Chapter 4 - 1450 and Getting my feet wet with actual ownership

 Chapter 4 - Actual Ownership    

So, I pick this up after the departure from 1908. The new landlord for the 1908 Building, Redds Ferris decided that he wasn't going to return the security deposit over some ticky tack bullshit. I realize now that he realized he could keep it because, I wouldn't know how to fight it. To this day I still think he's a shitbag. 

I opened 1450 the first week of January 2017. I remember checking the income from the final month at 1908 and only grossing $10,500 for the month...I had just signed a lease that was a total of $5500 per month, no other expenses included, with a Personal Guarantee (which I also didn't fully understand) and that was all before I had signed up anyone. My ignorance was definitely bliss but I fully believed in myself so failure was never something that could have happened. On the first day, the first thing that happened was, someone came in and cancelled...It didn't rattle me, but I was so young and dumb that I felt like each client was a friend so, when someone quit, I always took it so personal when I had no right to do so. After the person quit...things improved, and they improved very quickly. The end of the first week I had signed up 7 new members. And by the end of the first month, I had raised revenue from $10,500 to $13,900. I didn't dare pay myself. Not that week, not the week after that.... I didn't pay myself until roughly June of 2017. By that time the gym was consistently grossing between $18,000 - 21,000 with an all-in budget of $9,500 per month. A healthy margin by any standard and in any business that's for sure. I was doing everything...the classes and 90% of the private sessions. Tim was still with me, but I knew he would be leaving at some point in the near future and, he did. It was time for him to move on, he had found himself a woman up in Jersey and the day that he left was the last day I ever saw him (to my knowledge he's doing well enough, but I don't maintain contact. I'm terrible at maintaining relationships). 

I rotated between trainers that would help out but, as I said earlier, it was 90% me. On top of the training duties, I was also trying to navigate the blossoming world of social media and google ad words advertising. The different types of advertising campaigns, strategies to use etc. would eat up a sizeable amount of time. I can't tell you if any of what I did was effective or not. I knew that what I was doing, was getting people in the doors and that's all that mattered to me at that moment. 

Skipping over some of the hilarious training stories from back then, the guerilla marketing stuff I tried, I was having a blast. I was doing what I loved to do, never feeling like I was working, and I was making/building something I could be proud of. Halfway through my lease there at 1450, I had a trial personal training client that came through. Her name was Lauren, she was the Executive Director for DSADE.  I didn't really care; all I knew was she was this little white girl that wanted to "box". I was used to the college sorority crowd coming through so, I figured she would be no different. I started training her, and after a few months she and I were talking one day and she asked me, "would you be willing to do a class for individuals with Down syndrome?" If you know me, I never back down so I said of course. We worked on start date and Lauren put it out to her families and we ended up having our very first boxing class for the DSADE. Needless to say, the feedback was stellar, and we decided to extend it from a single one-time class to 3 months of 1x per week. The class grew and grew, up to 30-40 people at its peak all in a 2800 sq/ft space. But everyone loved it. The parents loved it, the participants loved it. 

The end of the class came, and we announced that it was the final class for a while, to a tidal wave of tears and dismay. Lauren and I talked and decided that rolling it into an official program offered by Knockout would be beneficial for everyone. This decision along with some help from pleading parents and participants, is what spawned one of my greatest creations, Down to Box Inc. 

I was pulling daily 6 am to 8pm workdays Monday - Friday and then 7 am - 12pm on Saturday...And you know what, it never once felt like work to me. I loved every second of it. The freedom, the ownership of something that was mine, and every single day, I was able to help people. Regardless of not paying myself and pulling 70-90 hr weeks I was having the time of my life. Times were good, and the gym just continued to grow. 

