Around 20% of new businesses fail within the first two years. And even more fail before the five or ten-year mark.
If you want your business to be successful, you’ve got to make sure you’re making the right decisions from the beginning.
Keep reading to learn more about the five steps to creating a successful fitness business.
1. Business Plan
The first step in starting any business is securing the right funding. In order to convince investors that your business is worth their money, you’ve got to put together a good business plan.
A business plan includes things like your project timelines, market research, locations, employee structures, and detailed outlines of how much money you need.
2. Licenses and Regulation Compliance
Since your business is working in the health field, you need to ensure you’ve got all the right licenses and permits before you can open.
This extends to staff, too. If your staff will be offering services or teaching classes, it is your business’s responsibility to guarantee they have the right training and permits to do it.
For example, if your fitness business is offering to teach aerobics, you need to ensure the aerobics instructor is qualified. Same for a fitness class being taught by a qualified fitness instructor, and so on.
Some fitness businesses sponsor their employees to get the qualification they need. Learn about ASFA’s step aerobics certification for more information.
3. Marketing Strategy
It’s always best to start marketing your business before you open, so you’ve got people interested. This way your fitness center will have clients immediately.
Social media and a website are vital. These two platforms will help you create a community and raise awareness about your business.
It’s always a good marketing plan to include a discount for the first people who sign up. This way you build up your member base faster.
4. Member Retention Plan
Once you’ve got your members, it’s all about keeping them happy. You need specific plans in place to manage your feedback and reviews. It’s important to give your members a way to anonymously review your gym (so they can be as honest as possible).
Keep an eye on these reviews, look out for patterns, and address any issues as they come up. You want to make sure your members feel like the gym is responding to their critiques, otherwise, they’ll leave.
5. Integrate Management Processes
Managing a gym involves a lot of moving parts. You’re tracking your members, their payments, your staff, equipment and operational costs, and more. Using an integrated system makes this easier.
When everything is in one system, it means things are less likely to fall through the cracks. This makes managing more efficient, keeps members happy, and makes the gym more successful.
Setting Up a Successful Fitness Business
Running a fitness business isn’t easy. You’ve got to set up a gym that people keep wanting to come back to. But if you follow these steps, you should be successful.
If you enjoyed this article, please check out our Business section for more advice!
