Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below A few of my friends and I have been talking about opening a gym, and we are starting to go through the beginning phases. We are trying to get an estimate for the amount of the business loan we would have to take out. I have been looking for different catalogs/magazines of commercial gym equipment but I can not find any thing. Does anyone know where I can sign up to receive catalogs?
commercial fitness equipment magazines and catalouges
- Thread starter jbanks
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s8nlilhlpr2
New member
I would consider finding another avenue for investing your money. Gyms are not very profitable in general, and similiar to restaurants, often fail within the first year.
If you have researched and have a PROFITABLE way of running one, I would take as small a loan out as possible and pay cash for everything you can. Try and find another gym "going out of business sale" you can usually get a bunch of used equipment cheap.
If you have researched and have a PROFITABLE way of running one, I would take as small a loan out as possible and pay cash for everything you can. Try and find another gym "going out of business sale" you can usually get a bunch of used equipment cheap.
roy2
New member
s8nlilhlpr2 said:
Interesting information. Do you know a decent amount of gym owners, or did you read this somewhere?
I would guess the most profitable gyms cater to the upper-middle class and the afluent. But starting this sort of gym would be the most expensive, because you would need a slew of personal trainers, a ton of machines, plasma screens, whatever nice spa crap, etc. It would have to be prissy enough to warrent whatever ungodly monthly fee.
IMO, another way to start a gym cheaply would be to just buy enough barbells, squat racks and benches to fill a room or two in a cheap neighborhood/district. But then you'll be really limiting your customer base.
There's a coupla small gyms near industrial areas around here that have been doing well. Get the off shift from the factories and the lower income peeple from the nearby residential areas. Buncha treads & machines & a shitload of iron & racks. The locals are grateful to have a place they can workout without paying through the nose, and it's convenient for the factory guys.roy2 said:
BigCracker
New member
Never buy gym equpment new. It's one of the few things that depreciates in value faster than a new car being driven off the lot. Let someone else's loss be your gain-find gyms online that are going out of biz and auctioning off their equipment. They'll be lucky to get .40 on the dollar for each piece.
And if you're looking to make $$$, gym ownership aint the way to do it. Even purchasing rights to a Franchise name will be $25K a year for some podunk name in the phonebook, let alone a World, Powerhouse or Gold's. Plus, as soon as a half dozen ma and pop shop gyms open, a huge chain like Ballys will open a gym in the demographic center of them all and offer a pool,sauna, spa, raquetball, juice bar, tanning, twice the amount of equipment, rubber floors, neon, a pro shop, a superior customized architectually sound layout, etc. for the same monthly rate.
Then there's always the customers that bitch about the radio/tv station, the locker rooms not being clean, the gym temperature, theft, misuse of equipment, etc. Oh yeah, don't forget how pissed people get when someone robs their lockers or cars in the parking lot. There's an almost guaranteed member cancelation every time that happens=more $$$ lost.
Running a gym is no day at the beach. Plan on kissing ass to every member no matter how ridiculous their complaints are. Then there's the issue of employees-good luck finding someone to open daily at 5AM that will never be late. Picture 20 suits waiting in their cars pissed off at 5:15AM. Now they're gonna have to cut their workouts short to get to work on time cuz some $6 /hr dipshit overslept that day. Expect a shitload of membership cancelations that day. Then there's internal theft-cash register and supplement inventory will take hits daily by employees. Not to mention all the freebue workouts they give to their friends. You will also have to hire a cleaning company to clean nightly(locker area/mirrors/floor/equipment/empty trash) and a payroll service for employees. Hiring an accountant to save you from IRS issues will also be an expense. As an owner, you will have to buy your own health insurance and liability insurance in case someone gets hurt on the property.
Also, a decent location with some roadside visibility will cost you an assload. Plan on signing a 3 year lease minimum to get a decent deal. If you go out of business before the lease is up your credit is fucked(most small businesses fail in under 1 year). Also you will need to come up with a security deposit and usually 1st and last month's rent all up front. Electric bill will be a motherfucker too-especially if the ceilings are high and/or you live in the extreme heat or cold. Then there's zoning issues, biz license fees, etc. Plus there's always the chance of your biz neighbors not being too keen on hearing bumpin' tunes, weights being dropped, and grunting monkeys screaming during squats. The rental management company can give you the boot as soon as they get enough complaints-so you'll have to walk on eggshells in that area alone.
This is my .02 ccs after working in gyms on and off for 22 years. Take it for what it's worth...or more like-what it's not worth.
I love when people have a dream of making money doing something that they love without having any clue on how it's done. It's truly an example of getting the carriage before the horse.
My dream is to be The President Of The United States. Do I need to go to school for that? I was homeroom class president of my middle school, isn't that good enough??? Campaign contributions will carry me right??? People like me. I can kiss babies. I had speech class in college. Hmmm... I already have a great idea for a running mate... Shit, I'm there!!! Big Cracker/Ozzy Osbourne '08. All roid laws will be banished and free medicinal marijuana and Powerbars for everybody!!! Fuck immigration, Iraq, and global warming. Time to get big!!!
My country tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing...
