The rise of health and fitness chains all over the world it is a proof that most people are willing to dedicate a lot of their time and money to just get in shape especially as obesity rates hit record levels.

In light of these facts, it is clear that opening a gym business is the timely idea for entrepreneurs who know how to spot opportunities.

If you believe in this idea (and would like to know the nitty-gritty of opening up a successful local neighborhood gym) then this guide will provide you with tips for ultimate success.

Formulating A Local Gym Business Plan

When starting a gym, it is extremely important to construct a good business plan. A plan simply shows that you have thought about the idea of starting your gym clearly and you are not just winging it or riding on emotion.

It further helps you to consolidate all your resources as you work towards a laser-focused objective. A few important pointers to consider when formulating a business plan include:

Marketing Plan

You have to think of how you will market your new gym like what services or enticements will be used as a marketing tool to draw members from the competitors’ gym.

You’ll want to determine the demographics for the area your gym will serve. This will help you make your advertising more targeted and focused.

S.W.O.T & Trends Analysis

After scanning the market, you need to identify your strengths and weaknesses.

What weaknesses does your competition face?
Can you work through those weaknesses to establish your brand?
What strengths do you possess (e.g. do you have a background in this industry)?
Can you use these strengths to take a commanding lead in the market?

Lastly, you need to consider market trends.

How has the industry been faring?
How have other gyms been performing over the last few years?

To create a good business plan you may require expert assistance. This will help you capture all the necessary details.

Legal Requirements For Running A Gym

You cannot operate a successful business if you do not have the right legal documents. So, before you even think of implementing other ideas take time to understand the paperwork that is involved in starting out.

Basically, you need to focus on the following documents and licenses:

Employer Identification Number (EIN)

This is a unique nine digit number that identifies your gym business for tax purposes. It is one of the key requirements when starting a new business. As a gym owner you will also need it to open your business bank account.

Applying for an EIN is quite easy because the application can also be filled out online through the IRS or via email or fax where upon completion you receive your EIN. There is no charge for this service therefore you should be aware of Internet scams that will try to sell you EIN application services.

Business License

The process of applying for business license may somewhat be complex since different states tend to have varying requirements for specific licenses needed to operate a local gym but this should not worry you.

Just consult with your local business licensing authorities to get an idea of the specific laws that apply to your region.

Registering Your Business with Federal & State Authorities

You need to register with federal and state taxes authorities to pay taxes. The tax situation both at the state level and local authority level may vary depending on the locality of your gym business and can also vary based on specific tax laws.

Consult with your local and state tax authorities for detailed tax information.

Registering Your Gym’s Business Name

It is important to register the ideal name of your gym business just like most other enterprises. The process of registering your business name is not complex although it may vary from place to place.

If your business is sole-proprietorship, then you can simply register it under your name.

Once again, the rules and regulations for registering a business name may vary from one state to the next.

Acquire Business Insurance Before Opening Your Gym

Obtaining business insurance for your gym is vital in case someone using your gym is injured in the process of working out. This sometimes can be a must requirement if you want to operate a gym depending on the state laws.

Even more good reason, since high intensity exercise occurs on a near-constant basis, injury is always inevitable even when great safety rules are observed.

Other Legal Requirements of Starting A Gym

Employer Registrations: This is essential if you have any employees. It requires you to make unemployment insurance contribution.

Daycare License: If your gym has a play area or daycare where children can play while their parents work out, it is important to apply for a daycare license to ensure both you and them are protected.

State Resources

Alabama

Popular cities to open a gym in Alabama include Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Alabama.

Alaska

Popular cities to open a gym in Alaska include Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Alaska.

Arizona

Popular cities to open a gym in Arizona include Phoenix, Tucson, and Mesa. Check this website to get more information on starting a business in Arizona.

Arkansas

Popular cities to open a gym in Arkansas include Little Rock, Fayetteville, and Fort Smith. Go through here to get more info on starting a business in Arkansas.

California

Popular cities to open a gym in California include Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in California.

Colorado

Popular cities to open a gym in Colorado include Denver, Colorado Springs, and Aurora. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Colorado.

Connecticut

Popular cities to open a gym in Connecticut include Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Connecticut.

Delaware

Popular cities to open a gym in Delaware include Wilmington, Newark, and Dover. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Delaware.

Florida

Popular cities to open a gym in Florida include Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa. Click this link to get more information on starting a business in Florida.

Georgia

Popular cities to open a gym in Georgia include Atlanta, Augusta, and Columbus. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Georgia.

Hawaii

Popular cities to open a gym in Hawaii include Honolulu, Pearl City, and Hilo. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Hawaii.

Idaho

Popular cities to open a gym in Idaho include Boise and Nampa. Go here to get more information on starting a business in Idaho.

