Fitness Studio Business Plan
A well crafted fitness studio business plan is essential when you are starting a studio.
Updated: June 1, 2024
Fitness Studio Business Plan:
A well crafted fitness studio business plan is essential when you are starting a studio as it helps you run your business successfully by identifying key market dynamics, illuminating opportunities for competitive advantage, and providing key performance metrics to focus on.
Critical decisions as where to locate your gym, how large would be the space and whether to to buy or lease, how many staff members you need to hire, what should be their pay rates, most effective ways to promote your fitness business, how many fitness classes and what type of classes and training programs you will offer, can be decided by your fitness studio business plan.
Revising your business plan or creating one if you never have can help boosting your bottom line and to grow if you own and operate an already established fitness business. Your fitness studio business plan should reflect where your fitness business is in the moment, and let stakeholders know where you are going and how you plan to get there. You are helping people accomplish their fitness goals and to live healthier lives by starting a fitness business Key Elements of Fitness Studio Business Plan:
You need to have the right exercise equipment and think about the type of client you will be serving, membership and subscription fees, hosting fitness classes, and finding new ways to differentiate your fitness center from the competition which is possible by starting off with a business plan.Below are the key elements of any good fitness studio business plan:
Executive Summary:
- You need to mention why and What is the purpose of your fitness business plan in this section.
- Executive Summary should also include what are the elements you are going to include in your gym business plan and why?, how will this business plan demonstrate the viability of your fitness studio over time? and what are your long term goals as well as how will you define success?
- This will not only give you confidence to weather the ups and downs of running your own business, but show potential investors that you are prepared with a solid vision backed up by well researched facts and figures.
- You can also add a few lines about your fitness business 'why' that inspire and demonstrate your passion and commitment as a gym or fitness business entrepreneur.
Company Overview:
- All the details about who, what, where, when and why your fitness business exists should be provided in company overview.
- Your mission and vision with a detailed description of the type of services your fitness business offers and to whom should be included.
- Clear and concise information about the products and services you offer, the reason you started your fitness business and what differentiates you in your local market can be mentioned in this section.
- Things like how is your gym or fitness studio structured?, Is it independently owned by a single or more people or is it a franchise?, is there more than one location?, what is the structure of ownership?, are there shares?, how are important business decisions made and by whom? should be included.
Industry Analysis:
- You need to spent time to research your market, understand trends and map the competitive landscape to grow fitness business.
- You need to know your target demographic in terms of age, gender, income and other lifestyle factors.
- You should understand your population size and how far are the people living in your area willing to travel to work out.
- You should be aware of your major competitors and get to know their pricing and promotions.
- Research about any unmet need in your area that your fitness business can tap into.
- The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for competing gyms and your fitness studio can be considered by using a SWOT format.
- You need to make sure that you are on top of the latest national and global fitness industry trends such as online workouts and gym-goer's preference for small boutique fitness experiences versus big box gyms.
- You should also be aware off the innovative programs and services offered by top companies offering and why they are offering?
Marketing Strategy:
- You needs to have a solid, multi-channel marketing strategy for your fitness business to maximize the exposure of your brand to potential new customers.
- Getting recommendations through your community is an important step in building a thriving fitness community in long term.
- Digital marketing platforms like social media, local search and email can be used efficiently to effectively run promotional programs.
- You can have a fitness business software platform to track your customer's engagement and include email, web and social media integrations which will help running promotional program effectively.
Key People:
- All the key members of your fitness studio leadership team should be listed and the professional, biographical information that highlights their skills and experience should be included.
- The leadership team o your gym may include owners, board members, lead instructors, sales and customer service representative, investors and any business advisors you may have brought on board.
- You need to describe how each person on the team will contribute guide your fitness business to success.
- Compensation structures and information about performance bonuses should also be considered.
- You should plan ahead for an eventual sale of your fitness business and formalize how owners and/or investors will be paid.
