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What To Do When You’re The Problem

It had been a very long day in a string of very long months. I was still stuck in the low spot: I had started working with a mentor and making changes, but was still coaching 11 hours every day. Some of those hours were in 1:1 training sessions, done in a small windowless room at the back of my gym. I was tired, overheated, and ready to quit–but I knew I couldn’t. And I knew I still had five more hours of coaching that day, and then some floors to mop. The client was a middle-aged woman. She was dealing with a shoulder injury. She had a high-stress job. She vented about her work for a full hour nonstop. Then I had five minutes to get a drink of water before the next client started. But she wanted to talk some more. “I just can’t get motivated to do my homework! How do I get motivated to do it?” I said (cringe): “That’s not my problem.” She walked out and never came back. A great client, excellent person, and she paid around $400 per month. I still beat myself up over that mistake. But the truth is that I should never have been training that client in my exhausted state. She deserved my best, and she was getting my bare minimum. She was right to leave. And I was the problem. I should have put her with a trainer who was fresh. I should have put her with a trainer who was happy to talk about her day. I should have gotten out of the way of a better, rested, happy coach. Almost every single day, I read a message from an Affiliate owner who is blind to their biggest problem. They tell themselves, “All of these people are quitting because they’re moving away.” Or “That guy’s schedule changed at work. That’s why he’s not coming back.”  But really, ...
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Episode 133: Michele Letendre

  Announcer (00:00:01):We’re listening to Two-Brain Radio. We make gyms profitable getting you on track to making every day your Perfect Day. Every week we’ll deliver top-shelf business tactics to help improve your gym, advance your fitness career and move you closer to wealth. Get ready to start building your bigger and better business with your coach, best-selling fitness author of “Two-Brain Business: Grow Your Gym” and “Help First,” Chris Cooper.Chris (00:00:29):This episode is brought to you by Incite Tax. Incite Tax is founded by John Briggs, a CrossFitter, a 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 towards 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 profit to get to where you need to go. He’s helped members of the Two-Brain family buy houses in the first year that they’ve implemented Profit First. It’s helped people save more money, take home more money and make the business do what it’s supposed to do, which is pay you.Chris (00:01:38):Who was the most successful coach at the 2018 CrossFit Games? The answer might surprise you. It was Michele Letendre. Michele is a ...
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Marketing Monday: How to Unlock Your Infinite Ad Spend Budget

Spending money on paid advertising can be scary, especially when your operation budget is tight.  Luckily, if you pay attention to the metrics that really matter in your business, you can UNLOCK your infinite ad spend budget.  Checkout this week’s video to learn how. (can’t see the video? Click here.)   If you want to learn more about how to market without an agency, book a call with a mentor! Two-Brain Clients Click HERE If You’re New to Two-Brain Click HERE
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One Thing You Must Do DAILY: MYCF

For nearly 10 years, I’ve been telling people to “create more content!” and “write every damn day!” I’ve issued challenges, check-ins and accountability partners. I gave Two-Brain clients a few dozen reasons why (building authority, establishing the expertise of your coaches, familiarity, interest, re-engagement, conversion…). But perhaps I haven’t given you a good EMOTIONAL reason. So let’s take it from the top: Your job as an entrepreneur is to grow your company. And the best way to grow your company is to make someone famous. In the Founder Phase, you need to make yourself famous. In the Farmer Phase, you need to make your clients famous (MYCF). And then yourself, too. In the Tinker Phase, you need to make your team famous. And then your clients, and then yourself. In the Thief Phase, you need to make your cause famous. (Not sure which level of entrepreneur you are? Take the test here. Then book a free call.) At every level, you need to be devoted to putting someone on a pedestal and earning them fame. Since most readers of this blog are stuck in Farmer Phase, I’ll focus on Making Your Clients Famous. Every day, identify one client and tell yourself, “I’m gonna make them famous today.” Then: Put them on TV. Grab your phone, hold it up and say “Jill, I’m SO proud of you! I want to share your story with everyone I know! You ready? I’m hitting the record button…” and then hit the record button. Share it everywhere. You’ve created a media platform; put her in the spotlight. Take a selfie like you waited in line all day to see her. Drop their name to three other people. Brag them up. “Hey, I’ve gotta tell you what Jill did this morning. She’d never done a double-under before, and today she linked FIVE! Isn’t that crazy?!” Tag her on social media like she’s a celebrity. Put her ...
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Why The Incubator Is Hard

Taking the leap into entrepreneurship is easier than ever before.   CrossFit gives fitness coaches a chance to own a real business for a tiny barrier to entry. $3000 per year to use the strongest brand in fitness, with virtually zero restrictions on its use? C’mon. Regular play on television, Reebok branding in every mall, and the protected use of a household term: it’s still the best investment you can make in the fitness business.   It’s very easy to open a gym. But it’s very hard to keep a gym open.   That’s because owning a gym is very different from having a coaching job. It’s a larger skillset that can’t be taught in a weekend seminar. And while “great care and great hair” can make a coaching career if you’re working for someone else, neither can build a business.   We break the entrepreneurial journey into four phases: Founder, Farmer, Tinker and Thief. Take the test here if you like. But no matter where you are in the journey, our mentorship starts with a period of intense focus that we call The Incubator.   And The Incubator is hard.   Our mentors are there to guide you step by step, through live in-person calls. Each discussion builds on the one before it. There are video modules to help with your homework, and templates from the best in the industry that we update every couple of months. When you reach Farmer Phase, we introduce peer support in private groups (real support, not just random ideas and arguments). You’re surrounded by mentorship at every step, because it’s our mission to see gyms succeed.   But some still don’t complete the Incubator.   Despite having skin in the game, despite simple daily action steps, despite 1:1 mentorship that’s scheduled and available anytime, some gym owners don’t make it through. Or some simply go dark halfway through, and stop responding to emails ...
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Episode 132: The Pebbles

 
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