Chapter 3 - Ownership and 1450 Capitol Trail

 

    So as I said last week, ole Zach came back into the picture looking for a job while we were at the 1908 Capitol Trail Location. He was a decent enough coach, although he was a lying sack of shit (I didn't know it then). Zach had never competed in a an actual sanctioned fight. He trained around, and according to him, did lots of training and fighting at other gyms. He had a strong LAX background, which I find myself questioning now but, whatever. He had history with Ted, Tim and myself so it appeared to be a good fit. He hopped in and started teaching the cardio classes without a hitch. He could fill a room and was charismatic two of the most important things as a trainer. While he was working there, Brandon (from the failed Nottingham experiment) was also still training. He hadnt screwed us over yet and there was some overlap there between the two of them. A year or so later, we did the Nottingham venture and Brandon was out of the picture. I ended up stepping up and filling the void of skilled instructor while still managing my own personal training schedule (15-20 clients) the advertising, and I was slowly cutting my teeth on the back side of the business. There was a guy named Tim, a real good dude who I learned a lot about exercise science, even though he was a bit strange. He was reliable and never called out. He was very religious and that would sometimes cross over into work which we had to shut down a few times. There are 3 rules in the work place, no politics, no religion, and don't fuck your clientele. He unfortunately had issues with the second one. Cant be leading prayer circles as a Christian before workouts when you have no idea what beliefs other people have. That was a headache. 

The business flourished at the 1908 location. I was making more money then before (still not a lot but, again, I loved what I was doing). But I had ambitions, I wanted more and I figured that more should come in the form of more gyms. Ted agreed however, as a far wiser man then I was at the time, he saw the risk and smartly kept me on track building Newark up. By the time we were nearing our end of lease (3 years after initially moving), Ted told me he was done with Knockout and I needed to buy it. I had no idea how anything of that worked, but I started going around trying to get a bank to give me 100,000. No surprise, no one would even entertain me. I had to dig back into what I learned at school, and put together an actual business plan. So armed with my new "plan" I went back to the banks...and I failed again. This time, strength of credit....I had a good score, 740+ but no real history. All this time, we are inching closer and closer to the end of the lease. I'm frantically searching for new spaces, none of which were in my price range (4-5k/month) that also offered what I was looking for. I finally connected with Alicia Fox from DSM and she opened my eyes, started taking me to some spots to show and advising on how best to approach this. 

Now this entire time Id been driving by this tiny little retail space in "The shoppes of Redmill" center. I knew it was there but there was no way it would work. Too small, too low of ceilings. But as Alicia and I continued to strike out I was left with that tiny little retail space as my final option. Alicia reached out to the opposing agent and talks started...and continued and...finally...someone took a chance on me. They didn't want to lock me into a long term lease (5+) and that was fine, but they gave me a 3 plus 1 year option to renew. I agreed, and worked with Alicia on how a lease actually worked. She knew that I was after the lowest monthly rate possible. She was great, I got 3 months of rent abatement on top of a limited responsibility for HVAC issues ($500 deductible) and we had a good strategy for securing the lowest rate possible. At this point I had 90 days to get out of the 1908 spot. Redds Ferris had bought the spot and made it very clear that he had no interest in having us there. He even screwed Ted and I out of the security deposit once I had vacated the spot claiming that It wasn't left as I had found it (it was. It was just your typical big guy shitting on the smaller guy thing, he's an asshole, whatever).

The final 60 days of the 1908 gym and transition to the 1450 location were, up to that point, the busiest and hardest I had ever worked. I was spending 6am - 9 am at 1450 building the space which included demo of all the walls, removal of tile flooring, installation of 2800/sq/ft of LVP flooring, installation of a shower, new equipment, signage (which is very expensive). Then I'd spend all day at 1908 training my clientele and when we finished for the night I'd go back to 1450 to continue working. My GF (now wife) was there, with her father and family members helping me get that place together in time. The support I got from our families enabled me to get it all done in time and come 1/1/2017, I had managed to pull it off. Ted had realized I wasn't going to be able to secure the $100,000 he was asking for so, he ended up just handing the keys over, we came to a gentlemen's agreement for future endeavors and then I was off on my own. A new business owner, a fledgling entrepreneur...full of ideas and motivation. I finally owned something, I had something to talk about. It was a proud moment indeed...And I had no idea what I was in for. 

