Bootcamp business idea

[soccerpro6]

Hey guys,

I've been working on a few little projects and have been in the planning process for an idea for a "bootcamp business". Below I'll explain.

I have always been taught, the way to make a lot of money is to be making money, even when you are not working. I very much believe in that and think it is hard to argue. The personal training industry is a difficult area to do that, because the majority of the time, it takes you BEING there to make the money. I have an idea that I might try while in college to get around this, and wanted some reviews, ideas on any problems, ect.

My plan involves running bootcamps in neighborhoods, apartment complexes, and other areas with large groups of people.I want to start out working on my own, or with 1 partner, running camps in 3-4 areas, twice a week for an hour at a a time. I would charge 15$ a person,offering certain discounts here and there.

NOW, this is where I want to build on the idea.

I would ultimately like to hire 10 trainers to work for me. Each of the trainers would be given 3 areas that I had scouted, advertised, and ran several camps in. They would be required to run a camp at each location, twice a week, so only 6 hours of work.

At each camp, I think that 10 people is a pretty reasonable guess of how many clients would attend on average. I'm thinking, neighbors, husbands/wifes, mother/daughters, and friends would be brought with people, so I think 8-10 is very doable on a regular basis. So some simple math, 10 trainers, running 6 camps a week each, =60 camps a week.I will charge 15$ a person.

To give the trainers incentives to provide quality service, advertise on their own, i would offer the following:

-5$ for each person that attends each camp. They get 10 people, they make 50$ for an hours work. They average 10 at each camp, 50x6=300$ a week for only working 6 hours. Doesn't seem bad to me.
-The trainers would have the opportunity to keep any bootcamp clients interested in training, as their own clients. They will be allowed to network, and offer services on an individual basis to any and all clients they have attend bootcamps.

These two incentives seem great to me for a trainer. Good money, and a chance to gain new clients.


So, finishing the math:
10 trainers running 6 camps a week=60 camps/week X 100$ a camp (averaging 10 people a camp, and subtracting 5$/person for trainer salary)= 6,000 a week profit for me. Do the math, and average that out for the year, 6,000 X 52= 312,000 a year.

Obviously that number is most likely going to be less, but I still think it is going to be a large number!

Soooo, check my math first off, and make fun of me/tell me where/if I made mistakes. I know I didn't take costs into consideration, but I just wanted a guesstimate.

I also know things like insurance, advertising, finding the right spot for camps, obtaining permission ect are other factors that need to be attended to, but I just wanted peoples thoughts/comments on the overall idea of things!


Thanks guys!
kyle

[Richoss]

Hey guys,

I've been working on a few little projects and have been in the planning process for an idea for a "bootcamp business". Below I'll explain.

I have always been taught, the way to make a lot of money is to be making money, even when you are not working. I very much believe in that and think it is hard to argue. The personal training industry is a difficult area to do that, because the majority of the time, it takes you BEING there to make the money. I have an idea that I might try while in college to get around this, and wanted some reviews, ideas on any problems, ect.

My plan involves running bootcamps in neighborhoods, apartment complexes, and other areas with large groups of people.I want to start out working on my own, or with 1 partner, running camps in 3-4 areas, twice a week for an hour at a a time. I would charge 15$ a person,offering certain discounts here and there.

NOW, this is where I want to build on the idea.

I would ultimately like to hire 10 trainers to work for me. Each of the trainers would be given 3 areas that I had scouted, advertised, and ran several camps in. They would be required to run a camp at each location, twice a week, so only 6 hours of work.

At each camp, I think that 10 people is a pretty reasonable guess of how many clients would attend on average. I'm thinking, neighbors, husbands/wifes, mother/daughters, and friends would be brought with people, so I think 8-10 is very doable on a regular basis. So some simple math, 10 trainers, running 6 camps a week each, =60 camps a week.I will charge 15$ a person.

To give the trainers incentives to provide quality service, advertise on their own, i would offer the following:

-5$ for each person that attends each camp. They get 10 people, they make 50$ for an hours work. They average 10 at each camp, 50x6=300$ a week for only working 6 hours. Doesn't seem bad to me.
-The trainers would have the opportunity to keep any bootcamp clients interested in training, as their own clients. They will be allowed to network, and offer services on an individual basis to any and all clients they have attend bootcamps.

These two incentives seem great to me for a trainer. Good money, and a chance to gain new clients.


So, finishing the math:
10 trainers running 6 camps a week=60 camps/week X 100$ a camp (averaging 10 people a camp, and subtracting 5$/person for trainer salary)= 6,000 a week profit for me. Do the math, and average that out for the year, 6,000 X 52= 312,000 a year.

