How to start a gym San Francisco Bay Area w/ Glenda ELEVA

IG Glenda_garay GYM eleva_fitness_studio

Glenda walked into her first gym role with a big goal and a shaky toolkit then built a studio that’s now heading into year three. We sit down with the Eleva Fitness owner from the San Francisco Bay Area to talk about what actually changed her career: investing in education, learning real anatomy and programming, and showing up with a level of coaching presence that makes clients feel safe. When your clients can feel your confidence, retention gets easier, referrals increase, and your value stops being negotiable.

We also get honest about box gym culture and what happens when you start leveling up. Glenda shares what it’s like when other trainers compete, criticize, or try to poach clients, and why leaving a toxic environment can be the smartest business move you make. From there we break down gym ownership basics in plain language: rent, pricing, and why multiple revenue streams matter. We dig into a sustainable fitness studio business model where small group training can cover overhead while personal training becomes the profit engine.

If you’re searching for how to become a successful personal trainer, how to open a gym, or how to market a personal training studio, you’ll take away practical ideas you can use this month: collaborations, workshops, local partnerships, and the focus required to avoid doing 30 things at once. Listen through to the end for Glenda’s no-nonsense advice on betting on yourself, then subscribe, share the episode with a trainer friend, and leave a quick review so more coaches can find it.

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Transcript

Welcome And Quick Announcements

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Show Up Fitness Podcast, where great personal trainers are made. We are changing the fitness industry one qualified trainer at a time with our in-person and online personal training certification. If you want to become an elite personal trainer, head on over to showupfitness.com. Also make sure to check out my book, How to Become a Successful Personal Trainer. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review. Have a great day and keep showing up. Howdy all. Welcome back to the Show Up Fitness Podcast. Today we have Miss Glenda, gym owner in the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevado. She has an amazing gym called Eleva. And she always shows up with those unas muy bonita. How are we doing today, Missy? I'm doing well. How are you? I'm doing great. Let's talk about your story from anytime to gym owner, and we'll get into some of those big goals that you have next.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Cool. Well, thank you for having me. Uh well, I actually started off in a kickboxing studio. I wanted to get my foot in the door. I didn't know what I was doing. So I would looked up certifications online and NASM came up. So I reached out to a girlfriend to see if I can get some sort of hours or training into the kickboxing studio. So she got me in there and I met somebody who worked at anytime there. And for some reason, he was like, you know what? I feel like you would be a great trainer. So that kind of got me thinking, like, okay, cool. May, maybe, maybe this is my opportunity to do what I finally want to do. So I was working at the kickboxing in studio for about a year. And then I switched over to anytime. And I think the most funny, the funniest part of that was he this well, he's he's a friend. He told me that he was gonna teach me everything, that he was gonna help me with the test. So I went into the gym not knowing anything, like not even, I didn't, I didn't know how to program, I didn't know how to do anything. And so the first day comes and he tells me, All right, I'm going to give you everything that all the tools that you need, and for you to be successful. Okay. First day comes and he doesn't show up. And I'm there like, what? I have no idea what I was gonna do. But I do remember going into uh when I was doing my certification for NASM. I looked you guys up on YouTube and I remember some of the things because I went and I skimmed through the videos, and I remember a little bit of the things that uh that you were talking about. So I did a little bit of the CCA, but like I said, I didn't know what I was doing. Uh but yeah, that's how that started. I was at any time for about three years. Yeah.

Seminar Education Builds Real Confidence

SPEAKER_00 2:57

And it's it's not to it's not to knock you as a trainer, but that's just the process. You know, trainers they they definitely didn't follow up on your certification or have you scan something. You just you literally showed up, you looked apart, you have a great personality. So hey, we can use you. Do you remember what the the prices were that you were charging over at any time?

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Yeah, so for uh so for personal training and groups, uh small group trainings, it was$35 an hour.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

And how much were you making?

SPEAKER_01 3:25

I was making$25, uh$35.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Okay, so you're charging$70 or so and you're making$35.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

The the gym was charging$70, and I think that we were making$35. Okay. Whether it was a small group, whether we had five people or one person, we were still getting paid the same.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

