Gilson Consulting Group

Project X: Objectives and Key Results

CrossFit (X) is a 9,000 square foot Affiliate located in (X). I was recently hired by ownership to use my skills in user experience design, data science, and content marketing to build the business.

I am doing so on a fixed budget to begin ($1,000 per month), with potential budget increases coming with proven success. I can use this budget any way I see fit.

Project X is simple in scope:

- We’re going to determine a fully-replicable way to bring in new prospects, from first awareness to paid membership, with the end objective of increasing membership from ~275 to 350+ paying members.

- At the same time, we’ll attempt to bring in new prospects at the highest possible membership tier (maximizing dollars/month).

- We’ll also work to upgrade existing members to higher tiers of membership (improving profitability, and potentially, retention).

We’ll use three avenues:

- Create a digital advertising + free class experience to convert new prospects at the highest possible rate AND the highest possible membership tier.

- Create a viral/behavioral psychology/economically-driven system to incentivize current membership to introduce their social circles to CrossFit (redacted)’s free class experience.

- Create a viral/behavioral psychology/economically-driven system to incentive current membership to upgrade to higher tiers of membership.

I've created a blog to be be a record of the project. Updates will post twice a week.

I will attempt to be as transparent as possible with our efforts (without violating client confidentiality), allowing readers to replicate our methods.

Readers will learn my entrepreneurial approach, data science, behavioral psychology, pricing psychology, digital marketing, performance tracking, and more.

You can subscribe to updates via the 1st post: https://gilsonconsultinggroup.com/project-x/2019/3/11/project-x-objectives-and-key-results

Project X: Objectives and Key Results CrossFit (redacted) is a 9,000 square foot Affiliate located in (redacted). I was recently hired by ownership to use my skills in user experience design, data science, and content marketing to build the business. I am doing so on a fixed budget to begin ($1,000 per month), with potential budget inc

The AF Project: St. Petersburg, FL

An open invitation to all Florida Affiliate Owners: my well-regarded (and free) four-hour AF Project Business Seminar 1.0 will be at SPSC CrossFit on August 6th.

You are welcome (and encouraged) to attend, and I hope you'll be there.

Don't let the price fool you — the AF Project 1.0 is a deep dive into the methods I use with my one-on-one and on-site consulting clients to build revenue, improve sales, and professionalize gym operations, and it is in-depth enough to be fully actionable for improving your situation.

To learn more (and to register), just visit http://gilsonconsultinggroup.com/seminars/

P.S., I'm also doing Seminar 2.0 at SPSC the next day; 1.0 on Saturday and 2.0 on Sunday. It's a great way to get the full download back-to-back and only travel once. The 2.0 isn't free, but it's a full-on crash course in professionalizing the gym. All the info is at the link.

I'm stoked to announce that the AF Project is back on the road for 2016, and there will be four opportunities to attend this year (beginning in August).

The AF Project is a two-day business Seminar, a total of 13 hours aimed at providing Affiliates with the tools they need to run professionally, couched in the psychology of member recruiting and retention and the tenets of virtuous coaching.

I created it to arm Affiliates to compete successfully in a very crowded space.

I created it as a counterbalance to the non-specific advice out there, the business "gimmicks" aimed at the CrossFit Community.

I created it to help well-intentioned, intelligent trainers learn what they don't know about metrics-based management, marketing, and creating business models that achieve their objectives, both personal and financial.

The first day, AF Project 1.0, is an absolutely free (and very well-regarded) four-hour Seminar, slammed full of useful, actionable information.

The second day, AF Project 2.0, is a nine-hour, pay-to-play Seminar, that delves deeper, with a literal step-by-step on professionalizing the gym (along with the tools to do so).

My recommendation: attend both. If you can't be there for Day Two make sure you make it to the 1.0 — I've never had a single Affiliate regard it as anything other than time well spent.

