CrossFit Arlington Heights: When Members Become Your Chief Marketing Officers
Dusty Weis:
Greetings, innovators, and welcome to Back of the Napkin, where we explore big journeys in the world of small business with the personalities who make it happen. And it's brought to you by SurePayroll, where small business is their business. I'm Dusty Weis, a small business owner from the Midwest.
Karen Stoychoff:
I'm Karen Stoychoff from the SurePayroll team. Dusty, was that you knocking out some air squats before we started? And did I see a kettlebell in the studio?
Dusty Weis:
Well, Karen, I had to warm up for today's guests, Jeff Arce and Web Eby, the owners of CrossFit Arlington Heights in suburban Chicago. And you know, Karen, I'm more a runner than a gym goer, but there was certainly no denying that the whole CrossFit thing is a phenomenon. What about you?
Karen Stoychoff:
I definitely enjoy CrossFit. I've done a WOD (Workout of the Day) or two in my day, but I have to say my real jam is rowing. And this time of year, I enjoy taking my Concept2 to outside for some long pieces. Then I'd be totally lost without my barbell and plates, a slam ball, a kettlebell, I'm starting to feel like Steve Martin in The Jerk right now, but I can build countless workout variations with just a few pieces of equipment. Dusty, did I hold 11 personal training health and wellness certifications?
Dusty:
I did not. Karen, you are just a barrel of surprises. And I've also got to say I only know about half of those words that you said even are, but the more I learn about you the more that I realize there is just nothing that you're not into. However, it suffices to say that it is a heavy lift to operate a small business. Pandemic aside, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says about 20% of small businesses fail within the first year. And you're not immune from failure just because you purchase an existing business. The common reasons for any small business failure also apply to acquired businesses.
Karen:
Right? Some of the more common hurdles to starting and operating a successful small business include lack of capital or funding, inadequate management, ineffective business planning, and marketing mishaps. But, Dusty, you and I have experienced building small businesses from the ground up. We had a vision and we pursued it.
Karen:
Our guests, Jeff Arce and Web Eby, have a slightly different experience. They purchased a well-established and very successful micro-gym in August 2019, and have expanded the business, something I find impressive, especially considering workout facilities were among the first to close and the last to reopen due to the pandemic.
Dusty:
Absolutely. It's a great story. But before we dive in, we would love it if you took a moment and followed Back the Napkin in your favorite podcast app. New episodes are coming out every couple of weeks, and so we want them to pop up in the top of your podcast feed. But you've got to hit that subscribe button to make it happen. And if you enjoy the program, we'd appreciate a five-star rating or a review. It lets us know if we're hitting the right notes and helps other entrepreneurs like you find our show.
Karen:
Turning now to today's guest, Jeff and Web Eby of CrossFit Arlington Heights in suburban Chicago. Jeff and Web started as members of the gym, later became coaches, and now own the popular training facility. When the original micro-gym owners decided it was time for a new adventure, they knew they wanted to sell the business to people who would love it, cherish it, and grow it as much as they did. And they really wanted the new owners to take the business to the next level.
Dusty:
Web is a first-time small business owner. Jeff also owns the CATS Aquatic Team, a USA Swimming club team with Illinois locations in Vernon Hills and Libertyville. So, Web and Jeff, thanks for joining us on Back the Napkin.
Jeff Arce:
Glad to be here.
Web Eby:
Thank you.
Dusty:
So tell me a little bit about how you jumped from gym goers to gym owners?
Web:
I had a background in athletics and coaching already. I started in January... I think it was 2014. The then owners said, about four months in, would you be interested in coaching? And I said, oh yeah, absolutely. So I started coaching. Didn't realize I love this side of athletics and sports and training as much as I did. I was training myself for a bobsled and skeleton combine out in Utah. Yeah, yeah.
Dusty:
Seriously?
Web:
Off the wall thing, but I came in. A friend of mine, I played football with in college, said, "Hey, you got to talk to these folks. I'll get you set up." I came in. I met them. I signed the waiver. I came the next day. And that was it. I haven't left. I haven't left. I met my wife here. I've got my friends here. I got this guy here. You can't leave. It's just a place to be.
Web:
And about four months in, they said would you be interested in coaching? I said, yup. And I have been here since. I turned that part-time into full-time. Now it's into ownership and haven't looked back.
Jeff:
Yeah. And my story is not all that different. I had a background obviously in swimming and coaching and I was resistant to come in here for the first time. My wife was working out in here. She was friends with Kristin, Web's wife, and Web, prior to me kind of coming into the fold. And I was talked into, "Just go try it. You might like it." I was like, okay.
