Run a Profitable Gym

Episode 154 – The Intramural Open with Mike LejeuneThe Intramural Open is a fantastic way to build your community during the CrossFit Open. The focus is on inclusion and celebration instead of competition (though there’s a good bit of that, too.) Every year, we’ve built and improved on the idea thanks to the feedback from those gyms. The Intramural Open was invented by Chris Cooper, founder of Two-Brain Business. You can download our 2019 Intramural Open Guide here for free!You should also read "How To Make The Open Easier" after you've downloaded the guide. On the podcast today, we are joined by Mike Lejeune of CrossFit SciCoh and Echelon. Mike's been running the Intramural Open at his gyms for years, and built Echelon to help him host competitions in his gym. The software makes it easy to host world-class fitness competitions. We talk about hosting competitions in general; the Intramural Open in particular; changes to the Games season (and the effects on your business!) and new opportunities for you as a box owner this year.Don’t Forget! Find out what stage of entrepreneurship you are in by taking the exclusive Two Brain test here: https://twobrainbusiness.com/test/or schedule your free mentoring call by clicking here! Timeline:2:43 – Introduction to the Intramural Open4:19 – What is the Intramural Open?5:57 – How you can get the Intramural Open started at your gym?10:45 – The importance of creating a competitive environment and keeping it fair17:17 – Why RX athletes are not placed on a pedestal for the Intramural Open18:31 – Facebook Live Events to pump up the gym during the Open20:24 – Boosting participation through Friday and weekend events during the Open26:46 – The Sixth-week grand finale to the Intramural Open28:24 – Motivation and prizes for winning the intramural open33:00 – The Re-Open, the midterms for the Open.36:19 – The benefits of using Echelon for Intramural Open planning39:29 – How to sign up to use Echelon and begin planning an eventLinks: https://echeloncomps.com/https://twobrainbusiness.com/intramuralopen2019/  Contact Mike:mike@echeloncomps.com  

Episode 153 – UpLaunch with Matt Verlaque and Jake Johnson If you were building the perfect software tool for gyms from SCRATCH, where would you start? I would start with a CRM. The most important work we do is the work that helps our clients. That doesn't mean a scoreboard; that means a way to help them get started seamlessly, stay excited and engaged, and reward them for great behavior. The second most important work we do is the work that helps our coaches. That doesn't mean easier payment processing; that means a way to see clients' goals and progress, reminders to contact them, and a way to share their authority-building content. Finally, you need software that will help you increase sales. Payment software solved that problem in 2006, but hasn't really improved much since. And that software doesn't increase sales; it just automates the sales you've already made. Nurturing future clients means talking to people who are paying attention...but not yet paying you money. While I wish every gym owner would write 500 words every day, or send a caring video to every person who said, "Talk to me more!" on their site...the reality is that it's not going to happen. You just don't have time.Now, your website doesn't do any of this stuff. Does your booking/billing/scorekeeping software? I doubt it.Really, scorekeeping is one of the least important things you do in your gym. This other stuff is mandatory. And that's what a CRM does.Enter UpLaunch: a CRM for the gym industry. Jake Johnson and Matt Verlaque were actually two of my first guests on this podcast back in 2016. The idea was so solid, and their offer to "Help First" was so great that we "helped fast": we gave away some free emails for people to automate. Then they spent over two years refining the product. Now it's finally ready. Join us today as we discuss how this tool can be used in your gym and how to get started with an exclusive offer for the Two Brain Family.  UpLaunch was launched by Matt and Jake who are both former firefighters are also CrossFit gym owners. The company was originally born within the walls of CrossFit Gettysburg, PA. As Matt and Jake began to grow their fitness business they soon realized that there was no software platform available that made it easy to deploy advanced marketing automation strategies and tactics without setting up third party tools. Ever tool that already existed was either expensive or extremely complicated and that was just not good enough. Originally a mix up of third party tools, today UpLaunch provides a customer software solution for box owners that is unparalleled. Listen in on today’s episode to learn more about how powerful this platform is and the extensive capabilities it offers gym owners worldwide.  Don’t Forget! Find out what stage of entrepreneurship you are in by taking the exclusive Two Brain test here: https://twobrain.com/test/or schedule your free mentoring call by clicking here! Links:https://www.uplaunch.com/twobrainhttp://joeycoleman.com/book/matt@uplaunch.comjake@uplaunch.com Timeline:1:30 – What is UpLaunch?3:00 – How UpLaunch was started by two former firemen?7:05 – The early beginnings of UpLaunch and how it became to be13:02 – Developing today’s version of software and going back to school18:58 – Leaving the firefighting profession an

1. “Heartily know, when demigods go, the gods arrive.” – Emerson. People leave your gym (or life) for a reason. Usually it’s to make way for better people.2. “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”– Eleanor Roosevelt. Seriously, you’re the only one worrying about your programming and most of the “box drama”. Your clients have lives outside the box.3. “They’re not your friends.” – Big Nick Your clients are your clients. They pay you money in exchange for service. Your friends do not. It’s black and white, not gray. You don’t do discounts for friends, or “cut them a deal.” If they ask, they’re not your friends.4. “How will this affect your best clients?” – Mike Michalowicz It’s very tempting, sometimes, to make an exception to get the sale. When a big company asks for a corporate discount, ask yourself if it’s fair for your new clients to pay less than your amazing existing clients.5. “You can always afford to be generous.” – OK, that was me. You don’t need money to help people. And you don’t need to give them money – or discounts – to help them, either. This week, I showed my financial planner how to set up a free seminar. I showed my accountant how to build a Facebook ad for tax season, and told a group of 14 millionaires how to write a book. They don’t really need your money; they need your brain.

