Anytime I can liken business to CrossFit I’m going to try.  So the other day while I was cleaning the floors (which is thing #345642 that will frustrate you to no end) I was thinking about why people should come to my box instead of others.  What makes the other boxes in DC better/worse than mine.  I came up with what I’m terming the “10 General CrossFit Box Skills:”

Price: How much do you cost?
Location: Where are you’re located (aka convenience)?
Programming: Do you have good workouts or do you do what Dutch calls “Any Asshole” programming?
Coaching: How good you are at recognizing good movement from bad and fixing problems?
Service: This is a poor choice of words but how much do you care about what you’re doing and how far are you willing to go for your athletes?
Equipment: What’s your equipment like?  Will you fix the broken end on that bar or just use the catch-all “unknown unknowable” phrase and tell people to deal with it.  This goes for toilets, windows, and a whole host of other shit that will break ALL THE TIME.
Community: What are your people like?  Do they have a good time and encourage others to have a good time as well?  Do they make the process of getting fit enjoyable or does coming to your box seem like a chore to your people?
Athletes:  Do you have a good mix of fire-breathers and regular CrossFitters?
Professionalism:  Do you handle things correctly and in a timely manner? 
Results: Does what you do actually work?

Whether you think it’s fair what’s on this list or not you’re missing the point.  Point is people (read: potential athletes) care.  When a potential athlete is looking for gyms and you’re located across town and there’s a box around the corner, doesn’t matter that you’re 10x better at programming or coaching, it’s going to be tougher to get him.  

These are just like the 10 General Physical Skills of Dynamax/CrossFit.  I know working on flexibility sucks, but if you actually want to be the best CrossFitter you can be you HAVE to work on it.  I know working on professionalism sucks (like responding to 100+ emails a day when all you want to do is run WODs), but if you actually want to be the best CrossFit box you can be you HAVE to work on it.  You can tell me that location doesn’t matter and that people will seek great training (and I’ll agree); but if all things being equal my box is closer than yours I’m going to get an athlete over another box.  Just like if 9 of our general physical skills are equal and my balance is better than yours I’ll probably beat you in a WOD.  All of these things matter whether you want them to or not.

Where this is helpful I think is when thinking about pricing for your box (which I’ve been doing a lot lately).  When I opened I was very unsure of myself as a coach and my programming.  A friend of mine has been coaching CrossFit for 3x longer than me and his programming is fantastic, he runs a great box.  But I bet he’ll admit (or maybe he won’t because he’s super stubborn) that my location is MUCH better than his.  

All 10 of these skills are worth something.  They should all be reflected in what you charge. Consider all of these when you’re figuring pricing.  I thought pricing should JUST reflect my coaching.  But that’s like selling out Cardiovascular Endurance for Strength.  All the skills need to be considered.  They all have value.  Don’t overestimate, but don’t sell yourself short either.  Keep an open mind, always.