Don't Buy Ads: Grow Your CrossFit Box

Why Write A Book?

In 2008, I combined my philosophy that I learn BEST when I paraphrase and teach with the new knowledge that I was gaining in business. When I started posting on DontBuyAds, I was telling myself stories. I was writing because I love writing, and because I didn't want to forget any of this stuff.

When we started studying psychology, behavioural anthropology, and neurology for Ignite, the applications to the business world were immediately apparent. Our brains are not those of our ancestors; our thoughts are not those of our parents. Our business is not the gym business of the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s...or even the modern-day "low-price lifetime membership" model of today.

Nearly 400 posts later, I started worrying about forgetting stuff. Affiliate owners and coaches were emailing questions about problems I'd encountered years before, and I wanted to send them the best answer I could provide. I also wanted to arrange the content from this blog, and many other things I've learned, into a more cohesive process. 

This book is the sum of 7 years of experience owning a gym, 9 years' experience coaching before owning a gym, hundreds of calls with other gym owners, big mistakes, and big victories. There's a lot of research, and many stories. 

I'm a member of the CrossFit Media Team, a position that's been incredibly rewarding. However, this book does NOT reflect the opinions of HQ, and though some on the Media Team will read it, they weren't asked to edit the book because the act would constitute a blessing they won't want to give, in the name of objectivity. 

Cover design by the magnificent Clay Weldon of 321GoProject.com, with whom I'm lucky to share the joy of helping new and existing Affiliates make their businesses better every day.

Enjoy. I sure do.

(click the book to buy it.)

The Ditto Revolution, Part Two

In my previous post, I outlined two challenges (and one compliment - sorta) that had confirmed my belief that Big Globo is attempting to steal our identity. One, in particular (the theft of a picture from our site, used to promote their event) was especially egregious.

There are positives from such obvious chicanery. It's much easier to galvanize a movement when the 'enemy' is concrete and known. Bush knew it; other governments employ the "Us vs. Them" to distract their citizens all the time. My Catalyst Family rose to the occasion, further distancing themselves from Globo, where many had attended before they found CrossFit. It pulled everyone together and got us looking in the same direction after a summer of disjointed attendance.

We face, as Affiliates, the same threat on a much larger scale. Education is our only solution. This afternoon, I'll post a link on our site comparing CrossFit to 'boot camp'; tomorrow, I'll talk about something else.  If we can talk about it, we can teach the difference. How will we start the conversation? How can we get the CrossFit world - the Affiliates, the bloggers, the athletes - looking in one direction, and uniting against the REAL threat?

To coordinate support for any cause, you need an emblem that is simple to understand, easily shared, and descriptive. We need a rallying point that is immediately recognizable.

I give you the NotEqualTo sign.

By itself, it doesn't carry any relevance. However, using the social meme tool, and adding words that strike home with YOUR clients....now we have something.

If you like, download this graphic, and add your own meme. CrossFit NotEqualTo BootCamp. CrossFit NotEqualTo SpinClass. CrossFit NotEqualTo 3x8-12. Take it, insert the knockoff in your town, and let your members share.

Here are some we'll be using:

Right click and "Save Target As...' on a PC. On a Mac, drag and drop. Add whatever you like, just make sure you have the right to use the word, "CrossFit." Tag clients. Let them make it their profile picture. Let them share. Let them start the conversation.

 

What Makes US Special?

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to sharea plane ride with my first business mentor (frequently referred to as "The Consultant" in many posts on this site.) I was on my way to Boston; he was headed to Toronto for more Consulting work. At $500 per hour, he has no trouble filling his time. 

He also usually draws a crowd, even on a commuter flight, so our conversation was a short one. I mentioned that I was helping others in the role of Mentor for 321GoProject.com; he was pleased. "You've certainly earned it," he said. I asked what he meant. I expected him to say, "You've made more mistakes in 16 years than most make in a lifetime," but not this guy. 