Jeff:
So I came in and I tried a couple of classes. And then I jumped in, did training essentials. Started as an athlete. Started at three days a week coming in and was sore every single day. And then it turned into six days a week. And word started to travel that I was a swim coach and I had some strength and conditioning coaching background to go with my swimming stuff. And so I was asked to come on and coach a couple of days a week to which I was like, sure. It cuts down on my membership costs. And to have two family members working out, it can be a little pricey, but it worked out.
Jeff:
Two days coaching turned into four or five. And then four or five turned into, "Hey, Web and Jeff, you guys interested in taking over the gym?" We were pretty passionate about it. And with my small business background, running the swim program, it was an easy transition for me because I understand the mom and pop nature of the gym business because it's very similar to the swim club business.
Jeff:
So it was an easy transition for me personally, I just needed a partner in the deal. And Web being close and very like-minded and similarly goal-oriented, it was a no brainer from my perspective. So in 2019, we signed on the dotted line and here we are today surviving the pandemic and moving forward at a rapid pace.
Karen:
You make it sound pretty effortless, but acquiring a business is really never quite as easy as hanging up the “under new ownership” banner. Did the two of you have a transition plan?
Jeff:
Yeah. So when we were approached, what we did was we set out a five-year plan of what we had as our vision for how things would look going forward. And that was not just operationally speaking, but that was financially speaking. So certain metrics that we needed to meet in order to sit there and say we're going to buy new equipment, or we're going to reinvest in the gym, or we can bring on new staff. And little by little, we met those metrics quickly in some areas, and in others, we're still working to achieve those things.
Jeff:
So we're still in the process of working through that five-year plan. And it actually has been delayed by eight or nine months given the circumstances of everything that we've kind of endured, but that was one of the biggest things that we laid out. And the other big piece of all of that was communicating with the existing coaching staff and staff in the facility that we wanted them to be a part of it and here was what our vision was.
Jeff:
That process was smooth. I wouldn't say it was easy. It was a lot of back and forth between the two of us to make sure that we were aligned in kind of what we were thinking and what we wanted to see happen in here.
Karen:
Maintaining the continuity of the coaches, I imagine was very important to you as you made this major transition from a business that had been established for quite some years, and people were used to seeing the same coaches day in and day out as they came in. How did you incorporate that into your plan? Was that just solid communication or were there very specific actions you took to retain staff?
Web:
We retained all the staff that we had, that was here. They were very on board with moving forward. And, I believe it was the next week we had a staff meeting said, "Okay, we are now two shorter with... Because the two of us were coaching and the previous owners were also coaching hours. So we just made the adjustment to who would pick up what and where and things like that. And it went from being on-deck, no pun intended with the swimming, but on-deck here and there to now you are the go-to should someone be sick, should something come up.
Web:
So there was definitely a pickup more of the extra here and there. We retained the coaches that were on staff. And then as we moved forward, we needed to add because we had these class times in these spaces that needed to be filled. And so we filled them where they fit in. And we found some great coaches to add to our staff. So we grew slightly in staff as well. And folks who had been around, folks who fit the mold, who knew our goals, who knew our rear headed, who knew our community, especially, and who worked in nicely. And are still developing as coaches obviously, but who fit right into the, here's where we are, here's where we're going, this is where you will fall in, is working.
Dusty:
You know, Web, one word that I've heard both of you use a couple of times already is passion. And speaking as a small business owner myself, I think it's really important that you bring harshen into what you do, but when you're working, when you're taking your passion and turning it into your full-time job, did you have any concerns about the business aspect of it ruining or clouding that passion for you? And was there anything else that really surprised you about the transition to small business owners?
Web:
The passion is still there. The passion will be there. And I think that, for me, I was as passionate or I was so passionate that it was clearly the right decision to do this, to take this on. And yes, I understand now all those little things that the folks before us would bring up, that would be those, "Ah, man." You know?
Dusty:
Oh, I got to go to work.
Web:
But then you see the people out there, well, the little bit extra that you don't necessarily see, the back here stuff, but then you see what happens out there, and it just takes that passionate, it just whoop, refills. It's like it just... It pumps it right back up. You see what these folks are doing and what it means to them and what this community here means to them, it just refills you. It replenishes you. It gives you that this is why we do what we do.
Web:
And there have been times when you go, "Ooh, man, this is a rough day. This is a tough day." And then you step out there and you hear the banging, and the dropping, and the clanging, the moving, and the grooving, and it makes it all worth it. It fills it right back up.
