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Old 03-10-2007, 04:02 PM   #1 (permalink)
MAXX
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Default Opening My Fitness Center

I started doodling on a sheet of paper, just putting some thoughts down, and next thing I know, I've got an Excel spreadsheet typed up. I would like to open my own fitness center, but I really have no experience in the small business field. Some I'm learning as I go. My primary experience has been working at a corporate fitness center, at the Ohio State University rec center, and at numerous small college fitness/rec centers in various administrative roles. So working in the field is not new, but owning a business is......

I put together a list of everything I thought I would need to open a gym. I would appreciate some feedback on my list.

I am using ProMaxima as my primary vendor for equipment. They are pretty inexpensive and the quality of the equipment is pretty decent. I've ordered a lot of things from them for the high school I work at, and the stuff has held up while taking a beating.

Items that I really need some input on:
  • The cardio equipment I have picked. Good? Bad?
  • Cost of insurance
  • Cost of client tracking software
  • Where do I go for equipment to create ID cards to be scanned for a 24 hour center?
  • Where can i get big mirrors?
  • Anything I have left off the list?
  • Do I have the proper equipment for a small 24 hour center where I can also do some personal training and train athletes? I know that I don't have everything that may be desirable, but enough to get started?
Thanks for the help everyone!!
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Old 03-10-2007, 07:00 PM   #2 (permalink)
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The spread sheet is just the beginning. You should not move forward without a complete business plan though. I also strongly advise that you get together with a financial professional to do pro-formas.

Sometimes using a pre-fab system like a franchise is a good idea if you have the money to put up front because they have already worked out all the things you will encounter as a gym owner and you won't have to learn by trial and error (mostly error, trust me).

I am pretty suspicious from the outset about your equipment company, as I have never heard about them, and some of my biggest headaches have been getting support for off brands that I bought because they were "cheaper"... That was obviously only on the front end.

Client tracking/billing software is really easy if you don't use one of the franchises (if you do use one, they usually have their own in-house systems). I can refer you to one that I think does an excellent job.

I have two companies that I highly recommend on insurance. Again, that depends on if you go franchise or not. (If you start to get the idea that franchises can save you a lot of headache then you are onto something. Don't just go with a local broker to find you an underwriter. They will nail you to the fucking wall). I had bad experiences with two companies before finding specialized insurance for healthclubs for literally a FRACTION of the cost. I got sued by one because they claimed I underreported income, and their price was based on revenues. The fine print in their contract allowed them to audit me and send me an invoice rather than simply raising my upcoming rates.

Mirrors are easy... Don't get that far ahead of yourself yet. You have bigger fish to fry. They are cheap and easy to get done.

You have a ton of stuff missing from your list. Don't get in a hurry because that is when the costliest mistakes will get you. Let's take our time on this and be thorough.
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Old 03-10-2007, 07:53 PM   #3 (permalink)
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I've owned a business. Your first two phone calls should be to a lawyer and an accountant. JP can testify to the fact that, it's not whether or not you will be sued, it's when. Both can really help with organizing your company, thinking through some of those inevetible mistakes you'll make. I agree with JP about the plan. Don't invest any money until you know what your going to do and how your going to pay for it.
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Old 03-11-2007, 12:11 PM   #4 (permalink)
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Depending on the size of the town there are also a host of free resources available through local universities that can aid in business planning. There are also organizations such as SCORE that may be beneficial.
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Old 03-13-2007, 05:52 AM   #5 (permalink)
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I just realized that I never provided a link to my list.... No wonder everyone thought it was such a short list! Here it is......

http://maxxtraining.com/MAXXCosts.htm
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Old 03-13-2007, 06:02 AM   #6 (permalink)
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Honestly, I glanced over your list for a mere 8 seconds, but you can really do without of some stuff in the beginning. You don't need plyo boxes, 5 TVs, 4 adjustable benches, etc....etc...

You should put money aside for marketing and promotions. I don't know your area/community, but you need to traget a population to market your FC to. As money comes in, then you can spend it on the other novelties.

It sounds like you really want a nice FC. Thats great. But what is going to make your place different from the rest? A business plan including market research, 5 year plan, services, and satffing is more important than what equipment to buy. Thats actually the easy part.

