Sports halls in France have almost 6 million members and more than 2.5 billion euros in turnover. So beyond selfies in front of mirrors, protein boxes, and yoga pants, it is an important industry in the French economy.
Also, gyms are reinventing themselves to generate more revenue than ever. As a result, customers are spending more and more time there, to be accompanied not only on a sporting level but also nutritionally or psychologically. They become real living spaces where everyone can "become the best version of themselves."
More entrepreneurs are choosing to enter this market and open a gym.
However, before opening your gym, you must write a good business plan.
Indeed, this document will guide your strategy. Also, it will serve as a support for obtaining funding.
How to successfully build a business plan for a gym?
How to estimate the income it will generate?
How to calculate the initial budget?
How to study the profitability of a fitness room?
What tables should be constructed for the financial part?
Our team answers you today.
To maximize your chances of success, you can also rely on our business plan designed for a gym.
DEVELOPING A GYM BUSINESS PLAN
SHOULD YOU WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN WHEN YOU DECIDE TO OPEN A GYM?
Yes, building a business plan for your gym will help you:
- study the fitness market as a whole
- familiarize yourself with the latest technologies used in gyms
- list the main criteria that allow a gym to succeed
- understand which customer profiles will come to your gym
- identify the desires and expectations of your audience
- study competing halls and gyms
- find competitive advantages for your gym
- build a development plan for your sports project
- identify the risks linked to the management of a sports hall
- prove that your gym will generate profits
Our business plan for a gym will allow you to achieve all these objectives.
WHAT SHOULD A GYM BUSINESS PLAN INCLUDE?
A business plan contains many studies and analyses. Therefore, it is essential to group these elements in a structured way.
The first part is called "Market Opportunity." It will present the fitness market as a whole, the new trends in the sector, and the main success factors for a gym (having a modern gym, offering tailor-made support, offering flexible subscription formulas, etc.)
The second part deals with the "Presentation of the Company," which makes it possible to specify the project setup's contours (the sports hall's location, the practicable disciplines, the equipment made available to members, or the different subscription formulas). This part also presents the value proposition of your gym; it ends with your presentation.
Then comes the "Market Research" part will present the different customer segments and the competing halls and gymnasiums. This part also contains a SWOT matrix, which allows you to synthesize the strengths and weaknesses of your gym while revealing the external opportunities and threats.
The part we call "Strategy" will allow us to introduce a long-term strategy, following very specific steps that will enable you to reach your break-even point. It presents, in particular, the marketing strategy, which will make it possible to find the first customers for your gym, then retain them.
Finally, the business plan ends with a "Finances" section, in which we will present a detailed financial strategy for your gym.
HOW TO BUILD THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF A GYM?
To develop a compliant Executive Summary, you need to summarize the essential points of the business plan designed for a gym.
Remember: Your gym's Executive Summary should be no longer than two pages.
Also, "Executive Summary" is often confused with the "business plan." However, they have different meanings. The Executive Summary is, in fact, the document that summarizes the most important points of a business plan.
HOW TO SUCCEED IN THE MARKET STUDY OF A GYM?
To successfully market research your gym, you must question your potential customers and understand their expectations.
In the "Market Study" part of our business plan for a gym, we find in particular:
- the latest figures on the fitness market
- changes in habits and consumption among gym customers
- analysis SWOT
- the competitive study
- examples of competitive advantages
These elements are essential for the development of the strategy of a gym. THE BASICS OF A GYM BUSINESS PLAN
HOW DO YOU DEFINE THE BUSINESS MODEL OF A GYM?
The provision of a place dedicated to fitness through sports activities defines a sports hall's business or economic model. Depending on the latter's nature, access to sports grounds, fitness equipment, or facilities dedicated to group activities will be available.
The "medium" and "high-end" segments of sports halls also offer relaxation and relaxation areas, such as saunas, spas, jacuzzis, and massages.
In the business plan of its fitness room, we generally present its economic model thanks to a canvas called the Business Model Canvas.
Of course, the business plan we designed for a gym contains the Business Model Canvas (modifiable) adapted to the reality of a gym.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE LOCATION OF A GYM?
The choice of location requires special attention regarding a fitness room.
Indeed, it is an establishment that welcomes the public. This, therefore, requires a room that is both accessible and user-friendly. To meet these two criteria, it is necessary, for example, to find a space in an area well served by public transport.
To ensure sufficient attendance, you can bet on a location near the city center or in a commercial district. Indeed, the traffic in these areas is synonymous with potential customers for your gym. Also, if a location near a residential area is an option, ensure that area has an active demographic.
Also, note that you must have enough space and a high ceiling height (2.80 meters minimum according to the law) so your customers can practice in the right conditions. So, take these two criteria into account when choosing a location.
HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR GYM?
To offer a pleasant and friendly place to your customers on the one hand and to meet safety and hygiene standards on the other hand, development and decoration work is necessarily required.
Here is an example of space management for a gymnasium: 70% of the total area must be reserved for the "gym" part, 20% for changing rooms and relaxation areas, and 10% for administration and space deprived of staff.
Then, you must also divide the gym part into several zones according to the types of activity you offer.
You can, for example, do it in three distinct zones: the cardio-training zone, the free weights zone, and the weight machines zone.
DO YOU HAVE TO JOIN A NETWORK OF FRANCHISES TO OPEN YOUR GYM?
Joining a franchise allows you to benefit from many advantages.
Indeed, with a franchise, you benefit from the opening of your gym of the notoriety of the sign. In addition, you are supported throughout the creation of your business and even afterward: training in business management, accounting, marketing, etc. You benefit from a turnkey solution, proven and perfected brand know-how, limiting your risks as much as possible.