Dusty:
Oh, the banging and dropping, those are good things?
Web:
Oh yeah.
Dusty:
Not a gym goer.
Web:
No, no, no. That clang and bang. That's the weights coming around for sure. And unless you're in it, you hear it, you know that that's an okay sound.
Karen:
There is a difference, Dusty, between a good fail in the gym and a bad fail in the gym. You learn to hone your ears to that pretty quickly. So the two of you could have started a gym from scratch instead of buying an existing business. What made it more attractive to pick up the existing business?
Jeff:
Simply put the community. We both started as part of the community as athletes ourselves in the gym. We developed a relationship with each other, with other coaches in here, with other members, our families, our also members in here. So for us, it was really a no-brainer.
Jeff:
The only thing that had to made sense for us was the financial aspect of it. Could we afford taking out a loan to cover our costs, pay ourselves, and not be in a position where we're so leveraged that we're going to put ourselves in an uncomfortable position. And when we took a look at all of that, the risk of the existing community and finances aside was well worth it to move forward.
Jeff:
We both love this place, the people, everybody that's involved. And so, as Web was saying about having the passion every single day, that's really what made this a no-brainer decision in terms of continuing with what was already here. You have an established brand, so you're not rebranding, you're not doing any of those things, you're really taking it to the next level and saying what can we expand upon? What might we do different? What can we do better? And we felt we had some areas that we had identified that could really make it, not only more profitable, but get more people in here and get more people excited about what our vision and our mission were.
Dusty:
Well, and that's a good point, Jeff, because you mentioned the community built around the gym as an asset, and it's almost like you set out on this adventure with a little bit of a safety net, having that community there for you. And certainly, the goodwill associated with any established business is an asset. Yours had been around for 13 years before you guys came along. And it had a membership retention rate that far exceeds industry standards, as I understand it. So how do you balance the need to maintain that goodwill with the need to make that business yours, and make those changes that you want?
Jeff:
Retention is not an issue in here. Once people come in, they stay in. It's been challenging from the standpoint of we definitely know that we have areas that we excel at, we definitely know we have areas that we can do better. And so for us, it's identifying the pros and cons of both of those things. If we make this change, is it going to have an effect on existing membership where we have this community that's so important to us, that basically kept us afloat through the pandemic, and how do we integrate new members and not alienate what we've already done?
Jeff:
And so that is a tricky slope sometimes, but we are comfortable in floating ideas, strategically, amongst our membership to get feedback so that we know if this is going to be something that's going to blow up in our face, or if it's going to work. And to date, knock on wood, we've been pretty good at navigating those waters. It's pretty simple, our members know that at the end of the day, that we're trying to do whatever we can to keep their best interest at heart.
Jeff:
And so as we work through everything and we make changes and we fumble with stuff, they know that our heart and our passion is in the right spot. And so we can get a break here and there because of the established piece of everything that's been here.
Web:
Our, folks, like Jeff said, once they're here, they're here. We have members who have been here from the beginning. From the beginning, members understand that this is home away from home and this is their extension of their family. So that whole idea of, it's not just the saying, oh, we're with you until the end. They were with us until the end. People were checking in. People were seeing how we were doing. It was reassuring. It was encouraging, knowing that we are doing the right thing and that we will continue to do the right thing. Because they have our backs. And they do know, like Jeff said, that this is what we want to do for them and for us as a community. And so they are with us.
Dusty:
That's awesome.
Karen:
It's fascinating the terminology you use. You use members, but mostly what you both speak to is a membership community and a connection with people. That's something that far exceeds what you would expect from a normal gym or training experience. How do you go about building that as a business owner?
Web:
It was established early on here and more than a tagline and more than a slogan or a saying, it is exactly what is written on the doors out there (Experience. Community. Results.), it's what's been on T-shirts going on 19 years, it's experienced community and results. You come here and you're going to get experienced coaches. You're going to get experience in the field. You're going to learn that we have got a stellar community, a goofball community, we would love them all, and they're going to see results because they commit to it. And by becoming part of that community, you want to be around. So the key word community is easy to use. It's almost just second nature. That's just what they are. I would almost say community / family.
Jeff:
To kind of pony off of that a little bit, something that you wouldn't see in a globo gym that you would see here is we have a member X that doesn't show up for classes after being in for a month. And they're in three days a week. And I go, "Hey, Web, have you seen member X in the last couple of days?" Because I had just looked through our class lists. And he'll go, no. And I'll be like, all right. I pick up my phone. Shoot a quick email off.
