Even though the fitness industry has taken a big hit and many gyms have closed down this year, we still have some positives we can take away from it. Just like the Stockdale Paradox, we can be optimistic about the future but realize that things aren't great at the moment. However, a lot of the challenges we are currently facing are opportunities to build a better business. In our case with our corporate gyms, we have taken this chance to trim some fat, and taken a more in-depth look at the syste...
Nov 18, 2020•20 min•Ep. 63
We are excited to announce that we are releasing a new smaller franchise model to complement our standard model. Our standard model has two pods that two coaches can train 12 clients in each session. With the new smaller footprint model that we are releasing, we have one pod that one coach can train a maximum of 6 clients per session. This new model will lower the price threshold, making it less expensive to open due to the smaller footprint. However, it will still drive good revenue and good ma...
Nov 11, 2020•21 min•Ep. 62
Getting new customers is pretty hard right now for everybody, no matter the size of your fitness business. Everybody is in need of customer acquisition because their topline revenue is down, which is why we want to talk about the 3 main ways of getting customers to your gym. Paid advertising is one of the most common ways to acquire new customers. It still works if you do it well, the trick is to understand how to run paid ads on different platforms. What works well on Facebook might not work on...
Nov 04, 2020•25 min•Ep. 61
Creating content is one thing, but making sure your content creates the engagement you want is another. If your content sucks, you are not going to get any engagement. Once this happens, most people tend to give up on that type of content, thinking it doesn’t work for them, but as you’ll soon find out, this is usually not the case. The biggest challenge that many people face when creating content is not knowing their audience. You have to know and understand your audience to create content that ...
Oct 28, 2020•26 min•Ep. 60
To level up in your business, you must level up personally. The very formula that got you to this level may be exactly what's holding you back from the next level. Rick and Matt take you through how to identify your sticking point and how to move past it. As an entrepreneur, your business will only go as far as you allow it or a far as you want. You are the gas or the brakes to your business. This means that before you scale your business, you need to scale yourself first. What this means is tha...
Oct 21, 2020•21 min•Ep. 59
Did you know that Team Alloy has 97% client retention month on month, which is 17 points better than any other studio model? Not only this, our average client lifespan is 36 months. These two metrics are absolutely huge for our business, but the number ONE reason we achieve them is attributable to our accountability sessions. An accountability session is a 15 minutes face to face sit down with our clients once a month to keep track of their progress and their goals. Now, many gym owners think th...
Oct 14, 2020•23 min•Ep. 58
When it comes to marketing, most businesses struggle with the all-important question, how much should they be spending. Most people drastically underspend on marketing, mostly because they can’t see an immediate return on investment. To determine how much money you should be spending on marketing, there are a few formulas and metrics that you should be aware of. Two of the most important metrics are the lifetime value of a client and the total acquisition cost of each client. The higher the tota...
Oct 07, 2020•16 min•Ep. 57
Have you ever felt that you didn't deserve your success? That any moment someone will find out that you are not as smart, successful, competent as they think you are? If so, you are not alone! As a matter of fact, it a natural part of growth and entrepreneurship. Listen in as we discuss our professional journeys and how you can use imposter syndrome as fuel for success. As a business person or a leader trying to level up, it is inevitable that you will occasionally suffer from imposter syndrome....
Sep 30, 2020•28 min•Ep. 56
This week Rick sits down with Alloy's own coach Natalie to discuss the myths around women and heavy lifting. Should women lift heavy in the gym? This is a question that has been around for a long time with different answers, depending on who you ask. From the onset, we say that women should always lift heavy. The reason most women don't like lifting heavy is the fear that they will get too big. Natalie and Rick demystify this myth and advise women that it is very hard to get big unless you take ...
Sep 23, 2020•19 min•Ep. 55
We've all been told by consultants and leadership gurus to "think outside of the box". We couldn't disagree more! In this episode, we discuss why focusing on your core business and focusing on the things inside of that box are the real keys to success. It doesn't really matter anything else you do, if you are not nailing the basics in your business, you will struggle to attract and retain customers. You need to look inside the box, which is your business's main function to your customers, and de...
