Geronimo Unfiltered

Hosted by Geronimo Unfiltered

Business Entrepreneurship Health Fitness

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173

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Most studio owners decide to open their fitness and wellness businesses because they want to help people and add more meaning into their lives. Their heart is in the right place, but scaling a profitable business that feels incredible to own and run is trickier than ever before. So where they get stuck is no one has ever shown them how to run a wildly successful business, without the overwhelm and chaos. Plus, they’re doing it all alone. Until now. Welcome to The Geronimo Unfiltered Podcast for ambitious boutique studio owners who are allergic to average and know they’re capable of more. They’re just missing the HOW. I’m your host Doza, CEO and Founder of The Geronimo Academy... And together with my crew and my community of owners and managers who are the doers and the implementers, we are on a mission to pioneer a better way to own and operate a health and fitness business, while building a life you love, not hate. So, if you’re ready to push your boundaries, level up your money, meaning and impact & stop doing it all alone… then you’re in the right place ... This is going to be raw and unfiltered, zero bullshit. So take a deep breath, strap yourself in, and let’s get started.

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August 11, 202635 min

Never Chase Clients Again With This Million Dollar Studio Hack

Grab the free Avatar Workbook, write your first draft down, then sharpen it with our Avatar Creator bot. And if everyone keeps telling you you're killing it, but your revenue hasn't moved in two months and you know there's more in you, book a discovery call and let's find out what's actually stalling it. Follow Geronimo Unfiltered: ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠ Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠ YouTube⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠ Ryan and I are taking over the pod to fix the biggest problem we see in studios: you think you know who you're for, and what you've actually got is a demographic. Every owner we meet swears they know their avatar. Then they say it out loud and it's "35 to 45 year old mums." That's a census field, not an avatar. And it's exactly why the ads feel like shouting into a crowded room of people who don't care, because if your avatar is everyone, it's no one. We ran this exercise as a live workshop this week and watched owners articulate who they're actually for, some for the first time ever. The messages were still coming in that night saying it finally clicked. So we're walking you through the same six steps we take every studio inside the academy through, in about the same 30 minutes we spend doing it with our clients. And here's the kicker: none of it has anything to do with what you do inside your gym. Pen and paper for this one, it's a writer downer. In this episode you'll hear: Why specific is not narrow, and how actively repelling the wrong people is what fills your studio with the right ones The six questions that uncover the fear your best members have never said out loud (the depth of your conversations determines the depth of your pockets) A live role play that starts at "I want more Pilates coaching" and ends at "I want to know I could protect my daughter," and why nobody buys your methodology The cheap-money trap: what uni student deals did to Doza's F45 (churn three times a year, and they crowded out the members he actually wanted) The one-line hook template that positions you as a category of one, plus the cover-your-logo test to check you've nailed it Loved this one? Binge this next: your message is only half the machine, so hear why ads flop even when the avatar is right in "⁠10x Your Leads in 2025: Why Your Ads Aren't Working (And What To Do Instead)⁠" And when you're ready to do this properly, this is the exact process we use to take owners from stuck at the same revenue two months running to their first 20k month, then 40, then beyond 100k, without burnout. ⁠Book your discovery call here⁠ CHAPTERS 00:00:00 You don't have an avatar, you have a demographic 00:04:59 Specific is not narrow (meet Stuck Sam) 00:07:53 Tony and Nat: the two avatars that built a million dollar gym 00:10:00 Step 1: Mine your best members (and the TAM check) 00:13:57 Step 2: Understand their pain, six questions deep 00:16:04 Sidebar: the uni student trap 00:19:53 Step 3: Give them a name 00:21:56 Step 4: From pain to promised land 00:24:41 Live role play: what she actually wants 00:27:10 Excuses and refusals (and how to weaponise them) 00:29:14 Step 5: Why here, not there 00:31:57 Step 6: Create the hook 00:33:26 The cover-your-logo test 00:36:12 Recap and your next move