Obviously that number is most likely going to be less, but I still think it is going to be a large number!

Soooo, check my math first off, and make fun of me/tell me where/if I made mistakes. I know I didn't take costs into consideration, but I just wanted a guesstimate.

I also know things like insurance, advertising, finding the right spot for camps, obtaining permission ect are other factors that need to be attended to, but I just wanted peoples thoughts/comments on the overall idea of things!


Thanks guys!
kyle

it's a good idea, I will be trying this idea later down the track. However, I think your maths is a little off. Like you said, you didn't take costs into consideration, and costs are a major factor. You have insurance, equipment, stationary items (such as paper, printer ink etc), fuel, TAX (a big thing), accounting fees, set-up costs (such as registering your business), advertising.

Starting up will be hard as well, such as finding the 10 trainers to work for $5 a client. You mentioned incentives such as keeping bootcamp clients. This is a very risky thing right here, because they will see you charging the clients they train $15 a camp, and they only make $5 out of it, $10 profit towards you for not doing anything. So what they may do is seeing as you allow them to keep clients, they may disband from you and offer your clients a cheaper rate per camp to train with him, so that way he makes a little bit more cash. So just keep that in mind when hiring someone, you may want the trainers to sign a contract not allowing them to do that kind of thing.

Im confused on the amount of camps, so 10 trainers running 6 camps a week, each? With 10 people at each camp. So per trainer thats 6 camps x 10 people = 60 people a week for that one trainer. Then you have 9 more trainers, so that equals to 600 clients weekly. That is alot of paperwork to track, who will handle all the paper work, the cash etc. Keep in mind there will be a lot of time where you won't get 10 people at a camp, you may only get 7 or 8.

Also your maths is a tad of because you didn't calculate discounts you said you may offer.


Now when I have been wrestling with this idea, I thought of working by myself, or maybe hiring 1 other person. My idea was each camp was made up of 8 week programs, and also weekend camps that happen once a month. Now stay with me here as I try to explain it. What my plan is you charge people to attend programs, not each camp. So they attend 3 camps a week, for 8 weeks, equals 24 camps for the program. You can have a couple different programs for different goals, like weight loss, strength training, general fitness blah blah. Here is where it gets hard to explain, so the client has the option of paying the full fee up front and receive a discount, or can put down a deposit and pay per week or month. You end up charging around $250-$300 per program, whatever you choose to charge. If they pay say $300 upfront when you sign them up, you knock say 10% off, which means they only pay $270. But the good thing is, you have, of one person, $270 for 8 weeks. Lets say you sign 10 people up, upfront for $270, $2700 for 8 weeks, which equals around $337.5 a week, for 3 hours work a week. This is a big thing here, when you sign each member up for a program, in the contract, clearly state refunds can not be given if you miss a camp unless a doctors certificate is present, if the doctor insists the client to take a week off, refund 25% of what a week is worth, for a month, calculate that etc. If you get them to sign the contract where the only way to get a refund is if you see a doctor, it will stop people saying 'oh sorry i slept in, can i have my money back for a class' Sounds like a scam, but it isn't. (Also, ring the doctor/hospital and double check it isnt a forgery). Now how it isn't a scam you ask? Quite simple, its motivating tool. If someone pays $300 for 8 weeks worth off camps, do you think they are going to miss one when they know they can't get their money back? Hell no they won't.

Now you probably think, $2700 for 8 weeks, that isn't much, I want more money! Remember how I said about running different programs for different goals. You can run say 2 camps per morning (1 weight loss, 1 strength training) and 2 camps in that afternoon (1 weight loss, 1 strength training). Okay, so thats 4 programs, multiply by 10 people per program equals 40 people. Each pay $270, 40x270 =$10,800 for 8 weeks. Divide that into weekly wage = $1350. Also, you can offer casual camp rates where they pay per camp, but offer it at a much higher rate, that way, they will rather save money and buy the package as it will be cheaper, and you are guaranteed an income.

Also, you can offer little freebies such as sign up today and receive a free training t-shirt and water bottle, or hat and towel. And I was playing around with a referral point system. If a current member gets a friend or family member to sign up, they receive a point, and the more people they sign up, more points they get. They can then use them points saved up to cash in on merchandise like hats, t-shirts, singlets, shorts, water bottles, towels, ipods etc, so that way, a lot of advertising is taken off your hand as your current members will want to get these points. And to keep your members for the program, offer a 5% discount on everyone who re-signs for the next program.