Here's the Schedule:

AF Project 1.0 Sessions (Saturday)

St. Petersburg, FL — SPSC CrossFit, August 6th, 1 p.m.
Toronto, ON, Canada — CrossFit AIO, September 24th, 1 p.m.
Charlotte, NC — CrossFit Charlotte, October 22nd, 1 p.m.
Bridgeport, PA — CrossFit King of Prussia, December 3rd, 1 p.m.

AF Project 2.0 Sessions (Sunday)

St. Petersburg, FL — SPSC CrossFit, August 7th, 9 a.m.
Toronto, ON, Canada — CrossFit AIO, September 25th, 9 a.m.
Charlotte, NC — CrossFit Charlotte, October 23nd, 9 a.m.
Bridgeport, PA — CrossFit King of Prussia, December 4th, 9 a.m.

To register for the AF Project 1.0: http://gilsonconsultinggroup.com/af-project-seminar-10

To register for the AF Project 2.0: http://gilsonconsultinggroup.com/af-project-seminar-20

The AF Project: Newton, MA

A quick heads up for those interested:

My well-regarded (and free) three-hour AF Project Business Seminar 1.0 is in Newton, MA (at CrossFit City Line) on December 12th.

This is my first time in New England since the 1.0 at Everproven last spring, and I'm stoked to be back home.

The AF Project 1.0 is a deep dive into the methods I use to evaluate and improve businesses (both my own and those I work with). The feedback has been unanimously positive, and I know you'll get a lot of insight out of it.

To learn more and to register: http://afproject.jongilson.com/seminars

P.S., I'm also doing Seminar 2.0 at City Line the next day; 1.0 on Saturday and 2.0 on Sunday. It's a great way to get the full download back-to-back and only travel once. The 2.0 isn't free, but it's a full-on crash course in professionalizing the gym. All the info is at the link.

Seminars The AF Project offers Basic and Advanced Business Seminars, created to help gym owners implement intelligent, actionable plans to grow their gyms. Both Seminars 1.0 and 2.0 are extremely detailed, and provide real, concrete tools for increasing financial performance and personal satisfaction. Semi…

A damn cool phone call this morning...

Talked with Jared (name changed to protect privacy, all other details accurate), who took the AF Project Seminar 2.0 in March.

At the time, his gym was running a monthly net loss of $10,000 on $18,000 in revenue.

Three months later, after shutting down several programs that weren't contributing to profitability (analyzed using our ARCM framework), implementing our prescribed member retention protocol, and putting our managerial metrics package in place, he's at breakeven on $30,000 in revenue.

In other words, he increased profitability by $120,000 annually, implementing things he learned during a nine-hour, $399 Seminar. That's what you call return on investment.

Stoked to have made that difference. Truly stoked, and hope to do it for more people. Here are the upcoming Seminar 2.0s.

Montreal, Canada, Reebok CrossFit YUL, August 2nd, 9 a.m.
Boulder, CO, Integral CrossFit, September 19th, 9 a.m.
Sumner, WA, Rainier CrossFit, October 3rd, 9 a.m.
Virginia Beach, VA, CrossFit Unparalleled, October 10th, 9 a.m.
Toronto, Canada, CrossFit Firepower, November 8th, 9 a.m.

For more information on the AF Project Seminar 2.0: http://afproject.jongilson.com/af-project-seminar-2.0

To my friends who own Affiliates in Montreal and Toronto:

My well-regarded (and absolutely free) three hour AF Project Business Seminar 1.0 is coming to Canada. I'd love it if you could join me.

I'll be in Montreal on August 1st at Reebok CrossFit YUL, and in Toronto on November 7th at Reebok CrossFit FirePower.

To learn more and to register: http://afproject.jongilson.com/seminars

Practical advice from people who have been there. Ben Bergeron, Jon Gilson, Amy Ferro, Rick Martinez, and Jason Ackerman on the business of running a CrossFit Affiliate in this 20+ video series:

http://www.jongilson.com/business-panel/

Videos The Affiliate Project helps gym owners grow their businesses with practical, actionable advice. Free articles, tools, and digital downloads.