Instead, The Consultant picked highlights of our business from his memory:

• We're the first CrossFit Affiliate (and, likely, the first Garage Gym) to receive funding from Insurance Companies, at least at this magnitude.
• We're the first gym to run studies, at our own expense, purely in the interest of helping our clients.
• We're probably the first gym ANYWHERE to win "Innovation Company Of The Year," an award that spans ALL industries. We beat out energy companies, Tech companies, and inventors.
• We're bigger than a 'gym': people who haven't been here in two YEARS still identify themselves as part of the 'Catalyst Family.'
• We're probably the first gym in the world to offer math classes, guitar lessons, drama, and French Tutoring on the same nights as Strongman, Powerlifting, and CrossFit groups.
• Our adherence rate (93% last year) is almost exactly DOUBLE that of the fitness industry (47%.)
• The Catalyst 'Family' is a top-level goal of our business. Not a means to an end: a corporate goal. "You have enough friends YET?" he joked. "No," I said.
• When people 'leave' Catalyst, they very rarely leave forever. They don't join a GloboGym, for instance. They just take a break.
• We're perhaps the first gym to have a library where our Family brings books to share and takes others home. This is a member-driven initiative; we don't have library cards.
• We have (possibly) the lowest monthly rate of any CrossFit Box in the world, but (equally possibly) the highest monthly revenue per member. 
• People identify themselves as PART of Catalyst, not a Catalyst 'client.' They take ownership because they achieve self-fulfillment here through education, donation, and sweat. We do a LOT of fundraisers, and for many, this helps fulfill their spiritual needs.

Yes, it's impressive that The Consultant could remember these things off the top of his head - but he IS a genius, after all. When folks visit YOUR website, what are three things they'll remember three months later?

What Makes You Special?

In addition to editing "Two-Brain Business," my new book about building and operating a successful CrossFit Box or Garage Gym, I'm incredibly fortunate to be on the CrossFit Media Team. My role, beginning a few weeks ago, is to collect stories for the new Community Page.

It's a LOT of fun. Every day, I hear a new story about a CrossFitter doing something extraordinary. These gifts of great empathy and courage sometimes happen within their Box, and sometimes outside, but ALL list CrossFit as a driving force.

Surprisingly, and perhaps sadly, the majority of these stories are buried. Even when someone like me, who WANTS to share your Affiliate's special purpose with the world, is creeping your website...your special stories can be tough to find.

After reviewing over 300 sites in the last week, I'm surprised to find:

• Almost half of all Affiliates don't have their contact information on their main page.
• Almost 30% of all Affiliates have a 'contact us' form, but don't give out their email address ANYWHERE.
• Around 40% of Affiliate websites send a new user straight to their WOD page. 
• Most Affiliate sites don't have an obvious point of differentiation, even in more crowded centres.

Answer this question: WHY US? 

The average lifetime value of a client is nearly $10,000. If I'm on your site, and can't find a convenient way to ask questions about my knee injury...I'll just ask the next guy. He'll know.

What to DO?

You know what's going on. At least, you've read all three sides.

In a nutshell:

Greg Glassman's ex-wife, Lauren, is selling her share of CrossFit. She currently owns 50%. She's selling to Anthos Group, whose spokesperson in this case is Bryan Kelly. Bryan claims to be a CrossFitter with solid motives. Coach suspects otherwise.

Your stake:

Currently, you pay annually to license the use of the word, "CrossFit." 

Your risk:

Some pay more than others, depending on when they signed up, but even at the high end ($3000/year) the gross return should be 100x the fee. That's one hundred TIMES, not one hundred percent. We don't own shares. Though the outcome can affect us, we don't control the dogs in this fight. We don't get a vote, no matter how powerful our hashtags.

Your options:

Await further instructions. If there's something to know, we'll know. From Coach to a CrossFitter:

Anthos has gotten a commitment from Lauren to sell them her shares once the divorce is final. The divorce is held up over the disposition of CF Inc. 

