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Action Academy | Millionaire Mentorship For Your Life & Business
How He Left A Six-Figure Job Through Buying A $500k Gym Franchise w/ Zach Babischkin
00:37:47
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- [00:00]
A
If there's a hundred people listening to this that are business partners right now, I probably would say 92 out of the 100 have a shitty operating agreement.
- [00:08]
B
Baby was born on Tuesday. The gym opened on Saturday. Then it's just like taking that chance. And then for me, I was like, you know, I could just blow him up on Instagram and just say he's a fake or a phony. If this is not real, wire the money. We're ready to go. Three days later, government shut down. They're like, we're not taking your money right now. We don't know when this is going to happen. We don't know what's going on. I'm like, oh, my goodness. Here we are waiting.
- [00:25]
A
Zach Babishkin. Go Wesker Wolves.
- [00:27]
B
Go Westco Wolves.
- [00:28]
A
Yeah. Let's go, baby. Yeah. This new era, new attitude. What's up? What's up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the Action Academy podcast. For all of my viewers and all of my listeners, we have another biz buying episode. So right now I'm sitting with one of my business partners and friends from college, Zach Babishkin. Him and I just closed on a brand new location of the Yard Fitness in Nashville, Tennessee. You for sure need to come check it out. Anybody that's in Nashville, anybody that's a Tennessee, it's an awesome location. We just finished up a workout. It kicks your ass. And so it's a, it's a really cool community. It's a really cool gym. I'm excited to be a part of it. So, Zach, introduce yourself to the audience. We'll kind of break it down like,
- [01:06]
B
like Brian said though, I think how many years we know each other now? I mean, like, obviously college, we've been, what are we, 11, 12 years. So then from that. Yeah, from your, from your D.J. years of D.J. brian. D.J. brian Lubin. Yeah. And then through the fraternity stuff. Yeah. I mean, honestly, known you for a while, so it was great. And then was, you know, in Action Academy, I'm the success. I'm a success story. Yeah, I always, always tell people that, like I always recommend success.
- [01:27]
A
You're my favorite man.
- [01:28]
B
Exactly. So, yeah, like you said, Zach Bishkin from Atlanta around with Brian. We went to West Georgia together and then added that. Through that, got into corporate sales, worked for staffing company and then moved into startup logistics. Startup logistics, ended up selling and then through that time period, started getting into fitness and trying to, you know, figure out what I wanted to be, who I wanted to be. Actually hired a Bodybuilding coach. And that bodybuilding coach kind of pushed me to start doing that. And then around that time I started talking to Brian about Action Academy, joined Action Academy and then realized this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life and you know, be in that startup world. But startup ended up selling, was able to get through that, ended up getting into another job and then around that time ended up quitting my job as we acquired the yard gym. So for me, fitness has kind of always been there. But it was about that about two, three years ago when I really started like making sure that I started watching, you know, what I ate. Really got into it. About to have a kid, now I have two kids.
- [02:22]
A
Yeah, we just opened this like three days after, after your second K. We'll talk about that too. Is like all the delays when you think that a business is going to open or close versus when it actually does.
- [02:33]
B
Yeah, that was a huge thing. I mean the. Foreign. Was born on Tuesday, the gym opened on Saturday. So I went directly back to the gym. Yeah, luckily that my wife is the number one champion. She, she allowed that to happen obviously when you make a huge investment in something like this.
- [03:13]
A
So yeah, I'm super excited, man. There's so many different angles that I want to talk about. We'll talk about the good, the bad, the ugly, definitely. You know, we'll talk about franchising versus buying a traditional like just like self start business, something like that. The difference is the pros and cons because there for sure are. Because I think I own three franchises now and then we own a couple that are non franchise. So there's pros and cons to each. Nothing's easy, it's all hard. No, you got to pick whatever your flavor of heart is. But first I want to actually like go back a little bit to college. So a lot of people, when they get started in entrepreneurship or investing or this like personal development world in general, they'll, they'll go out and they'll start talking about what they're doing and, and no offense taken, but you thought I was full of shit and you thought I was an absolute scam for multiple years. Yeah, I know. And that's okay. But what I want to talk about though is so you're somebody that went from hey, like what is this guy doing? To like, okay, wait, now I want to check this out. Can you like help somebody that is listening to this stuff and watching this stuff, maybe seeing a clip of this and they're like, dude, like how can you Tell, like, what's legit or not. And then like, how do you kind of transition from what we'll call, like the normal world to business ownership world?
- [04:23]
B
Yeah, well, first off, I never talk shit behind you, behind your back.
- [04:27]
A
But it's to the face.
- [04:28]
B
It was in the comments, I was
- [04:29]
A
like, I never took offense.
- [04:31]
B
I always was like, I was like, what is Brian Lubin doing? Like, there's just, like, there's something that. It just does not make any sense. Right? But until you're in that world, like, of course it's not going to make sense until you start having the conversations, whether that's with people in Action Academy, people who do real estate, business buying, right? Like, you don't understand it. And it actually is a lot easier than what you think, but it's also hard as hell. So it's like trying to get to that point. And so, you know, overall, it's like, okay, Brian, we had our conversation and it's like, okay, this makes a lot of sense. Then it's just like taking that chance. And then for me, I was like, you know, I could just blow him up on Instagram and say he's a fake or a phony if this is not real.
- [05:02]
A
Honest.
