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Part One: Understanding The Costs Of Opening An Independent Gym

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Part One: Understanding The Costs Of Opening An Independent Gym

In today’s blog we will be looking at a question we have been asked a lot over our twenty five years of experience in the fitness industry. That being “What are the costs of opening an independent gym or fitness club?” It is a short question that leads to a lot of answers.

So today we will start looking into the main costs to expect, how these costs will vary depending on the size and type of the gym and much more. 

We will include distilled insights from many of the gym and club owners we have worked with over the years to ensure that any reader comes away better prepared if they embark upon their own gym venture. 

What will we cover in this article?

(you can also click to skip ahead!)

Your Budget

Recurring Costs Checklist

Recurring Costs or One-Off Cost?

Budget

Budget is a term we are hearing everywhere at the moment, whether it comes from consumers seeking value for money or businesses trying to make their resources go a little further.  

Unfortunately the pressures of the general economy will feed into the setup cost of any independent gym or fitness club. However while it can feel like a time of risk, this can also mean it is a time of opportunity.

The last few years have seen a large shake-up across many industries, including the fitness industry. 

The core price of opening a gym or fitness club will vary significantly depending on the size of the facility, the area, scope, required expertise of employees and so much more. While we will get into more detailed figures either below or in another article, we can attest that unless you are inheriting an already functioning/functional operation, the sum will be substantial. 

Of course there are certain things that can reduce this price, or conversely, add to it. The difference between opening a purely independent gym and opening one that is part of a franchise (a difference we will cover). We will also overview the different type of costs, whether it is ongoing and expected costs, potential ‘shock’ costs and expenses that will only affect certain types of gyms. 

All this to say that if you are thinking of opening an independent or franchise gym or fitness club, financial depth is a significant asset. This article can make you aware of the potential pitfalls, but awareness isn’t worth a lot if the funds are not there to cover the expenses.

As such, we would always recommend a comprehensive idea of the risks and potential costs. A checklist can be invaluable for keeping track of these pitfalls (and is something we may cover in a later blog if the uptake is there). 

To be forewarned is to be forearmed, and here at Ashbourne we believe in supporting independent gym and fitness clubs however we can. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if there is something missing from the guide that you would like to see. 

hand writing on the budget planning

Recurring Costs

Recurring costs are some of the most important to factor in when starting a new independent gym or fitness club. These are the costs that it is important to get right. Because if not, it is going to be a pain felt every month, or every quarter or every year. And that will quickly mount up and sap momentum and money from the venture.

These costs are the ones that will be necessary to keep everything running smoothly. They are the sort of costs that neither your staff nor members will pay much attention to unless they are suddenly absent. Everyone expects functioning access controls and clean bathrooms but not many people spend time thinking about the maintenance personnel and their costs. 

Recurring Costs Checklist

  • Gym Membership Management Costs
  • Marketing Budget
  • Gym/Club Operating Software
  • Gym/Club Equipment Leasing*
  • Facility Costs (Leasing/Rent etc)
  • Wages
  • Accountancy Fees
  • Health and Safety/Compliance Costs
  • Taxes
  • Ongoing Training
  • Maintenance Costs (Inc. either Staff or Third Party Fees)
  • Loan/Interest Repayments
  • Multiple types of Insurance**
  • Miscellaneous Supplies
  • Specific Costs Associated with Gym/Club type
*Equipment and other costs that are potentially either one-off or ongoing to be covered below and developed in a further article.
**Insurance covered at length elsewhere. Will be linked in a later article on Insurance.

This is the same when it comes to all aspects of gym membership management. It is a classic case of ‘if it is going right, people won’t notice you’ve done anything at all’. This is the curse and the blessing of providing service to members. They want a painless, sleek and professional gym membership where access control, entry verification and payments are all handled seamlessly. But if they have to stop and think about it, the chances are this service isn’t being provided.

As such, it is all the more important when establishing a new independent gym or fitness club to get these recurring costs correct. Any new members trying out  a new facility will quickly have their goodwill degraded if the fundamentals are not there. 

Members can be understanding during the initial setup of a gym, but if they sense that some core aspect of the operation is not working, that will be a significant blow to retention rates. 

Recurring Costs or One-Off Cost?

Inevitably there will be costs that can fall into either category, depending on the route taken and how the payment is structured. The one highlighted above is Gym Equipment. This is an area where there is a divide, some new gyms and clubs lease gym equipment initially to save on the upfront costs. This is a valid approach, opening a gym is cost intensive enough and there will be areas where it will be tempting to spread the costs. 

Of course, in turn, those leased machines will often turn out to be more expensive than buying them outright. Even if by some combination of support and maintenance it ends up being a relatively favourable outcome, it will still represent a recurring cost instead of a one-time opening cost.  

At a certain point some of these decisions will become one of necessity. What can be afforded immediately, what cannot. As with any business, it will be about understanding what is a good investment and what is not. 

This is why planning and risk assessment is so vitally important before any large business venture. Understanding the lower and higher estimates of how much money is going to be coming in and where it will stand in relation to recurring costs and any potential loans or invested money. 

What Next?

In our next article we will be focusing on the one-off costs with another checklist to follow. As this series continues we hope to build up a comprehensive guide for any aspiring gym or fitness club owner to be able to reference during the process.

As you might have gathered, there is a lot to cover and we are in a good position to cover it.

Here at Ashbourne we’ve been working with independent gyms and fitness clubs, as well as small franchise gyms for over twenty five years. The above is just a small fraction of the expertise we have accumulated in that time. 

We have helped countless gyms and fitness clubs with everything from membership management, non-payment collection and direct debits to access control, marketing and website building. We believe we have something to offer every gym or club, whether you are recently established, still setting up or firmly entrenched in your local area. 

So if you are setting up a gym or fitness club, or have recently started one and are keen to know more, please don’t hesitate to contact our demo team here. They will be able to talk you through what Ashbourne can do to give your business the best start or take it to the next level. 

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.
book a demo

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

book a demo

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

book a demo

Best Gym Accounting Software For Your Fitness Business

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Best Gym Accounting Software For Your Fitness Business

For many, accounting might be the epitome of an unpleasant task with a pleasant outcome. A necessary evil and a pillar of every business and the economy at large. While this may vary from sector to sector, from our twenty five years of experience in the fitness industry, we feel fairly secure in saying that it is not a favoured pastime for many independent gym and fitness club owners. 

But in this era of profound and readily available automation, accounting needn’t be the bother it used to be. Endless ledgers and lengthy manual reconciliations have been banished to the annals of history. And in its place? Software. 

And not even the cumbersome, inefficient software of the 1990s and early 2000s. The last decade has seen a revolution in lightweight, impactful software across the fitness industry. One that has allowed independent gym owners to get access to many of the tools previously too prohibitively expensive or specialised.

So today we will be taking a fresh, 2020s look at Gym accounting software, with specific focus on how this relates to independent gym and fitness owners, whether they own just one fitness facility or multiple. We will be answering some of the questions frequently asked about gym accounting software by gym owners. Questions that we have heard firsthand in our partnerships with gym owners up and down the country.

