Nick Redmond took a management job at a small local gym after he graduated back in 2013. After six years of working between a few different gyms, Nick opened his own: Fort Worth Strong, in October 2019.
Then, three months into operations, he knew he needed more direction. He jumped on a call with Two-Brain Business.
“It has been one of the best investments and decisions I have made as a gym owner,” he said.
“When I opened I had one part-time coach that also helped with a few minor cleaning tasks. Other than that, I carried it all. My focus with my mentor, Per Mattsson, was systemizing the processes required to run a successful gym. With those systems created, I have now hired six more people for training, coaching, marketing, selling and to help out with day-to-day needs,” Nick said. “I coach one class a week because I love it, but I know my time is more valuable spent in other areas.”
Two-Brain has a huge amount of resources available to help gym owners, but founder Chris Cooper has tasked his mentors with helping clients take action on the most important things rather than try to do everything at once.
“There is an overwhelming amount of resources provided when starting,” Nick said. “I wanted to dive in and tackle as much as I could as quickly as I could. Per helped me pursue what I needed most at the time and gave me the direction I was missing.”
Per has also helped Nick get clear about what kind of team he wants to lead and what kind of leader he wants to be.
“I love the ‘hire slow, fire fast’ approach,” Nick said. “In those first few months, I didn’t have a process for interviewing, hiring and onboarding a new trainer or employee, whether they were contracted or not. The foundation for me has been systemizing my business. The growth was accelerated once I was able to bring people on that could take those systems and apply them with an understanding of the mission and vision.”
While Two-Brain’s RampUp program is designed to help a gym owner get a foundation in place quickly—just 12 weeks in some cases—ongoing mentorship helps entrepreneurs keep the continued growth of their businesses top of mind.
“The accountability of mentor calls—recording metrics and collecting data—helps me audit my operations and effectiveness as the owner,” he said. “It is important to know what and when to delegate. I am much more transparent with my team and those around me now that I have a process for tracking and gaining clarity.”
Now, Redmond is closer to his Perfect Day than ever—and he shaved a lot of time off the journey by avoiding mistakes that can cost a gym owner months and even years.
“I did not expect to be setting my own hours or have the camaraderie within the organization two years into operating,” he explained. “I love that I get to focus my time on being creative and evolving the business. I still spend most of my waking hours trying to advance the gym, community, team and operations in some way. I am also afforded the opportunity to pursue new professional and personal projects—like my first Ironman!”
