Fitness...MONEY TO BE MADE

[chip]

Hi All!
A week or so ago I joined this forum with a post regarding a fitness center. Since then I have a Tampa area anti-aging clinic talking referrals, have begun to organize my cutting edge personal training profit-center, tomorrow I meet with the largest senior citizen HMO ( which guarantees $4 PER VISIT, and the facility previously had 900 of these members ), have had over 200 tours since Monday, and am in the process of finalizing a tremendously experienced and successful sales staff. I have the experience ( 11 years in the biz ) and know that infusing capital and modernizing this place makes it infinitely lucrative, as well as becoming a template for extraordinary success when used as a template for franchising (already have a logo and design that draws attention). The juice bar restaurant area is not even open yet and will produce a profit of 400-500% of investment in supplies! I am looking for a SERIOUS INVESTOR. I'm not a 20 year old kid...and this, I assure you, is not a whimsical attempt at making a menial profit. I am working with good people that don't see the big picture! Pm me and lets blow this up

[chip]

BTW... previous owner had over 4000 members at one time. Was living the rockstar life and it bit him

[lkjackson321]

How's it going Chip just wanted to swing by and give you some free advice for your fitness center. I've been a athlete my whole life played college basketball and pro basketball now im into bodybuilding. So in the gym 5-6 days out the week I will tell you some great ideas for your gym that will keep your customers happy and draw in new customers.

-Every successful gym is appealing to both serious bodybuilders and to the casual "weekend warriors". To appeal to both you must have the whole works of workout equipment. The heavy duty equipment that serious lifters use, Nautilis equipment, treadmills, elipticals,...etc.

-Make sure the equipment always work and stay clean-I always hated broken equipment.

-Throw a couple flat screen tvs in the weight rooms!...This would be GREAT! I have never seen this in a gym weight room ever and I always though "How nice if I could watch the football game while im working out instead of having to go run to the treadmill area to watch the tv's in there!"...Many people would really appreciate this!

-newest equipment. I always wanted for gyms to have the products you see on tv just so you can try them out. like the ab machine you can get on and you sway side to side, perfect pushups, ..etc...this is very cheap equipment but people will love to use them! Especially that ab machine that costs like 150.

-Have some workout items customers can check out like "perfect push ups", lifting belts..etc

-HAVE AB MACHINES!!!I swear it is surprising to see gyms without ab machines! Regular situps, crunches, leg lifts, medicine ball situps get boring. 1 or 2 ab machines will do your gym justice. ab machines are great because you must build the muscle in your abs first and the way to do that is by adding a little weight before you start doing high reps and most people dont know that. So they plop down and do 1000 crunches and wonder where their abs are. The Serious gym rats know this and will appreciate these machines.

-Here is another GREAT idea for you Chip, hand out free small water bottles like they do at casinos. A gym I went to had a water bottle sponser them so they game them a bunch of small half sized water bottles for the gyms for free. IT WAS THE GREATEST! nobody likes drinking out of the water fountains where people expectorate in! Having free water bottle stand or whatever will please the customers and even draw more people in. Even if its just for a week here and there it will be great for your business. So look for that local water bottle company to advertise at your gym so they can give you free water bottles.

- Sell supplements at the gym. I think you were talking about this already but yah sell some supplements. Im not talking about heavy duty steroids, HGH hormone or whatever. But sell some protein bars, protein shakes and heck think outside the box what if you have a small little "gnc" type store inside the gym? YOU WOULD SELL LIKE CRAZY!!! People would be in and out of there all the time! No gym has done this yet (that I have seen)

-have a child play area. One of the gyms I went to had a little "day care"/child playground type area where they were supervised by a couple adults while their parents worked out. I dont have kids but I noticed that this was really convenient for the parents because parents sometimes cant find babysitters. This will attract many single parents because they can workout while not worrying about who's going to take care of their child for a couple hours.

-have monthly events and contests to keep the gym fun..On occasions have trainers giving free advice upfront, checking blood pressure, and giving free healthy lifestyle advice.

-This is often overlooked by gyms but have some kind of sanetizing wipes located at every station so people can wipe equip before and after.

