August 2008 was the worst revenue month ever at my gym.
I was crawling out of summer bloodied and beaten, and clients were still messaging me to put memberships on hold.
I couldn’t even afford to pay myself, and I couldn’t pay my rent.
The numbers I’m about to show you would have blown my mind back then. In fact, if you had told me they were possible in coaching gyms, I would have laughed at you.
In 2024, US$60,000 months are common in coaching gyms around the world, even in summer—and that’s a wonderful thing.
Before I show you the leaderboard, here’s a note:
We usually calculate three-month rolling averages when we present revenue so the leaderboard is full of sustainable numbers, not lucky strikes.
For example, a gym that runs a major promotion could generate huge revenue in one month but then sink into the red in the next months. We saw this in the era of “six-week challenges,” when many gyms around the world posted monster months before crashing back down to Earth.
This month, I chose to report just on June 2024 to give you a one-month snapshot for a summer month. But get this:
- Four gyms on the leaderboard have three-month averages that are higher than their June numbers.
- Five other gyms have three-month averages that are within $7,000 of their June numbers.
- Only one gym only has a significant disparity between June and “standard” months—but there’s a very specific reason for that, and it might help you next summer. (Details below!)
Here’s the leaderboard:
Summer Secrets?
The No. 1 gym had June revenue well above average, but that gym’s rolling average of $61,197 is still very, very strong.
Here’s what happened in June: The No. 1 gym focuses on kids, so it’s not surprising to see a revenue spike as summer starts.
Too many gyms have severe revenue dips in summer, but kids programs can be a perfect way to add revenue when school is out and the weather is warm.
Think about it:
- Many of your clients have kids, so you’re already working with hot leads. Your adult clients already know, like and trust you.
- Kids badly need activities in summer, and parents often struggle to find them.
- Parents want to find ways to keep kids moving and off their screens.
- Many kids have sports goals for the next school year.
All that sounds like a golden opportunity.
Here’s what the No. 1 gym owner said about June revenue:
“We focused on growing the number of speed camps we run in the summer. In 2023, we had 135 kids and grossed $27,000 in revenue. In 2024, we added three more camps, servicing 227 kids and grossing $37,000. Each of those camps runs for one hour twice a week for eight weeks, and they take place outside of our facility, so they do not impact our space needs.”
It gets better: “Unlike most of the gyms in Two-Brain, we are focused on the youth market vs. adults (we are partnered with Parisi Speed School). We don’t have an adult program (yet), so we are 99 percent athletes between the ages of 8 and 21 years of age. Even within that demographic, we are one of the few that focus on running outside camps.
“Outside camps are easy to implement, don’t interfere with your gym’s space needs, are a low-barrier offer, and create marketing awareness for parents, athletes, coaches and siblings for the main sports performance program we run at our gym.”
Did you catch that last part?
These camps generate significant revenue, but they’re also an easy access point and feeder program for the main offering at the gym.
This is a huge win. The gym takes in front-end revenue with a program that doesn’t eat up space, and it has eight weeks to win the kids and parents over so they join the sports performance program that runs inside the gym.
Wow, right?
Remember how I said August 2008 was a brutal month for me?
In 2009, I put summer camps in place for young hockey players.
In the next post in this series, I’ll give you more quotes from our leaders.
Here, I’ll leave you with two questions:
If you’re not happy with summer revenue in 2024, what are you planning for 2025?
Might camps for kids be the perfect addition to your programming for June, July and August?
