About Lee

Over the years, I have consulted with hundreds of independent business owners in several different industries. From working with Optometrists and Ophthalmologists to consulting Crossfit gym owners across the country, I have over 15 years of experience consulting with and learning from independent business owners. In my younger days, I earned a Bachelor of Science degree from La Roche College in Pittsburgh, and an MBA from Robert Morris University, also in Pittsburgh.

Where are you from and how did you end up in NC?

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA with a short stint as a child in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I have lived in several states over the years including Colorado, Florida, and now North Carolina. My wife (Dani) and I moved to NC in 2008 with a job offer I received in the optical industry, so we packed up the house and moved down with my then 4-year-old daughter, Abby. Since then we have had another daughter, Olivia, in 2010 and moved to Seattle and back, and are now very settled in North Carolina for the long term.

What’s one piece of advice you would give a gym owner?

Being a small business owner myself, I have learned very quickly that I simply cannot do it all, and the simple act of trying to save money by performing all administrative tasks myself has actually hurt my business because what I should be doing is focusing on those items that will help my business grow. So my advice to all gym owners would be to outsource those administrative tasks that take time away from you growing your gym. This can be accomplished in different ways. The first is to potentially hire a General Manager of the gym to take some of the everyday, behind-the-scenes work off your plate. This, unfortunately, can be an expensive route to take and not all gyms are in the position to afford a GM. The other solution is to outsource specific duties to various experts who specialize in those areas. In my opinion, this is the better of the two solutions for 90%of Crossfit gyms because you can take this process on one duty at a time. So if your list of items to get done includes payroll, marketing, Quickbooks, mop the floors, and general cleaning of the gym, maybe you tackle general cleaning of the gym and mopping the floors first. Then a few months down the road, and hopefully a few new members on board, you can outsource your social media marketing to a local high school kid looking to make some extra cash. I believe growing in stages, slowly and steadily, is the path to building a strong and sustainable business.