Jeff:
It doesn't take me much effort to do that, but what it does is it shows that that member, that we're thinking about them constantly. And it's not just lip service. We're thinking about our members, our community, constantly. How can we help them achieve their goals? How can we help them be a healthier version of themselves? How can we help them be more athletic? It depends on what they're in here for.
Jeff:
And we've got members who have needs that range from, I need to work on getting up off the floor, who our oldest member would be, to some of our younger members who are sitting there saying, how can I be the best version of a softball player so I'm ready to play in college at a high level and not just go and sit on the bench, but be an active participant, helping my team win games?
Jeff:
And so balancing all of that with the, we want you in here, we want to see even if you're hurt, even if you're injured, even if you're sore, we want to see in here because our goal is to get you to be the best version of yourself, physically, as you can be. You keep that in mind every single day, you have no problems with what you're trying to accomplish.
Dusty:
Well, and certainly having that community is an asset and it keeps people coming in the door and all that, but I understand that it's proved valuable in other ways as well. You held a gym raising shortly after you guys bought the business. What is a gym raising and what did you hope to accomplish with it?
Web:
An old fashioned barn raising. You get the community out, everyone helps you pick things up and put it up against the wall and create walls. We had equipment stockpiling in Jeff's garage, some equipment, that we had found from other places that were changing out or exchanging equipment or downsizing, excuse me, their gyms. And so we had been collecting some stuff and we got folks and we said, "Hey, from this time to this time, we'd love some help. We have it here. We have a plan. We have the equipment. We just need to get it up."
Web:
And so by doing that, we got them to be part of phase one of what we were planning. Like Jeff had talked about, our strategic plan phase one was get this new piece going, get a little different setup, the feel and the community piece is not changing, but let's the footprint here. We only do so much within the space where given, but here's how we can maximize that.
Web:
And so together, we came up with a plan and we spaced it out foot by foot and came up with a plan. And we used the muscle that we have here in our community and they helped us with the gym raising. So, literally, bolted everything together. 3, 2, 1, up, just like an old school barn wall. Anchor it up. Guys up on ladders. We have some really talented woodworkers and handyman and contractors here with some heavy_duty equipment. We were putting holes in walls all day. It was great.
Dusty:
Well, that's outstanding. Sort of the old, conventional wisdom, that if you need help moving, you call your buddy who worked out. And you guys happen to have a lot of buddies who work out. So it's called-
Jeff:
Just real quick, we had expected like 15 people to come out and help us, we had 40 people in here helping us. And not for just a little while, they were here from like 8 a.m. until seven o'clock at night, when I think you and I finally were fixing the garage door after we opened it too big. They just were... I mean, even further than that, him and I were replacing some decking out here, and one of the members who had just finished a workout said, "Oh, I can help you."
Jeff:
So he helped for like three hours rip out decking. No asking, no prompting, no nothing, just sat there and helped us do it. And said, "If you would've let me know I could have helped you the whole day.” We just didn't anticipate the outreach that people would show us with all of that. We were going to reinvest in them and they wanted to show us that they were supportive of it. So it was just... It was one of the cooler days. I remember leaving the gym that day and being like this was the right move. And that was day one.
Dusty:
That community proving to be not just an asset, but the act of having the gym raising itself, in turn generates more of a sense of community. So it's really cool to hear. We are going to continue this conversation with Jeff Arce and Web Eby from CrossFit Arlington Heights in just a minute. But first, we're going to check in with Holly Wade, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business with the SurePayroll Mainstreet Minute.
Karen:
Holly, thanks for joining us again. For small business owners, the last couple of years have been interesting, to say the least. What sort of help is available?
Holly Wade:
So the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL), it's a program run directly through the small business administration, offers low-interest long-term loans to small business owners. This loan program is a great opportunity for small businesses recovering from the pandemic that needs some additional financial support now that the PPP loan program is closed.
Holly:
The loan program is available until the end of the year. Borrowers can receive up to $500,000 for a 30-year term loan at a fixed 3.75% interest rate. The loan amount is based on the businesses reported gross profits. And the SBA is also providing borrowers with a longer first payment deferment period, which is hugely helpful. For all SBA disaster loans made in 2020, the first payment due date is 24 months from the date of the note. And for SBA disaster loans made in 2021, the first payment due date is 18 months from the date of the note.
Dusty:
As with of these programs, Holly, I imagine that there's a list of things that the money can and cannot be used for?
