This Gym Owner Does $1M a Year With 7 Full-Time Staff

Grab our free tools to help you fix the most common problems gym owners face.A cheap intro offer brought in members who weren’t ready to commit—and retention that Dan Purington calls an “absolute dumpster fire.”In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin talks with mentor and gym owner Dan Purington, who runs a CrossFit affiliate doing north of $700,000 a year in revenue with fewer than 200 members.Dan breaks down how he rebuilt his entire onboarding process from a $70 low-barrier offer that attracted the wrong people into a $499, five-week hybrid on-ramp that more than doubled his revenue.Dan explains the “curated” approach behind his on-ramp, why he moved nutrition conversations to week five instead of the front end, and how giving prospects a taste of personal training alongside CrossFit or small group strength naturally upsells members into higher-value memberships.He also shares how this shift let him build real, full-time careers for his coaching staff, and tackles the most common objections gym owners raise about space, staffing and pricing when they consider making a similar change.Tune in to see how a smarter onboarding process can grow your revenue and solve your staffing problems at the same time.Book a free call and rebuild your onboarding process with a mentor.LinksFree ToolsGym Owners UnitedBook a Call0:34 - The $70 on-ramp that became a dumpster fire5:08 - Inside Dan's 1,800-square-foot gym8:09 - What's actually sold in the no-sweat intro10:29 - The 5-week onboarding, breakdown12:45 - Why they call it "curated" instead of unlimited16:16 - Why nutrition waits until week five19:28 - How the onboarding upsells members into small group21:25 - How this model built full-time coaching careers30:51 - Common objections: pricing, space and staffing36:18 - The revenue jump after the switch

Listening to this alone won’t make your gym more profitable. A mentor will. Book your free call with the Two-Brain team.If you can’t attract good coaches, the fix probably isn’t your job post.It’s your salary cap—and that’s determined by how your gym packages and prices its services.In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin explains why gyms end up stuck offering $25-an-hour split shifts instead of real, full-time careers, and how to fix it by growing your salary cap.He breaks down exactly how to calculate what your gym can afford to pay staff, and then walks through why your model is capping your revenue.You’ll find out how shifting to a “coaching first” model can double what a client is worth to your gym and use the extra revenue to attract and keep better coaches.Tune in to learn how to build a gym that can actually afford to pay great coaches what they’re worth.LinksDarren Thornton's Full StoryGym Owners UnitedBook a Call0:00 - Why your A-player job posts attract bad candidates2:05 - The salary cap concept limiting your payroll3:19 - Real numbers: calculating your gym’s salary cap4:49 - How growing revenue grows your salary cap7:30 - Where the onboarding model came from9:50 - The hidden friction in the onboarding model11:11 - The coaching-first model top gyms are using13:33 - Case study: from $9K a month to $1M a year15:26 - The coach-pay formula explained18:45 - How to build a team of A-players

Listening to this alone won't make your gym more profitable. A mentor will. Book your free call with the Two-Brain team.Darren Thornton left his gym for 10 weeks to live in a van with almost no contact—and came back making more money than when he left.In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin talks with Two-Brain alumnus Darren Thornton, who built a gym doing over a million dollars a year in revenue with seven full-time coaches on salary.Darren walks through his entire hiring process step by step, from writing a job description designed to filter out uninterested applicants to the four different offers he might make at the end of an interview.He also breaks down the pivotal decision that let him build a full-time team in the first place: shifting to a high-value membership model that ensures every coach has enough paid hours to build a real career.Darren shares the exact numbers behind the transition, the pushback he got early on and why he believes this model is ultimately better for members, not just for staffing.Tune in to learn how to build a gym that can actually support full-time, well-paid coaches.LinksState of the Industry SurveyGym Owners UnitedBook a Call0:00 - He went dark for 10 weeks and came back making more money2:24 - The hardest skill this gym owner had to teach himself3:33 - Building a job post that filters out the wrong people9:18 - The unpaid trial that exposes who's not serious16:04 - Why every coach on his team is full-time, no exceptions18:15 - What actually gets someone hired at his gym23:47 - What happens the moment the interview ends29:43 - From one guy in a cape to seven full-time coaches35:04 - The math behind mandatory personal training46:36 - Why standing out meant turning members away first

