Customer profile: Coastline Fitness, est. 2021
Coastline Fitness opened amidst the pandemic when gyms were considered an endangered species. But as with most difficult situations, vision defines the outcome. To owners Brian Vanderveen and business partner Michael Lampanski, fitness was not dying out. It was just a great deal.
This mindset crafted an approach calculated for expansion. As a result, the two negotiated favorable leases and built the full-service gym Coastline Fitness in 2021. Since launching the Clinton Ct. location, they duplicated their success at Old Saybrook, and now have plans for additional brand growth. They are a natural team: Vanderveen understands operations. Lampanski masters financials.
In less than three years of ownership, they now employ about 100 individuals fulfilling a spectrum of positions. Both facilities include small group and individual personal training, a varied cardio deck, free weights, 12-piece circuit training, locker rooms, saunas, and a large group exercise schedule showcasing popular well-known classes.
What advice would you give new gym owners?
Treat it like a business.
Although you may be eager to help people, in order to succeed you must consider the business’ major contributors. Know your pro formas (projections), profit lines such as how much revenue is derived from personal training, membership, and so forth, as well as ensure your payroll aligns with revenue.
Execute the plan
Regular communication with partners is vital to a successful center. Vanderveen and Lampanski meet monthly to discuss numbers and projections: “There is a massive line of communication through numbers and how we are going to be successful.”
Know your partner.
Are both partners committed 100% to the project?
Control your space.
Renting out to third parties might make sense under some circumstances, but in most cases you generate the most money by bringing the service in-house.
Know your community.
Anticipate what members can and cannot afford. Don’t underprice or overprice fees.
Keep expenses low.
In spite of their success, Vanderveen still handles most of the social media and marketing. He even designed Coastline’s website.
Why did Coastline choose to install Gym Insight software?
- Fully digitized QR codes that refresh after every scan. Previously members were photographing and sharing pictures of their barcodes. The unauthorized visits ended with the transition from barcodes to digital keytags. These provided the flexibility to lower employee hours. Although the front desk is manned 12 hours a day, overall staffing needs have been cut.
- User friendly software.
- Customer support is very receptive. Phone calls and emails are answered quickly.
- Gym Insight is less expensive than its major competitors, while offering many of the same features, such as recurring scheduled payments. The cost savings allows Coastline more room to be successful within the current income and illustrates a better bottom line for investors.
Coastline’s dynamic future
This is definitely a crew to watch. They’ve got their plans in place, numbers under control and a vision for growth. We look forward to speaking with them again soon. Multi-location ownership is a whole other game, and we’re betting they’re going to impress the market.
Gym Insight
Thank you for reading our customer profile. We feel our best learning comes directly from you – the people out there running gyms every day. Our gym management software evolved from gym owners seeking a better, more profitable way to run their centers. Today, those same owners own Gym Insight and are proud of our broad range of features designed to do just that – provide deep financial insight into your company within an easy-to-use and easy-to-learn platform. For more information, call us at 855-FOR-GYMS and ask for Anthony or Natalia.