What will we cover in this article?

(you can also click to skip ahead!)

What is gym accounting software?

How do we recommend approaching the search for gym accounting software?

The best features to prioritise when looking for in Gym Accounting Software for independent gyms and fitness clubs.

What is gym accounting software?

First let us start off by defining the key piece of terminology we are going to be using in this article. What do we mean when we say ‘Gym accounting software’. 

While any accounting software can be utilised by independent or franchise gym or fitness club owners and management, we are making reference to software either specifically designed for or heavily compatible with the accountancy management of a fitness facility or business.

While we will often make reference to gyms and fitness clubs, this can also include swimming pools, studio spaces, personal trainers, tennis clubs, sporting facilities and much more.  

It is software created and designed to help manage the finances of a fitness business, taking into account the intricacies and oddities of the sector and the bespoke needs of fitness business owners as users.

As with other types of accounting software, it is designed to heavily automate otherwise tedious and laborious processes such as generating invoices, assisting and ordering payroll, aiding with membership billing and direct debits, performing reconciliations, secondary spend processes and much more.

When combined, the best gym accounting software will be able to save fitness business owners not only a significant amount of time, but also save money, as well as freeing up management and staff capacity. 

The amount of hours per week that can be salvaged from manual processes by adopting accounting software for the average independent gym or fitness club is staggering, and as we all know, those hours can be put to good use elsewhere!

How do we recommend approaching the search for gym accounting software?

As with any important endeavour, failing to plan is equivalent to planning to fail. While accounting software for gyms and fitness clubs will help save a lot of time in the long run, that doesn’t mean the selection process should be time-light. Quite the opposite in fact.

An old adage says that if 80% of the work is done upfront, that means that only 20% need be done later. 

While it is possible to pick and choose accounting software, it will save a lot of hassle for a gym or fitness club if they get it right the first time.

Picking apart the finances and operational side of a gym or fitness business from a piece of accounting software can be a pain. As we will cover, because accounting software is so useful to so many parts of a gym or fitness club, even if it has only been in place a few months, the untangling will be noticeable. 

It is tempting to look around at some of the best accounting software out there, pick one and see how it goes. But to this mindset, we urge caution.


There are many options available and many features, and, of course, not every option will contain every feature.

As such, we believe it is prudent to learn of and understand each of the main features of accounting software and how they apply to a gym or fitness operation.  

Of course, bookkeeping and accountancy at a gym or fitness club cannot be done by accounting software alone. We know this will be apparent to 90% of the people reading but it is important to state that accounting software does not replace an accountant. An accountant or accountancy firm is still important (if not invaluable).

Obviously gym owners can attempt to go it alone, some have even made it work. But it takes a certain type of mind, a significant amount of time and a fantastic amount of motivation while also running a fitness business.

Mastery of spreadsheets, accountancy lingo and an ability to be confident in research. Alternatively, a prior career as an accountant would probably help. When all is said and done, we are confident that for 95% of gym owners, the most efficient combination will be powerful accounting software to help support and assist a qualified accountant. 

The best features to prioritise when looking for in Gym Accounting Software for independent gyms and fitness clubs.

Developing a point we introduced in the introduction, we know that over the last decade the fitness industry, one that has always been renowned for being fast-paced and dynamic, has continued to speed up in the face of the smartphone and app revolution.

Long gone are the days where being an independent gym owner just meant owning twenty pieces of equipment in a warehouse, taking cash and running everything out of a ring-binder. Making sure every class runs on time and every member is paid up for the month is no longer enough. 

With a more complicated and sophisticated fitness industry come new challenges and new solutions. This can perhaps be most keenly felt with finances and payments. Gym members today, especially those under 40, expect their gyms to be able to accept a wide variety of payments at any time and in any place.

And ultimately that is what these features will be looking at, what is required to make life easier for both gym owner and gym member alike. What will appeal to both while enabling the smooth flow of capital from the latter to the former. 

How can we start to tame and then utilise the staggering amount of data generated by even a relatively small gym operation.

Luckily the right accounting software can help turn these headaches into a source of powerful data driven insight. 

 

Application-Based and Online Payments

As we implied above, a good portion of this article will focus on how accounting software can help a gym or fitness club meet the expectations of the digital generations.

The budget fitness chains have embraced seamless app and online payments, positioning themselves in such a way that flexible payment systems are now expected and the norm.

Unlike some of the business practices that they have attempted to perpetrate, this one is not part of the ‘race to the bottom’. In fact, when implemented correctly, these flexible payment systems and online/application-based payments can help transform how the membership of a gym interacts with their fitness facility.

Therefore, it is only natural that our first recommended feature is gym accounting software that allows an independent gym or fitness business to access the benefits of these seamless online payments and app integrations features.

The best gym accounting software will allow an independent gym or fitness business to fully integrate their financial operations with their online presence.

It is a key rule in business that the less barriers there are to a transaction, the more likely it is to occur and the more profitable the business can become. Gating away gym membership payments, class payments and secondary spend options behind archaic payment methods is not a good way to operate an independent gym or fitness business in the 2020s.

It is important to remember who the target audience is. The majority of the gym-going population is below 45. This means we are only a year away from that population being born in 1980 at the latest.

This, in turn means that the majority of people that most gyms and fitness clubs are targeting to be their members have a significant amount of technological knowledge and have integrated it into their daily lives.

With that integration comes a certain expectation of their gyms and the online payment system that the gym uses. 

Conversely, and happily, this is also a system that benefits every independent gym or fitness business that adopts it.

As any independent gym owner knows, confidence that payments will arrive in a timely manner is the backbone of any operation, whether it is new and fledgling or old and venerable.

With gym accounting software that is setup to process monthly direct debits and online payments, gym owners can have a significant amount of the monthly stress taken out of their business-as-usual operations.

Suddenly reconciliations, missing payments and manual searching will be a thing of the past, all while the membership enjoys a streamline and accessible customer experience. 

Financial Reporting

Like any industry, the benefits of having detailed financial reports cannot be overstated.

They allow independent gym and fitness business owners to act and make decisions with confidence.

Of course, in the past the trade-off was having to invest a significant amount of time, energy and expense in ensuring that these reports were created, were correct and were on time.

However, with the rise of powerful gym accounting software, these concerns should no longer be so dominant. Now, with the best gym accounting software it is possible to generate financial reports that are as complete as they are comprehensive at the click of a few buttons and with the setting of a few parameters.

As a company that deals in membership management and BI software, we know the power of data-driven decision making. With the right software, gym owners no longer need to operate in the dark. With the source of cash flow, outgoing and secondary spend all at their fingertips, gym owners can start making confident and informed decisions that will shape their fitness business.

With these variables being consistently monitored, nasty surprises and setbacks are unlikely to be an issue. 