Fill out our State of the Industry survey and get a free report card showing how your gym stacks up. If Chris Cooper started a gym tomorrow, with no reputation, no members and no brand, what would he do?In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin puts founder Chris Cooper through a real-time thought experiment: build a gym from scratch using everything he's learned from 30 years in the industry.The pair work through six categories step by step: the coaching model, pricing, space and lease decisions, equipment spend, the exact marketing funnels Chris would use to land his first clients without ads, and when and how he'd eventually bring on staff.Chris gets specific throughout, sharing real numbers on rent, equipment budgets, pricing and how many clients it takes to earn $50,000 in year one. He also touches on the advice he's giving his own daughter as she considers opening a gym of her own.Tune in for a candid, numbers-driven look at what a smarter gym launch looks like today.LinksState of the Industry SurveyGym Owners UnitedBook a Call0:03 - Starting a gym with a clean slate1:12 - The coaching model: one-on-one to semi-private4:28 - Marketing without ads or a following10:36 - Space, lease and build-out decisions16:21 - Earning a full-time income20:57 - When and how to hire

Fill out our State of the Industry survey and get your custom Gym Report Card!  Every gym owner thinks their problem is unique.In reality, it’s usually one of six.In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper breaks down the six problems that show up again and again in struggling gyms, and why most owners don’t realize which one is holding them back.Chris walks through each bottleneck: not having enough clients, not paying yourself first, not charging enough per client, not keeping clients long enough, expenses that are too high, and trying to do everything yourself.Along the way, he shares specific benchmarks to aim for, including client counts, average revenue per member and realistic retention numbers.His core message: You don’t make six figures as a gym owner by working harder or finding one big secret. You do it by knowing which of these six problems is actually costing you the most money right now, and fixing it.Tune in to figure out which bottleneck is holding your gym back.Use the link below to get our free training on how to make $100,000 per year as a gym owner.For more support, join Gym Owners United: http://gymownersunited.comLinksState of the Industry Survey$100,000 Income TrainingGym Owners UnitedBook a Call0:00 - Why most gym owners are solving the wrong problem1:23 - The client count that actually pays your bills2:49 - Why paying yourself last is quietly killing your gym4:41 - The real number your revenue per member should hit7:47 - The retention number almost every gym owner gets wrong9:11 - The expenses that feel necessary but are actually draining you10:27 - Why doing everything yourself caps your gym's growth

Turn more consultations into memberships with our free Objection-Handling Scripts. Can Chris Cooper close a sale in 15 minutes—even with a client who's trying to make it hard on him?In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Chris puts himself to the test with a live, unscripted consultation. John Franklin plays a deliberately difficult prospect: a busy parent with a recurring back injury, an unpredictable schedule and a strong preference for flexibility over structure.Watch Chris run through a No Sweat Intro in real time: asking the right questions, uncovering the actual goal, and prescribing a program that addresses all of the client’s concerns at once. When John throws out objections around commitment, cancellation and pricing, Chris handles each one without flinching or discounting.By the end, you’ll see exactly what it looks like to coach someone into a confident yes.➖➖➖Fill out our State of the Industry survey and get your custom Gym Report Card. LinksState of the Industry SurveyObjection-Handling ScriptsGym Owners UnitedBook a Call0:00 - 15 minutes to close a difficult client0:47 - What actually brings a hard-to-please prospect into your gym3:03 - Get a client to picture their life 6 months from now5:08 - The exact program prescribed for a client afraid of re-injury6:55 - Handling the “this might hurt my back again” objection7:27 - The scheduling flexibility test every busy client puts you through9:35 - The moment he asks about price10:36 - The cancellation question every gym owner dreads12:41 - The “let me think about it” moment13:55 - Why giving yourself permission to say no closes more sales

Turn more consultations into memberships with our free Objection-Handling Scripts. "I need to think about it." "It's too expensive." "I need to talk to my spouse." Sound familiar?In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper role-play the most common sales objections gym owners hear.They show you how to uncover the real objection hiding underneath the surface-level one.The pair introduce the PULSE framework for handling objections: pause, understand, locate, solve and end with a decision.They walk through real scenarios one by one, including the "I need to think about it" smoke screen, the spousal objection, price pushback and the "I've been burnt before" objection, showing exactly how to respond without caving to a discount or letting a prospect walk away undecided.Tune in to hear exactly how to turn "I need to think about it" into a yes.LinksState of the Industry SurveyObjection-Handling ScriptsGym Owners UnitedBook a Call0:00 - Why "I need to think about it" is never the real objection1:01 - Why discounting and delaying is costing your gym2:49 - The framework for turning any objection into a decision3:56 - Uncovering what's really behind "I need to think about it"4:17 - Handling the spousal objection5:33 - Handling the price objection7:02 - Why you should never guess a client's budget7:34 - Handling the "I'm too busy" objection8:40 - Handling the "I've tried everything and failed" objection

