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It’s hard to get excited about math. It’s much easier to coach the third pull of the clean, right? But if you don’t know your numbers, you won’t be coaching for long. Gyms fail most often due to business ignorance, not bad coaching. But even the fear of closure won’t make you WANT to know your business metrics, so I’m giving you a new way to look at them. This is The Two-Brain Business BIG SHEET: a simpler way to track the metrics that really matter. You can download it free. RampUp and Mentoring clients are taught to use the tool optimally, and their results are tracked monthly for accountability. The metrics I track: 1. Gross Revenue: of course. But this is just necessary to calculate NET revenue. If a business owner is bragging only about their gross revenue, they’re hiding something (maybe ignorance.) 2. Total Members: Like gross revenue, only used to calculate ARM (below.) A gym with one member that profits $10 per month is better than a gym with 100 members and no profit. 3. ARM: Average Revenue per Member (per month.) This is a key metric that usually highlights an affiliate’s weakness right away. If you catch yourself saying, “I just need 10 more members!” you should stop and calculate your ARM. 4. LEG: Length of Engagement. I want to keep clients for at least 10 years, because I’d rather be a coach than a marketer. If your clients stick around for an average of 9 months, you’ll always be scrambling to replace them instead of coaching them better. 5. Net Gain this month: Your operating profit. If you’re “not in this for profit,” save yourself a lot of stress and get a job coaching. You’ll be happier. 6. Net Gain since First Month: Because I want you to see how quickly the mentoring program pays for itself. 7. Profit Ratio: Mentoring clients are trained to produce a 33% profit ...

Business is tough on relationships. Some new business owners are shy about documenting their partnership. They fear the formality will put a strain on their marriage, their bro-dom or their friendship. But when they’re done well, written contracts SAVE relationships. I’ve used this agreement for six different companies. I sold my share in two of them, and I’m still close friends with both former partners. I’m a fan of the “Shotgun Exit” in particular. It’s fair to everyone, and provides a quick way to “rip the bandage off.” When a business buyout occurs, emotions can spiral out of control. I believe it’s better to get it done quickly and stay friends. This is a sample, of course. Take it to a lawyer. In the sample, the two business parties are named “X” and “Y.” Sub your name in for X, their name for “Y,” and add a Z if necessary. Questions? If you’re starting a new box and want some help, you can book a free call here. Here’s the PDF version:Sample Shareholders’ Agreement Here’s the editable DOC version:Sample Shareholders’ Doc Further Reading: The Best-Laid Plans, CrossFit Journal

For the last two years, hundreds of gyms have used our “Intramural Open” idea.One affiliate was featured on the CrossFit Games site for his version.The Intramural Open is a fantastic way to build your community during the CrossFit Open. The focus is on inclusion and celebration instead of competition (though there’s a good bit of that, too.) Every year, I’ve improved on the idea thanks to the feedback from hundreds of gyms.This year, for clarity, I’ll divide the “Intramural Open” into four stages: Draft, Pre-Open, Open and Post-Open. Immediately after the draft, the rest of your gym membership is open for recruitment. Captains can bribe, coerce or otherwise attempt to sign up any member for their team. Members sign up on the Games site [link: http://games.crossfit.com] to indicate their intention to compete. Captains report the recruitment of each athlete to in our Facebook group so two teams don’t lay claim to the same person. 1. Remind your clients that your goal is to provide fun, collaborative competition. Here’s how we presented it. Copy the post if you like (just link back to the catalyst gym site from whence it came). In our case, because scoring favors the largest team, we have a recruitment limit to keep things even. Any team can recruit up to 25 members–but must then wait for other teams to recruit 25 members before recruiting more. We have two Captains who are very good at recruiting–one left the draft with a list of texts already waiting on his phone. Expect more people to sign up for the Open because they’re asked by the Captains; this is the whole point of the Intramural Open. We had 22 signed up before the Draft, and hit 60 before 6 a.m. the next day. Skills Seminars Leading up to the Open, consider the main areas of potential “Bright Spots” for clients: -First time hitting a gymnastics skills, like toes-to-bar -First time reaching ...