Furthermore, gym accounting software allows fitness business owners to build a versatile and easily interrogated archive of their financial data. No longer does that archive need to exist within an account when gym accounting software allows gym owners and management to craft their own monthly and weekly snapshots. 

The Automation of Billing and Invoicing

As we said in the introduction, one of the key features that define the best gym accounting software from the rest is just how much time they can unlock for a gym owner.

Nowhere is this more apparent than with the automation of bills and invoices.

The ability to generate custom invoices on the fly is invaluable to gym owners at the centre of a complex and dynamic fitness business. By taking out significant chunks of the invoicing and billing process, this will allow trusted individuals within the gym to dedicate their time to other ventures, developing the business or receiving feedback from those on the gym floor. 

Gym management and staff are often faced with a bewildering array of payment options. Monthly membership, quarterly membership, yearly membership, one-off class payments, monthly class payments, bundle-class payments, secondary spend, lockers and showers, sauna, car parking, refreshments.

The list can be endless and each bill may require a specific or bespoke template, even if there is only a minor variation, cataloguing and then training someone to understand this can take valuable time and resources better spent elsewhere.

With gym accounting software, this process becomes automated and reduced to a few button clicks, easier for staff to be trained in and for management to train. 

Gym accounting software can help management reduce both billing cycles and business-as-usual (BAU) billing down from a time intensive activity to one that is routine, professional and automated. 

Reconciliations

Similarly, once billing and payments have been unified into a single digital environment via gym accounting software, reconciliation can become that much easier.

It is important for every business, including fitness business owners to stay transparent. With multiple revenue streams and cash-flow, this has been known to be a problem, especially for new gyms.

Which is why gym accounting software that allows gym owners to tame their various sources of income and reconcile them into one versatile and intelligent working space is vital. Gym accounting software allows staff to isolate individual areas of revenue or expense, as well as identify potential issues within certain membership categories or areas of the gym.

Automated Tax Calculation & Payment

And once all of the above features have been implemented, that allows gym accounting software to make tax compliance a much easier and stress free process than it is without it.

Often viewed as an unpleasant task when not automated, requiring a brief period of intense manual reconciliation and much cursing, gym accounting software can help turn that process into a mostly automated, confident and reassuring process.

With the aforementioned archive of financial data prepared, cash flow and revenue streams properly parsed and sorted and billing in good shape, a lot of the associated stress is alleviated before April even rolls around. 

As well as that, the potential for errors is significantly reduced. And if any errors do occur, the accounting software will be able to help identify the error and determine how widespread it is in much quicker order than the comparable manual process. 

Confidence and Security

And to finish off our feature list, a feature that cannot be taken for granted.

Security.

Financial data is highly sensitive and important to the day-to-day runnings of a fitness business. Equally, if it is compromised it represents a significant source of potential liability.

Therefore our last feature is a distinct feature of accounting software and what it can offer to gym and fitness business owners. 

It is a rare type of product that allows not only greater efficiency across the gym or fitness club, but also greater security and compliance. 

When a new gym or fitness club undertakes the task of handling financial data manually and without prior consultation, there is always the risk that certain procedures will fall into place that seemed intuitive at the time.

But unfortunately what seems intuitive to gym staff and management may not always be compliant. That is why it is important to note that when a gym engages with and utilises gym accounting software, they aren’t just receiving the software but the expertise and assurance of the company that made it.

While that doesn’t mean all software will be of impeccable compliance and standing, it does mean that with the right research gyms and fitness business owners will be able to purchase software that will help guide and ensure the compliance, security and safety of their business for years to come. 

Our Closing Thoughts...

And leading on neatly from the importance of integration between gym membership management software and gym accounting software, if this article has helped to convince you of the importance of either; Ashbourne might just be the partner in the fitness industry that you have been looking for.

Here at Ashbourne we have spent the last twenty five years helping independent gyms and fitness business owners in raising their operations to the next level. Whether it is with our bespoke gym membership management software, fully supported by a trained team of specialists or our powerful data-driven insights generated by our BI dashboards and reporting suite.

We have helped hundreds of independent gym owners to navigate the ever-dynamic and challenging fitness industry. We are constantly improving our craft and helping others do the same, so if this article has convinced you that your powerful software solution will elevate your operation, book a demo with us today here!

Also check out our quick tips blog posts with some quick answers on your most frequently asked questions on accounting software!

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.
book a demo

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

book a demo

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

book a demo

A Guide To Choosing Insurance for Your Gym

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A Guide To Choosing Insurance for Your Gym

Here at Ashbourne we have covered a lot of the fundamentals of running an independent gym or fitness club in these blogs, leveraging our 25 years of experience to ensure that gym owners, management and staff have easy access to high quality resources on a variety of topics.

But for the most part, they have been focused on what happens inside the gym, whether it is to do with infrastructure, software, access controls, membership retention, social media engagement or a host of other topics.

Today we are looking at something that trends towards being a little more abstract.

Insurance

Perhaps if Benjamin Franklin (or the person he was most likely quoting, Daniel Defoe) was alive today and had to set-up a business, he would update that transcendent quote on inevitabilities from ‘Death and Taxes’ to ‘Death, Insurance and Taxes’. 

Because while Franklin was an advocate of insurance and even started his own insurance company, it was not the all-consuming industry it is today. His particular company was a city-wide fire insurance scheme for Philadelphia. A far cry from the government mandated multi-billion pound industries of the 20th and 21st century. 

But now, as then, sensible people like Franklin advocated for insurance because it made good and responsible sense. It may seem like an abstraction at the time of purchase but when something goes wrong (as things sometimes inevitably do in a gym or fitness club) and the protection and reassurance suddenly doesn’t seem quite so abstract. 

Running a gym or fitness club is a fantastic venture, but it is not free of risk. Some of those risks are unavoidable, the sort of risk that comes with any suitably complex business venture. 
But others are not, and with the right insurance for the right fitness facility, independent gym and fitness club owners can enjoy a much greater peace of mind knowing that everyone involved, whether it is the staff, the membership or even the building itself, are all firmly protected. 

So how does a new gym owner go about selecting which insurance will be the best suited for their gym or fitness club? Which types of insurance are required? And how many?

Well thankfully we don’t intend to pose these hard questions and then disappear, so today we will be continuing our look into the fundamentals of setting up and running an independent gym or fitness club.

Which Types of Insurances To Consider:

(you can also click to skip ahead!)

Contents Insurance

 

Contents insurance covers the cost of replacing or repairing your possessions if they are damaged, destroyed or stolen. 

Public Liability Insurance

 

Public liability insurance can help your business cover the cost of claims from third parties for injury or loss. 

Asset/Equipment Insurance

Asset/Equipment insurance covers the cost of replacing or repairing lost, stolen or accidentally damaged equipment.

Buildings & Commercial Property Insurance

Commercial property insurance covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding your business premises, or replacing your stock or equipment.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

Professional indemnity insurance protects you against claims for loss or damage made by clients or third parties as a result of the impact of negligent services you provided or negligent advice you offered.