Holly:
Yes. So the loan can be used for normal operating expenses, including payroll, inventory, rent utilities and fixed debt payments. EIDL applicants are also eligible to receive an EIDL grant that's up to $10,000 per business. To apply for the EIDL loan and request the grant that's associated with it, those interested can visit the SBA website at sba.gov. And there, you can learn more about the loan program and also access the application portal through the SBA.
Dusty:
All right. Well, thank you, Holly. That's Holly Wade, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business with the SurePayroll Main Street minute.
Karen:
This is SurePayroll's Back of the Napkin Podcast where entrepreneurs share the stories of their big journeys and small business. I'm Karen Stoychoff.
Dusty:
And I'm Dusty Weis. And we're talking to Jeff Arce and Web Eby from CrossFit Arlington Heights in suburban Chicago. Web, you mentioned earlier that you met your wife at CrossFit Arlington Heights. Did you ever imagine that when you went to check out a gym that your life would just change so dramatically?
Web:
Nope. Dusty, I'm about to get teary-eyed right now. Holy cow, you just said that. This place has been life-changing. I didn't plan on that at all. No, not at all. I can tell you where she was sitting, where I was sitting, everything about it, but I could not have guessed. Not at all. I knew I liked to train and I knew I had a goal that I was working towards. And the previous owners said, we can make that happen. And they did. They opened up their doors to me, to train as I needed to. And I bit that apple and we're just keep going.
Web:
I met my wife here, Kristin. She is an incredible person. incredible athlete, a wonderful mom now. Again, a mom. We are in this. And this is our place. And this is our meeting grounds and our... It's big for us. And I couldn't have guessed. No. I'm happy.
Dusty:
And not a lot of people look at a gym as a place where romantic sparks fly, but I'll also admit that I actually met my wife's just a couple of hours after having run a half marathon. And I was certainly not in any sort of condition that I expected to be meeting the love of my life either. And yet when the sparks fly, they fly, man.
Web:
We aren’t the only ones. I can name you three to four couples that have started their journey here, just because like-minded people, in a caring, passionate, like-minded, environment, who find someone who has similar goals, similar lifestyle, it's not uncommon. It's not uncommon. I can name you three, four, or five couples.
Karen:
The community is so strong and that people meet and fall in love and get married and achieve their workout goals. We talked a little bit earlier about membership retention and that the average retention rate for a gym is just around 60%, but yours exceeds industry average.
Karen:
The CrossFit business model, for those who aren't familiar, is coached small group fitness at a price point less than personal training, but considerably higher than the local globo gym membership. Jeff, you mentioned earlier that CrossFit Arlington Heights still has members from when it opened its doors in 2008. What's the secret?
Jeff:
I don't really know if it's a secret. It simply is showing them that you're invested in them. And they will show up every day to give you what they got. I think the thing that we excel at is you're as successful as your coaches are in here as a gym. If you put good coaches out on the floor who not only coach movements well, but coach athletes well, and develop athletes well, that ultimately will lead to your success.
Jeff:
So it's about identifying those people who represent the gym on a daily basis on the floor, because Web and I are not out on the floor every single day. We're not at every single class. We trust our staff to be out there and they represent us. And so if they see something going wrong with a particular athlete, they communicate back to us other coaches that may interact with those athletes.
Jeff:
And so when you start to do that and it doesn't become work, it becomes second nature to say, "Hey, Susie's knee is bothering her. So I modified workouts, but make sure when you have her in class, you ask her about that knee." It makes it really easy for those athletes to be like, "I'm in a place that's safe. I'm in a place that is looking out for my well-being."
Jeff:
And so when we have community members coming in or recommending us to others, they're sitting there saying, "I've been taken care of in there. You will be, too." And we're going to treat you all like family, Like you're already a part of the gym. Web is a master at that. You could ask him about any member in this place and he can give you like their life story. It's incredible because that, at the end of the day, what are we all searching for? We're searching for places where we fit in, where we have a connection. The pandemic taught us that that was so important.
Jeff:
And so we were able to capitalize on that because we have a guy like Web. We have our other coaches out on the floor every single day who don't do it to the same level as him. I'm still amazed when we get somebody new and he's like, "Yeah, this guy, Luke, is going to come in. And he's a teacher over at Palatine High School. And he knows so-and-so. And he coaches golf. And he's got three girls." And I'm like, "You got that from a phone call over 10 minutes." He's like, "Well, yeah."
Jeff:
I listen, but I don't walk away from people with that much information. So for all you guys out there that are looking at starting a small business where you're interfacing with customers, you need a Web. You need that person who is going to not only represent the business well, but interact with every single person that walks through the door like his old high school friend that he's known forever.
