What makes a great gym owner? Maybe the first thing that comes to your mind is, “knowledge of cheerleading” or “excellent coaching skills.” That’s not actually what comes to mind for me though. I think those things can contribute to the skill set of an owner, but in themselves are not what makes an owner great. In fact, for the past six-and-a-half years, I’ve been mentoring cheer gym owners, and the best ones have a certain skillset. These attributes are commonly shared among some of my most successful and memorable clients over the years, and I’d venture to say, they’re the defining attributes of a great gym owner.

1. A great gym owner is humble. 

In our second year of running the Next Gen Academy, we hosted a conference in Dallas. Over 100 people attended. It was our biggest event to date. However, a few gym owners stood out to me at that conference who will easily make this list. The first was a gym owner out of Texas. She had owned her gym and been the sole operator for more than 20 years. But as she sat in the classes that day, I saw her eagerly taking notes. Her brow would furrow, and I’d later see her stopping the speaker during the breaks to ask questions. 

At the end of the day, she said something I’ll never forget: “I’ve run my gym for over 20 years, but I realized something today. I haven’t grown the way I wanted because for 20 years, I ran it the same way I ran it in year one.” She was eager for growth, even though she might have been able to walk into that room and teach every session out of personal experience. She knew better; her gym had room to grow. She, as an owner, had room to grow. She was the perfect display of humility. She joined our coaching program, the Next Gen Academy, and today, she runs one heck of a program.

2. A great gym owner is willing to take a risk. 

So many gym owners are more worried about the risk than eager for the reward. They’re afraid to increase their prices, change the way they’re running their program or adjust policies for their staff—because though they know it could be so much better, the “wrong way” is more comfortable. In 2015, we changed the way our private lesson program was paid out for coaches. I was terrified to talk to the coaches and explain the changes we’d be making and why we’d be making them. I was sure I’d lose a coach or two. People would be mad. I’d be in an even bigger pickle than the dried up cash flow I was experiencing due to poorly written policies and bad advice. 

But I trusted the process. I had a few staff who were disappointed in the changes. Two even said they wanted to stop teaching private lessons, but within a few weeks, all was back to normal. I was transparent about why I needed to change the policies, and they respected the process. I’ve taken a lot of risks over the years, and I continue to do so every day in one small way or another. I’ve bought a building, started a licensed childcare facility, opened (and closed) a second location, hired full-time staff … the risks we take daily aren’t anything to sneeze at. Great gym owners aren’t risky, but they’re willing to take calculated risks.

3. A great gym owner knows that success isn’t instant. 

At that same event in Dallas, I met a gym owner from Tennessee. She was stubborn. I mean, this lady had an opinion, and she wasn’t afraid for the world to know what it was. At our conference that day, I could see she had pages and pages of notes. She also joined our Academy program, and within a few weeks, we had done two coaching calls. I knew she was going to be my challenge. She’d been in the industry many years and was the pre-COVID expert in virtual private lessons. She was going to be opening her gym in June 2020. 

Not only did the timing of her gym opening pose a unique challenge, but she was incredibly picky about who she wanted to hire. She needed a staff who understood the culture of her program. She needed people who were self-sufficient and smart. I remember her setting huge goals before opening. She said, “I want 80 systems written before opening day.” I knew that was a lofty goal, but I would never discourage someone who is passionate about systems. 

Her first employee, a long-time athlete, was fantastic. After that, she had a series of less-than-stellar employees, one of whom struggled to follow systems. This owner had done her due diligence. She had some of the most detailed systems I had ever seen. In 2020, I visited her gym, and it was clean and inviting. However, the puzzle pieces struggled to fall into place. There wasn’t a good reason either. Over those years, she considered going back to a full-time job. She considered packing up and relocating her gym to a new state closer to family. But in the end, she trusted the process. She once told me that she had vowed to say “yes” to every one of my ideas that year “no matter how stupid they may seem.” (That didn’t offend me. In fact, I died laughing. 😂) 

Today, her gym is incredibly successful. She just moved into a new, huge space. She has a staff who adore her and a true “village” of customers. That sort of success took six years. No matter how instant it should have been with her level of preparation and execution, it didn’t come overnight, and that’s OK, because the staff and community she has built in six years isn’t something that can be built overnight.