Employers' Liability Insurance

Employers’ Liability Insurance covers the costs of employee claims for illness or injury caused by their work due to employers’ negligence.

Fidelity Bonds/Fidelity Guarantee Insurance

Fidelity Guarantee insurance (also known as Theft by Employee insurance) provides cover for loss of money and other property resulting from fraudulent or dishonest acts committed by an employee or volunteer.

Management Liability Insurance

Management Liability Insurance protects company directors, senior managers and officers of charities, boards and committees if a negligence claim is brought against them in court or at an employment tribunal. 

Business Interruption Insurance

Business interruption insurance covers you for loss of income during periods when you cannot carry out business as usual due to an unexpected event.

How Necessary is Insurance for an Independent Gym or Fitness Club in the UK?


While we may have tipped our hand a little early in the introduction regarding our stance on this question, the necessity of insurance is still a question worth asking.

Of course some insurance products are a legal necessity to operate a business and as such are excluded from this. But others are still optional. And when something is optional, it can be a temptation for business owners to skip over or ‘do without’. 

 

This is not to imply that gyms and fitness clubs are particularly unsafe. As we said above, these insurances aren’t just to protect members (though that is of vital importance). The insurances that we will be looking into today are as necessary to protect equipment, staff and the facility itself. Top of the line Gym equipment is a prime example of a significant expense should it become damaged. Equally, the presence of weights and water from pools and saunas is more likely to cause injury to both members and the facility than other purposes.

With everything going on in the average gym or fitness club, the peace of mind that protection can allow a gym owner is worth a significant amount. 

There are a hundred things that could go wrong, opening the gym up to expensive repair bills, complex investigations or even legal action. These are the incidents that insurance is designed to protect a gym owner against and as such we would recommend erring on the side of caution. 

Starting on the right foot is important, members and staff alike want to be assured that their interests are being looked after and that the gym environment they are signing up to will look after them. While an independent gym or fitness club owner can attempt to shoulder these responsibilities themselves, we would earnestly recommend that each of the insurances that we will cover today be considered carefully. 

So, What Insurance is Necessary for an Independent Gym or Fitness Club?

As we said above, the right insurance is vital in order for an independent gym or fitness club owner to have well-founded peace of mind. But it is also important to consider what coverage is actually required, the budget that can be set aside to pay for the insurance and the offers available to the gym or fitness club at the time.

Our guide is here to ensure that any plan has the maximum chance of surviving contact with reality. The fitness industry, the insurance industry and the economy as a whole is in a tumultuous period at the moment and events (as we saw with the Covid-19 pandemic and the energy crisis prompted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine) can escalate quickly. 

As such, while it is important for a gym or fitness club owner to understand what types of insurance they would like and the prices they would like to obtain it for, it is also key to keep in mind that the market, and therefore insurance will fluctuate. Insurance underwriting is a complex process, deduced (or perhaps that should be divined) by a series of risk assessment calculations. 

In addition, the purchasing of insurance policies can also be a highly specialised and specific process. This topic could be an article in and of itself but to keep things brief we will just say that many policies, especially for larger amounts and depending on the insurance and underwriter may be subjected to significant change prior to the final agreement.

Of course this process will vary depending on the different types of insurance, and independent gym and fitness club owners may need coverage across a variety of sectors. Liability insurance, Indemnity insurance, Insurance as an employer, Asset Insurance. Some insurers and underwriters can provide more than one of these, and even two insurance policies with the same title by two different insurers/underwriters will cover different things.


As such it is important to keep in mind that the answer to ‘What Insurance is necessary’ doesn’t have a straight-forward answer.

For example, we will recommend, both here and later, that public liability insurance is very necessary. However different public liability insurance policies will vary, some may contain coverage that is not necessary to an one independent gym or fitness club, but is very pertinent to another

As is often the case, the correct answer isn’t always satisfactory or brief. Which is why we will be delving into the different types of insurance and what coverage to prioritise within those insurance policies. 

Which Types of Insurance Should Interest an Independent Gym or Fitness Club Owner?

Now we're on to the part you've been waiting for!

Whether a gym hasn’t opened its doors for the first time or it has been running for a decade, we hope that this list, breaking down the various types of insurance that may be financially interesting to an independent gym or fitness club will be of some use.

In this list we will try to give a brief summary as well as any potential benefits or pitfalls commonly associated with the insurance in question from our lengthy experience in the fitness industry.

First we will start with the insurance we have talked joint-most about during this blog so far, Contents Insurance, followed by Public Liability Insurance.

Contents Insurance

Different sectors will always prioritise different types of insurance. As we said above, even different gyms will prioritise different insurances depending on a variety of factors, ranging from location to the services provided and the number of personnel.

However, one type of insurance with near universal application and appeal is Contents Insurance. Unless the fitness facility in question happens to consist of just an empty studio room, the contents of an independent gym or fitness club will be some of the most prized possessions.,

Whether it is the equipment itself, the electronics and computers or even the access controls (something we know all about), there is a plethora of expensive and hard to replace equipment that makes up a good portion of the initial investment into a gym. 

While the initial setup phase is a time where no gym owner wishes to spend more than necessary, the potential of having expensive equipment damaged long before it has been able to help pay itself off is a catastrophic situation to be in for any new independent gym or fitness club owner. 

The maths here becomes very simple. If an event that caused a significant amount of damage, say half or even a third of the equipment and/or assets within the gym are taken out of commission due to say a fire or flooding. Could the gym comfortably afford to replace them?

Even if the answer is yes, that is a significant amount of money to burn. As such, we would nearly always recommend Contents insurance for all but the most spartan of fitness club setups! 

Public Liability Insurance

While there is a massive and compelling case to be made for public liability insurance, we will not be making it quite as emphatically as the others?

Is it due to fatigue? No, we could talk about insurance for gyms and fitness clubs all day. Public liability cost is a legal requirement for nearly any business substantially dealing with the public, which, of course, a gym or fitness club falls under.

But while being a necessity, does not mean that it should be begrudged. Public liability insurance is one of the most effective insurances available on the market. It can cover (again, factoring in things like excesses) legal costs that occur due to allegations and instances of injury and property damage.

With things like weights, water and movement commonplace in a gym or fitness club, public liability insurance is a very smart purchase. As we don’t need to recommend a gym or fitness club owner get it (as it is mandatory), we would recommend that they do not ‘cheap-out’ on it.

As per our example above, large excesses on public liability insurance will significantly diminish the returns from multiple smaller public liability claims. This will, in turn, result in much higher payouts for the gym or fitness club in question.

Often public liability claims are either for a very small or significant amount. As such, it is best to go for a policy that has a high overall coverage with a low excess, to cover off both of these angles.

Assets/Equipment Insurance

This insurance is, for many underwriters and insurers, a variant of contents insurance. Though some offer their often specialised ‘Equipment insurance’ to facilities within the fitness industry.

