Sport 

How to open a fitness club?

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About twenty years ago, a new sport - fitness - began its triumphant march in our country. Since that time, it has become incredibly popular; young girls, men, adults, even the elderly are involved in fitness.

Its advantages are visible to everyone just by looking at the athlete’s fit figure. Thus, the fashion for fitness classes, visiting clubs with gyms and yoga classes, is gaining more and more momentum.

Enterprising businessmen are taking advantage of a good opportunity - the popularity of fitness - to open complexes, to exercise with exercise equipment, dance, and Pilates. Since the direction is in high demand, it becomes profitable for business.

To start your own business by organizing a fitness club, you need to know exactly the main points that make up the costs, design, operating principle, and profit from the complex.

Advantages of organizing a fitness complex

Those who are thinking about opening their own fitness center need to know all the advantages and disadvantages associated with this area of ​​business:

  • A large percentage of people who always strive to be in good physical shape - they will try to allocate time and money for their body in any conditions. For such fans, classes are the most important hobby in their free time. They will always come. They make up the bulk of regular visitors.
  • The line of business is very profitable from a profit point of view. With skillful advertising moves, promotional events, bonus systems, it brings good dividends to the owner.
  • Each city has a large selection of experienced trainers. There will be no problem with qualified personnel.
  • Your club - your rules, you will always use the exercise equipment to your advantage, pump up your muscles.
  • There is a fairly free business sector in this direction. Despite people's craze for fitness and bodybuilding, the market is not oversaturated with competitors. It is quite possible to succeed and prosper.
  • The status of the owner of a fitness complex is prestigious and attractive.

Disadvantages of organizing a fitness center

There are few of them, but you need to know about them - forewarned is forearmed:

  • Although the market is not oversaturated with competitors, they exist and are working at full capacity. It all depends on the favorable location and competent policy for the sale of services.
  • Starting this business from scratch is difficult; you need to take into account a lot of details in order to achieve self-sufficiency and, in the future, profitability.
  • The initial investment is high, amounting to millions of rubles. You need to have them and be prepared to spend large sums.
  • To reach the level of self-sufficiency, you will have to work hard for two to three years. Be patient.

Ways to organize a fitness complex

First you need to study everything well in theory. There are several ways, but knowing exactly your capabilities and goals, it’s easy to choose yours:

Buying a franchise of a famous brand

This way to start is the most profitable and simple, but it also has pros and cons:

  • A well-known brand does not require additional funds for advertising; it already has a reputation, and a good one.
  • All initial actions are supervised with the help of a franchise partner. The choice of building, simulators, all documentary issues are carried out jointly, this simplifies the preparation procedure.
  • Taking out a loan against a franchise is much easier - banks are loyal to such transactions. It is more difficult to get a business loan from scratch.
  • High price. Premium brands are expensive even for very wealthy businessmen.
  • Compliance with franchise partner standards. To match the level of the brand, you will have to invest a lot of money in maintaining the brand policy.

Start on your own

For many, this is the most optimal method, although it has its pros and cons.

  • The choice of size, interior and area of ​​the club depends only on you - no one will control it or force you to redo it.
  • Name of your choice.
  • You are the boss - you set your own prices, discounts, directions in classes. You choose your own staff and create a convenient schedule.

Negative point

  • All expenses, efforts to find exercise equipment, furniture, and everything else fall solely on your shoulders. Everything is done on your own, your investments are in the millions.

Purchase an existing complex

For those who are not ready or do not want to deal with all the “delights” of starting, a good choice is to buy a ready-made, operating club. Here all the difficulties will be only in finding such an offer and the availability of funds for a successful transaction.

How to quickly get clients?

The profitability of any enterprise depends on the number and consistency of clients, on how quickly you acquire them and how quickly you can achieve self-sufficiency of the project. And the main criteria for this are effective advertising and advantages that distinguish you from competitive complexes.

Advertising steps

Already at the preparatory stage, it is worth seriously engaging in the distribution of advertising videos, printing, and articles on the Internet. In this case, by the time of opening you will gain popularity and fame in your area.

Potential clients will know about you and be prepared to use your premises. Advertising costs are expensive, but you should not skimp on them - this is the key to your future success.

  • Book advertising time on television and radio stations.
  • Place banners, banners, pay for advertising boards in elevators and entrances. Organize the layout of brochures and catalogs, advertisements in mailboxes, at the checkout counters of stores and supermarkets.
  • Use social networks to their full potential - create your own official website, full of information and photographs. Post in groups, write interesting articles. The more people know about your opening, the stronger and wider your customer base will be - your source of income.

The media are accessible to all categories of people; they will quickly and widely convey advertising about you to the masses.

Banners, banners, and printing will be able to notify everyone in the city and region about the opening; they are always before your eyes, indicating the address and contacts of the club.

The site is worth the money spent on it - there you can post everything related to your complex. Exact address, contacts, opening hours, current and future promotions. Photos of rooms with exercise equipment, a general view of the facade with a sign - all this will tell a lot about the club.

