Guest blog authors: Mariann Murphy, Vice President, Medical Fitness Association Cosmo Wollan, Senior Executive, Synergy Cubed Approximately 45 million adults in the U.S. have a gym membership. Sounds like a lot, but the sad reality is that’s only 14 percent of the population (Source: Realbuzz). Baby boomers alone make up over 21 percent of the population. According to ACSM’s Worldwide Surveys of Fitness Trends for 2023, the number 4 top trend is: “Fitness Programs for Older Adults.” It’s no secret that people are living longer, working longer and, most important, wanting to stay active longer. Tap into your client’s wellness [...]
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If building your dream fitness center includes offering members a wealth of services beyond free weights, then it might be time to consider partnerships. Health One is an on-site, national weight-loss program that combines in-person support with prepared, nutritionally appropriate meals. In future blogs we will profile other companies whose services and expertise compliment and support growing gyms. But for now read on to discover how you can incorporate a formal weight-loss program into your gym. Health One Weight-loss programs tend to get a bad rap when they include prepared meals. It can seem as if the marketing emphasis shifts from [...]
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Welcome to our newest series within our blog. Here we profile employees from throughout our company to both introduce them to you, our valued clients, and spotlight their unique contributions to Gym Insight. We believe each employee offers a special blend of talents that together create the robust set of gym management software tools our fitness club owners enjoy. Dancing with Natalia Natalia Schulte, our newest sales manager, brings a sprightly enthusiasm to her job with Gym Insight. We’ve asked her to support our Head of Sales, Anthony Pasquale, in our critical mission to grow Gym Insight’s core customer base [...]
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This is a question all new gym owners ask themselves. In the last month, we’ve brought you expert answers to many questions about the actual leasing process – conversations to have before signing your gym lease, how to find property, and the details behind specific leases – Triple Net and Full Service Leases. Now it’s time to decide if it is in your best interest to rent a location or buy that real estate. To explore this topic, we turned to Kelly Morgan, owner of MorGainz Fitness, a four-location Pennsylvania enterprise. Morgan and her husband David leased their first and second gym locations, starting in 2012, [...]
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November 2022 Profile – The Gym at 214 Main, Fort Mill, South Carolina The Gym at 214 Main is located on a busy main street in a small town in South Carolina In 2020, current owner Jovon Times, along with his wife Keisha Unger-Times, decided to make a bid for the twice-sold gym after training clients there for 12 years under the moniker of “Exercise Times.” He and Unger-Times soon owned the 24/7, 5,500-square-foot gym — a turnkey operation with a roster of clients, excellent equipment, and a contract with the Jazzercise brand. Now, everything else, as he says, is gravy. Times went from [...]
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Seeing your gym’s company name on a product being worn or used by a member is just a great feeling. That stamp is like a walking billboard. As well, branded gym apparel is an easy and simple marketing technique. So, what's the smartest way to take on branded products ? First, read our top tips for selling branded gym apparel: Make friends with an apparel company. Find a firm that will allow you to order on an as-needed basis. Let them hold onto stock. Keep your stock limited — often an over-abundance of shirts, joggers, hats, etc. will just sit in [...]
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What motivates us to exercise regularly? Has your gym figured out the right hook to lure new members? Well, the answer to what truly inspires us to sweat it out might surprise you. Continue reading to discover how incorporating themes of mental health and wellness into your advertising campaign may boost membership sales. Reason #1: Exercise kicks the blues to the curb. As most long-term fitness buffs know, a little exercise goes a long way to reducing feelings of sadness. But for many individuals, exercise is worse than feeling bad. It’s doing something they’re bad at, while feeling lousy. Who [...]
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So, let’s talk about January gym membership sales. Too early? No, not really. The January bump in sales is too often just a hangover remedy from a slow fall sign-up season. True, January is the month to become fit. After all, 12% of all new members join at year’s start. That’s easily 40% more than on an average month, when about 8% of your new members come on board. However, many of those new members might have said yes sooner -- if you had just asked them. November and December are traditionally tough months for the health club industry. In [...]
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Welcome to our gym owner business profile. These monthly profiles are created to build vision and share stories of what it takes to start, run, and own a gym. Each privately owned gym tells a new and interesting story. We hope you find their experiences as inspiring as we have! Gym profile: The Kage Gym, LLC — Mundelein, IL Don’t talk to The Kage Gym owners about luck. Although Gonzalo Sanchez and Omar Sanchez (no relation) may use the term to describe their jump into owning a gym at ages 25 and 20, it has nothing to do with what’s happening now. This [...]
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What are the issues facing gym owners in the near future? How is our world changing and what does that mean to boutique fitness gyms and their counterparts – general service fitness centers? Just as the pandemic upended fitness routines, changing demographics and shifts in how individuals perceive health and fitness are driving adaptation and innovation. Let’s look at a few of the concerns facing our industry. Gym truth One: We’re all getting older. One statistic we’ve seen asserts there will be more people over 50 years of age than under 50 by the year 2030. That year, as well, [...]
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It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessential. This quote from martial arts legend Bruce Lee is so simple, yet it says so much of what success is all about, in gym ownership, in business and life in general. You can spend hours doing little things or find the big things that matter; they may look the same at first. But when all the other things drop away you can still take the essential factors and use them to achieve the final outcomes you desire. This is what sculptors do when they carve [...]
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Starting a gym can be complicated. Instinctively, launching a health club seems simple: equipment + passion = success, right? True, but gyms also involve people, liability, capital investments, promotions, regulations, and expenses. Juggling all this is where success is achieved. The following blog is a short overview of four of the most significant responsibilities affecting your new company. Below the blog, we’ve included helpful links for research and assistance. Four tasks every gym owner faces: Insurance coverageCapital equipment purchasesMarketing expensesEmployee management 1. Required insurance coverage: General liability Commercial propertyProfessional liabilityWorkers’ Comp Although the cost of insurance varies widely based on the size [...]
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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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Growth This summer, drive gym membership for college students by offering them a great deal on your awesome club. Last year, we wrote a blog urging gym owners to reach out to cooped-up college students tired of learning online and alone. Your gym would become their oasis – a place to meet friends, expend some energy, and prepare for a new year on campus. A refuge from a rough, COVID-crazy year. This year, the kids are back home for the summer and ready to hit an exercise class or two. Let’s look at some reasons it’s the perfect time to target this [...]
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There's no time like the present to prepare for storms on the horizon. I'm reminded about this because one of the big boys has just arrived in town in a big way. The launch of Life Time Athletic into the local Las Vegas market has been a wake-up call, announced with all of the glitz and fanfare people expect of this town. I would like to use it as an example of how established local gyms can respond effectively to big-box corporate competition. The Las Vegas Athletic Club Value Proposition When the big national or multi-national brands move in, you [...]
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