
Marginal Gains - The Secret to Financial Success for Gym Owners
Most gym owners mistakenly believe they just need 5 or 10 more clients to achieve financial success.
Funny how it’s never 4, 7, or 11. “Five more clients and I’ll be living the good life,” they think.
But here’s the problem. The actions that actually create financial results often get delayed.
And the longer they’re delayed, the less likely success becomes.
The longer those actions are delayed, the less likely success will be.
Trust me when I tell you this. There is no magic moment when you will become financially successful.
It comes from many actions that are barely noticeable.
It’s the first time you create a budget or cash flow forecast.
It’s when you open the Roth IRA and start funding it a little.
Those little tiny actions are so crucial especially on the front end.
Once you're “swimming in it,” you can go back to your lattes but initially, you’ll want to start the snowball.
Albert Einstein called compound interest the 8th wonder of the world.
It’s hard to describe but I’ll try. Essentially it’s the process of your interest earning interest. If I make 10% on $100, I have a net of $10. If I earn 10% again, it’s not just on the initial $100 but it’s also on the $10.
When we’re talking about $100, it doesn’t seem like a big deal but when we have $100,000, that 10% is now $10,000. Not chump change. If we have a million, we’re talking $100K!
We often think of things linearly. It’s hard to wrap our heads around compounding because it’s not linear.
The effort is front loaded but the payoff is back loaded. The results take time so you need to be patient but when they come, oh boy they come!

For example, it could take someone 7 years of consistent saving to accumulate their first $100K. That’s a long time. However, the next $100K might take half that time. By the time 1 million is accumulated, a $100K increase can happen inside of one year! The “rich get richer” is true. This is the power of capital accumulation.
I think the biggest challenge for most people is getting through the messy part where it doesn’t seem like a lot is happening.
Think about your clients’ fitness journeys. Real transformation doesn’t happen in 2, 4, or even 12 weeks. It comes from consistent effort over the long haul. Same goes for your money.
You might want to reflect on how you are wired in terms of motivation.
I recently read a story of a BJJer, Adam Wardzinski, who committed to 15 years of consistent training and eventually became the best in the world.
This truly was the power of marginal gains.
He said he knew there was a small chance he’d achieve his desired outcome as there are countless people training all over the world with the same goal.
He overcame all odds by his love for the sport and desire to improve. He took every opportunity to learn more about it and get better. He wasn’t motivated by punishment or fear but by love, love for the sport.
Whether it’s jiu-jitsu, business, or finances — the people who win aren’t the most gifted. They’re the most consistent.
Here is my advice in terms of staying motivated in the early stages:
Remember your WHY
Make short term goals
Celebrate those short term goals
Learn more about money
Get better
Enjoy the process
Get a coach
Surround yourself with supportive people
There are a lot of forces fighting against you, especially in this day and age so you need to pull out all of the stops and decide that you are going to apply consistent effort over time because you know it will be worth it.
What You’re Seeing:
This chart shows how $500/month invested at a 10% return grows over 20 years.
Notice how the curve starts out slow and then takes off?
That’s the power of compounding. Small, consistent actions now create massive results later.
Just send me a message or click here to book a free clarity call.
Let’s figure out the right path forward, together.