August 4, 20261 hr 15 min

Back Yourself Before You’re Ready (to build a $1M studio)

Everyone tells you the studio's going great. Meanwhile you've been rehearsing one conversation with one staff member in the shower for three weeks. If that's you, this episode was made for you. 👉 Grab Annelise's workbook and write the shit down as you listen: https://bit.ly/p-the-studio-owners-workbook-for-backing-yourself 👉 Then book your free discovery call and let's look at what's actually keeping you stuck: https://bit.ly/p-your-studio-check-up Follow Geronimo Unfiltered:⁠Spotify ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ YouTube⁠⁠ Instagram⁠ Communication coach Annelise joins Sophie and me to unpack why the scariest parts of running a studio, the tough conversations, the camera, the sales calls, have nothing to do with speaking at all. Annelise grew up a shy kid with a speech impediment and went through speech therapy. Now she's got 15 years of training people to speak behind her and delivers keynotes on stages in the US. I know that climb personally, because I had a hectic stutter as a kid myself, and Sophie was so quiet when she trained at my studio that members genuinely asked if she was on mute. None of us got here by finding confidence. We built it, rep by rep, like a muscle. Annelise reckons the real blocker is the fear of being perceived. It's the same fear behind the conversation you keep putting off, the camera you keep avoiding, and the sales call you keep fumbling. She walks us up the ladder she takes every client through, from desire to discipline to evidence to trust, and shows why you already coach your members through this exact process every day. You just haven't turned it on yourself yet. In this episode you'll hear: The banana bread trap: why one botched conversation convinces you you're "just not a leader" and what to do instead Three questions that turn confrontation into conversation: "help me understand", "what would it take" and "would it be helpful if" Why saving the big moments for the big moments is exactly why you're shit at them The evidence list: a two-minute Monday morning habit that changes how you walk into your business "Learn to love all doors": the lesson from Annelise's dad that rewires how you handle rejection, on sales calls and cancellations alike If this one hit a nerve, queue up "Why Outsourcing your Confidence is the FASTEST Way to Close your Business" next. It's one of our most downloaded episodes ever, and it's the same wound from a different angle. And if you're done borrowing confidence, book your free discovery call. Sophie went from members asking if she was on mute to coaching hundreds of studio owners, and I went from a kid in speech therapy to a sold-out room of 300. The reps work. Let's map yours: ⁠https://bit.ly/p-your-studio-check-up⁠ CHAPTERS 00:00:00 The accidental leader problem 00:04:02 Your fear has nothing to do with speaking 00:07:47 My stutter, Toastmasters and The King's Speech 00:13:29 Three frameworks for hard team conversations 00:20:43 Stop saving the big moments for the big moments 00:23:00 Desire, discipline, evidence, trust 00:24:37 "I'm not a runner": the 1k lesson 00:30:28 Writing your evidence list 00:36:11 Borrowed confidence and finding your leadership voice 00:44:30 Sales calls and the fear of rejection 00:46:16 Learn to love all doors 00:53:12 When cancellations feel personal 00:56:35 Rapid fire: speaking up, firing and being on camera 01:12:06 Three Monday morning steps

