FIRST TIME BUSINESS OWNER'S - IS OPENING A INDEPENDENT GYM WORTH IT?

[gymfantastic12]

My partner and I are looking into opening a gym on an industrial estate. Unit is approx 5,000 sq. ft. (Due to size of unit, business rates are 50% on top of rent)

Buying all new equipment will be extremely costly, approx £100,000 for the standard we want.

We're looking at potentially leasing the equipment to begin with as its a huge upfront cost.

We are after some advice from other independent gym owners and starting from scratch. Dos and DONTS! Is it worth it or not?

Thanks in advance

 

[fisicx]

Don’t.

Your marketing and staffing costs will dwarf the cost on the equipment.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I should have this as an auto-response, but here goes- most businesses can succeed, every business can fail. The difference us in the execution

Initial questions

1. What research have you done into your target market?

2 Why will they choose you over the plethora of other gyms out there?

3. Have you started work on detailed cashflow projections?

4. Why go for new rather than used equipment?

 

[UKSBD]

My partner and I are looking into opening a gym on an industrial estate. Unit is approx 5,000 sq. ft. (Due to size of unit, business rates are 50% on top of rent)

Has the building got planning permission to be used as a gym?

Couple of guys in our local town were planning on doing the same but the change of use got rejected due the building not having enough allocated parking spaces (gym requires more than the industrial unit)

 

[pentel]

Has the building got planning permission to be used as a gym?

Couple of guys in our local town were planning on doing the same but the change of use got rejected due the building not having enough allocated parking spaces (gym requires more than the industrial unit)

A gym opened on the industrial estate where we are located ( don't know if they have planning permission).
It can be a nightmare with cars abandoned all over the place, ignoring double yellow lines. Some units have had to install barriers to prevent unauthorised parking.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I use an outdoor gym and do some weights and shadow boxing in the wild ?

My daughter has a Snap membership along with a local private complex gym and I would say the big chains have the cream of the market making it very difficult for the independents to compete
If I wanted a membership I would go with snap there is no comparison

 

[Paul FilmMaker]

One, small point. I go to a gym on an industrial estate. They told me they buy all their equipment used because it saves them a ton of money. It looks pretty shiny, though.

I go to a meathead gym. Loads of muscles, steroids, tattoos, fake tans etc... I used to go to the Castle Gym in Windsor which was pretty much the same. I remember once finding a set of knuckledusters on the floor, handing them in and putting them in a box with other knuckledusters... It was that kind of place.

What kind of gym niche are you planning to get into?

 

[JLondon]

It doesn’t sound worth it to me.

large startup costs and burn rate and no USP’s etc.

 

[HFE Signs]

It is a very competitive business, however with the right location, staff, equipment and marketing it can be successful - I think most of the points have been raised above. Good luck and let me know if you need any banners

 

[VJR Business Support Ltd]

As someone who uses a local gym 3x a week, I have to ask what would be your USP?
Who is your target market?
Also price point is a big factor to consider too when considering your market.

For example, we're a couple in our early 40's and we've been looking at changing gym lately and although you have the likes of Pure/Buzz gym at £22 ish a month, they don't offer all the facilities that we need. We like to have the Sauna too and get fed up with too many teenagers in the gym at peak time sitting on their phones and hogging equipment. Whereas some of gyms that are £100+ a month, would be way too expensive.

 

[multiplysubdue]

Market segmentation, market segmentation and again market segmentation. It's not an innovative industry so how you differentiate from competition is important. The member above this post makes a good point about facilities. The biggest issue with these commercials gyms (competition) is typically around space and equipment accessibility. Because they put the gyms (Pure, TGG etc) in areas with mixed demographics the consumer triggers are often domestication and pricing.

The communist complaint I personally hear from the networks I attend commercial gyms with, are about the lack of diversity in weights (e.g. dumbbells sets not exceeding 35kg) for things like body-building and advancing muscle mass growth. The issue is if you target this category of attendees exclusively, you'll limit your audience to some degree. So although you have highlighted resources, most important is to also highlight your customer. Marketing simply is bringing visibility of the business to the customer. The better you profile your customer the more you can niche down your marketing strategy which is more cost effective than running broad awareness campaigns.

 

[CHUKTC]

As others have said above - buy second habd equipment if you can - it can save you a lot of money - perhaps from a gym that's closing? If you really want to buy new and specific equipment, perhaps branded and are looking to spend upwards of 50K it may be worth importing from overseas.It could save you a fair bit. China of course being an obvious place to look. You can source very high spec equipment there at a fraction of the cost int he UK.

 

[Aditimohan]

My partner and I are looking into opening a gym on an industrial estate. Unit is approx 5,000 sq. ft. (Due to size of unit, business rates are 50% on top of rent)

Buying all new equipment will be extremely costly, approx £100,000 for the standard we want.

We're looking at potentially leasing the equipment to begin with as its a huge upfront cost.

We are after some advice from other independent gym owners and starting from scratch. Dos and DONTS! Is it worth it or not?

Thanks in advance

I found this fantastic blog which has a good rundown of advice and how to avoid common mistakes - it was really useful! blog.companiesmadesimple.com/start-up-education/top-5-mistakes-avoid-opening-your-own-gym/