Let's Make Money With Your Gym!

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"MMA and BJJ folks are some of the toughest and most determined people you'll ever come across... However, what makes a successful fighter isn't just toughness - but toughness combined with technique... and in the gym business, it's no different! We're all tough in the gym business - but most don't have business technique... they're the business equivalent of the spazzy white belt that's flailing away and getting no results on the mat. MMA Business Pros are here to change that! Join my email list, study my emails, join my webinars, and let's become Business Black Belts!"

Marcos Avellan / CEO of MMA Business Pros

About Marcos Avellan

Marcos is a black belt mixed martial artist and former competitor, having won the 2005 ADCC North American Trials and having fought pro-MMA. In 2001, he opened up the Freestyle Fighting Academy, in Miami, Florida. Despite the many competition successes his gym had, including having produced multiple athletes into the ADCC and UFC, his gym was failing financially. All that changed in 2005... at the brink of bankruptcy, in a desperation play, Marcos flew to Maryland to study the martial arts business directly under renowned champion coach and businessman, Master Lloyd Irvin. From that point on, Marcos' business took off. The Freestyle Fighting Academy has had an average annual gross income of over $1 million since 2007 and continues to be an immensely successful MMA gym. Marcos has flown around the country to study under many different marketers and businessmen, has digested dozens of books and seminars, and has accumulated decades of real world experience running a mixed martial arts competition gym. Along with his gym's success, Marcos has helped hundreds of MMA and BJJ gym owners succeed with their gyms. He has sold hundreds of MMA business video systems and has led seminars, training workshops, and mastermind groups for over a thousand gym owners and staff. Outside of the martial arts business, Marcos also operates a firearms training academy, a women's fitness bootcamp, and an Amazon business.

Entrepreneurship Should Equal More Freedom

3 Common Myths About Small Business Owners

When the average person hears “business owner” they think:

Makes good money
Works less
Has freedom

These three things are so widely believed, it has hit “myth” status. The reality; however, is usually the opposite. Let’s tackle each of these three myths:

Myth #1: Business Owners Make Good Money

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about half of all new businesses in the USA will fail within five years! And we can imagine that within the half that doesn’t, there’s a considerable amount that’s just getting by… because by the 10^th year, that percentage rises to 70%! Meaning 7 out of 10 businesses will be CLOSED DOWN within ten years.

Myth #2: Business Owners Work Less

According to a study done by The Alternative Board, 82% of small business owners work over 40 hours a week – with about half of all small business owners working over 50 hours a week. Only 57% take vacations – and when they do, 67% of them will check on work at least once a day. According to a study from Inc, the average small business owner works at LEAST one weekend a month. Sound familiar?

Myth #3: Business Owners Have Freedom

When you’re working overtime, on weekends, and are on call 24/7, and are making barely enough to survive – how is that freedom? Odds are, you’re likely the head instructor of your gym and the place would fall apart if you weren’t there – so how are you “free”? Compare your “freedom” to the average full time employee… the average full time employee often makes more money than the struggling small business owner, isn’t saddled with the debt of launching a new business, can take sick days off when they really want to miss a day of work, has vacation and holiday pay, has weekends off, and when they clock out at 5pm – they CLOCK OUT… they’re not on call. If they get sick of the job, they can quit and start a new job as if nothing happened… should the small business owner fail, they face all kinds of debt and the consequences that come with that!

It’s rough out there guys and gals! It’s not just you struggling – and I know EXACTLY how you feel. I can say that with extreme confidence because I was about to close my gym down within the first three years… I was almost part of the statistic. What changed everything for me was doing what you’re about to do – which was seek out expert advice from a successful gym owner.

So Is The Myth Busted? Not Necessarily...