We have every advantage in this battle I could hope to have. We are on the side of righteousness and the law; our resources are greater financial and legal. Our numbers are stronger. 

Nothing is going on here beyond our letting our brothers and sisters know that evil lurks and we're on it. You need to take no action.

It might feel like a drive-by to some, but this is the level of our entitlement. It's not a democracy. No one is 'selling out.' It's a custodial lesson: if you have partners, it could happen to you. 

Jeff Tucker's facebook post was a good one:

I'm going to sit back and wait until someone asks me for my two cents on this, meaning those that matter - which I bet will not happen and I am okay with that too. So rather than getting all alarmed by moves I cannot control or have input on at this moment - I will wait until the actual battle starts and then suit up the armor and ready the horses...

As for me, I'm going to do what I aim to do every day: open ten minutes earlier than posted. Smile at everyone at least once. Find a subject to post about that's relevant to my Catalyst Family (hint: this ain't it.) 

Nothing will change for my members in the short- or long-term. If CFHQ asks for help, they've got it. Until then, I won't pace or fantasize. If I'd known in 2008 that the brand was half-owned by an investor, I would have signed up anyway. It's still miles and miles better than owning a GloboGym, or being at the top of the soon-to-be-announced P90X "trainer" program (spoiler alert: the 'P' is for 'pyramid.')

I believe in Coach.

The Label Problem

Fitness is a model of ubiquity. It's everywhere. Everyone's involved, on one side of the curtain or the other.

If you're not asking advice, you're giving it. The process involved in flipping sides - from asker to responder - has shortened; many are now both teacher and student at the same time. Expertise is inferred by number of posts on internet bulletin boards. 

Your title, "Personal Trainer" has devolved. Fifteen years ago, you were the purse-dog of the elite: viewed as an unnecessary accessory, a display of wealth ("I can PAY someone to count my repetitions for me.") Ten years ago, you were the unfair advantage; the specialist paid to give a professional (or child of a parent with money) a leg up. Five years ago, you became the hobbyist. Today, you're my neighbour. EVERYONE is a Personal Trainer. EVERYONE has access to information - good and bad - and can print their own business cards overnight.

In CrossFit gyms, we differentiate ourselves by calling one another "Coach." As the system germinates, sprouts, and flowers, the description of 'CrossFit Coach' becomes generic - and, with its definition, so does the title. WE know that one CrossFit Coach isn't the carbon copy of another. Our clients do not.

When you have computer trouble, you call your 'computer guy.' When you have car problems, you call your 'mechanic.' When everyone in an industry shares the same label, newcomers don't know how to discriminate between those selling the service. The ONLY way they can think to discern different is to ask your price: "How much is a membership to your gym?"

If they know your story in advance - if they've been referred by another client - you avoid this trap. If, however, they see you on television and DON'T know, then they may think you're a commodity, and try to sort based on commodity pricing. "CrossFit Yellow costs more than CrossFit Orange," they'll say, "so I'll try Orange first."

Unless the label's different. If you're not under the same category in the yellow pages, wearing the same name tag, and putting the same search terms in your site's code....

Blue Ocean Strategy

When I opened Catalyst, I was in competition with EVERYONE: the gym down the street, the 'Personal Training' Studio next door, the doctors and nurses and health writers. EVERYONE was mowing my grass. They were telling people - my potential clients! - the wrong things. They couldn't possibly help anyone as well as I could.....

This forehead-smacking ideal was reinforced by my partners. "We want to put everyone else out of business!" they'd exclaim. "Don't put your ideas on a website - people will steal them!" Game for competition and drama, I'd lap it up, and then heap more on the top of the compost pile.

In short, I'd fight. I'd wake up mad, and go down swinging. It sustained me. I was wrong about my opponent, though.

