Menu
Get the no-BS morning newsletter read by 30,000 gym owners.
Some of you may have heard of our Banner Program – and I would like to take the opportunity to explain the details in order to help other CrossFit owners to be able to utilize this outreach to their communities. The Banner Program is simply that – soliciting outside companies to purchase banner space in the box that will provide exposure for them, and add some cash flow for you to bring on more programs/beautification or even hire a new helping hand! Why you should implement it in your gym today: – ROI is insanely high. We are looking at $10k profit from about 4 hours of ownership work.– Potential to gain members from the businesses purchasing banners.– Assists in legitimizing your business in the eyes of the community.– Yearly/monthly income that is renewable.– Able to reinvest the monies into other programs. (For us, we are beautifying our front and launching another program.)– Creates another paid role. Gotta love it when someone can pay their grocery bill due to something you created!Now that you’ve been properly motivated, let’s discuss the logistics: Space and Sizing: First, it’s best to measure your specific space and determine the feasible amount of banner space available—for us that worked out to roughly 20 banners that were 5 feet by 3 feet. This size was chosen as a standard to ensure all would be visible from every distance within the gym, and that they would all match. It’s important to make sure that there isn’t overcrowding of the banners – you want the space to be clean and organized to please the clients. Pricing: We thought best to do yearly pricing as most business owners don’t want to have to worry about a monthly bill. Knowing we had 20 slots for the banners, I thought about what it would be worth for me to have another dude’s name on my wall. I decided that price was …
[vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Building a business isn’t about convincing people to buy from you. It’s about asking what they want, and giving it to them. At our Charlotte seminar, I posed this as THE most important question to ask your clients, your staff, and YOURSELF: What do YOU want NOW? Let’s start with your clients. They want fitness (luckily, that’s what we’re selling!) They might want coaching, might want CrossFit. They might want one-on-one instruction, or to participate with a group. They might want fat loss, or to improve sports performance. Or maybe just an hour where they don’t have to think. Maybe a place where decisions are made for them. Are you asking them? Telling them how you’ll give them what they want? Or are you hoping they make that connection on their own? Example: clients want weight loss. We sell CrossFit. They don’t know that CrossFit helps them lose weight. Are you bridging that gap? Next, your coaches. Do they want more work? More money? Less responsibility? More structure? More education? Do they want an opportunity to make a meaningful career? What would it take for them to quit their job and coach full-time? What’s their perfect day? Have you asked? Now you: What’s YOUR perfect day? Is it spent coaching, doing CEO work, or both? Is it spent at home, on vacation, or in the gym? Does it require more income? More coaches? A price change? A team playbook? What are you doing TODAY to get closer to those goals? In case you need to hear it one more time: being a great coach isn’t enough to get you to those goals. Working more hours takes you further from your “perfect day.” Further reading: The Hustle Is A Lie.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
In early 2013, I was standing in the parking garage of the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle. It was raining, and I was late for my flight. But I was talking to Greg Glassman, and he was offering me a contract to write for CrossFit HQ, and we were almost there. But I had two conditions: 1. I wanted to be “chris@crossfit.com” (I still am), and 2. I didn’t want to sell my gym. Greg said, “Chris, you don’t have to sell your gym. Lots of people at HQ still own their gyms.” He pointed to Jimi Letchford, with whom I’d just had coffee at the original Starbucks. “How do I run my gym and work full-time for HQ?” I asked. “You’re supposed to be the expert,” he said. “Figure it out.” I did. The rest of that story is written down somewhere, including my vision of “retirement” and “wealth”. But I’m writing this piece to answer the question, “Should I sell?” It’s not your standard pros-and-cons article. First I give a reason NOT to sell that many miss. Second, I give one solid reason TO sell your gym to someone else. 1. No. Don’t sell. Your gym is too valuable to sell. “Building a salable asset” is becoming popular rhetoric. But a service business usually isn’t a retirement-grade asset because of the volatile nature of the clients. As Jason Ackerman explained in this podcast, even a prominent gym won’t sell for retirement-level money. MOST gyms are worth far less than their owners believe. To find out for sure, download our free Gym Valuation tool. Ackerman sold his gym for “between half and a million”. I know the real number, but won’t share it. Your gym can be a cash flow asset. It can run without you. In fact, some would argue THIS is the true measure of business success: building an asset that’s worth more when running than when …
By signing up you agree to receive daily blog updates about gym ownership.