All that being said, the “myth” can be true! I make a lot of money, work very little, and am TOTALLY FREE. I started with nothing and now have my dream home paid off in full, have an additional beach vacation home, all my cars and boats are paid in full, and I do whatever I want. Every morning, I wake up when I wake up – I do not wake up to an alarm. I’ve never not been able to do something because of a time commitment or because of money.
And of course, this freedom extends to my family – my wife, who is co-owner of our gym, at 45 years old, went back to school, earned her biology degree, and got accepted into Medical School at 49 years old. It’s via the systems I have in place – the autonomy – that we could do this. My school is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with classes starting at 6am and ending at 1:45am, has hundreds of students, with two full size training rooms, a boxing ring, and a cage,… last time I checked, we offer over 80 classes a week – and of those eighty classes, I only teach four – two adult classes and two kids classes… that’s it! I teach those classes out of passion – but often if I don’t feel like going, I don’t! I normally work about 10 hours a week at my gym… and I accomplished this by my late 30’s.

Sign up with your name, email, and phone number now, so that I can start sharing with you how to do this, with my FREE "Appointment Machine" Video Phone Script!

Systems In Our Gym - Ranked By Order Of Importance

#1: Marketing

If the phones don't ring and the email doesn't get any new messages - your business will be dead on arrival! This is the most important priority in your business.

#2: phones

There are three main ways you'll get customers in your doors: 1) They call you... 2) You call them... 3) They walk in your door. The last option is going to be by far the most scarce way of getting new students - it's all about the phones. If your phones suck, your business will suck! Lucky for you, I'm giving you this part for FREE!

#3: SALES

It doesn't matter if your marketing is crazy viral and you're making appointments left, right, and center - if you do not have a sales system to close these appointments, you'll be broke. A good sales person should be able to close at least 75% of the appointments that come in - and that's with a minimum of a six month agreement and priced at least $200 a month. If you aren't seeing those kinds of stats - your business is lacking.

#4: FRONT DESK

Back in the day, I gave almost no importance to the front desk person... and boy, was I wrong! The front desk person is often the person answering the phones - but their job is so much more than that! They're a jack of all trades - they're involved in the sales process, the student retention process, security, collections, and so much more! Most people have no idea about how to run this position.

#5: EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT

You have the marketing, the phone system, the sales system, and the front desk system - GREAT! But if your staff own't follow the damn systems... you have nothing! If you can't get your staff to follow the directions, you won't make money. Knowing how to hire, motivate, audit, discipline, and fire staff is critical - and if you want true freedom like I have, you'll also need to know how to hire and maintain a manager(s) to do this for you.

#6: TEACHING & RETENTION

This will piss off some gym owners because they probably feel this should be ranked much higher. But no, this is the right place for this department with regards to making money. You can be the best instructor in the world - and if you don't have the previous five systems in place, you'll be broke. Furthermore, you could be an inexperienced blue belt instructor - and if you have the previous five systems in place, you'll be making money! That being said, most black belts, in my opinion, run piss poor retention systems and make many errors in teaching. I'm not talking about errors in a specific tecnique - I'm talking errors in how to teach in such a manner that will keep students coming back for more. I have taught instructor courses to hundreds of black belts, including world champions you've heard of - and beore my course, they were screwing up this step too.

#7: collections

No matter how tight your retention systems are, you'll have people bail on agreements. Most gym owners get lost on this step and just chaulk it up to a loss. Although you won't collect on every debt - there's plenty of money that most gym owners are leaving on the table by not having the right collection systems in place. This is a serious department.

#8: maintenance

If the gym isn't maintained in a systemized manner - it will fall into disarray. A messy or broken down gym will cost the business money. Furthermore, if the maintenance isn't systemized, you'll always feel like you're playing catchup. Stay ahead by having the correct systems in place.

#9: OPTIONAL: FIGHT TEAM

This isn't part of making money. At all. I just added it here because a lot of us black belts were born in the fires of competition and erroenously feel that having a kick ass fight team is somehow beneficial to our business. It's not. I'm willing to argue it actually hurts your business by taking away your time, energy, and focus from everything else. For that reason, I did add it here, but only to emphasize how it is the least important part of your business.