Did you know that there were 6.7 billion fitness center visits in 2019?
This statistic may seem strange to many people as the U.S. battles the obesity epidemic. In reality, it indicates marketing and public health efforts seem to have yielded results.
People are getting more mindful of their weight, health, and fitness. They are ready to work on enhancing their health, losing weight, gaining strength, and attaining their dream body shape.
A gym is a good business when these 6 business basics are strictly adhered to: 1. The location of the gym, 2. A well-defined target market, 3. A compelling value proposition to gain and retain customers, 4. A strong focus on sales revenue, 5. Careful expense allocation and 6. A strong focus on the target net income.
The demand for gyms are expected to skyrocket as gyms start operating at full capacity, and if you would like to learn how you can start your own gym, you can learn this here: How to start your own gym business.
Starting a gym right now can be a rewarding business. We aren’t going to go deep into financials in this tutorial, nor discuss set up or researching your customer base because we have many of those specific tutorials in our blog.
But let’s review a few components of why starting a gym is not only a good business, but can also be quite fun and enjoyable.
9 Reasons Why Starting a Gym is a Good Business
1. More People Are Willing to Spend Money on Fitness
More people than ever are prioritizing fitness. They know exercising in the gym can help them lead a more healthy, comfortable, and active life. They are prioritizing time from their tight schedule to go to the gym. They are ready to spend money on proven fitness solutions. They consider fitness solutions as a compulsory expense, not an optional one. Sanford Health, for instance, refers to millennials as the wellness generation because of their growing investment in health and wellness.
2. Flexible Business Models
Gyms have an opportunity to grow and make profits by leveraging a flexible business model. People spend a significant part of their time at work. The rest of the time they are with their children or furthering their education. You need to tailor your services to the current lifestyle. Offering flexibility, accessibility, and competitively priced membership schemes can easily set up your gym business for success.
3. Mine the Gold in Social Media
Social media is a crucial driver of the fitness industry. It pushes users to embrace fitness and enables them to show the world when their efforts pay off. Social media users often share and promote photos of people who have embraced healthy eating, regular workout, and fitness programs. This practice indirectly encourages more people to visit gyms and fitness centers.
Working out is a fundamental lifestyle choice, thanks to social media. It’s easier to share fitness-related photos, information, and scientific research. It is also easier to create plenty of fitness-related trends. What’s more, people can document their fitness journey on their timeline and inspire others to try.
You can use social media to recruit more members to your gym and keep the existing ones engaged. You will need to create official social media accounts for your gym business and update them with targeted fitness-related content regularly. Post the right content type and format on your social media channels. Articles and blogs are ideal for Facebook, while high-quality images and video stories work best for Instagram.
4. Supplementary Revenue Sources
A gym business gives you access to more sources of revenue. You don’t have to rely on membership fees alone. You can grow your earnings by selling retail items like branded gym outfits and providing one-on-one training sessions and health coaching. If you have built an extensive membership base, you can increase your revenue by selling advertising space in your gym to local businesses. Anytime Fitness does an excellent job in this category.
5. Guarantees Psychological Satisfaction
Besides monetary benefits, a gym business allows you to change many people’s lives. You will help people find a lasting solution to their weight loss issues and enhance their health in ways many people can only imagine.
6. A Healthy Work-Life Balance
You can run a gym business effectively without necessarily being present in the facility at all times. You only need to invest in quality fitness equipment and dedicated employees. That way, you can create a healthy balance between work and personal life.
7. Face-to-Face Interaction
If human interaction brings out the best in you, then a gym business is a perfect investment for you. This business will allow you to interact with gym members and employees daily.
8. Easy to Learn and Understand
A gym business has a relatively simple business model, making starting and developing a successful venture more flawless. Plenty of information regarding this business, including the Fitness Franchise Information Center, YouTube videos, how-to-articles, and starter stories, is readily available. Through in-depth research, you can address any questions, reservations, or worries you may have.
9. Nurturing Meaningful Business Connections
A gym business allows you to meet people from different professions and walks of life. Your clients could be a source of a game-changing business opportunity.