Inspiring Conversations with Ben Grove of Growth Factor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Grove

Hi Ben, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started off as a professional fighter, taking serving, bartending, and bouncing jobs to make ends meet. Basically any job that could work around my training schedule. When I moved to Nashville with my future wife, Kate, I knew I had to step it up, so I started managing at the restaurant I worked at. After a year, I moved on to manage a locksmith company. My goal was to prove that I could manage and excel in any industry. After helping the owner retire early a little over a year later, my jiu-jitsu coach asked me if I wanted to buy the gym, and I jumped on the opportunity. To make ends meet, I had to work 0 hours per week serving at a restaurant and at least that work on and at the gym. Over the next 4 years, I slowly cut my hours back until I had a full time salary with a full time management staff. After joining with two great business partners in Taylor Hood and Michael Chandler, we have scaled from a 5,000 sqft basement gym to a 42,000 sqft facility that rivals any MMA facility in the world. I am a big Tim Ferris fan, so I always try to find a hack, shortcut, or automation to every issue. My focus has always automation our marketing and sales systems. Now, I am starting a consulting business, Growth Factor, to help martial arts gyms, specifically MMA gyms, to build systems, automate, and grow quickly and efficiently.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a wild ride! A few months after merging with Michael Chandler’s gym, COVID happened; that was a big bump. We took this business from 80 paying members to 750, so along the way, we had to make a lot of changes and restructure multiple times. Any time you change coaches, managers, or affiliations, you will have fallout that affects you financially and culturally. However, we have always persisted in finding the best coaches and the best staff to provide the best experience and the best team in the industry. The most significant change that we made was the introduction of EOS. We had a consulting group that helped us learn the system. It has transformed the way we approach issues, communicate, and organize the business.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I now run two businesses: Nashville MMA Training Camp and Growth Factor. As I explained previously, my gym is thriving; we are creating venue spaces in the back of the building and are considering adding multiple locations in the near future. My new goal, though, is to help other business owners achieve the same success through Growth Factor Consulting. I am combining my consulting and training (both in-person and video library) with the proven systems I have built through my customized CRM. I utilize dynamic automations, conversational AI, content AI, and marketing AI to help gym owners save time and money and grow faster than they could have ever dreamed.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory is playing sports in the yard with my brothers. Football, baseball, soccer, basketball, wrestling, boxing, you name it, we played it. My time with my brothers created a bond that cannot be replaced, but it also created a sense of competitiveness that still drives me to this day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://growth-factor.ai/