- [05:02]
B
Yeah, it's very true. And so it's like, all right, let's take the chance. It was funny because I keep talking to my wife about it. Like, she was like, well, I want to talk to this guy. And I remember you telling me, like, I remember you telling me her being like, that was like one of the hardest phone calls I've had. Because he was asking me question after question question. My wife's one of the best salespeople I know, probably besides Brian, you know, top eight, whatever that is. But, you know, she, she, she literally knows sales like the back of her hand. It's insane. But she had that conversation. She's like, all right, let's give it a try. And so for us, it's like, for me, getting into it, it is a leap of faith. But at the same time, like, when you're going through it, especially with an Action Academy, I mean, you get taught what you want to know. I mean, you get the opportunity to choose your path, right? Whether that's through short term rentals, land flipping, right? Business buying. And for me, coming from the sales side of thing, obviously business was all right, hey, quick pick. I'm going with that. And then getting into. And getting into Action Academy, it was like, all right, this makes a lot of sense. I mean, you give us the tools and lay it out for us to be able to understand. Hey, like, this is how you underwrite a business. All right? These are the different businesses you can look at. Right. Obviously, we know about the Silver Tsunami, right? This is that are, you know, people are selling their business. All these boomers are, you know, for me, it was like, wow, these. These make a lot of sense. And there was actually a point, I even think I remember being in an Action Academy telling you guys, like, I'm about to buy logistics business. Like, that's where I came from.
- [06:13]
A
And it made sense.
- [06:15]
B
It really did. But then, you know, you start learning about numbers and you start learning about EBITDA or sde, Right. And it's like all the buybacks and stuff that were coming from the ownership themselves of that logistics company. It's like, this doesn't make any sense anymore. Right. And so it's a very slow grind. But it's also, you get people in Action Academy, six months, they were able to buy a business and move on. So it's one of those things where if you want to take that leap, you take that chance, like, definitely do it. I mean, like, at the end of the day, like, like you said, you can just tear you apart on Instagram if it doesn't work or you don't think. Right. And so that's kind of, for me, it was like, all right, well, Brian, whatever you're telling me to do, like, this makes sense. And so that's why when I told you, your face like, this is a money marketing scheme, and you're like, no, it's not. I was like, all right, let's try it.
- [06:51]
A
One way to find out exactly. Can you give somebody some advice on how to navigate? I mean, there's literally, like, there's a book called the Big Leap, but written by a guy named Gail Gay Hendricks, and he talks about the leap from corporate to business ownership. Can you talk to somebody that's listening to this that is like, maybe their wife or their husband, they're trying to get on board? Because you and Kelly are like, a really good team with this.
- [07:12]
B
Yeah.
- [07:12]
A
And there's a lot that goes into that, especially with you guys being like, I mean, obviously you already had a child, and now you had your second child. And when we opened this business, how did you, like, what were the conversations like for you guys to get into this world? And then now how do you. What's the dynamic in your relationship now that you are both business owners?
- [07:31]
B
Yeah.
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A
And how does that work?
- [07:32]
B
Yeah. Well, I think the biggest piece is the communication piece. And I think that's just for anybody in a relationship. Right. You got to be able to communicate exactly what you're feeling and what they're feeling. Kelly has known from since we started dating that I did not want to be in corporate America, that I myself wanted to be my own boss at something.
- [07:48]
A
Sure.
- [07:49]
B
I think it really is. It takes you being a part of a group. Right. And I'm this, obviously selling a action academy because it worked. Right. So it's one of those things where it's like, you've got to have other people around you. And I think that's super important. I think I've heard you say multiple times, it's the, you know, the who, not the how. Right?
- [08:02]
A
Yeah. But you just see people succeeding.
- [08:05]
B
Yeah.
- [08:06]
A
It's not like some crazy secret.
- [08:07]
B
It's really not.
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A
It's just like, you're not smarter than me.
- [08:09]
B
No.
- [08:10]
A
You know, and then you see them winning, and you're like, wait, like, I can do it.
- [08:13]
B
And so that's where it's just like. It's the communication piece, figuring that out. Right. And obviously, like, being expressive about what you want out of life. And then from there. Right. It's obviously, we work together as a team on this, and I think that's where the communication piece comes in, because it's like, hey, I need your help here. Right. This is what we're trying to do. Or like, hey, like, I need you to pull back a little bit. Right. Like, even now we're in this business world of we're owning this business currently, and it's like, I'm. Every Saturday, I'm at the gym. Every Saturday, I'm at the gym. So Kelly being like, hey, I need you to take one Saturday and not do gym stuff. Perfectly fine. Cause guess what? Somebody that's putting in the right processes in which we can get into that. Right. Like, it's going to work and operate without you for two hours out of the day. It'll be fine. So it's like, I think the communication pieces is super huge when it comes to buying a business, Especially if you're doing it with your wife or you're doing it with your husband or whomever. Significant other.
- [08:57]
A
Yeah, No, I think. I think it is huge. And then to. To speak to that part. Well, actually, we'll talk about processes here in a little bit, because eventually you remove yourself for two hours, then two days, then two weeks. And now Nat and I are about to remove ourselves for three months, Europe, from. From our company. And it's a crazy. It's a crazy experience to do what's called, like, operationalizing the business now. But let's go back to kind of square one because there's a few different phases of business. There's like, okay, I have this idea. Or it's like, you're going through acquisition. So let's talk about the acquisition process here. Because a lot of people have this timeline that they're anticipating versus the timeline. That's true. And you and I got pushed back so many different ways in our acquisition. So let's talk about acquisition then. Let's talk about this phase right now, which is kind of like, I don't know what you would call, like, acclimation now. You're, like, getting all the initial customers in, and now you're kind of figuring out what your new routine is. Let's hit on those. Let's do acquisition, then acclimation here.
