Episode 44: We Are All Zimmer

Keith Zimmer from CrossFit Happy Valley in Clackamas, Oregon joins us today.

Keith is an experienced CrossFit coach and affiliate owner. He got his start by crossing paths with CrossFit co-founder Lauren Glassman nearly seven years ago. Keith’s pursuit of excellence is unparalleled and today we talk with him about his rise from a twelve-foot-by-twelve-foot corner gym, to an 11,000 square foot CrossFit Mecca.

After first just going to a CrossFit gym to see what the fuss was about, Keith was instantly hooked on this newfound religion. He immediately passed through the certifications needed and even took many of them twice. After moving to Oregon and breaking up with Lauren, Keith found himself broke with no money, no clients, and no way forward.

Desperate to continue his dream, he started a small gym in the corner of his friend Jason’s MMA gym. In need of clients, he offered $40 for unlimited workouts 24 hours a day. As the struggle continued, Keith thought about quitting many times. He nearly packed up shop, moved back to Utah, and continued his trade of working as an electrician.

However, an intervention spurred Keith to stick it out and stay the course. He slept on a couch in the back office of the MMA gym and lived off of Raman Noodles and canned chili. After building his clientele, Keith found himself outgrowing his space and was able to make the move to his own gym and open Happy Valley CrossFit.

Keith learned about running his gym from one of the best, Lauren Glassman. He says that her single biggest piece of advice is to not focus on yourself but focus on nurturing the client. Keith describes his gym as a Thanksgiving feast where it is simply like having family around all the time. In some instances, he can take this motto too far and become so focused on the client that he is essentially acting like a martyr.

Many of these self-defeating mindsets came from Keith’s upbringing and always trying to please his mother and father. As his business grew, it was obvious that several changes needed to be made and his reluctance to do so was negatively affecting not only himself but his clients.

As Keith worked with Two Brain Coaching to raise his rates to be more in line with what was fair, he began to see the positive impacts of doing so. By raising rates instead of being scared of running customers off he was able to provide higher quality service, pay his coaches better, and provide better equipment.

Now that Keith has implemented these new business approaches he is living with less stress, frustration, and anger. Follow along today and learn exactly what Keith did to improve his business, his life, and his client’s lives so you don’t have to reach the bottom to figure it out.

In addition, Keith will cover questions like: How much should a CrossFit affiliate make? What does it take to succeed? Is it necessary to hit the bottom before making the changes necessary to succeed?

Timeline:

0:18 Keith Zimmer Introduction.
2:31 How Keith found CrossFit and grew his desire to coach.
6:19 Meeting Lauren Glassman co-founder of CrossFit.
11:43 Moving to Portland and breaking up with Lauren.
15:45 Broke, Hungry but filled with passion and desire.
21:52 From humble beginnings to success.
26:30 Best advice from Lauren, the co-founder of CrossFit.
29:45 The CrossFit Gym is like a family Thanksgiving.
30:28 Being a CrossFit martyr.
34:25 The need to make others happy and its effects on his business.
39:10 What stopped Keith from raising rates.
40:28 Trusting the Two-Brain Business method.
42:06 A wild dream that related to my business.
45:05 Projection of feelings and ideas onto clients.
48:20 How has life changed as Happy Valley CrossFit has grown.
52:27 A gym based on false reality.
53:08 How much should an affiliate make?
55:09 Is it necessary to hit the bottom before maki