July 28, 202642 min

The 3 Systems You Need To Go from Reactive to $115k Months

Everyone tells you you're killing it. But your week is back-to-back fires, the business only works because you're holding it up, and deep down you know this pace has a price. Book your free discovery call and let's map out what your studio actually needs next: https://bit.ly/p-your-studio-check-up Follow Geronimo Unfiltered: ⁠Spotify ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ YouTube⁠⁠ Instagram⁠ Connor built five businesses by 28 and it nearly killed him. This is the story of one cardiac ward, two business sales, and the three systems that turned Athletic Culture into a $115k a month gym. He was doing 16-hour days and hadn't taken a real holiday in ten years when his heart gave out last August. A hole in his heart nobody picked up at birth, two weeks on a cardiac ward surrounded by 70-year-olds, then open heart surgery. Most owners would have used that story as the reason to quit. Connor used it as the reason to redesign everything. He sold the pasta bar from his hospital bed, let go of a cafe, and went all in on the gym he calls his baby. Three months after surgery his partner sent him a video of my heart attack, he inquired that day, and signed the same afternoon. Eight months later Athletic Culture has gone from stuck and reactive to $115k months, and he hit a goal we set for the end of this cycle before we were even halfway through it. Me, Connor and Sophie get into exactly what changed, and then his manager Taylor takes the chair to tell the owner's side of the story back to us. In this episode you'll hear: How Connor built a $100k a month gym with no sales system, no leads and no paid ads, and why that run was always going to hit a ceiling The retention play that turned the slowest weeks of the year into his biggest Fitness Passport month ever The playbooks and structure Taylor now runs, so problems get sorted before they become fires How to prove your culture instead of just claiming it, plus the hiring rule that protects it: character over qualifications, no dickheads What Taylor says owners get wrong the moment they finally hire a manager Loved this one? Binge this next: The Hidden Reasons Your Culture Sucks and How to Build One Built to Win. Connor says culture is his secret sauce. That episode is how you build yours on purpose. Connor went from a cardiac ward to $115k months in under a year, working fewer hours than he ever has. If you're ready to find out what that looks like for your studio, book your free discovery call here: ⁠https://bit.ly/p-your-studio-check-up⁠ Chapters 00:00:00 Five businesses, 16-hour days, then a cardiac ward at 28 00:07:25 Why he didn't quit, he redesigned everything instead 00:11:21 Selling the pasta bar and the second cafe 00:15:00 System 1: sales 00:16:12 Culture is king, and how to actually prove it 00:19:33 How a 21-year-old ends up with five businesses 00:26:05 System 2: retention and the Survivor Series 00:27:57 System 3: playbooks, structure, no more firefighting 00:28:44 The heart attack video that brought him to Geronimo 00:34:40 Taylor takes the chair: the manager's view 00:41:06 The letting-go conversation every owner needs to hear 00:47:05 The 3-2-1 goal game: naming the November number 00:49:58 Final advice for owners and managers

July 21, 202641 min

The Studio Growth Playbooks that Took a Dog Training Business from $50k-$100k/mo

Everyone tells you your business is different too. Your market, your model, your members, your suburb. If that story is the reason you haven't fixed your intro offer or built your rollover process, grab the free Vision Book Template that Nath used to rebuild his business: https://bit.ly/p-vision-book-template And if you want to see exactly how this playbook maps onto your studio, book a discovery call here: https://bit.ly/p-your-studio-check-up Follow Geronimo Unfiltered: Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube Instagram A dog training business joined a gym growth academy and doubled to 100k months in six months. This is the episode that kills the "my business is different" excuse for good. Every week someone tells me their market is unique, their clients are special, and the model wouldn't work for them. Then Nath called my sales team, said "I'm not your avatar, but I want in," and joined a coaching program built for gym owners with a dog training business. My first reaction was to ring my sales team and ask what the hell they were doing. Six months later he's doubled the business on the exact playbook we teach studio owners, with nothing watered down or adapted for dogs. What almost stopped him had nothing to do with the industry, and everything to do with what he was refusing to let go of. That part of the story is the reason to listen to the whole thing. In this episode you'll hear: The exact model: a four week Calm Dog Kickstart, a 70% rollover rate, and a $148 a week membership (yes, for dogs) The moment he rang his coach to quit at 75k months, and the answer that turned it into 56% growth in two months The identity shift from doing the work to owning the business, and what was actually underneath the refusal to let go The 70% rule in action: he launched his vision book, lost four of his twelve staff in a week, and kept going anyway Why "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" is a lie, in dogs and in business owners (including a live fix for Doza's whinging Labradoodle) If this one hit, binge this next: STOP Playing Small. It's the other half of this story, because Nath's real unlock wasn't the kickstart or the rollover process, it was refusing to stay at the level everyone said was already good. Nath came in at 50k months running a dog training business, and the same frameworks took him past 100k with a mission to save 10,000 dogs. If he can do that in an industry we'd never coached before, imagine what the playbook does inside an actual studio. Book your discovery call here: ⁠https://bit.ly/p-your-studio-check-up⁠ CHAPTERS 00:00:00 The dog training business that broke our avatar 00:02:03 "I'm not your avatar, but I want in" 00:04:50 The business model: entry points and the Calm Dog Kickstart 00:07:47 Inside the $148 a week membership 00:11:31 Recap: 50k to 75k, then the bottleneck 00:12:28 The call with Rob that nearly ended it 00:14:47 Why he couldn't let go: the identity underneath 00:16:46 PSA: "my business is different" 00:20:58 The mission: 10,000 dogs 00:22:20 The 70% rule: losing a third of the team 00:24:57 What's next: the 10k Dogs podcast 00:26:33 Live demo: fixing Duke's whinging 00:28:44 Burnout, Separation Sunday and family 00:33:55 Moving the goal: 300k months 00:37:08 Business principles, not business models