- [09:56]
B
Yeah. So going back to acquisition part, right? Like, obviously, I mentioned I was going to buy a logistics company and then obviously going through that process, it wasn't going to work for me. So in the meantime, right, I think one of the things, especially with an Action Academy, you're trying to figure out, like, what do I want to do now? What's your buy box? Right. Like, where can I feel, you know, something that's going to want to get me up in the morning? And so for me, right, like, obviously, like, I. I don't. I didn't want a plumbing company. I didn't want, you know, logistics company. Right. Like, the logistics company made sense. But the communication piece with Kelly, she's like, do you want to do that every single day? It's like, is it going to get you out of corporate job? Yes. But, like, are you going to thrive and enjoy it? And I'm like, no, that's huge. So for me, right, like, I found the yard gym on Instagram and it's like, hey, like, we're franchising. I was like, this place looks awesome. I was like, it is sexy. Like, it's the upscale boutique gym, right? And there's just a whole dynamic around it. Like, I had never heard of it before. So I. I've talked about this before, but basically, like, I put my info in, didn't expect anything back from it. And I'm still, you know, in Action Academy, trying to, like, you know, go through that process, whatnot. And then I get a call from Australia, like, on my phone, and for an hour I talked to the sales guy. His name's Carl.
- [10:56]
A
Yeah, we Talked like, awesome.
- [10:57]
B
Yeah. You met Carl? Yeah, meeting. Yeah, yeah. He's a Italian, Australian, suave guy, great guy. Anyway, so we had that whole conversation and like, I literally was like, oh, my gosh, like, this is it. This is what I want to do. So for about seven months. And this is where, like, hey, a lot of people, like, they want to gather their job really quickly, but, like, you got to do your due diligence. Like, we're talking, going through the pro forma, understanding the yard gym, understanding what they mean, their values, right? Like, why this franchise? Why franchise in general makes sense? Like, what is the point of doing this, right, if it's not going to be able to make me money, but also get me out of my corporate job, like, all those key pieces. And so for about seven months, we, we dated, as I always say. And then this is where that piece comes in, where I was like, okay, I need money to do the franchise and to basically buy the. Buy the territory for it. Right? So what ended up happening actually, though is like Kelly and I had the money to do the. Do the franchise piece for the territory, but then it was like, okay, from there, let's start talking about the SBA loan, right?
- [11:53]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [11:54]
B
And so we're like, all right, let's get this done. And so that's when I reached out to you, Brian, and we're like, hey, like, you know, I did a whole thing on our group about, like, why, you know, the business side of things. Like, you know, especially now with like, millennials, like, they're, they're looking at like, we have another pandemic. Millennials are like, I don't care. I'm still gonna spend money on health.
- [12:11]
A
And community.
- [12:11]
B
And community. That's the other piece too.
- [12:13]
A
People want to be in person with each other.
- [12:14]
B
They want it. And you felt that today, like, like, it's awesome. It's a close knit group. It's a smaller space, but like, that's the point of it. It.
- [12:19]
A
Yeah, we had what, like 20, 30 people?
- [12:21]
B
Yeah, there was 26 people there.
- [12:22]
A
Yeah. And it was. I became friends with three or four. Yeah.
- [12:26]
B
And there's an action academy guy there today too. Shane.
- [12:28]
A
Two of them.
- [12:28]
B
Sean. Shane or Sean?
- [12:29]
A
Yeah, we had you and then we had Alex. Oh, yeah. Who bought two businesses. And then we had Shane.
- [12:34]
B
Yeah, he's brand new. So sorry if we got your name wrong. Like, obviously we just met you, but still. So it's like there's that whole piece. And so that's where the acquisition piece comes in. Because you Know, that's when it started to really don't say go downhill, but it's like, what does this look like? And then that's where, you know, we were having our conversations back. And that was back in 2024. And now we're in 2026. So that tells you anything. That's the end of 2024, we're thinking, we're, we're moving and grooving, right. Like, we paid the franchise fee. We're like, all right, let's start looking for leases. We've got our operations agreement, we can still got dive into all that. And like, we're, we're going through it. And the reason why Going back chose the Yard Gym, right? From a franchise piece they preached on Network Health. Network Health. Network Health. Network Health. The Yard gym turns away 70% of people that apply. So they fly you out to San Diego, it's LA now. And like you go through the workout, you meet the founder, Dan Boba, right. Like they interview you for this piece. It's like they don't care if you got millions of dollars. They want to know that, like, you're going to run this place efficiently and it's going to be the same brand standard all across the world.
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A
Good.
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B
And so it's one of those.
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A
It's an Australia based.
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B
It's Australian based. Yeah. And another thing with Australia is a lot of companies go to Australia to test the market there and if it does successful, they bring it to the US that was another key piece within my business. I was like, this makes sense because it's successful in Australia. Spotify, McDonald's, all that stuff, test over there and they bring it over here. So, you know, it's the gym F45 started in Australia.
- [13:48]
A
Yeah.
- [13:48]
B
So anyway, they bring it over here and you know it's successful. So the Network Health piece, their values of what they wanted, the way that the workouts are ran, there's two sides that run at the exact same time. It's actual strength training. Right. And then you have the turf piece, which is all the cardio, which you did a lot of today.
- [14:02]
A
Yeah.