Chapter 2 - 1908 Capitol Trail and Expansion Try Number 1

 

        So we moved the whole gym down from McKennans Church Road to 1908 Capitol Trail. The space as a whole was much better. Higher ceiling with an open concept so we could pretty much set it up however wed like. Teds construction crew, who I used to work with did most of the work moving everything over, and I did most of the set up. We had some turnover with the move as it was no longer convenient for everyone but, we replaced those with new faces. I started working on expanding our online presence, back when google ad words and Facebook targeted advertising was actually worth a damn. I messed around with radio ads, Mall advertising, and even billboards. I worked on refining the business model as we started gaining some traction and eventually made the decision to higher my previous striking instructor. His name was Brandon and this was someone that taught me everything I knew as far as fighting and coaching. Its one thing to be a personal trainer, it's another to become a coach. Brandon was the latter, and he was great. He was a personality, charismatic, fun but effective and he could fill a room. It was easy to nail sign ups when he was teaching. We (Ted and I) paid him well for his time and his expertise and personality and the skilled boxing programs grew monthly to numbers we hadn't seen before despite raising our prices (originally $39/month up to $59-79/month for classes).

    I had also raised our private training memberships from $150/month up to $199/month to start going up as high as $299/month. People didnt seem to mind the prices, and I saw our clientele quality significantly improve. We started seeing more higher net worth individuals and families. This was my first experience with the notion of "the more you charge, the better the customer". Up to that point, discounts and cheap services were the way to attract more people. Make our programs so cheap that it was almost a no brainer to sign up. Looking back now, I laugh at how much we charged back then. Cheap people are just that...cheap. And 9 times out of 10 they also expect the most. Often times, far more then people that were paying 2-3x the monthly rate. 

    As I spent more time in the business, I made tweaks here and there, learned the seasonality of the business and when it was worth it to spend more or less on advertising. I learned that word of mouth beats paid advertising 9 out of 10 times. I developed a community within the business, where I knew everyone's name, the name of their kids and the struggles they were experiencing with work. I always joke with clientele that as a trainer/coach, I'm actually more of a therapist then a trainer. I was too young to really understand why people would vent to me but I did realize that it helped create a core group of members that were very loyal to the brand. I started these gym outings that were held 1x per month called Knockout Nights. I would pick a local bar/restaurant and the members would come out for a evening. It was as much of a social gathering as it was a networking event. I would hand out membership cards and garments to patrons of that weren't already members. It was a win win all the way around. Every time I held one, I had 20-40 clients coming and hanging out. It was some of the most effective advertising I did not to mention some of the most fun. I have people still members of my Newark spot that signed up after Knockout Nights and that was over 10 years ago. 

It was around this time that Brandon, having seen the success I was enjoying, started talking about partnering with Ted and I for a gym in Nottingham/Oxford PA. He had a his original fight gym that I had attended, and a core group of females (15-20) that had followed him around for a few years as he moved his operation around looking for the secret of success. To his credit, he realized that he didnt have the business savy to have an operation like Knockout. Eventually these short conversations and little comments led to Ted and I pulling the trigger and partnering with brandon on a new gym venture up in Nottingham, PA. The first ever Expansion of Knockout. Brandon sourced a spot that was adequate and I set up the infrastructure to get all of Brandons existing clientele on a new membership platform. We invested in about $10,000 into new equipment and I copied and pasted our existing google adwords and facebook advertising. 

When we started, brandon told ted and I that he had no problem with not getting paid for however long it took to get this venture off the ground. He was the primary instructor but this was mostly his deal so Ted and I agreed. I would do a little instructing here and there but mostly it was just member management and advertising. We starting picking up new people here and there. My follow up strategy was solid and the business was growing slowly but steadily. Until one day...

After roughly 5-6 months, Brandon had done a complete 180 on what he was willing to do for the new venture. I remember checking our billing system one day and all the members had turned their cards off. All of them simultaneously. I hadn't seen anything like that before, so I notified Brandon and Ted. After a bit of time, Brandon texted or called, I don't remember which, but he let us know that he no longer was going to be working with us, and that he was going to go back to doing what he was doing before leaving Ted and I out the fit-out money etc. Sure, Ted and I could have sued his face off, enforced all the contracts with the members but Ted thought it better to cut our losses and get out. I didn't understand the move, as there was a ton of money Brandon had screwed us out of, not to mention the fact that he said one thing and turned around and screwed his partners over within 6 months of a new venture. I was obviously pissed and extremely upset at the betrayal. This was my friend and coach, how could he do this to me? I would never do that to someone I was close with. Turned out to be for the best as Brandon was discovered to be fucking every single one of the female cardio members in his classes, even as his own wife (whom I liked very much and treated me like one of her own sons) attended those very classes. Can you imagine her, when she discovered that all the women in the class that she would consistently train with (15-20 people 2-3x per week) had all banged her husband. Needless to say, things didn't improve for old Brandon, and his prized son ended up getting hit with a criminal charge (that was later dropped) of the variety that...gives defendant a certain nasty public image. To this day, I don't know what ever happened to him. I know he tried to copy Knockout but do it up in Kennet Square which of course failed but the irony was that....the business was taken from him...by someone he trusted...just like our own shit-uation. 

