I would love to start a commercial gym in Southern California. Does anyone know a system that has been used successfully?
I would like to find a system which would allow me to successfully open a commercial gym in SoCal. Most systems seem to be for small group training facilities, but I am looking to go larger and focus on athletes as well as average joes. If anyone knows of any proven systems I would love to hear about them!
I don’t believe there is one system that is better than any of the rest. Personally I’m not fan of large scale commercial gyms for many reasons. Before you decide to spend the money and open one, you’ll need to do your research on the rest of the market there and see if it can support (and of course) help grow your business.
Secondly, you’ll need to provide services that no other gym in the area does. If not, you will not be that successful. Maybe you already do have that system in mind. Other giants in the commercial gym world (Gold’s, LA fitness, Lifetime, etc.) already have a large portion of the people you prefer these types of facilities under them. They have also figured out how to keep everything under one roof. Not to mention the huge financial resources they have in their disposal and they can afford to wait and build the type of membership they need/want.
Gyms like CrossFit have done very well, so maybe you might want to look into that (or something similar). Functional training is big down there and coming up with a system that sounds itself with it might be a great idea.
I’m not trying to discourage you, all I’m saying is to do your research and see what system will serve you the best (not someone else). Also, unless you have a name that is recognizable by many and use it to attract new clients, you will find yourself competing with other gyms in the area that are more established than you. Good luck to you which ever way you decide to go.
Best,
Harris
The Dallas market is doing well. I’m currently in the Washington DC area but most of my business today is online. I used to owned an in-home personal training company in Chicago and that business did very well. My business model is completely mobile training, and this way I have almost no overhead cost.
Hello Scott Bitterman,
You want to make sure you will have the clientele numbers to support your endeavor. Look around the neighborhoods to see what gym is overcrowded and which ones are underused. Chances are you will do better in the overpopulated area; no guarantees.
Make sure to have a business plan and all your ducks in a row. Try getting in contact with www.score.org for more business help.
Take care,
Natalie aka NAPS 2 B Fit.