- [14:02]
B
And so just all through all that, right. I was like, this makes so much sense. This is exactly what I want to do. And so that was the reason why we chose the yard. Plus it being a franchise, they have all the SOPs, the KPIs, I mean, the whole system of sales that they have, Right. From like when you walk somebody in to showing them around, giving them the tour. Right. Just the transition from that person to the Trainers on the floor, back to the front of house. I mean, it is. It's all science and it was awesome. So I was like, yes, let's do it.
- [14:28]
A
Yeah. I mean, I would say that is the pro, because there's pros and cons to franchises. So the pros to franchises are when you walk in, it's like you're buying a business in a box. Like, it's already proven it's been done. Hey, like, when you have somebody come in, smile, shake their hand, do this, do this, do this. Okay, here's how it's going to look. Here's the architecture, here's all this stuff. They have everything designed and they have all the SOPs, like, laid out. The issue is on the negative side of that is you can't change it.
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B
You cannot change it.
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A
You cannot change it. So if something does not work as well as it could, doesn't matter.
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B
Exactly.
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A
You can't change it. And so not to say anything about the yard, but I mean, well, one of the difficult things is during the tariffs, right? We couldn't get everything shipped over.
- [15:07]
B
If you want to dive into all the difficult stuff that we went through in our relationship now. But.
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A
But it's like, I also had a friend who had a painting franchise and, like, the marketing was just awful in that territory. He's like, hey, I'm gonna. I'm a business owner. I'm going to go try to do some new marketing. And he couldn't.
- [15:21]
B
Yeah.
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A
Because he had to use the marketing that the franchise said. And then also the franchise agreement is insane. Like, every franchise agreement is the largest legal document that you're ever going to sign.
- [15:31]
B
110 pages of just like, honestly, a lot of it's fluff. Like, it really is. But I mean, it backs them. It makes sense to a point.
- [15:38]
A
Yeah.
- [15:39]
B
But, yeah, let's. I think. I think this is the. This is the part that I want to get to.
- [15:42]
A
Yeah. About all the other hardships of it.
- [15:44]
B
Yeah, I think so.
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A
Business isn't easy.
- [15:46]
B
Business is not easy.
- [15:47]
A
It's.
- [15:47]
B
It's fun now, Right. Like, obviously, coming from that corporate world and like, being in that part. Right. And obviously the franchise provides the SOPs and the KPIs, right. Of things you need to hit. But for me, and I've told my team this right across the board, like, I haven't really enjoyed my time in sales leadership, right. I worked for a startup And I led 65 account managers, right. And seeing them grow, right, Getting people into elevated positions like that fills my cup. So the same thing. Right. Taking that and applying that to working out. Like, you see people get better every single day. And so for me, that fills my cup, because they're. They're getting stronger, they're getting better. And you know this, too, especially through your transformation you're doing right now. Right. Obviously, you've always worked out, but the days you work out, it's ten times better. Right. And then that makes you, you know, better. Better significant other to not, like, overall business owner.
- [16:38]
A
Business.
- [16:38]
B
Yeah. It just. It transcends across the board. And so for me, that was one of the reasons I was like, okay, this, the yard. This is what I want to do. And being able to apply that.
- [16:46]
A
Yeah. And honestly. And for me. And then we'll get into, like, kind of like, the difficulties of things when we. When we got it. But the reason that I invested, because, like, candidly, it's a deal that's, like, a little smaller than my normal threshold, which we talked about that.
- [16:57]
B
Yeah.
- [16:58]
A
Because now normally it's like, I'm not doing a deal that is less than $100,000 of me deploying.
- [17:02]
B
Yeah.
- [17:03]
A
And so for this one, I was just like, man, I want to get a gym. Like. Yeah. I did not have a gym on my radar. And, you know, because I was looking at, like, two to $5 million companies. And then. But then with you and Kelly, what I was looking at and then this would be helpful for anybody that wants to be a capital investor in a business is I look for a few things. Number one is like, do I like the concept? Like. Like, the concept itself. I'm serious. Like, because here's the thing, dude. Like, eventually, you make enough money to where you're like, I'm only going to do shit that's fun and, like, interesting to me.
- [17:32]
B
Yeah.
- [17:32]
A
And, like, the concept was cool. Like, I was like, all right, you're selling me on the vision of it. And you were super excited about it. And then so I got super excited about it.
- [17:40]
B
Yeah.
- [17:40]
A
And then the second thing was the operator. And I'm like, well, you've got you. Who's got sales leadership. You got Kelly, your wife, who's a badass.
- [17:47]
B
Yeah.
- [17:47]
A
And then it's like, you guys have young kids, and, like, there is no other option than success.
- [17:51]
B
That's the key piece there, too. There is no other option. Like, I tell Kelly friends all the time, I'm like, yeah, I've got, you know, this loan hanging over my head. It's like, I have to. That's a whole other thing.
- [18:01]
A
Right.
- [18:01]
B
You Talk about the business side of things right now, like I have no problem going home and putting my kids to bed at 8 o', clock, opening my laptop because it's my business. I'm going to tell you right now in Corporate America at 5pm, you're not getting me on slack.
- [18:10]
A
No. Like you're just not getting completely different.
- [18:13]
B
So now, like I have no problem opening up and looking at numbers, trying to run analytics and make sure that we're operating the way we're supposed to.
- [18:17]
A
Yeah.
- [18:18]
B
So.
- [18:18]
A
So now let's get into one of the, the main cons of franchise again. It's not necessarily a bad thing or something to deter people, but people need to be aware of this is when if I. So for instance, the kitchen hood cleaning company that we bought.
- [18:32]
B
Yep.