As per the rationale we went through in Contents insurance, gym equipment represents a significant investment to any gym, let alone an independent gym or fitness club.

As such, it is pertinent, especially close to opening, that equipment be suitably protected.

The reason that equipment insurance may be preferable to generic contents insurance is as follows.


Within the insurance industry, there are several governing principles. To reduce one of them to a core and usable sentence. Specificity reduces costs.

The reason may be apparent. The most specific a policy, the less risk it presents. As such, these policies can often represent the greatest value. 

Contents insurance is a good example. Contents covers a broad range of items, especially within a gym or fitness clubs. This means that the underwriters will determine that the risk on this policy is high relative to say, a policy that only specifically covers equipment.

Even under normal circumstances, equipment will slowly degrade. Such is the nature of the repetitive motions and high-weight loads. As such, the desire to specifically protect equipment for a gym or fitness club owner should be strong. Either because they want to ensure it lasts until the point where it has ‘paid itself off’ or alternatively because some money may be put towards its replacement.

It is worth saying that many insurers will deduct money from the payment amount based on the age of the equipment, so it may not always be possible that insurance will provide a like for like replacement.

Like many of the pieces of insurance advice within this blog however, this will vary from insurance to insurance. It is always important to read the policy. Even after purchasing the policy, insurers must legally give you a period of time to read it and ensure you are satisfied with the coverage. 

Buildings & Commercial Property Insurance

Perhaps one of the most self-explanatory and well-known insurances, due to its appearance in nearly every sector of the economy. 

Unsurprisingly, it covers the building itself.

If the building is owned in some capacity by the gym owner, usually the type of insurance required is called something akin to ‘Building Insurance’ or ‘Commercial Property Insurance’.

Conversely, if it is a rented commercial building or area, this is usually not necessary as the landlord or company responsible for the property will be the ones who are required to have it insured.

It may be prudent for new independent gym or fitness club owners to liaise with their landlord/letting company to understand the nature of this arrangement, lest any significant damage occurs to the building during their occupation. 

Professional Indemnity Insurance

In some ways the other side of the coin of Public Liability Insurance, Professional Indemnity cover, sometimes known as PI Cover or PI Insurance.

This is insurance to cover something key that public liability insurance does not. The professional obligation that an independent gym or fitness club has to their members.

This can cover a wide range of responsibilities that otherwise fall to a gym owner.

Again, policies will vary depending on the quality and price of the insurance. It usually covers errors by staff and personal trainers, personal injury sustained while under their guidance, negligence claims instigated against the gym and the staff and much more.

 

Some policies even offer protection against broader issues, such as how a certain service or piece of advice was delivered and the outcome, or even broader legal issues not involving injury. 


Given the broad protection and peace of mind that this insurance gives, we believe it to be a very important consideration for independent gym and fitness club owners.

This sort of legal expenditure can become expensive and it can be stressful for staff to know that they have either caused significant hardship or that they are not suitably protected within the environment. As such, we believe that Professional Indemnity Insurance/cover is the best way for a gym owner to protect their staff, allowing them to deliver the best service possible. 

Employers' Liability Insurance

In a similar vein to the PI and Public Liability Insurance, Employers liability insurance is just as it sounds. What if a staff member experiences an injury they sustain at work?

And like Public liability, we won’t do much convincing here because Employers Liability insurance is another legal requirement.

This is very prudent, and much like our section on public liability insurance all we will say here is that we heavily recommend that independent gym and fitness club owners purchase a quality, high-coverage policy.

These policies are heavily regulated and for good reason. The right type of policy with the right coverage will protect not only the business but also the staff from a significant amount of financial hardship.

We can only reinforce our endorsement that significant attention and focus should go into the purchase of employers liability insurance.

 

Fidelity Bonds/Fidelity Guarantee Insurance

While all insurance inherently leaves a bit of a bad taste to talk about, as it pertains to things going either wrong or drastically wrong. Fidelity Bonds or Fidelity Insurance is perhaps one of the most unpalatable to consider warding against. 

 

It is an insurance designed to protect a business, in our case an independent gym or fitness club, against theft or loss caused by dishonesty behaviour by either staff, partners in the business  or management.

As we said, it is not something that people like to consider. But the nature of all insurance is to protect us all against the unpleasant and the unthinkable. As such, it is hard not to recommend it as a prudent insurance for independent gym and fitness club owners, we earnestly hope it is one that goes unclaimed on. 

 

Management Liability Insurance

The necessity of this insurance will heavily depend on the structure and size of the gym or fitness club in question.

However, in the right organisation this could be vital. Being part of the management of a business carries with it legal and fiscal implications.

These implications are broad and we will not explore them exhaustively here, perhaps in another blog on gym and fitness club insurance. Irrespective, for a suitably developed independent gym or fitness club, this type of insurance could very well offer significant protection for the highest level of staff and management. 

Business Interruption Insurance

And finally we end our list on a unique type of cover.

We say that because BI cover, often called Business Interruption insurance, is something that usually only activates during another insurance claim.

Over the course of this article we have covered what will happen from an insurance perspective while a series of costly disasters unfold, but what happens if this causes the fitness facility to close? In another term, what happens if business is interrupted?


Well, if a gym or fitness club owner has been prudent, that is where their business interruption cover would kick in. Depending on the quality and coverage of the policy, this will cover expenses such as wages and fees that will persist despite the fact the business is closed. As with some of the insurance types we have covered today, it can seem like a niche and irrelevant insurance until it very much makes the difference in a crisis.

What Should an Independent Gym or Fitness Club Expect to Pay for their Insurance?

And is it worth it?

In the same vein as our answer to what insurance is necessary. The correct answer to this question is as unsatisfying as it is nuanced. But the outcome, peace of mind and an important investment in the financial security of a gym or fitness club, is entirely satisfactory, we promise!

Ultimately, as we covered when going into different insurance types, the amount of money an insurer/underwriter decides to charge a gym or fitness club will be entirely dependent on factors such as the size of the facility, the size of the membership, the number of staff, the location, the equipment, the services offered and the broader market. 

To take an example, insurance for employers’ liability is usually calculated either based on the exact number of employees or within a bracketing system. Other insurances, such as contents can either take into account the assets within the gym or fitness club or set a premium and resultant liability cover for a set amount.

While we won’t go into the specifics here (there are other articles from insurers that cover this), we will reiterate that many of the types of insurance we covered above represent a significant investment in the financial security of a gym or fitness club. They come at a price, but we assure you that some will be prices worth paying.

And paying a little more upfront can save a significant amount later on down the line. For example, many policies, irrespective of what they cover, come with an excess. This is a sum of money that needs to be paid to the insurance company in order to process the claim.

A trap that many fall into across various different insurances is to pick a lower price insurance with a high excess. This seems (correctly though deceptively) to represent a saving. A precious amount of money saved from a necessary expense. That must be a win, correct?

Yes, perhaps. Until you need to claim that is. In our twenty five years of experience in the fitness industry, we have heard many tales of high excess insurance policies resulting in either an inability to use the policy effectively for the claims that the gym wanted to make or a significantly diminished payout.

