Is Starting a Gym Dumb?

Put actual gymnastics stuff in there, like the rings. Everyone will want to show off on the strength apparatus.

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 $).

My friend did this for a few years. Claimed he couldn't keep the doors open without selling supplements. With a remote IT gig you could probably keep it going, but I would think you'd be taking a loss every year on the gym.

By taking a loss do you mean losing money when factoring in my 50k owners salary or taking a loss AND paying myself $0.

brien evans wrote:

My friend did this for a few years. Claimed he couldn't keep the doors open without selling supplements. With a remote IT gig you could probably keep it going, but I would think you'd be taking a loss every year on the gym.

gym guy wrote:

By taking a loss do you mean losing money when factoring in my 50k owners salary or taking a loss AND paying myself $0.

brien evans wrote:

My friend did this for a few years. Claimed he couldn't keep the doors open without selling supplements. With a remote IT gig you could probably keep it going, but I would think you'd be taking a loss every year on the gym.

I meant by paying yourself $0.

I don't think my friend paid himself anything. He certainly wasn't pulling up in a new Vette. He was charging $70/mo I believe. OKC area. At a similar pricepoint, some quick math indicates you would need 60 consistent members to even gross $50k revenue and from there you need to take out salaries, rent, utilities, equipment, insurance, and possibly trainers.

You would need a very popular gym or have a good hook where people would pay you a premium over gyms like Anytime Fitness. Or get really good at shilling supplements.

Why start your own? Just buy one that's already profitable.

Well I assume I would be paying a hefty premium for an already profitable gym as I would pay xx for the member base and xx for the profitability.

bvzxc wrote:

Why start your own? Just buy one that's already profitable.

gym guy wrote:

Well I assume I would be paying a hefty premium for an already profitable gym as I would pay xx for the member base and xx for the profitability.

bvzxc wrote:

Why start your own? Just buy one that's already profitable.

Sure, but there are a lot of upfront expenses in starting a new one from scratch. You have to find the right location, buy the equip, modifications to the space, marketing to build a member base, etc. Starting a new business takes work and costs money.

Why would people use your gym over another where they are already members? What can you offer them? Sure you can make it cheap but you will likely lose money.

You'll need to open up a franchise like Anytime Fitness so you'll need some costs up front.

Doing it from scratch with your own no name gym? You'll be closed in a year.

Alan

If you like that industry and earn good money from your IT job, consider becoming a personal trainer. No, you won’t make $50k doing that, but you can pick your hourly rate and work how much you want. Way less overhead/up front cost.

gym guy, whoa dude!!!

what is going on with you dude???

your biz plan sounds not so good my friend!!!

Smoke a fattie, I prefer sativa, then think about what you presented!!

Report back my little friend!

*stipe wrote:

If you like that industry and earn good money from your IT job, consider becoming a personal trainer. No, you won’t make $50k doing that, but you can pick your hourly rate and work how much you want. Way less overhead/up front cost.

There's a girl that does this locally. She meets a group in a park, she brings all the equipment, sets up cones, flags etc. She usually has between 12-20 people at any given time. From what I have observed they meet 3-4 days a week.

I think you can pay like $2k and get branded a CrossFit gym, and while it brings a lot of negatives, it is short hand for what type of gym it is. Probably better to have some brand other than "Fred's Gym".

Why type of gym are you wanting to have? What's the catch?

-is it like CrossFit where you have set workout classes lead by a coach?

-are you just an open gym where anybody can show up and get their lifts in?

-are you looking to cater to a certain sports demographic?

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

I can't speak to franchising, but I know two people who have opened up sports performance oriented gyms. It took A LOT of work. I think to be successful in this you'll need to find a niche where people will pay a premium. For example, I'll describe a weightlifting gym, as in the sport of weightlifting (not powerlifting, but kind of the same thing). People will pay significantly more than a big box gym if they know they have access to platforms and boxes and can drop the weights and not have to deal with someone doing curls in the squat rack, BUT, are there enough serious lifters in your area for this? Do you know what equipment your clientele wants? A power lifter would be pissed you didn't have yokes and stones, a weightlifter would be pissed if you didn't have enough change plates nearby. Neither of them would care if you had 10 Woodway mills.

Group fitness is popular, and probably an oversaturated market, or at least it was a few years ago. At that point you're almost just trying to create an entire brand, which isn't easy. I saw someone try and fail at this, hard to watch.

You could do a general "sports performance" gym. I used to work at a place like that. You can charge out the wazoo for membership and classes. Do things like a "summer junior high soccer camp" where kids meet 2–3 times a week for a few weeks, $150 per kid, get 20 kids, that's $3,000. Do a few more classes and you're making decent money. The owner was a pretty talented PT. He had a million certifications, but anybody can get those. The proof is in the pudding, he made athletes in many sports better, and it was obvious. Can you do that? For most people, the answer is no. But, you could try to hire PTs. Again, a million certifications are nice, but almost anyone can get them. You need trainers with a history in sport and injury prevention, not just meatheads.

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?

Hey dude!!!

I have a Peloton bike and Tread and love it!

Free weights in the garage

No need to drive to a gym

Smoke a fat joint and it's on the bike I go followed up by a run on the Tread

Try it !!!

I have known dozens of personal trainers. Most had dreams of opening up their own gyms.

No matter how you do it you will need thousands of dollars up front. I know a couple of guys who were a success. They got $50,000 from a father-in-law plus I think a $50,000 bank loan. They each make about $50-60k now over 10yrs later. They had lots of help and financial backing early on.

Of the dozens of people I know who tried to start a gym those are the only 2 I know who are still doing it. I know many who started, failed, tried to start again etc. The list of started and failed personal trainer studios is a mile long.

Your best bet is as a franchisee, but you need a lot of money up front.

Alan

I wouldn't try and do it now with COVID. Same as I wouldn't buy a restaurant, movie theater or cruise ship any time soon.

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?

I freaking love Planet Fitness. The treadmills are great and the space if huge. It's dirt cheap, clean, and they have showers on site if you need them.

But the best thing is getting there at 4am or 5am and having the place all to yourself. I've even gone at 3:30am when I had trouble getting sleep.

Even better is that I can wear 2-inch split shorts and nobody gives you crap about it. In fact, you are supposed to rat those people out to management if it happens.

I had an older guy mutter "f*g" at me (I'm a straight married male) for wearing shorter running shorts at an LA Fitness. Some gyms bring out a particular personality type.

You'd have better luck with a video store (they're coming back)!