Little did I know, this was the first of many, many....many lessons. I understood sweat equity, as did Ted. But it turned out that, most people don't get what that means. It took a long time for me to understand why and I even still to this day, cant completely wrap my head around it all. 

I looked for the silver linings in the whole experience, and tried to put it behind me. I worked and refined the process and the model day in and day out....For 3 years I worked at. Eventually, The guy from my very first day at Knockout, Zach, came looking for a job...

More next week...

Chapter 1: My Beginning at Knockout

 The Beginning

    Ill start with how I got involved with Knockout and that would be Ted.  He was the original owner and I was working for his Marine Construction Company back then. He eventually got wind that I was an active MMA athlete and I also had a personal training cert for side work. He convinced me to come up and try is gym out, and Ill never forget the first night I stepped in. The place was packed. I was kind of shocked that there was so many people but at the time he had a judo/jiujitsu program in addition to his boxing and cardio classes. I came to the jiu jitsu class and there were probably 25 people there. They were broken up into groups of 4-5 and there was 4 groups. Now, I'm not saying I'm the worlds greatest athlete but I was talented on the ground and I showed up in a white t-shirt and gym shorts and didn't let on anything to anyone (apart from Ted) that I had any background or was even an active fighter. I remember sitting on the mat with this group of people that had no idea what was about to happen to them. The instructor, this guy David, had a 4 min round timer going and each person would go with another in the group. These poor souls had no idea what happened to them.  Within the first minute I had submitted this guy so many times, that at one point he yelled out for someone to help him. I wasn't hurting the guy, or anyone for that matter, as I was controlled but by the time, I was done with him, no one in that group was going to "roll" with me. David had been watching, as was Ted (who was cracking up) watching this from off the mat with his telltale coffee in hand. David moved me to another group, presumably one that was "better". They were not better, or at least I didn't notice as it was a repeat of the first group. This went on until David moved me to the final group with his "Best "student, a guy named Zach (who plays a role later on in this whole story). Zach gets in front of me, with his rash-guard on and his MMA shorts and he asks me, "do you have much experience", to which my response was, "a little". He then tells me that he's going to take it easy on me...."ok" I said.

The next 4 minutes was probably the most humbling time in Zachs life up to that point. He was submitted 4 times within the first minute and it didn't improve from there, as the harder he went and the more he tried, the more errors and opportunities for me were presented. At the conclusion of the round, Zach called me a "fucking lying piece of shit", and I know I had some fun with him but I couldn't help it. He was asking for it. The coach, David, having seen his prized student get romplestomped into the mat, politely declined my offer to roll as class was almost over. He never rolled with me. 

 That was all that Ted needed to see. He moved me over from his Construction company and I started commuting 45 mins to the gym in Delaware. I also took a big pay cut, taking in only $250-300 bi weekly. But I was finishing up my 2 year Business management degree from Cecil College and I had zero expenses so I said fuck it, I'm getting paid to do something I like doing. Training and Coaching and I was ok with that.

Over the next year or so, I helped bring the business out of the dark ages and into the 21st century. I created a social media presence, established a google AdWords campaign and did away with the previous advertising method of putting post cards on peoples cars in parking lots. I eventually uncovered the theft that was happening with his employees Nolan, John and even Coach David. The business was still losing vast amounts of money and Ted, who wasn't on site as much as I, didn't see it. I told him that, after watching John more closely, that he would be keeping cash paid by clientele (john was actually managing the gym so naturally I wasn't questioning what he was doing because, Afterall, why would someone steal??). David, would log his hours as one thing, but would go back to his house and just hang out while not doing anything at all, and Nolan actually left right when he saw what I was doing, which we later found out he was processing people he would sign up, under a different merchant account that would deposit directly into his own fake business account. 

