I’ve been digging into data from gyms lately to find “hockey sticks.”
We track all key business metrics at Two-Brain, and in our dashboard it’s very easy to click buttons and find line graphs for net owner benefit/profit, gross revenue, cash flow, expenses and so on.
The “hockey sticks” are clear inflection points when a mostly horizontal line shoots upward fast.
They’re common with Two-Brain gyms.
Here are two—the green line is monthly revenue, and the pink line is net owner benefit:
And here’s another revenue hockey stick:
So what’s going on here?
It’s different for every gym. For example, revenue spikes might be related to:
- New or vastly improved marketing funnels.
- Upgraded sales skills.
- Installation of the Prescriptive Model.
- Better retention triggered by an airtight client journey.
- The addition of a new revenue stream, like personal training, semi-private training or habits coaching.
- A new one-on-one intake process.
- Addition of skilled staff members who create revenue.
The list goes on. Same deal if we dig into net owner benefit spikes or any other metric. The exact cause of the spike is rarely the same, but a unifying theme exists:
In every case, the gym owner is working with a mentor to specifically improve something.
The spikes don’t just occur. Each one is the result of an owner setting a goal and working with a mentor to create a plan to accomplish it quickly.
You know how this works: General gym goers rarely get great results on their own. They putter along and make some progress now and then, mostly by accident.
But when a great coach shows up and tells an exerciser “do exactly this right now to accomplish this goal in one month,” that person starts making rapid progress.
Business example:
“My lease is up for renewal and I need to generate more revenue.”
“No problem. You’re offering only group classes. Let’s create and market a PT program. We can get current members to book one PT session a month to drive up ARM, and we’ll put a marketing plan together to acquire new clients who want to get results fast by working one on one with a coach.
“Here are the exact steps we need to take. I’ll check in on the 10th to see if you’ve ticked all the boxes. Let me know if you need help at any point!”
That’s always where the hockey sticks come from.
It’s never a case of a gym owner “doing what I’ve always done” or randomly scoring a big win by accident.
The thing about these hockey sticks is that they aren’t followed by sharp drop-offs. You might see that if luck were part of the deal.
Example: A gym with $15,000 in revenue suddenly jumps to $25,000 because a huge local event triggers a ton of drop-ins, apparel sales and facility rentals. The next month has no big event, so revenue sinks back to $15,000—and stays there.
Two-Brain hockey sticks lead to “a new level.” Think of them like ramps. A gym owner does something huge with a mentor, and the metrics move—and they stay at the new level.
At that point, the owner works with the mentor to set new goals and address the next area of opportunity.
The cycle continues, and the gym owners serve clients better and create more great careers for staff. And they earn more personally.
Here’s a group of millionaire gym owners who follow this plan:
Do this today: Check your metrics. Do you see any hockey sticks?
If not, you aren’t doing the right things at the right time.
A mentor can fix that.
Book a call here to talk about it.
