The need to improve the appearance of men as well as women is growing. But the number of gyms in cities is still not enough to meet the needs of customers. Therefore, opening a gym is a new business trend, “making money” in recent years.
The need is clear, the question is: How can the gym get the owner a huge profit with little capital and low cost? What does it take to start a gym business?
Understanding your concerns, Malu would like to send you the most complete and detailed summary of the secret to opening a gym. Hope can help your business activities become more favorable.
Why opening a gym can help you make big profits?
Gym business promises to bring you great profits, why is that? Let’s find out with Malu:
1. Potential market
Vietnam is a country with a young population. As of 2017, “ more than 60% of the population is still of working age ” (according to the General Statistics Office). The potential of the gym business market is huge, especially when people’s income is increasing day by day, and the need to improve their appearance is visible.
2. Easy to calculate initial cost of capital
The point that makes a gym business different from other businesses (like restaurants, fashion) is that you don’t have to worry about variable costs.
If you’re in the clothing business, buyer needs can make variable costs out of your control. With the opening of a gym, the most important expense lies in the purchase of exercise equipment, and the cost of business premises.
3. The number of gym personnel is not too large
When doing business in the field of fitness training, the number of employees in the gym is not as demanding as other professions. With a small and medium-sized business, you only need 1-2 receptionists (on shift), 2 coaches, 1-2 housekeeping and 1 manager.
With a larger scale, you also require a larger amount of manpower. But certainly, compared to large enterprises doing business in other fields, the number of employees is still smaller.
4. Business expansion through franchising
When your gym is successful, the ability to expand your business through franchising is also easier.
Compared to other types of businesses, franchising in the gym business only cares about issues such as human resources and equipment. While, with a restaurant, you have to pay more attention to the quality of the food, fashion is worried about the warehouse problem, etc.
Experience opening an effective gym
Here are some experiences to help you open an effective and profitable gym:
1. Market research and survey
The first job you need to do to open a gym is to research and survey the market.
In this step, you need to outline for yourself the market and audience you want to target.
Where do you plan to open a gym? Who is your target customer group? (Students or people who have a stable income?) What are the basic needs of your target customer group? (The gym is full of equipment, or is the cost per session affordable?)
This is the premise for you to implement the next steps in your gym business plan.
2. Plan and define the gym business model
After surveying the market, you need to build yourself an overall business plan for your gym.
In the business plan, you need to clearly define the business model of the gym. There are two basic ways to categorize the gym business model:
By type of business
Your gym will operate in a specialized form , ie only operating as a simple gym.
Or incorporate other related businesses, like yoga, dance sports, or aerobics .
According to customer income
You will run a gym business in a popular way , equipped with only basic equipment, where guests come to practice on their own with affordable gym costs.
Or develop the gym in a high-class direction , supporting customers with personal trainers and modern machines.
Clearly defining the business model will make it easy for you to determine the investment capital, human resources, exercise equipment, communication and marketing plans for the gym.
3. Determine the investment capital for the gym
After choosing a business model, it’s time to determine the investment capital for the gym.
With popular gyms , which do not require too many expensive equipment, specialize in bodybuilding activities, and do not need to “feed” too many PTs, the initial investment costs often fall into about 500 million – 700 million dong . A relatively small number for a gym.
For high-end gyms , needing a certain investment capital for exercise equipment, looking for a favorable business premises, needing a professional workforce, the investment capital to be spent will be in the range of 1.2 billion . (as savings) – 1.5 billion VND initially (if large capital investment).
4. Equip the right exercise machine for the target customer
According to common experience, if the target audience of the gym is male, you should invest the most equipment related to weights. Because men often have the need to improve bodybuilding related to the shoulders, bucket and chest the most.
If the main audience of the gym is female, the treadmill should be the equipment to be invested in. Because women often focus on reducing belly fat and slimming the body the most.
5. Choosing a business premises
With an affordable gym , you should choose a densely populated business location, near the living area of the target customer. The location can be in the alley, or on the street, it doesn’t matter.
With a high-class gym , the location must not only be located in a densely populated area, but also must show the luxury, “high-end” of the service. Therefore, these gyms are often located in commercial centers, or in front of large streets.
A prerequisite with any gym is to bring comfort to the practitioner. Therefore, it must converge the following factors:
- The area of the gym must be 70 m2 or more .
- Spacious and clean space.
- Has good air conditioning and ventilation system.
- Exercise machines are spaced a certain distance apart to ensure the safety and comfort of the practitioner.
- There should be bathrooms and changing rooms for guests in need.
6. Recruiting staff for the gym
A successful gym must have a staff of:
- Coach: Support and advise customers to familiarize themselves with the training plan. With high-end gyms, this workforce needs to account for a large number.
- Receptionist: This is the group of human resources that customers meet first when registering to practice at the gym. This staff must show enthusiasm and friendliness to members.
- Apprenticeship: This group of human resources must ensure that the gym is always clean and tidy.
- Management: This human resource team is responsible for finding new customers for the gym, taking care of old customers. In addition, this is also the department that manages other personnel components of the gym.
Each HR department has a job. The task of the gym owner is to ensure that HR teams can work together smoothly in a “chain” of business activities.
Sometimes the biggest asset of an enterprise is not in the system of exercise machines, but in the quality staff.
7. Complete the business registration procedure
To be able to open a gym, you need to complete the necessary paperwork.
You have 2 ways to register a gym business.
Business registration as an individual household business . With this method, you only need your ID card and the space lease contract to bring to the People’s Committee of the district where you book the gym to be able to register your business.
Register your business in the form of an enterprise . According to Decree 106/2016/ND-CP on business conditions for sports activities, you need to submit the following administrative documents:
- An application for business registration and relevant documents to the Department of Planning and Investment where the enterprise does business.
- An application for a certificate of business eligibility, and a summary of the preparation process to meet the business conditions, to the People’s Committee, or the provincial Department of Culture and Sports.
In addition, the gym’s coach needs to have a degree related to sports at intermediate level or higher (suitable for sports activities to apply for business registration). Facilities must meet the requirements for area, ground, first aid equipment, and fire prevention and fighting conditions as prescribed by law.
8. Communication and marketing for the gym
Communication and marketing activities are necessary for your gym to be widely known to customers.
Using social networks, running ads on Google or Facebook, or pushing SEO-standard content on the gym’s website is one of the effective communication ways to reach potential customers.
>> What is Online Marketing? The Comprehensive Guide to Online Marketing
In addition, traditional marketing activities such as flyer design, banner design, brochure design for the gym. Some marketing channels such as discounts, setting up a reward point system, and loyal customers should also be considered.
What to do next?
In the next work, it is necessary to consider designing a logo for the gym to improve the level of recognition of your brand.
To hedge against the risks associated with unfortunate customers damaging exercise equipment in the gym, you should also consider the depreciation of fixed assets. The cost of each exercise machine is usually not cheap, even with the most basic and popular machines.
Talent retention activities of the gym also need to be taken care of. Currently, the number of gyms in big cities is mushrooming. If you do not have plans to utilize human resources (such as compensation, commissions, etc.), they will most likely join your competitors.
To maximize revenue, you can combine business with a number of items related to sports activities, bodybuilding, such as Whey powder, sportswear, etc. Customers will be very happy to use these products. products that can complement their exercise.
Hopefully the past experiences will help you plan and take concrete steps for your gym business in the future.
Explore more of Malu’s articles on business .
