Gym Rats Unite: 4 Things to Consider Before You Open Your Own Workout Facility

Your passion is figuring out how to fine-tune the human body and push it to its athletic limits( in a healthy way). It only makes sense that you want to share your knowledge and skillset with the world. But opening your own workout facility is no cake walk, and without the right foundation in place, your long-term goal could turn into nothing more than a pipe dream.

Like everything, opening your own fitness center involves taking the right steps: from filling out planning documents to hiring a staff, signing a lease on a commercial space and enrolling in business insurance for fitness companies.

Here are four important things to consider before you go full steam ahead on opening your own workout facility:

What’s Your Mission?

Just because you open your gym doors doesn’t mean people will automatically flock to you. Remember, you’ll be competing with national franchises (curse those low monthly fees!) as well as other standalone operations. From the very first stages of business planning, you need to differentiate yourself from the pack.

As the one fitness facility owner writes for Personal Trainer Development Center, you’ll need a business plan complete with a mission statement, competitor research, company structure and a realistic timeline. You need to understand the “why” before you can move onto the “how.”

It doesn’t hurt to carve out a niche. Maybe there are 50 other cardio gyms in your city, but there’s a huge opening in the kickboxing, rock climbing or spin cycling sector. This is the stage where you create your future gym’s identity, so tread carefully but think big.

Your Commercial Facility

You’ve got an idea, now you need a space. An online search is a great way to start, but don’t count out the old-fashioned method of driving around looking for properties for sale in your area. One underrated aspect of commercial property hunting is meeting and working with the building manager before you sign on the dotted line, according to the Vice President and Business Director of Cressey Performance (a successful facility that has upgraded their premises several times).

Think about factors like parking, square footage, building regulations, maintenance and cost when you’re finding your facility. Mentally map out where your equipment will go and how much room there will be for expansion.

Hiring Staff Members

You’re the leader, but you’ll need a great team on your side. You’ll likely want to hire some combination of fitness instructors, personal trainers, administrative employees and maintenance workers.

As the U.S. Small Business Administration points out, some of these hires will be full-time employees while others will be part-time workers or contractors. For legal and tax purposes, you’ll have to manage each role appropriately once you’ve interviewed and hired the right people.

Taking on Risk

As the popular saying goes: “No pain, no gain.” But even knowing that some risks in life are worth it, it’s still important to prepare and protect your fitness business against total disaster. For example, let’s say a client gets injured on one of your machines. Or a burst pipe floods your entire ground floor. You get the idea. You need a way to protect your fledgling business against the high costs associated with liability and property damage.

Learn more about how business insurance for fitness protects workout facilities, and explores quote with CoverHound today!