Sep 16, 2020•26 min•Ep. 54
The biggest misconception that people have regarding back pain is that it is caused by The biggest misconception that people have regarding back pain is that it’s caused by lifting and workouts. That's why many people stop lifting when they experience back pain. However, as Dr. Eaby explains, the long term solution to lower back pain is strength training, which leads to a stronger back. MRIs and X-rays are not always needed to diagnose lower back pain unless there has been a traumatic incident o...
Sep 09, 2020•37 min•Ep. 53
‘Do Your Job’ is a simple yet powerful statement that can help a business or a team achieve all their goals if every team member were to do their job with conviction. It is almost like a substitute for our core value number 1 here at Alloy, which states ‘Own it.’ These statements mean that you have to own your role and perform it diligently. In small businesses, you may need support from others, and part of owning your job is working with the rest of the team and understanding what they are doin...
Sep 02, 2020•30 min•Ep. 52
Flexibility is the type and range of motion you can achieve passively. Passively means that you are not under load, and you are not controlling it. For instance, if you lie on your back and someone pushes your leg up to the farthest it can go. Mobility is how much range of motion that you have actively, meaning you can use it. Flexibility and stability make mobility. You have to control the flexibility so that you can use it. So the big difference here is that flexibility is passive while mobili...
Aug 26, 2020•33 min•Ep. 51
Before getting into the fitness business, you need to decide which type of owner you want to be. Either the owner-operator or an investor, also known as an absentee owner. Neither of these two ownership structures is wrong or right. We talk about the pros and cons of each and also the type of person who fits into each of them. An owner-operator is somebody who is deep in the operations of the business. They work in the business. An owner-operator can have higher profit margins because they can t...
Aug 19, 2020•29 min•Ep. 50
With the COVID environment, many gym and clients are now understanding why large group training is not the ideal model. If you are looking to transition to small group personal training or are looking to get into the fitness business, listen to this episode to understand how the staffing structure in a small group personal training model looks like from the lens of the Alloy Franchise. The Director of Training is the most impactful position in this model. The responsibilities for this position i...
Aug 12, 2020•33 min•Ep. 49
The word classes in the fitness industry carry a certain awareness and expectation as far as price is concerned. It also carries a certain expectation as to what will happen. Think of it like music and busting a move like in a Zumba class. This is very different from what personal training is and that why we avoid using the word classes to refer to what we do. The concept of small group personal training is not yet well understood. That’s why the temptation to refer to it as a class is high. Sma...
Aug 05, 2020•39 min•Ep. 48
Ascension business model basically means the journey you take your customer though in your business. It can be based on revenues, or it could be in the programming. It is what you offer the customer so that they can be involved in the brand for a long time. The more the customer feels connected to the brand the more they will spend. You are only going to lose a customer if you run of things to sell them. If you think about that, then you understand the ascension model. You also understand why by...
Jul 29, 2020•36 min•Ep. 47
Gyms across different states have been unfairly targeted with the shutdowns, without any relevant data showing that they are responsible in any way for spreading the virus. Some gyms have been closed again which is very frustrating. In the episode, we look at the kind of business model you need moving forward. First off, we believe that in-person gym training will not go away. People will still need to come back to the gym for the social and community aspects of it. However, you also need to hav...
Jul 22, 2020•27 min•Ep. 46
Our programs are geared towards a full-body workout every time a client walks in. There is no metabolic benefit to doing body part workouts. This means within the hour they are here, we ensure that the programming gets them some mobility, stability, metabolic and emotional work. The full-body workout is very efficient. In every workout, we get four main movements and two core movements. The four main movements are pushing, pulling, hip dominant, and knee dominant. These four patterns are compoun...
Jul 15, 2020•28 min•Ep. 45
Welcome to another episode of the Alloy Personal Training Business Podcast. In this two-part series, we break down the process we go through to design great programs for our clients. We explain in detail the how and why of what we do. Today’s episode is part one, and we go through the process through which we figure out where to place the client into the programming. Once a client comes to us, we have the starting point session. We are trying to get as much information about them as possible. We...