- [18:32]
A
We close and then the next day, like day 90, we closed day 91, where business owners are walking in, people are already there, People are already operating. They've been there for 10 years. With the France new franchise location, you have to. You're in charge of getting the lease, you're in charge of doing the build out. There's a lot that goes into building a new franchise location. So tell people what we learned through this. Because we learned a lot.
- [18:53]
B
We learned a lot, man. And I think that's the key piece too is like what we said, it's just like there was a lot of struggle. So first struggle was just lease, lease in Nashville. And what we found was, is people were different. Not, not our agent, our agent was phenomenal. Different leasing groups were using our bid or loi against us to get other people to leverage other people in. And so because of that, the thing is, the yard gym's not known around the US yet. So then when they had a brand that came in that was like well known, they were going with them instead. So there was a couple times right after we signed the agreement, right. We had done our operations agreement and we were ready to go. I mean we found a couple places like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. But we already got three different places loi submitted, we're good to go. Hey, sorry. Actually they went with somebody else. Hey, they went with somebody else. And then last second, last second, then it dried up. I mean it dried up for probably about five, six months. And, and, and Nashville is such a transplant city. That's why I wanted to open the yards. Because you got people from la, Austin, New York. Right. Nobody here from Nashville is always a running joke. Nobody's from Nashville and like it's the same thing as Austin. Yeah. Like, nobody's from here. So, like, you get all. You're meeting all these people. So space is very limited, and so it also gets very expensive, so you've got to check the numbers and make sure it works. So we were going back and forth, and we finally signed a lease, right? But then it was like, okay, now we've got to get the lease signed. And then, like, let's get the SBA going, right? Let's get all that moving. Well, then we had the government shutdown. And so I literally, I think I was like, right when that happened, I was like, brian, go ahead, wire the money. We're ready to go. Three days later, government shut down. They're like, we're not taking your money right now. We don't know when this is going to happen. We don't know what's going on. I'm like, oh, my goodness, here we are waiting. I remember texting you, and you were just like, all right. You were like, you were all right, no big deal. Like, it was like the first time. You were like, all right, no big deal. So we waited and we waited, and it ended up just because it ended on, like, I think it was for one month. It was like, October 1st, October 31st. But just because it ended on October 1st did not mean that they were, like, ready to go yet. People had to get operating again. So then it was finally, like, I think the end of November, they're like, all right, SBA went through. So we finally signed all of our documents, and this was last November. So now we're, you know, obviously, here we are, so. And so we started the build out right, ready to go there, but then we had Trump tariffs. So the Trump tariffs ended up pushing back all of our equipment, which was coming from Australia. And so that took more time as well. And we were like, oh, my gosh, here we go again. So I remember telling you that, and you were like, all right, well, here we go, right? And so these are just key things, like, there's just outside factors, right? Finding release. Then we had the Trump tariffs, and just like the tariffs overall just like, hey, like, everything keeps getting pushed back, pushed back, pushed back. And then a third component was in Nashville. The weather is super crazy here. Like, it just. It happens all the time. We sit in a valley in between on the Appalachian Mountains. So, like, hot weather, forms of cold weather, and sometimes we get really bad tornadoes, and then randomly, we get ice storms. And so we had an ice storm that lasted basically knocked out all of Nashville for about two weeks. So the Ice Storm was also pushed back all of our subcontractors for our GCS. So I remember we had a March 11, March 10 open date or something like that. Your. Your plane tickets were booked, ready to go, and then I had to message you. And then, like, at that moment, it's like, no, dude, no. Like, you're, like, you're pissed. And I. I would be pissed, too, but it's just, like, it's out of your control. And this is like, stuff from a leasing side and just the. The franchise startup where it's like, you have to find all this stuff. And like, you said, Day 9091, you're in there. There's. We don't have business yet. We had members who were signed up, ready to go via our VIP members. People that stuck with us through this all. I think through all that stuff, we lost one person who was just like, you're taking too long. And it's like, you know what, man? I totally get that. Right. You're taking too long. Let me refund your money. We're good to go there. But shout out to the members who are still here. Right. Obviously, we're a month in now, so finally, through all that, you know, we're open on. What was it, April 11th, and we're almost a month in. We're. Saturday's May 9th. So it's like, key things that can just, like, back you up. I think one of the things now, looking back, it's like, all right, like, don't. A wire takes a split second.
- [22:42]
A
Yeah.
- [22:43]
B
So I think as long as you're communicative. I even said that with. About being with a significant other, it's like, be communicated with your business partner.
- [22:50]
A
Yeah.
- [22:50]
B
And then we can go back and even talk about our operations agreement that we came up with as well, because I think that's. We basically talked about it from a standpoint of we're talking about a divorce rather than just like a happy go Lucky rainbows and. And, yeah, everything else.
- [23:02]
A
Thousand percent. I mean. Yeah. From my perspective, it's like, you guys did a pret. Good job with the communication aspect. And I think that when you get into this game, it's like, it's not get rich quick, you know? And so, I mean, I had been through enough deals to where it was like, okay, like, I understand things are going on, and I mean, even just from like, an emotional maturity perspective on my side, I'm like. Because a lot of the times, like, when you're going through it and like, this is nothing personal to You. No, but it's just like, when you're going through it and, like, shit starts hitting the fan, then you're like, oh, what are they doing? Like, why are they doing this to me?
- [23:38]
B
Yeah.
- [23:38]
A
And then, like, here's what people need to remember is like, no one's thinking about you at all.
- [23:42]
B
No.
