Fitness center: how to open from scratch? Where to begin?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Recently, various fitness clubs have become popular. And this is not surprising. This area is developing at a rapid pace. In addition, a fitness center is a good option for business. What should you start with? How to open a fitness center for the disabled, pregnant women and those who take care of their bodies? Read about it in our review.

Since you can open your fitness center from scratch within a month, you should start by collecting documents and choosing a room. It is worth considering that there is little competition in this industry. You can enter this business without much difficulty. For a fitness center to make a profit, you need to choose the right place for it and correctly draw up a business plan.

Business Features

What is a modern fitness center? How to open it and where to start? First of all, you should understand the features of this type of activity. A modern fitness center is not an ordinary rocking chair. All amenities for visitors should be provided here. If this is not the case, then the institution will not be visited. After all, many people want to practice their favorite sport in more comfortable conditions. Agree, no one will pay money for visiting a regular gym with exercise equipment, where there is no shower and air conditioning. A modern fitness center should be equipped with innovative technology.

To visit the institution, it is not at all necessary to rent large premises where there is a pool. A hall located in a residential area is perfect. This fitness center will be visited more often. It is enough to find a room with a total area of 100 square meters. The main thing is to find professional trainers and purchase exercise equipment.

How much money do you need for a fitness center? How to open an institution and not spend too much? The cost depends on the location where the fitness center is located. It should be borne in mind that a room rented in the city center will cost more. Such an institution will pay off within several years, and you will not receive profit during this time. It is for this reason that you should look for a hall in a residential area. The cost of rent here is much lower.

Choose the right room

How to open a fitness center for pregnant women and just for athletes and how to get a quick profit? As already mentioned, a lot depends on the room and its location. When choosing a suitable hall, the following points should be considered:

1. Fitness center should be located in a convenient location for visitors.
2. The premises should be located away from competitors.
3. You should choose densely populated areas, where there are a lot of high-rise buildings with residential apartments.
4. The transport interchange is also very important.
5. The room should have a high-quality ventilation system, as well as bathrooms and showers.

A property purchased is a better option than a rental property. How to make the fitness center more visited? How to open an institution and not burn out? Additional services, such as a sauna, will help here. Such additions have become very popular in recent years. Thanks to this service, the institution will become popular. As a result, attendance and profit will increase.

Also, when drawing up a business plan, it is worth considering that we althier clients will only attend the fitness center where additional services are provided, such as a bar, solarium, beauty massage, and so on. In addition, this will increase profits by another 30%.

How to choose equipment

Since opening a fitness center is a costly task, you should choose not only the premises, but also the equipment. In this case, it all depends on the specialization of the institution. If you are planning to open a regular fitness center, then you will need the following equipment:

1. Exercise equipment for leg press. The cost is from 24 thousand rubles and more.
2. Treadmill, costing from 16 thousand rubles.
3. Smith's car. The cost is about 19 thousand rubles.
4. Equipment for developing chest muscles. Approximate cost - 22 thousand rubles.
5. Equipment for the press - from 5.5 thousand rubles.
6. Barbell rack and bench with a leg machine - from 4 thousand rubles.
7. Bench horizontal. The cost of such equipment is no more than 2.5 thousand rubles.

In addition, you will need to purchase more disks, dumbbells, barbells and so on. If there is not enough money for equipment, then you can lease it.

Additional costs

Before you open a fitness center from scratch, you need to foresee all the costs and evaluate your capabilities. Don't forget about monthly payments. The list of costs includes:

1. Advertising.
2. Taxes.
3. Utilities.
4. Salary of service personnel.
5. Depreciation of equipment.

To open a fitness center from scratch, you should carefully consider the choice of personnel. Coaches must be experienced and highly qualified. Many visitors refuse to visit their favorite fitness center only because of disagreements with a personal mentor. This should be considered.

The profitability of such a business

If you invested about 10 thousand dollars when opening a fitness center, and the cost of one visit is 50 rubles, then the business will pay off in 1.5 years. If the institution is of an elite level, then more investments will be required to begin with. But, as a rule, the cost of one visit to such a fitness center is much higher.

