A business that pays its own bills, funds its own dreams, and builds loyal customers. That’s freedom. That’s success.
Dilip Kumar
Such a terrific line! I wish I had come up with it.
For the longest time, I’ve been looking for a way articulate why we are happy running one gym in a quiet corner by the beach in Madras and a large online service. And we are not looking for a second location. And most definitely not trying to franchise etc.
The freedom to explore is such a powerful motivator. We do some incredibly irrational things that most businesses would not:
1. The gym is locked for 18 out of 24 hours a day for clients. The 6 hours we are open we run a service run by coaches. We work only during peak hours. We try and turn every hour that we work into a peak hour.
2. We are constantly upgrading our space with new equipment and iterating on existing equipment. Clients don’t ask for this. We do it because we have better ideas that are worth acting upon.
3. We only have monthly memberships. Clients, old or new, pay us for a month at a time. If they don’t enjoy how we coach, they walk away. They don’t pay for what they don’t use. And if we do our job, we get paid every month.
4. No torn upholstery, no bent or rusted barbells and a weight tree that ensures no queues for equipment.
5. Weird bets on novel equipment that you won’t find elsewhere. Our coaching feeds into our equipment fabrication. And our equipment feeds into coaching choices. Our push up and pull up progressions are nuanced and ahead of the curve. And we’ve got 10-12 ways to squat to find the most comfy way to progress the client. Few gyms have 5 glute-ham raise stations.
Some of these choices are counter-intuitive and leave money on the table or burn it in a welding workshop for a better experience for clients and coaches. Short term returns be damned.
Dilip Kumar
Such a terrific line! I wish I had come up with it.
For the longest time, I’ve been looking for a way articulate why we are happy running one gym in a quiet corner by the beach in Madras and a large online service. And we are not looking for a second location. And most definitely not trying to franchise etc.
The freedom to explore is such a powerful motivator. We do some incredibly irrational things that most businesses would not:
1. The gym is locked for 18 out of 24 hours a day for clients. The 6 hours we are open we run a service run by coaches. We work only during peak hours. We try and turn every hour that we work into a peak hour.
2. We are constantly upgrading our space with new equipment and iterating on existing equipment. Clients don’t ask for this. We do it because we have better ideas that are worth acting upon.
3. We only have monthly memberships. Clients, old or new, pay us for a month at a time. If they don’t enjoy how we coach, they walk away. They don’t pay for what they don’t use. And if we do our job, we get paid every month.
4. No torn upholstery, no bent or rusted barbells and a weight tree that ensures no queues for equipment.
5. Weird bets on novel equipment that you won’t find elsewhere. Our coaching feeds into our equipment fabrication. And our equipment feeds into coaching choices. Our push up and pull up progressions are nuanced and ahead of the curve. And we’ve got 10-12 ways to squat to find the most comfy way to progress the client. Few gyms have 5 glute-ham raise stations.
Some of these choices are counter-intuitive and leave money on the table or burn it in a welding workshop for a better experience for clients and coaches. Short term returns be damned.