Illinois

Popular cities to open a gym in Illinois include Chicago, Aurora, and Rockford. You can visit here to get more information on starting a gym in Illinois.

Indiana

Popular cities to open a gym in Indiana include Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Evansville. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Indiana.

Iowa

Popular cities to open a gym in Iowa include Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Davenport. Click this link to get more information on starting a business in Iowa.

Kansas

Popular cities to open a gym in Kansas include Wichita, Overland Park, Kansas City. Go check here to get more information on opening a business in Kansas.

Kentucky

Popular cities to open a gym in Kentucky include Louisville and Lexington. Click here to get more information on starting a business in Kentucky.

Louisiana

Popular cities to open a gym in Louisiana include New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport. Visit this link to get more information on starting a business in Louisiana.

Maine

Popular cities to open a gym in Maine include Portland, Lewiston, and Bangor. Click through here to get more info on starting a business in Maine.

Maryland

Popular cities to open a gym in Maryland include Baltimore, Frederick, and Rockville. Click on this link to get more information on starting a business in Maryland.

Massachusetts

Popular cities to open a gym in Massachusetts include Boston, Worcester, and Springfield. Click through here to get more information on starting any business in Massachusetts.

Michigan

Popular cities to open a gym in Michigan include Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Warren. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Michigan.

Minnesota

Popular cities to open a gym in Minnesota include Minneapolis, St Paul, and Rochester. Click here to get more information on starting a business in Minnesota.

Mississippi

Popular cities to open a gym in Mississippi include Jackson, Gulfport, and Southaven. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Mississippi.

Missouri

Popular cities to open a gym in Missouri include Kansas City, St Louis, and Springfield. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Missouri.

Montana

Popular cities to open a gym in Montana include Billings, Missoula, and Great Falls. Click to get more information on starting a business in Montana.

Nebraska

Popular cities to open a gym in Nebraska include Omaha, Lincoln, and Bellevue. Click through here to get more information on opening a business in Nebraska.

Nevada

Popular cities to open a gym in Nevada include Las Vegas, Henderson, and Reno. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Nevada.

New Hampshire

Popular cities to open a gym in New Hampshire include Manchester, Nashua, and Concord. Click through here to get more info on opening a business in New Hampshire.

New Jersey

Popular cities to open a gym in New Jersey include Newark, Jersey City, and Paterson. Click this link to get more information on starting a business in New Jersey.

New Mexico

Popular cities to open a gym in New Mexico include Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Rio Rancho. Click through here to get more information on starting a local business in New Mexico.

New York

Popular cities to open a gym in New York include New York City, Buffalo, and Rochester. Click through here to get more information on opening a business in New York.

North Carolina

Popular cities to open a gym in North Carolina include Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro. Go here to get more information on starting a business in North Carolina.

North Dakota

Popular cities to open a gym in North Dakota include Grand Forks, Fargo, and Bismarck. Click through here to get more info on starting a business in North Dakota.

Ohio

Popular cities to open a gym in Ohio include Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Click through here to get more details on starting your gym business in Ohio.

Oklahoma

Popular cities to open a gym in Oklahoma include Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Norman. Click through here to get more information on starting your business in Oklahoma.

Oregon

Popular cities to open a gym in Oregon include Portland, Eugene, and Salem. Click here to find out more information on starting a business in Oregon.

Pennsylvania

Popular cities to open a gym in Pennsylvania include Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown. Click to read more information on starting a business in Pennsylvania.

Rhode Island

Popular cities to open a gym in Rhode Island include Providence, Warwick, and Cranston. Click on this link here to get more information on starting a business in Rhode Island.

South Carolina

Popular cities to open a gym in South Carolina include Columbia, Charleston, and North Charleston. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in South Carolina.

South Dakota

Popular cities to start a gym in South Dakota include Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Aberdeen. Read more here to get more information on starting a business in South Dakota.

Tennessee

Popular cities to open a gym in Tennessee include Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville. Click to read more information on opening a business in Tennessee.

Texas

Popular cities to open a gym in Texas include Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Texas.

Utah

Popular cities to start a gym in Utah include Salt Lake City, West Valley City, and Provo. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Utah.

Vermont

Popular cities to start a gym in Vermont include Burlington and Essex. Click through here to get more information on starting a business in Vermont.

Virginia

Popular cities to open a gym in Virginia include Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Chesapeake. Click through here to get more information on opening a business in Virginia.

Washington

Popular cities to start a gym in Washington include Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. Visit this page to get more information on starting a business in Washington.

West Virginia

Popular cities to start a gym in West Virginia include Charleston, Huntington, and Parkersburg. Go to this link to get more information on starting a business in West Virginia.

Wisconsin

Popular cities to start a gym in Wisconsin include Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay. Click here to get more information on opening your own business in Wisconsin.

