Since 2012, I’ve been doing a free call with any gym owner or entrepreneur who needs one. I just passed the 2000th last week.
(If you haven’t booked a free call with me yet, go ahead and click here.)
This is part of my mission to serve 1,000,000 entrepreneurs: a 30-minute phone call, on my dime, to talk about your biggest problem, suggest a solution, and–if you’re the right fit–invite you into mentorship. I only do it once for each person. But I learn a LOT in that 30-minute span. Here are some of the top lessons I’ve taken from these calls over the last 6.5 years:
- It’s never as bad as it seems when you’re in it.
- The problems of gym owners are changing quickly. The new problems are better problems.
- Most gym owners are now talking about profit (finally)
- A “free call” to Guam costs me $47
- No one has unique problems (Germans, Guatemalans and Greeks all have the same problems we do in North America)
- My role isn’t to spout ideas, but a step-by-step plan. In other words, clarity
- A great idea at the wrong time can be fatal
- 96% of entrepreneurs in the fitness industry would “go to their gym and coach” the day after winning the lottery
- More clients is almost never the solution
- More entrepreneurs know they need “systems” than ever before
- Other consultants are a stepping stone up to TwoBrain (thanks to Dave Tate for predicting this in 2016)
- There are really four distinct phases of entrepreneurship (take the test to see where YOU are here) and each requires different advice, lessons and mentorship
- More owners understand the need for diverse revenue streams
- 1 in 8 owners cry when they get on the phone
- 1 in 10 owners are actually doing really well, but need some vision to get their gym operating autonomously
- Our lessons apply to physical therapy clinics, chiropractors, chocolatiers, tire stores, Kumon franchises, fashion designers…and a dozen other industries
- Many gyms’ websites are actually hurting their business
- No one is publishing enough media about their clients
- The best mentor probably isn’t the person most like you
- Everyone’s gym is different, but the foundational needs are the same; and
- Everyone cares a HELL of a lot.
One of the key indicators that someone will be a great fit for Two-Brain: we laugh on the phone. But that doesn’t mean I’ve never cried after a call. When an owner tells me about fighting with his wife, missing his kids, and trying to resuscitate his dying dream, I can put myself in his spot because I’ve BEEN there. I remember declining health, rapid heart rate and never-ending stress. I remember when I couldn’t see a way out, and lying to myself that I’d just eventually be successful if I just kept moving forward.
If a better workout tracking app was the answer to making gyms more profitable, then that’s what I’d build. But it’s not. That’s why we’re a mentoring agency (the largest in the fitness world) and why we’re invited to affiliate events worldwide. There are over 500 entrepreneurs in the TwoBrain family now, and I’ve spoken to every single one. Because they all started with the free call. And I’m glad they did!
