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How To Be A Bad Entrepreneur

May 1, 2019 Vision
“I know I can be a millionaire…I just need one good idea.”   New entrepreneurs often think they’re inventors. They have an idea for a new app, or a new service, or a new spin on something old. They want to “try it their way” first. Or “tweak” a working model to “make it their own”. This is a deadly trap. I know, because I was in it.   You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. And you’re delaying your progress by doing so.   CrossFit affiliation is a great example: affiliated gyms pay a licensing fee to use the brand, but receive no business guidance at all. On one hand, this is a massive opportunity to use a huge global brand any way they want. But on the other hand, it means that new affiliates are prone to making the same mistakes old affiliates did. It means the sometimes-fatal errors of 2012 are doomed to be repeated forever. And the errors of 2019 that haven’t been fatal yet? Someone will repeat them in 2024.   Great entrepreneurs aren’t inventors. They don’t try to navigate their way out of the desert themselves. Instead, they ask “Who has already solved this problem?” and then pay for the solution, saving themselves years and millions of dollars. When I learned this trick, I went from $45,000 per year–not including missed paychecks!–to a platform 100x the size.   The truth that most new entrepreneurs don’t know is this: inventors rarely make money. Inventors make mistakes. Eventually, inventors make a product. Then they make new mistakes introducing their product to a market that doesn’t want it. Then they have to make a new market for their product, which takes years. Then they have to make apologies to their family. Then they “make it work” by spending more hours at the drawing board. But they never make money.   Real entrepreneurs take the inventors’ work to ...
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If The Rx Fits, They Will Commit

April 30, 2019 Gym Marketing
“Will CrossFit help me lose weight?”   That’s the question you’re trying to answer.   Every potential client works their way through a series of questions to find you. They sound like this: “I need to lose weight. But do I need to do it now?” If the answer is YES, they move on to the next question. “What’s the easiest way to do it?” If they select “exercise” over “diet”–a big IF–they move on to the next question: “What’s the best exercise plan?” Now, “best” can mean many things: fastest, easiest, least boring, or something else. If they decide to join a gym over walking/jogging/buying an exercise bike, they start with a Google search. What are they searching for? It’s not “gym with best community in Fort Knox.” It’s not “the happiest gym in Sault Ste. Marie.” (to my chagrin.) It’s not “highest-certified coaches in Annapolis.” It’s probably “best gym for weight loss” or “cheapest gym in Boston” or “gym near me.” They probably won’t find your gym in those searches, will they? Now let’s say they somehow find your site. They’re greeted by a long list of options: CrossFit, personal training, nutrition programming, Sweat Class, Crossfit Lite, Barbell Club… …which one will help them lose weight? If they don’t try to figure it out themselves, they’ll probably leave. If they DO try to figure it out themselves, they might take your offer to try a free class. But if no one talks to them after class about their goals, they’re left to guess: “this hard thing that I just did–will it help me lose weight?”   Every time you make people guess, you filter them out. Because they don’t know what you know.   Here’s how to talk to the people you want to coach:   Start with media. Don’t explain why you’re the best gym. Tell them how to lose weight. Tell them how to cure low ...
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How Your Haters Make You Money

April 29, 2019 Uncategorized
A little over a year ago, a “guru” in the fitness business told his audience that my ideas were bad. His ranty blog post added 600 new people to my email list. It was poorly-written, and went on and on without saying much. But the specifics won’t help you with your business, so I’ll get right to the punch line: his audience became curious, searched us out, and started reading our stuff. Slowly, they started to pay attention. Then many started to pay for our mentorship. He didn’t just shoot himself in the foot; he nearly cut off his own leg. Of course, my immediate temptation to the rant was to write a rebuttal, or respond in kind. I’m lucky to have great mentors who keep me focused on serving my clients instead of slinging mud. Here’s what they told me: “As soon as you plant a flag, people are going to start shooting.” Mentor: Dr. Mel Siff, author of Supertraining. Mel was saying that people find it hard to have their own ideas, but easy to shoot at yours. But no one takes shots at small ideas or cares about small people. The bullets prove you’re a big, valuable target. Talk more. “If they’re criticizing you, they’ve got nothing else to talk about.” Mentor: Dave Tate, founder of EliteFTS. Dave saw many equipment suppliers come and go before learning that lesson. He said that “three years from now, all of those critics will be gone. If you ignore them and focus on your clients, you won’t be. But if you chase after them, you’ll be gone too.” Dave’s admonition was to not share your spotlight with your critics. They need attention to survive; starve them to death. “It’s harder to race when you’re in first place.” Author: Chris Carmichael, coaching Lance Armstrong at the time. It’s easy to chase a leader. It’s hard to lead. When you’re in front ...
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TwoBrain Marketing Episode 7: Coty Bradburn

