After disappointing experiences with other mentorship groups, Triumph Strength & Conditioning co-owners Jarrett Baston and Mark McCain decided to call Two-Brain Business.
“Two-Brain was a little higher on the price end. But we got to the point where we’d spent this money with other stuff; ‘let’s go with the higher price point and we’ll get more.’ It was obviously true.”
Mentor Jay Rhodes guided Jarrett and Mark through streamlining their operations.
“We systemized everything: having a plan for any sort of predicament that may come up, and a mapped-out system for anything and everything we could think of, from opening/closing to onboarding new clients/employees to letting employees go,” Jarrett said.
Having their mentor break things down was key.
“Joining this process is a little daunting at first because you do feel like there’s so much to do. But when you break it down bit by bit, it was much more manageable in the long run.”
The two made some important changes: charging for fundamentals and leaning more heavily on PT.
“Now we’re going the route of offering this personal training approach and allowing that to buttress the group class,” Jarrett said.
The entrepreneurs are now at a point where they’re comfortable delegating.
“For both Mark and I, it’s stepping out of the limelight. It’s more of an ego thing,” he said. “Especially in the fitness world, gym owners can feel like they have to be the one to do absolutely everything. It’s been a very nice transition to not have to be that guy. We don’t have to be the person that’s doing everything. We’ve hired people to do that.”
Now, with systems in place and well-trained, well-compensated staff, they’re reaping the rewards.
“The whole 4/9ths thing works great for everybody. As we’re bringing on new trainers, it’s nice to know we have everything covered as far as their expenses, our expenses and profit,” Jarrett said.
He continued: “For us, it was about ‘how do we take this time where we’re spending 12 hours a day in the gym and give ourselves more time to be fathers and husbands?’ That was a goal—the challenging part was getting to that point. A lot of it is because we were able to hire a general manager, and he’s done an incredible job.”
The partners are now seeing a financial reward in return for all their work on the business.
“We’re definitely making more than we ever have,” Jarrett said. “We’re taking quarterly bonuses now. We’re mapping out the next couple of years to when we can afford to ramp that pay scale up.”
Mentorship also helped them earn more time with their families.
“We went to the zoo yesterday,” Jarrett said. “The freedom to go to the zoo midday—and know everything was covered—has been pretty awesome.”