Jeff:
And so our other coaches have picked up on that. And that makes it really, really, really easy to have that membership retention. And on top of it, you got to be willing to work with people. People have lives, they have situations, they have things that come up. And if you draw a line in the sand and you don't recognize that there's gray area, you won't be successful.
Jeff:
And I don't mean folding on what your fees are or anything like that, but working with people to say, "Hey, I'm going to be out of town for two weeks.” We'll pause your membership for two weeks. You just got to let us know. “I'm having knee surgery, but I want to come in. I can't come in as much. But the fee structure is a little bit much.” We'll extend this and we'll take care of that.
Jeff:
You’ve got to work with people so that they know that this is their safe place, that this is a place that we want them in here. And so however you can articulate that, however you can show that, people will show up. And then they'll also have your back. To me, those are the keys to any successful small business, whether you're in a customer-related field or you're sitting at a computer desk by yourself all day long. And I do both.
Dusty:
You know, Jeff, I thought you brought up a great point a moment ago. And I wanted to expound on it a little bit. When you were talking about the strengths that Web brings to the business, and certainly in my own journey as a small business owner, I've learned that owning a business is not a big job. It's about 150 small jobs. And so it sounds like you guys have found a really great way to sort of divide the labor there. You sort of touched on some of Web's strengths, but, Web, can you tell us what Jeff brings to the table as a partner?
Web:
How long we got? Going back to a little while ago, when you said Jeff owns the CATS Aquatic Club, he has established that at a high level. So having his knowledge of much of the backside stuff was great. Yes, I had been doing backside behind-the-scene stuff as well before we took over, but learning just the little nuances of things and taking on the little bit more of that was interesting to me, but I hadn't necessarily done as much as he had.
Web:
So when he came in and we started talking about, okay, I have this set, I have this idea, here's how it works. All right, well, let's sit down. So we would take a day and we would talk about the background payroll, the background QuickBooks, the background this, things like that. So that now it's like, hey, I got to be gone this weekend, can you knock out this, this, and this? Yes. It's beginning to interchange.
Web:
However, for a good chunk of time, it was, Jeff had it all. Jeff knew that. It was second nature to him. How it ran, how it went. It just came easy and it flowed. So that transition there was like, "Okay, good. All right. All right." Now switched our registration system. So we're both learning that. And he likes to tinker. Those are his words for sure. He'll take an hour and a half in the afternoon and just tinker with the new system and go, "Look at this. I figured out how to do something new. Awesome."
Web:
Meanwhile, during the same hour and a half, I'm changing to diapers playing dinosaurs. And I got a cardboard box on my head. So we're able to do pick up and... I wish I was joking. We're dinosaur family. Okay? Dinosaur is a real deal. We are able to communicate that. And all of that happens via text message at 2:30 before I'm coming in at 3:30. So that I know when I come in, "Hey, would you knock out the things that are on the desk?" Done.
Web:
So having his ability to just knock those things out right off of the list, huge. Huge. And learning those little things little by little, huge. But the biggest thing is the communication between the two of us keeping each other up on what's going on and things like that. It's become a joke in our house, if the phone rings and mom's there, the only person that's calling is Jeff. And so my son will be like, "Who's that? Jeff? Like, "Yep."
Web:
But, again, a two and a half to three-minute phone conversation between the two of us updates for the day. And we're set. It's just how it was working. Because, like he said, we're not always here at the same time. And we cross paths, but we will communicate what needs to be done. But having his background, early on when we first bought into this, was incredible. It was huge, huge. And I said it last week and I said it the week before, but I also just stop and say, thank you to him. And I will. And it's big. It's big. And it's much appreciated.
Dusty:
I think we're getting misty for the second time here.
Karen:
Harness the cash. How important is that communication cadence that the two of you have established? And I imagine there's a good amount of shorthand in that, but how important has that been to how you resolve conflict or any issues regarding the running of the business?
Jeff Arce:
To me it's really simple. I'm not a beat-around-the-bush type of person, personally. And so it's as simple as, "Hey, I don't like this." And he'll be like, "Okay." And sometimes we'll both walk out of a discussion with our tail between our legs, but we know whatever it is we're saying, it's with good intention.
Jeff :
And we both know each other because our relationship didn't start as business owners. It started as two guys meeting at the gym on a pretty consistent basis and trying to like kill each other in workouts. And there was a coach that used to be here, and we would do something we call “Stoopid Thursday Workouts.” And that's where our relationship was founded, more as friends. And so we've known each other and we know where each other's heart is in everything. So that when we're saying something, whether it's something that might be controversial or uncomfortable, we both know it's not coming from a place of ill will, it's coming from a place of, this is what needs to be said, Tthis is what needs to done. You digest the information. And then we move on.
