Gym owner makes $900k/yr from semi-private training

What’s up Gym World?

Like many gym owners, Mike Baker from BOLT Fitness & Performance Training started with large group training.

Then he added programs, business got complex, and COVID hit. So, he simplified things and switched to a smaller group model, which skyrocketed his profit.

Now, his gym makes $900k/yr, with most of his revenue coming from semi-private training.

Here’s how he did it:

Evolving the gym

BOLT Fitness & Performance Training opened in 2016 in Chester, NJ. The gym started in a 1,500 sq ft garage bay, offering semi-private training for adults.

Members had customized programs, and classes were capped at six people.

Business went well, and a year later, Mike took over the neighboring garage bay. This added:

• 2,000 sq ft of training space

• Office areas

• A physical therapy tenant

With the new space, he started running large group training for up to 32 people per class.

Transitioning to small group

By 2019, the gym had 215 members, most of whom did large group training.

The gym was making money, but Mike noticed:

1. People weren’t getting the results he wanted from large group.

2. Member retention was lower than expected.

He added a strength training program, hoping it would fix these problems. In reality, the program created too much complexity, so he scrapped it.

Still, Mike didn’t like where the business was going. The plan was to eliminate the large group program over time, but COVID hit and did that for him.

So, when gyms reopened, he introduced a small group training program:

• Capped classes at 12 people

• Structured them as generalized fitness classes

• Raised the prices

This boosted the average client's monthly spend to $350, adding $24,510 in revenue each month.

Not too shabby.

The gym today

Mike offers two adult programs:

• Semi-private training: Capped at 6 people per session with everyone getting customized programs. It costs $399 a month to train twice a week or $499 to train three times a week.

• Small group training: Capped at 12 people per class with general fitness. It’s similar to large group training but with fewer people, and costs $249/mo to train twice a week or $299/mo to train three times a week.

Here’s his revenue breakdown:

• 50% comes from semi-private training

• 30% from sports performance training

• 10% from small group

• 10% from 1-on-1 training

The gym has a 2-step sales process:

1. A pre-qualifying phone call with a coach to ensure the gym is a good fit for the prospect and to outline goals.

2. An in-person visit to ask more questions and build a fitness plan.

They have three full-time coaches who receive health & dental benefits, and a 401k, plus one part-time coach.

Mike focused on reducing churn. That's smart because a tiny reduction can lead to a huge increase in profitability.

Let me show you. 👇

The average Two-Brain Business gym has the following numbers:

We can figure out what churn costs at the average gym by plugging these numbers into the following formula:

In this case, it works out to $26,000 monthly & $312,000 annually.

Here's how a 10% reduction in churn can boost your bottom line:

The result:

Imagine what you could do with those extra funds in your gym…

I asked Mike what’s next, and he said he’s not looking to scale. Instead, he’s focusing on making the gym better, with the goal of generating $1M in revenue next year.

TL;DR

When business became too complex, Mike simplified by adding a smaller group program and increased his revenue.

Now, he’s making $900k/yr.

For a deeper dive into Mike’s strategy, watch or listen to his full interview on Gym World.

cheers,

j