Sally Andersen, lead trainer and operations manager for Burn Boot Camp’s Exton, Pennsylvania location, discusses how she and her company make their fitness option unique in an oversaturated industry.

How did you get involved with Burn Boot Camp?

I was always active as a child, but during my early adulthood, I drank heavily for several years. Fitness changed everything for me at age twenty-five. I felt like I had a new lease on life: my mental health, energy, and mood were all better. I decided to quit my job as a magazine editor and become a full-time personal trainer.

However, I soon learned that everyone saw training as a hobby, something to do after hours. Because of this, I had to piece together work at several different places, which was exhausting. That’s when I discovered Burn. It offers personal training in a group setting, allowing you to sustain yourself financially as well as build a career. I immediately bought into this philosophy and opened the Exton gym in 2018. I’ve never looked back.

Fitness is a highly competitive space. How is Burn different from the rest?

I knew it was as soon as I read its business plan, which stood out from other gyms I was familiar with at the time. They all focused on how to get people to pay them money yet not work out; otherwise, they’d have to repair or replace their equipment. I just don’t believe in that. I also don’t believe that people need to be on a treadmill every single day—at Burn, we have nothing that plugs in. In fact, one of the first signs at my location said, “We don’t use machines. We are machines.”

Burn also encourages me to tailor my training, turning it into the perfect workout for my people in my spaces, whereas other companies insist that their trainers never change their core offerings. For example, another nearby location I help manage in West Chester has around only 3,200 square feet, but in Exton, I’ve got over 5,000. So I can lead a lot of big, fun activities like relay races and full laps around the building here.

In addition, some gyms do the same warmup every single day, which is not only boring but also not what your body needs. In contrast, Burn’s forty-five-minute workouts have a five-minute warm-up, a five-minute explanation of what we’ll be doing, the bulk of the workout (about thirty minutes), and a strong finish in the last five minutes. It’s a different experience each time you come in.

Who is your target demographic?

Because of his challenging upbringing, our cofounder, Devan Kline, truly believes in supporting moms, so he originally created Burn to give them that support as well as time to focus on themselves. Plus, when he first founded it, women in general weren’t lifting—if they went to the gym, it was to hit a treadmill or elliptical. It was extremely difficult to get them to do something else, and there were very few female personal trainers.

So our audience gradually became any women, and around 2020, we started shifting toward being more coed because headquarters found that some men were also intimidated by being in a traditional gym; I was actually one of the first of our trainers to go full coed. We get a lot of families training too. In fact, we have free child-watch services for parents, allowing them forty-five minutes to themselves.

How do you attract and retain clients?

My number one strategy is going out into the community, meeting people, and sharing my passion for this company. Before I opened Exton, I did the company’s online university, where I learned how to host live streams, use social media, and be the rock star of my gym. By promoting myself along with Burn, people are going to not only come for me but also potentially stay for me.

Then, once they’re in the door, it’s all about building community. We give high fives to each person before the workout’s over—valuing the importance of human touch and recognizing that some people might not normally get it. During that time, I also remind everyone that they’re important to me and to each other. Today, for example, I teamed up three people for the warm-up when they arrived, telling them to make sure they knew everyone’s names so they could cheer each other on.

All this breaks down barriers, creating a positive workout experience that keeps people coming back. In turn, it encourages referrals, which have been golden for us.

Does Burn also encourage a community culture throughout the company?

Yes! A lot of my best friends are fellow Burn trainers who live across the country. We see each other once or twice a year in person at our events, but we stay in touch via texting. In addition, there are Facebook groups for both trainers and operations managers, where we bounce ideas off each other.

We have each other’s backs too. If I’m on vacation and my trainer calls out, someone will step in and help. That’s actually how I found my new business partner, Michelle, who owns the Bear, Delaware location. A few years ago, I ended up hospitalized for a week. She was brand-new and had only met me once, yet she dropped everything to keep my gym open. That’s the type of community Burn fosters.

Earlier, you mentioned how hectic being a part-time trainer can be. How is the work-life balance at your gym?

Amazing, especially compared to other places I’ve worked at. For instance, we brought on a full-time person to help at West Chester, allowing me to focus more on Exton. That provided me more balance, something I normally struggle to give myself.

I’m also constantly thinking of ways to show my team of part-timers that I appreciate them. I give them much more freedom than other part-time jobs would, including with time off—if anyone wants to take a vacation, I’ve got them covered. As I tell them, “I can do one week without you, but I can’t do the whole year without you.”

On top of that, Burn has always been closed on Sundays. That was originally for religious reasons, but because so many locations are run by one person, headquarters also wants us to have a dedicated day off for letting go. That’s beneficial to our members as well; many would come in seven days a week if they were able, which could lead to injuries.

How important are merchandise sales to your business?

One of the first things trainers are taught here is that they’ve got to sell like retail since it increases their revenue per member, our key metric. An approach I like to use is focusing on boosting members’ nutrition. As an example, they’re often not getting enough protein, so I can push our protein powders or bars—products I’d recommend anyway since headquarters is very hands-on with development and nothing is outsourced to a third party.

Most of our members are also all in on the brand and wear our merch everywhere. That’s free marketing. And if someone refers us, I’ll give them Burn Bucks to spend on retail. Whether they’re bringing more people in, wearing our clothing, or buying nutrition products, it’s revenue coming back to my business.

What’s your biggest business expense? The equipment?

Actually, it’s my rent. That is one of the downsides of a franchise model. Each Burn must be located in a high-traffic area, and the space has to be approved. As a result, I pay more than double in rent compared to a local competitor— so she can get away with having only a hundred members to break even, but I need over two hundred. On the flip side, we’ve got walk-by traffic and even a kids’ consignment shop next door because of location intentionality.

How seasonal is your business? Is post-New Year’s a big time for you?

A weird thing recently happened in the industry. Ten years ago, you couldn’t get into any gym in January because they were all overflowing with people coming in with their resolutions. But as social media got bigger, people online started discouraging that, which actually killed the New Year’s surge. Everybody began avoiding the gym in January; it was like a ghost town. We pushed hard to get those clients to come back, but we’ve only started seeing them return over the past few years. Today, attendance is pretty steady, though we definitely have little peaks at back-to-school time and New Year’s and a small drop-off during summer.

What is the greatest joy of running a Burn location?

My passion lies in supporting those who are afraid of the gym. Don’t get me wrong: I’ll help athletes get a great workout, but I prefer the person who has to ask, “What’s a dumbbell?” I understand that most people aren’t going to lift alone for hours and enjoy it, so I have to find ways to make it fun. Some days I’ll do obstacle courses, get out Hula-Hoops, or have them climb monkey bars. Basically, I make it like structured recess because I believe in the power of play for mental health—it brings such happiness. Operating a Burn is a lot of work, but I love watching our members enjoy life and get healthier.

For more info, visit burnbootcamp.com