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Two-Brain Radio: Rory Mckernan

August 28, 2019 Personal Development Podcast
Sean: 00:02 – Hi everybody and welcome to another edition of Two-Brain Radio with Sean Woodland. On today’s episode, I talk with a good friend of mine and one of the original members of the CrossFit Games media team, Rory Mckernan. First: “Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief” by Chris Cooper is the blueprint you need to start or grow your business, but don’t take my word for it. Reader Mary Boimila says, “If you’re thinking about being an entrepreneur, are an entrepreneur or know an entrepreneur, wait no longer and dive right in.” Get your copy of “Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief” on Amazon today. Rory Mckernan is probably the most recognizable face when it comes to the media side of the sport of fitness. He played a key role in building the CrossFit Games media team over the years and he is still covering the season and the athletes today. We talk about how he got started with CrossFit, some of his favorite memories from the early days of the media department and his latest collaboration with Katrin Davidsdottir on her book, “Dottir.” Thanks for listening everyone, Sean: 01:10 – Ro, my friend. How the hell are you, man? Rory: 01:13 – Oh man, you know what, I am great. We are, you know, time wise, got a little bit of air to breathe after the CrossFit Games and I’m doing good man. Yeah. You know—it was an interesting year as you well know, so had some time to decompress and now I’m sitting back in Cookeville, Tennessee, it’s a sunny and beautiful day, and I got no job to be at. I got nowhere to go. Just kind of enjoying my morning coffee a little bit longer than I should. And getting back into fitness and , it’s been great. Sean: 01:42 – Awesome. I think that for some people, you have kind of always been present in CrossFit media, ...
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Hardcore is Expensive.

August 27, 2019 Personal Development
In 2008, I thought hand rips were cool. I flew a Pirate Flag in the corner of our gym. I had a black website with black-and-white pictures. I printed T-shirts with Mark Twight quotes. I was counter-culture and proud of it. I held serious training “meetings” with our top athletes to talk about competitions. I cranked up the Metallica and let the “serious” clients train anytime they wanted. Other CrossFit gym owners told me I was awesome. They were wrong. “This Gym Isn’t for You” My early “counterculture” attitude nearly cost me everything. Yes, I attracted a few hardcore early adopters. I thought their discounted rates would still make me money. But I was consistently sending a very expensive message to the people I should have tried to attract: “This isn’t for you.” “If you don’t think bloody palms are cool…then this isn’t for you.” “If you care about clean floors and air conditioning…then this isn’t for you.” “If you’re sensitive about our music or our appearance…then this isn’t for you.” “If you don’t want to drive to a remote location in the Industrial Park…then this isn’t for you.” And on and on. I sent so many “not for you” messages that I eventually excluded everyone. You’re a firefighter who loves P90X? Pfffft. This isn’t for you. You don’t want to deadlift? Don’t have tattoos? Don’t like swearing? This isn’t for you. Stay home, or go elsewhere to exercise. Many, many clients called to inquire. Many others showed up for on-ramp, and we filtered them out with FMS screening. Very few left because our prices were expensive; most left because of our attitude, and our egos and our signaling. We turned away dozens of people because we were counterculture; hardcore; competitive; too different from their reality. Hardcore is expensive.  What Signals Are You Sending? Every signal you give that says “this isn’t for you” costs you clients. And it usually ...
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Two-Brain Radio: Sara Carter

August 26, 2019 Personal Development Podcast
Mateo: 00:00 – Hey, it’s Mateo Lopez of Two-Brain Marketing. On this edition of the Two-Brain Marketing podcast, I’m talking with Sara Carter with CrossFit PortSide. You’ll learn about her experience transitioning from being a collegiate-level basketball coach to a CrossFit gym owner. You’ll also learn how she built her advertising system and how month over month, she spends $300 on ads and generates $3,000 in front-end sales, so you don’t want to miss this. Make sure subscribe to Two-Brain Radio for marketing tips and secrets each week. Greg: 00:39 – Two-Brain Radio is brought to you by Two-Brain Business. We make gyms profitable. We’re going to bring you the very best tips, tactics interviews in the business world each week. To find out how we can help you create your Perfect Day, book a free call with a mentor at twobrainbusiness.com Chris: 00:57 – This episode is brought to you by Incite Tax. Incite Tax is founded by John Briggs, a CrossFitter, great big tall guy with a fantastic sense of humor, and John is like a coach for your books. These guys are not just pencil-pushing number crunchers. These guys will actually help you get toward your Perfect Day. If you’re a member of our Growth Stage part of the mentoring program, you’re familiar with John’s videos on 1099 versus W2 contractors. See, John used to work for the IRS. He’s seen the other side of labor law, and he knows exactly where the line is drawn. Don’t believe everything you read, but on the tax side, John can actually help you plan to take home more money every year and save more money on taxes because John is a certified Profit First accountant. If you’ve listened to this podcast before, you know that I’m a big fan of Mike Michalowicz’s Profit First system, and John at Incite Tax and his staff can help you plan backward from ...
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Two-Brain Radio: Good Debt vs. Bad Debt With Clay Ferrer