And this is why you're such a hunk at because you have a growth mindset, but you're like, you know what, I need to level up. And that's when we first met. You came to where ironically, we're gonna be there on Friday and Saturday, the same gym, but at the time it was owned by Mike, and he passed it on over to Camilo, and he's gonna be hosting us this weekend for our next seminar. But you showed up there and then just kind of talk about what that did for your career and your confidence to then say, you know what, I am competent, I can do this, and you ended up opening up a gym, which is pretty awesome.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Yeah, well, there's a lot of things that happen at the seminar that really, really, really boosted up my confidence because when I went there, I was super shy. I'm a very outgoing person. I love to talk to everybody, but when I'm in a setting where I literally don't know anyone or anything about what's going on, I feel like I hide into my little box. So also I was also looking at everyone around, like, oh my god, these people look like they know what they're doing. So I was uh very open-minded. I wasn't there to, you know, I was I was like, okay, whatever happens happens. And I'm gonna learn and intake as much as I can. So that's what I did. So when I went, I learned so, so much, especially about like anatomy and programming and also how to be more present as a trainer. Because I, well, you know, in box gyms, a lot of people are on their phones or sometimes they're doing some weird workouts. And after the seminar, it was on the weekend. So on that Monday, I came in so confident in with my my clients. I was motivated and I was just doing the different things. So my some of my clients were very impressed in how I had changed my programming. Uh, a lot of them actually felt safe. I don't know. I they're like, oh yeah, I feel like this is this is this is feels better for me. So I was like, okay, cool. And I think the beauty of learning and being confident and being educated is that once, for example, when another trainer tries to tell you something like, oh, why are you doing that, or that's wrong, or whatever, uh, you're like, no, actually the books say this. Or I remember one time I was like, okay, but do you know the four most of the quads? And then when the trainer was like, No, I didn't, I don't need to know that. And I was like, you do actually. So it was really, it was really fun. I felt like I got a lot of uh, you know, as you as you elevate, you get a lot of haters. And not that try to boost myself up, but I've been getting a lot of that late lately. And as I've been growing my business, as I've been growing as a trainer, yeah, it's been it's been a dirty for sure.

Leaving A Toxic Gym Culture

SPEAKER_00 6:27

So much I want to comment on this because that seminar is really cool because Joe was there. Now he opened up a lifetime and he's crushing it in Sacramento. There's also uh Colin, who's one of the top trainers at where I used to work Renaissance Club Sport. Now I think it's Club One or Club Sport or something like that. And then Camilo, he ends up buying the gym where we're at. And you just see these individuals just, as you said, elevate their game. And a lot of trainers do get bitter. One, because they had that scarcity mindset and they're thinking, why would you spend seven, eight hundred bucks to go to a seminar when you know everything? You don't need to know the quads, but then they're the same ones who are struggling and they're not able to increase their pricing. When we were in New Jersey just a couple of months ago, there was a guy that at the Equinox was doing like 40, 50 sessions per month, went to the seminar. Now he's doing over a hundred. So when you invest into your education, as you said, case in point, your confidence goes through the roof and your clients sense it. And what that does is it presents more opportunities. So people think of it as, oh, I don't have this money, I have to waste this money. I already know everything because I'm a trainer. Why would I want to learn from another trainer? That's just a terrible way to go about it. Whereas when you get into these environments, you now see, wow, you know what? The gym I was at, I'm surrounded by a bunch of toxic people. These are the types of people I want to be around, and they're doing stuff, they're active on social media, they are making moves, and then they become managers and they open up their new gyms. And so, what really motivated you to leave anytime and start your own facility?

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Uh, well, a couple of things. Uh, you know, uh the pay, because I was one of the top trainers at any time. There was about, I want to say six to eight of us, because it's not it's not that big. And there was three three women and the rest were guys, man, these guys in the gym. So it got to the point. Oh yeah, this is such a I love telling this story because uh yeah. Um it got to the point where even the guys would compete against me. And I'm like, bro, I'm I'm a woman, chill, we're in the same industry, we have the same clients, whatever. And it got to the point where one of the trainers was trying to quote unquote steal my clients and you know to talk bad about it or bad about my programming. And I was like, okay, whatever. And that's when I knew I was like, this is not the space for me anymore. I feel like out I outgrew everybody, not to down on it because I don't like to do that, but I'm like, I think I outgrew people here, so I think that I'm capable of opening up my own space. I know enough. I have uh the resources, you know, you thank you so much. I always give you thanks. And I have other business owners around me that landed their hand to me. So that's when I was like, okay, I'm capable of doing this by myself. It was it was very, very scary because I wasn't, you know, I was raised just by my mom, and you know, she's not from here, so she's not educated as much as I am here. I have the opportunity to learn and be someone here, but yeah, it was pretty much by myself, but I took the chance, I took the risk.

