Today, many people require some extra motivation and advice on getting to a fitness level that they’re happy with. Whether they simply want to shed some weight or pack on the pounds in the form of muscle mass, a personal trainer can be the best person to guide them through this process.
If you are a personal trainer, there’s a strong chance you’ve considered working freelance, taking on your own clients, or you’ve been doing so already. While this is perfectly viable to do without your own base of operations, starting your very own gym can be the best business decision you make. We’ve put together this handy guide to help you get started on this journey.
Choose A Good Location To Attract Your Audience
As with most properties, location is probably the most important thing to consider. Not only is it great for your gym to be somewhere that looks nice and has pleasant surroundings, but a few other things should be considered too.
First of all, you’ll want to ensure your gym is located somewhere where people can get to easily and with limited competition. Suppose you find somewhere that lacks a gym or exercise facilities. In that case, there is a strong chance that the neighborhood will jump at using your new gym rather than one further away, as distance plays a key role in whether people visit the gym regularly or not.
A nearby gym is much more convenient, especially if people have limited time to exercise due to a busy schedule. At the same time, you want to ensure that your gym is situated somewhere welcoming in a good neighborhood if possible. Otherwise, you run the risk of certain people avoiding it and choosing a gym that is somewhere safer.
Consider The Costs Of Opening And Running A Gym
Both opening and running a successful gym are going to cost you. It’s easy to forget the monthly costs when you have quite a large sum to pay to get started. It might be worth creating a budget and sticking to it so you can be sure that you have the right amount you need for the whole project. Split that budget into two categories.
One should be focused on opening costs, including things like purchasing equipment and paying a deposit or paying a few months of rent upfront and renovation costs. Then in your next category, you’ll want to factor in the recurring costs. This will include everything that you pay monthly or annually, such as rent or mortgage repayments, loan repayments, utility bills, and licensing fees.
Hire A Team And Make Sure Everyone Is Qualified
Your next step after securing a property that you’re happy with is to figure out whether you’re going to hire employees or not. The chances are, you’re going to struggle with doing this whole project alone.
However, whether you hire employees or not, you’ll want to ensure you’ve got the right qualifications for the job, such as a degree from one of the many sports university courses like those available at the University of Stirling. You’ll then also want to ensure you have the right license to work as a personal trainer.
This will first allow you to provide the right advice and training to your clients and, secondly, prove to those prospective clients that you’re up to the task. If you do end up hiring some other employees, you’ll want to ensure that they are properly qualified, too, before allowing them to train anyone.
Decide On A Specific Niche For Your Establishment
There are a number of different types of gyms out there today, such as small micro-gyms allowing trainers to focus on one client or a small group, or sprawling multi-story gyms with space for hundreds of people to train and workout simultaneously. The larger the gym, of course, the more employees you’ll need.
In contrast, the smaller the gym, the less you’ll be paying on overheads, on average, but the lower your profits will be too. Decide on what you want from this venture and plan your gym accordingly. If you’re looking at running classes of medium to large groups of people, you’re going to want some good floor space in your gym to hold those classes and allow other clients to use equipment undisturbed by said classes.
Get The Right Paperwork To Ensure Compliance
Health and safety should be your top priority when running a gym. Regardless of your qualifications and professionalism, there is always a risk that someone is going to get injured. It’s important, then, to ensure you and your team are compliant with health and safety regulations in the UK.
You can do this by rigorously studying the correct paperwork provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on operating a space like this and implementing stringent safety procedures in your gym. You need to ensure that you and your team have been following the rules so that in the event someone does get injured, you’re able to demonstrate that you’re not at fault.
These procedures should also include what to do to assist someone that sustains an injury, as it is still your duty to ensure that your clients are safe and cared for even if the accident was their own fault.
