Advice and Questions about Opening my Own Gym

[DanP601]

Hey guys,
I've been reading this forum for a long time, but just came around to making my own account. I applied for an LLC and am in the process of finding an appropriate space to open a gym in Madison, WI. I have a few questions that hopefully some of you will have some experience with and can help me out. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

First I'll give some background: I've been driving around the country for the last three years buying equipment off craigslist and eBay and finally have my dream setup. It's about 25-30 pieces of like new hammer strength and other plate loaded equipment along with 2,000lbs of bumpers, about 10,000lbs of iron weight, three magnum full cages, one magnum open top squat rack, a monolift, Forza prototype comp bench, a ton of specialty bars, dumbbells all the way up to 160's, Icarian utility benches and DB racks, strongman equipment, some heavy kettlebells, and a bunch of other random stuff that I've picked up like a few spin bikes for warmups, concept II's, etc. I have money saved to cover about 6,000sq ft with a combination of turf and thick rubber flooring, and a mentor of mine is going to be cosigning the lease and covering the rent until I turn a break even as a small percentage investor. I should also specify that in a few years I'm going to be helping him open a larger location because of my equipment-finding abilities and that's how I'll essentially return the favor. His current gym is about an hour away, so I'll be the only one running my location and will have completely free reign over the decision-making.

Here are the questions I have/areas that any advice would be appreciated:

1) Does anyone have experience with pre-selling memberships that could give me some guidance as to setting one up on a wordpress site? My girlfriend has a lot of experience in marketing and with building websites, and wordpress is the direction I was looking at going to get a website up and to promote a pre-sell.

2) I also already plan on ordering things like door hangers and pushing memberships through facebook and other social networking, but what are some more creative ways to get members in the door? A friend of mine is also going to help me out as he's got a huge facebook/youtube following for powerlifting.

3) How long does it usually take for the city to approve signage? The primary location I'm looking at is on one of the main arteries that leads to downtown Madison and has tens of thousands of cars driving right by it every single day, so getting a sign up ASAP could be one of my best forms of advertisement, including for the pre-sell.

4) I plan on signing a lease in the next two months or so to start about four months from now. From the sound of it, I can get three free months if I sign on three years. Is the deal worth it, or will it be too big of a risk to sign for that long? The spot I'm looking at is at least a few miles away from the nearest other gym, and that gym's equipment is incomparable in quality to what I'll have in my place and also doesn't allow people to do things like crossfit or powerlifting. The rent for the spot I'm looking at, which is about 7,000 sq ft and used to be a car showroom, would be about 3,500 to 4,000 a month but that includes all utilities and building insurance, so my only cost other than than would be my yearly insurance payment. Another option is to go with a warehouse in the middle of nowhere and do more group training. The same landlord also has another spot open in the same building that's 4,000sq ft for about half the price per month, but I feel like the shape that the warehouse is in would drive people away, and my equipment would probably be much more prone to rusting as it's a lot more run down.

5) What's the best way to market myself to get people in the door? I have the equipment to allow everyone to get a great workout, whether it's a housewife trying to lose weight or a competitive powerlifter or bodybuilder preparing for pro competition. I obviously don't want to cut out any markets, but I feel like the powerlifters and bodybuilders will start showing up more through word of mouth, and I don't want to intimidate people that are looking for things like weight loss group training.

6) lastly, but possibly most importantly, what's the best way to bill clients and monthly members? A friend of mine said the best way to go about billing is to basically copy the membership agreement for a bigger gym like a Gold's or Anytime fitness and just switch my gym's name into it, so that instead of having to track down payments from members myself the card company will do it for me. I know that most gym startups fail not because of a lack of members, but because of a lack of paying members. ANY advice on trying to avoid that situation would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds... This has been my dream since I was 15, and I really can't wait to get the doors open.

Dan

[jimmyk21]

Dan, let me know how things go. I'm in Milwaukee and have considered moving to Madison...

[OhhComplex]

Allthough I have no advice for you opening a gym is a dream I've had since I was 16, well done for pursuing your dream and best of luck Dan!

[Trollin4Tuna]

I hope you have a good lawyer and Partnership agreement. Are you and your mentor co-owners? How are you treating his payment of the rent? Income, loan, capital contribution? I see a lot of potential issues with this that need to be addressed in a legal document. That way you continue to remain close.

[arian11]

You should really look into buying and reading a book with all this info. I'm a couple steps behind you right now in starting my own gym so I don't have any real life experience to give you. But I did buy and am reading "The Business of Fitness" by Thomas Plummer. It has alot of great info in there including chapters specifically on signage, leasing, contracts, pre-selling, marketing, EFTs, using 3rd party payment collectors, and alot more. Not all the info will directly relate to your specific style of gym but there is alot of great info in there you could use. I think it would directly answer all the questions you are asking. Also, you can look into sites like www.sba.gov to see if they have any info to help you out with starting a small business.


EDIT:

Just watched this, thought I'd post it here.

[DanP601]

I hope you have a good lawyer and Partnership agreement. Are you and your mentor co-owners? How are you treating his payment of the rent? Income, loan, capital contribution? I see a lot of potential issues with this that need to be addressed in a legal document. That way you continue to remain close.

It'll be looked at as a capital contribution until I start making money. Then we'll take the total cash investment he's made and according to the amount that we value all of my equipment and the flooring at we'll determine his percentage of ownership. Ideally, ill be able to find a space of around 4000 sq ft for 1500-1800 a month, and he'll be there more for me to fall back on in those early months where there will be less cash flow in case I come up short of expenses. There's a 4000 sq ft space that would be perfect in the same building, but it may be rented by the city so I'm basically waiting to hear back from the owners within the next couple weeks. I'm going to get a letter of intent written up in the next week or two and sent. If that space gets rented, we're going to try to work out a deal with the owner for the higher end space. I completely agree that a good contract is the next step. That's what we'll be working on in the next two weeks as well. Thanks for the reply! And also thanks to everyone else for the advice and encouragement.

[Brenda45]

Your plans for the gym sound amazing. Here are some quick thoughts:
Collaborate with local businesses for joint promotions. Free trial days, seminars or competitions can attract different audiences.
Getting city permits for signs varies, but check with your local zoning office.
Consider the long-term benefits of renting a space. Perhaps the initial commitment to a great location will pay off.
Also check out step-by-step guides on starting and scaling a business here . Where there are tips on creating a compelling brand story, website and advice on how to collaborate with influencers.
So, don't neglect the tools at your disposal. It's not just about working hard; it's about working smart.

[imyourguydavid]

Your plans for the gym sound amazing. Here are some quick thoughts:
Collaborate with local businesses for joint promotions. Free trial days, seminars or competitions can attract different audiences.
Getting city permits for signs varies, but check with your local zoning office.
Consider the long-term benefits of renting a space. Perhaps the initial commitment to a great location will pay off.
Also check out step-by-step guides on starting and scaling a business here . Where there are tips on creating a compelling brand story, website and advice on how to collaborate with influencers.
So, don't neglect the tools at your disposal. It's not just about working hard; it's about working smart.

Great tips here! Collaboration is so important for new businesses. Love the ideas of trials, seminars and competitions - creative ways to attract interest. Zoning laws can vary a lot so important to check in early. And building a strong brand and online presence is key these days.