The 4 Stages of Gym Business Mastery
Click Here to get your copy of The Four Stages of Gym Business Mastery:
https://4stagesbook.com/
I decided to build a turf field behind my gym. Didn't get permits. Didn't ask the landlord. Just started knocking down trees and bringing in truckloads of stone. Next thing I know, I've got a cease and desist order from the town threatening to shut us down. And after all that time, money, and aggravation, we barely used the damn thing.
https://4stagesbook.com/
I decided to build a turf field behind my gym. Didn't get permits. Didn't ask the landlord. Just started knocking down trees and bringing in truckloads of stone. Next thing I know, I've got a cease and desist order from the town threatening to shut us down. And after all that time, money, and aggravation, we barely used the damn thing.
That's what happens when you own a gym but have no idea what your actual job is supposed to be.
A gym owner came in for a consulting day recently, and about five minutes into our conversation, he looked at me and asked, "Am I going to be okay?" We were talking about AI, GLP1, the economy, and everything else changing around us. But I started wondering if he was really afraid of those things or if he just wasn't sure he had what it takes to run a successful gym. I've been there, dude.
In this episode, Big Tom and I get into the four stages of owning a gym, why the things that got you to $25,000 a month won't necessarily get you to $50,000, and why some owners doing $30,000 a month might be better off working for somebody else. We also talk about a gym owner who went from $8,000 a month to multiple locations, and another who hit seven figures in about 18 months when it took me roughly five years.
And yes, the new book is finally done. I actually finished a version with AI six months ago. It sucked. I threw the entire thing out and rewrote it. This is the book I wish somebody had handed me when I was sitting in my office wondering what the hell I was supposed to be doing all day.
5 Key Takeaways:
- The turf field that almost got my gym shut down. After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, I had an idea to build an outdoor turf field. We brought in somewhere between 10 and 20 truckloads of dirt and stone, did a massive construction project, and ended up with a cease and desist order. We eventually finished the field, but it never made us any money. I was busy doing something that had almost nothing to do with growing my business.
- Why a 10 out of 10 problem doesn't have to feel like a 100. I share a formula I learned from Nick Peterson. Anxiety equals uncertainty times powerlessness. A surprise tax bill creates uncertainty, but the owner with money in the bank is in a much different position than the guy with nothing saved. A 10 times 10 is 100. A 10 times 3 is 30. The goal is to give gym owners more certainty and more ability to do something about their problems.
- The difference between a $25,000 gym and a $50,000 gym isn't just revenue. Stage one is doing everything yourself. Stage two is being a player coach, where you're still training clients while trying to run the company. Stage three is becoming a general manager. Stage four is getting into the owner's box. These stages change what your job should look like, and trying to operate like a stage one owner forever is how guys end up burning out.
- Why $30,000 a month might not be worth the risk. A gym doing $30,000 a month generates $360,000 a year. At a 20% profit margin, that's $72,000 in annual profit. You can potentially earn that as a good trainer without taking on the responsibilities of owning a business. Sure, you could run at 40% margins and make $144,000. But in a lot of cases, those margins mean you're still doing most of the work yourself. I want gym owners to make money and have some freedom.
- The gym owner who hit seven figures in 18 months. Jason Marr had already owned a gym in San Diego that didn't work out. He sold it, moved, and eventually decided to start over. This time, he joined our coaching program before opening his doors. He got a single location to seven figures in about 18 months. It took me around four or five years. The difference wasn't some secret marketing trick. He knew what mistakes to avoid because he'd seen what happened to other owners.
Click Here to get your copy of The Four Stages of Gym Business Mastery:
https://4stagesbook.com/
https://4stagesbook.com/
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