The site will also help you navigate the services of instructors, prices, types and directions of sports activities. Attractive additions will be pages on advice on exercises, sports nutrition, and diets.

The grand opening, with invited animators, music, prizes, will add fame and wide popularity to you. Even those who didn’t know about you yet will come to the cheerful sounds of music and learn about the complex - potential clients.

An excellent advertising move would be a lottery for a free subscription to the center, promotions: “Pay for two, get three”, “Cheaper annual subscription” and the like. At the opening you can hear a lot of advice and wishes - use them to improve the popularity of the complex.

Your advantages in comparison with competitors

In order for visitors to choose your complex, it is worth thinking carefully about how you can attract them, because there are many clubs, each with attractiveness factors. There are ways to make your center the most interesting for them:

  • A wide choice in directions and types of classes - yoga, strength training, dance groups, rooms for classes for expectant mothers.
  • A wide range for all ages, categories - children's studios and sports sections, for young people, for people with disabilities, the elderly, professional athletes.
  • Price coverage for all social groups - people with low, medium, and large incomes.
  • Pay attention to regular visitors - give discounts on monthly and annual passes, give small souvenirs for the holidays. Organize a children's playroom.
  • Work with polite, experienced staff - quality, pleasant service is attractive to people.
  • Choose a location for the complex in a convenient area - access roads from different directions, private parking, accessibility for pedestrian visitors.
  • Keep the interior design simple but tasteful - clients will feel comfortable staying in an inexpensive, stylish room with neutral decor.

How long will it take to prepare and open the complex?

In addition to large investments of money, you will have to spend a lot of time to thoroughly prepare your center. Selecting a building, decorating the interior, buying and arranging exercise equipment, furniture - all this takes months. Also, paperwork, hiring employees, providing advertising - everything will take about six months. But in the end, you can be proud of your business.

Particular attention should be paid to developing a business plan: everything that is successfully calculated in theory can be successfully implemented in practice.

After this, you need to start documenting the business. Then repairs, delivery of equipment, arranging it in its place. Next is the search and hiring of trainers, administrators, technical personnel: employees are an important resource in business.

Documentation of the complex

To open a fitness center, it is enough to register an individual business with a simplified tax system. It is worth immediately highlighting the types of services in the future center and indicating the necessary codes in OKVED.

After this, you need to pass an inspection at Rospotrebnadzor - at this stage the premises must be renovated, the employees must have a rank book, and contracts have been drawn up with all housing and communal services.

Clubhouse

The area of ​​the fitness complex should be from 200 to 500 square meters - unless you are planning to open a basement gym.

To organize additional services - steam rooms, showers, massage rooms, more space is needed. But they will increase profitability to 40%.

It is better to choose a location for a club that is not in the business part of the city, where rent is high and there are few potential clients. And in residential areas, with densely built-up high-rise buildings. In this case, rent will be inexpensive and the customer coverage is large.

If the selected building has never been used as a sports club, you will have to do some redevelopment - allocate rooms for showers, locker rooms, the owner's office, and the administrator's office.

Ideally, the club should have premises: a room for strength training, rooms for classes with groups, an administrator’s desk, toilet rooms, showers, technical rooms. Also changing rooms for employees.

Exercise equipment and work equipment

You should choose equipment carefully - you don’t need expensive branded exercise equipment and gymnastics elements. But durable, durable and inexpensive equipment will be a good investment.

You will also need furniture - benches, sofas, wardrobes, reception desk, chairs, mirrored walls and office equipment. Furniture for the offices of the director and administrator, employees.

Spending on interior items will require large expenses, but they are necessary for normal work with clients.

Staff

For a staff, a couple of administrators will be required to work in shifts. 3-4 coaches, instructors, a cleaner, a chief accountant - this is the average number of employees, it varies depending on the size and volume of work of the club.

How much does it cost to open a fitness center?

  • Documentary preparation - from 30 thousand rubles
  • Repair and refurbishment of premises - from 130 thousand rubles
  • Equipment costs - from 300 thousand rubles
  • Advertising expenses - from 50 thousand rubles
  • Related expenses - from 100 thousand.

Plus, there will be monthly payments for utilities - 20 thousand, staff salaries - 134 thousand, rent - 700 thousand, taxes - 50 thousand, other expenses - 46 thousand. To summarize, it is clear that the expenses every month in the operating center are 950 thousand rubles.

All amounts are approximate and it is advisable to recalculate everything. Just take the average prices for rent, wages and equipment.

How profitable is the business?

The lion's share of income comes from monthly, quarterly, six-month, and annual subscriptions. By selling them to the maximum number of visitors, you will increase your profit within a month.

Successful businessmen who own fitness complexes claim that they receive an income of up to 1 million rubles every month.

Knowing all the pros and cons, as well as having a step-by-step plan for opening a fitness club, you can draw conclusions about the profitability of this business. Accurately calculate profits and expenses in a business plan. And being fully prepared, conquer this peak.