A week or two ago, I mentioned that a new gym had opened a block away, and that a few of their members were trickling over. No one asks if we're worried about the 'competition,' because we now understand that we're not IN competition. We're so different that we almost warrant our own category. We're not 'a gym.' We're Catalyst. We do CrossFit, Personal Training, and have MMA in the back. We also help people with autism and serious brain injury. We teach guitar, drama, math. We run up mountains instead of walking on stairclimbers. We're an experience.

Tonight, we'll be attending an awards ceremony where we've been nominated as Innovation Company of the Year. How does a gym fit into a category normally reserved for algorithmic athletes and Alternative Energy experts? 

By taking a step to the left. We don't compete head-on. Our 'competition' isn't other gyms: it's sloth, bad habits, ignorance, depression. Our fight isn't against CrossFit AreaCode: it's against the khaki bureaucracy of the healthcare and education systems. 

In nature, the species without natural competition thrives until it dominates the landscape. It becomes so overwhelming that, eventually, it gets sick of itself. I'd like to see what that feels like. 

Two On Every Block

There's one place where CrossFit Boxes compete against each other: the Games. That's it.

Before you think I'm being naive, consider this: the most likely business you'll find next to a car dealership is another car dealership. Auto sales across brand lines benefit when the showrooms are neighbours. They build beside one another for a reason.

Cafes, too, benefit when several are grouped together (what's the French word for 'group' again?) If you're headed downtown for lunch, and Cafe Camille is jammed, you simply walk next door to Cafe Michelle. Their businesses thrive on the 'Cafe Block' model. 

There's a fear among veteran Affiliates that the 'new kids' will undercut their price; will tempt with novelty; will have nicer bathrooms and startup funding that we didn't have. They'll have sponsorships and painted walls and an appetite for cannibalism. They'll "dilute the brand," whatever that means.

Here's a story. I'm sharing it not to beat my own drum, but to share what's more likely to happen in the long term:

At the start of this month (June 2012,) a Personal Training studio closed its doors across town. Its owner opened a new "urban gym" about a block from us. We paid little notice until Friday, when two of their members called to inquire about packages. Then, at 7pm, one of their coaches signed up for a CrossFit membership. 

None of our members have gone over. Without trying, we're +3 and ecstatic about it. I wish the 'urban gym' the best of luck - owning a gym ain't easy - and hope they'll stay friendly. 

A final note: if you're thinking of starting a CrossFit gym, good. If you're building your business model around taking current CrossFitters from other CrossFit gyms, we need to talk. Lower prices and snappy graffiti won't trump a good social contract.

 

Habit

Anne was still at her desk long after 6pm. The others had gone home, but she was still finishing off the mountain of paperwork that just wouldn't shrink. Finally nearing the end, she felt a bit self-conscious when her boss came over to her workstation, but didn't want to stop. She was on a roll, and thought, "If I stop now, I may not finish at all." 

"How you doing, Anne? Looks like you're moving really fast!" her boss said. She acknowledged him, but kept on working. 

"This is the first time you've done this much work, and you're absolutely killing it. Just keep going. You're doing great, Anne!" He gave her a little punch on the shoulder.

A minute later, spurred by his encouragement, she was done. She stood to grab her jacket, and saw him standing behind her, watching. He clapped his hands together loudly. "Awesome! You did it!" She felt a wave of relief wash over her, and though she just wanted to go home and suffer in silence, she let him put an arm around her shoulders and give her a squeeze. "That was amazing. I'm proud of you! Maybe the best you've ever DONE!" 

Luke wasn't having a great day. He'd been excited all morning: being promoted from stocking the food shelves to Electronics was a big deal, but as his shift neared, he started to become nervous. Maybe he wasn't READY for the heavier boxes, or the challenging setups he'd have to figure out on his own. Maybe his boss had given him the promotion because he couldn't find anyone else. Everyone else had already moved onward and upward, and Luke was trailing behind, still doing the same job as the new hires.