Jul 08, 2020•19 min•Ep. 44
Today, we talk about the technologies we use at Alloy, how we use them, and why we picked each one over others in the market. We begin with the CRM. This is the software that runs your business. At Alloy, we use MindBody as our CRM, we took advantage of the coaching they offer, to learn more about it then simplified and customized it for our model. We closed off all the options that didn’t relate to our model. The reason we decided to work with MindBody is that their customer interface is excell...
Jul 01, 2020•39 min•Ep. 43
Most of our clients who come to the gym have a secondary goal of fat loss especially the ladies. It is our duty as fitness professionals to figure out how they can achieve these goals. There is the misconception that some people think that for fat loss you have to do cardio. They have been led to believe that the intensity of cardio burns calories and helps lose fats. However, strength training is how to lose fat. In as much as cardio may be more enjoyable and appealing to a lot of people, it is...
Jun 24, 2020•32 min•Ep. 42
The first concept we discuss is known as the Stockdale Paradox. Stockdale was the highest-ranking POW in Vietnam. In explaining how he and his troops survived the ordeal, we get some interesting perspectives that apply in life and business. He had unwavering faith that he would make it out of the prison camp but was also very realistic about the daily realities of the horrible conditions and uncertainties of life in the camp. The second concept is known as Productive Paranoia. This basically mea...
Jun 17, 2020•32 min•Ep. 41
In this episode, we discuss why high intensity interval training (HIIT) may not be the best type of exercise for your business. We talk about high intensity training - the pros and cons, and how it fits in somebody's program. High intensity interval training just means getting hot and sweaty. And it's super popular right now. It's just really been popular since the explosion of the studio model, which has really been probably eight years or so of the real popular studio models. And because of th...
Jun 10, 2020•32 min•Ep. 40
A brand is more than just the name and logo. Building a relevant brand takes time and effort. There is a lot that goes into it. Initially, you have to decide what the brand has to do and the promise it has to deliver. Eventually, if you do everything right and deliver on the promise, the brand will take a life of its own. You’ll get some people who will champion for the brand and take it to the next level. Rick takes us through the process of branding he went through from the early stages when h...
Jun 03, 2020•36 min•Ep. 39
Many fitness professionals such as coaches and instructors have the ambition of transitioning to being a gym owner. However, they do not know how to go about it. They do not know where to start. In this episode we look at the steps you have to take to successfully transition to being a fitness entrepreneur. The first step is having a business plan. Many entrepreneurs start their businesses without one which leads to failure. A business plan should be built around your vision. To have an effectiv...
May 27, 2020•35 min•Ep. 38
We start off the episode with a quick update on reopening the gym. Half of our clients are coming to the gym while the other half is training on virtual. This shows the need for gyms to remain flexible after reopening and cater to both groups of clients. We have sold some new memberships to our gym without marketing. We lost about 20% of our overall clientele due to the situation. The kettlebell is a cool training tool. Clients love it, we explore how they fit into our personal training model, h...
May 20, 2020•38 min•Ep. 37
It’s been two weeks since we reopened our fitness facilities and adapting to the new normal. Rick takes us through an update on the business side of things and how we have ramped up our marketing to attract new clients since some other gyms and fitness facilities are yet to reopen. When you reopen your training facilities, you should be prepared to support people who may not be comfortable coming in yet. Running a hybrid system of virtual and onsite training will be good for your business. It is...
May 13, 2020•26 min•Ep. 36
Many businesses are still under lockdown across the country and are facing uncertainty on when they will be allowed to reopen and how they will go about it. Having reopened earlier than planned we talk about this experience from the perspectives of the owner, the coaches, and the clients. As the owner, you have to make sure you build trust. People need to be sure that you are taking every precaution necessary to keep them safe. If it involves taking them through the process, you have to do it. T...
May 06, 2020•39 min•Ep. 35
Covid-19 has brought a lot of disruption. One thing everyone in the fitness business should be prepared for is the changes that will come after the lockdown measures are lifted. The future of fitness is small group personal training. Having a business model that is based on a smaller number of people who are more controllable and more specific and who can social distance is the future. We take you through the transitioning process. Whether you are running one on one programs or bigger classes. T...
Apr 29, 2020•48 min•Ep. 34
