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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This blog was authored and originally published by CARR, a national healthcare commercial real estate firm. It is re-published with permission. Commercial Real Estate As you evaluate different types of commercial real estate leases when considering various properties for your practice, it’s important to understand the details of a “full-service” lease agreement. Full-service leases are one of the simpler commercial real estate lease structures, as well as one of the most predictable, making them a solid choice for many tenants whose circumstances require relatively constant monthly payments without too many surprises (e.g., unforeseen operating or building maintenance costs being charged [...]
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CARR, a national healthcare commercial real estate firm, is the author and original publisher of this blog. It is re-published here with permission. Commercial Real Estate There are many forms of commercial real estate leases, due to the fact that there is not a universal lease template or standard form at a state or national level. Unless you are dealing with the same landlord on the same property, the odds of seeing a lease agreement that is even relatively similar to a prior lease agreement is very rare. Even the length of a lease varies widely; and shorter is not [...]
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Originally ran September 18, 2019 on Digsy.ai. Authored by Sam Monempour, Senior Vice President of NAI Capital, West Los Angeles location. The Challenges of Searching Gym Space for Rent 1. Zoning Requirements & Excessive Parking Most areas require 10 parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet. This will apply to open areas of the club (not restrooms/locker rooms/offices) and generally end up ruling out most commercial properties in dense markets. If your requirement does not include equipment that is fixed to the ground and is more in line with a yoga studio or a martial arts facility, your use is typically [...]
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Fitness business owner Pete Dupuis originally published this blog July 8, 2015 on petedupuis.com. It is reprinted here with permission in its entirety. Commercial Real Estate Focus In my most recent blog, I discussed some important factors to take into consideration during your search for a new gym location. Once you’ve identified the dream location, the hard work is just beginning. It’s now time to talk lease terms. Since many of us are not fond of confrontation, it can be difficult to ask probing questions and know when to push back if it is in the best interest of your business. [...]
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Welcome back to our gym owner business profile. In each profile, we interview successful gym owners to learn what it takes to start, run, and own a health club. Everyone tells a new and interesting story. We hope you find their experiences as inspiring as we have! 300 Fitness Gym and Bar The idea of 300 Fitness Gym and Bar began like many other health clubs: Two guys who enjoyed exercising together saw an opportunity and jumped on it. In the small city of Pontotoc, Mississippi, there were plenty of other gyms. Four, in fact, serving a population of no [...]
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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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Five steps to sidestep a bad economy. It took 16 cameras and a digital key tag to inflation-proof Scotts Valley Gym in Scotts Valley Calf. After that, it was pure gumption. Today, when rising consumer prices are forcing all of us to make decisions as to how and where we spend our money, gym memberships are often first on the list. So how do you ensure your gym makes the cut? Or, if the economy really sinks, how can you be prepared? Should you raise rates to manage increased costs or decrease overhead? Scotts Valley Gym took the second choice. Originally one of four [...]
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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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As your gym grows, so does your need for dependable staff. Although good gym management software and 24/7 access can streamline much of the day-to-day operations of smaller gyms, a smiling face behind the counter is always a good way to run a business. That’s a tough nut to find, though, in today’s environment. Since the evolution of what’s been called the “Great Resignation,” finding and keeping employees has become a job in itself. To give you an idea of what some experts recommend, we scoured multiple resources to uncover and share a few good tips to keep gym employees. [...]
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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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Welcome to our newest gym owner business profile. Offered up once a month, these profiles are created to share ideas and challenges between gym owners. Each privately owned gym fuels from a unique set of circumstances. Hopefully, you will find inspiration in their experiences. Gym owner profile: MorGainz Fitness, Pennsylvania It started as a retirement plan. After careers in nursing and police work, Kelly and David Morgan were ready to switch tracks. Always total gym people, they dusted off a business plan written for a college nursing course, and decided to fix a problem. Their small Richland, PA, community did [...]
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