Fill out the State of the Industry survey and get a free report card showing how your gym stacks up.Most gym owners either avoid the sales conversation altogether or waste an hour giving a tour without ever asking for the sale.In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper break down the No Sweat Intro: Two-Brain’s proven consultative sales framework.They walk through it step by step using the COACH method: connect, open, amplify, confirm and help.Chris shares what makes a good (and a genuinely bad) sales environment, and the pair role-play a full No Sweat Intro from start to finish. They show exactly how to uncover a prospect’s real goals, ask the right follow-up questions, and prescribe a solution with confidence.Tune in to see the entire consultative sales process in action, from the first hello to presenting the price.Use the link below to access the full Gym Sales Toolkit, including the No Sweat Intro script (word-for-word questions and phrasing for every step of the sales consultation).LinksState of the Industry SurveyGym Sales ToolkitGym Owners UnitedBook a Call0:00 - Why gym owners avoid asking for the sale3:28 - The framework behind every high-converting gym consultation4:16 - Set up your consultation area so prospects feel at ease6:56 - The worst sales office mistakes we've seen at 3,500 gyms7:46 - How to greet a prospect in the first 30 seconds8:50 - The question that reveals why a prospect really walked in11:08 - Why now matters more than what they want14:07 - Confirm what you heard before you talk price15:02 - Prescribe the plan and reveal the price17:42 - What happens when they say no

Get the full resource kit for this series—the exact frameworks and scripts to help you sell gym memberships without feeling slimy.Ever avoided asking for the sale because it felt slimy? You're not alone, but it’s costing you clients who need your help.In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper shares the three mindset shifts that changed the way he sells.He explains why most gym owners struggle to ask for the sale, why great coaching alone won't grow your business, and why a "maybe" is more dangerous than a "no."Chris also shares the story of a client who nearly quit more than once and later sent him a card that changed how he sees his job.Sales, done right, is simply coaching before someone officially becomes your client.Tune in to learn how to sell gym memberships with confidence, without ever feeling pushy or manipulative.LinksGym Sales ToolkitGym Owners UnitedBook a Call0:00 - Why gym owners avoid asking for the sale1:21 - The client story that changed how Chris sells2:37 - The real reason most gym owners can't close4:51 - Free sales scripts and frameworks for gym owners5:14 - The expensive belief that's costing you sign-ups8:06 - Why "no" feels so personal10:54 - Why selling is really an act of coaching11:42 - The thank-you card that proves why this matters13:00 - What's coming next in this sales series

Steal our Lead Nurture Toolkit—the exact scripts and follow-up cadence to turn “maybe” into a booked consultation.Gym owners constantly say they need more leads. The data says otherwise.The average gym gets 420 leads a year, but only 84 of them ever book an appointment. Fix that gap, and you can add tens of thousands of dollars in revenue without spending another dollar on ads.Today, Two-Brain CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper share proven tactics gym owners can use to transform their lead nurture process.John presents a simple four-C framework for lead nurture: Call, Consistency, Calendar and Confirm. He explains how to optimize each of these to ensure more prospects show up at your gym.Chris shares how he pushes himself to follow up more than feels comfortable, and why availability signals more to a prospect than price does.The pair also break down real gym examples showing what NOT to do.Tune in to learn how to turn the leads you already have into more paying members.LinksLead Nurture ToolkitGym Owners UnitedBook a Call0:00 - Why more leads won’t fix your gym’s sales problem0:56 - The real numbers behind why gyms lose booked appointments2:37 - Why gym owners chase leads instead of conversations3:05 - The four-part framework behind every booked appointment4:19 - Free sales scripts for gym owners4:37 - Why responding fast changes everything7:09 - How many times you should actually follow up8:41 - The calendar mistakes quietly costing you new members13:37 - Why a text beats an automated confirmation email17:20 - Putting the whole system together