SPEAKER_00 9:45

It's always dudes with their small dicks that get mad at the world, and it's always funny because when you look at their credentials, they'll get one textbook certification and that is it, and they don't continue to elevate like you have. And so then you go out there and you're smart because there's there's some people that would stick in that environment and it can really bring you down. And you will hear things like it's a dog eat dog world, and that's a perfect example because you want to be surrounded with trainers who bring you up, not ones that are taking your clients or talking shit because of their small dicks. And so it's like, you know, you had the cojones to leave and you you open up a gym, and 81% of gym owners fail within the first year, and you're already on to year three and you're doing great, and you're looking at expansion to open up a bigger spot. So let's dive into your current location, how much it costs per month, how big it is, what your business model is like, streams of revenue, all that fun stuff.

Rent Revenue Streams And Business Model

SPEAKER_01 10:38

All that fun stuff. All right. So I'm currently in Novado, so it is uh actually, so the rent is two grand a month. And then on top of that, side note, I do live by myself, so that's like another. Uh so my streams of revenue right now is I do personal training at the studio and then I do small group trainings. And actually, I was also side note. I used to work at F45 too. Yeah, so that I also got a lot of experience from there. It was really, it was good. And okay, so what else? And then I also do a small part-time job. I I used to get embarrassed about this because I used to say, okay, I'm a business owner. Why am I doing uh part-time? But you know what? I will get to that level where I don't have to do that. And also I like to be outside of my space too. I like to meet new people. I also wanted to uh network, and I've actually met really cool people uh doing that. So people who own businesses, nails, or whatever. Uh what else did you ask?

SPEAKER_00 11:45

I mean, there's so many different ways to get out into your environment, and that's what you're doing. So it's that it's one thing if you had to work at Starbucks 60 hours just to pay your rent, but you have streams of revenue where you're a small group, you have 25 plus members paying 220 per month. So that's already paying for rent in itself, and you have a profit stream from that, and then you have your one-on-one training, and you've also done some really cool things proactively by bringing on new trainers and you require them to get their SUF CPT and they got to go to seminars, which that's why you have a great team. But where would you want to be a year from now, five years from now? What does the big picture have in store for you?

SPEAKER_01 12:21

One of my goals is to make it into a franchise, maybe one of that. And I want to not be actually, yeah, I want to focus more on personal training instead of being into small groups. I feel like that takes a lot of energy. And dealing with a lot of people at a at the same time is not as easy as people make it seem. So yeah, I I I want to do that and I want to be able to work from home and train other trainers and send them over to you and be like, hey, you know, you gotta go through this process to be where I'm at. I want to say that.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

But you have to commend your your process though, your career capital, because you did some F45 small group stuff. And now with a business model, it's way easier to open up a gym and just to get that 20, 25 people. You know, that's why these other, you know, there's like a body fitness over here in Orange Theory. They put their cap like, I gotta get to 300 because then they'll have a nice stream of revenue coming in, but they don't have personal training. So if you use that model for small group and you, you know, market your area and you get 25 people to show up, there's your rent. And that could be a$5,000 rent. So double your rent now. And then you focus on bringing in business with training. So the training can just be all profit. So you use the small group to cover your rent, and that's why it's so important to have those streams of revenue because most trainers, let's go back to the dipshits over at any time that you're at, but they only have one stream and they're not looking at growth and having numerous streams. And that's why when you have these streams, it just makes your life that much easier because you don't have to stress. Oh man, I had a client who canceled. Oh, I had three clients who left last month. No, you know, November's a terrible month, and May is a terrible month. But when you look at your books, you go, This is my security blanket. If I have 25 people doing the small group, that's covering that. And then I can bring on trainers and pay them a fair amount. And the small group you can compare to what you did at F-45, and you can have people coming through, and you're, you know, they're getting qualified with the SUF CPT. Then you can pay them a fair amount. So then they're they're earning their stripes, and you can map out, like, okay, this is what my career looked like year one, year three, year five. Let's give you a nice trajectory where year one, you have to earn those stripes and you have to teach these classes, then you're able to progress into becoming a trainer. And when you're training, you're gonna be getting this much per hour. So maybe your second year, you're doing half of the classes, half training, and you'll start making some decent money. And then year three to five, if you've you know brought in X amount of money, now I could potentially franchise a gym for you, and you can buy into it and you get a discount, whatever. And that's kind of what Camilo did is he was at that location in Oakland. He was present, he was a good trainer, constantly learning. And then the owner offered gym ownership and he just bought him out. So there's gonna be just so many cool things that are gonna present themselves, but you have to take a step back and look at well, what's her path been? And you you did what you had to do in the beginning, you got certified, but you're smart enough to recognize this isn't it, there's more to it, and I need to level myself up, hence the great name, Eliva. And you're just continually elevating not only yourself, but the cool thing about when you have your own gym is you can help so many more people now. Because if you're just a you know, there's nothing wrong with being a trainer at a big box gym, that's great. But if you have 20 clients, that's all you get. Whereas when you have a gym like you do, you're working with 25 people, small group, and then you have one-on-one, and you're teaching other trainers. So those trainers are now training 20, 30 people. So your total impact is just significantly greater. And the cool thing is you get to put those big pants on, pantalones, and you are the boss woman, but then you get to teach other trainers and you get to help them, and it's just it's a really cool experience that you're going through.

