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You can usually trust this missive for a weekly heapin’ of actionable fitness business know-how. But long time readers know your friendly author’s commitment to a never-ending liberal arts education. You see, if you want to win at your business — and be the best human...

Seems hard to believe. But we’re a stone’s throw from 2022. If you don’t already have a dedicated 2022 planning session in the books, now would be a great time to pencil one in. The Unicorn Society is gathering in Nashville this weekend to prepare for the new year. In...

I want to share a powerful framing that encapsulates why I’m so passionate about the Unicorn Society. But first, lemme tell you a quick story. Your ol’ pal Mark has had some ups and downs over the past 18 months.  I suspect I’m not alone and maybe you can relate. When...

As we chat with training gym owners for the January enrollment of the Unicorn Society, I’ve been reflecting on the differences between those who just get by and those who thrive.  (Want to learn more about the Unicorn Society? Go HERE.) Listen, this can be tough biz....

I hope this missive finds you well and drinking something seasonal including but not limited to a pumpkin spice latte, apple cider, or a pumpkin ale. #basic If you haven’t already put some thought into leveraging Black Friday/ Cyber Monday, now’s the time to get...

In today’s missive, we’re going to cover five topics where I’ve changed my mind over the past 10 years of running MFF. But first, I wanted to remind you we’ve got a truly awesome virtual event coming up.  If you’ve ever wanted to peel back the curtain and go behind...

In that particular missive, I made an important point: once you’re making money with your training gym, you need to know how to leverage it over time. And I stand by that logic! BUT To make money in your training gym, you need to have a basic understanding of business...

Keeping today short because I hope you’re enjoying your last week of summer. Long time readers know I’m usually in the desert this time of year at Burning Man. I’m skipping this year’s “Rogue Burn,” so no desert for me, alas. But I’m nonetheless semi-off grid. And I’m...

Having a successful training gym means you have a comfortable margin of profit after expenses. This means you receive an appropriate take home income for your efforts.

Got a personal story today with some takeaways for your training gym… As a lot of you know, MFF was shot out of a cannon from the moment we hit the ground running. We hit $1m in our very first year in business. And by year four, we broke $4m in a single location.  We...

Great question. The answer is a strong maybe with a side of “Probably not!” Obvious context: my name is Mark Fisher, and I own a gym named Mark Fisher Fitness, hi, it’s very nice to meet you, thrilled to be visiting you here in your inbox. A question that comes up...

2. Maybe 3. Ok, great talk, happy Thursday! .... I kid, I kid. Well, I’m sort of kidding.  I actually do think “2-3” is usually a good answer in many situations. But you know how I roll; I shan’t leave you hanging without context! Let’s start by analyzing one of the...

Yes. Yes, you should! Listen, I’m all about loyalty; at times, to a fault. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned (the hard way), it’s this: When you prioritize individuals over the group, the group suffers, and then it’s still a bad outcome for individuals.  This is a...

Today I want to highlight the most common missing system I see in training gyms and micro gyms… And that’s the follow-up. Let’s assume you’ve got... A compelling low barrier offer that makes it easy to get started and removes all risk Communication channels to make...

Want to cover a pretty common challenge for training gyms (and frankly, all businesses)… Whether you’ve got a larger facility with 10+ staff, or just hired a part time trainer and/or admin, the only way for you to have true peace of mind is with a well-trained team....

BOCTAOE.

This is an acronym popularized by Scott Adams that stands for “but of course there are obvious exceptions.”

One of the most common challenges we face as training gym owners is deciding what to work on next. After all, we have constraints of time, energy, and money.  And being a business owner can make you feel like you’re snorting crushed up crazy pills, so it can be hard...

What do you think is the most important skill for a manager to have? When I ask people this, they often say it's hiring the right people, being a good problem solver, or building systems that scale. I agree that they are all super important skills, but I think the #1...

NOTE: This particular post is the MAXIMS ONLY version. It offers my thoughts in rapid fire style, but admittedly, without much (potentially helpful) context. The FULL TEXT (~8000 words) version is for those who want to understand my perspective more completely via...