Today’s guest, Joleen Bingham, has developed an ascension model to help you retain staff by creating careers for them. Since implementing the model, Joleen’s staff retention has improved, and she has multiple team members earning over $100,000 a year. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Joleen, a multi-gym owner and the leader of Two-Brain’s Tinker program for upper-level gym owners. Joleen’s model begins with a consistent, structured hiring process that...
Sep 19, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 602
A link is missing between credentials and careers in the fitness industry—and it’s costing gym owners a lot of great people. Common story: A trainer starts making $20 per class and works up to coaching 40 sessions a week. But the trainer isn’t making enough money and can’t see a way to make more without burning out. So the coach leaves the fitness industry to “get a real job.” The gym owner shrugs and tosses another coach into the cycle. Sound familiar? If so, this episode of "Run a Profitable G...
Sep 16, 2024•41 min•Season 3Ep. 601
It’s Worst-Case Scenario Week on “Run a Profitable Gym.” Today, host Mike Warkentin is joined by Matthew Becker, owner of GymLaywers.com, who shares stories of partnerships from hell and explains how to avoid them. Partnerships in gyms can go wrong fast and create living nightmares for entrepreneurs. Partners might have very different views on topics such as dating members, day-to-day operations and finances, and sometimes a partner might even be involved in illegal activities. Or maybe one part...
Sep 12, 2024•49 min•Season 3Ep. 600
Although fitness training is incredibly safe, injuries and emergency situations are unavoidable. The best plan: Be prepared. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Erik Zeyher, owner of Warlock Athletics in New York. In mid-August, one of Erik’s clients had a heart attack at the gym. Coaches and other members quickly worked together to administer CPR and resuscitate the member using the gym’s AED. At the hospital, the member's wife said that if her husband ...
Sep 09, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 599
Most gym owners experience a revenue slump during the summer months. But today’s guest posted his greatest monthly revenue total of the year in June. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin digs into summer revenue with Stan Skolfield of Skolfield Sports Performance in Maine. Stan’s gym focuses on youth sports performance, and his summer programs—perfect for kids who are out of school—generate front-end revenue and downstream revenue for rest of the year. In summer, Stan r...
Sep 05, 2024•30 min•Season 3Ep. 598
For many gym owners, revenue drops off a cliff in summer. For others, it soars higher than ever. How can you make sure your gym is crushing it instead of crashing in summer? In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper presents the Top 10 revenue leaderboard for June 2024 and shares the leaders’ tactics. The top gym in June posted its best month of revenue thanks to a very successful kids summer program that’s a feeder for its main offerings. Your takeaway: K...
Sep 02, 2024•14 min•Season 3Ep. 597
What are the best gyms in the world doing? Two-Brain Business’ annual "State of the Industry" report has the answers. It’s the most robust dataset on microgyms anywhere in the world, and it helps gyms grow by enabling their owners to make decisions based on science instead of guesswork. You can be part of the 2024 report and get access to 16 special resources for gym owners by submitting your survey response before Sept. 4, 2024, via the link below. In this special episode of “Run a Profitable G...
Aug 29, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Season 3Ep. 596
Why did you become a gym owner? The simple answer is probably to help others, but the more complicated answer is that many of us have had our own health and fitness transformations. Many of us have seen depression, obesity and sickness reversed by the pursuit of fitness and health, and we want nothing more than to share that knowledge, joy and wellbeing with others. But the fitness business is far too fragile. A new law or rent increase might be all it takes for a host of gym owners to run out o...
Aug 26, 2024•13 min•Season 3Ep. 595
An undeniable truth in the fitness industry: If your athletes aren’t getting results, they’re going to go somewhere else. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with two of the minds behind NCFIT, a programming and coaching development provider for CrossFit affiliates. Jason Khalipa, a CrossFit Games champion, is NCFIT’s founder and owner. Matt DellaValle, aka “MDV,” is the company’s chief fitness officer. The trio discuss the evolution of gym programming over t...
Aug 22, 2024•45 min•Season 3Ep. 594
In 2024, workouts shouldn’t be hard for the sake of being hard. You must ask, “What outcome is this workout designed to produce?” and “What are my clients’ goals?” In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Mike Warkentin sits down with Chris Cooper, Two-Brain founder and owner of Catalyst Fitness, to talk about what good programming looks like. One way to ensure you’ve got strong programming is by outsourcing it to an expert provider like NCFIT, Mayhem or CompTrain. But whether you outsource yo...
