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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As a gym owner, customer service may be one of those catchphrases you don’t think about much. To stay competitive and keep costs down, you’ve leaned into online sign-ups, digital keytags, and reducing employee payrolls. It’s working, too. With an emphasis on cost reduction and adapting services to customer needs, small gyms have stopped disappearing from the landscape. Truthfully, if you’re a gym owner reading this blog, you’ve survived quite a clean-out. In 2019, gym ownership hit record levels, with more than 41,370 gyms in the United States, according to Statista’s research. Today, that number hovers at about 31,000 clubs. Congratulations on being among the fittest [...]
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Gym Management Have you considered raising your gym membership rates yet? It’s a scary thought but the truth is inflation is running hot with no signs of cooling off. As a gym owner, you get the big picture: higher fuel prices, limited labor market, and costly commodities. This all adds up to less cash in the bank. And, even though you didn’t start a gym to make a fortune, that buffer between income and expenses — aka your profit margin — is the foundation of a well-run business. Profit is where growth, reinvestment, and risk-taking occur. In order to keep [...]
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We’ve all bought something we’ve not used. The question is why didn’t we use it? Maybe it was aspirational – something designed to change us or make us a better person, but actually using it becomes the challenge in itself. Gym memberships are a lot like that – our clients sign up because they have goals and ambitions for their health and physiques. Showing up, however, means facing their own insecurities and lack of knowledge. So they don’t go — ever. Targeting Low-Usage New Members The best time to curtail this sad outcome is right within the first 30 days [...]
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By this time, most everyone knows the basics of keeping their gyms and health clubs COVID-19 clean. Since we've figured out the basics, now is good time to consider the chemicals, techniques and emerging technologies that may make the difference in keeping your gym healthy and safe. Disinfectants When choosing cleaning products for your gym, consider that every product approved against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) includes an EPA registration number on its label. Although the CDC tracks coronavirus cases, it is the EPA which regulates chemicals and is the go-to source for correct cleaning information. Does that chemical work? To determine if [...]
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Everyone, it seems. From teens to octogenarians, we're all pumping iron and taking classes to stay in shape. Thanks to medicine and technology, we are both living longer and more aware of how habits impact our health. And because of that, gyms are no longer the realm of young, beautiful adults. Today, your gym can attract everyone from a 16-year-old high school athlete to an 76-year-old retiree, and chances are, it will.However, just because everyone's exercising, doesn't mean we are all the same. There are many key generational differences and understanding them will help you refine services without wasting time [...]
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What does it take for a person to show up at the gym after they've paid their dues? What is the difference between the individual who exercises regularly and the one who drops the ball? Scientific research suggests it may all boil down to competency and support. People need to feel good at what they're doing and know others are in the game with them. Recent psychology research on motivation calls this the self-determination theory (SDT). How interested a person is in continuing something is driven by how well an activity meets one's need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Exercisers [...]
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The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a long shadow on the question of how to maintain a clean and sanitized gym while running a successful, profitable business. The increased vigilance required by staff, the infrastructure investments, the heightened customer awareness coupled with suppressed demand all combine to swell both costs and risks. Today's gym owner walks a fine line between keeping his or her business open and losing it all to an uncertain market. However, for gym owners, their single greatest decision could be to see this pandemic as an opportunity-a chance to grow and change for the better-rather than view [...]
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So many business owners are facing uncertainty due to the COIVD-19 crisis. Will your business weather this period of being closed down? How well can you recover once you reopen? What are the best ways of minimizing financial losses and maximizing health and safety standards for your staff and members? The best way to combat this uncertainty is to drive forward with a clear and determined strategy for reopening. This strategy should focus heavily on enforcing stringent health, safety, and sanitization protocols. When you take the guesswork out of your plan, you reduce your own anxiety as a business owner [...]
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Is There A Fitness Retreat In Your Gym Business Future? Here's something different to consider offering to your members: Organize a fitness retreat. By this I mean a trip to a resort that is conducive to fitness and travel as a group and deliver a suitable set of fitness classes and activities. What would it take to set up a new part of your business that specializes in traveling with members to distant locations and hold classes and activities with them as paying guests? A retreat can be a service that is very profitable. Set Up Promotion And Process Bookings [...]
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Some Thoughts Based On Recent Events Human resources issues may seem like a long stretch for the Gym Insight Blog but this is a serious set of issues that could easily cause any small business to lose the farm. I'm talking about the fast changing and very sensitive issues of equality and diversity in the workplace and the gym. Recent incidents in fitness centers, where the key issues were the poor handling of diversity and the rapidly evolving legal environment, have made this something that every gym owner should be prepared to confront. That basically means getting along with people [...]
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The Rise Of The Machines The basics of fitness and gym equipment are essential for a professionally operated gym. They are useful tools for the modern workout routines centered on body weight training. They have not changed in years, which is part of the attraction for some fitness enthusiasts. Some of the commercial gym equipment items that you should be thinking about presently are not much more than gym tools. Programs that use simple equipment in body weight training; such as climbing ropes, gymnastic rings and pull-up bars have been very successful in the last year. One example of this [...]
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If you don't yet have a social media presence for your gym, you really should start now. Your business might have a passionate and active membership out there on Facebook or Twitter, just waiting to engage through social media as a community. Of course, that's the holy grail of social media in business; you want to use social to drive your business. Realistically, you're probably going to have to work at it a bit but once it picks up momentum it'll be much easier than doing promotion all by yourself. Your gym has a community of members and employees. People [...]
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The Memorial Day Weekend is approaching as I write this and I am reminded that those who served our country are among the most deserving of our support. When it comes to charity donations gym and fitness center owners can make a great contribution by including marketing promotions that give back. I have a bias toward giving to veterans' causes and I make no apologies for it. There's a vast amount of need because, as a country, we've been asking so much of so many for so long now. It also troubles me to hear of the delays and shortcomings [...]
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The seasonal fluctuations of the gym business are familiar to anyone who's been a member of a gym for more than a year. Gym owners and managers are even more acutely aware of the seasonal changes in the business because of the changing stress levels that go with the seasons. Gyms have an annual ebb and flow, with a peak of activity with the New Year. It's the most hectic time with all of the hustle and bustle of resolutions being fulfilled in the form of good intentions and new memberships. Issues of The Resolution Cycle There are a couple [...]
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