Run a Profitable Gym

John Franklin
  • 4.7 (94)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • 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. 1d ago

    5 Ways Gym Owners Should Be Using AI in 2027

    Grab our free tools to help you fix the most common problems gym owners face. If you’re only using AI to write your gym’s social media captions, you’re barely scratching the surface. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin and founder Chris Cooper share five AI workflows they use to cut admin, automate manual work and get more out of the software they already pay for. They cover how Chris turns one recording into a week of content, how the Claude browser extension can do tedious setup work for you and how gym management software is adding AI that answers questions about your own numbers. They also walk through Chris’ Meta Advantage+ ad experiment, how John turns call transcripts into a searchable database and how to delegate to AI without handing over your judgment. Tune in to learn how to put AI to work in your gym today. Links Free Tools for Gym Owners Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Why you're only scratching the surface with AI 0:59 - How to make a week of content with AI 3:54 - Using the Claude browser extension 5:45 - Using MCP servers with your gym software 8:19 - Testing Meta Advantage+ ads on a small budget 13:22 - Turning sales call transcripts into usable data 16:31 - Setting up Profit First with AI 19:18 - Why you should check AI's work DISCLOSURE  Information shared here is for educational purposes only. Individuals and business owners should evaluate their own business strategies and identify any potential risks. The information shared here is not a guarantee of success. Your results may vary.

  2. 5d ago

    How to Pay Your Coaches Well Without Going Broke

    Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out. Hiring is scary. You’re taking on real financial risk, and you can’t know in advance whether it will pay off. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain Business CEO John Franklin shows you how to figure out how much you can afford to spend on staff, how much to pay your next hire and how to tell whether that hire is working. John walks through how to find the fair market value of your own work, what your gym’s real profit looks like once you account for it and how to calculate your salary cap. He also explains how to give a new hire a 90-day trial so you know whether the investment is paying off. Tune in to learn how to hire with a plan instead of a guess. Links Full-Time Coach Calculator Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Why staffing feels so risky 0:35 - Why burnout comes back to hiring 1:36 - What your own work is really worth 2:58 - Is your gym actually profitable? 3:28 - What to do if you’re not profitable yet 4:13 - How to calculate your salary cap 6:12 - How to raise your salary cap 7:54 - How to know if a hire is working 8:59 - How to hire with confidence

  3. Oct 26

    How This Gym Owner Pays His Coaches Six Figures

    Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out. Matt Michaud grew his gym’s monthly revenue from about $12,000 to more than $80,000. He now has six full-time staff, with at least two coaches making six figures. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” John Franklin talks with Two-Brain mentor Matt Michaud about how he broke through revenue plateaus at $20,000 and $30,000 a month. Matt explains how he moved from part-time coaches to full-time careers, and how “intrapreneurialism” lets coaches earn more by building their own programs inside his gym. Matt also shares the story that changed how he thinks about his work, and walks through his current project: a 20,000-square-foot commercial building that will house his gym and other tenants. Tune in to learn how to create real careers for your coaches and grow your gym with them. Links Full-Time Coach Calculator Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Intro 1:06 - Where Matt's gym was when he joined Two-Brain 1:58 - The note that changed how Matt ran his gym 6:37 - Going from side hobby to professional gym 9:03 - Breaking through the first revenue plateau 15:44 - The second plateau and the coach who bought a house 20:04 - What coach intrapreneurialism looks like 23:26 - The math behind paying a coach six figures 28:55 - Why Matt is building his own commercial building 39:34 - Where to start if you want this for your gym

  4. Oct 21

    Before You Fire Someone in Your Gym, Watch This

    Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out. Every gym owner has looked at a staff member and thought, “I need to get rid of this person.” Chris Cooper says that instinct is usually wrong. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper shares the diagnostic he uses before he considers replacing anyone on his team: four questions that usually show the problem is the process, and three that tell you when it’s really a people problem. He explains how he once poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into staff before writing down the processes his gym should run on. Chris also covers what to do once you know which problem you have, and how to document your gym’s tasks and group them into clear roles so your team can succeed. Tune in to learn how to fix the process first and replace fewer people. Links Full-Time Coach Calculator Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Why your instinct to fire a staff member is usually wrong 1:03 - What unclear processes really cost a gym 1:44 - The cleaning mistake that wasn't the cleaner's fault 2:19 - Four questions to ask before you blame your staff 3:49 - How to know when it really is a people problem 5:29 - What to do once you’ve made the diagnosis 7:38 - The day in the life exercise for writing checklists 9:28 - Why stacking roles can cost you a great coach

