Run a Profitable Gym

John Franklin
  • 4.7 (94)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Semiweekly

We've already helped 3,000 gym owners become more profitable, and we're the #1 gym mentorship program in the world.This channel (presented by Two-Brain Business) is packed with business tools for gym owners and CrossFit affiliates. We provide actionable, data-backed business advice for all gym owners, including those who own personal training studios, fitness franchises, and strength and conditioning gyms. 

  1. 2d ago

    How Top Gyms Create Raving Fans

    Get our free guide, "How to Make $100,000 a Year While Working Just 4 Hours a Day." Why do some gyms have members who bring friends and stay for years, while others struggle to keep the clients they have? Every gym has four types of members: champions, loyalists, wanderers and critics. In this episode, Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper explains how to spot each one. Each group needs something different from you, and treating them all the same means spending your time in the wrong places. Chris explains what each kind of member needs and how to move them up a level, from the coffee conversation that turns your best clients into recruiters to the way to handle members who complain about everything. He shares stories from his own gym along the way. Tune in to learn how to build a gym culture by design, not by luck. Links $100K Income Guide Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Why some gym members become raving fans (and others don't) 1:20 - The client every gym should be built around 2:25 - Turn your best clients into your biggest recruiters 6:00 - Why the best coaches still need their own coach 7:10 - The quiet clients you're probably taking for granted 9:55 - The clients who showed up excited and then went quiet 12:24 - The member who complains about everything (and what it really means) 15:43 - The one move that fixes every client relationship

  2. 5d ago

    How to Sell More Expensive Memberships in Your Gym

    Book a free call and get outside eyes on your sales process. Every gym with coached classes says they sell coaching. But if everyone who joins gets the same unlimited membership, are they actually buying coaching, or just access to a class that happens to have a coach? In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin breaks down how to prescribe real coaching in a sales consultation, and what to do when a prospect pushes back. He explains why most objections aren’t really about price or timing; they’re a sign that the prospect doesn’t believe your offer will actually solve their problem. John walks through the exact language for “prescribing up” instead of defaulting to the easiest thing to sell. He also introduces the PULSE framework and addresses the most common objections gym owners face, from “I need to think about it” to pricing and spousal pushback. Tune in to learn how to sell high-value coaching with confidence, without sounding pushy or salesy. Links Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Most objections aren’t really about price 1:14 - Why comparing yourself to Orange Theory is a trap 2:18 - What real coaching looks like 3:19 - The prescription framework (like a doctor, not a menu) 6:03 - The tools are the delivery, not the product 6:59 - How Darren Thornton built a 7-coach, $1M/year gym doing this 9:30 - Handling “I need to think about it” 10:48 - Handling the price objection 12:36 - Handling the spousal objection 13:37 - Handling the “I'm busy” objection 16:00 - Why the biggest objection is in your own head

  3. Sep 24

    The Real Reason Your Gym Stopped Growing

    Grab our free tools to help you fix the most common problems gym owners face. If your gym has been stuck at the same revenue number for a year, you probably think you need more leads. You’re only half right. In this episode, Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin breaks down why “I need more leads” is usually a symptom, not the real problem. He explains the two things that keep gyms stuck: not consistently doing the work that generates leads, or a bigger structural issue in your business that’s harder to see from the inside. John introduces the Golden Hour, a dedicated daily block for tackling your gym’s biggest bottleneck, and shares the story of Jared, a gym owner who'd been flat for 10 months until he committed to that one habit and posted his best revenue month ever. He also shares the story of Charlie, a UK gym owner who made one change to how he positioned and priced his coaching that’s projected to triple his revenue in just over a year, without adding a single new client. Tune in to figure out whether your gym’s plateau is an effort problem or something you can’t see from the inside, and how to get unstuck for good. Links Free Tools Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - The two reasons gyms stop growing 1:00 - Why busy isn't the same as productive 3:01 - The Golden Hour and establishing the run 5:30 - How a Two-Brain client turned a flat gym around 7:31 - The revenue jump after Jared got serious 8:38 - The problem you can't see from inside your own gym 9:47 - The pricing change that transformed Charlie's gym 11:58 - What's really holding your gym back