An easy way to conceptualise this is by taking the excess as an implied minimum limit on the minimum an independent gym or fitness club can claim. If our theoretical fitness club has two claims they need to submit on their contents insurance, one for £4000 and another for £2500. But they agreed to an insurance policy with an excess of £3000.

Well that means if they are allowed to file collectively they are only receiving £3500. If they have to file separately, that could mean as little as £1000 on a collective £6500 claim!

So while it might be tempting for independent gym and fitness club owners to save £50 on their premium, it is vital to keep in mind that this could result in a substantial deduction on the total payout from the policy later on. 

How To Understand if an Insurance is Correct for an Independent Gym or Fitness Club

Much like researching and purchasing insurance in a domestic setting, purchasing insurance for a business can take time and effort. But we here at Ashbourne are convinced it is a case of ‘if something is worth doing, it is worth doing correctly’.

Because of the nature of insurance, there is a temptation to gamble. Pay less now in the hopes that nothing needs to be paid later.

As we mentioned earlier, there is a temptation to pay the lowest premium, take the highest excess, opt out of certain areas of cover? Anything to make that payment number go down and down and down. 

It is, we hate to say, a false economy in many cases. Over our twenty five years experience in the fitness industry we have seen many independent gym and fitness club owners fall foul of ‘thinking’ they were appropriately covered.

Each insurance policy has to be basically as good as the next right? Unfortunately not. And the fitness industry is a place where that sad fact gets proven regularly.

So we will start to close off this article with a quick guide on how to understand whether the insurance a gym owner is looking at, irrespective of the type of coverage, is the right one.

What Does the Gym Need Covered?

Something we always recommend doing for each category is understanding what coverage is desired.

We recommend independent gym and fitness club owners undertake an informal (or perhaps formal) risk assessment.

Certain things will be necessary as we covered above, public liability insurance, employers liability insurance etc. 

But even within those remits, a gym owner should think about what they would be comfortable paying as an excess.

Remember, taking our excess mantra from above, an excess essentially represents ‘what is the minimal amount you are comfortable paying’.

It is an uncomfortable question, but that is good. When buying insurance we often feel too comfortable. I mean the things we are trying to insure against haven’t happened yet, they might never happen. It is an important mindset to shift. 

For example, the next priority after public liability and employers liability insurance would most likely be equipment. High excesses on equipment might be tempting. After all, equipment is expensive anyway and so a gym owner is likely to always get some payout.

But that logic feels slightly less sound when the calculations show that the gym owner ends up paying over half of the cost himself each time. 

With that being said, we don’t recommend that independent gym or fitness club owners go policy mad, buying every type of policy and always going for the most expensive policy. Down that road lies madness and not an insignificant amount of immediate fiscal discomfort. 

There are insurances that it may be easier for a gym owner to identify as not necessary, especially if they are a new gym or fitness club owner just setting up shop.

For example, directors and officers insurance or fidelity insurance may not be necessary initially given the presumably low number of management. 

Insurance is a balancing act between what is prudent and necessary, and what is an acceptable risk. It is a perennial question and one that we will never truly know the answer to. But that should never stop us from attempting to make the best estimation with the resources and knowledge available to us

Finding the Right Insurer for the Right Insurance

Whether it is a generic insurer on a search engine or a specialised insurance broker that requires calling up, finding the right insurer can feel like a bit of a maze, especially at first.

But like all things that feel insurmountable initially, exposure and understanding will gradually bring confidence and assurance.

Understanding what each insurer offers, does well and their respective price points are a good start. Despite their reputations, brokers can be good allies in finding the best deals. With that being said, we would also recommend gym owners do their own research.

There are several specialist insurers and brokers that work and specialise around the fitness industry and those who operate in the sector. These are a good port of call, and as we said above, one of our mantras is that specificity often brings good value.

But again, a caveat is that this does not mean a specialist will always give the best deal for an independent gym or fitness club owner. 

Finding the Right Policy

Finding the right insurer is, however, only half the battle.

After that there is also the policy itself. These can vary dramatically, even within the same brokerage or insurer.

If step one was followed, independent gym and fitness club owners will have a list of risks and scenarios that they wish to be covered. Equally, it is important to keep in mind that if something is covered, it still matters to what extent it is covered. Both in terms of claim limits and excess.

Ultimately pressing the button or saying yes over the phone and finalising the purchase of insurance is a process where many moving parts come together. We hope that with our guide, any independent gym or fitness club owner will have made significant headway in understanding what is necessary, prudent and unwise. 

Our Final Thoughts

And so concludes our guide for independent gyms and fitness clubs on what to prioritise and what is required in the world of insurance.

It is a complex and interesting topic, one where a lot of money can be saved or lost for an independent gym or fitness club, depending on how it is handled. And despite the significant amount of text above, we have only just started to scratch the surface. 

Like many aspects within the fitness industry, it ultimately comes down to expertise and experience. And luckily that is something that Ashbourne has to spare.

More to Read...

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Get your club in shape.

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Get your club in shape.

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How Independent Gyms Can Significantly Reduce Pass Sharing

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How Independent Gyms Can Significantly Reduce Pass Sharing

It is a problem that has plagued new gyms and old gyms, largely clubs, multinational chains and small independent gyms alike. It is a term many in the fitness industry are all too familiar with.

That’s right, today we are going to be talking about Pass-Sharing, sometimes otherwise known as ‘Pin-Sharing’ depending on the system of verification used by the fitness facility. 

 

Here at Ashbourne Membership Management, we have over twenty five years of experience helping independent gyms and fitness clubs crackdown on these behaviours. We know that our duty to our partner gyms and clubs doesn’t end with their collecting direct debits and generating BI reports.

As a business very well versed in both sides of access control, we thought we would compile our insights into how Pass-Sharing/Pin-Sharing can become a problem for new gyms and old gyms alike, how to identify it as a problem and most importantly, what the solutions are. 

What will we cover in this article?

(you can also click to skip ahead!)

Why Is Pass Sharing A Problem?

Pass Sharing In New Gyms

Pass Sharing in Unmanned Facilities

How Systems Effect Pass Sharing

Solution #1: Data Tracking

Solution #2: Access Control

Solution #3: Responsive Membership Management Software

Why is Pass Sharing A Problem?

How does pass-sharing/pin-sharing occur?

While Pass-Sharing/Pin-Sharing is a well-known problem within the fitness industry, it is useful to introduce the subject both to make this accessible for those who require clarification and so that we can refer back to our definition as we go through this article. 

 

Pass-Sharing and Pin-Sharing is when the members that attend a given gym or fitness club share their personalised ‘pin’ or ‘pass in order to give other non-members the ability to access the facility.

A common example of this is our theoretical members giving their access pin/pass such as a  membership card, key fob or QR code for example to a friend or colleague.


This allows the friend or colleague to access the gym or fitness club without being a paying member. 