Three new locations added to the AF Project 2.0 Business Seminar:

Barberton, OH
Boulder, CO
Virginia Beach, VA

Here's the full calendar for 2015:

Barberton, OH, Crossfit Legacy, August 8th, 9 a.m.
Boulder, CO, Integral CrossFit, September 19th, 9 a.m.
Sumner, WA, Rainier CrossFit, October 3rd, 9 a.m.
Virginia Beach, VA, CrossFit Unparalleled, October 10th, 9 a.m.

To learn more (and to register), visit: http://afproject.jongilson.com/af-project-seminar-2.0

AF Project Business Seminar 2.0 AF Project Business Seminar 2.0 is an advanced, day-long course on building a better gym. Improve sales and retention, learn financial management and inbound marketing. Dates and locations listed.

The ARCM metric (and why, as a gym owner, you should care):

Read concrete strategies for growing revenue in the gym via this key number: http://articles.jongilson.com/articles/growing-revenue-in-the-gym

Growing Revenue in the Gym: The Power of ARCM Levers Learn your options for growing revenue in your gym without adding to overhead via one key metric: ARCM.

I'm now convinced that Member Retention is the number one problem confronting CrossFit gyms today. Often, we're losing members as fast as we're gaining them.

I've spent the last several months creating, refining, and testing solutions to the problem. The result: "The Psychology of Member Retention: Patterns and Solutions for CrossFit Gyms"

Here's the link. I hope it helps: http://articles.jongilson.com/articles/psychology-retention-patterns-and-solutions-for-crossfit-gyms

The Psychology of Member Retention: Patterns and Solutions for CrossFit Gyms The gym owner's guide to understanding why members quit (and what to do about it).

The AF Project 1.0 Seminar at EverProven CrossFit was an epic good time. Thanks to everyone who came out on Saturday. I'm proud of you guys, and stoked for the future.

It's time for Affiliate Owners to think differently.

It's time for us to acquire the skills we need to compete successfully at the highest levels of the fitness industry. It's time we acquire the hard knowledge of business success. It's time we learn to win.

I've spent the last year and a half developing the AF Project Business Seminar 2.0 to help us do just that.

The entire curriculum is geared toward teaching Affiliate Owners what it takes to thrive in a world saturated with competition, teaching them to operate above the level of those who would like nothing more than to put them out of business, teaching them the real skills inherent in running a successful small business.

It's solid, and an entirely different approach to the traditional fitness industry Seminar.

Please take three minutes to watch the video (if you're short on time, skip to :58 seconds) and understand what we've built with the 2.0. If you're able, make the time to attend. It's worth every second (and every dollar).

Click this link to see dates and locations (and to get your spot at the Seminar): http://afproject.jongilson.com/af-project-seminar-2.0

2015 Locations include:
Jacksonville, FL
Brooklyn, NY
Madison, WI
San Antonio, TX
Sumner, WA

Video: http://youtu.be/adchS3Ih6aQ

Jon Gilson - The AF Project 2.0 Jon Gilson gives us an overview of the AF Project 2.0 Seminars and presents a call to action for small functional fitness business owners. Sign up for the AF...

"Despite being involved in CF for over 10 years and owning a box for 8 years, there were a few things I needed to dial in. Your seminar gave me focus. So many business seminars I have attended (and business coaches I have employed) were big on info and the "why", but very few hit on the how. Your seminar certainly did this and it was great to walk away with some clearly defined actions to implement. Thanks for making the long journey to the other side of the world." - Jason D., Seminar 2.0 Attendee

Learn more about attending a 2.0 Seminar (and do something awesome for your business): http://afproject.jongilson.com/af-project-seminar-2.0

CrossFit Frankston, just outside Melbourne, Victoria (Australia) is one of the nicest gyms on the planet, bar none, and home to one of the most outstanding (and humble) CrossFitters I know.

Thanks to Rob Forte and his team for hosting the AF Project Seminar 2.0 and letting us have run of the place. It was epic.

This was the fourth stop on our seven seminar tour of Australia, and one of the best days I've ever spent teaching. Thanks for making it awesome!

