The Numbers You Really Need to Know

@benjamin__pickard (2 underscores) @businessforunicorns

Hey, it’s Ben from Business For Unicorns. 

Today’s post is a simplified way to look at your gym’s finances.

At the VERY least you need to know these numbers in order to have a big picture view of your business and where you want to focus your attention. 

When I’m looking to quickly cut to the heart of the matter and understand how a gym is doing by the numbers, this is what I want to know:

Finances – Each of the Last Three Months AND 2023 Totals

• Revenue
• Expenses
  • Owner Pay + Perks People Costs (excluding Owner)
  • Everything Else
    • Rent
    • Total Marketing
    • Spend
    • Any other big monthly expenses
    • Profit
• Profit Margin
• Owner Profit Distributions
• Total Owner
• Compensation (Owner Pay/Perks + Profit Distributions)

KPIs – Each of the Last Three Months

• Leads
• Trials/Low Barrier
• Offers New Memberships*
• Active Clients *
• Terminations*
• Total Sessions/Classes Offered Per Week*
• Average Utilization*
• Total Hours on the Floor for the Owner Average
• Revenue Per Month* 
• Churn %* 
• Lifetime Customer Value* 
• Client Acquisition Cost 

*Broken down by service if multiple services are offered (e.g. small group personal training, classes, nutrition coaching, 1-on-1 personal training, etc.)

Follow-Up Qs:

• What marketing channels are you actively using to generate leads? Please list them all. (e.g. referrals, email marketing, paid Google ads, paid Facebook ads, joint ventures, etc.)
• What is your target yearly Total Owner Compensation (Owner Pay + Perks + Distributions)?
• What is your target number of weekly hours on the floor (usually 0-15)?
• How many staff members do you have?
  • Full-time coaches?
  • Part-time coaches?
  • Full-time admin support?
  • Part-time admin support?

For most of the above numbers, I have some go-to benchmarks based on the service and market that can help identify your next most important action.

Obviously, this is a pretty high level and just a starting point for further questions. But it’s a damn good starting place.

I know most gym owners are interested in understanding how they’re doing compared to other gym owners. I’m considering doing a webinar where I share my suggested benchmarks for the above. Hit reply if this sounds of interest! 

PS: Interested in a personalized 3-step plan to grow your gym?

We’d love to offer you a complementary 10-minute brainstorm.

If you’re a gym owner with 30 or more clients, you might be just a few strategies away from growing your monthly revenue by $5k-$10k or more. We can help.

Book your call HERE. 

Ben Pickard

Coach and COO

Business for Unicorns