Marketing Ideas And Local Partnerships

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Yeah, it really is. And I also forgot to mention that at my space, I do because I'm also I used to be more of a dancer, but I'm more of a choreographer now. So I also do that. So what we do is we take off all the mats, all the equipment, and it becomes a dance studio. And so I it used to be a dance and fitness, but I rebranded, so I changed my name and then I rebranded to just fitness. And so now we just people just rent the space out for dance, which is nice.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

I love that. So there's another streamer revenue right there for you. Let's talk about some creative things that you've done to help bring in new business, whether if it's the small group or one-on-one personal training. What are some of those techniques? Because that's a very, very common. I mean, look at anytime you have members there, you go and you show your value, you train them. But when you're a small business owner, you have to go outside of your gym and get clients. That's very, very challenging. So, what are some of the things that you've done?

SPEAKER_01 16:58

Yeah, I've I've done collaborations. So I've reached out to dancers, and so they come to the studio and we did actually, it was really cool. We did a three-hour workshop. Well, first hour was uh specifically dance exercises uh for dancers, like planks and mobility and stuff like that. Oh, I created like a CCA specifically for dancers, and then the second hour we did a how to dance in heels, and the third hour we did a choreography, and it was really nice because we I got to meet new people and they know about the gym and they know that I'm a trainer and they're like, wow, like I didn't I mean I didn't know that I had to train certain muscles to be able to do turns or things like that. So that was really cool. I thought that was a really cool collaboration. There, it's they're from another city. Um, I've done free classes, I've done uh what I remember you talking something about like a high school, maybe. Oh yeah. So one of my girlfriends is a coach at a local high school. I that because that that was on me. I should I should push it more. But she was telling me, she's like, Oh, you know, it'd be really cool to collaborate with these athletes and off season to have you have them come to your gym and just train or you come over to the high school. And it was just the idea that I was like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's do it, let's do it. But I that was me. I never followed through, which I should, which I will, I will.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

No bueno, chica.

SPEAKER_01 18:29

No bueno, I know it's it's really hard to juggle a lot of people, but believe me, I know, yeah.

Focus Mindset And Final Advice

SPEAKER_00 18:35

And so if you did have a gym, I love that opportunity to go and volunteer your time and you train a sport or dance, whatever it is, and then offer a night where the because they always have like team meetings where all the parents come and you can do like a nutrition talk or injuries, or it can be you know, you can talk about amenorrhea. That's something that you can relate to with a lot of women athletes where you you lose your period because your body fat gets so low. That's not a good thing. And let me educate you on this, and also have an RD that you can chat with. And so now the parents see you as that beacon and that resource for fitness and nutrition. And the next thing you know, they'll start sending emails, they start coming to your gym, and it's just it's a snowball effect. And you know, there's there's so I love what you said right there is because it is overwhelming. And if you try to open up a gym and you do 30 things at once, you're too spread apart and you're too spread thin. So you just need to focus on a couple of things that are moving the needle, and you have that uh great involvement with dance, and so that's worked for you. And so it's always like that 80-20 rule. What is working? Keep doing it, but then every month try something new. Reach out to a high school, reach out to a physical therapist, reach out to an RD. And so then you'll find other things that are sticking. So then when you think about franchising, if that's what you want to do, you'll be able to say, No, this is what worked really well. I can focus all my attention there, bring on a manager, because then you can teach them how to do it, and then you're experimenting with that other 20% to see if other things can stick as well.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Yeah, no, that's well, that's one of the reasons why I also rebranded was I was juggling in dance and fitness, and it was too overwhelming to the point where I felt that none of it was working. So I was like, okay, you know what? And let me focus my attention to just fitness, what I'm really mastering right now. I think dance for me was just it was already something that was now it's a hobby for me. It's not something that I get paid for. But yeah, I focused myself, I focused on fitness, and I feel like now that my mind was clear, I was like, okay, so now things are flowing. I can see things clearer, and I can see the bigger picture and I can focus. I actually read more now, and I'm you know, just focusing on fitness. So I think one of the advice I can give as a business owner is just focus on one thing, one thing at a time. So we're trying to do everything. I don't know if that's a women thing, I don't know if it's a Latina thing, it's or a business owner thing, is but it's we always try to, you know, have everything under control. But if you don't, if you don't control it, it controls you, literally.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Dr. Waterberry told me the two most important things extreme focus and networking. And I think that's one of the beauties of, and people don't realize because you're in the trenches and it can seem overwhelming if you're a trainer at a lifetime or equinox or whatever gym. It can be overwhelming, but when you're a business owner, business owner, you do not stop thinking about it. And I'm sure that you've slept in your gym before. I'm sure that you're waking up at night thinking, oh, I forgot to reach out to the high school. Your mind is constantly on your business, which can be very stressful.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

