“Membership pricing might
include options for PT, group
fitness, or a combination of the
two. Additional revenue can be
gained from renting this space
or partnering with other exercise
professionals and including their
services into any membership
prices.”
When looking for your venue, it’s
wise to put time and energy into
research, explore competition in
the local area as well as
undertaking demographic
surveys and latent demand (an
industry term which refers to the
demand for a service).
“Whenever we open a new
facility, whether that’s a site we
fully operate ourselves or in
partnership with our clients, we
always carry out full latent
demand research to ensure we
have the potential to hit our
targeted numbers as well as
ensure there’s the need for our
proposed facility in that area,”
20 FM
says Richard Sheen, National
Sales Manager for Pulse. “It’s
something I would fully
recommend to any new gym
owner as the research will help
shape what kind of facility you
are going to open.”
“
The cost of
kit can be
a huge
barrier.”
One of the biggest
considerations to opening your
own facility – and also the
biggest costs – is the equipment
required. While rent and costs
are paid monthly, the cost of
kitting out a facility is normally
paid up front and can be a huge
barrier.
www.exerciseregister.org
“We usually start with a kit wish
list and then work with a client to
refine it – and often remove or
replace items that will ensure the
absolute maximum return on
investment in their kit in terms of
use, appeal and practicality
within the budget,” says Paul
Farrell, Account Manager at
Physical Company, whose first
recommendation when working
with a new gym is asking who
their target audience is to get an
idea of what equipment will suit
them best. “You’ll need to
choose a range of kit that best
reflects your target audience and
the style of training you are
going to offer as this will typically
affect the space you’ll allocate
within your gym layout,” says
Farrell. “For instance, many PTs
with small premises need as
much space as possible
because they do more functional
training, so space is key. If you
are tight on space I would look