Aug 19, 2024•33 min•Season 3Ep. 593
What do your prospective clients need to see one week before joining your gym? In this episode, host Mike Warkentin and marketing expert Colm O’Reilly talk about how to build a direct-response campaign that stops the scroll and brings in new members. A direct-response campaign asks people to take action and makes it easy to do so: “Do you want to get fit? Here’s how to get started.” Colm—a Two-Brain mentor and the owner of CrossFit Ireland and We Do Your Paid Marketing—explains the importance of...
Aug 16, 2024•36 min•Season 3Ep. 592
When you think of a business with an iconic, unforgettable brand, what comes to mind? What sets this brand apart? In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Two-Brain CMO John Franklin to talk about how gym owners can use brand and direct-response marketing to grow their businesses. Brand marketing is all about telling your story: why you do what you do, and for whom. Direct-response marketing is all about creating offers to get people to do something specific ...
Aug 15, 2024•30 min•Season 3Ep. 591
In good times, your gym will rise to the level of your marketing. In bad times, it will fall to the level of your leadership. Your gym is more than a place to exercise. It’s a community of people united in a common goal. It’s a movement to change health and longevity in your town. As the owner of a gym, you’re the leader of that movement. Nobody opens a gym just to make a living. They open a gym to make a difference. It’s not just a job; it’s a crusade. This week the CrossFit community experienc...
Aug 10, 2024•15 min•Season 3Ep. 590
Theft, fraud, lies and messy affairs—these are just some of the reasons why staff members get fired from gyms. So how do you deal with severe staff stress? In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks HR horror stories with Two-Brain mentor Andrea Savard, who has co-owned her gym, FirePower Fitness and Wellness in Ontario, Canada, for 20 years. Over the years, Andrea has had to part ways with staff members, and even clients, who did not live up to her gym’s standards. She...
Aug 08, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 589
How do you know when it’s time to part ways with a coach? To answer that question, “Run a Profitable Gym” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Josh Martin, former gym owner, Two-Brain mentor and owner of The Refined Art of Coaching. Often the issue isn’t actually with the coach—it’s caused by a lack of clear and reasonable expectations. The key is to get your expectations out of your head because people can’t read your mind. Josh shares tactics for ensuring your coaches are hitting standards and e...
Aug 05, 2024•43 min•Season 3Ep. 588
Two-Brain’s Top 10 leaderboard for client headcount in May ran from 341 to 941 clients at single-location gyms. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks with Robin Sowden-Taylor, owner of the large gym Ion Strength and Conditioning in Wales, as well as a smaller gym that’s on track to follow the same path to growth. Ion’s mission is to have a positive impact on health and wellness in the local community. With 430 members and impressive length-of-engagement (LEG) stats...
Aug 01, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 587
It doesn’t matter how good your sales are if you’re losing clients due to poor coaching. People just won't stay and pay if your product—coaching—is lacking. As a gym owner, you sell results. Results help clients become healthier, and they increase retention—one of the most important metrics in your business. No million-dollar gym has poor retention. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks coaching with Oskar Johed, co-owner of CrossFit Medis and CrossFit Sickla in Sw...
Jul 29, 2024•41 min•Season 3Ep. 586
If you doubled your average revenue per member, how many clients would you need to pay yourself $100,000 per year? In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Kieran O’Dwyer, Two-Brain Business mentor and owner of two gyms in Australia. Prior to joining Two-Brain, one of Kieran’s gyms grew quickly from 100 to 270 members, and his systems were totally overwhelmed: The gym couldn’t manage the clients and major retention problems appeared. When Kieran found himself...
Jul 25, 2024•31 min•Season 3Ep. 585
How can you acquire and keep more gym clients? Our top fitness entrepreneurs share their secrets. This month’s Two-Brain leaderboard features coaching gyms with outstanding member counts—ranging from 341 to a whopping 941. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper runs through the Top 10 gyms around the world for client headcount and then shares the owners’ tips with you. A few themes: These gyms all have great retention, funnels, sales systems and general busines...
Jul 22, 2024•14 min•Season 3Ep. 584
What are the rewards if you create an outstanding client journey at your gym? Better retention, greater lifetime value, lower marketing costs, higher profit and vastly improved results for clients. On today’s episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin chats with Peter Brasovan, former owner of Myriad Health + Fitness. Now a Two-Brain mentor trainer, Peter explains exactly how to build a strong client journey. Key highlights include using the Prescriptive Model, No Sweat Intros and go...