And if you're looking to make $$$, gym ownership aint the way to do it. Even purchasing rights to a Franchise name will be $25K a year for some podunk name in the phonebook, let alone a World, Powerhouse or Gold's. Plus, as soon as a half dozen ma and pop shop gyms open, a huge chain like Ballys will open a gym in the demographic center of them all and offer a pool,sauna, spa, raquetball, juice bar, tanning, twice the amount of equipment, rubber floors, neon, a pro shop, a superior customized architectually sound layout, etc. for the same monthly rate.
Then there's always the customers that bitch about the radio/tv station, the locker rooms not being clean, the gym temperature, theft, misuse of equipment, etc. Oh yeah, don't forget how pissed people get when someone robs their lockers or cars in the parking lot. There's an almost guaranteed member cancelation every time that happens=more $$$ lost.
Running a gym is no day at the beach. Plan on kissing ass to every member no matter how ridiculous their complaints are. Then there's the issue of employees-good luck finding someone to open daily at 5AM that will never be late. Picture 20 suits waiting in their cars pissed off at 5:15AM. Now they're gonna have to cut their workouts short to get to work on time cuz some $6 /hr dipshit overslept that day. Expect a shitload of membership cancelations that day. Then there's internal theft-cash register and supplement inventory will take hits daily by employees. Not to mention all the freebue workouts they give to their friends. You will also have to hire a cleaning company to clean nightly(locker area/mirrors/floor/equipment/empty trash) and a payroll service for employees. Hiring an accountant to save you from IRS issues will also be an expense. As an owner, you will have to buy your own health insurance and liability insurance in case someone gets hurt on the property.
Also, a decent location with some roadside visibility will cost you an assload. Plan on signing a 3 year lease minimum to get a decent deal. If you go out of business before the lease is up your credit is fucked(most small businesses fail in under 1 year). Also you will need to come up with a security deposit and usually 1st and last month's rent all up front. Electric bill will be a motherfucker too-especially if the ceilings are high and/or you live in the extreme heat or cold. Then there's zoning issues, biz license fees, etc. Plus there's always the chance of your biz neighbors not being too keen on hearing bumpin' tunes, weights being dropped, and grunting monkeys screaming during squats. The rental management company can give you the boot as soon as they get enough complaints-so you'll have to walk on eggshells in that area alone.
This is my .02 ccs after working in gyms on and off for 22 years. Take it for what it's worth...or more like-what it's not worth.
I love when people have a dream of making money doing something that they love without having any clue on how it's done. It's truly an example of getting the carriage before the horse.
My dream is to be The President Of The United States. Do I need to go to school for that? I was homeroom class president of my middle school, isn't that good enough??? Campaign contributions will carry me right??? People like me. I can kiss babies. I had speech class in college. Hmmm... I already have a great idea for a running mate... Shit, I'm there!!! Big Cracker/Ozzy Osbourne '08. All roid laws will be banished and free medicinal marijuana and Powerbars for everybody!!! Fuck immigration, Iraq, and global warming. Time to get big!!!
My country tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing...
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perp69
New member
I will give you the cliff notes on what BC said. Just because a person loves to workout does not mean he knows how to run a gym.
Maybe you have done your research but I doubt it if you asking us for info. Gyms are a tough business to make money on and very risky due to the amount of upfront money it takes. I do real estate investment and love working out but have no desire to run a gym cause it is not a good investment. I would rather pay some other sucker $39 a month. You can't say you were not told. That being said to answer your question you need to keep your upfront cost as low as possible so used equipment is the way to go. Here is link for used equipment that I found.
http://www.usedgymequipment.com
Perp
Maybe you have done your research but I doubt it if you asking us for info. Gyms are a tough business to make money on and very risky due to the amount of upfront money it takes. I do real estate investment and love working out but have no desire to run a gym cause it is not a good investment. I would rather pay some other sucker $39 a month. You can't say you were not told. That being said to answer your question you need to keep your upfront cost as low as possible so used equipment is the way to go. Here is link for used equipment that I found.
http://www.usedgymequipment.com
Perp
BigCracker
New member
perp69 said:
I also forgot to mention advertising expenses-a small picture ad in the yellow pages will be around $500 a month. Radio ads are costly too. Mass mailing, lead boxes in other businesses, and telemarketing are less expensive, but they don't generate much business.
Then there's BMI fees-BMI is this group of shark lawyers hired by peeps in the music industry that require you to pay a monthly fee to blast the stereo or cds in your business. Yeah, I know it's bullshit-but one class action suit against you will bankrupt you fersure, so pay up. It's a couple hundy/month for this legal type of extortion.
Here's a little 411 for ya. In 1990 I moved to AZ. I lived on the East Side of town where ASU is, etc. There were about 5 gyms. There was a World Gym, a small health club with pool/raquet sports, and 3 privately owned dungeon/gyms. By 1995 there were approximately 25 various gyms/health clubs in the same area. The original 5 gyms had all gone out of business-including the World Gym. Now, in 2007 there's probably 80 big name gyms in the same demographic area(if you include Curves and it's clones) and the only privately owned gyms around are usually personal training studios that are under 1500 sq ft. Food for thought.
s8nlilhlpr2
New member
You mean you can't just turn on the radio and let it run for free?
BigCracker
New member
s8nlilhlpr2 said:
Nope. BMI will haunt your ass with phone calls and threatening letters until you comply. One gym owner tried blowing them off and he was gonna get sued, so he eventually paid up after 6 months.