Just my 2 cents.
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Old 03-13-2007, 08:03 AM   #7 (permalink)
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Thanks John, point taken.......
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Old 03-13-2007, 09:49 AM   #8 (permalink)
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SCORE is a great service.

The service that Deserve mentioned that you might find at a local university is the SBDC network (Small Business Development Center).

I happen to be a Director of an SBDC. They offer one-to-one counseling free of charge. They can really help you with your business plan...and also pro-forma financials. If you tell me where you are located, I can tell you where the nearest SBDC office would be.

What you have so far is certainly A piece of the puzzle. But the big puzzle, the business plan, has far more pieces. And even the smaller puzzle, the financial projections, will require a lot more information.

Before you can honestly go much farther, you will need to understand more specifics regarding your initial costs and your monthly costs. Specifically, you need to understand more about how much your site is going to cost!

You might call a commercial real estate agent in your town and try to find out a good range of prices you'll pay to lease commercial real estate. You probably have some decent idea of how many square feet you would need to open the kind of facility you will want. If you think you need, say, 3000 square feet, you might find an agent that tells you that type of space typically goes for $22 per sq.ft. So you can figure your rent at $5500 per month. ($22 times 3000 sq.ft. divided by 12 months...and, oh, by the way, there will probably be more "triple net" charges, but at least you can START somewhere.)

As for your INITIAL layout, depending on your local market, of course, most commercial real estate owners are basically not going to lift a finger for you. If you need to install locker room facilities, for example, you're probably going to have to come up with the funding to do that. What is that going to cost? Maybe $30K? Maybe more? It depends on the site, obviously. Some sites may require more plumbing, more electrical...some structural work....you just never know until you know.

That brings up an interesting point... Let's just say that you're going to need...oh, how about a nice, round $100,000 up front. You're already close to $50K and you haven't factored in any leasehold improvements yet. You're also going to need some working capital. You have to be able to pay the bills your first few months in business while you build a clientele. I don't know this industry that well, but I'd suspect that $100,000 might be a reasonable figure to get a gym started....or actually on the low side of reasonable, depending on where you are located and what type of clientele you are looking to serve.

Where are you going to get $100,000???

Seriously, there is this funny mythology in this country...we seem to think that if we're smart and we have a good idea, the money will be there! I'm here to tell you, the number one reason that people don't get small businesses off the ground is that money does NOT grow on trees. Do you think you can write a business plan and walk into a bank and borrow $100,000? Uh...almost certainly not. Unless you've got mad connections, baybee!

A bank is going to want three things from you:
1) They are NOT going to be the only investor in your business. That means you had better come up with at least 20% down yourself...or maybe with a group of investors (get your elevator pitch worked up!).
2) They want collateral...full security for the $80K they are going to be lending you. Guess what? Leasehold improvements are NOT something the bank can sell! All that work you want to do on the locker room? Sorry...the bank can repo it and sell it, so they are not likely to loan on it. In fact, the market for used equipment is probably pretty soft. You'd be lucky to have a bank collateralize $20K on a bunch of used equipment and teevees.
3) They want you to prove that you can pay for the loan out of the operating cash flows of the business. So you WILL, as John mentioned, have to spend a lot of time researching your market. Who is your competition? How do you differentiate yourself from them? What products/services will you offer? How much will you charge? At what point do you break even? How much market share will you need to capture? Specifically, how will you design your marketing communications to target the demographic that you need and how can you be reasonably sure you will be successful?

So how much money do you have right now? Can you borrow against a 401(k)? Can you tap your home for equity? What are you going to risk, here? My rough take is that you'll be lucky to get a bank to pony up a third of what you'll really need. (I'm basing that number on my rough view of your collateral position.) You got seventy large? If not, it's time to find INVESTORS.

For many industries, this is the make-or-break skill for an entrepreneur. How good are you at asking your rich Aunt Sally for money? You say you don't have a rich Aunt Sally? Well, then it takes even MORE skill because you're going to have to hit up a bunch of strangers. They say the money for start ups comes from The Four F's....founders, family, friends, and FOOLS. When you get down to fools, you're going to have to be pretty persuasive.