July 14, 202644 min

The Forcing Function: From Backwards for a Year to Best Month in a Decade

If nothing is technically wrong with your studio but nothing is really moving either, that's the exact position this episode is about. Book a discovery call and I'll tell you what I see. Follow the show: Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube Instagram Hassan had four weeks to move a gym he'd been in for ten years. He lost 24 members, went backwards for a year, and then recorded his best month in a decade. He wasn't in trouble before the eviction. The gym was healthy, the community was strong, the reviews were good, and people found him because they'd been driving past him for years. He was comfortable. And he sat in that comfort for six years, growing on word of mouth and a Google rating, right up until a developer activated a demolition clause and took the choice away from him. He told me straight out that he needed the forcing function. Without it, he'd still be there, still fine, still not moving. Sophie and I take him through what actually turned it around, and none of it is a hack. It's a media-first approach that stopped him being invisible, a decision to stop dabbling and start showing up like a professional, and a weekly ritual that gave him direction. Then we do the maths live on stage and prove that the goal he thinks is enormous is eight leads a week. In this episode you'll hear: What it feels like to lose members and momentum at the same time, and why the momentum costs more. Why he kept doing exactly what had always worked, and why it stopped working overnight. The moment the content flywheel clicked, and what he changed the following week. The three beliefs a buyer has to reach before they'll ever call you, and how content moves all three. Why the comfortable studio owner is in more danger than the one in crisis. Chapters: 00:00:00 Four weeks to get out 00:02:05 Losing 24 members in a five-minute move 00:03:24 The twelve months of grinding that didn't work 00:04:52 Coming in skeptical and broke 00:05:55 Best month in ten years 00:08:17 Fix one: going media-first 00:10:17 The content flywheel moment 00:15:30 The three beliefs every buyer needs 00:18:05 Live maths: 35 members down to eight leads a week 00:21:18 Cost per lead, price, and why he's underpricing 00:23:26 Fix two: leadership and turning pro 00:32:21 Fix three: clarity, Power 12 and Separation Sunday 00:34:14 Raising the stakes with the people you love 00:38:58 The forcing function, and the love letter to the developer If you liked this one, go back and listen to this: Coming back from ROCK BOTTOM with Travis Young from Reborn. If you want me to get specific about your studio, book a discovery call here.

