Want to start a gym, but don’t have any money?
If you have the desire and the motivation, you can do it!
After all, for thousands of years, people have trained, built strong muscles and got healthy without digital heart rate monitors, big screen TV’s and stationary bikes powered by the Internet of Things (IoT).
How can I open a gym with no money?
You can start a gym with no money by getting creative. Here’s 7 ways you can start a gym with no money: 1. Leverage an unused existing space, 2. Do an outdoor mobile gym, 3. Use your garage, 4. Get a favorable lease with a willing landlord, 5. Make a deal with an existing gym, 6. Get creative financing, a loan or an investor, etc, 7. Get a job until you have enough money saved to open a small gym.
If you take a lean startup approach to opening a gym with no money, you can absolutely do it.
Here’s 7 creative ways you can start your own gym with no money.
7 creative ways to open a gym with no money
1. Rent a space from an existing business who is not using all their location
If you get creative, there is no reason you can’t find someone who has available space where you can open a gym.
Start looking around. Get to know the office building in your desired area. Go to a physical therapy office. A massage therapy location. An acupuncturist. Ask the owner if they have unused space they would like to lease to you so you could work with clients.
Start the conversation, and simply ask: “Do you have some unused space that I could rent from you for a small gym?
It won’t be perfect, and you’ll have some trade-offs to make, but it may be a great way to get started.
You could start small and as you gain some cash flow you could move into your own space. Be sure to check the landlord agreement and be on their good side. After all, the landlord might help you get creative and offer a space for you somewhere.
2. Create an outdoor gym
Similar to finding some unused space in an existing location, you could get creative and find an outside space for a gym. Again, this scenario is not typical for a gym environment, but people have been training outside long before the idea of an indoor gym ever existed.
You might create a mobile training environment or a bootcamp style. There are just too many options for HIIT training for this to not be an option. You could make a deal with a tennis facility, a baseball field, or a beach.
Your equipment needs would be minimal, possibly operating out of a big duffel bag. And this would present a very flexible business model.
3. Use your garage
This is not a new idea, in fact, gym franchises and successful business models have been born from the garage.
You could literally be the community gym for you, your family and your neighbors. Simply build a schedule, open your doors, and work with customers. You’d just need some solid working equipment and could make an excellent training rotation.
Very Spartan-like, this is a great way to build community and a team environment.
4. Get a favorable lease with a willing landlord
There are plenty of landlords that own commercial space that would be open to a deal. Many landlords know that a gym and fitness business can provide excellent cash flow, if in the right location.
Similar to the McDonald’s Franchise model where hamburgers are literally the product fueling rent payments, many landlords would be delighted to have the right fitness tenant in one of their spaces paying rent.
Be honest, share your vision and see if you can make a deal.
5. Make a deal with an existing gym
This option could offer one of the most exciting possibilities of them all.
There are about 30,000 health and fitness clubs in the United States. Of these, many are looking for a way out of the business, either because of retirement, boredom, lack of passion, injury, on and on.
This is your opportunity.
Again, do your research. Look for gym owners who might fit your ideal profile who you think may be a good candidate for a special deal, where you work the business in exchange for a portion of new profits. Get creative and provide excellent service. Build trust.
Over time this could grow into a wonderful opportunity for you.
6. Get creative financing, loan, love money, etc
There are multiple options for financing your gym, each of which has its pros and cons. The following options can be used to finance your gym:
- Use credit cards
- Bring in an investor(s)
- Have a partner
- Get a bank loan
The odds will be in your favor after you do your homework and get very clear on your objective of exactly who your gym is going to serve, how much your gym start up is going to cost, and how much money your gym is going to make in month 1, month 6 and after 1 year, etc.
This means you need to do a lot of research. Fortunately, most of that research is found right here at the Fitness Franchise Information Center.
Here’s a few options for funding:
Bootstrapping with personal credit cards. This is an easy way to get started without spending too much money upfront. But it’s not without risk—if you’re not careful about how much credit card debt you take, it can quickly spiral out of control. We prefer the Ink Business Credit Card by Chase as the points do rack up pretty quick, and they have good spending categories. (We earn a very small reward if you do decide to try this card out using this link, thank you very much for supporting this content.)
Get a bank loan for your business. If you are clear on who your customers will be, and you have a solid plan, there are a variety of bank loan options that may work. You will want to educate yourself on the options so you can make the best decision possible. Here’s a decent starting point on getting some operating cash for your gym.
For a free guide on getting an immediate cash advance, you are invited to get this free report from one of our partners: A Small Business Owner’s Guide to Merchant Cash Advance.
7. Get a job until you have enough money saved to open a small gym
While this isn’t the ideal scenario, sometimes it’s best to simply get a job. Over time, you will gain skills, save money, build your business plan and start a small gym.