Check out this diagram:
You’ll note that client count is a big deal in a gym—but it’s not enough to ensure success on its own. You need great average revenue per member (ARM) and length of engagement (LEG), too.
I’ll show you what’s possible when it comes to client counts in coaching gyms, then I’ll dig into the three elements of a good gym.
Here’s our Top 10 leaderboard for clients in May 2024:
And here’s how ARM, LEG and client counts combine to support a strong business.
ARM (average revenue per member per month) is a measure of client value. Your clients must pay enough to make your gym profitable. If you have 300 clients with low ARM, that means you’re trying to compete on price—and losing to brands like F45, Nike, Revel and the next gym to offer an $89-a-month deal for group classes.
LEG (length of engagement) is a measure of client retention. Your clients must stick around long enough to make meaningful improvements and change their lives. If you have 300 clients in big groups, that can mean more than just high churn: Clients in big groups often don’t stick around long enough to see impressive results, make big changes or refer their friends.
Clients is a measure of headcount. Even if you have high ARM and LEG numbers, you can’t make a living off one client. If you have too few clients, your business is fragile: One family moves away and you’re in serious trouble. This is the challenge faced by many so-called “high ticket” programs: They sell a client a $2,000 program once, and then the client leaves. Uh oh.
To have a good business, you must have strong metrics in all three areas. According to our data—the best in the industry, by far—the baseline for a good business is 150 clients at $205 ARM and 13-month LEG.
That’s still not ideal, but it’s enough to pay you $100,000 per year, ensure you work fewer than 45 hours per week, and allow you to pay another full-time coach and half-time helper.
After you achieve $205 ARM and 13-month LEG with 150 clients, you can then add more members—but keep working to extend your LEG and offer more value to drive up ARM.
In the leaderboard above, take a look at the number of clients who train at our No. 10 gym. It’s 341. I can tell you that gym’s ARM is well above $225, and Two-Brain clients hold members for an average of 20.7 months (the industry average is 7.8).
That means the gym takes in far more than $75,000 a month, and each client is worth about $5,000.
That’s a perfect example of this concept in the real world:
I know you want to be a great gym owner—so are you missing any of these elements?
If so, we can help.