This obviously represents a violation of the membership terms of nearly every gym or fitness club we are aware of. It represents not only a loss of revenue for the gym in question but also a loss of security.

It represents a loss of control over the ability for a gym or fitness club to determine who it allows to enter and who it does not.

So why does Pass-Sharing and Pin-Sharing occur?

As with any suitably prevalent problem within an industry, the answer is multi-faceted. It can occur within two different gyms for two essentially different reasons. In our experience, it is a problem we have assisted with across countless gyms and the answer is always slightly different.

With that being said, we have broken it down into a few categories to cover the ‘main’ reasons. 

Credit card, man smile and payment at gym for fitness membership or exercise subscription. Fintech .
muscular-black-man-smiling-with-friends-in-gym-2024-05-20-17-12-20-utc-min

Pass Sharing In A New Gym or Fitness Club

We aren’t a membership management company that just helps other gyms and fitness clubs from afar, our dedication to the fitness industry means we have also got hands on over the years.

This means we know what we are talking about when we say that starting up a new gym can be a full-on endeavour. There are hundreds of moving parts that need to be accounted for and sometimes access controls and membership access tools are neglected in this process.

 

It is understandable, management and staff of a new independent gym have a lot to think about. From brand identity and marketing through to equipment, staff and training. As such, we have noticed that there will sometimes be a moment when a relatively new gym or fitness club starts to realise that despite the success they have enjoyed, there might be a Pass-Sharing or Pin-Sharing problem to address. 

 

It isn’t always easy to identify (we will get to that later) but one of the vital time periods where a culture/problem of Pass-Sharing might develop is during the initial setup stage. 

Pass Sharing In Unmanned & 24 Hour Facilities

A very common environment within an independent gym or fitness club that allows for Pass-Sharing/Pin-Sharing to occur is when a facility attempts to go either unmanned, 24 hours or both without the necessary infrastructure in place. 

 

With the rise of the corporate mega-chain budget gyms, the temptation to go to either an unmanned and/or 24/7 system has been very strong for a lot of independent gyms and fitness clubs.

We have written several articles, especially in the wake of the 2022 energy crisis regarding the wisdom of this move but it is undeniable that for some independent gyms in the correct area and with the right clients that it can be a very prudent and profitable move. 

However, even the best business decision can be disastrous for a gym if it is taken at the wrong time or without the correct infrastructure.


To borrow an old adage, you shouldn’t run before you can walk. 

 

And this can be the danger for any independent gym that tries to make the jump to unmanned and/or 24/7s without the right system.


With one of the aforementioned membership access devices such as a key fob or membership card, adopting an unmanned system can be a leap of faith that might not be rewarded. Members will quickly notice if the gym or fitness club that they are going to has no discernable way to track who is using the card or fob to access the gym. 


Unmanned does not always necessarily mean unmonitored of course, but the monitoring of an unmanned system can also be time intensive, to say nothing of the follow-up procedures once it has been discovered that a member is pass-sharing/pin-sharing. 

How Lacking or Neglected Systems Effect Pass Sharing

While it is luckily not a prevalent cause when it comes to pass-sharing, one of the most noticeable signs of an independent gym suffering from decline or neglect is a rise of Pass-Sharing/Pin-Sharing.


Members are often able to tell when morale is low and standards are slipping at an independent gym or fitness club. 

 

And when this occurs, their desire to respect the rules and regulations of the club may well drop. 


While it can be hard to reverse this negative momentum, we have seen many independent gyms and fitness clubs turn it around with the right attitude and the right help.

Identification & Solutions To Implement

So now that we’ve addressed the nature of our problem, as well as a few of the main causes, we will now look at both identification and solution. 


The two are intertwined and in our experience one of the largest barriers that independent gyms and fitness clubs have to overcome is identifying that they have the problem at all. Many, especially when starting out and not supported by a membership management service, don’t have the right data, tools or software to address the issue. 

For the purpose of this article we will not be covering staff identification/discovery of pass-sharing and pin-sharing. While this is a very effective way to identify it, we are focusing on how to identify this process for an unmanned access control system and on a more systemic level.

 

So this section will focus on how independent gyms can identify Pass-Sharing and how the right tools can help gyms and fitness clubs gain eyes in areas where they previously had none, intermixed with the solutions that can be deployed against this common issue.

Solution #1: Data Tracking: Software, BI Reports and Data Driven Insight

Perhaps the most important tools that an independent gym or fitness club has when it comes to identifying Pass-Sharing and Pin-Sharing is data. How an independent gym is able to utilise their data can be a deciding factor for success in many different areas and this aspect of membership security is no exception.


So often we have found that independent gyms are leaving a significant amount of potential income on the table purely due to poor analytical and insight capabilities.

It is understandable. Setting up a gym can be a challenging venture, and every problem needs to be dealt with when it arises.

So when an independent gym believes they might have a Pass-Sharing or Pin-Sharing problem. Their first port of call should be to review the data side of their operation. At Ashbourne, we have helped countless independent gym’s identify potential harmful trends to their business through the proper application of membership management software.


It isn’t enough to have a piece of software that can process memberships, the software must also be able to identify positive and negative trends within the data it is collecting and processing.

Without the ability to capture this data, independent gym’s risk being left in the dark when it comes to identifying positive and negative trends. 


Pass-Sharing is an impactful example of how the correct suite of data tools and software can identify a problem. By understanding which individual members are using the facility the most, it is possible to track irregularities in member behaviour. This could include more time using the facility than one person could reasonably accomplish, or multiple consecutive entries to the facility close together. 

 

When combined with monitoring tools such as CCTV, it can become very easy for even a relatively low-tech gym to track and then deter Pass-Sharing by their members. 

Solution #2: Implement Alternate Access Control

Data and business insight isn’t the only area where an independent gym can upgrade their systems in order to prevent Pass-Sharing.

While it requires some investment, a solution that we have often viewed as a ‘silver bullet solution’ is Fingerprint Scanners. 

 

Unlike the various forms of access control, Fingerprint Scanners being introduced into an unmanned independent gym or fitness club have routinely seen a massive drop in Pass-Sharing and Pin-Sharing.


The reason behind this is fairly apparent. It is much more difficult for two or more people to ‘share’ a fingerprint than it is a pincode or an access pass. Unless they are willing to engage in some truly extraordinary lengths, it is an incredibly effective deterrent. 

 

A lot of low-level corruption (such as Pass-Sharing) is usually only done because it is deemed to be easy and harmless. By putting a significant barrier in the way (such as two people, the member and the person they are trying to get in) to be present, you are creating an uncomfortable situation many members will not want to engage with.

Solution #3: Responsive Membership Management Software

As we said above, two of the main reasons Pass-Sharing occurs are if it is perceived as ‘easy’ and if it is perceived as ‘harmless’. In the latter case, we mean whether or not the member believes they will get away with the breach of contract and trust that Pass-Sharing represents. 