Jul 18, 2024•38 min•Season 3Ep. 583
The longer members stay at your gym, the better your chances of changing their lives. So how do you get clients to stick around? In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin and Two-Brain CEO Chris Cooper discuss key tactics for improving retention. They also reveal the frivolous things that don’t actually make a difference. The foundation for improving length of engagement is simple: Every client needs to have a clear goal, a plan and accountability. These essential elements a...
Jul 15, 2024•29 min•Season 3Ep. 582
Picture this: You’re in a sales consultation at your gym. You’ve communicated how your service will help the prospect meet their goals, and they’ve affirmed their interest. You’re so close to getting the sale, and then they hit you with “I need to think about it.” Sound familiar? In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host John Franklin sits down with Matt Temby, owner of Vault Health and Fitness and head of sales at Two-Brain Business, who shares proven tactics for getting to “yes.” There a...
Jul 11, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 581
Do you ever wish you had a script that would tell you what to say to members and prospective clients? Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin and Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper discuss several common scenarios gym owners face, and Coop tells you exactly what to say in each one. How do you say “no” to discounts? How do you start more conversations and get more leads? How do you sell more PT? He also shares exactly what to say to get genuine testimonials and generate more referrals. T...
Jul 08, 2024•33 min•Season 3Ep. 580
If you multiplied your client count by an average revenue per member (ARM) of $500, what would the number be? What would that number do for your gym and your family? Today on “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin talks with a fitness entrepreneur whose ARM is well over $500: George-Anthony Dulal-Whiteway of Brainstorm Fitness in San Diego, California. George-Anthony shares actionable strategies—both big and small—you can use to start boosting your ARM today. After starting mentorship with ...
Jul 04, 2024•30 min•Season 3Ep. 579
Many gyms are “racing to the bottom” with lower and lower prices that destroy their value. This happens because of commoditization: When clients can’t differentiate between options, they choose the cheapest one, so many gym owners feel pressure to compete on price. But this approach shrinks the profit margin until the gym is forced to go out of business. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin discusses how to battle commoditization with Chris Cooper, Two-Brain founder and...
Jul 01, 2024•35 min•Season 3Ep. 578
This month’s Two-Brain leaderboard tracked average revenue per member per month (ARM), with the Top 10 running from $508 to $1,203 USD. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with ARM leader Yoni Levitan, owner of 3 Seasons Personal Training in Toronto, Canada, to learn the secrets behind his massive ARM. First of all, Yoni’s gym focuses exclusively on high-value services, such as personal and semi-private training. But the real key to Yoni’s success is an overw...
Jun 27, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 577
Every month, we pull data from a thousand Two-Brain gyms around the world, and we look for the top performers in each category. Then we interview them and share their secrets with you. This month’s leaderboard tracked average revenue per member (ARM)—how much clients pay for a gym’s services each month. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris Cooper presents the Top 10 ARM leaderboard, ranging from $508 to $1,203 USD. The Top 10 gym owners’ tips focused on one common theme: creating val...
Jun 24, 2024•15 min•Season 3Ep. 576
Ben Bergeron gets vulnerable about his journey to becoming a better leader in this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” recorded live at the Two-Brain Summit in Chicago on June 9. Ben, a legendary coach and gym owner, discusses the three pillars of team health—culture, vision and accountability—and explains how they were lacking in his gym, CrossFit New England. Once Ben recognized the problems, he sat his team members down and made changes to reshape his business to give him what he was looking f...
Jun 20, 2024•48 min•Season 3Ep. 575
The theme of the 2024 Two-Brain Summit was virtuosity: doing the common uncommonly well. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder and CEO Chris Cooper provides a broad recap of this year’s summit, which took place June 8-9 in Chicago. Over 1,000 gym owners and coaches were in attendance to hear from presenters such as Jason Khalipa, Jonathan Goodman, Carrie Wilkerson, Bill Parisi, Brian "Tosh" Chontosh and Ben Bergeron. On the owners side, speakers explained how to pursue vir...
Jun 17, 2024•51 min•Season 3Ep. 574
Raising rates can be scary—but you won’t bleed members if you follow the right plan. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” host Mike Warkentin sits down with Tim Rainer, owner of Fit One Five in Franklin, Tennessee, to discuss the ins and outs of raising rates at a gym. Tim tried raising rates on his own three times, but none of the increases had a noticeable impact on his business. The he brought in an expert to get it right. With the help of a Two-Brain mentor, Tim was able to adjust his ...
Jun 13, 2024•29 min•Season 3Ep. 573
