Opening a gym

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

F

fullinitup

What tips and advice would you have for someone wanting to open up their own facility?
 
YOU NEED TO DO A BUSINESS PLAN FIRST AND FOREMOST!!! After that while you are planning remember that you are starting a business. That means working non-stop 60-80 hour weeks, and a lot of it is the not so fun business side of things like taxes, paperwork, staff issues, parent issues, ect. ect. ect. You will do that more of that than the coaching side most likely, so if you just love to coach, work for someone else. If you have the drive and the fire to start and run a business, then gook luck! It is quite a ride!
 
You also need a bucket load of money. A building, equipment, insurance, advertising, staff wages for the first three to six months etc etc are not cheap at all.
 
Remember that you cannot be everything to every body. Pick a program or 2 that you are going to do & be good at that...even though it looks like the gyms that have WAG/MAG/rec/preschool/cheer tumbling/after school program/everything are doing well NOW, a new business cannot sustain itself by spreading thin.

Also be aware that, as the owner, you WILL have to be the bad guy sometimes.
 
I second the advice above. First of all not cheap. A good sized building alone will be very expensive and gymnastics equipment is very expensive, you will need a size ale loan to get started. You must also expect your business to run at a loss for quite sometime while you are building it.

I also second the advice to choose a few programs. Don't try to offer every gym sport under the sun or you will again end up running at a loss. Offer solid beginner programs which cover all aspects you choose to teach.

Focus on building your recreational program not your team program. Recreational gymnastics is where the money is, many teams also run at a loss and your team will most certainly run at a allows when you first start it. A good solid rec program is needed to build good team gymnasts any way.

Be prepared to have no life for a long time. Gym owners will work 12-14 hour days 6-7 days a week most of the time. Many have a personality where they love it and would rather do nothing else. But if you want your free time, just stick with working for someone else.
 
The gym that I am at now was opened by a few parents who were unhappy with the gyms in the area. I don't know how they did it, but it turned out awesome
 

New Posts

DON'T LURK... Join The Discussion!

Members see FEWER ads

Gymnaverse :: Recent Activity

College Gym News

New Posts

Back