24-7. Even I say, okay, I'm gonna take the weekend off because I open just Monday through Friday as of now. And but the weekend, I'm like, okay, have to email people, have to see if people paid on time. I have to what can I do for Monday next week? What am I gonna do different? I'm gonna try to aim for because my max is nine people in my class. I'm trying to aim for 10, like just little things, like there's no breaks.

SPEAKER_00 21:57

But the the thing about when you're passionate about something. Yeah, it there's it's something that just drives you. It's just this fuel inside your belly. You wake up and there's a purpose. Or when you're going to a gym and you see it as I'm only getting paid 35 bucks, and you know, nothing wrong with any time, but I'm sure that they weren't giving you kudos and they weren't, you know, making you feel appreciated. So it's like you're just a cog in their system. And so at least when you're doing it yourself, you know that there is a purpose and you get to see that interaction with your clients, but also now you're teaching trainers and it's fun because it's it's a constant puzzle that you're trying to figure out. And you know, just because you open up a gym and you made it past the first couple of years, it doesn't mean you can just retire. Now it's the next puzzle, the next hurdle. But you just, as you said, you're smart because you continue to learn and improve and fix the systems that you have. And you have to be really proud of yourself. I'm proud of you because you're doing great stuff and excited to see this weekend, Friday and Saturday, Oakland. And we'll catch up and brainstorm over some new ideas that you can implement. And you're bringing one of your trainers, which is great. Any last things that you'd like to give to that person maybe thinking about leaving a gym and starting their own their own endures?

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Oh man. Yes. Well, if you're thinking about it, fucking do it. You know what's the worst that can happen? You know, once you fall, you have to get back up. I took the chance. Like I said, I didn't have any. I honestly I didn't even save it. I didn't have anything saved, but I just took my chances. And because I knew of the passion that I had and the love that I have for it, so I was I'm just gonna do it. Everything always works out. If it doesn't, then there's always other routes.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

And the alternative would have been to stay at that gym, be surrounded by a bunch of masculine assholes. And and so you it's like you recognize that, and I'm sure that you had anxiety leaving, but it's like now you reflect back and you go, Wow, I'm I mean, I guess you said you're not like talking shit about them or saying you're better, but you are better off and you are doing what you love to do, and each day there's a purpose. Whereas for them, I guarantee you victim mentality is creeping in. Oh, you know, that can't believe she opened up a gym, she's probably not doing well. It's like, no, you know, I don't need to be around you. I'm doing what I like, and I know that it's working because I'm betting on myself. Whereas you're a victim over here, so go fuck yourself.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

Yeah, and the thing is, I know it's so cliche to say believe in yourself, but you really have to believe in yourself. If you can't don't believe in yourself, no one else is gonna believe you. Because they're always gonna get people like, no, you're not gonna be able to do it, or you can't do it. You know, family, friends, especially at least the way I was raised. My family is very conservative. They have like one vision of like, you have to get married, you have to have kids, and the typical, but I broke that. I don't have any kids, I'm not married, I'm single, and I'm really, really, really, really want to expand and literally just I don't know, just be different. And it's been working for me. So I'm very blessed in that area.

SPEAKER_00 24:49

And your your babies can be your gyms as you open up more of them. So, where can people find you on social media?

SPEAKER_01 24:55

Uh, I have so my business one is eleva underscore fitness, and then my personal page is Glenda underscore guy. The personal one's a little bit of everything.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

Make sure to go follow her. We need more strong, smart women like you in the industry. Thank you for taking the time. And now you got a client here at eight o'clock.

SPEAKER_01 25:15

I do. Run over.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

All righty. We'll see you soon, but thank you.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

See you.