Financials:
- You should base your financial projections on fact.
- Always over-estimate expenses and under-estimate revenues including being realistic about membership sales, seasonal fluctuations, attendance and staff turn-over.
- You need to figure out what your revenue per class or training session needs to be by calculating the monthly expenses of your gym to cover your expenses plus owners' compensation.
- How many class passes and/or monthly membership's your fitness business will need to be profitable can be determined from this.
- You will need a steady stream of potential new students coming through each month , and know at what rate they will convert into long term customers.
- You should know the average new student conversion rate of your fitness niche.
- You should build out at least five years of financial profit and loss estimates by taking into account any rent increases in your lease, taxes, increases in instructor pay.
Starting a Fitness Studio Business:
Starting a fitness business requires a lot more than providing excellent equipment, professional instruction, and personal training.The steps you will need to take to start your fitness business are:
Decide on the kind of fitness business you want to operate:
- There are many different kinds of fitness businesses with pros and cons to each.
- You can become a personal trainer, teach classes, or operate your own facility.
- You can be a personal trainer if you want to start a fitness business with no money,.
- This is a low overhead venture, but it requires in-depth knowledge of exercise and nutrition techniques.
- You can lean on the expertise of others, being an operating a facility. But, it requires a lot of overhead.
- Gym franchising options can also be considered when thinking about starting a fitness business.
- Zumba studio, Physical therapy, Spin classes, Powerlifting gym, Yoga studio and Pilates studio are some popular options to consider.
Get trained:
- You need to have some background in fitness whether you want to know how to start a fitness training business or manage a gym in order for people to actually think you know what you're doing.
- You can get legitimate certifications from either the NCCA (National Commission of Certifying Agencies) or the DEAC (Distance Education Accrediting Commission).
Create business plan and select an entity:
- An analysis of the market, Who your competition is, Marketing and sales plan as well as Financial plan and projections are some of the factors to consider when writing your business plan.
- A business plan template can also be used to make sure you cover all of your bases.
- Make sure there is a need for your business and you will be able to generate enough business to continue operating after you have invested so much to get started.
- Selecting your business entity is another important part of your business plan when starting up a fitness business.
- A business entity that offers owners some protection from liability should be chosen.
- A limited liability company or limited liability partnership might be more suitable for you if you are looking for some liability protection.
Get necessary permits and insurance:
- Certain business licenses and permits are required to operate a gym in your state and locality.
- You need to check with clerk office of your town, city, or county to make sure you are following all the regulations outlined by your various governing agencies for starting a fitness business.
- Certificate of occupancy is the most required permit that you should have that confirms that all building codes, zoning laws, and government regulations have been met.
- It is typically the landlord's responsibility to obtain a certificate of occupancy if you are leasing your gym space.
- People can trip over, and doing other potentially hazardous activities when they are going to be working out, using equipment, walking around things
- Therefore, make sure you get small business insurance for a host of scenarios so that the business is covered if anything happens to someone while they are in your gym.
- Insurance should also be taken for the event that equipment is stolen or damaged.
- Personal trainer insurance should also be taken by your instructors.
Get an employer identification number (EIN):
- A employer identification number allows you to open a business bank account, file taxes and avoid tax penalties, speed up loan applications, establish business credit, and a lot more.
- An employer identification number can be applied online through the IRS.
- You should receive an EIN within minutes if you register with the IRS online.
- Although an EIN is not required for fitness businesses operating as sole proprietorships, it is still a good idea to get one for the aforementioned benefits.
Get funding:
- The cost of starting a gym varies a lot whether it is a digital gym or a physical one.
- You can either Fund it yourself, Partner with an investor or Secure a business loan
- You will need to have some savings as getting a fitness business up and running takes some time.
- You can take a SBA loan, a business line of credit, or a personal loan for some startup funding.
- A business line of credit would be much helpful as it gives you access to money that you could pull from if you needed it in your early days of starting a fitness business and you only have to pay interest on the funds you actually draw on..
