At Two-Brain, we track everything, and I share critical numbers every month to help you improve your business.
This month, we’re talking about net owner benefit (NOB): how much the gym owner actually takes home.
These numbers are important because most gym owners don’t go out of business because they lack clients or don’t generate enough revenue.
👉 They fail because they don’t make enough personally to sustain the entrepreneurial habit.
Sure, getting more clients and raising rates can generate more revenue, but that’s not the same as increasing actual take-home pay. Take-home pay is what pays your mortgage or funds that trip to Disneyland with your kids.
If you’re not making a good income from your gym, you don’t have a business—you have a fragile liability. If something happens to you, everything collapses. Your team and your clients suffer, and your impact on the world is reduced.
So let’s see what success really looks like:
Remember, these numbers aren’t flukes: We use rolling three-month averages to calculate them.
These owners aren’t just having a “big month.” They’re consistently winning. One owner even reduced income on purpose to invest more in staff education.
What These Owners Do Differently
Net owner benefit has two big drivers:
✅ 1. Consistency in delivery.
✅ 2. Total business excellence.
That means you’re not just a great coach—you’re also great at:
- Billing
- Marketing
- Sales
- Retention
- Bookkeeping
- And more.
Your business will grow to the level of your marketing and immediately fall to the level of your systems. The worst-delivered session, the dirtiest bathroom and the weakest staff link will define your gym’s true floor.
If you want a high-revenue, high-income gym, you must pursue virtuosity in all areas of the business—not just coaching.
Tips From Our Top Earners
When we asked these owners how they earned so much. Here’s exactly what they said:
Business Model
“We are strictly one-on-one training—ARM is $600. We focus on high-ticket training.”
“We have built programs that serve the most underserved in the fitness space: We have programs for kids all the way to legends.”
“About 2 years ago, I started to shift from just PT and group to include semi-private.”
“We focus mainly on coaching, which drove up the revenue and profit, of course.”
“This month we officially roll out and transition to semi-private training, so that will definitely change the landscape of our numbers drastically.”
Pay Yourself First
“Focusing on paying myself more and more is the main reason NOB went up. Making it a goal to reach $17,000 NOB on average was the inspiration. It shows again how important goal setting is!”
Staff Development and Systems
“We have Two-Brain structures and systems in place for our coaches to win.”
“We have SOPs dialed in and great staff to make sure everything runs smoothly, even when I’m not there.”
“We’ve been able to create career opportunities, and payroll has never been higher—I couldn’t be happier about that!”
“I allow the coaches to have more ownership of all our programs following the 4/9ths Model. This has allowed me to build a solid, focused, full-time team.”
“Coach education helped them become more of an authority and justify higher rates.”
“I have a great handle on developing personal trainers.”
Retention
“We are using the retention strategies, and this is emphasized. Membership is slowly ticking up. When we started Two-Brain, we were at 70 members. Now we are at 90 members.”
“Things like pre- and post-partum certifications or getting our CrossFit-certified coaches personal-training certs helps them retain 1:1 clients longer with better results.”
“We do 90-day goal reviews and use a 90-day client journey (including on-ramps) to onboard new members. This has been an integral way for us to build member retention and increase sales.”
Marketing
“Going really hard on marketing drove the amount of new startups.”
“Referrals—most of our leads come from referrals.”
ROI
“Spending is rigorously evaluated. We don’t like to be in debt, so we pay in full whenever we can.”
“We have a very small box—we’re doing all of this in 1,400 square feet.”
“I am maniacal about my spending. Every dollar that comes in is scrutinized. I know what it’s doing and how it’s benefiting us. Any loose funds are not wasted. They go back into growing the gym or into my pocket.”
“Total Package” Summary From an NOB Leaderboard Regular
“I think it’s our belief that we should center on the beginner athlete that makes us so successful. But it’s also a great location, great staff and appropriate pricing.”
Mentorship and Steady Progress Toward Goals
“We do all the Two-Brain things.”
“Kenny Markwardt as our Tinker coach is really great at challenging us to work less ‘in the business.’”
“I’m over the moon about making the leaderboard! I started following Two-Brain content in 2022 and thought the leaderboards were so cool. I never imagined making one!”
Your Turn
Here’s the top lesson from all this: I can tell you how to take home more income.
The gym owners on our leaderboard all have one thing in common: mentorship.
You don’t have to guess. You don’t have to go it alone.
You can just copy what the most profitable gym owners in the world are doing and have the same success.
But if you’re not ready for that yet, start here:
Join our free community at GymOwnersUnited.com.
We give you tools, templates and advice daily. And if you ask a question, someone from our team—sometimes me—will give you an actionable response.
Because your gym should be profitable.
Not someday. Now.
And not just for you—for your staff, your clients and your community.