Of course, there ARE other options. Fitness centers are a tough business to be in. I'd suspect that many of them are started by people with more money than sense...or that people get into this business because they like to train and they don't realize that OWNING a gym is nothing like training a client. Depending on where you live, you can possibly find somebody who is selling one right now at www.bizbuysell.com or some other similar business brokerage website. Sometimes you can get a good deal and you can find something like this for less than the market value of the assets just because somebody wants OUT. Of course, then you might be fixing something that's broken....better get your Marketing hat back on.

You can also lease your equipment rather than purchase. That reduces your collateral position and may make you less bankable. But it could also dramatically reduce your start-up costs. Since you're likely to be talking to investors, at least this might allow you to ask for less money from them.

Now, don't get me wrong...I know this might come off as somewhat discouraging. I certainly don't mean to be that way. I work with entrepreneurs like you EVERY DAY and I find that it is EXTREMELY rewarding when they succeed. The thing is, you DO need to understand some of the challenges that you will face.

People like JP have stared down these challenges and lived to tell the tale. I can't tell you how much respect I have for people who turn their passion into their business. It is NOT EASY to do! (Especially in this field.) Of course, again, people like JP might be able to tell you some more dollar-figure specifics than I can tell you. Entrepreneurs generally know their industry a lot better than I know their industry.

They say that every small business, in order to succeed, needs to master The Three M's:

Management--can you manage your enterprise or put together a team that can do it?
Market--is there truly a market for your product/service? Can you communicate with that market?
Money--Do you have it? Can you get it?

I really didn't even address that first M in this post, but hopefully I've given you a little bit of a flavor for what you might face with regard to your Market and Money.

(Wow...every time I post in this forum, I get long-winded! I'll stop now.)
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Old 03-13-2007, 10:15 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Thanks vudu, that was very informative, helpful, and definitely a lot to digest! I do have a location in mind--it's approximately 5200 sq. foot. It is a lease property, which I realize is not optimal, but the location is the best in town and there aren't any viable properties for sale. Here is a link to the property and the area's demographics:

http://www.kimcorealty.com/propsearc...ing&sk=leasing


Unfortunately, the realtor has not returned any of my calls about the property, so I have no idea the lease rate..........

By the way vudu, I live in Cambridge, Ohio. I'd be realy interested in my nearest SBDC. Thanks again!
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Old 03-13-2007, 10:31 AM   #10 (permalink)
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I love reading your post Vudu. Long winded or not.
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Old 03-13-2007, 07:41 PM   #11 (permalink)
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Well, Ohio definitely has a large number of SBDCs!

It looks like this might be the closest one to you:

Zanesville Area, Mid East SBDC
205 North Fifth Street
Zanesville, OH 43701
Phone: (740) 452-4868
Fax: (740) 454-2963


Looks like commercial real estate in your part of Ohio might be less expensive than I would have guessed. Here's one for sale that's about the right size:
http://www.cimls.com/sale-listing/15...f=state_review

Might not be in the right part of town...might not be anything close to what you want other than that it's approximately the same size. It's tough to say what that type of valuation means to commercial lease prices. My original shot in the dark is probably quite a bit higher than you will actually find.

Interesting co-tenants...what was in that space before? Any chance you could get by with the smaller space in that same building?
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Old 03-13-2007, 08:25 PM   #12 (permalink)
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Interesting that you posted that property....I had thought about checking it out. It used to house a plumbing and heating business. Not sure if the set-up would be real good. But it has a garage/warehouse section.

The property that I posted used to be a Fashion Bug ladies store. It is pretty new inside and just has fitness center written all over it. It's wide open, clean, has a desk area, columns with mirrors, dressing area, office area. Wish I had some inside pics. It's in a location where a lot of growth is occurring about a 1/2 mile away. It's in a shopping plaza that was really popular about 15-20 years ago. But since then, new shopping centers with Walmart, Kmart, and soon a Lowe's is opening, so this older plaza is less desirable. But it is still in the most congested area of the county.

