By Sam Monempour, NAI Capital Commercial Real Estate Services, Worldwide Opening a gym/fitness center is a challenging and complex venture with many moving parts. Before diving in, it is essential to carefully plan and prepare for the ever-changing aspects of the fitness industry. Over the years, gyms have gone from standard places of exercise and bodybuilding to a social environment with integrated social media influences, new technologies, new formats of exercise, and many various forms of build-out. 1. Decide gym style and market before signing a lease. The first step in signing a well-designed lease is to determine the type of [...]
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You’ve got the energy, ideas, and passion for your sport. But what about some solid facts about how to open your own club? This June, we’re going to help you learn what it takes to start a gym. Each week, we will cover an important step to your successful new business launch and provide some common sense advice from established gym owners. First, do you have a business plan? Why do I need a business plan? Too many small business owners open their first fitness center without creating a strong plan of action. A business plan is a written guideline [...]
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What could be better than exercising every day and hanging out in your own awesome health club? If owning a gym is your dream job — keep reading our blog. The truth is – opening a gym is a lot more than just buying gym equipment and unlocking doors. Succeeding at owning a gym takes planning, perseverance, moxie, and money. Today, we've spoken with experienced gym owners to learn four of the most common mistakes new gym owners make when getting started in the business. Understand your lease fully before signing on the dotted line! #1 — Signing a lease too quickly [...]
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A while back I wrote an article about the ten reasons new gyms fail. It was well received by the readers of Gym Insight and the discussion was very gratifying for me. But as a believer in fitness and getting results in a positive way I feel compelled to balance it out with an article about the positive side of gym startups and success. I admit that there is likely plenty of overlap between this and the previous article. These things are worth saying over and over again and doing more reps never hurt anybody. Arm Yourself With The Most [...]
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Different states have different legal definitions of what a franchise is. However, under Federal Law, three elements must be present in order for a franchise to be recognized. The three elements are the following: 1) Franchisee has the right to use the franchisor's trademark; 2) The franchisor has significant control or assistance with the franchisee's operation; 3) The franchisee has to pay the franchisor for the right to be a franchisee. [i] Hence, under Federal Law, a franchise fitness center is basically a business situation or arrangement through which an individual is allowed to operate a fitness center under the [...]
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