It was a mess, all these people in the gym and Ted still was losing money. Once we figured out how they were robbing him, the business was immediately in the black but not by much however Teds mood was greatly improved. I was still only making around $450/bi weekly but the gym was progressing in the right direction. Then the first move came from where we were (Mckennan's church road) to the bigger spot on Kirkwood highway that now owned and occupied by Ferris Construction. Back then it was owned by someone that lived in Florida. Anyways Ted came to me and said, point blank,  "Jon, are you in or are you out? If you are in, then I will move this gym but if you plan on leaving, Ill help you get a job down at APG and Ill shut this down and move on". I stood there, I had graduated at that point and didn't plan on going back for a Bachelors. I had my out, right there.....I could just walk away and hopefully get a higher paying job elsewhere. 

I thought, my whole life up to this point, I've just bounced from one job to the next and nothing ever really clicked. But now, I'm here doing something I like doing I love. Sure I'm making shit money, but...I personally believed I could expand the business. So I said I was in. I didn't sign anything, I just said yes I'm in lets do this. Ted trusted me so we moved the space to the new spot down on Kirkwood highway, where the Ferris Contruction and Pike Creek Mortage businesses are located....

Next week Ill start in on the renaissance of Knockout under my management

How to Get Fuc*ed. Lessons in business and people

 Some things to know before we get started

This blog is going to be a culmination of weekly publications recounting my experiences starting way back in 2015 all the way up to the present day. Its going to cover aspects of business, covid and "friends" More then likely, you don't know me and this is probably something you wont finish reading through but getting my story out there for others to read, and learn from or read and make fun of is the goal. A brief summary in no specific order is;

• I took over a gym and made it successful
• Business lessons
• More business lessons
• And even more lessons
• Scaling
• COVID
• Loss of business partners
• Loss of friends
• Alienation
• Lawsuits
• Crippling Financial stress
• Relationship stress
• Brief respite
• More business stresses
• Coming up with a way out
• Closure and reflection

By and Large, this entire scaling project has cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars, and sure there has been some regret. But it didn't kill me or break me. It came close but the knowledge I have gained is more then any professor and any book could have ever taught me. So if there's a silver lining, then its the wisdom I've gained, the way I can handle any situation and not lose my head, and boy do I have some stories to tell everyone now. 

Training styles: 80/20 and why you should do it

 It’s been a long while since my last post. A lot has changed. In business and in my life. I’ve learned so much more. I used to think I knew a lot but now I know, that I didn’t know shit. 

In terms of training progress, and expanding my own knowledge, I stumbled into triathlon. Quite polarizing from boxing and yet, I think that boxing could learn a lot from the science that goes into endurance training. 

Boxing its self is very anerobic in nature. Quick bursts of extreme energy exertion, with 1 to 3 minute rounds and short rest periods between rounds. Triathlon is much longer, less intense and typically far more aerobic in nature. 

As different as they seem on the surface, I believe that the antiquated and archaic training habits of traditional boxing training share more then meets the eye. You’ll need a solid understanding of the two energy systems to see some similarities however, if you spend enough time around boxers, you’ll start to see the similarities. 

 Some of you may be familiar with the  80/20 training methodology. It is also known as polarized training. This method dictates that 80 percent of an athletes training is conducted at an easy pace, or rate or perceived exertion. The remaining training, the 20 % is executed at a very high level of exertion. This training method is used by the worlds best endurance athletes and teams across all sports, including but not limited too, cycling, triathlon, running, cross country skiing, rowing, and many other sports. However, sports and especially American sports, aren’t typically associated with this style of training. But could they? I think it’s something to consider. 

Take football for example. Pick any given team and look at the injuries. Acl and other knee problems plague even the best teams, costing millions in surgery, and rehabilitation, not to mention lost revenue from ticket sales and overall team performance suffering. Injuries like this, are sure fire signs of overtraining and/or poor emphasis on recovery methods. 

Being in the boxing industry, I am seeing some progress towards smarter training methods. But it’s slow. The “can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is a hard one to kick. I’m beginning to see athletes using the tools, readily adopted by endurance athletes, like heart rate monitors and other data collection items. However, at the same time I still see the usage of sauna suits and other, non scientific based items being used for no reason other then, it’s what has always been used.