July 7, 202642 min

How She Went from 9k to 41k By Getting Off the Floor

Everyone told her she was killing it too. Book a free studio check-up and we'll show you the moves between where you are now and a studio that runs without you. Follow the show so you never miss an episode: Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube Instagram From $9k to $41k a month, 100 new members, a full team. And the hardest part wasn't the growth, it was working out who she is on the other side of it. Everyone told Abbey she was killing it. Full classes, high vibes, happy members. She was also up at 3:30am, finishing at 7:30pm, stress rash on her hands, $9k a month against $4k rent. Today her Central Coast CrossFit box, TWA, is at $41k a month. But this one isn't about the revenue. Sophie and I take Abbey somewhere most growth stories skip: what happens to who you are when the business finally works without you. She hit $41k and the ground got shaky, not because the numbers were bad, but because her whole identity was welded to the work. We call it the 40k fuckery. It's an upper-limit problem, and it stalls owners right when they should be flying. In this episode you'll hear: The three moves that took TWA from $9k to $41k a month (and why none were "work harder") Why hours and effort stop equalling growth, and what to focus on instead How Abbey made sales her superpower, then handed it off to her first hire The identity trap that hits studio owners the moment the business starts working How to separate who you are from what you built, so scaling doesn't feel like a crisis If this one landed, go back and listen to Indi's story next. 👉 From Burnt Out to Booked Out: How Indi Took Back Control of Her Studio Abbey went from $9k and burnt out to $41k with a team running the floor. If you want a look at what's between you and that, book a free studio check-up and we'll map your quick-win opportunities. Chapters 0:00:00 "Everyone said you're killing it" (the $9k trap) 0:04:12 The wake-up call: fine is dangerous 0:06:06 Busy as a badge of honour, and the identity shift 0:08:28 Elevate: from trainer to manager to owner 0:13:09 Rewind to $9k a month, doing everything solo 0:14:53 The three moves that changed everything 0:15:50 Fuck free trials: the intro offer that replaced them 0:17:06 The first sale she didn't make 0:22:41 Building the team and the rollover system 0:23:15 Why the room you're in decides how big you think 0:26:37 The identity wobble nobody warns you about 0:29:22 It's not an Abbey problem, it's a design problem 0:31:07 Welcome to the 40k fuckery 0:33:02 The upper limit: self-sabotage near the goal 0:36:41 Where to from here: 250 members and the vision book 0:40:03 Look at the proof: reflecting on how far you've come

June 30, 202644 min

How To Leave The Floor Without Your Gym Falling Apart

Want us to look at your studio and find the quick wins then book a free 15-minute discovery call. Follow the show so you never miss an episode: Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube Instagram Reece and Summer own a studio that's just hit 0% churn at 200-plus members, with Reece finally off the floor after 11 years and a million-dollar studio on track for their one-year anniversary. In this episode I sit down with both of them to break down exactly how they did it. Everyone says they want to work on the business instead of in it. Almost nobody does, because it was never really a time problem. It's that the whole business lives in the owners' heads, and getting it out means becoming a different kind of owner. They did it one system at a time. Killed free trials. Installed a paid intro. Learned the sales script so Reece could hand it off. Brought on a VA and got 20 hours a week back. Built a retention system the whole team runs. And somewhere in there, Reece stopped seeing himself as "just a PT" while Summer kept the vision and the systems pointed at where they're actually going. In this episode you'll hear: Why getting off the floor is an identity shift, not a scheduling fix Why we kill free trials and install a paid intro instead How to learn a sales script so someone else can run it for you The right way to bring on a VA, and the feedback loop that makes it stick The retention system holding a 200-plus member studio at 0% churn Why every member gets allocated to a named trainer The vision book, the Polaroid wall, and the "make yourself proud" standard Why looking at your numbers every week is the unlock, not the threat Reece and Summer's advice for anyone standing where they were a year ago If this one resonated, go back and listen to "The Retention Revolution: What the Top 1% of Studios Are Doing Differently". It's a perfect follow-on. And if your head's spinning and you're thinking "okay, what do I actually do now" - book a free 15-minute discovery call and we'll look at how your studio's going right now and where the quick-win opportunities are. Chapters 00:00:00 12 months in: from burnt out to back-to-back record months 00:02:01 11 years on the floor, and why getting off it isn't about the hours 00:02:40 The first change: delegation and learning to trust the team 00:04:21 Why we killed free trials and installed a paid intro 00:06:05 Learning the sales script (and why it's not about being a closer) 00:08:11 Bringing on a VA: where to start and what to hand over first 00:12:20 Training a VA with playbooks and a feedback loop 00:13:55 The retention systems: going from feel to a real system 00:18:45 The Polaroid wall and 0% churn at 200-plus members 00:20:43 Allocating every member to a trainer: the secret past 350 00:22:17 What "working on the business" actually means 00:23:54 The vision book and the three-year picture 00:28:35 The identity shift from trainer to leader 00:31:52 Leaving for the summit, and what they found on return 00:36:18 What's next: more locations, more impact 00:40:05 The advice: right people, know your numbers, lean in

