to hire in a way that puts more money in your pocket.

Links

Full-Time Coach Calculator

Gym Owners United

Book a Call

0:00 - Why hiring is really about your paycheck

0:59 - The cleaner story that taught buying back your time

2:30 - The one number every hire gets measured against

3:50 - Hire for the cheapest task you’re still doing yourself

5:22 - Where most hires quietly fail

5:43 - The 2.5x rule before you post the job ad

Get our free guide, "How to Make $100,000 a Year While Working Just 4 Hours a Day."

Why do some gyms have members who bring friends and stay for years, while others struggle to keep the clients they have?

Every gym has four types of members: champions, loyalists, wanderers and critics. In this episode, Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper explains how to spot each one.

Each group needs something different from you, and treating them all the same means spending your time in the wrong places.

Chris explains what each kind of member needs and how to move them up a level, from the coffee conversation that turns your best clients into recruiters to the way to handle members who complain about everything. He shares stories from his own gym along the way.

Tune in to learn how to build a gym culture by design, not by luck.

Links

$100K Income Guide

Gym Owners United

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0:00 - Why some gym members become raving fans (and others don't)

1:20 - The client every gym should be built around

2:25 - Turn your best clients into your biggest recruiters

6:00 - Why the best coaches still need their own coach

7:10 - The quiet clients you're probably taking for granted

9:55 - The clients who showed up excited and then went quiet

12:24 - The member who complains about everything (and what it really means)

15:43 - The one move that fixes every client relationship

Book a free call and get outside eyes on your sales process.

Every gym with coached classes says they sell coaching.

But if everyone who joins gets the same unlimited membership, are they actually buying coaching, or just access to a class that happens to have a coach?

In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin breaks down how to prescribe real coaching in a sales consultation, and what to do when a prospect pushes back.

He explains why most objections aren’t really about price or timing; they’re a sign that the prospect doesn’t believe your offer will actually solve their problem.

John walks through the exact language for “prescribing up” instead of defaulting to the easiest thing to sell.

He also introduces the PULSE framework and addresses the most common objections gym owners face, from “I need to think about it” to pricing and spousal pushback.

Tune in to learn how to sell high-value coaching with confidence, without sounding pushy or salesy.

Links

Gym Owners United

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0:00 - Most objections aren’t really about price

1:14 - Why comparing yourself to Orange Theory is a trap

2:18 - What real coaching looks like

3:19 - The prescription framework (like a doctor, not a menu)

6:03 - The tools are the delivery, not the product

6:59 - How Darren Thornton built a 7-coach, $1M/year gym doing this

9:30 - Handling “I need to think about it”

10:48 - Handling the price objection

12:36 - Handling the spousal objection

13:37 - Handling the “I'm busy” objection

16:00 - Why the biggest objection is in your own head