- Gym equipment financing is another great option if you want to start a fitness business with no money.
- The gym equipment purchased with financing will act as collateral for the gym equipment finance loan used to purchase it.
Create a website:
- A fitness website should be build to display your services and allow for online bookings.
- Your website is the place where people come to learn more about you and your services, book a session with you, sign up for a membership, watch your training videos and purchase your apparel
- SEO strategies can be implemented that help your site rank higher in search results.
- SEO tools can also be used that will give your site a boost.
- A free blog can be created to share the latest fitness industry trends, workout tips or personal stories.
- Your name, phone number, email address and social channels should be included so that clients can reach you.
- A custom email address looks more professional than personal one.
- Recommendations and personal stories from your clients should be featured.
- Fitness equipment, healthy foods and apparel can be sold in an online store.
- You need to mention why and What is the purpose of your fitness business plan in this section.
- Executive Summary should also include what are the elements you are going to include in your gym business plan and why?, how will this business plan demonstrate the viability of your fitness studio over time? and what are your long term goals as well as how will you define success?
- This will not only give you confidence to weather the ups and downs of running your own business, but show potential investors that you are prepared with a solid vision backed up by well researched facts and figures.
- You can also add a few lines about your fitness business 'why' that inspire and demonstrate your passion and commitment as a gym or fitness business entrepreneur.
- All the details about who, what, where, when and why your fitness business exists should be provided in company overview.
- Your mission and vision with a detailed description of the type of services your fitness business offers and to whom should be included.
- Clear and concise information about the products and services you offer, the reason you started your fitness business and what differentiates you in your local market can be mentioned in this section.
- Things like how is your gym or fitness studio structured?, Is it independently owned by a single or more people or is it a franchise?, is there more than one location?, what is the structure of ownership?, are there shares?, how are important business decisions made and by whom? should be included.
- You need to spent time to research your market, understand trends and map the competitive landscape to grow fitness business.
- You need to know your target demographic in terms of age, gender, income and other lifestyle factors.
- You should understand your population size and how far are the people living in your area willing to travel to work out.
- You should be aware of your major competitors and get to know their pricing and promotions.
- Research about any unmet need in your area that your fitness business can tap into.
- The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for competing gyms and your fitness studio can be considered by using a SWOT format.
- You need to make sure that you are on top of the latest national and global fitness industry trends such as online workouts and gym-goer's preference for small boutique fitness experiences versus big box gyms.
- You should also be aware off the innovative programs and services offered by top companies offering and why they are offering?
- You needs to have a solid, multi-channel marketing strategy for your fitness business to maximize the exposure of your brand to potential new customers.
- Getting recommendations through your community is an important step in building a thriving fitness community in long term.
- Digital marketing platforms like social media, local search and email can be used efficiently to effectively run promotional programs.
- You can have a fitness business software platform to track your customer's engagement and include email, web and social media integrations which will help running promotional program effectively.
- All the key members of your fitness studio leadership team should be listed and the professional, biographical information that highlights their skills and experience should be included.
- The leadership team o your gym may include owners, board members, lead instructors, sales and customer service representative, investors and any business advisors you may have brought on board.
- You need to describe how each person on the team will contribute guide your fitness business to success.
- Compensation structures and information about performance bonuses should also be considered.
- You should plan ahead for an eventual sale of your fitness business and formalize how owners and/or investors will be paid.
- You should base your financial projections on fact.
- Always over-estimate expenses and under-estimate revenues including being realistic about membership sales, seasonal fluctuations, attendance and staff turn-over.
- You need to figure out what your revenue per class or training session needs to be by calculating the monthly expenses of your gym to cover your expenses plus owners' compensation.
- How many class passes and/or monthly membership's your fitness business will need to be profitable can be determined from this.
- You will need a steady stream of potential new students coming through each month , and know at what rate they will convert into long term customers.