I've got a bit of a plan about my center based upon what is already available in our area, so I'll try to post more about that tomorrow. Thanks for the info vudu!!
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Old 03-13-2007, 10:48 PM   #13 (permalink)
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When I tried to get a loan from the bank, not only did they want me to have 20% of my own money, they also wanted a minimum of 6 months financial records showing a minimum $$$ value which was based on the ammount I wanted to barrow. I don't know if this will come up for you or not.
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Old 03-14-2007, 01:12 AM   #14 (permalink)
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I don't know about about over in the states but here in england, for Commercial Property it is VERY difficult to get a mortgage company to lend over 80% of the purchase price. If the Property leasehold but has a premium they wouldn't even give you 50%.
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Old 03-14-2007, 06:35 AM   #15 (permalink)
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That's a good point, kingkop182. Commercial property IS more difficult to purchase. It's not nearly as easy as it would be to get a mortgage for a home. The SBA does have one VERY good program for purchasing real estate to run a business, however. It's called the 504 program. If you talk to your local SBDC, Maxx, and IF (that is a huge IF) you are interested in purchasing property, you should ask them about that.

I wasn't actually advocating that particular property at all. I was just looking for SOME commercial property in Cambridge to get a feel for prices, actually. That was the only space I found of approximately the same size. I don't know nearly enough about the area. Maxx has given some very pertinent qualitative info that should definitely be considered.

Of course, location is critically important for a business such as this one. It is a big part of your marketing strategy as it will affect who your potential customers might be. I could imagine some kind of a...I don't know...a boxing gym or something like that. Maybe it's in a crappy neighborhood and it's a dark, dingy place...and maybe that adds to the appeal for the people that you're trying to reach. But I think for Maxx, he is trying to package and market a more modern gym facility...maybe with a little bit of an accent on performance, but still plenty of goodies for the average gym attendee without a ton of fitness knowledge, but willing to learn.

If that's the case, you need the open space and the growing area. (And by the way, it wouldn't hurt to develop a little "elevator pitch" about your dream gym...something that rolls off the tongue and allows you to describe your dream gym to potential investors/customers/bankers... think about what it looks like as you walk in the door...what features stand out and why? What will you be known for?)
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Old 03-14-2007, 12:04 PM   #16 (permalink)
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Here is what we have in our county in terms of exercise facilities:

New YMCA - expensive! Single membership = $50 sign-up fee, $30 per month or $354 per year.

locally owned fitness center - been in it's current location for about 10 years, not in a great neighborhood. Equipment is older. Single membership = $55 sign-up fee, $29 per month or $258 per year.

Locally owned 24 hour fitness center - small gym, bad neighborhood, not real accessible. Was really popular when it first opened about 5 years ago, but has not been well maintained and there is not any staff or personal training present. Single membership = $27.50

Curves

There is also a Sports Med facility that is offering a Sports Performance Program that focususes on plyos, stability exercises, etc, but doesn't do anything in terms of strength training.

We have 3 high schools in the county. One has about 900 students, the second has about 600, and the one I work at has about 350 students.


My plan is to open a 24 hour center that focuses on the beginner looking to get into shape, the serious advanced trainer, and the student looking to improve sports performance. I also plan to offer monthly and yearly membership discounts to high school and college students, military personnel, firefighters, law enforcement employees. The location I am looking at is also in an area next to some large industrial facilities which would allow 3rd shift workers to come in. Finally, there are about 12 hotels near this location, most of which don't have an exercise facility. So I thought I could set up some type of system in conjuction with the hotels to allow guests to work out.

I want to be more visible at my facility, unlike the other 24-hour center. I currently teach half the day and do athletic director duties the other half. So my plan is to give up athletic director and instead teach half the day, then go to the facility to do personal training with general clients and sports performance training with athletes.

My selling points will be affordable membership fees, discounts for above mentioned groups, on site personal training and sports performance, clean, modern, well-maintained, location, potential for expansion.

Just thinking about fees, I know this would have to be worked out into expense/profit sheet, but I was thinking:

No sign-up fee
Single membership = $25 per month, $240 per year, $20 for military/law enforcement, $15 for college students and high school students at least 16 with parental consent.

Also, our local radio station does a nice job with on-site remotes where they broadcast from your business for the day. I thought as a grand opening special, I would all ow anyone to work-out for free on the day of the broadcast, offer them $10 fee for the first month, and $200 for a year. Something to just try and get a lot of people to join early.

I know that all of this is the "easy" part, but it's also the fun part