Is Starting a Gym Dumb?

PF is great! Even if you just use it for the treadmill its awesome. A decent treadmill coast like $2k - do the math on that!

It should be no surprise that the two guys I know who are successful used a similar group training concept.

Also you will barely break even from membership or class income. Your main income source will be from the other things...supplements, assessments, etc.

Alan

The worst gym I was ever at is Zoo Culture in LA. Bunch of vain insta clout chasers there and the owner tried to sell me drugs.

Runningart2004 wrote:

It should be no surprise that the two guys I know who are successful used a similar group training concept.

Also you will barely break even from membership or class income. Your main income source will be from the other things...supplements, assessments, etc.

Alan

Getting off topic a bit. One of the guys I knew sold supplements for a bit. Definitely wasn't a big money maker. Tried a smoothie bar, same thing, not popular enough. Ditched both. He's made good money working with entire teams. He'll manage to get a whole volleyball team from an affluent high school to sign up for a summer program. He used to be on the floor all the time, doing one on one training, but he almost never does that anymore, his minions do it for him. He's even done some consulting work for celebrities and media stuff too.

The other guy I know never sold supplements, but he's found himself coaching some lower-tier national class athletes, the kind of guys to qualify for USAs in their sports but not make it far. He doesn't do group stuff either, but I think he charges a lot and since it's a weightlifting gym. The equipment is simple and durable, so not much overhead, just a converted warehouse space with horse stall mats.

angry member wrote:

Hey owner boy,

There’s mold in the shower, the black kind. Pretty sure I’ve got athletes foot too. You better refund my yearly membership or else I’m gonna give you a 1 star on Yelp. Oh the hamstring curl machine hasn’t been fixed in 2 weeks. I’m gonna report you to BBB and tell them what terrible equipment you have and how unsafe it is. I want my full refund by the end of today or others will hear about this. And get better towels too.

—-Angry member going back to Gold’s Gym

Just like every restaurateur thinks their life will be a perpetual dinner party, the gym owner thinks it will be like going to see their buds at the gym every day- and get paid for it! The reality is that you will spend your time dealing with stuff like the quote above, and little to no time with the working out part of it.

"That trainer is mean to me!"

"That trainer doesn't push me enough!"

"They have cliques and I feel left out."

"That trainer sexually harassed me."

"That gym member sexually harassed me."......

The last guy is probably the best most realistic way to 'make it' as a trainer. Learn to like training FB players, BB players, Baseball players. Become a good go to guy under a big strength and conditioning program. One my my former coworkers knew a guy who got hired under Alabama's program because the head trainer wanted him. It really is all about who you know in the fitness biz....

....or you can just be a guy with a bunch of letters after his name on a business card.

Alan

gym guy wrote:

I work in IT with very easy/flexible hours.

I have kind of a warped dream of owning my own gym (think Anytime Fitness franchise type of thing) and just having a little office in the back where I can hack away at IT stuff for 3-4 hours a day during slow periods and just workout and train people during high time.

If I could make 50k a year off the investment that would be good enough with me (combine with my 100k+ IT salary and I have a decent total compensation and nice lifestyle).

However my sense tells me that it may be hard to make even 50k a year as a gym owner (and in lots of cases you may make nothing or even lose $).

It is clear you have no clue about owning a small business.

gym guy wrote:

However my sense tells me that it may be hard to make even 50k a year as a gym owner (and in lots of cases you may make nothing or even lose $).

There are many reasons why this is unlikely to be successful, but so what? Why not find one of those places that allows you to convert storage units into a business? Keep it really low tech - make all machines hammer strength/plate loaded. Emphasize free weights. Get used equipment over time from craigslist and estate sales. Maybe add a cable machine and lat pulldown/seated row combo. Find a friend that can weld and make some of your own equipment - the kind of stuff that Clubber Lang would use in Rocky III. Get some world's strongest man vibe going

YersiniaPestis wrote:

Planet Fitness is $10 mo has a massive gym FULL of NEW equipment, that all works perfectly, it's clean, they have lots of staff, clean rest rooms, some free weights, and national advertising.

How can you compete against that?

+1. They also have cheap pizza once a week that I grab a couple slices of and little pieces of candy every workout day that effectively even pays back a few of those ten dollars every month.

PF is smart business as they cater to the the largest demographic: the average person who will join the gym but rarely show up to work out.

Gym is a horrible business to be in. Would not recommend. Especially not now.

llort_vbo wrote:

gym guy wrote:

However my sense tells me that it may be hard to make even 50k a year as a gym owner (and in lots of cases you may make nothing or even lose $).

There are many reasons why this is unlikely to be successful, but so what? Why not find one of those places that allows you to convert storage units into a business? Keep it really low tech - make all machines hammer strength/plate loaded. Emphasize free weights. Get used equipment over time from craigslist and estate sales. Maybe add a cable machine and lat pulldown/seated row combo. Find a friend that can weld and make some of your own equipment - the kind of stuff that Clubber Lang would use in Rocky III. Get some world's strongest man vibe going

And he will close down in a year.

Start from scratch gyms rarely if ever work.

He will want to open something like an Anytime Fitness. He will want to be a franchisee.

That will cost a couple hundred thousand.

Alan

hmm. wrote:

YersiniaPestis wrote:

Planet Fitness is $10 mo has a massive gym FULL of NEW equipment, that all works perfectly, it's clean, they have lots of staff, clean rest rooms, some free weights, and national advertising.

How can you compete against that?

+1. They also have cheap pizza once a week that I grab a couple slices of and little pieces of candy every workout day that effectively even pays back a few of those ten dollars every month.

PF is smart business as they cater to the the largest demographic: the average person who will join the gym but rarely show up to work out.

Another vote for PF, unless you're into powerlifting it's got pretty everything you need. We just joined about a month ago, place is huge, spotless, equipment is all brand new and top quality (Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, Matrix) and it's never crowded. We had been going to Gold's for about 5 years before the pandemic and we wouldn't go back.

Agree, hard to compete against PF. The one in my town is really good, great equipment, nice staff, good hours. For $20 a month, I can use any of them in the U.S., and I have done that many times. I looked into franchises and it seemed the ones like Anytime Fitness need to be in an area where there is little or no competition. The profit margin is slim. It sounded like 30k profit was a good year.

This thread made me join Planet Fitness.

No one in PF actually wants to get strong. So, hard pass.

Alan

There's a local gym near my house that's super successful, been around for 20+ years. But it's a serious lifting gym (no cardio machines) and the owner is a minor celebrity in the powerlifting world. He hangs around evenings/weekends and gives all the advice anyone wants for "free", bullshytes with the members, etc.

Charges $160/month.

Runningart2004 wrote:

No one in PF actually wants to get strong. So, hard pass.

Alan

I don't know about that. One of the contractor dudes working on my house works out at PF because it's cheap. I don't know what he can do in the gym, but I watched him handle his end of a 400 lb crate without any trouble a few weeks ago.

Runningart2004 wrote:

No one in PF actually wants to get strong. So, hard pass.

Alan

Nobody is stopping you. I dont know if you have to go to muscle head gym to get strong. I like their treadmills, for $10 mo I can go to PF for like 15 years for the cost of a good treadmill.

To start any business today you need to have a ton of expendable capital and be ok with failing. Would you rather slave away over a gym or use your free time for fun? I don’t think it’s dumb but there are so many variables to consider.