April 29, 2019 Gym Marketing Podcast
 Two Brain Marketing Episode 7: Coty Bradburn Today we are joined by Coty Bradburn of CrossFit Mountain Island in Charlotte, NC. Coty grew up with a very sedentary lifestyle and it wasn’t until his late teens that he decided to change his lifestyle and start eating healthy and exercising. After losing 60 pounds, Coty dove into CrossFit full time in 2014. Coty soon bought his own gym and now enjoys helping others reach their exercise and fitness goals through nutrition, community, and empowering a healthy lifestyle. Join us today as we learn about Coty, his gym, and how he leverages paid ads to grow his business.  Don’t Forget about the 2019 Two Brain Summit, June 8-9 in Chicago! This year we have some amazing topics and guests for both yourself and your coaches. Click hereto register and sign up now! Contact: https://www.crossfitmountainisland.com/ https://www.instagram.com/cotybradburn/ https://www.facebook.com/coty.bradburn   Timeline: 2:38 – Introduction to Coty Bradburn 5:33 – Going from 6 Member to 50 in two Months.  8:09 – Advice for people thinking about buying a gym 11:45 – Initial outreach and gaining customers for a new business 13:00 – What made Coty decide to join the Two Brain Family? 16:06 – In Coty’s words, what does he sell at his gym? 18:33 – The sales process at CrossFit Mountain Island 21:02 – How did CrossFit Mountain Island’s metrics change after the Two Brain Incubator 23:52 – The key to growing a successful CrossFit gym. Announcer:                            00:02                       Welcome everyone to Two-Brain Radio. It is our mission at Two-Brain to provide 1 million entrepreneurs the freedom to live the life that they choose. Join us every week as we discover the very best practices to achieve perfect day and move you closer to wealth. Chris:                                         00:26                       What makes a good gym website? The answer to that question keeps changing. Five years ago I would’ve said that you need this rotating banner image. Three years ago ...
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What I'm Training For

April 27, 2019 Vision
Last week, Josh Martin asked me a great question: “What are you training for now?”   It’s funny, but this question isn’t asked often enough in the fitness industry. When most microgyms moved from 1:1 training to group training (like CrossFit, bootcamp, or other programs,) this question got thrown out with the bathwater. But good coaches know to ask this question early and often, because clients don’t buy bootcamps. Clients buy results. So I’ll share my current training plan and goals as an illustration of a potential client for your gym. But the simple answer is I’m training to be the best CEO I can be.   I found CrossFit after a few years as a competitive powerlifter. Before that, I was a cyclist.   I dropped powerlifting for CrossFit because I was bored. CrossFit’s novelty was its most attractive feature. I was already pretty good at some of it–I remember deadlifting 520 in my first CrossFit Total–and the combination of victory+novelty is irresistible to the human brain.   But ten years into CrossFit, I had different goals. As Two-Brain grew from 16 gyms to 160, then 300, then 500, the weight of responsibility became very distracting. It became hard to wander into my own gym for the noon group. Though I needed the mental break, it was very hard to switch from deep focus to social time. And it became almost impossible to switch back to deep focus afterward.   Doing CrossFit on my own didn’t work: I was so distracted by the problems of other gym owners that I couldn’t focus on my lifts or maintain any kind of focused intensity.   So last May, I got back on my bike.   There are a lot of reasons why longer-state aerobic work is great for CEOs. First, your brain produces more BDNF, which aids memory and problem-solving. You make connections between people and ideas more easily, and that’s ...
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Signal:Noise

April 27, 2019 Personal Development
If you’ve ever been to a kids’ sports game, you’ve heard this stuff from the bleachers:   “Shoot the ball at the net!” – thanks Dad, good advice. “Run hard!” – I am running hard, mom. “Don’t let her get past you!” – jeez, wish I’d thought of that sooner.   I volunteer to coach kids’ hockey. Luckily, the glass and boards around the rink shield the players from hearing the noise from their parents. But in most sports, athletes struggle to pick out their coach’s directions from the static of the crowd.   And this is very true for entrepreneurs, especially in the gym industry.   “Be a great coach!” – thanks Dad, good advice. “Hustle and grind!” – I am grinding hard, Mom. “Don’t let the other guy take your clients!” – jeez, wish I’d thought of that sooner.   The problem is that there IS good advice out there, but it gets buried in all the noise. Most gym owners quickly reach the Farmer Phase of entrepreneurship, and then get stuck. Not because they don’t have good ideas, but because they get buried in them. Good mentors act as filters: listen to them, and block out everything else. But if you don’t have a mentor yet, here’s how to separate signal from noise:   The Five Filters For Fitness Business Advice The BS Filter: Is this an idea, or a proven strategy? Did the guru actually use this themselves, track the data, and test alternatives? Or are they just excited about a new idea? The math filter. Which metric will change? By how much? and What will happen if I do nothing?  Should you actually be investing your time in something with a better return? The time filter. Do you need to do it now? When is best? Which of your other activities will this replace?  The variables filter. What’s the actionable step here? Is there something I ...
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