However, do not forget that a brand imposes rules on its franchisees. The main disadvantage is this partial loss of autonomy for you as a leader.
WHAT ARE YOUR GYM'S MARKET SEGMENTS?
We must be able to understand what the audience of a gym is easy.
Examples of market segments are customers who opt for the discovery of sports activities, people who want to lose weight, or even athletes who practice muscle building.
When you define your market segments, base your argument on the data collected during the development of the market study for your gym.
Also, note that our business plan for a gym contains a presentation of the market segments specific to this activity.
HOW TO DO THE COMPETITION STUDY FOR A GYM?
As we did in the gym business plan, you need to discuss competing gyms and venues.
Indeed, it will be necessary to identify their strengths, then compare your gym offer to theirs.
It will help if you differentiate yourself from this competition. And build competitive advantages for your gym.
Clarify that competitive advantage is anything that can help your gym gain more members over the months, quarters, and years.
How to build competitive advantages for your gym? One technique for this is first identifying the weaknesses of competing halls and gymnasiums. This may be apparent dilapidation of the equipment, the cleanliness of the premises, which leaves something to be desired, or even an inappropriate membership cost gave the offer.
These weaknesses inevitably lead to frustration among the members of these rooms and gymnasiums: it is up to you to offer something better.
For example, be sure to train staff who will be attentive and enthusiastic. Offer different subscription formulas, studied to satisfy each customer profile. Offer 24-hour access. Offer free nutritional assessments. These are examples of competitive advantages for your gym.
Finally, list the opportunities and threats to your gym's competitive environment in the SWOT matrix. This tool is also used to record the strengths and weaknesses of your gym.
This SWOT is completed and fully editable in our business plan designed for a gym. But, of course, the business plan also contains the competitive advantages of the latter.
WHAT MARKETING STRATEGY FOR A GYM?
What will you do to avoid this? Your gym income from stagnating?
How will you adapt to rapidly changing trends?
How are you going to make sure to welcome more and more members to your gym?
Detail a sustainable strategy to reach the break-even point quickly:
- partnerships with other sports halls with offers complimentary to yours via "win-win" agreements
- development of a new offer specially designed to fill a gap in win found
- opening an additional and, in principle, less expensive sports hall to attract a relatively different clientele wishing to practice other activities, such as yoga or martial arts.
- upgrading by making the necessary equipment and staff training changes to adapt to these new features.
- development of an offer for groups, often attractive for its preferential and competitive rate (such as a subscription for a family, a couple, friends, colleagues, etc.)
- the takeover of a competing sports hall as soon as the opportunity arises (a favorably located hall, which is in the process of running out of steam, due, for example, to management using outdated methods, unsuited to new developments in the sector) s on his side to start and carry out the activity in the best conditions.
- development of a community on social networks (organization of sporting events and competitions with this community)
Our business plan for a sports hall contains the complete development strategy for this sector of activity.
THE FINANCIAL ELEMENTS OF A GYM BUSINESS PLAN
HOW TO ESTIMATE THE INCOME OF YOUR FITNESS ROOM?
To calculate the income of a gym, you must first identify the average income per customer, then estimate the number of potential members.
When you open your gym, it will probably take time for you to accumulate many members.
However, your efforts and investments in marketing, advertising, and communication should allow you to improve this number in the following months.
Thus, the turnover of your gym will grow, year after year. Therefore, you need to plan for ambitious growth for your gym's revenue forecast.
For an accurate and personalized estimate of your gym's revenue, use our financial forecast for a gym.
In this financial plan, you select assumptions, turnover, results, and all other economic indicators that are calculated by themselves. Also, the model automatically indicates the corrections to arrive at the most logical outcome.
HOW TO BENEFIT FROM A PROFITABLE GYM?
BREAK-EVEN ANALYSIS
The break-even point corresponds to the amount of turnover to be generated by your gym so that it can cover all of its expenses.
How much revenue do you need to generate to break even?
How many days will it take you to get there?
Our financial model for a gym will show you this data.
For your gym to be profitable, you will need to focus on two factors: turnover and expected expenses.
HOW TO INCREASE THE TURNOVER OF A GYM?
A fitness room turnover does not increase without a strong marketing strategy.
The marketing strategy translates into a process of study and reflection that allows your gym to meet existing demand. Some of these points are discussed in the previous section.
Our gym business plan includes a comprehensive marketing approach.
HOW DO YOU OPTIMIZE THE EXPENSES OF A GYM?
To improve your gym's margins, you'll need to optimize your loads.
A substantial budget for the purchase of equipment and materials is generally recommended. You have to see this as a long-term investment.
However, you will have to be careful about the current loads of your gym.
For example, we have often seen gyms spend too much of their turnover on expensive equipment, which ultimately turns out to be little or not used.
For staff costs, you have to consider the aid the State can give you at this level.
Also, every marketing initiative put in place by your gym must be profitable (i.e., bring in more than it costs)
As for taxes, make sure you have chosen the right legal regime for your gym.
Our financial forecast for a gym allows you to check the percentage allocated to each expenditure item.
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS TO INCLUDE IN THE FINANCIAL PART OF THE BUSINESS PLAN OF A GYM?
Here are the essential elements of the financial part of your gym's business plan:
- turnover hypotheses
- a provisional income statement
- a provisional balance sheet
- a cash flow plan
- interim management balances
- details of the BFR
- a financing plan
- the list of initial investments
- financial ratios, as well as graphs
You will find all these elements in our financial forecast for a sports hall.
Comments
Post a Comment