Thinking about selling your cheer gym someday? Or buying one instead of starting from scratch? In this episode of the Cheer Biz Podcast, Dan Cotton sits down with Matt Becker from Gym Lawyers to talk about gym valuation, buying and selling a cheer gym, legal strategy, profitability, seller financing, and what actually makes a gym sellable. Matt breaks down how gym owners can determine what their business is worth, why profit matters more than revenue, how owner involvement impacts valuation, and why many gym owners wait too long to sell. They also unpack the difference between building a gym and building an asset, what buyers should know before purchasing a cheer gym, and why buying an existing gym may be smarter than opening one from the ground up. If you own an all star cheer gym, want to improve your business valuation, or want to understand exit strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and gym ownership at a deeper level, this episode is packed with practical insight.

What makes a great youth coach stand out from everyone else? In this episode of the Cheer Biz Podcast, Dan Cotton breaks down five essential traits the best youth coaches demonstrate every single day. From reteaching skills without frustration to building real relationships with athletes, adapting coaching methods, creating stronger team culture, and balancing accountability with fun, this episode is packed with practical coaching insight for anyone leading kids in all-star cheer or youth sports. Whether you are a cheer coach, gym owner, or program director, this conversation will help you identify what great coaching actually looks like and how to develop it inside your program. Dan also shares how these coaching habits impact athlete progress, retention, team trust, skill development, and long-term success in a youth sports environment. If you want to improve your coaching staff, train better coaches, and build stronger teams, this episode gives you a clear framework to start with.

“All-star cheer doesn’t make money.” Gym owners hear it constantly—especially when they’re starting a gym. And in this episode, Dan Cotton calls it what it is: a bold-faced lie. Dan breaks down why people believe all-star isn’t profitable, why class programs do matter (higher margins, lower barrier to entry, easier enrollment), and the real reason many gyms lose money on all-star: pricing and budgeting mistakes. He explains how pass-through fees, uniforms, events, scholarships, and “adding one more competition” without adjusting costs can quietly turn teams into a financial drain. Then he lays out the bigger truth: all-star can absolutely be a net positive when tuition and assessments are built correctly—and when you understand the long-term value of an all-star athlete’s length of engagement and additional revenue opportunities. If you’re a cheer gym owner trying to build a profitable all-star program, set tuition correctly, stop bleeding money on teams, and create a system where classes feed into teams the right way, this episode will challenge your assumptions and give you a smarter path forward.