If you’ve always dreamed of opening a gym, now could be a great time to do so. The market is still expanding, and if you have a good plan and execute it well, you could make a lot of money with a moderate investment.
You do have to know that you can’t just open a gym and expect people to come. You’ll need to first study your market thoroughly and see if there’s space for a gym like yours. You also have to know all the small details of starting and running this kind of business. Here are some things everyone should know before they enter the gym business.
Think Twice About Opening a Mega Gym
Some people assume that the only way to make money in the gym business is to go big, but that’s not necessarily the case. Maybe people prefer boutique gyms in your market. It may even be the case that the market has already been taken over by a big-name gym. This is not something you should underrate since people will have little incentive to go to a mega gym in one fixed location when they could go for a big name and access all the gyms in their network.
This is why you should consider niching down. You could offer services to a specific demographic, for instance, or go for something more up close and personal. If you’re hellbent on going for a big gym, consider joining a franchise instead of trying to build your brand. We’re not saying it couldn’t work, but you would need to be in a market where this type of gym is needed and be able and willing to scale fast.
Insurance Costs
Many gym owners are unaware of how much insurance they’ll need to take out for their business. You’ll first need to protect your premises and your equipment. You’ll then need to be insured in case people working out get injured or if people get injured due to an incident in the gym.
Injuries to clients are not the only thing you have to worry about either. It’s very common for employees to get injured in gyms too, and they can suffer severe injuries. So, you’ll also need to look into things like workers’ compensation costs and factor this into your overhead.
The Technical Side
Gyms today are very technologically advanced and rely on technology to keep track of membership, control access, and handle all sorts of backdoor operations like invoice reporting and accounting. This is why you should get familiar with some of the tools you’ll need to run your business.
Gym management software is something you need to have sorted before you start. This will help you control things like lead management, membership management, payment tracking, class scheduling, and class bookings, among others. This is like the nervous system for your gym, so learn as much about it as possible to feel comfortable from the beginning.
The gym business is one of the most competitive there, but it’s also one of the most profitable. Make sure that you have understood everything we have mentioned before you start, and don’t hesitate to get expert help to help you build your business on a solid foundation.