Okay, I may have hijacked this thread and wrote a lot of crap nobody will read. But it's just something to think about, offer packages or "programs"

Anyway, good luck

[LittleCharlie]

Hey guys,
-5$ for each person that attends each camp. They get 10 people, they make 50$ for an hours work. They average 10 at each camp, 50x6=300$ a week for only working 6 hours. Doesn't seem bad to me.

Why do they get 1/3 for doing all the work and you get 2/3? I think if I was the person you were employing it should be the other way around. After all, they have to pay for all their transport, kit for the classes and insurance.

[soccerpro6]

Thanks the two of you who posted responses so far! Very good thoughts/info in both.

On the issue of why the trainers would get 1/3 of the 15$, here is why I think thats fair. These trainers will be working for me, employed by me. I will be doing the advertising, scouting locations, running the first few bootcamps for free in neighborhoods in order to gain interest, ect. In addition to this, I plan on creating a manual for each trainer, to lay out guidelines for each workout. If they did 3 camps, twice a week, thats 6 camps a week. 52 weeks in a year (yes, you would have weeks without camps, like holidays, special circumstances, all my numbers are kind of rounded up haha), but I could make a detailed manual with 100 workouts in it. That way, they are following the guidelines I put forth.

A lot of details I did not put in my original post, because I didn't have time and I want to keep some of the ideas to myself haha

And another reason I felt that this would be a good idea for the trainers I'd employ, it really would cut the thinking out of the equation for them in a big way, and would be good work for them if they had time restraints. If they have a full time job, but are given the chance to make an extra 3 or 400 bucks, for working an extra hour in the morning each day, I think a lot of them would. Plus, its resume building, client networking ect, and could be valuable, especially if I hard younger trainers working.


Obviously it is still in the planning stages, thats why I posted it here and I appreciate the feeback!

Maybe cutting the percentage down with the trainers, say 7$ for each person they get, so I only keep 8. That would give them 420$ for 6 camps a week with 10 people at each, and would be roughly 70$ an hour. I could also add other training incentives. Say have 3 different levels of trainers. Level 1) 6$ for every person Level 2) 7.50$ for every person Level 3) 10$ for every person. You could base the levels on how long they had been there, or how many camps they had run for me, or something like that. That way, it will keep trainers around in the company and offer them something to work for.

I don't think advertising would be a huge cost. A lot of it would be done by word of mouth from the clients at the camp, and even by way of eye! I think when people wake up and are drinking their morning cup of coffee and look out the window and see a group of people tossing sand bags, crawling through camo cardboard tunnels ect, they might say "that looks like a fun" and come out the next time we have it.

Insurance, I have yet to work on and know it will be one of, if not by biggest cost.

This idea is also something I will build from the ground. I don't think it's possible, or smart, to jump in and hire 10 people and go. I would start running camps myself, in maybe 3 or 4 neighborhoods, to gauge the interest level, build up a little bit of a name for the company, advertise, ect. Once I got things running, I would bring people on slowly, train them in how I want to run camps, and work them into the system. I honestly would look to hire mostly new trainers. My first ever training job this summer, I ran bootcamps twice a week. I was intimidated at first, but I learned how to do it well and ended up with 15-25 people at each one, in a "globo gym". I think its a good tool for young trainers to learn how to work with people and would be a good opportunity for them.


More feedback guys! Keep it comin!


Thanks!
Kyle

[MVP]

workers comp for 10 employees - OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!

[735735]

Start it up man, I started may 08 and now i have 11 camps/classes, 9-14 people a camp. Its glorious. I have my trainers handle everything, so i just work on marketing and advertising. Its the new fad right now, I grow bigger every month.

[justinslayer]

Everyone is doing bootcamps these days

There is a local fat former marine guy i know of who gets a huge crowd a few days a week. He's not even certified or anything, but he's a great motivator. Charges $20/head, and has 15+ per class. He says he does it part time and makes some good money, teaching 2 classes a day, 3 days a week. He actually piles up a lot of equipment in his truck and sets up an obstacle course.

I been a couple times, and it kicks ass

[jules_d1]

Why do they get 1/3 for doing all the work and you get 2/3? I think if I was the person you were employing it should be the other way around. After all, they have to pay for all their transport, kit for the classes and insurance.

I may be wrong but i assume he would be providing the equipment and insurance for the trainers as they were his employees.

In actual fact, as an owner of a Private studio, training the client is the EASY part of the job. SO much more time is spent (or should be spent) on marketing, public relations, paper work, payroll, tax etc etc.

No one has ever questioned me on my pay structure at work but if they did i could clearly justify it by explaining money has to go towards all the above aspects plus rent, utilities ect.


Lets not forget the trainers dont have to go and get the clients themselves as they are handfed to them.