June 23, 202649 min

How to go from $17k to $55k Per Month Without Running Every Shift

Book a free 15-minute studio review call and we'll look at how you're tracking right now and where the quick-win opportunities are to get you moving faster. FOLLOW THE SHOW: Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube Instagram A year ago Siennah was burnt out, running every shift, and doing 17K a month. Today she's at 55K with 180 members and a studio that runs without her glued to the floor. I got her in for her pod debut to pull apart exactly how she tripled the business in 12 months, while she was still only in her third year of operation. This one's honest. She started in a park dragging her coffee customers to a boot camp, moved into a single-car garage hauling mats in and out every day, and nearly lost the love for the thing she'd built before her mum kicked her up the backside to get coached. We get into the three moves that actually moved the needle, the identity crisis of becoming a leader at 25, and the grit underneath it all. In this episode you'll hear: How Siennah tripled from $17K to $55K/month in 12 months The three stepping stones she points to as the real difference Why getting off the floor meant trusting someone else to run her standard Going from a $20/week trial to a $249 intro that converts ~70% on the phone Why she slept on inductions and what changed when she installed them How an 80% rollover rate became her fastest growth lever Building a model that serves members from age 10 to 95 The identity work behind stepping up as a leader at 25 Why content is the leverage that grows the movement past the four walls Grit, growing pains, and the 24-hour rule for when it all feels too much CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Pod debut: Siennah's in the house 00:00:30 - 17K to 55K in 12 months 00:01:18 - Who she was a year ago 00:02:40 - How the podcast pulled her in 00:08:30 - The three biggest moves she made 00:09:09 - Trusting someone else to run her standard 00:10:17 - Becoming a leader at 25 00:11:55 - From $20/week trial to a $249 paid offer 00:13:53 - The selling shift and 70% conversion 00:14:11 - Why she slept on inductions 00:15:22 - Rollovers, churn and the real accelerator 00:28:06 - Age 10 to 95: the multi-demographic model 00:30:12 - The identity shift 00:33:29 - The million-dollar studio goal 00:35:08 - Content as leverage 00:41:08 - The traits that set the top studios apart 00:42:30 - Grit, growing pains and the 24-hour rule 00:45:43 - Her advice to anyone sitting in "fine" 00:48:39 - Wrap-up If this one landed, go back and binge the episodes on getting off the floor and building a team that runs without you here. And if your head's spinning and you want to know your next move, book a free 15-minute studio review call and we'll find the quick wins together.