Launching new classes at the gym this year? Adding targeted programs is a solid way to grow membership (provided you do it correctly).

Read "Selling Gym Memberships the Smart Way" for an education on targeting new clients quickly and effectively (with a step-by-step guide for getting it done). It's a profitable way to spend the next ten minutes:

http://articles.jongilson.com/articles/selling-gym-memberships-the-smart-way

The Targeted Program: Selling Gym Memberships the Smart Way A step-by-step guide to creating targeted programs, allowing you to grow revenue and sell gym memberships without discounting.

A few days ago, I received an email from an Affiliate Owner in Illinois asking for my help. He's looking to take his business from part-time to full-time, he's unsure of next steps, and he's scared as hell.

By way of help, I wrote him an article on taking the leap, a step-by-step guide on becoming a full-time entrepreneur, based from the lessons I learned in my journey from bank teller to gym manager to CEO.

There's a lot here that goes against the grain, that forsakes speed for safety, but I know it's the correct path, and I hope it helps you move forward.

http://articles.jongilson.com/articles/taking-the-leap-becoming-an-entrepreneur

Taking the Leap: Becoming a Full-Time Entrepreneur Becoming an entrepreneur: how to make the leap from part-time business owner to full-time entrepreneur (without crashing and burning).

From a visitor, some kind words:

"Came across your article 'Creating a Gym Website that Turns Visitors Into Clients' and felt compelled to reach out and say thank you. I've been a CrossFitter going on 6 years now and couldn't agree more that the majority of affiliate site designs are outdated and lack the planning and design that any business needs to succeed in today's online world.

It was refreshing to see someone speak to the design side of running a box and offer some guidance to the community. Just wanted to let you know I dug the article and appreciated the advice. If there's anything I can ever help you with please give me a shout." - Andrew N.

Learn to create blog content that actually matters, with a step-by-step guide for turning readership into converted sales: http://articles.jongilson.com/articles/content-is-king-the-gym-owners-step-by-step-guide-to-blogging

Content is King: The Gym Owner's Step-by-Step Guide to Blogging A gym owner's step-by-step guide to creating a fitness blog: what to write, how to write it, and how to avoid writers' block along the way.

Inbound marketing is low-cost, effective, and easily learned. It may be the best tool (you're not currently using) to get new clients.

Check out my latest article for a five-step primer: http://blog.jongilson.com/articles/inbound-marketing-for-crossfit-gyms

We're taking the AF Project to Australia for the debut of Business Seminar 2.0, a full-blown immersion in creating a better business.

We'll be making stops in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane with a six-hour session that will change the way you conduct business, guaranteed.

Learn more, and share with those that would benefit: http://www.jongilson.com/australia-seminar-series/

Australia Seminar Series For three weeks in January, we're bringing the AF Project to Australia, with stops in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

The AF Project Business Seminar 1.0, delivered by Jon Gilson, is free (and extremely useful).

Here are the upcoming dates:

Madison, WI, CrossFit Recursive, Dec. 6th, 1 p.m.
Saddle Brook, NJ, CrossFit ACT, Dec. 13th, 1 p.m.
Dover, NH, CrossFit Everproven, Feb. 7th, 1 p.m.
Virginia Beach, VA, CrossFit Unparalleled, Feb. 21st, 1 p.m.
Boulder, CO, Integral CrossFit, March 14th, 1 p.m.
Barberton, OH, CrossFit Legacy, April 11th, 1 p.m.

We deliver an act-now education, teaching Affiliate Owners to use metrics and financial data to run a better business. You'll get insights on improving your digital presence, increasing public awareness of your business, getting more clients, and keeping the clients you already have.

This stuff works.