When the time came for work, Luke realized he hadn't eaten for hours. He was hungry. His pants didn't match his blue vest very well, and others were sure to notice. He was short, and wasn't sure he could lift the heavier pieces high enough to reach the shelves. He didn't really know anyone in Electronics, so he put his head down and started to bumble through; one box on another, slide the cart, start from the bottom again. He had a system down...but the boxes were getting heavier, and the shelves higher to reach.

At the end of his last row, Luke looked up to see his final target: a shelf, high above his head, on which he'd have to shove the final, expensive box. A bright yellow "Team Lift" sticker was on the top cardboard flap, but there wasn't anyone else around, so Luke carefully maneuvered the box into his lap alone. 

"You need help, Luke?" he heard behind him. "I got it," he replied with more optimism than he felt. Struggling upward, he inched the box to his shoulders. A few others were gathering around him. "C'mon, Luke!" they encouraged. "You can get this!" 

He slid his hands under the box, sure he'd be leaving a sweat mark. "Here we go, Luke!" his manager yelled. "Push yourself under it!" cheered a girl from nearby Arts and Crafts. Heaving, Luke managed to slowly press the box up, and snuck the edge of the box onto the shelf. "Finish it!" called a stranger. "Just slide it on! You're almost there!" He did. Then he sat down, winded, while a team of blue-vested comrades slapped him on the back and ruffled his hair. "Awesome, Luke! That was sweet!" they said, as they congratulated him and moved on.

Think either of the above scenarios is likely?

One of the great insights I've gained while writing Enrichment Through Exercise was this nugget from Coach Ty: "No matter what else happens in the session, the client has to leave happy. This is probably the only positive feedback they'll get ALL DAY. If we make no other progress, we have to make sure the child gets praise for SOMETHING."

Enrichment Through Exercise - the book

In, "The Power of Habit," by Charles Duhigg, the author goes into great detail on the pleasure response cycle of the brain. Much like Pavlov's dogs, the brain learns to anticipate a reward associated with an activity - it drools at the thought of food - and eventually becomes depressed if it ISN'T rewarded. 

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business - the book

This is what we're up against in the fitness industry: hardwired but unconscious brain signals that reward Betty for sitting on the couch and watching television at night. The familiar brings us pleasure; the unfamiliar brings us pain. 

To encourage exercise, Duhigg recommends rewarding yourself with "...a smoothie or extra television time." I can think of a better option.

Paleo Behaviourism

As CrossFitters, many of us believe in a more simplistic diet: eat things without an Ingredients List. Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store. Eat meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds....

Our nutritional plans are the envy of every other sport. Why not expand that forethought and care into the rest of our lives? Some simple suggestions, from someone who's been observing the CrossFit community for a long time, and interacting with multiple Affiliate owners every day:

1. Get up early. Do the stuff you love first thing in the morning. Do something creative to prime your brain.

2. Don't defecate where you eat. Stay upriver from garbage. Don't poison your own food supply.

3. Marry outside the tribe to increase diversity. Learn things that don't come from CrossFit HQ. Read other sources of information, take what you can, and implement them in your CrossFit practice. Tell others. Don't ignore information like periodization just because 'no one else does it....'

4. Find a state of 'flow.' Our brain is primarily wired to be in a state of semi-alertness; we run on autopilot a lot of the time, always ready to react. We're not built to process every bit of information as if it's the first time we've encountered it. Do something that occupies your body, and your brain will catch up.

5. Be an example of empathy and good manners. 

6.Constantly till the soil. Reevaluate your programming. Test people. Don't make excuses; make things grow.

7. Move around every few minutes. Don't just wait for one all-out burst at lunchtime or after dinner.

8. Find joy in doing things, not having things.

9. Lead or follow in an obvious way. If you're the Coach, demonstrate suffering (tell them YOUR Fran time.) If you're not the Coach, be the best student in the class.

10. Spend more time in the dark. Screens off, lights out.

Remember, the winner is the one who survives longest, NOT the one who eats the most.