Parallels In Gym Ownership And Software Services Companies I am fortunate to have had the privilege to see the inner workings of two different industries. My background and education is in computer science but my passions and enterprises have always been in fitness. That led me to having both a career in computer sciences through gyminsight.com and in gym management by owning a small but successful local gym business. Since the readers of the Gym Insight Blog tend to be fitness professionals I thought it would be useful, as a contrast, to talk about the computer industry and the differences [...]
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Because The Bigger They Are... As the big guys get bigger, and keep pouring cash into their fitness center locations, you might think that they would be impossible to beat. It's just a fact that large corporations have all the money and other financial resources at their disposal that anyone could wish for. That does not mean they have a monopoly on innovation or competitiveness. The independent gym owner can still do much to fight back effectively because having capital resources is only part of the equation. You have to have a human side that doesn't crush customers in the [...]
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Platform As A Service Or Software As A Service I was recently talking to a local small business manager who told me about how his company saved itself by switching format. Clients demanded to get updates and they felt compelled to comply. Payment in a one-time fee meant that the longer clients used their software the less they profited. This turned around when they went to a monthly plan: clients became a cash flow and they have the resources to update generously. I wanted to share this because it is so similar to the experience I had in deciding the [...]
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This month, Gym Insight had the honor of welcoming our two thousandth customer! This is big news for us because we still pride ourselves on bootstrapping our company. We believe that the focus is customer service and providing innovative software to keep even the smallest fitness studio two steps ahead of the big-box franchise down the street. Our reputation and the the quantity of customers that we service, speaks for itself. This family business grew organically and is here to stay. Come on aboard with us to enjoy personal communications and streaming updates and features of the next generation gym [...]
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Fitness trends have had lots of ups and downs that are related to culture and fashion. But there is also an influence on trends that comes from the innovations of technology. Still it's hard to read the tea leaves out beyond a year or so, as the apparent trend today can quickly show itself to be a fad that disappears overnight. In the gym business we always have to keep a lookout for what is coming because it can determine the capital investments that we would make and nobody wants to take six months to refurbish for the latest thing [...]
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When television production companies catch onto a formula that's cheap to produce and popular with viewers, they really work it for all it's worth. Having an expert, who rescues failing small businesses, is a simple and compelling formula within the genre of reality TV. The premise is usually that a business, in some specific industry, gets help and a makeover just as it's about to go under. The super-expert, no-holds-barred host comes in with a camera crew and they proceed, in a period of about three days, to whamp the tar out of the downtrodden business owner. They clear out [...]
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Measuring Stimulation There was a lot of information that I left out of the Moscow Subway article because it was getting too long. For example, there was an interesting article on The Daily Beast Blog about how short bursts of vigorous exercise has a more stimulating effect than a cup of coffee. An intense burst of exercise such as dropping for pushups for thirty seconds has been shown to be more effective at generating the kind of focus and mental stamina of which coffee drinkers can only dream. That's all according to the study cited in the Daily Beast article. [...]
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Barcoded Key Tags Or RFID For Easy Entry RFID and Barcoded key tags are two widely used types of systems for gym access control, in common usage with gym management software systems. Gym Insight supports both key technologies, it's just a matter of which suits your needs best. Each has its uses, advantages and weaknesses. Fortunately there are two clear paths along which to tread and they match up neatly with one or the other of the access types. A small gym that has remote management and unattended 24 hour access has different needs to the one that has open [...]
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How does a small gym get the most out of its software and payment processing resources? What is the right combination of services to best support gym owners and their managers in the battle against the seemingly unlimited resources of the multinational big-box brands of the fitness industry? I have been working hard to answer those questions both for Insight and for my own small gym. The extensive market research that I have been conducting has showed me that there literally is a middle way. To that end, I am proud to announce that Gym Insight is launching a new [...]
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This week I felt inspired to write about handling membership cancellations. There are several reasons that they come to mind right now. It's the season for peak sign-ups, which will be followed later by a wave of cancellations as the faint hearted drop by the wayside. Also, there have been some stories in the news about companies taking it very badly when customers cancel and complain. I think it's worth mentioning because you can't be too prepared when it comes to dealing with customer service crises. Mishandling complaints can lead to a vicious cycle that, in this age of Twitter, [...]
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If you own a small gym, you probably know about taking on the heavy burden of capital investment and leasing your venue and equipment. It'll keep you awake at night when you're signing the checks, believe me! Like all small business owners, you really need to look at every possible way to bump up the value of foot traffic entering and leaving your gym. One effective way to do that is to sell retail items at the front desk or at a cash register in the foyer or lobby. What will people buy? It may take you some research and [...]
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Over the years, independent gyms and their counterparts like training studios and bootcamps, have been moving from cash transactions to online payments. This is done through a system called payment processing. A payment processor is a company used to handle credit/debit card transactions through a payment gateway which in turn sends a transaction request to your bank and/or an Automated Clearing House (ACH) provider. When a gym membership is being purchased via a credit card terminal, the information is sent to a system that stores the account details of your customer in order to verify if the customer has sufficient [...]
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Fitness facilities generally involve a large amount of investment in the beginning and high maintenance costs throughout. On top of this, keeping up with the competition in terms of technology and training is another expense. Returns come much after this chunk of money is being fueled into the heart and soul of the business. What this implies is that you must have a great start to break-even as soon as possible. Your facility deserves a huge opening so that people know that a lot of effort and money has been put into a project for their benefit. Here are some [...]
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Please take note that if you prefer to reach us by old fashion phone, our number has changed. Now, it is not only toll free, it is super easy to remember! Just think Insight is "for gyms"! 1 (855) FOR-GYMS!