-expansion-thinking outside the box....if there isn't one already have a basketball court built. (indoor gym or even outdoor court). This will attract a lot more youth to your gym who need a court to practice and play at that is near by which will surely increase revenue for you.

-Network with a lot of athletes, pro bodybuilders....etc. By doing this maybe you will be able to get some celebrity athletes to swing by your gym here and there for a hour or so to sign some autographs. this will make your gym seem more upbeat.


These are some ideas for you im sure that you thought of some of these already but hopefully you spotted some good ideas.

God Bless you and your future business, Lucas Jackson

[VertFreak101]

Agreed with above, and about a basketball court, "The Met" in Atlanta was good about charging a low $ monthly fee for basketball players to just use the courts and nothing else, as alot of basketball guys will not have interest in the gym, they are just into playing bball! I would love for local gyms around here to offer such a deal! This way you will even get athletes from other gyms to come play bball at yours, they will see the facility, be wow'd by all of the things you've done in the above post, and switch over to yours :P

[chip]

Thank You for the input. I already have a lot of this in place! I am on this forum looking for a legitimate business person to invest in an industry that, even through the bad times maintains itself when you forge relationships with your customers. My current issue is capital to improve and provide the absolute best available experience that will guarantee retention of members. I truly believe that a gym can be all things to all people. My space is unique in that not only do I have 30,000 square feet of workout area, I also have an incredible pool as well as room for an outdoor training facility and play area for kids. Imagine 100,000 cars passing daily! I also have a large area of sub-leaseable space that previously was used for a physical therapy clinic, as well as a separate upscale spa facility. It will do well as is, but could be a gold mine with aforementioned capital infusion. Astetics are a huge part of the equation, as well as periodic blitz marketing and, above all, community involvement. Current overhead, all considered, is roughly $30,000, with a cap of $50,000. 1000 members at $30 per month cover the nut, and my experience with profit centers will eventually AT LEAST EQUAL the membership draft. As far as equipment, I have spent the last 10 years travelling and researching the brands and trends. This effort has produced invaluable connections that can produce fully reconditioned pieces at half the cost of new. Flat screen tvs are at an all time low right now, so those are a no-brainer. I sincerely and conservatively estimate that annual profit should be a MINIMUM of $750,000 with 2000 members. Local demographics based on census totals show 170,000 people within a 3 mile radius, with median household income above $40,000. I live in a development right across the street that has over 1800 homes. The closest competition is 10 miles from here! The info I am sharing is factual and easily confirmed with available data. The percentage of return on this venture is astronomical. I am talking ten-fold+ in a very short period of time. Its here waiting.

[chip]

There is enough room outside for 10 full court basketball courts. I already have a sand volleyball court!

[VertFreak101]

Sounds absolutely awesome! I wish you the best, and I am sure the right person will come along for you!

[chip]

I have been through so many scam artists, cons and fakes I can't count them. I've heard good things about this site. Hope this is my time

[hippie_wantab]

classes, women love classes! cardio-kick, spin, step, latin-cardio, yogo, etc.
Plus the key to renewals is getting people comfortable and in the habit. Have fee visits with personal trainers to help people get started and keep them accountable.

[chip]

Got my instructors in place. Actually, most of the formers are coming back, with their disciples. As far as p.t., my trainers are proactive and understand that you gotta give to receive. On top of classes, we will have bootcamps, sports-specific for athletes, and socially oriented group fitness activities (biggest loser) etc. I like to educate and stay ahead of the game.

[chip]

The doors are open and the're comin'. Just looking to find somebody to go to that next level with. I'm creating a brand that will be synonymous with integrity and health.

[chip]

With the latest healthcare controversy, my bet is that insurers and our government will offer more incentives toward the preventative side. This is the right place at the right time.

[chip]

Nobody sees the potential?????

[lkjackson321]

Extreme potential!! and If I had the money to invest in this I would but I dont have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out. But I will def send anyone I know your way. Do you have a email address just in case I come across a potential investor? Also do you have any pictures or video tutorial of the gym?

[carianoray]

Hey Chip, i'm new here myself...I do see the potential in what you're doing and myself and/or an associate, who also is a business owner, would be interested in hearing more specifics i.e. location of facility, amount of investment required, and time frame to build customer base