- [23:43]
A
I'm like, I literally. I told my girlfriend sitting here off camera, and I literally told her verbatim. I was like, hey, Nat, you know what? I don't think Zach and Kelly planned on purpose to move the opening of their gym two days after the birth of their second child. Yeah. Don't think that that was probably a part of some master evil plan, you know? And. And so it's just like. Like, sometimes it's business, man. It's like you got to remove your emotions from it, and you just got to keep trucking, you know? And so that's why I think the number one thing that people do wrong in business, especially with partnership, is they don't go into the partnership defined with who does what, who owns what, what winning looks like, what communication looks like.
- [24:22]
B
Yeah.
- [24:23]
A
That's what we did with our operating agreement. And people mess up the operating agreement. Like, if there's a hundred people listening to this that are business partners right now, I probably would say 92 out of the 100 have a shitty operating agreement. And we have a really good operating.
- [24:37]
B
We really do. Now, I will say it was backed up because of 2024. We thought we were going to get kicked off, but, like, even the way we set it up, I would see, like, you know, just even from, like, an incentive plan. Right. From obviously, like, your equity grows.
- [24:48]
A
Yeah. And if somebody. If somebody. And if somebody dies.
- [24:51]
B
Yeah.
- [24:52]
A
Like, somebody dies, what happens?
- [24:53]
B
Yeah, like, what happens with the business. Right. Like, there's that piece of it. If it gets to the point where it's like. Brian's like, you know what, dude? I'm done.
- [24:59]
A
I'm done.
- [24:59]
B
I'm over. I'm over it. Like, even that piece. Because I think that's the key component, right? Where, like, even during that time when it was shitty, where it's just like a constant back and forth of. We were just like, damn, I gotta text Brian again. Like, I'm having that conversation with you. Right. It's like, okay, like, does it ever get to that point where it's just like, dude, we're done, or like, hey, like, we gotta have a divorce, or just something. Right. Like, being able to talk through that? And I think you've done this Enough to where you realize it's like you said, nobody's doing this on purpose. It's just like you made the. Hey, that's, that's the gamble you make when you go into being an investor. Right. Being a partial business owner or something. Right.
- [25:30]
A
And so especially for the first time, there's a lot of unknowns.
- [25:33]
B
Yeah.
- [25:33]
A
And people partnering for the first time, it's like, that's something I just learned because, like, a lot of the deals that we've done, it's just like, it's a lot of the people's first time running a business. Yeah. And so there's a learning curve that I didn't like, anticipate and I didn't underwrite for, but now I'm a lot more, like, selective. So now I back, like fewer operators with a lot more capital than spreading out, like, kind of so horizontally.
- [25:57]
B
Yeah.
- [25:58]
A
You know, because of that reason. Yeah.
- [25:59]
B
And I think though, like, obviously for me, like, hell, I would love to be able to right away, you know, start giving you money, like, boom, boom, boom. But I think the way that we built our operations agreement, like, you're going to double that in time once we start making the money that we need to.
- [26:12]
A
But it's a win win.
- [26:13]
B
It is a win win. And I think it's just, that's the key ponet of this. When we were talking about it, from when you first get started, especially, you know what you don't know, like, there's going to be issues. It's like, hey, one, you have that relationship, you have the communication piece. But also, can we build it out in our operations agreement? I mean, we even did like a consulting piece. Right. Like, you came out today. I think this podcast was part of it. Right. It's just like the key piece of you're constantly tagging, you're. You're building that brand around us as well.
- [26:36]
A
And what does that look like, you know, on paper?
- [26:39]
B
Exactly. Right. And so we put that into our operations agreement. And so like, now it's like, okay, now that we're getting going, it's like it's all full effect. And then from there it's like it's just going to continue to grow. So that was something for me. You know, obviously this is another thing. You have to hire a lawyer to do this, guys. Like, you can't go chat GPT. And in reality, like, you could, but like, and if you weren't really wanting buttoned up, like, there's franchise lawyers out there. And like, luckily we had some friends in Austin who had that are lawyer friends. They went to ut. And so, like, they were like, okay, yeah, we'll help you out with this. And so it's like one of those things where this is all stuff you have to plan for, but it costs money now. But in the long run, here we are sitting here having a podcast talk. Like, it helps out tremendously.
- [27:15]
A
Yeah. Because, I mean, you need to align expectations. Because everybody likes talking about the upside. Everybody likes to talk about, oh, well, here's what happens when things go great and we're gonna make hundreds of thousands of dollars to cash flow. Yeah, we will. It'll all work out. But it's just, like, in between. Like, that's not the stuff that really matters when you pull up the agreement. Because when you pull up the agreement, it's only. You're only pulling it out when you're fighting.
- [27:35]
B
Yep.
- [27:36]
A
So it's a disagreement. It's an operating disagreement.
- [27:38]
B
Yeah.
- [27:38]
A
Because it's only when you're fighting. And so when you pull it out, it's like, you need to be able to say, oh, article four, section three. Like, article five, section two. Like, bro, it's, like, right here. So, like, we're in the process of, you know, acquiring equity in another company of, like, a good buddy of mine, and he's like. He's like, hey, man. Yeah, you know, we just want you to help grow the company with. With your brand, and, you know, we'll give you this percentage of equity in the. In the company. I'm like, okay, great. So what does that look like?
- [28:02]
B
Yeah.
- [28:02]
A
How many posts by how many stories? Yeah, like, okay, what would make you angry? What would make you upset? Like, what if I just disappeared and went off to Europe for six months and post anything? What happens? Like, what if I just decide I don't feel like posting content at all anymore? I just delete the entire brand? And so it's just like, there's things that need to. Like, even in my. In my tourism company in Alaska, we have a clause where it's like, if I get hit by a car and I'm unable to post content, if I'm hospitalized and I'm unable to post content, like, do I get equity stripped? Do I get distribution stripped?