  5. Oct 19

    Why Gym Owners Keep Losing Their Best Coaches

    Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out. The average coach at Corey’s gym stays more than eight years. He didn’t get there by accident. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” John Franklin talks with Two-Brain mentor Corey Lewis, who has owned his gym for 15 years. Corey shares how he screens candidates with a three-minute video and a 60-minute walk, how he makes a new coach’s first week memorable and how he uses weekly check-ins and career roadmaps to keep staff engaged. He also covers how to celebrate your team without spending much money, how to have the hard conversations when a coach isn’t performing and what to do when a coach leaves. Corey shares the mistakes he made early on too. Tune in to learn how to hire the right people and keep them for the long haul. Links Full-Time Coach Calculator Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - How Corey keeps staff for over eight years on average 6:28 - Why the first 90 days decide if a new coach stays 11:35 - The meeting cadence that keeps coaches around for years 14:25 - Using career roadmaps to talk pay with your coaches 19:46 - How to get part-time coaches to staff meetings 23:47 - The staff mistakes Corey made early on 28:14 - Low-cost ways to make your staff feel appreciated 31:54 - What to do when a coach isn't meeting the standard 35:22 - How to handle a coach leaving your gym 38:51 - Getting coach buy-in when you change your business model

  6. Oct 15

    How to Find a World-Class General Manager for Your Gym

    Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out. Hiring a general manager won’t save a gym that isn’t paying its owner well yet. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” Two-Brain founder Chris Cooper explains how to know when you’re ready to hire a GM, how to pay one without guessing and how to train them so they can run your gym at your standard. He shares what went wrong with the first GM he hired and why the role works best as one of the last hires you make. Chris also covers the questions to answer before you write the job ad and the mistakes that cause GM hires to fall apart in the first year. Tune in to learn how to hire a GM who buys back your time instead of creating more work. Links Full-Time Coach Calculator Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Why hiring a general manager can make your gym worse 0:57 - What went wrong with Chris’ first GM hire 1:45 - Why hiring a GM too early backfires 3:01 - Two questions to answer before you write the job ad 3:53 - How to pay a general manager without guessing 4:56 - Commission, profit share and bonuses for your GM 5:46 - How to train a GM to run your gym without you 6:39 - The GM training plan, step by step 8:23 - What a GM can’t fix in your gym 8:58 - The question to ask before you hire a GM

  7. Oct 12

    How to Hire the Right Coaches From the Beginning

    Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out. Hiring the wrong coach costs you money, and it costs you time you never get back. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” John Franklin talks with Two-Brain mentor Brian Bott, who runs three gyms in New Jersey that bring in over $1.5 million a year in revenue, with coaches who have stayed for a decade or more. Brian explains what he screens for, how he onboards new coaches, how he pays them and what he does when a hire goes wrong. He also shares how to decide who to hire first, how to find candidates without relying on job boards and how to keep quality consistent across multiple locations. Tune in to learn how to hire right the first time and build a team that wants to stay. Links Full-Time Coach Calculator Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - Why a bad hire makes gym owners afraid to hire again 0:53 - How a three-location gym structures its coaching team 4:17 - What to look for when hiring a coach 6:57 - How new coaches are onboarded on the floor 9:32 - Where to find great coaches for your gym 13:03 - How to post the job and structure coach pay 20:21 - What to do when a hire doesn’t work out 23:12 - How to keep great coaches for years 28:58 - Who to hire first and how to hand off clients 36:42 - How to keep coaching quality consistent across locations

  8. Oct 8

    How This Gym Owner Sells $300 Memberships in Rural Alabama

    Is your gym ready to hire a full-time coach? Use our free calculator to find out. Tres Kennedy charged $150 a month for personal training plus unlimited group classes. He thought no one in his small Alabama town would pay more. In this episode of “Run a Profitable Gym,” John Franklin sits down with Two-Brain mentor Tres Kennedy to talk about packaging, pricing and handling objections. Tres explains how he moved from giving away his on-ramp to prescribing coaching at nearly double the price, and what happened to his gym’s close rate, staff pay and retention. Then John and Tres role-play a real consultation, working through the objections gym owners hear most: “I need to think about it,” price pushback and “I need to talk to my spouse.” Tune in to learn how to charge what you’re worth and keep the sale moving when a prospect hesitates. Links Full-Time Coach Calculator Gym Owners United Book a Call 0:00 - How he first priced and packaged his gym 2:37 - His offer today and the fear of charging more 5:41 - His average prospect and what changed after raising prices 10:04 - Building conviction and checking your pricing 13:10 - Objection-handling role-play 16:34 - Framing the solution and presenting the price 19:18 - Handling “I need to think about it” and price objections 25:00 - Standing firm when prospects want something cheaper 31:50 - Handling “I need to talk to my spouse” 34:25 - Advice for owners who struggle to charge what they're worth

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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
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Run a Profitable Gym
  • Show Website
    Run a Profitable Gym

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