Wyoming

Popular cities to start a gym in Wyoming include Cheyenne and Casper. Get more information here on opening a business in Wyoming.

Getting Started

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. From choosing the right location, to buying the right kind of fitness equipment, be sure to leave no stone unturned when opening a new gym.

Estimate & Secure Start Up Capital

Everything to do with opening a gym requires money. You need to be armed with enough money to survive through the ‘startup storms’ as your business gradually takes over the market.

Start-up capital will vary from location to location, but at bare minimum you should set aside $350,000 if you are in an expensive city. If you are planning to open a state-of-the-art gym facility then you will need much more than that no doubt to build out your facility.

If you don’t have this money upfront then you can look at other options like financing, angel investors, or venture capitalists to provide the support.

Secure The Right Location

The foremost step to open a gym is identification of the right location. Ideally, you should set up your business in a place with good visibility, easy access, and parking facilities.

It is ideal to open in an area with very few fitness options providing the same offerings as you. Note that there are many barriers that are involved in picking the right location and so you need to have patience to negotiate your way around various offers.

Rent prices should also be at the forefront of your mind. In high end areas, rent may be very expensive. So unless you own your gym’s building outright, be sure to find and negotiate for the best deal possible.

Plan Your Marketing In Advance

Branding is everything in business and you can take two options to this effect. The first option is to start branding from scratch through online marketing or local marketing.

You need to put in lots of effort in order to build a brand that sells.

The second option involves franchising. When you operate a franchise, you essentially operate under a large chain which has many other locations across the country. Because the parent company is already established, you will have an easier time getting found and known.

The main drawback of franchising, however, is that some of the profit margin from your gym will go to the mother company. So, consider your options wisely.

Get The Right Gym Equipment

We recommend buying used gym equipment when just starting out versus trying to buy brand new. The main benefit of used gym equipment is that it is typically near-new quality and requires a much lower amount of capital outlay.

Purchasing used gym equipment gives you full confidence you can properly equip your gym without spending all your start up capital.

Plus, in a worse case scenario, you operate assured that should the business fail you will not have to be penalized for not complying with leasing terms associated with leased equipment.

Moreover, you can own it forever if you want or resell it in order to upgrade when you’re ready.

Indoor gym equipment

Regarding exercise equipment, the best gyms in the world are those that offer a variety of equipment options to their clientele. Most people come to the gym to build strength, flexibility and cardio.

You’ll need a collection of equipment to cover all these objectives.

Free weights such as barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells for resistance training. Other free weights that are a must have in a successful gym include: squat racks, bench presses, dead-lift mats, dip racks and racks for dumbbells.

Cardio machines are also an integral part to your gym. For this reason you need to invest in stationary bikes, treadmills and stair masters. These are just but a few examples of machines you should consider to investing in.

Consider Offering Fitness Classes

You don’t have to limit yourself to gym related lessons. You can expand your course to include other important lifestyle fitness classes such as boot camps and martial arts classes.

Zumba, Pilates and Yoga are other popular classes that you can implement in order to attract a wider audience to your gym.

Hire Personal Trainers

Trainers are one of the most important components of any gym. For this reason you need to get your interviewing on point in order to bring the right team on board. Remember, your employees are the true face of your company and they need to be professional, friendly, and healthy.

Most importantly, they should be responsible individuals who are capable of ensuring fair usage of equipment and protection of your company’s assets. Alongside trainers, you may need to hire front desk staff to handle checking members in and admin duties for the gym.

You may also need to get some training (if you’re not a fitness expert already) just to get in sync with what is happening in the industry.

Avoid Common Mistakes

80% of new businesses don’t live to see their 5th year. This being the case, it is important to put in place adequate measures right from the starting point.

One mistake you need to be particularly keen on is spending too much time in the gym training instead of focusing on building your business. As the business owner, you need to take marketing more seriously than anything else.

At the same time you need to be very keen on feedback. In most cases we tend to believe so much in our ideas that we mistakenly think that everyone is motivated and in line with our brand equally. We often end up championing for our own interests instead of meeting customers’ expectations first.

Well, in the case of running of gym you need to be very keen to listen to your customer feedback. So be open to new ideas and keep improving your services and offerings.

Another big turn-off to some clients is related to the organization and layout of the gym. Most of the times we build gyms that mostly favor the trainers instead of the everyday people.

Avoid committing this mistake by making sure your gym is suitable even to beginners and everyday users.

Bottom Line

Remember that any successful business requires a great deal of commitment on the owner’s part in order to rise beyond the challenges of a start up.

This level of commitment is particularly necessary when important decisions such as selection of location, equipment and staff have to be made.

We hope the points discussed in this guide will help you get off on the right foot with opening your own local gym!