Two Brain Mentor Series Jeff BurlingameAt Two Brain we have over 20 mentors from around the world. In this episode I interview mentor Jeff Burlingame to hear how he got started in the gym business, and his path to becoming a mentor. Jeff knew he wanted to be mentor in his late teens after years of watching TV shows like Kitchen Nightmares, Hotel Hell and Bar Rescue. As he started frequenting gyms he realised he wanted to mentor gym owners. Hear about his journey to get there, which includes, working in sales, becoming the owner of a gym and being fired. He talks about how he tuned his gym around and why action was the thing that got him through.  Discussion PointsWhat led to Jeff wanting to be a mentor (01:02)How he started his gym career as a personal trainer and how his career in gyms progressed (3:00)How having his daughter changed his attitude to working 15-hour days and led him back to the idea of mentorship (03:52)Finding the opportunity to open his own gym (05:52)Running his first CrossFit gym and how he ended up buying it (08:00)Working out how to make money from the gym and working with Two Brain (14:40)Turning his gym around (16:33)The importance of action and momentum (17:46)How Jeff became a mentor with Two Brain and the tough training he went through (20:35)That going through the tough times of running a business is what builds character (25:00)What Jeff has learned from being a mentor (27:11)Why authenticity and experience in the industry are important to look for in a mentor (30:20)The importance of talking to your potential mentor and seeing if you align (33:38)  LinksTwo-Brain Business: Grow Your Gym by Chris Cooper

Jeff Smith is the owner of Cannon CrossFit, a real estate investor, and leader of the TwoBrain Tinker program.In this episode, Jeff talks about his story, what it means to be a mentor, and what it means to help those in the Tinker Phase.​Contact Jeff:Jeff.smith@twobrainbusiness.comTimeline:2:39 – Introduction with Jeff Smith11:30 – Joining Two Brain as a mentor13:09 – Joining the military, the motivation behind the decision15:31 – Jeff’s other business, real estate.17:14 – The importance of being a lifelong learner21:27 – The benefits of splitting up your day with a workout22:39 – How has a real estate investing led to becoming a better mentor26:12 – The importance of learning while mentoring someone else ​29:53 – How to contact Jeff​​“For this reason, they must believe in the cause for which they are fighting. They must believe in the plan they are asked to execute, and most important, they must believe in and trust the leader they are asked to follow.”—Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and WinFounder, Farmer, Tinker, ThiefIn the Great Information Age, we all have access to more knowledge than we can absorb, let alone act upon. And action is the only thing that matters. So what knowledge should entrepreneurs have? What action should they take? When?The modern problem for business owners isn’t lack of knowledge: it’s too much knowledge. It’s paralysis by analysis. It’s overwhelm.Entrepreneurs pass through four distinct phases as they first grow their business, and then their leadership. These phases are Founder, Farmer, Tinker and Thief.In the Founder Phase, the entrepreneur leaps off the cliff with his big idea. His goal is simple: to survive.The Founder Phase takes a heavy toll — physically exhausting, financially terrifying, and the largest strain on every personal relationship the Founder has. My job as mentor is to get the Founder out of the Founder Phase as quickly as possible. Many never survive this phase.The Farmer Phase starts when the entrepreneur begins the shift from self-employed to business owner. He’s hired his first employee, even if it’s a low-level role. He’s begun paying himself a little. But he’s probably still the face of the company. He’s probably still baking the donuts at 4am, then answering emails and making sales calls “when he can”. He’s still working in the business instead of working on the business. He’s busy being busy.The Farmer Phase is where 90% of entrepreneurs spend the entirety of their careers. They call themselves “owner-operators”, and most will never even retire from their business, let alone become wealthy.But some do. These are the Tinkers.A Tinker has built a business that runs itself. Now she’s trying to build another; or to duplicate her first success; or to take her first idea to a new market; or to start over with a new idea. If she’s not given new challenges, the Tinker will probably stick her hands in the machine, constantly “tweaking” her original business until it’s broken.My role as mentor to Tinkers is to help them identify the Next Big Project, and then keep them focused on it. I’ve never met a Tinker who didn’t have at least three Big Projects in mind. Free from their original business — and still making passive income from it — the Tinker’s greatest risk is killing the golden goose.The Tinker’s attention must shift from developing their first business to developing themselves as a leader. That means a plan for physical activity, mental acuity, and mental training. It means peer support: “It’s lonely at the top” describes the Tinker to a capital T. It means mentorship from someone who has successfully navigated the “valley of death” created by hiring a management layer for the first time.