Franchisee Spotlight
Continued from page 19
more money in what a club looks like. There’s a lot more time we
spend finding a great location. We’ve learned through the years
– and are continuing to learn – how to keep the model evolving
and positively changing. So, what I see with Planet goes beyond
physically what you see.
What was your motivation for bringing franchisees on
board and what kind of advice did you give them as a
mentor when they were starting out?
As corny as this may sound, I love helping people. I saw
people in the World Gym system and the Gold’s Gym system really
struggling and working hard because the market was shrinking. I
bring people in, and I answer their questions straight up. I help
these people because I like doing that. We’ve done a lot of sharing
of wisdom, and that’s what I think is good about the franchise. I
think there is a lot of trust now because I’ve already told them the
truth. It’s scary when you convince someone to shut down because
all they know is the members that they have, and you know the
members they have aren’t going to be really happy through stage
1 of the transformation. People take their gyms personally, and
they should. I walked them right through the procedure we went
through. If you don’t do this, you’re going to have a Planet near you
or something that’s like it, and you’re not going to be really happy.
Planet changed the industry. It really did. I believe if you want to
get what you want, help other people get what they want as long as
it’s good stuff.
What is the best piece of business advice you have ever
received?
A lot. It came from miscellaneous people. One is, when you
go to open your business, whether it is a gym or any other business,
try to learn every possible thing you could learn about it. Take
copious notes, and do that for five months. What you just learned
won’t become obsolete. It will become a minimal part of your
success. Another thing I have heard from really successful people is
to be humble, and I always try to practice that. I always try to tell
people to be humble because things can be taken away tomorrow.
Shared vision is another one. It could be someone buying an ice
cream store or whatever – if they come to you, share your wisdom
with them. It’s not like it’s etched in stone that it is the right thing
to do, but when you share your wisdom, people take to it. A big
thing, too, is change. Absolutely embrace change. People say they
like change and they’re OK with it, but I find that most people
aren’t because change is scary. Change is an unknown, but there
isn’t any business out there that has been around for 10 or 15 years
that hasn’t changed.
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Looking ahead, what are your top three business goals
for the company?
I don’t know if there’s three of them. We have 15 clubs, so my
quick answer is we want to get to 20 clubs. How are we going to do
it? We’re looking to open up two to four this next year.
Customer service is a huge factor and people say, “Well, is that
a goal?” Yes. Customer service is always a goal. It’s a goal I call the
infinity goal or education with no graduation, meaning you are
always striving to get better.
Another goal – and this gets into a corporate thing – is same-
store growth. My appeal and my sort of hidden goal here is to be
able to work together and to be able to create some sort of growth
internally in our clubs. I’ve been around long enough to know that
everything takes time and money. All I’m saying is let’s start with
the big picture. Why shouldn’t we be able to provide services to our
customers where the customer wins and we win and corporate wins?
What do you feel is the biggest challenge currently
facing franchisees?
I think you have two. A healthy franchisor-franchisee relation-
ship is at the forefront of every franchise system’s list of objectives.
We want to continue to work in a positive, collaborative manner
with corporate, creating a win-win-win situation. I think franchi-
sees have another factor, and that is staying with their territory
commitments. What happens is you have to change your equip-
ment out every seven years or whatever. If people haven’t financed
those properly or if they still have some major debt, when it is time
to refresh the club that is going to put them in a very awkward,
very challenging position. Of course, in-store growth is also a
typical challenge we will always work with.
What is the biggest industry change that you have seen
since you started?
The biggest industry change might be Planet because it
changed the industry. Years ago, we put up a gym in a warehouse;
now there’s no such thing. We look for A-plus locations. Planet
would have told you 15 years