Don’t let your gym’s size get in the way of negotiating a great gym lease — you’ve got more power than you think. Gyms are the darling of commercial real estate these days and here are four reasons why Four reasons landlords prefer gym leases 1. Gym clients stick around. Gym goers are known for something in the industry called “stickiness.” This odd word is the amount of time a person stays in the retail plaza after visiting (in this case) the gym. While in the plaza, gym goers frequently stop for a refreshment, socialize with friends or finish errands. According to Creditntell, [...]
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How can you sell more personal training without losing money or increasing staff? Kage Gym in Mundelein, Illinois, has figured out the secret sauce resulting in an insane closing rate of nearly 70%. They’ve been so successful with personal training that, after two years in business, they’ve just begun promoting memberships to the general public. What's Kage Gym owners story? Owners Omar Sanchez and Gonz Sanchez (no relation) opened Kage Gym in September 2022, taking on and renovating an existing gym. The two young entrepreneurs dipped into their enthusiasm and love of bodybuilding to create a gym that has become a magnet [...]
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My family recently stayed in a hotel where we were greeted by an employee vaping behind the counter. Later, I found the hotel’s gym equipment broken and worn out. On my next visit to the city, I stayed at another hotel, in a different part of town. This excursion made me think about the similarity between gyms and hotels and what the fitness industry can discover from the leaders in leisure. And, how devastating bad first impressions are on customer retention. How the best hotels create brand love. Hilton understands good customer experiences — coupled with excellent customer service — [...]
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As a manager or owner of a small business you never have enough hours in the day to do all of the things that need to be accomplished. Work will pile up rapidly. How do you find a way in to the jungle that demands that you figure out what truly needs most of your attention? Having the right gym management software system does help, but there's also one interesting insight to look out for in the stats. The (Gym) Insight of Vilfredo Pareto Possibly you've heard of the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 Rule. The Italian economist [...]
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It’s been a great year for our company and we pray the same for you. Since gym owners such as yourselves are such a huge part of our success — well, you’re almost like family — we’d thought you’d enjoy an end-of-year wrap up. Looking forward to an amazing 2024 and the privilege of watching your gyms grow exponentially! Gym Insight 2023 Social Media Winners: Top Podcast: "Insider Tips for Owning a Thriving Gym with Justin Green." Top Instagram: “Always Remember This Verse…” Top Facebook: “Don’t Let Life Knock You Down…” Top YouTube Short: “Zero to Hero….” Top Blog: “Best Types of Music to Play…” Fav [...]
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Dear Gym Owners and Gym Dreamers, Your business means everything to us. You are the independent fitness club owner with the courage and conviction to work relentlessly for your own success. It’s a great story, one we cherish hearing every day. At Gym Insight, we sincerely value these long-term relationships with our customers. You feed our most innovative design ideas and keep us excited to create — and re-create — the best gym management software on the planet. This may be because we’re a lot like you — a privately held company growing with a single purpose — to bring profitability, [...]
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When we started this blog in 2011, Gym Insight was a young company — barely three years old, and still beta testing much of its software. Today, we’ve installed our health club software in countless gyms while cultivating the passion for ingenuity and improvement that brought us here today. Here, we shamelessly pitch why we (still) believe we offer the best gym management software on the market. 1) FREE United States-Based Customer Service This seems like an unusual boast but, truthfully, local customer service is not so common. Our highly praised customer service team is located in the Continental United States [...]
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So, your small gym business is becoming less small, and you're still spending too much of your time personally promoting your business. You ask, "could I get a marketing pro to do this for me?" Good question, it's a positive development that you even need to consider this point; so what do you do? There are plenty of marketing professionals who'd love to work for a fitness center. The problem is likely to be whether you can afford to hire them full-time and to keep them busy. The way that small gym businesses can bootstrap a solution is to be [...]
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In this week’s Gym Owner’s blog by Gym Insight, we interview seven-location Club Pilates owner Justin Kirkland for tips and secrets on growing into a multi-location fitness business. His experience with the successful franchise blends on-the-street advice with a marketing major’s savvy. Read on for details on what it takes to grow exponentially in the competitive field of boutique studios. Kirkland's early lessons changed everything The Kirkland family purchased three Las Vegas Club Pilates in September 2019. One of their first ventures into private business ownership, they immediately began experimenting with management and marketing styles. The results would shape future [...]
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As a gym owner, you would already know that the music you play at your gym defines the ambiance and affects the level of motivation for your members. With different personalities coming to your gym, you are probably having a hard time trying to keep everyone happy with the type of music you play. While hardcore bodybuilders are likely to prefer rock and heavy metal, others might be more comfortable listening to pop and blues. The choice of workout music can also differ a lot according to each type of exercise. When deciding which music or radio station you should [...]
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Welcome to our Gym Owner’s Blog. We’re trying something different this issue. Our Gym Insight customers requested more coverage on our software itself – new features, compelling changes — tweaks that make your job easier. Glad to help! We are always excited to talk about new exciting updates or even the crazy common stuff that needs a refresh. So let’s get started on our “Hidden Features” post. Today, we’re covering Bulk Actions. What is a bulk action? Just as its name suggests, this function permits you to modify something en masse. For example, a bulk action could remove digital keytag [...]
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Is it possible to prosper as a gym owner in a small town? After speaking with several gym owners in cities of fewer than 5,000 residents we discovered it’s a definite “heck, yes!” With the right dedication and planning, you can succeed and grow in any sized hamlet. Advice from our Gym Insight customers on how to flourish as a small-town gym. 1. Adapt to your community’s needs. As Justin Green, owner of the Source Fitness Center in St. Clairsville, Ohio, explained in our Gym Owner's Podcast, the household income for his small town gym are not high. As a result, [...]
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Interview with Dr. JoAnn Eickoff-Shemek, “Dr. JES,” professor emerita, University of South Florida, expert fitness and law witness, and national spokesperson. Podcast: “The Power of Control: Dr. JES Returns” We’ve dedicated the last two blogs to avoiding gym negligence lawsuits. How to steer clear of legal landmines, and training staff to properly guide members on their fitness journey. Now we are at the final leg – scope of practice. Here, we discuss that wafer-thin line between offering good nutritional advice and stepping outside one's field of expertise. When too much good advice lands you in hot water. In one case Dr. JES recalled, a personal trainer [...]
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October 2023 Gym Owner’s Podcast, “The Power of Control: Dr. JES Returns” Welcome back to How to Avoid Negligence Lawsuits! As we discussed in Part I, negligence settlements are in the millions of dollars now and can take years to weave through the courts. Additionally, most negligence lawsuits occur due to employee error in instruction or programming. With this in mind, one of the best ways for your gym to avoid a negligence lawsuit is to properly train and prepare your staff. Put your new trainer through a hand's on test - before assigning clients! Don’t rely on certificates – [...]
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October 2023 Gym Owner's Podcast, "The Power of Control: Dr. JES Returns." How can gym owners avoid becoming embroiled in a negligence lawsuit? Savvy business professionals recognize that all manner of legal claims have increased in frequency over the years. But how can a small business, like a fitness club, avoid becoming embroiled in a negligence lawsuit? Proactive gym owners can sidestep potential negligence lawsuits by rethinking their hiring and member management strategies. Attaining a waiver signature is not enough protection. As discussed in previous blogs and podcasts, the waiver law defense only comes into play after an injury has [...]
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