As statistics show, the profitability of such an institution is about 30%.

Can I save money

So how to openfitness center and what can you save on? When starting a new activity, many people worry about how not to spend a lot of money. There are several ways to save money on opening a fitness center:

1. Interior decoration. Often, visitors to fitness centers do not pay attention to what the walls and ceiling of the institution are covered with. When finishing these surfaces, you can refuse expensive and elite materials. It is enough to cover the walls and ceiling with ordinary paint. This will save a decent amount.
2. Equipment can be purchased cheaper and not from well-known manufacturers. In addition, customers do not pay attention to the origin of the simulators. However, the equipment must be of high quality and durable.
3. Advertising. If you open an inexpensive fitness center, then you do not need advertising on the radio or on television. It is enough to stick ads around the area, as well as make an attractive and bright sign. In addition, you can distribute leaflets, as well as advertise on the Internet, social networks, and so on.

What is not worth saving on?

To open a good fitness center, you should not save on everything. Otherwise, only a few customers will visit such an institution, and you will not receive any profit. What not to save on:

1. Paying employees. Only instructors who are highly qualified and have received appropriate training should be hired at the fitness center. It should be remembered that professionals will not agree to work for a small fee.
2. Equipment for microclimate. If the room is constantly stuffy, then customers will refuse to visit such an institution. That is why it is necessary to provide not only a high-quality ventilation system in the hall, but also to install special equipment to create a favorable microclimate. This will create a comfortable temperature in the fitness center.
3. Showers. A good fitness center should have all the conditions for clients. It is better to install several showers. In addition, for such premises it is worth buying expensive and high-quality plumbing. Such products are durable and have a pleasant appearance.

What documents are needed

So, how to open a fitness center? Where to start and how to draw up documents? First of all, it is necessary to clarify all the nuances. Paperwork is a very important process. Since 2009, physical culture and he alth-improving activities have not been subject to licensing. This may be required for medical services.

To open a fitness center, you must register as an individual entrepreneur. This is required to pay the single tax. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that many customers are in no hurry to visit fitness centers opened by individual entrepreneurs. As a rule, they issue subscriptions only to legal entities. To avoid paying huge amounts in taxes, you can register an LLC.

As a result of this, all coaches are registered as individual entrepreneurs and must pay a singletax. The premises are being sub-leased to them. It is worth noting that start-up entrepreneurs may not pay income tax for several years.

Where to get start-up capital?

You have decided to open a fitness center. How to open an institution of such a plan if there is no start-up capital? To enter the market of sports and recreation services, considerable financial costs will be required. Many aspiring entrepreneurs who do not have free cash tend to open their own business without money. But not everyone knows how to do it. In any case, you will need initial capital. Where to get it? You can go to the bank and get a loan.

It's worth remembering that a fitness center opened from scratch pays off within a few years. In addition, an individual entrepreneur can attract private investors to his business who seek to raise their image.

What is the result?

Since opening a fitness center in the basement is not the best option, you will have to look for a more comfortable room. It is worth noting that for an establishment of such a plan, a well-ventilated and lit room is required, equipped not only with exercise equipment, but also with a sauna, showers and, preferably, a massage room. It will take about 40 thousand dollars to open such a fitness center. Such establishments pay off within a year. After that, the profitability of the fitness center depends on the number of regular customers, the availability of additional services, as well as on the pricing policy. Of course, not everyone is able to open a good club. The income of a small gym inyear is from 1 to 10 thousand dollars.

Finally

It is worth noting that a fitness center is a popular and quite promising service for residents of not only big cities, but also small towns. Among the advantages of this type of activity, one should highlight the wide opportunities for the development of such a business, high and stable demand, low level of competition, and so on. The only drawback is the large initial capital required to open a fitness center and purchase equipment.

With a properly and well-designed business plan, profits will begin to flow in a few years. After some time, you can create a whole network of fitness centers. This will bring even more profit. In addition, you can expand an existing establishment. To do this, you can increase the list of additional services. Ideally, a fitness center should have a bar, an aerobics room, massage, manicure and pedicure, shaping, fitness, a solarium, a room for pregnant women and the disabled.