Jeff and Cynthia Fotti, co-owners of CrossFit Rush, knew how to foster a strong gym community—but they didn’t know how to run a business.
“I only knew how to coach. The gym wasn’t doing well. It wasn’t profitable,” Jeff said.
Between Jeff’s coaching all the time and Cynthia’s job as a dental hygienist, “we were completely overworked,” he added.
They decided to call Two-Brain Business, and their mentor, gym owner Jay Rhodes, had them focus on culling their overloaded calendar and refining their service offerings. He also urged them to dial in their onboarding system.
So when COVID hit, the Fottis were prepared. With systems in place, and with the owners’ mission top of mind, staff were able to step up to the challenge. They focused on listening carefully to clients’ needs and offering customizable hybrid options.
It’s paid off.
“We only have 74 members. We’re in a small community,” Jeff said in mid-2021. “But compared to this time last year, we increased our profit by just over $23,000. There were so many services that we got rid of, and we focused on our ARM. Our average rate per member this month is $316. So we don’t have to run all these services in order to be profitable.”
Cynthia added: “We had a mindset shift: There’s nothing wrong with being a profitable business. Once we worked that in—charging what we’re worth, make sure the value matches that—things just clicked into place.”
Now, Jeff is free to spend more time with his family.
“I like having the freedom to do things when I want to do them,” he said, “and not be tied down.”
The couple’s progress in business has afforded Cynthia the opportunity to quit her hygienist job
“I’m really proud of my wife because she’s built a successful nutrition program and a kids program,” Jeff said. “She’s able to change from something that she no longer enjoys doing into something that she loves and she’s passionate about—that right there is my Perfect Day.”
In spring of 2022, we added Cynthia to our team of certified mentors as a specialist. To read more about her, click here.