  4. Sep 21

    Our Gym Revenue Has Plateaued ... Now What? (Live Coaching)

    Their gym has been open 14 years, has over 150 members and pulls in around $30,000 a month. But growth stalled, and they wanted to know why. In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin sits down with Tanya and Meredith, longtime owners of a Sarasota CrossFit affiliate, for a real, live coaching session. John opens up their books and pricing sheet, which includes 15 different things a prospect can buy, and starts asking hard questions to find out exactly what’s capping their revenue. What John uncovers is a common but costly pattern: personal training makes up only 10% of their revenue, even though the vast majority of new prospects walk in intimidated and needing more support than a group class alone provides. John walks Tanya and Meredith through a repositioning of their entire onboarding and pricing structure, one that could significantly change how much of every dollar makes it to their bottom line. Tune in to hear a real mentorship session unfold and see exactly what it takes to break through a revenue plateau. Links Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - A profitable gym stuck at $30,000 a month 1:15 - Meet the co-owners running a 14-year affiliate long distance 7:43 - The seasonal revenue swing and the number they want to hit 10:35 - Fifteen ways to buy in, and where all the revenue comes from 12:37 - Personal training pricing and the onboarding that leads to membership 16:54 - What the numbers reveal once you compare them to industry benchmarks 18:25 - Why a loyal, stable staff still can't carry the business further 23:54 - Reframing onboarding around coaching instead of group class 27:21 - Consolidating fifteen memberships and reworking the price 35:36 - Real proof it works, and the plan to make the change stick

  5. Sep 17

    We Are About to Open a Gym ... Now What?

    This episode contains important visuals and is best enjoyed on YouTube. No amount of planning makes handing over your life savings feel completely safe. Today Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin sits down with Steven Smith and Andreia Onofre Smith, who are 40 days from opening their first gym after nine years of planning. This is a real, live mentorship session: John and the couple walk through their SBA financing process, their build-out timeline and the founders club offer they’re using to bring in revenue before the doors even open. Steven and Andrea share the vision behind their gym, a family-first concept built around helping parents stay consistent with fitness by giving their kids a genuine experience of their own, not just childcare. But the real value in this episode comes when John spots a critical gap in their pricing plan and walks them through exactly how to fix it before opening day. Tune in for a rare, unfiltered look at what it actually takes to open a gym the right way, mistakes, financing headaches and all. Links How to Buy a Gym Step by Step Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Live coaching before two first-time gym owners open their doors 1:00 - A gym built for parents who stopped showing up 3:02 - Nine years of planning and a deal that fell through in 2018 5:38 - Why they hired a mentor before they even had a location 8:36 - Financing and building out a gym in New Jersey 14:49 - What a Two-Brain mentor does before day one 17:24 - Building and pricing a Founders Club offer 29:22 - The scheduling problem stopping them from adding small group training 40:53 - Where their first members came from

  6. Sep 14

    How This Gym Generates $700K Revenue With Only 190 Members

    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. Links Free Tools Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:34 - The $70 on-ramp that became a dumpster fire 5:08 - Inside Dan's 1,800-square-foot gym 8:09 - What's actually sold in the no-sweat intro 10:29 - The 5-week onboarding, breakdown 12:45 - Why they call it "curated" instead of unlimited 16:16 - Why nutrition waits until week five 19:28 - How the onboarding upsells members into small group 21:25 - How this model built full-time coaching careers 30:51 - Common objections: pricing, space and staffing 36:18 - The revenue jump after the switch

  7. Sep 10

    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

  8. Sep 7

    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

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4.7
out of 5
94 Ratings

About

We've already helped 3,000 gym owners become more profitable, and we're the #1 gym mentorship program in the world.This channel (presented by Two-Brain Business) is packed with business tools for gym owners and CrossFit affiliates. We provide actionable, data-backed business advice for all gym owners, including those who own personal training studios, fitness franchises, and strength and conditioning gyms. 

Information

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

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