The Strongest Year Plan

The Problem with the Private Sector Sports Performance Industry

There are over 500,000 personal trainers, strength coaches, and gym owners in the United States alone.

The average coach and gym owner makes roughly $42,000/year. Not a career that is very sustainable.

To make matters worse, 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, 30% of small businesses fail in their second year, 50% of small businesses fail after five years in business, 70% of small business owners fail in their 10th year in business.

ONLY 3 out of every 10 of you reading this – will have a successful business in the next 10 years.

The odds are stacked against you. Thankfully, 99.99% of them aren’t willing to go the extra mile to create the successful career that you came here looking for.

Whether you’re a strength coach, trainer, sports performance coach, gym owner, or run an online fitness business we have built an entire company that will take you straight to the top of the industry.

According to Forbes.com here are the top five reasons private gyms and personal training businesses fail

Education and knowledge in the sports performance and fitness industry should be at the forefront of your business. Your ability to deliver results will be the catalyst for success, until it isn't. As coaches, trainers, and business owners you most likely spend a disproportionate amount of time trying to become the "smartest trainer" in the room, not the most profitable. According to Forbes, here is why your business could fail.

#5 – Lack of Professionalism

Many individuals who decide to start a fitness business do so because they love fitness. Their passion is their catalyst. They fell in love with helping others achieve their goals. However, their perceived passion masks their professionalism. If you want to be a business owner who gets results and runs a successful business you must act the part. The way you dress, speak, act, and carry yourself will be the ultimate indicator of how successful your business may be.

#4 – No Retention Strategies

Obtaining clients is easy, keeping them is what seperates a decent business from a great one. You should be consistently emailing, sending thank you cards, hoping on the phone calls and maintaining a constant line of communication. Failing to do so means the client feels disconnected from your community and your tribe lacks loyalty.

#3 – No Unique Brand or Niche

The riches are in the niches. This does not mean you have to be so specific that you fail to work with a variety of populations, it means you learn to hone in your message. Most coaches don't understand how to simplify their message and training product in a conscience, easy to digest manner for all to understand.

#2 – Lack of Leadership

Leadership in business is a skill. If you do not cultivate this skill it will be difficult to grow your business. Your cannot give what you don't have. Leadership should be at the forefront of your personal development.

#1 – No Well-Defined Marketing, Sales, or Operational Systems

This is a big one! Imagine if Apple or Microsoft ran their companies by the seed of their pants? Reacting to every little internal and external change is no way to grow and scale a business. Every company, no matter the size, needs to have a plan to execute. Marketing, Sales, HR, Finances, even your training should all have a system. This allows you to focus on the big-ticket items that will move the needle of your business forward.

The Business of Strength was created to take the guesswork out of running your gym. We wanted to give gym owners, coaches, and Strength Entrepreneurs™ the blueprint for success. This blueprint transformed Varsity House from a tiny two-car garage to a world-class training facility. The Business of Strength will help you structure your business processes, to create a clear vision for your ideal future.

When Varsity House was created in 2006 we had absolutely zero business experience. It didn't matter to us. Founder Joe Riggio had a master’s degree in physiology and had never owned his own business. Dan Goodman, co-owner, was a division one football player who majored in communications

Our greatest asset? The desire to work hard and get better everyday.

We believed that if we put our best foot forward and got results with our clients - the business would take care of itself.

This notion couldn't be further from the truth.

In 2009 we upgraded to our second facility and hired our first two employees! Business was great. We created some serious buzz within our community because of the results our clients were getting. There were no signs, no front desk, no point of sale, or systems to keep the business in check.

We each wore many hats - our days were filled with putting out fires, taking care of client needs, training, and even cleaning our facility. We were working 7 days a week, spending less and less time with family,

We quickly realized, we did not own our gym, our gym owned us.

In 2011, we got help. We knew if we wanted to be recognized as one of the best gyms on the country we had to take control of our business and not let our business control us.

We created a step by step outline of every single process in our business. We created product development systems, employee development systems, sales, marketing, operations, and everything in between.

“If it’s not written down it does not exist.” We wrote everything down as if we were going to teach it to other people...little did we know.

By 2012 we were rolling. We began to implement all of our processes and systems. The results spoke for themselves.

By 2013 we were doing nearly $750,000 year in revenue with eight total employees in a terrible non-visible warehouse space, with no windows, no fans, and a leaky roof.

Fast-forward to 2019 and Varsity House now resides in a custom designed 20,000 sq/ft training facility we call home.

We pride ourselves by showing we care. In a world where marketing funnels, scammy products, and half-asses services are too prevalent - strive to work with you hand in hand. Your Business is our business.

Private Coaches Community

Every Monday and Friday we check in with the group to ensure we are on track with the objectives we set out at the beginning of the week. This can include coaching development, new systems, marketing, or bigger picture business items that need to be addressed.

Courses + Resources

Every single month we release new courses centered around training, coaching development, sales, marketing, infrastructure, and business strategy based on real time problems we are facing and how to overcome them.