August 22, 2019 Gym Operations Podcast
Greg: 00:00 – Hey, it’s Greg Strauch of Two-Brain Media, and on this week’s episode we talked to Clay Ferrer. He’s the owner of Rigquipment Finance. You guys have probably heard some of the ads on here before of us talking about an amazing partner that we work with that has done phenomenal things with gym owners through financing. Even myself, I’ve utilized them in the past. We jump into good debt versus bad debt and really the differences between the two so that we can educate you more if you don’t know the difference between good debt and bad debt, and really, hey, as a business owner, what’s the first step I should be going towards if I’m acquiring good debt? Subscribe to Two-Brain Radio for the very best ideas, tips, and topics to move you and your business closer to wealth. Greg: 00:48 – Two-Brain Radio is brought to you by Two-Brain Business. We make gyms profitable. We’re going to bring you the very best tips, tactics, interviews in the business world each week. To find out how we can help you create your Perfect Day, book a free call with a mentor at twobrainbusiness.com. We would like to thank another one of our amazing sponsors, UpLaunch. Over the amount of time that you’ve had your business, how many people have come through your doors and never signed up for a membership? When I first opened, I remember getting everybody’s name and emails because that’s what I was told was the best way to start the conversation with potential new members. The big problem was I never knew what to say. Over many years, I spent countless hours developing plenty of emails to send to these new members or people that are thinking about signing up for a membership. This took a lot of time, probably way too long, and could have been spent on more productive things. ...
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Two-Brain Radio: Matt O'Keefe

August 21, 2019 Personal Development Podcast
Sean: 00:00 – Hi everybody and welcome to another edition of Two-Brain Radio with Sean Woodland. Today I speak with president of Loud and Live sports, Matt O’Keefe. But first, are you a stressed business owner who’s working too much and still struggling to make a profit? Do you want to grow your venture and reach the next level? Two-Brain Business is here to help with a free 60-minute call. This is not a sales pitch; just an opportunity for you to get real, actionable advice from an expert who’s built a successful business. For one-on-one guidance on how to take your business to the next level, book your Free Help call today at twobrainbusiness.com. Matt O’Keefe has really made a name for himself on the business side of the CrossFit Games and not only is he Mat Fraser’s manager, but he also helps run one of the most high-profile Sanctional events of the Games season, Wodapalooza. Matt and I talk about how he got involved in the business of the CrossFit Games, why Loud and Live decided to expand from one to five sanctioned events in 2020 and what needs to happen moving forward for the CrossFit Games season to not only be successful but to also grow. Thanks for listening everyone. Sean: 01:13 – Matt, thanks so much for joining me today. I know you are super busy there in Miami. How are you doing? Matt: 01:18 – I’m great, Sean. Thanks for having me. Obviously it’s great to spend some time talking with you, but things are good. A little hectic coming off the Games, but you know, we’re into the preparation for the Sanctional season. Sean: 01:32 – Yeah, we’re going to get into that in a second. But I know your name is, I think familiar to a lot of people. They might not just know exactly who you are, but let’s go back a ...
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How To Survive The August Dip

August 19, 2019 Member Retention
I remember August 2008 all too clearly. I had cancellations. I had unforeseen bills. I had clients who wanted to put their membership on hold; staff who wanted to take time off; and PT clients who weren’t showing up for their sessions. I remember no money, no sleep and mounting pressure. I remember saying, “I’m never going through this again.” I knew I had two choices: close up the following July, or make a plan. I’ll share it below. If August isn’t the worst month in your fiscal year, that’s okay: just replace “August” with your worst-performing month. The best step YOU can take is to think about August back in January. Work with your mentor through an Annual Plan. Schedule some revenue-boosting activities in July and September, and schedule expenses around it. Plan to take a little vacation in August yourself, and schedule your staff some time off too! Here’s how I bridged the gap the following year, and every year since: Plan an event for the first weekend of September. Charge enough to keep people committed to training through August. The Catalyst Games were born for one reason only: to boost August revenues. But they also improved adherence (people trained more through August so they weren’t “wasting” their $50 entry fee.) We just completed our 11th year. Sell prep courses for your event. Release events slowly, Castro-style. Run workshops or short courses to help people succeed at your event. Run a no-risk apparel order in July. We use the Forever Fierce preorder system. Run a no-risk supplement order in July. We use the Driven preorder system. Ask clients to be realistic about their 1:1 bookings in August. “I want to see you succeed. How realistic is it to expect you to make your Friday at 3pm appointment time?” Focus on nutrition. Book goal reviews for July. Schedule staff meetings and time off. You might as well rest: September ...
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