- [28:35]
B
Yeah.
- [28:36]
A
No. And so the. You have to think about that type of stuff.
- [28:39]
B
Yeah, that's actually why that you just said that. I don't think we have that in ours. We need to redo it.
- [28:42]
A
Yeah, we got to redo it. Yeah, it's like force majeure.
- [28:46]
B
Right.
- [28:47]
A
But anyways, so to go back to the process. Like, obviously, it's just like, there's a lot of stuff that you can't really like business book or business podcast your way into. And so can you explain that to somebody? Because you just went through it, right? And the only way to go through it and to go, you can't go around it. You got to go through it. So for somebody that's, like, nervous to start their own business or buy their own business and they're trying to get all the information, what's some advice that you would give to them? Because, like, you can't have all the information.
- [29:15]
B
Well, it's like, it's the whole analysis by paralysis, right? Or analysis by analysis. However you say it, it's literally like, you're not ever going to know. And I think that's like the beauty in it, right? Like, you've got to take that leap of faith. I mean, you never hear about an entrepreneur or somebody who just like, stood on the sidelines, right? It's always somebody that gets their hands there, that gets into it, and then they do fail, right?
- [29:35]
A
Like, it's the only guarantee.
- [29:36]
B
Exactly, right. The only guarantee is to fail. And then also at the same time, like, if we start struggling, man, I can just go get another job. Like, that's. That was kind of in the back of my mind. It's like, I can always just go get something and, you know, make 50k, 60k salary, right? Like, if I need to, right? There's. There is that key piece there, especially with my background. But really, you just. You have to dive in head first. I think you take a lot of what you already know, especially for me, which is coming from sales leadership, right? In the sales sector. Like, I know that can apply that to the gym. So it's like that already is over my head of like, okay, I can do this. And I think you just trust in yourself, right? Like, I mean, there's obviously no magic pill of like, okay, this is what you should do. I think everyone's experience is completely different, right? As you start running through the every day to day. I mean, like, even right now on the startup piece where we're at, like, I can't even tell you how many times we had one of our $600 Sonos speakers just fall to the ground. And of course, well, now I got to go buy another Sono speaker, or our scheduling was being done on an Excel sheet, and now I finally have, like, an app for, like, our team, right? It's like little stuff that you just find out, like, you just work through it. Right. As long as the business is running, the key piece for me and with the. With the yard is people are there for the workout experience. So it's like, we're worried about, like, the scheduling and, like, I'm making sure, like, things are clean. Right. And, like, obviously. But, like, people are there to work out. Right. And I think so at the end of the day is just simplify everything. If you can simplify it, like, you're going to be okay. And, like, obviously take that leap of faith.
- [30:56]
A
And I think to your point, like, people undervalue the skill sets that they already have.
- [31:01]
B
Exactly.
- [31:02]
A
And so I think that the ingredients of an entrepreneur, or at least somebody that I'm looking to back, because I think we've got about a million dollars probably deployed now into, like, operators. And so what I'm looking for is A, like, raw intelligence. Like, are you somebody that just has a high intelligence quotient and high agency? Like, are you just somebody that has a track record of success in general? Like, do you just have the raw ingredients? And then B, it's like, do you have career capital?
- [31:27]
B
Yeah.
- [31:28]
A
So it's like, what have you done in corporate and, like, what have you done in your career? Because I don't believe in this whole, oh, like, I've got no money, no skills. I'm just getting started. I should go be a business owner. I don't think that that's true. I honestly think if you're 21 listening or watching this, you should go get a job.
- [31:43]
B
Like.
- [31:44]
A
Like, go get a job and work for somebody and learn stuff. Dude, I learned so much stuff in corporate America. And you did.
- [31:50]
B
Yeah.
- [31:50]
A
That we have. Because when you think about it, a job viewed through the correct lens is you are getting paid to learn skills.
- [31:58]
B
Exactly. And those life skills, they translate. I think there's one of those things you just, as you were talking through this, it's like, okay, learning from your past experiences. I mean, one of my first jobs out of college, a life experience where, like, I lied on my numbers that, like, the sales numbers, and I got caught. I could have been fired, and I was not, and I ended up moving into another role. Right. Eats at me to this day because I know that, like, had I just not lied. Right. But, like, we're talking. This was right out of college, so I was scared of losing my job, but taking that same. That same perspective and then reapplying that back. Right. Like, I am not the same person I was. Right. I've grown from that I also know that like people are struggling through things. So I can take that from a leadership perspective and be like, okay, like here, here's where we are. Like, how can we help move you through this process? How can I help these people? And so it's like you take your past failures and you can apply that back and you learn so much from it. To your point, you're 21 years old. Like, go get a job. Learn these experiences. Right. Be in these moments where it's like, okay, this is, this sucks. This really sucks. But then it's like I had a kid and then four days later I opened up a business. It's like this, this is easy. Now don't get me wrong, that was hard as hell. But point being, it's like we're perspective, we're through it. Yeah. I've got a one month old now and I'm sleeping four hours a night. But you know, I'm still waking up and get to the gym because I'm excited about it.
- [33:10]
A
Yeah, correct. And then so I mean, that's the last thing I look for too. And like in an entrepreneur or an operator that I want to invest in is somebody that I'm like, there is no other option. Like, there is no plan B. So it's just like with me and I tell my girlfriend this all the time, it's like, I am going to figure it out or I'm going to die.
