#15 Before You Open Site 2: Lessons from Aaron Swales Three Gyms

You’ve hired coaches, but you’re still handling every enquiry, sorting every membership issue and making every decision. How do you build a team that can take more responsibility for running the gym? In this episode, I’m joined by Chris Travis from Seattle Strength & Performance to discuss how he staffs his gyms, develops his coaches and creates careers that people want to stay in. Chris explains his approach to combining coaching hours with clear responsibilities off the gym floor, why predictable schedules matter, and how he thinks about hiring before the business has fully grown into the role. We also cover interviewing, giving useful feedback, weekly staff meetings and creating progression when you can’t make everyone head coach. Recorded live with members of my gym-owner mentoring group, the conversation includes their questions about affording the next hire, making admin hours worthwhile and knowing when you’re ready for a second location—including what Chris learned from going nine months without a salary. If you’re building a team but still feel like everything comes back to you, this episode will give you plenty to work on.

How much of what you say during your small group training sessions actually helps your members? And how much of it is just noise? I recently hosted Nick Winkelman, author of The Language of Coaching, for a full-day seminar in Edinburgh. Since then, I've been thinking a lot more about how we communicate with people during coaching sessions, particularly when we're working with multiple people at once. In this episode, I'm sharing six of the most useful lessons I took from the day and how you can apply them to your own small group coaching. We cover: Why you might be talking too much during sessions. How using silent sets can help members become more confident and competent. Why giving someone one coaching cue is often better than giving them five. How analogies can make your coaching more memorable, effective and enjoyable. Why involving members in creating their own coaching cues can improve their experience. What we can learn from comedians about preparing our coaching outside of sessions.

How do you become the gym that local people recommend... even when they’ve never trained with you? In this episode, I’m joined by Maggie Elliott from Spark Life Movement and Wellbeing, a community-focused studio in Prestwich with 109 members and several different ways for people to get involved. Maggie shares how she’s built a welcoming space for people who feel intimidated by traditional gyms, and how local relationships, social activities and partnerships have become a key source of new members. We explore: • How hiring out unused studio space generates income, and recently brought three new members into small-group PT. • Why a cup of tea, a book club or a social walk can help someone take their first step through your door. • How Maggie adapted her memberships around what her clients actually wanted. • Why people who have never visited Spark Life still recommend it. • Her experience of becoming a Community Interest Company and using grants to make movement more accessible.

JC Vacassin returns to the podcast to share some of the biggest lessons he's learning from running and evolving Foundry. We talk about why Foundry is deliberately simplifying its product and messaging, why SGPT should be the vehicle rather than the thing you sell, and the question JC thinks every gym owner should ask themselves: if you opened your gym again tomorrow, what would you build? JC also breaks down Foundry's approach to generating referrals, incentivising staff, local outreach and acquisition, why gyms may need to do more offline marketing, and how AI is changing the way he thinks about operating the business. We also get into some of the harder decisions he's made recently — including closing locations, cutting complexity and building a leaner business for the future. If you tune in, you'll learn: Why SGPT shouldn’t be the thing you sell — it’s the vehicle you use to deliver the result. How to spot when your gym, membership and buying process have become too complicated. The simple question JC thinks every gym owner should ask: “If I opened my gym again tomorrow, what would I build?” How to build a more deliberate referral system, rather than simply hoping happy members send people your way. Why gyms may need to rely less on paid digital marketing and get better at referrals, outreach and local marketing.

What actually makes a gym a good business? It isn't necessarily the one with the most members or the biggest monthly turnover. In this episode, I'm joined again by Gareth from Coach Accounts to talk about the numbers gym owners should actually be paying attention to. We get into profit margins, how much you should be spending on ads, when hiring another member of staff makes financial sense, and why there are times when the best thing you can do for your gym is stop trying to grow it. We also talk about the personal side of money as a business owner — including pensions, emergency funds, financial security and why so many business owners avoid looking at their numbers altogether. We cover: Why £20k/month turnover tells you very little about the quality of a gym business What healthy profit margins can look like The growing problem Gareth sees with gym owners overspending on ads Why you should understand your ads even if somebody else manages them When to invest more money back into your gym Why one great month isn't enough evidence to increase your spending The "push, hold, push" approach to sustainable growth How much business owners should consider contributing towards a pension Why simply looking at your bank balance every day can improve your financial habits How AI can help you better understand where your money is actually going