$1.6 Million: That’s How Much Elon Musk Allegedly Earns Per Hour. Twenty Four Hours A Day.
Even When He’s Asleep.
And while a number like this is unfathomable to the small gym owner (nor is it even the goal), it’s worth tackling the topic of passive or residual income, and how your business can make you money when you’re not putting in hard hours—aka during the dark hours of the gym.
Food for thought: According to the Two-Brain Business State of the Industry Report (in partnership with software companies PushPress and Wodify), the average micro gym generated $15,900 per month in revenue in 2022, and at CrossFit gyms specifically, 76 percent of this revenue came from group classes, while another 14 percent came from personal training.
This means, give or take, 90 percent of revenue generated happens when there’s a coach on the floor working, and only 10 percent of revenue comes from revenue streams that have the possibility of being passive income for the gym (such as supplement or other merchandise sales, online or individualized programming, or open gym or unattended access to the facility).
Further, when we consider the average gym’s weekday schedule, they tend to offer group classes from 5 or 6 AM until about 8 or 9 am. Then there’s usually a lull during the day (minus perhaps a couple personal training clients here and there) before they host classes again between about 4 pm and 8 pm.
Bottom Line: There Are 24 Hours Of The Day And Most Small Gym Businesses Are Earning Close To 90 Percent Of Their Income During Eight Of Those 24 Hours Each Day, Leaving A Lot Of Time (Aka Opportunity To Earn More Money) On The Table.
- AND, there are even more dark hours on the weekends, as the average gym only offers a couple classes each day, while some remain closed entirely on Sunday.
What does all this mean?
It means there’s an opportunity to take advantage of those dark hours!
Two No-Brainer Ways To Generate Revenue During The Dark Hours
Step 1: Unattended Access With HybridAF
HybridAF offers the possibility to increase average client value by charging more for unattended, uncoached access to the gym, either 24 hours a day, or whatever hours you deem appropriate for your clientele.
Consider this: You charge an additional $50 a month (on top of the client’s regular group class membership) for access to the HybridAF app and unattended access to the facility.
- Or you could create an unattended access only membership and possibly attract new clients who aren’t interested in group classes but are willing to pay $150 a month for access to your facility 24/7.
In practice: 100 members paying an additional $50 a month is an additional $5,000 a month that is essentially passive income for the gym owner. Further, it adds incredible value to the client, who now has the opportunity to come train in the middle of the day, on weekends, or at 5 am before the 6 am class gets started.
And as two-time team CrossFit Games champion Andrea Nisler put it, offering 24-7 access to her clients also took the pressure off herself and her other coaches (and saved her money on labor costs).
- “Going into a 24/7 access gym just kind of took the stress off trying to staff the gym all the time, and it has actually been amazing,” said Nisler, the owner of Timberwolf Fitness in Minneapolis. “I just feel so at ease, because I felt bad when people couldn’t utilize their membership, so knowing they can now makes me happy.”
Step 2: Double Dip With HybridAF And Individual Design
Another way to increase client value even more is to provide individualized programming for clients who want it, as well as access to the facility via the HybridAF app.
Now you have the opportunity to upsell clients on both unattended access and a personalized program that caters to their strengths and weaknesses, all the while generating additional revenue for your business during the traditional dark hours of the day.
For Drew Reeves, the owner of CrossFit Katy in Texas, the result here has been an increase in client performance and ultimately client retention.
After a client has been a member for a while, there comes a time when they want to devote more time to specific skills and goals, Reeves explained. “And if you don’t have Open gym time, then they will look at other options to fill that need,” he said.
- “We saw over time people would try and do extra work during other class times. They would begin buying their own equipment, or even go to other gyms or facilities that had 24-hour options to get this work in,” he said. “We felt we needed to capture that revenue, and as well keep that member committed to our facility, and Hybrid has provided us that option.”
Final Thought: Addressing the elephant in the room
Fear, apprehension, concern. These are three very real emotions many gym owners have when they’re considering offering unattended access.
If you’re in this camp, this article is for you: What could possibly NOT go wrong with Unattended Access?
