If you’re thinking of starting a new business, and you want to make sure it’s successful, you need to do two things. The first is to ask yourself if you’re ready for it. Do you have the nerves, the stamina and the funds to start a business from scratch and stick with it until it can run by itself without your constant care? And secondly, what are the people asking for? Without demand, you won’t be successful, and one thing people have been going mad about the last few years is personal fitness and training. So, opening a gym sounds like a great idea, but are you ready? When going into the already developed business, the innovations are mandatory – how about new types of training? Did you hear about beer yoga and survival training? Ask yourself these questions first, before entering the new fitness market:
Who will be the staff?
Are you a personal trainer, or do you have a business partner who is a trainer? Can you work the front desk or handle the administration? Are you a professional athlete or very well versed in sports? After answering all of these, you now understand that you need to hire a few people, and depending on the size of your gym, that number can greatly vary. You need at least one person who is a professional in fitness and if it’s a small enough gym, they can also handle the front desk. If not, you’ll need someone to be the host and potentially more people to be with the customers on the floor. If you want to have specialized classes and groups on some days, you will also need an expert – like a yoga teacher or a pilates instructor – who will teach those classes on certain days. The important thing is if you are leading those “survival” body and mind training for those who go hiking and camping for a few weeks, that you have to have licensed professionals. They will educate them in a proper way and also give a plenty of needed information, as well as prepare their body for different circumstances.
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Do you have the equipment?
When you’re starting out, you don’t need to have all the equipment ever made. Think about what people usually look for in gyms and get some amazing gym equipment for your gym. Starting off, high quality is what will get to your customers. If you want to focus on a specific type of exercise, like weightlifting, then focus on getting as much equipment for that as you can, but also get a treadmill or two for warming up. Also for group training, you’ll need an open space, mats, set of weights and probably some ropes for jumping and training your motoric movements.
Who’s your competition?
There are a lot of gyms around us. Seems like every single neighborhood has at least ten gyms scattered around, so you have to be sure that you are not clashing with the competition. Look for a location that has a lot of residential buildings and not a gym in the vicinity. If you already have a location and there are gyms around, think of a way you are going to stand out. Will it be high quality 1 on 1 sessions, or will you offer the lowest prices in the neighborhood? Make sure you go and check out all of the surrounding gyms to see what they have to offer so that you can find something unique for yourself.
How will people know about it?
Marketing is everything. You need to find a way to let people know that your gym is opened and that they have a new place to work out. You can go around handing out fliers, create an online promotion to let people in your neighborhood know and let word of mouth do its job. But perhaps the best way to get new customers is to connect with other businesses that can send people your way. Hotels and hostels that don’t have an in-house gym often make deals with local gyms to let their guests go there for a small discount. Remember, if you have something extra and unusual (such as beer yoga or survival outdoor training) people will speak about your place a lot and will be into going in to check the new programs. Keep flowing in trends!
Starting a new business is a big commitment, but if you have the answers to all of these questions, then you are ready to open your brand-new gym. Make sure you know what you are investing in and don’t bite off more than you can chew!
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