How to Pay Yourself as a Gym Owner Without Sinking Your Business

I once read a blog post by Ryan Holiday answering how he reads so many books. He’s known for reading hundreds of books each year.

He said, “First, I don’t waste time with stupid questions like how can I read a certain amount.” In other words, he just does it.

Lots of gym owners dream of paying themselves or paying themselves more, so they try to figure out ways to make it happen. Like Ryan Holiday and his book reading, a lot of it comes down to just doing it.

The Mindset Shift

Generally, there is some underlying belief holding fitness entrepreneurs back from paying themselves first. It might sound like:

• “I don’t deserve to be paid.”

• “What I’m doing isn’t that valuable.”

• “I need more clients before I can start paying myself.”

That unhelpful belief has to be uncovered and ultimately changed into a more helpful one, such as:

• “I pay myself first.”

• “I add a ton of value to the marketplace.”

• “Once I start paying myself, I’ll be motivated to get more clients.”

Just Do It

“OK, all the motivational stuff is great, but how do I start paying myself?” You just do it.

“Yeah, but how do I know how to pay myself?” You just do it.

“But what if I don’t have the money?” Do it anyway.

How’s that for a sophisticated answer from a financial coach?

Of course, there are specific things we can do to optimize your finances and pay structure, and we’ll go over some below. But at some point, you have to just do it. Things might not align perfectly. At some level, you’ll have to make it happen.

In my case, my wife has stayed home with our kids for almost 14 years now. I’ve never not paid myself during that time. It simply wasn’t an option. If I didn’t pay myself, my family didn’t eat, and I don’t think that would have been a good idea.

I can’t emphasize this enough: Nothing will matter until you decide that you are worth paying yourself and that your business depends on it.

If that’s not clear, read it again. Let it sink in. You. Must. Pay. Yourself.

The Tactical Steps

Once the mindset box is checked, we can move on to the specifics.

One of the things I like to do with private clients is list out all of their business expenses. Everything must be prioritized. For example, the rent gets paid before the money is spent on TikTok ads.

Here’s what I do that most people don’t: I include the owner’s pay in the list of “expenses.”

It doesn’t have to be a six-figure salary to start, but we must start with something. We can always add to it as the business grows.

Waiting until your business grows to pay yourself doesn’t work. That’s backward. There will always be something else to spend money on. As my friend and client Morris says, “There will always be money for the devil.”

Once your pay is a line item, it’s time to make it happen by actually paying yourself.

Automate and Start Small

There are lots of ways to do this depending on the structure of your business, but ideally, it should be automated. Out of sight, out of mind. It’s crazy how well this works. Give it a shot, and you’ll see.

If you’re hesitant, I encourage you to do the 1% challenge. Most people won’t do it, but if you’re willing to be different, your future self will thank you.

Regardless of whether you’re currently paying yourself zilch, six figures, or more, increase your pay by just 1%. That won’t make a noticeable difference in your operations because nobody has their expenses so tightly dialed in that they can’t spare 1%.

The benefits of doing this are huge. The extra money, even just 1%, can make a dramatic difference over time. But perhaps even more importantly, you’ll be shaping your identity into someone who masters money and pays themselves first.

To see about how to pay yourself more each and every week, schedule a free call here.

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