Join the 400+ gym owners who have already been through the FREE course. Register at http://afproject.jongilson.com/af-project-seminar-1.0

AF Project Seminar 1.0 Our Basic Seminar is absolutely FREE, and well worth the time spent. Don't let the price fool you; you'll get an in-depth, actionable education on using metrics and financial data to run a better business, coupled with insights on improving your digital presence, increasing public awareness of your…

Maybe the most immediately useful book I've ever purchased. It's guided many of my decisions over the past three years. Just buy it.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Measure-Anything-Intangibles-Business/dp/0470539399

How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business Anything can be measured. This bold assertion is the key to solving many problems in business and life in general. The myth that certain things can't be measured is a significant drain on our nation's economy, public welfare, the environment, and even national security. In fact, the chanc...

There's just no substitute for showing up. From my last on-site client:

"Jon looked at our business for three days, wasting no time from the moment he arrived until the time he departed. We covered everything in depth, from the front desk to financials to business development. He took a look at me, my staff, my website, my financials and my leadership.

We developed a step-by-step plan for action, and a series of one-time lists that were easy to follow and implement. We now understand what we need to do to work a little less and enjoy life a little more.

We can’t say enough."

— Greg S., On-Site Consulting Client, Florida

If you're interested, check out what it takes to get me to your gym: http://www.jongilson.com/onsite-consulting

Your critics may not count, but you owe it to yourself, your achievements, your pursuit to reserve seats for them. Spend 22 minutes and find out why: http://99u.com/videos/20052/brene-brown-stop-focusing-on-your-critics

Brené Brown: Why Your Critics Aren’t The Ones Who Count One of the most underrated parts of the creative process is remaining vulnerable says New York Times bestselling author Brenè Brown in this moving 99U talk.

Thinking about discounting your memberships? I wouldn't, and here's why: http://www.jongilson.com/blog/2014/10/6/on-discounting

On Discounting One of the Affiliates that I mentor asked me if he should do a LivingSocial deal upon opening his new gym. My response: "Don't do it. This is low-quality revenue with uncertain staying power. You want clients that come, pay full price, and never leave. With LivingSocial (and Groupon and all the rest…

On October 25th, I stopped by Forge Fitness: Home of CrossFit Chili in Rochester, NY, and found an Affiliate Owner who was willing to let me hoon his Subaru WRX STi around the parking lot at speed. Rad.

I also met a crew of awesome coaches and trainers who are committed to furthering their collective success. It was awesome to see; the vibe was amazing.

Thanks for attending and making my day, guys. I truly hope you walked away with something valuable.

Best,

Jon

"Work for what you believe in.

While this sounds like dull inspiration, a platitude forever ruined by a faceless battalion of high school guidance counselors, it is the most important principle of all, an action statement you should tattoo on your chest.

When you find something that resonates with you, pursue it with all your heart.

You will always know what is wrong with the thing you believe in and what might be done to fix it. In knowing, you acquire the duty to act. This begets purpose; the great-grandfather of happiness, the reason men and women will pursue a vocation faithfully and without pause until the end of their days.." - Jon Gilson

Read the rest of 'The Secret to Happiness": http://www.jongilson.com/blog/2014/11/7/the-secret-to-happiness

The Secret to Happiness At 34, stuck somewhere between being young and being old, I believe I’ve discovered the secret to happiness. A brave thing, claiming “the secret” to anything, yet if one’s principles are based in empathy, morality, and a keen understanding of the human condition, it’s hard not to believe one has st…

To my friends who own Affiliates in Colorado, I'm stoked to roll out a new stop on the AF Project Seminar Calendar. We'll be teaching at Integral CrossFit on March 14th, courtesy of my friend Jim Pascucci.

Plan to come to Boulder, and we'll get some serious work going.

Learn more and register www.jongilson.com/seminars. I hope to see you there.

The rest of the tour schedule:

St. Charles, MO, CrossFit TNT, November 8th, 1:00 p.m.
Madison, WI, CrossFit Recursive, Dec. 6th, 1 p.m.
Saddle Brook, NJ, CrossFit ACT, Dec. 13th, 1 p.m.
Dover, NH, CrossFit Everproven, Feb. 7th, 1 p.m.
Virginia Beach, VA, CrossFit Unparalleled, Feb. 21st, 1 p.m.
Boulder, CO, Integral CrossFit, March 14th, 1 p.m.