Challenges faced with Gym Ownership

Starting your own gym business is no easy feat. Picking the right location, branding, getting the equipment, etc… can be overwhelming. If you are exploring starting your own health club or fitness center here are some of the challenges you can expect. We compiled this information from founders and gym owners across the country.

Real Estate
As they say in real estate it is all about location, location, and location. However, as important as that is negotiating a favorable real estate contract can also be challenging. Obviously, the better and more convenient the location the higher the rent. There is a happy balance that you must find.

2. Marketing
Marketing can be a challenge for any new business, but the health club industry in general can be pretty competitive and cutthroat. You must be able to effectively brand your gym to attract new members at a rapid pace. Overhead could be high and there is no time to waste.

3. Logistics and Operation
Running a gym can be challenging if you do not have the experience. Creating the operational logistics to have your gym running like clockwork, and best of all independent of you is key. One of the advantages of owning a health club is the ability to have the flexibility to not have to be there every waking second. It is also important to understand how to best optimize your employees to maximize revenue. This is where multiple revenue sources come to play and taking advantage of these opportunities such as: personal training, kids club, juice bar, apparel, etc…

4. Legal
Consider the fact that you have members working with equipment that is potentially very dangerous. As dummy proof much of this equipment may seem, not everyone understands how to use it. The liability can be huge if you do not have the right protection in place. For this reason it is vital to have the right agreements, signs, and additional measures taken to prevent what could be a costly lawsuit.

5. Best practices
There is a learning curve when it comes to starting any business. Starting a gym has many best practices that you learn through experience. When this experience is not available it is hard to establish a quick set of best practices. It is always good to hire staff and management that can share this experience to avoid any potential pitfalls.

Owning a gym can be an incredibly gratifying business venture. Many of the challenges mentioned above, can be avoided by looking into Franchising. The concept of franchising allows you to have the exact business model / blueprint for success ahead of time. This means that you get best practices, agreements, help with real estate negotiation, equipment leasing/finance, and everything else in advance so you can be successful.