- [33:26]
B
Yeah.
- [33:27]
A
There is no other option. So if you took everything away from me, like I would have another million dollar business by the end of the year. Because it's just like I know how to do that.
- [33:36]
B
Yeah.
- [33:36]
A
And there is no other option. Like I will go cold call a thousand people a day if I need to. And so it's just like, if you just realize that it's like that applies to anyone. That doesn't just apply to me. It doesn't just apply to you. Doesn't just apply. I mean it literally applies to every single person listening to this, watching this is. You are either going to figure it out or you are going to die. There is no other option.
- [33:59]
B
Yeah. And when you fail, right. You're just, you're.
- [34:01]
A
Yeah.
- [34:01]
B
Square one again.
- [34:02]
A
And that's entrepreneurship. It's just, how many times can I get hit on my back? And I'm just going again. Right. And I'm just going again.
- [34:09]
B
Was that Chumbawamba? I get knocked down.
- [34:11]
A
Yeah.
- [34:13]
B
Yeah.
- [34:14]
A
So anyway, so now, you know, let's give some advice, maybe in closing to somebody that is a parent and especially A new parent.
- [34:22]
B
Yeah.
- [34:22]
A
And they're like, okay, cool. I've got a couple rental properties. I got this job, I've got this security. You know, like, what's advice you can give to somebody with, like, young children?
- [34:30]
B
Yeah.
- [34:30]
A
That's like going out on this, too.
- [34:31]
B
Yeah. I think if you have your priorities straight, right. Like, obviously being able to build that right around it. One of the things, like, you know, we, my wife and I did even before, like Action Academy is we do our vision boards.
- [34:41]
A
Right.
- [34:41]
B
And so one of the, one of the first things that we did there and especially, like, what are our values as a family? And so for us, it's literally faith and then family and then business. And so it's like, for us, right. I think if you hold true to your values, it all aligns in the end, right? So, like, as a family, for me, it's like, I need to make sure that when I'm with my kids, I'm with them. When I'm with Kelly, I'm with Kelly. Right. Like, I promise you for two hours out of the night, right? The four to seven witching hour. My parents know exactly what I'm talking about. That four to seven witching hour. Like, be with your kids, be with your wife, right? And then, hey, put them down. And you can always hop back on. And even when I hop back on, right, Like, I'm on the computer sitting next to Kelly, we're still having a conversation. We're doing what we need to. I think if you align your values and you know what's most important, everything else does come easy, Right. Because you can obviously buy your time where you need to. And so for now, with, like, the business, it's like that communication piece. We know that when I'm doing business, I'm doing business. But at the same time, when Kelly needs me or my kids need me, it's like I'm with them. So I say make sure that you line out your values and, like, you're going to be set for from there.
- [35:42]
A
Yeah. I mean, the best piece of advice I could probably give in closing is things don't get easier, you just get better.
- [35:48]
B
You really do. It's the processes, man. It's just.
- [35:51]
A
It's the process. I mean, same thing with us. It's just like, dude, we just went through a really crappy season in business, too. And it's just like, you're going to continue having crappy seasons of business. But that's what makes the wins worth it. That's what makes the highest worth it. Like if. If there was no struggle, like, no. None of us would care and none of this would matter, you know? So in closing, if people want to find out more about you, they want to follow along your journey and they want to check out the Yard Nashville. Like where.
- [36:13]
B
Where we're on, we're on Instagram and Tik Tok. So for me personally, it's just Z. Bishkin.
- [36:19]
A
Don't even try to spell it. Just go. Just go in the show description. Go in the description of the video.
- [36:23]
B
Exactly that. And then for the yard gym West Nashville, it's literally the yard. It's. It's literally Tyg West Nashville on Instagram. And then for Tik Tok, it's the same thing. Tyg West Nashville. So you can go on there and see the Tik Tok is going to be more of like the behind the scenes, the funniness.
- [36:37]
A
Yeah.
- [36:37]
B
And then obviously from the Instagram is going to be more of the seriousness. Right. You're going to see a lot of the posts, you're going to see a lot of the cool stuff that we do. And then. Yeah, even on my side. Right. I always love to post things here and there. Just trying to make sure you really do get the behind the scenes. I'm trying to build the brand side of somebody, you know, from the consulting agreement. May have you do that a little bit more. Just so we're here for me, posting a little bit more about what's going on in my life just because it's. It's a lot, man. But yeah, that's how you can find me.
- [37:00]
A
So, yeah. Beautiful. Guys, if you're looking for a group fitness class, go check out the Yard Gym in West Nashville. We just again had an awesome workout. It's a great community. Dude, awesome. Awesome doing this with you. Awesome having you, dude. Finally got somebody from. From college that we did business partnership.
- [37:17]
B
West. Go Wolves, yo.
- [37:18]
A
Westco. Wolves, baby, go. Shout out West Georgia. Shout out Carrollton. Shout out the Irish Bread Pub. Dude, that is available.
- [37:23]
B
Yes.
- [37:24]
A
No, it's a shitty business. We're not buying that.
- [37:25]
B
No, no, let's buy it and do something else with it.
- [37:27]
A
Renovate it. Like destroy it. Tear down after some Rumple Mint shots. All right, guys, thank you so much for tuning in. If you got some value from this, please like subscribe. Share it with somebody else that thinks that you could think will get value from it as well that's looking to get into entrepreneurship. So it's been Zach Brown with the Action Academy podcast signing off. See ya.