The Short Answer Is Still “No!” That guy who wrote a book about having a business in only X hours per week now has a book out about fitness. OK, that’s nice. So, completely separate from that, what I’m wondering, is whether there can be a gym business that you can run on half a workday per week? I’ve gotta say, I’m skeptical about the whole short-time easy-money approach to anything. If you’re already the owner of a small fitness club, just the title probably made you roll your eyes, right? I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that anyone who follows [...]
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To Change Or Not To Change Are you thinking about starting a new gym business or changing the direction of the one you operate now? If you’re not, I’m not suggesting you should, but if things haven’t worked quite the way you planned or, if the market has peaked and begun to tail off, you might be wondering about making a change. The choice between staying the course in a mediocre business model and finding a new one that’s better is the conundrum of the ages. There’s even a name for the syndrome that business owners and entrepreneurs face, it’s [...]
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Four Organizational Culture Types Did you know that there are four different categories of organizational culture? I didn’t. Some researchers at the University of Michigan figured it out, and I’m glad they did. So, let’s take a look at these four cultures and see how they show up in with the fitness business. Business schools that develop management theories have been covering the structures of companies for decades. Formal structures have the backing of authority; they are the written tables of organization, policies, and procedures. The formal structure of your company goes all the way up to the corporate documents [...]
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If you’re a fitness entrepreneur at any stage of the gym business, you’re likely to have a need for a space in a building. If you want to open your doors somewhere, you will have to face the commercial real estate (CRE) industry. For you, negotiating a tenancy might be a daunting task or just a matter of phoning a friend. I’m not looking at the search or leasing process here, but I think it’s worth taking a quick look at some of the changes going on in CRE and how gym business owners like you can work it to [...]
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The Old School Of Martial Arts Fighting and martial arts account for a large portion of today’s fitness industry. The old school boxing clubs are an inspiration and fine example of what club owners can achieve in tough neighborhoods, with not much more than leadership and space in a backstreet gym on the wrong side of the tracks. If you’re looking to start a gym or find a new specialization for the one you have at present, then the appeal of martial arts and boxing has never been stronger. You might have a successful studio, a thriving membership, or be [...]
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So, what’s the point of implementing a corporate wellness program? Is it about building company culture and togetherness? No, at the highest level, corporate wellness is about having healthier, more productive employees. On the most practical level, it’s more about minimizing costs and workers who get more done with less friction. Savings is a worthy goal, so is productivity, but creating a program that matches long-term benefits against short-term costs is a difficult thing to achieve. In theory, fitter workers should yield higher levels of productivity. While healthcare costs generally bill you in yearly chunks, quantifiable wellness improvements might take [...]
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Swinging The Lead in Your Sphere of Influence In entrepreneurship, business ownership, and in fitness management, leadership is what you bring to the gym as a founder or manager. It is the one factor over which you have the most control and which makes it possible for small startup gym business owners to fight their way into crowded fitness club markets. As I haven’t written much about leadership lately, I think it’s time to share my thoughts on the subject once again. Leadership is the interpersonal skill that you exert to influence other people to work with you and do [...]
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You may be thinking, “OK, Gym Insight, what are you doing posting about esoteric mathematical concepts like Bayesian Priors?” First of all, it’s 2018 and living in the future demands that we apply futuristic methods. Second, I promise not to start quoting mathematical equations. Finally, there is probably something that any fitness business owner can learn by using a little statistical discipline to their business model. What Is This Bayesian Thing? It is more than a method; it’s a way of looking at the world. You have a position, a view that you formed for whatever reason. You can test that [...]
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Just because you have happy fitness club members, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to be completely free of issues. Even the most smooth-running gym business is going to have occasional payment disputes. When it comes to questions about customer credit cards and payments, you have to get it right. In this case, satisfactory resolutions can mean the difference between customer retention and cancellations. Payments and the records that report them are some of the most problematic parts of consumer businesses, particularly in fitness. Misunderstandings in these areas can quickly turn happy customers into annoyed ones. Situational Responses And Maximum [...]
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Categories for client programming must align to sales goals and be complementary to one another. After all, the most fundamental activity in any business is selling. In a people-business like fitness, it’s as true as ever; gym business owners have to do some selling to survive. Fortunately, you don’t have to start again from scratch to get every sale. The secret is that, as your gym members come to you on a regular basis you have a warm and receptive audience for your products and services. Your Client Programming And Sales Audit If you have never done such an exercise, [...]
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Gym equipment is evolving rapidly, and we see some highly innovative designs coming down the line. New machines and systems match physical activity and data science to improve the workout experience. I think we can expect to see some amazing new gym equipment products emerging in the next few years. The company I’m writing about here, Tonal, might be one of them if it can be successful with its recently launched fitness system. As Described by This Week In Startups A recent posting by Jason Calacanis on his podcast, This Week in Startups is an interview with the founder of a [...]
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So, What’s in Your Gym Business Bag? If you’re like most people, your personal gym bag carries a bundle of practical and commonsense workout items. These things express your personality, values, and workout intentions. However, the contents of your gym bag also hint at hidden opportunities to fine-tune the business model of your fitness club. For an insight into what your ideal customers want, look into your own gym bag and apply the lessons to your customers and your business model. Most likely it includes the usual gym clothes and shoes, towels, and personal items. Perhaps you have weightlifting gloves [...]
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Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Know This Secret There’s a secret to business and entrepreneurship that they don’t teach in business school. It’s something that the smartest investors in the world of startups all understand instinctively. The venture capitalists of Silicon Valley know that, to find an investment that returns big rewards. VCs give checks to dozens of small companies in the hopes of finding one or two that grow explosively. Why is that? The simple truth is that most ideas for startups in the tech industry just don’t work, which is why you’ll hear tech industry insiders referring to the [...]
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Sometimes it’s when you go against the grain that you do your best work. If you’re in a competitive marketplace, (and let’s face it, in this industry, who isn’t?) you have to fight for every advantage. Your membership retention rate is one of those things that can make an impact in the profitability and survival of your small gym business. I certainly don’t think small gym business owners should completely ignore how well they retain their membership. However, if you’re working on a shoestring budget and living in the back office because you can’t pay yourself a salary, maybe it’s [...]
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There’s not much that a little creative ingenuity can’t overcome. The fitness industry is one where you can get a start with or without vast sums of capital to invest. While it might seem easier to do with truckloads of financial backing, there are plenty of things you can do to get started or at least boost your business to the next level. 1. Be The Expert Focus on what you do best. That thing that you’re most confident about and for which you have the most experience, this is what management gurus call your core competence. The knowledge that [...]
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