- You should know the average new student conversion rate of your fitness niche.
- You should build out at least five years of financial profit and loss estimates by taking into account any rent increases in your lease, taxes, increases in instructor pay.
- There are many different kinds of fitness businesses with pros and cons to each.
- You can become a personal trainer, teach classes, or operate your own facility.
- You can be a personal trainer if you want to start a fitness business with no money,.
- This is a low overhead venture, but it requires in-depth knowledge of exercise and nutrition techniques.
- You can lean on the expertise of others, being an operating a facility. But, it requires a lot of overhead.
- Gym franchising options can also be considered when thinking about starting a fitness business.
- Zumba studio, Physical therapy, Spin classes, Powerlifting gym, Yoga studio and Pilates studio are some popular options to consider.
- You need to have some background in fitness whether you want to know how to start a fitness training business or manage a gym in order for people to actually think you know what you're doing.
- You can get legitimate certifications from either the NCCA (National Commission of Certifying Agencies) or the DEAC (Distance Education Accrediting Commission).
- An analysis of the market, Who your competition is, Marketing and sales plan as well as Financial plan and projections are some of the factors to consider when writing your business plan.
- A business plan template can also be used to make sure you cover all of your bases.
- Make sure there is a need for your business and you will be able to generate enough business to continue operating after you have invested so much to get started.
- Selecting your business entity is another important part of your business plan when starting up a fitness business.
- A business entity that offers owners some protection from liability should be chosen.
- A limited liability company or limited liability partnership might be more suitable for you if you are looking for some liability protection.
- Certain business licenses and permits are required to operate a gym in your state and locality.
- You need to check with clerk office of your town, city, or county to make sure you are following all the regulations outlined by your various governing agencies for starting a fitness business.
- Certificate of occupancy is the most required permit that you should have that confirms that all building codes, zoning laws, and government regulations have been met.
- It is typically the landlord's responsibility to obtain a certificate of occupancy if you are leasing your gym space.
- People can trip over, and doing other potentially hazardous activities when they are going to be working out, using equipment, walking around things
- Therefore, make sure you get small business insurance for a host of scenarios so that the business is covered if anything happens to someone while they are in your gym.
- Insurance should also be taken for the event that equipment is stolen or damaged.
- Personal trainer insurance should also be taken by your instructors.
- A employer identification number allows you to open a business bank account, file taxes and avoid tax penalties, speed up loan applications, establish business credit, and a lot more.
- An employer identification number can be applied online through the IRS.
- You should receive an EIN within minutes if you register with the IRS online.
- Although an EIN is not required for fitness businesses operating as sole proprietorships, it is still a good idea to get one for the aforementioned benefits.
- The cost of starting a gym varies a lot whether it is a digital gym or a physical one.
- You can either Fund it yourself, Partner with an investor or Secure a business loan
- You will need to have some savings as getting a fitness business up and running takes some time.
- You can take a SBA loan, a business line of credit, or a personal loan for some startup funding.
- A business line of credit would be much helpful as it gives you access to money that you could pull from if you needed it in your early days of starting a fitness business and you only have to pay interest on the funds you actually draw on..
- Gym equipment financing is another great option if you want to start a fitness business with no money.
- The gym equipment purchased with financing will act as collateral for the gym equipment finance loan used to purchase it.
- A fitness website should be build to display your services and allow for online bookings.
- Your website is the place where people come to learn more about you and your services, book a session with you, sign up for a membership, watch your training videos and purchase your apparel
- SEO strategies can be implemented that help your site rank higher in search results.
- SEO tools can also be used that will give your site a boost.
- A free blog can be created to share the latest fitness industry trends, workout tips or personal stories.
- Your name, phone number, email address and social channels should be included so that clients can reach you.
- A custom email address looks more professional than personal one.
- Recommendations and personal stories from your clients should be featured.
- Fitness equipment, healthy foods and apparel can be sold in an online store.