Wake Up Gym Owners!

I've learned a ton about the gym business over the past decade.  I have a few reasons why I've learned so much.  For one thing, its because I always have my eyes, ears, and mind open to new possibilities.  That's right - I make a conscious decision to constantly learn new things.  When it comes to your business, do you have an open mind?  The 3 most dangerous words in the English language are "I Know That".

Another big reason why I've learned so much is that I actively place myself in the company of great people.  If I can't get with the great people personally, then I listen to them on audios, watch them on videos, or read their books.  When it comes to gym owners, I have had the good fortune to get to know some great ones.  It probably comes as no surprise that there are not all that many that I consider great.  Here are a few stand outs:

• Mike Grondahl - founder, Planet Fitness.  Don't know him personally ... only met him once in fact, and I doubt he would even remember it.  But I have paid very close attention to him by reading about him whenever I see his name mentioned in a fitness article.  I'm not going to go into details about what makes Mike great - just know that he has revolutionized the gym industry in the way that Sam Walton revolutionized shopping.  The Planet Fitness concept is the Wal-Martizing of the gym industry, and like it or not, it works.  Not only does the concept work, if you own a gym, you are probably being affected by it whether you know it or not.  More about that in a future post.

• Jerry Martin - Anytime Fitness, Winder, GA.  Just recently got to know Jerry ... very smart business man.  He owns 5 or 6 Anytime Fitness clubs in the Atlanta, GA area.  And by using his instinct for business, he has maximized the potential of the Anytime Fitness brand name in a way that I have not seen many do it.  Granted, Anytime Fitness is a great brand, though in my opinion they are going to have to make some changes very soon if they want to stay competitive in the gym industry (thank you Planet Fitness).  Jerry is doing something very unique with his 24 hour access clubs ... he is staffing them!  That's right, while most 24/7 access gyms are cutting staff to save money, Jerry is staffing his clubs for quite a few hours each day ... and I can tell you in my eyes, it is paying off.  Jerry is one of those guys who is running a successful business not because its a franchise, but almost in spite of it.  I'm sure he is frustrated constantly by the fact that AF corporate feels like they know more than Jerry does about running his clubs.  I can assure you that Jerry know more about running his clubs than AF corporate does.

• Mike Lynch - World Gym, St. Augustine, FL.  Mike is another one who is straying outside of the cookie cutter formula put forth by the franchisor.  He is taking the best of 2 worlds (no pun intended).  He has the best of World Gym, which is their recognizable brand name, and added the pricing concept of Planet Fitness.  I own a World Gym too, and thankfully, the current corporate regime is allowing franchisees to take some liberties with the brand when it comes to pricing.  Mike's aggressive pricing of $10 a month (thank you Planet Fitness) is NOT something you would want to run up against if you are a competitor!  As you can imagine, you have to have a delicate business blend to make that pricing model work for your gym.

Something all 3 of these guys have in common (as well as yours truly) is that they are not content with the status quo.  They are constantly looking at ways they can adapt their businesses to meet changing market demands.  As a gym owner myself, I have a lot of respect for these 3 guys - and again, I would not want to try to compete with any of them.

Are you a struggling gym owner?  We've all been there ... while I don't know this for certain, I bet the 3 people listed above have been there too.  The question is, what have you done to try to change it?  You better not be "just waiting it out" (i.e. - going down with the ship).  You need to be taking what Grant Cardone calls "unreasonable" action.  And if you don't know who Grant Cardone is, I suggest you start there - Google him.  And listen to what he's got to say.  Chances are, you've already cut your expenses to the bone ... you can't cut anymore.  So you are going to need to produce your way out of this.  Grant will tell you exactly what that means.

Stay tuned as I start to change this blog a bit more towards a reality check for gym owners.  If you have some comments I'd love to hear them.  And if irritate you - good!  Maybe you'll get irritated enough to get off your ass and do something about it.  Quit being a cry baby about your failing gym business and take some unreasonable action.  I suggest you start by taking a good hard look at yourself as a business owner.