How to Build Wealth Beyond Your Fitness Business (with Arjun Paliwal)

In this episode of Profit Made Simple, I sat down with Arjun Paliwal, one of Australia’s leading property experts and founder of InvestorKit. Arjun is someone who’s helped me personally build wealth through property, and his story is one every fitness business owner should hear.

From banking to business, and from “burning the boats” to building an eight-figure company, Arjun shares how curiosity, calculated risk, and a powerful mindset created both financial freedom and a business he loves.

Here’s how his lessons apply directly to you as a gym or studio owner.

Episode at a Glance

  • Curiosity is the foundation of all growth.

  • Build your best worst case before taking risks.

  • Predictability kills progress, so chase challenges.

  • Build your business around specialists, not generalists.

  • Start investing earlier than you think.

  • True wealth is built outside your business.

  • Don’t feel guilty about founder mode, sometimes you just have to get it done.

1. Curiosity Drives Growth and Opportunity

For Arjun, curiosity was the spark. He started his career in banking and spent his days asking questions about money, property, and opportunity. Instead of just doing the job, he was learning from it.

That same mindset is what drives great business owners, especially in the fitness industry. The best studio owners, coaches, and marketers are the ones who ask better questions:

  • Why do our best clients stay longer
  • What do the top 5 percent of gyms do differently
  • Who can I learn from outside the fitness space

Curiosity doesn’t just open doors, it creates new ones.

2. Build Your Best Worst Case Before You Take the Leap

Arjun made the leap from corporate banking into business without a full plan, but with one powerful mindset: build your best worst case.

In simple terms: before you take a risk, know that even if it fails, you’ll land safely. For him, that meant keeping good relationships, savings, and a skillset he could always return to.

For fitness business owners, this principle is gold. Before expanding your studio, hiring big, or changing your model:

  • Ask, “If this doesn’t work, what am I coming back to”
  • Build a safety net of savings or recurring memberships
  • Maintain your reputation and never burn bridges

That way, you can take bold moves without reckless risk.

3. Predictability is the Enemy of Passion

After years in corporate banking, Arjun realised he could predict the next ten years of his life. Every role, every promotion, every step. It was safe, but it wasn’t fulfilling.

He craved growth, challenge, and the unknown. That desire for unpredictability led him to build a business, take creative risks, and eventually change industries completely.

As fitness business owners, it’s easy to fall into the same pattern: the same programs, the same clients, the same monthly goals. Predictability can kill energy and innovation.

“If life feels too predictable, it might be a sign you’ve stopped growing.”

Your job as a leader is to bring excitement back through innovation, personal development, or simply setting bigger goals.

4. From One-Man Show to High-Performing Team

Arjun’s business began with just him. Today, InvestorKit is a national operation with specialists across data, strategy, acquisitions, and marketing.

His key insight: specialisation is the path to scale.

Most fitness business owners start out as generalists, coaching, marketing, sales, admin, all rolled into one. But as your studio grows, that model becomes a bottleneck.

“If you do not build a team around you, eventually your business will catch you.”

To build an A-player team:

  • Identify where your clients need you most and delegate everything else
  • Turn your processes into playbooks
  • Hire specialists, not generalists

That’s how you turn your time back into leverage.

5. Investing Outside Your Business

One of the most powerful themes in Arjun’s story is this: wealth isn’t just made inside your business.

In fact, your business income should be the fuel for your investments, not the end goal.

He shared how, during the uncertainty of Covid, his property portfolio gave him security and peace of mind. The equity in those assets wasn’t just financial, it created emotional stability and long-term decision-making power.

For gym owners, the lesson is clear:

  • Don’t wait until you “make it” to start investing
  • Start small, one property at a time
  • Let your business fund your freedom, not become your cage

“You might be working in your business while your properties grow while you sleep.”

That’s real wealth.

6. The Business Mindset Customer Obsession and Big Vision

When asked what’s driven his success, Arjun’s answer was simple:

  1. Ruthless focus on the customer.
  2. A big vision that excites and scares you.
  3. Surrounding yourself with great people.

These principles apply directly to your fitness business. When your members feel seen, supported, and successful, retention takes care of itself. When your vision is clear, your team rallies behind it. And when you hire brilliant people, your business becomes bigger than you.

Big goals aren’t intimidating when you break them into daily actions.

7. Founder Mode When It’s Time to Roll Up Your Sleeves

Arjun’s coach, Simon Reynolds, shared something that deeply influenced him, sometimes you just have to go into founder mode.

That means diving in, solving problems yourself, and pushing through when delegation won’t cut it.

As a fitness business owner, you can’t always lead from the sidelines. When sales are slow, when culture dips, when a key staff member leaves, that’s your moment to step in.

“There are times where you have to stop analysing and start acting. Be the founder again.”

It’s not about control, it’s about commitment.

Action Steps for Fitness Business Owners

  • Get curious about your numbers, systems, and people
  • Build your best worst case before making big moves
  • Delegate by design and create roles that play to strengths
  • Start investing now, not one day
  • Lead with vision and focus on customer success
  • Enter founder mode when your business truly needs you

Final Thoughts

Gym owners are great at building businesses, but too few use those profits to build wealth.

Arjun’s story is a reminder that curiosity, smart risk-taking, and consistent investing can create a life where your business funds your freedom.

You don’t have to wait until everything’s perfect. Start now, start small, and build your own best worst case.