[quote]Black Thorn wrote:
A pair of paralel bars/dipping station (presuming the power rack can be used as a chinning bar). If it can’t be used like this, a chinning bar, to.
Strength, Vlad[/quote]
Dipping bars attach to each power station, each power station has a utility bench too
Jackson
[quote]ksopp wrote:
ok, before you open a gym, here are some questions you need to think about, some food for thought so to speak.
Is the area that you plan to start a gym, blue collar? I ask this question because chances are if you are trying to open a hardcore gym, you need to make sure that it will attract the right crowd of people.
White collar folks simply don’t want to get shit between their toes. Case in point: the last gym i trained at Marco’s Powerfactory was in a pretty white collar area, but it ran out of business, the gym i train at now is a very blue collar neighborhood and is definitely attracting the right kind of people.
I know that not so many people think of that but it is soo true. it is far more simple than people think, psychology plays a huge part in how us humans think, that’s why gyms like Metroflex, Westside Barbell, Nazareth Barbell, etc. are in blue collar areas.
Another thing to consider is p.r. (public relations) by that i mean use a website like EliteFts, or even nastrongman to attract some big names to your gym. If you can get someone like Ed Coan, Jesse Marunde, or Hugo Girard(since he lives in Canada) to train at you gym, many hardcore lifters will be interested.
Also go to local powerlifting, and strongman meets, maybe even boxing or wrestling matches and talk to them about your gym. Pretty soon word will get around, and you should attract the elite, hardcore crowd.
[/quote]
What do you think of sponsoring a strongman event or the occasional lifting meet?
[quote]steelwheels wrote:
A couple of points that, I think, need considering.
How much competition is in the immediate area and what facilities do they offer, prices, equipment?
What is the culture of the local people ie city slickers, manual workers etc.? Whilst many at T-Nation may want to use sandbags, kegs etc., are they likely to attract people to the facility. Unfortunately, people DO like using the smith machine!
Are you planning on holding back some of your budget to cover, what may be a slow start to the business? Sometimes, people (not necessarily you, just people in general) just jump in to things both feet first without covering all angles and looking at all possible problems.
If people can only train outside for 5 months of the year the cv equipment looks a bit sparce. A couple of secondhand concept II rowers could probably be bought fairly cheaply.
I’d also look at buying all your equipment as reconditioned as opposed to new. You usually can’t tell the difference. Is there also enough equipment for team drill/workouts etc.?
I do think not charging membership fees is a mistake. Not everyone will want to pay for one of your programmes, want to be part of a camp or be an athete. By broadening who you cater for you’ll maximise your potential revenue.
Also, to bring some revenue in quickly you could offer lifetime membership for the first 15-20 takers, for say $1000. This would ease some of the financial burden straight away and you’d probably be less stressed!
[/quote]
Good Points,
I am buying as much as i can second hand, so I agree with you on that one.
I have held back some money, and I can afford to pay the lease out of pocket so I am not too worried about going under. My goal is to create enough revenue (1000 dollars per month) to pay the lease and allow me to double in size for the following year.
Considering that there is a lack of space, I do not want to sell memberships to non-athletes in case it gets conjested and I lose the clients that I am trying to attract.
Athletes will be allowed to purchase a “membership” to the club, but only after they have completed one of my programs.
Right now my primary goal is to build better athletes to create a “buzz” about what I am doing and create a loyal client base that I can expand on next year.
You are right about the cardio equipment, maybe I will purchase 6 bikes and a treadmill to start.
Thanks for your input,
Jackson
Congrats on opening your own place. I own personal training studio, 1190 sq. ft. and have been open for about 1.5 years. If you are looking to make money, do not target athlete’s they don’t have any money. Unless they are Pro’s.
Even if wealthy, parents do not want to pay for it. Target the average and below average looking Joe, they have money and spend $2-3,000 a month in direct mailings. Get a list of all the people in a 10 mile radius that make $75k and up and hit them with multiple impressions.
Find a mailing company in your area or try GetMembers.com. I am a T-man, but not everyone is. You sound like you have way too much hardcore equip. It will clutter your place, make it dirty and intimidate any out of shape person that comes in.
People like a clean place where they feel comfortable. My studio is not where I workout, I go to a grungy gym. A hardcore type gym will not generate 50-60 dollars a session. At 1200 sq. ft. you will not be able to support a membership type gym. Think about how many people go to the gym at 5-6 p.m.
Now picture 10-15 people in the dead of winter trying to workout in your place at one time. It will be chaos and people will not be happy and they will leave. Put together a personal training type studio and have appointment only type training. Train 2-3 people at a time.
Make it private and exclusive. People love to hear that. I would love to talk to you about this if you want to pm me. I owned three studios at one time, built two up and sold them for a good amount of money. I will help you any way I can. Good Luck!!!
I took a whole class on this type of thing, and it’s not entirely a fun project.
Planning and designing is, but when you have to do things according to the ADA (though you’re in Canada, not sure what the regulations are there for the disabled), but there’s a ton of crap you have to take into account here in the US.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned, but with the type of people you want to train/attract, then get some stability balls and medicine balls (along with the other stuff you listed).
One thing that I know a lot of hardcore folks have started doing is getting agroup of 10 folks togetehr who love to train and have everyone throw in 30-40 a month to cover rent, etc. Then you can get keycard access to the facility for everyon. There are some insurance issues, as there will be with any training, but if you can get a few guys who chip in you should be good.
In ternms of equipment, I would make several boxes for plyos, step ups, and the all important box squat. I would also see about selling your dumbbells and there is an implement where you basically attach weight and then screw it on for dumbbells. The name is escaping me, but you can attach a ton of weight and they function just as dumbbells.
Also, you probably only need 1 more power rack at the outset and 1 bike (which I would also say is otional).
Instead of those things, I would recommend buying/making a rickshaw which can be used for many things and a Safety Squat Bar. Those are both multi-functional and are really must haves for a gym like you are talking about. Plus, the racks alone are several hundred for something that is going to last u more than a year.