Jeff:
One of the things that I've taken away from, again, I've got 20 years of leadership in another role, was if there's something that bothers me on the initial reaction or interaction, whether it's a text or an email or a phone call, and Web knows this, I will take 24 hours to process the information. And 24 hours, I won't talk about it. I'll process the information. And then I'll come back and say, "Okay, let's have a constructive discussion about this. And then how can we move forward with this?"
Jeff:
And I think at the end of the day, we both know that we have each other's back when we walk out into the gym and we're interacting with people. It's about them and not about whatever conflict we're having. And we don't really don't have a lot of conflict. So I don't think that we fight a lot. But at the same time, when we have discussions on things, it's a discussion. And we understand that at the end of the day, whatever decision we're going to make, it's going to be in the best interest of our members, our coaches, and then us. And if we keep that in perspective, we're all good.
Dusty:
I think that's really great advice, not only for small business partners, but for life in general. I just have to say, though, I'm a little bit disappointed, guys. Because I expected that when there was a conflict, eventually, if it was unresolvable, you guys would turn to each other and say, "Let's settle this in the gym."
Jeff:
That's a-
Web:
Actually, it usually happens the other way. Where we will go and do a workout and then we'll have our meeting afterwards.
Jeff:
We are too tired trying to-
Web:
You're trying catch your breath. there have been many of those, many of those on.
Jeff:
We're lying on the floor making sweat angels and having a really in-depth conversation and somebody will walk up and he, "Are you guys talking business?" "Yeah." "Didn't you just do this 30-minute workout." "Yup."
Web:
Yeah.
Dusty:
It clears your head.
Web:
Another one is recovery walks. We like our recovery walks. We'll take a walk down the driveway, around the building, and just catch up real quick. Just catch up. Those kinds of little things have been super important, Like Jeff said. The other thing is learning to play devil's advocate. Seeing both sides. And if he has an idea, I'll throw out the other side. If I have an idea, he'll throw out the other side. And then we hit that 24-hour, "Let's think on it." Then we come back, talk about it, and see what comes.
Karen:
You both have mentioned the little things that are so key to running the business and making the business a success, but marketing mishaps are never little things. It seems that at CrossFit Arlington Heights, you've done just about everything right from the marketing front. How have you managed to do that? How have you managed to inspire your gym members to actually help market the business? I find that absolutely astounding. And I'm sure small business owners all over would love to know that.
Jeff:
If you don't know anything about CrossFit, this is the one thing you need to know. CrossFitters cannot shut up about CrossFit. And so-
Dusty:
Oh, I know that.
Jeff:
So it's really a simple tool. You do cool things in the gym and you make it fun and you make it exciting, and people won't shut up about it. I am proof of how you end up in a CrossFit gym because people talk about it all the time. I was surrounded by it. My wife was doing it. Nina was in here four or five days a week because friends of hers at X-Port were talking about it. My brothers both did it and they would talk about it constantly at family gatherings. And so finally I bit the bullet and came in.
Jeff:
So all joking aside and all reality, that's the easiest thing to do. If you're innovative and fresh with what you're doing from a programming standpoint and what you're offering, and if you're a thoughtful in how you program and what you do for your athletes, they will talk about it on social media. They will talk about it with their friends at the bar. They will talk about it with their family when they pick up the phone and they do that weekly catch up.
Jeff:
The other cool thing is, and Web's really good at this as well, is coming up with designs and different logos and different things and swag to wear outside of the gym. They're walking billboards. When I took over at my swim club that I run, we were putting out shirts every three months because the kids were wearing them all the time. They're walking, talking billboards. Our members in here are the exact same way because they're proud to be members of the gym. They're proud to be members of the community. And they're your best salespeople. You can run a Facebook marketing ad, but word of mouth is so much better.
Jeff:
My favorite thing to see is when you go on Facebook, and in Arlington Heights, we have like an Arlington Heights community page, or multiples of them, and people go, "I'm looking for a small gym that does classes and stuff." And Web and I are horrible social media people. Terrible. We learned about Adobe Spark note recently, and we're like kids in a candy store because it's something that we can actually do, where we don't feel like we need a lecture and a tutorial on how to do it.
Jeff:
But you go on those Arlington Heights pages, and when people are looking for a gym and we have our own members or former members or people we don't even know saying, "Hey, I've heard great things about CrossFit Arlington Heights. I've heard great things about Elite." It makes our job really, really easy.
