D1 Training Owner Grows his Business by Asking Two Simple Questions

Would it surprise you to know that 82% of consumers choose brands with values that align with their own? Seventy-one percent of them want their favorite brands to walk the walk, putting their values front and center, and that number jumps to 83% for Millennials. Consumers want what they want, and they will seek out companies they feel good about supporting. For business owners, running a values-based business is like killing two birds with one stone, but in this scenario the birds take flight.

D1 Training multi-unit franchise owner Devin Driscoll understands what it means to operate a values-driven business with genuine intention. Because of the nature of the D1 Training franchise model, he and his teams know exactly how to serve customers in a world-class way. They offer a prescription-based, 5-Start Training program to help people reach their fitness goals, which is already a feel-good kind of business. However, they have also set the bar for what it means to engage with their community.

“I ask two questions, ‘How can we serve you? What do you need?’” said Driscoll, and then he gets busy.

Community outreach is a great way to put values into action. Business experts will tell small business owners that community outreach is a sure bet to improve their bottom line. Becoming involved in the community is a great way to build relationships, partner with community leaders, and create a positive workplace culture that attracts talent.

There are literally thousands of worthy causes to support, large and small, hyper-local to community-led, to nationally and internationally organized. We’ll talk more about some of the larger organizations Driscoll’s team supports shortly, but first let’s look at a local community through the lens of someone like Driscoll.

As an involved community leader, he sees opportunities come to light and then finds a way for fitness and training to play a part. The difference is these opportunities aren’t all typically where one would expect training and fitness to play a role. They aren’t all on ball fields or in middle school weight rooms – though you may find D1 coaches there as well.

D1 Training is The Place for the Athlete®. That means anyone with a fitness goal from age 7 and up. When you take that definition to heart, a world of opportunities opens for those who think a little bit outside of the box. Something that seemingly comes naturally to Driscoll.

For example, when Driscoll witnessed the excellent care being given at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, he saw an opportunity to give back. Today, and every other Wednesday, coaches from Driscoll’s D1 Training team head over to the hospital for a free D1 Training session.

Driscoll also serves on the Board of Survivor Fitness, an organization that helps cancer survivors after they’ve successfully completed treatment. Their website says, “Beating cancer is just the beginning,” and lists staggering statistics of psychological, cognitive, emotional, and physical challenges that may come after treatment ends. The Survivor Fitness program provides scholarships for cancer survivors to work with personal trainers, nutrition experts, and more to avoid these pitfalls of recovery.

Enter D1 Training. Driscoll asked his fitness coaches and personal trainers to run a Survivor Fitness program at D1 Hardin Valley, where it has been met with great success. The program’s oldest participant to date, Brenda Snow, hit the turf in her eighties, and was delighted to build muscle and regain her physical fitness through her training at D1.

Driscoll and his teams also participate in Train 4 Life™, formerly known as Fit 4 Life, a training program for athletes with special needs.

The list of ways in which Driscoll and the teams at his D1 Training facilities give back to the community is long – from Toys for Tots, to Wreaths Across America, to the Make a Wish Foundation, a cause brought with Driscoll from his days as a WWE professional wrestler. But when you talk to Driscoll about the students who cross his path at D1, a whole other energy emerges.

One of the many ways D1 Training differentiates itself from other gyms is its attention to scholastic athletes. Part of being D1 Different is providing training opportunities for student athletes through a variety of programs, beginning as young as age 7. Through D1 Training’s Rookie, Developmental, and Prep programs, some students practically grow up on D1 turf. No matter when they become a member, however, their coaches and trainers – as well as owners and staff – become invested in their success.

“National signing day is like Christmas,” Driscoll says. National Signing Day is when high school students sign and agree to play for a chosen college or university. “We go to every signing of every D1 athlete,” he said. “It is absolutely our favorite day of the year; it’s why we do what we do.”

Driscoll recognizes that not all scholastic superstars are destined, or even interested in, playing sports. They may be interested, however, in coaching and business, two things synonymous with the D1 Training name. That’s why Driscoll and his teams participate in a local program called 865 Academies, initiated by the town Mayor, for students seeking an alternative to attending college.

“Not everyone is meant to go to college,” Driscoll said. “865 Academies is a great young workforce program where public high school students can visit companies to talk about internships and other opportunities. We bring students in for A Day in the Life at D1 and teach them about what we do here.”

Community outreach is a win-win for businesses and those they serve and can be rewarding for business owners and their teams personally and professionally. Driscoll must know the example he is setting for other D1 Training owners, and business owners in general, is a positive, inspiring one. But the example he sets for his own family is equally impactful.

“I’ll never forget the day I watched my two-year old daughter deliver a toy for Toys for Tots,” Driscoll said. “The look on her face, she was so proud!” He said that’s what it’s all about.

“This job is hard sometimes, it’s not always easy,” Driscoll said. The rewards, however, are bigger than the tough days. “When you see great things happen around you, all those tough times go out the window.”

Driscoll encourages other business owners to look at their communities through a different lens, to think outside of the box, with genuine intention. Ask those schools, those teams, those community leaders, and others serving the community, “How can I serve you? What do you need?” And then get busy.