4. A great gym owner understands “investment.” 

When I talk to gym owners who are looking to cut costs, or invest in business coaching or a website “after I get a few more kids,” I know they don’t understand “investment.” If you’re a homeowner, I want you to think about your first house. Was it scary to sign your name on a 30-year loan? Probably. Was it painful to come up with a down payment and collateral? Yep. Was it scary to think that if your air conditioning went out, you’d be footing the bill rather than calling a landlord? Mm-hmm. But homeowners all know one thing: Those risks are for something greater. When you own property, you’re not just paying money to a landlord. You’re investing in something that is likely to pay off exponentially in the future. 

No one signs up for a website because they’ve got a couple hundred dollars a month they’d like to see blow away in the wind. They do it because they believe it will be a key factor in growing their gym. A lot of gym owners sacrifice other things—like eating out, nice hotels, and branded gym equipment—for a website. They do this because they believe a website is a great investment in growing their gym. Those who join the Next Gen Academy do so because they know it’s an investment. Those are my kind of people. When you realize your marketing dollars aren’t wasted, but rather, invested, you begin to see new opportunities around every corner.

5. A great gym owner never thinks they’ve got it all figured out. 

I’m the first to tell you that as soon as you think you’ve got it all figured out, you’ll find out you don’t. You’ll go to the gym one day and hear a staff member tell a parent something outside your gym’s policy. You’ll see a Facebook message come across the gym’s account demanding a phone call. You’ll go to your bank account just to see a $500 withdrawal due to a successful customer chargeback. Those who think they’ve got it all figured out and choose to go at it alone on this journey … may the odds be ever in their favor. I wouldn’t want to do this journey alone. I’m a “team” kind of girl. I need other owners who understand the struggle and aren’t afraid to tell me when I’m about to make a big mistake. 

Years ago, I was interested in hiring an all star director from the outside. This person ran a program several hours away from me. Her teams were fantastic. She had a level of skill and execution I didn’t have. I don’t remember how we got on the topic, but she alluded that she’d consider moving for the right offer. I sat down and crafted a job offer that was truly better pay and benefits than I was giving myself at the time. I was willing to move mountains, break policies and risk a lot to have her at our gym. At the time, I had been meeting with two friends who owned gyms in Canada (Riana was one of them). Both advised me that I was making a mistake. The offer had already been made, but here’s what didn’t happen: When the candidate declined, I didn’t go just a little further with my offer (which is actually what I had originally been willing to do). 

Instead, I dropped it entirely and sat back to view the situation from the outside. I had let the love for my cheer program get in the way of my actual purpose for running the gym. I was about to pay a director more than I even paid myself (or my business partner) to ensure we’d be in a position to win big. I would have forsaken my rec program, my preschoolers and my gymnasts simply to win. My gym had been in a really great position at that stage of the game. I’m so grateful I listened to solid advice from these gym owners. It allowed me to re-evaluate my goals and instead, recruit a former part-time coach to come back to the gym in a full-time capacity. He’s now going on eight years back with us, and it was one of the best decisions we have ever made. If I had said, “I know what I’m doing” instead of taking a step back, I don’t think my gym would be in the position it is today. I’m grateful that right when I thought I had it all figured out, I was proven wrong (and to be fair … I hate being wrong.)

Maybe you don’t possess all these qualities. If not, don’t get discouraged. When I tell my 14-year-old she’s wrong about something and her first reaction is, “No. I’m right!” I remember that she gets that from her dear mother. Humility and patience have never been glowing traits of mine, but I’ve been able to learn and adapt over the years. I’ve found great people who have no problem telling me when I’m wrong. In fact, Riana and Shelley have an annual event every June that I can’t seem to get off my calendar. It’s called, “Danielle Was Wrong Anniversary” to remind me of this one time I was wrong about something. (I know, they’re jerks. Riana even made a private Facebook event one year to celebrate it …) But human growth is inevitable. It takes some people many years, and it takes others a much shorter span of time to truly change and grow as a human. If I can do it, anyone can.