Through my amateur program, I’m introducing fighters to a more effective training methodology. Utilizing the 80/20 style of training to keep them in shape, developing their base fitness levels while pushing them further then they’ve ever been able to go. My hope is that this introduction, into scientific based training, instead of just doing what everyone else has done, is something that they can take with them. The change doesn’t start at the very top, I think the change has to happen at the very beginning. Make the training change a generational adaptation instead of an adoption treand in training. Many times, these fitness trends you see may have good structure, but  the structure is lost in social media and peoples lack of patience.

I’ve kind started rambling a bit here but, the point of this post is to show individuals that an 80/20 training style will give athletes AND those on weight loss journeys, the biggest gains, keeping your body healthy and ready for more. Yes you’ll lose weight, yes your tone up, yes you’ll execute better. Even if you don’t feel like you’re pushing hard enough, if you stick to your zones, (which’s I can help you set up) then the progress will come.

Stay busy, stay training.

Jon

How to become a better you!

The Process of becoming a better you...

People say time and time again that the best form of investment is in yourself. That's why colleges, certifications and continuing education exist. The same holds true for your health. Your body is your temple, and in order to succeed in the cruel world you need to be prepared for it. No, I'm not talking about being able to dead lift 4 times your body weight, or last 15, 3 minute rounds in the ring. I'm talking about making strides to improve the  way you feel overall. Everything comes from within. Emotion, energy, intelligence....everything that can or could power you to come from within. By improving the way you feel, you pave the way for more lofty goals (like what I stated above)

Step 1) Get in the Gym

I see all types of people, in all walks of life walk through my doors looking to take step one of improving themselves.  They want to drop weight, they want to eliminate join pain, they want to learn how to box, they want to relieve stress. This is the first step.

Step 2) Change your mindset

Accept that there will be days you don't want to do jack shit. You'll have that text message to your trainer typed out "hey man, rough day at work, I wont make it in tonight". But that mindset, that lack of self discipline (in regards to your health) is what got you here in the first place. Quitting is easy. Excuses are easy.  Staying the course to your goals is not. You must change your mindset from "I want to get in shape" to "I have to get in shape".

Step 3) Consistency

Following Step 2 will open the door to step 3. Consistency. As with anything in life, you have to stay consistent at something to achieve anything. Graduate college? Gotta go to class. Get that promotion at work? Gotta give 110%. Want that new Car? Get that promotion....Your health is no different. Maybe you dont need to lose weight, maybe you just need to relieve stress, maybe you want to net work with new people. If you're flaky with your training schedule then you will get flaky results. You can hire the best personal trainer in the world but if you cancel 50% of the time, you're just wasting money, and time (of both parties)

Step 4) Reevaluate yourself

This is time for reflection. Look back to see where you were and where you are at now. If you lost 20 lbs, go pick up a 20 pound weight and just feel it. It gives you a visualization of how much you've lost. I have a couple clients that are in the 30-40 lb total weight loss range and when I stop them and ask them to squat the weight they lost, it really puts things into perspective. If your goal wasn't to lose weight, perhaps it was to increase strength look back at the workouts you use to do vs what you can do CONSISTENTLY now.

What about boxing? Ring time is the time when you put your new skills, your quicker reaction speeds all to work. I've been training this guy Ben for a few years now and just recently he was able to land the hardest punch hes ever landed on me. He was more aggressive and had better defense then the last time we moved around. Yeah the punch stung a bit, but it made me happy as trainer and a coach.

Point is, take time to pat yourself on the back. The mind needs reinforcement as does the body. Even if you aren't quite at the goal you set, the road itself has many rewards be sure to enjoy them.

Step 5) Set New goals

Your training should never stop. You reach a goal, its just time to set a higher one. Embrace that grind. Celebrate your victory over yourself, regroup and set out on the next road. A couple of my cardio clients have decided to try out my skilled Boxing program after participating in the cardio program for years. They are in great shape, but learning to actually box is something completely different then smacking the bag around. Its difficult, and frustrating and can sting a bit at times. However, they now have a new goal and a new purpose behind their training.