How to make $120k/yr from corporate wellness programs

What’s up Gym World?

For the last 7 years, Ben Fogel from Epic Fitness has been helping local businesses in Utah transform employee health through corporate wellness programs—and it’s adding an extra $120k to his annual revenue.

He’s the first gym owner we’ve come across doing this, so we brought him on the pod to break down the strategy for us.

Here’s what he told my co-host Mateo: 👇

Inside Epic Fitness 💪

Before owning a gym, Ben competed in javelin through high school and college and came close to making the Olympic trials. But after an injury and surgery, he had to decide whether to stick with javelin or try something new.

As a joke, he bet a teammate he’d go to a bobsled combine. Even though he had no clue what he was doing, he performed so well that the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation took notice. From there, Ben:

• Moved to Lake Placid, NY, to train

• Made the national team in his first year

• Competed in world championships for several years

While training in 2008, Ben started working as a personal trainer at a big-box gym, where they let him build his own personal training business. But five years later, a falling out with the owner pushed him to open his own gym.

So, just a week after leaving, he signed a lease for an existing gym and moved in.

Within the first year and a half, Ben grew from 45 to 100 clients and hired an admin and two coaches.

Here’s what the business looks like today: 👇

The model

Epic Fitness is located in a small suburb of Salt Lake City.

The gym has 230 members who do semi-private personal training. One coach trains four people at a time, and everyone gets a customized training plan.

Members can train up to four times a week. And while Ben didn’t share prices, the gym’s website lists memberships starting at $236 a month.

How to add $120k to your annual revenue 💰

We’ve seen gym owners add thousands to their bottom line through events or retail. Ben makes an extra $120k a year by providing corporate wellness programs to local businesses.

It all started 7 years ago with a friend who was a member of Ben’s gym. The friend owned a business with 80-100 employees and had extra space in the building. Ben suggested setting up a gym there and offering services to the employees, and they liked the idea.

So, Ben surveyed the staff to see how often they’d want to train and put together a proposal:

• Two 45-minute group sessions a week (during lunch)

• Quarterly InBody scans

• Quarterly lunch-and-learns or wellness seminars (group)

• Seasonal challenges

• $60k annual contract

He also negotiated for the business to cover the $10k-$15k buildout costs, which they agreed to since it benefited their employees.

Today, about 50% of the employees participate.

Ben ended up securing another $60k contract with the city where his gym is located to train their 100 employees. He approached them with the idea and pitched the corporate wellness program as a private, team-building class exclusively for their employees.

This time, though, they’re coming to Epic Fitness during lunch and receive:

• Two 45-minute private group sessions a week

• Quarterly lunch-and-learns or wellness seminars (group)

• Quarterly InBody scans

• Access to the gym’s public classes (if they miss a session)

Ben also tracks monthly attendance and shares insights on utilization with the city.

Quick notes 📓

Epic Fitness has been around for 11 years, and for the last 7, Ben has offered corporate wellness programs to help local businesses improve employee health. As a result, the gym now generates an extra $120k a year.

When asked how gym owners can get started, Ben recommends targeting businesses with 30-100 employees and nailing the proposal. To do that:

• Ask what employees want

• Ask how to make it easy for the business

• Ask about their budget

For more on Epic Fitness, be sure to watch or listen to Ben’s full interview on Gym World.

hope this helps,

j

📣 P.S. If this was valuable, share it with a gym owner who’d find it helpful too.