Scot Wilson and Matt Thoma met in grad school and opened Results by Design Fitness in Louisville, Kentucky in 2010. Thirteen years later, they were generating close to $30,000 a month — and had been told by multiple business groups that $500,000 a year was essentially the ceiling for a small gym.
They didn't accept that. After attending a Growth Summit in Nashville and speaking with gym owners who had worked with ProFit, they joined the Iron Circle in May 2022.
The Numbers
The results speak for themselves:
- 2021: $374,000 annual revenue
- 2022 (joined Iron Circle in May): $551,000
- 2023: $758,000
- 2024: $815,000
Monthly recurring revenue jumped from around $30,000 to the high $60,000s. Their member count grew from 125 to 189, and average client value increased from $277 to $347 per month — even after they cancelled their large group class service, which temporarily cost them members.
Three Key Takeaways
1. Lead Nurture Automation
Before the Iron Circle, follow-up with leads was their weakest link. After implementing ProFit's Client Lifecycle Automation, no lead gets lost and conversion rates improved dramatically.
"The CLA has been a hugely important piece for our business. We were always really good when people got inside our doors, but follow up was not our strong suit, and the CLA has been a work of art. It was a missing piece in our business." — Scot Wilson
2. Digital Marketing
Before the Iron Circle, they averaged two to three leads from digital marketing. Now it's often as high as 15 quality leads — a direct result of the Facebook marketing strategies they learned from ProFit mentors and fellow Iron Circle members.
3. Believing What's Possible
The most underrated benefit of the Iron Circle, Wilson says, is simply being around people who have already done what you want to do.
"Just getting in a room with people who have been there, done that and are still doing it, people who want to see you win. People are willing to share numbers and wins and losses. It's just a really neat community."
The Lifestyle Result
Wilson and Thoma hired two additional full-time coaches and stepped off the floor entirely. Both now work three days a week. Wilson's time at the gym dropped from 30–35 hours a week to 15–20.
"It definitely made us work harder than we had worked in years, but now fast forward two-and-a-half years and Matt and I have been able to take some steps away. We both work three-day work weeks, we have a team in place that are running day-to-day operations and running the show, and that has been a huge thing."
Ready to build a gym that gives you your time back? Learn more about the Iron Circle mastermind.
