Run a Profitable Gym

Chris Cooper
  • 5.0 (21)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Semiweekly

Run a Profitable Gym is packed with business tools for gym owners and CrossFit affiliates. This is actionable, data-backed business advice for all gym owners, including those who own personal training studios, fitness franchises, and strength and conditioning gyms. Broke gym owner Chris Cooper turned a struggling gym into an asset, then built a multi-million-dollar mentoring company to help other fitness entrepreneurs do the same thing. Every week, Chris presents the top tactics for building a profitable gym, as well as real success stories from gym owners who have found incredible success through Two-Brain Business mentorship. Chris’s goal is to create millionaire gym owners. Subscribe to Run a Profitable Gym and you could be one of them.

  1. 1d ago

    How to Hire A-Players and Double Your Gym Revenue

    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. Links Darren Thornton's Full Story Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Why your A-player job posts attract bad candidates 2:05 - The salary cap concept limiting your payroll 3:19 - Real numbers: calculating your gym’s salary cap 4:49 - How growing revenue grows your salary cap 7:30 - Where the onboarding model came from 9:50 - The hidden friction in the onboarding model 11:11 - The coaching-first model top gyms are using 13:33 - Case study: from $9K a month to $1M a year 15:26 - The coach-pay formula explained 18:45 - How to build a team of A-players

  2. 4d ago

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

    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. Links State of the Industry Survey Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - He went dark for 10 weeks and came back making more money 2:24 - The hardest skill this gym owner had to teach himself 3:33 - Building a job post that filters out the wrong people 9:18 - The unpaid trial that exposes who's not serious 16:04 - Why every coach on his team is full-time, no exceptions 18:15 - What actually gets someone hired at his gym 23:47 - What happens the moment the interview ends 29:43 - From one guy in a cape to seven full-time coaches 35:04 - The math behind mandatory personal training 46:36 - Why standing out meant turning members away first

  3. Sep 3

    What I Would Do If I Was Launching a Gym From Scratch in 2026

    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. Links State of the Industry Survey Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:03 - Starting a gym with a clean slate 1:12 - The coaching model: one-on-one to semi-private 4:28 - Marketing without ads or a following 10:36 - Space, lease and build-out decisions 16:21 - Earning a full-time income 20:57 - When and how to hire

  4. Aug 31

    Why Most Gym Owners Never Reach $100K

    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.com Links State of the Industry Survey $100,000 Income Training Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Why most gym owners are solving the wrong problem 1:23 - The client count that actually pays your bills 2:49 - Why paying yourself last is quietly killing your gym 4:41 - The real number your revenue per member should hit 7:47 - The retention number almost every gym owner gets wrong 9:11 - The expenses that feel necessary but are actually draining you 10:27 - Why doing everything yourself caps your gym's growth

  5. Aug 27

    How to Land a Gym Client in 15 Minutes

    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. Links State of the Industry Survey Objection-Handling Scripts Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - 15 minutes to close a difficult client 0:47 - What actually brings a hard-to-please prospect into your gym 3:03 - Get a client to picture their life 6 months from now 5:08 - The exact program prescribed for a client afraid of re-injury 6:55 - Handling the “this might hurt my back again” objection 7:27 - The scheduling flexibility test every busy client puts you through 9:35 - The moment he asks about price 10:36 - The cancellation question every gym owner dreads 12:41 - The “let me think about it” moment 13:55 - Why giving yourself permission to say no closes more sales

  6. Aug 24

    How to Handle Every Sales Objection in Your Gym

    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. Links State of the Industry Survey Objection-Handling Scripts Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Why "I need to think about it" is never the real objection 1:01 - Why discounting and delaying is costing your gym 2:49 - The framework for turning any objection into a decision 3:56 - Uncovering what's really behind "I need to think about it" 4:17 - Handling the spousal objection 5:33 - Handling the price objection 7:02 - Why you should never guess a client's budget 7:34 - Handling the "I'm too busy" objection 8:40 - Handling the "I've tried everything and failed" objection

  7. Aug 17

    Close More Gym Sales in 5 Steps

    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). Links State of the Industry Survey Gym Sales Toolkit Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Why gym owners avoid asking for the sale 3:28 - The framework behind every high-converting gym consultation 4:16 - Set up your consultation area so prospects feel at ease 6:56 - The worst sales office mistakes we've seen at 3,500 gyms 7:46 - How to greet a prospect in the first 30 seconds 8:50 - The question that reveals why a prospect really walked in 11:08 - Why now matters more than what they want 14:07 - Confirm what you heard before you talk price 15:02 - Prescribe the plan and reveal the price 17:42 - What happens when they say no

  8. Aug 13

    How to Sell Without Feeling Slimy (For Gym Owners)

    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. Links Gym Sales Toolkit Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Why gym owners avoid asking for the sale 1:21 - The client story that changed how Chris sells 2:37 - The real reason most gym owners can't close 4:51 - Free sales scripts and frameworks for gym owners 5:14 - The expensive belief that's costing you sign-ups 8:06 - Why "no" feels so personal 10:54 - Why selling is really an act of coaching 11:42 - The thank-you card that proves why this matters 13:00 - What's coming next in this sales series

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Run a Profitable Gym is packed with business tools for gym owners and CrossFit affiliates. This is actionable, data-backed business advice for all gym owners, including those who own personal training studios, fitness franchises, and strength and conditioning gyms. Broke gym owner Chris Cooper turned a struggling gym into an asset, then built a multi-million-dollar mentoring company to help other fitness entrepreneurs do the same thing. Every week, Chris presents the top tactics for building a profitable gym, as well as real success stories from gym owners who have found incredible success through Two-Brain Business mentorship. Chris’s goal is to create millionaire gym owners. Subscribe to Run a Profitable Gym and you could be one of them.

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Cooper
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.2K
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Run a Profitable Gym
  • Show Website
    Run a Profitable Gym