“The wrong move at the wrong time can stall your progress for years, but the right move at the right time can catapult you forward.”
Chris Cooper wrote that in the Two-Brain blog this week.
I can tell you it’s true—because I lived it.
The Wrong Things at the Wrong Time
In the Founder Phase at my gym, I made some huge mistakes that almost sank the business:
❌ 1. I rented way too much space—6,000 square feet—because I thought “this is what warehouse fitness is.” Most classes had two or three people, and the gym sat vacant for many hours at a time. I had all but ensured that I could not hit breakeven without donating huge amounts of free labor.
❌ 2. I hired people before I earned anything. If the business couldn’t pay me, how was it supposed to pay anyone else? The result: I earned $0 every month but worked a lot. And I overpaid staff members or assigned them to coach tiny classes where I actually lost money. At rock bottom, the gym was bleeding $5,000 a month, almost entirely due to labor costs that had dramatically outpaced revenue.
❌ 3. I spent money on stupid things. For example, I ran a competition that sold out quickly. Instead of walking away with some much-needed revenue—and even profit—I refunded a CrossFit Games athlete’s entry fee and flew in two other top athletes to compete. The competition barely broke even. I also bought more equipment even though we had more than enough to serve our modest number of members.
The Right Things at the Right Time
When I got a mentor, everything changed because I had data-backed guidance, an outside perspective and accountability.
Here are four huge wins that literally turned the ship around:
✅ 1. I installed a high-value, one-on-one on-ramp. The program generated lots of front-end revenue, had a very high conversion rate, provided hours for staff and never cost me money because labor costs were tied to revenue.
✅ 2. I raised my rates. Deep down, I knew this had to happen because my overhead was out of control. But I didn’t pull the trigger until a mentor laid out the exact steps and held me accountable. I also needed outside perspective to understand that I was delivering far more value than I was charging for. Someone had to tell me “you’re worth it” and “send the email today.”
✅ 3. I stopped offering discounts. This immediately improved profit margin.
✅ 4. I got rid of empty classes or boosted attendance in underperforming slots—the kill-it-or-fill-it plan—and got labor costs back in line.
These four changes got me out of the red and took the pressure off. They were exactly what I needed to solve the greatest problem in my gym.
And Then…
After the gym hit breakeven, the pressure on me was much reduced.
I started working with my mentor to address the next biggest problem: profit. We first targeted increases to average revenue per member and length of engagement, and then we worked to add more clients.
I got clear instructions, plug-and-play resources and accountability throughout, and our profit margins increased measurably.
The point?
Exactly what Chris said:
“The wrong move at the wrong time can stall your progress for years, but the right move at the right time can catapult you forward.”
To find out what the right move is for you today, book a call here.