Jeff:
So it's really, really, really important to make sure what you're doing isn't just lip service, but that you're actually living it and you're doing it all the time so that everything is fresh, everything is cool. You're investing in the gym. You're investing in your members. We have ideas on other marketing things to do, but right now we don't need to be doing any of it. We don't need to put financial resources to it, which allows us to spend more money in here on our current members and the people that are walking in the door.
Dusty:
I think it's really cool that your customers are so dedicated to the business that they're willing to serve as your brand ambassadors. I have to say if I'm setting goals for you in the next five years here, top of that list has to be getting a member to actually get your logo tattooed on their body because that's some next level stuff. But what else is in your vision for the future of CrossFit Arlington Heights?
Web:
The next piece for us, we have some facility upgrades, some continued facility upgrades. Is a simple one, yes, but one of the simple things is just starting to take that to the next look, the next piece, the general campiness of the gym and things like that. So we've been doing little things here and there, but again, something like a pandemic puts a kibosh on your second gym raising, which was painting day, things like that.
Web:
As far as upgrades and things like that, when you make a simple upgrade, like you invest in new equipment, or you invest in more equipment of one type, that is a huge goal for folks. Whether it's a piece of equipment they like, or one that really gets some good. It's big to see things like that. So, general day-to-day stuff like that and programming, seeing that investment in the programming and what you're willing to do for them is huge.
Web:
So considering that piece is one phase of it. I would say that, eventually, we would... Growth to the point of expansion would be something. Even the space. When you have a good size class here, it's not that you're on top of each other, it's just the fact that it feels right to be here, but it's almost like, "Man, this is going really well. That little bit next door would be awesome." Things like that. And again, those are not things that you can just do on a whim. It has to fit the strategy, it had to fit the plan.
Jeff:
I would expand on that a little bit. We've definitely talked about the need to expand our space once the numbers dictate that. And that's number of monthly memberships, number of people walking through the door every single day. We have some untapped areas here. Youth sports is a billion-dollar industry. And our areas underserved from the standpoint of... And I don't want to say youth as in real little kids, but from high school kids and getting proper training and ready to go. I know because I deal with youth sports every single day of my life. It's under-served from the training side of things, being taught properly how to do things. So there's opportunities there.
Jeff:
The other thing that's really untapped in this area is a Silver Sneakers program. Arlington Heights median age has continued to move up and up and up. Finally, we're seeing some young families move in here, which is wonderful, but at the same time, our median age continues to move up. And one of our primary goals and focuses in here is community experience results, but at the same time, it's helping people be the healthiest versions of themselves, whether they need help getting up off the floor, or they need to be able to walk upstairs.
Jeff:
And so partnering with a Silver Sneakers program, Lutheran Village, which is a local retirement community to, do some things with them where they get outside of what their comfort zone is, life expectancy improves, and quality of life improves. So those things are areas where we're supposed to be looking at those things right about now. My guess is that's something that we're going to explore in the next six to 12 months and how feasible it is to do all of those things. So we've got big plans coming up. It's just a matter of when those things happen place.
Dusty:
And of course, like everything else in 2021, right now, you guys have weathered the pandemic and now it's like, "Pop. The cork is out of the bottle. Let's get to work." And we're so excited to hear that you guys are meeting with so much success. You've made it through and now the sky is the limit. So we wish you all the best. Jeff Arce and Web Eby from CrossFit Arlington Heights, outside of Chicago, thank you so much for joining us on this episode of Back of the Napkin.
Jeff:
Absolutely our pleasure.
Web:
Thank you very much.
Karen:
That's all we have for this episode of Back of the Napkin, where we explore big journeys in the world of small business with the personalities who make it happen. Please make sure you're following us on your favorite podcast app. And definitely leave us a five-star rating. And feel free to drop us a review.
Dusty:
Back of the Napkin is brought to you by SurePayroll, from easy online payroll to 401(k) support and award-winning customer service, SurePayroll has been serving the payroll and business needs of small businesses for more than 20 years. Thanks to my co-host and our executive producer, Karen Stoychoff,
Karen:
And thanks to the head of SurePayroll Marketing, Jenna Shklyar, as well as our production partners, Podcamp Media.
Dusty:
Where we provide branded podcast production services for businesses. Our editor and producer is Larry Kilgore the Third. So thanks for tuning into Back of the Napkin. I'm Dusty Weis.
Karen:
And I'm Karen Stoychoff.
