Most gym owners work for years to open more locations, get out of the day-to-day, and finally have some freedom.

But what if you get there, and it doesn’t feel the way you thought it would?

In this episode, Tim sits down with Gerry Washack for a late-night, bourbon-in-hand conversation at the Iron Circle Experience. After 20 years in the fitness game, Gerry’s built something most gym owners would be proud of.

He opens up about what it’s really like to go from coaching on the floor to running multiple locations – letting go of control, dealing with people issues, and trying to stay connected to the work that used to fire him up. 

He talks about how giving equity to employees seemed like a great idea until it wasn’t, how a random idea during COVID turned into a salon business, and how different things feel once you’re not in the day-to-day.

Now he’s making more money than ever… and seriously thinking about walking away.

Tune in to learn why.

Key Takeaways: 

• Intro (00:00)
• Gerry’s journey from trainer to multi-gym owner (01:21)
• Working with family and learning leadership the hard way (02:52)
• When equity deals with employees go sideways (07:33)
• Why phantom equity might save your sanity (11:01)
• From gym owner to salon co-founder during COVID (14:46)
• Salon clients vs. gym clients – it’s a whole different game (17:45)
• What success really feels like after 20 years (24:03)

Additional Resources:

- Gerry Washack on Instagram

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- Schedule your SpringBoard call

- Apply to join The Iron Circle

- Check out our Switch to Semi-Private course

- Get 30 days of Semi-Private Pro on us!

- A tool for deciding on new gym services – 5-Question Matrix

- Tim's new book – Built to Win by Tim Lyons 

- ProFit Accelerator: Helping Training Gyms Grow to 30K/month and Beyond Facebook group 

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