Kaleda Connell: If I opened another gym today, here’s what I’d do differently

Gym World,

If you’ve ever looked back and thought, “I should’ve done that differently,” you’re not alone. Most gym owners have regrets about their first pricing model, the space they picked, or how long they tried to do everything themselves.

My business partner Kaleda Connell knows that feeling well.

Before becoming CEO of Kilo, she ran a CrossFit gym for 7 years in a tiny town, sold it for 6 figures, and mentored hundreds of gyms through Two-Brain Business—so she’s seen nearly every mistake owners make.

That’s why she’s here: to share what she’d do differently if she opened a gym today, and the lessons you can use to set your gym up for long-term success. Click on the video below to hear it all.

Or keep scrolling for the highlights 👇

Getting pricing right

One of the biggest mistakes gym owners make is getting pricing wrong:

• Set it too low and you’re scrambling for new members just to keep the lights on

• Copy the gym down the street and you risk building a business that can’t sustain itself

• Go too high and you scare people off before they even walk through the door

That’s what happened to Kaleda when she opened her CrossFit gym. The two gyms in her town charged less, but they ran different models. She knew her service should cost more, but she didn’t know how to land on the right number. So she copied prices from a neighboring town. Looking back, she realized it was a mistake because:

• Every gym has different expenses and overhead

• Capacity isn’t the same from one space to another

• What works in one market doesn’t always work in another

If she could go back, Kaleda would start with her P&L. A profit and loss statement shows:

• How much money is coming in

• How much is going out

• What’s left to keep the business healthy

When you know your numbers, you can set prices that cover your costs, reflect your value, and keep your gym sustainable.

Structuring offers that stick

Intro offers can be a powerful way to fill your gym, but if they’re not structured well, they create long-term problems. You might see a quick bump in signups, but the wrong offer leads to:

• Members paying for services they don’t use

• Confusion about what memberships are really available

• Frustration and higher churn when rates change later

That’s what happened to Kaleda. Her founder’s club rate of $145 per month included unlimited classes, personal training, and open gym. It packed the gym, but many members quit once they realized the offer didn’t match their needs.

Looking back, she says the key is to design intro offers that guide people into the membership you want them to stay in. For example:

• 50% off the first month

• Applied to the membership that best fits a new member’s needs (2x a week, 3x/week, or unlimited)

This way, people know exactly what they’re committing to, retention is higher, and you build a stronger base of long-term members.

Choosing the right space

Your gym space isn’t just four walls. It’s likely the biggest fixed cost you’ll carry and one of the most common reasons gyms fail. Go too big too soon, and you’re stuck with high rent, expensive utilities, and empty square footage you can’t afford to fill.

Kaleda avoided that trap, though not by choice. She started her gym in her garage with 20 clients, which gave her cash flow and proved the business was viable. When she moved, the only option she could afford was a 1,500 sq ft space.

Looking back, she says starting small was the best move she could’ve made. A smaller space gave her:

• Lower overhead and fixed costs, which reduced financial pressure

• More pricing power, since limited spots made raising rates easier

• Stronger community, because members saw each other often

• Higher profit per square foot, since every inch was used efficiently

Building a team that frees you up

What wears gym owners down isn’t just the long hours on the floor. It’s the cancellations, the late payments, the endless inquiries and scheduling headaches. That mental load is heavy, and if you’re the one carrying it all, it pulls your focus away from growing the business.

Kaleda’s first hire was a coach. Not a bad move, but in hindsight, she wishes she had started with an admin. Someone to handle:

• Cancellations and payments

• Contracts and inquiries

• Free intros and sales conversations

Those are the tasks that quietly drain your energy day after day. Having an admin, and pairing them with the right automations, keeps the gym running without everything landing on your plate. Tools like Gym Lead Machine can handle reminders and follow-ups automatically, while an admin provides the personal touch where it matters most.

Using systems and software to run smoother

In 2019, Kaleda sold her gym for 6 figures. She credits that success to the systems she built early on.

When everything lives in your head, staff are left guessing. That creates inconsistency for members, makes it harder to hold people accountable, and prevents the business from running without you. Kaleda solved that by writing SOPs (standard operating procedures) for the basics:

• How to open and close the gym

• How to run a class

• How to greet members and make them feel welcome

• How to handle sales and follow the marketing process

Strong systems gave Kaleda the freedom to step back. But she admits her exit could have happened sooner if she had leaned on software earlier. The right tools free you up to focus on growth instead of:

• Chasing payments

• Piecing together schedules

• Answering every inquiry one by one

Today, Kaleda and her team at Kilo help gyms avoid those headaches with software and support built for coaching gyms:

• Gym Management Software takes care of billing, contracts, and member accounts so admin work doesn’t pile up

• Gym Lead Machine automates follow-ups and reminders while staff keep the personal touch

• Gym Websites are branded to your gym and optimized so more local people can find you and convert into leads

There are plenty of platforms that look the same, but Kaleda’s advice is simple:

• Book demo calls with a few

• Write down your non-negotiables

• Choose the one that gives you reliable support

TL;DR: If she opened a gym today…

Kaleda’s approach would look very different from when she first started. She wouldn’t waste years guessing at prices, chasing members with the wrong offers, or carrying the whole load herself. Instead, she’d focus on building a business that’s profitable, simple, and sustainable from day one.

Here’s what that would look like:

• Keep the space small to control costs and build a strong community

• Use the P&L to set prices so every membership supports the business

• Hire admin support early to protect her energy and free up time

• Rely on systems and software so the gym runs smoothly with or without her

If you take anything away from Kaleda’s story, let it be this: build smart from the start and you’ll save yourself stress, time, and money.

here’s to progress,

j