June 16, 202651 min

The System That Builds Powerhouse Pilates Instructors for You

Not sure where your studio's leaking time or money? Book a free discovery call with my team here: https://bit.ly/p-your-studio-check-up Follow the show: Spotify Apple Geronimo Unfiltered YouTube Instagram: @thegeronimoacademy Follow our guest, Jade Winter here: https://www.instagram.com/jadewinter/ He built a global reformer Pilates franchise with 130+ studios. No memberships. No free trials. Just one simple model run with relentless consistency. I sat down with Jade Winter to pull apart how he did it, and to get the operating principles any studio owner can steal, whether you do Pilates, strength, or anything in between. We covered the contrarian stuff most people are scared to touch. Why free trials train people not to value you. Why he ditched memberships for prepaid packs and never looked back. And the exact revenue ceiling, what we call the "40K fuckery," where owners hit a wall, dip about 20% for three months, and either learn to lead or burn out. If you've ever felt like you ARE the business instead of owning one, this one's for you. In this episode you'll hear: Why Jade kills the free trial and what he runs instead The prepaid pack model and the 80 to 90% repurchase rate behind it How he solved instructor inconsistency with screens, voiceover, and 100+ hours of training The "don't blame them, train them" rule Why base plus commission beats paying instructors hourly The "$50 of value for $25" test that survives any downturn The wake up call that forced him to build real systems What the top 10% of studios do differently (hint: it's not talent) The one tactical move to make first thing Monday morning CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Meeting on neutral ground 00:02:00 Kill the free trial: why paid intros win 00:03:00 Prepaid packs vs memberships 00:05:49 How the 100-hour instructor model works 00:07:33 The screens and voiceover origin story 00:10:00 Instructor inconsistency: the real enemy 00:19:53 Don't blame them, train them 00:22:24 The 80% conversion benchmark 00:24:30 Base plus commission 00:30:00 Deliver $50 of value, charge $25 00:42:28 The wake up call: being the business vs having one 00:43:46 The "40K fuckery" explained 00:50:52 The Monday morning move 00:53:58 Wrap up If you got something from this, then you need to listen to "Coming back from rock bottom with Travis Young from Reborn." And if your studio's not where you want it, book a free discovery call with my team and we'll map the fix: https://bit.ly/p-your-studio-check-up

June 9, 202624 min

The Playbook System That Grows Your Business While You Rest

How Rod and Jenny went from "close the doors" to a near million-dollar run rate in six months, and the playbook system that now lets them holiday while the business grows. 👉 Want the playbook that gets work off your plate? Grab the Team Handbook Builder GPT: https://bit.ly/p-team-handbook-builder Follow Geronimo Unfiltered Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube: @GeronimoUnfilteredOfficial Instagram: @thegeronimoacademy Most owners think a holiday is a money problem. It's not. It's that the business only works when you're the one running it. Rod and Jenny owned a calisthenics gym in Newcastle. In debt, burnt out, doing everything themselves. Jenny gave Rod an ultimatum: profitable by December, or they close. Six months later they're planning a two-week holiday they call the Japan test. The goal isn't survival while they're gone. It's growth. Ryan breaks down exactly how they did it. The real order of operations, not the highlight reel. In this episode you'll hear: - Why a holiday is a team problem, not a revenue problem - The order Rod and Jenny built their team in, and why sales came first - What a playbook is and how to write one anyone can run in seven days - Why splitting sales from rollovers converts higher - Why hiring a salesperson feels wrong and is your highest-leverage move - How systems beat the "no one does it as well as me" trap - What actually triggers the owner-to-CEO shift - What the Japan test is and how to know you're ready for one Chapters: 00:00:00 Intro and the Japan test 00:03:00 Meet Rod and Jenny: close-the-doors to turnaround 00:05:40 The core constraints holding them back 00:06:30 What a playbook actually is 00:07:30 The trust barrier and letting go 00:09:10 The owner-to-CEO shift 00:11:00 Level two: buying back your time 00:13:50 Mapping the million-dollar team 00:15:25 Why they hired the salesperson first 00:16:00 Owning the rollover number 00:17:45 The dual converter formation 00:20:30 Why sales and rollovers can't be one role 00:22:00 The wins start landing 00:23:40 Six months, start to finish 00:25:00 Your next three steps If you want more like this, go back to "How Newstrength Went From 'Good Enough' to a $1M Run Rate." And if you're ready to write your first playbook, the Team Handbook Builder GPT asks you the questions and pops out the doc: https://bit.ly/p-team-handbook-builder