This atmosphere can be cultivated in an independent gym or fitness club for a variety of reasons. A sense of neglect or decline, as we talked about previously, can be a big one. As can a general sense of being unobserved. 

 

But in our experience, when a gym’s management goes from reactive to proactive, the shift in culture is very apparent. Whether it is chasing debtors, clamping down on Pass-Sharers or addressing anti-social and contract-breaking behaviour. It doesn’t take much for members to realise that the gym is looking out for their members best interests and trying to weed out those members (and non-members) and the effect on gym morale and profits this can have is potentially huge.

Our Key Takeaways On Pass-Sharing

While Pass-Sharing and Pin-Sharing might be a fairly common problem, that means the solution is well known.


As you might be able to tell from our article, we have helped independent gym’s address these problems many times over our twenty five years in the fitness industry.

Close up image of attractive fit woman exercising in gym

By providing advanced versions of the software and BI tools we talked about above, as well as state-of-the-art access control systems, we have helped countless gyms put an end to Pass-Sharing and other revenue-impacting behaviours. All while improving security for the facility, management and membership.

If you are here because the gym you own or help manage is having similar problems, or if you are just interested in taking your fitness club’s operation to the next level, please do not hesitate to reach out to our demonstration team today.  Simply click here and click ‘request a demo’ and within days you can be talking to our trained and professional team.

We have navigated countless independent gym’s through the process, whether you need to switch providers, or are engaging the services of a membership management company for the first time. 

More to Read...

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Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

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Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

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Mastering the Seasons: How Independent Gyms Can Use Gym Membership Management Software To Combat Seasonal Member Fluctuation

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Mastering the Seasons: How Independent Gyms Can Use Gym Membership Management Software To Combat Seasonal Member Fluctuation

Whether it is the dubious strive to get ‘beach-body ready’ that heralds the end of Spring and the beginning of Summer or the influx of membership at New Year as people try to mitigate the effects of Christmas and Winter, the fitness industry is very familiar with the highly seasonal nature of gym membership and fitness motivation. 

And while the seasons and how people react to them are nothing new, the tools we have to monitor these trends are growing ever-more sophisticated and accessible for independent gym owners. So today we will be looking at both seasonal trends within the fitness industry and how powerful tools such as gym membership management software and their data outputs can be used to grapple with and mitigate these influxes. 

Summer might always follow Spring, but if data can show independent gym and fitness club owners and management just ‘how’ and ‘why’ it affects their members they will be in a much better position for the next year. 

And ultimately that is what we are trying to address today. How to quantify a seasonal problem for the fitness industry and independent gyms into a yearly opportunity. 

The seasons and their respective trends may feel inevitable and insurmountable to some but it is their reliability that can be capitalised upon by prudent and forward-thinking independent gym and fitness club owners. 

So today our focus will be on how gym owners can take steps to ‘master’ the seasonal influx and make the most out of the ebbs and flows, as well as the seasonal surge. 

What will we cover in this article?

(you can also click to skip ahead!)

Strategies

Learn the strategies for Tackling Gym Seasonality

What is Seasonality

What is Seasonality in the context of independent Gyms and why does it exist?

Methods and Techniques

 

Methods and Techniques that independent gyms and fitness clubs can use to compensate and utilise Gym Member Seasonality

The Negatives

What independent gym and fitness club owners should be careful of regarding seasonality

Strategies For Tackling Gym Seasonality

The ‘seasonality’ of gyms can be a double-edged sword. Looked at through the wrong lens, it can be a yearly open-wound. We have heard endless stories of frustration as the influx of members from January and February drop off, followed by another as Summer shifts to Autumn.

But there are, of course, two sides to this. Many industries would kill for a period where there was a mass-influx of customers. And this is how independent gym and fitness club owners must conceptualise these ‘influx’ periods, not as a demoralising inconvenience, but an opportunity to be harnessed. 

We are not saying that it is possible to hold back the tides, of course. Attrition will always occur, but it is about mitigating that attrition and making the most out of the yearly influx of members. Our goal here is to use tried and tested methods and data to mitigate the worst of the attrition and retain as much of the seasonal influx as possible. 

Of course not every independent gym will have a significant seasonal influx for every season, and some independent gyms may have seasonal peaks that are based on factors unique to the area. A common example of this is that an independent gym will be based in an area with a significant student population, meaning that the period between September and May will see the population significantly expand and the demographics will change.

As such, while our examples will focus on the ‘general’ patterns governed by the changing of the calendar seasons, there are many bespoke examples of seasonal influxes and fluctuations that independent gym and fitness club owners can apply these methods towards. 

This guide provides 5 proven strategies to help weather the storm and improve gym retention and profitability.

What Is Seasonality in the context of independent gyms and why does it exist?

The seasonal influx of gym members around the end of winter/beginning of Spring and then Summertime is a cyclical phenomena that occurs due to how the seasons change the priorities of a portion of the population. 

The shift between ‘Winter’ and ‘Spring’, most visible in the public eye with the ‘New Year’s Resolution Rush’ normally focuses on mitigating and combating the weight-gain, fatigue and low-spirits of the winter months. 

With the rise of obesity statistics and consumerist Christmas trends, the New Year Resolution Rush has become an increasingly reliable phenomena for many independent gyms and fitness clubs.

However, these members generally have a fairly short average membership lifetime, with either low morale or easily achieved goals, these members often peel off as quickly as they arrived with many independent gyms finding that the majority are no longer attending by March or even February!

Meanwhile the Summer trend is a little broader and harder to pinpoint, given that it can not only take effect in preparation for Summer, but also that this ‘holiday’ period covers over three months, from around June to early September.

As such, the ‘Summer seasonality’ represents a significant portion of the year for independent gyms and fitness clubs. 

The rationale behind the Summer rush is unsurprising. It usually revolves around losing any excess weight gathered over the Winter and held during the Spring, as well as getting back into shape in time for a beach holiday. If there was any doubt as to the power of this pull, survey respondents have frequently said they are more likely to workout for a holiday than their own wedding! 

As such, this predictable and undeniable cycle presents a challenge for independent gyms to overcome and a great potential for opportunity.

Methods and Techniques that independent gyms and fitness clubs can use to compensate and utilise Gym Member Seasonality

Gym seasonality may seem challenging, but it doesn’t have to be a sisyphean struggle, to be repeated year on year for no gain! You can use several strategies to hedge against the ebbs and flows of customer behaviour and keep your gym business thriving all year round.

 

1. Create a unique culture and an atmosphere within the gym that members will want to stay a part of:

The unfortunate truth is that if a gym member decides that they do not wish to be a member of that gym anymore, the value proposition that was keeping them there has slipped.

As such, it is important that all independent gym and fitness club owners look into how they can create a unique and compelling fitness facility culture that new members will feel loath to leave. 

If a gym feels ordinary or even disposable, there will be little to stop these seasonal members from walking out the door. They will be confident that they can find something similar next Summer or New Year, and that their fitness will not suffer greatly for the absence of the membership.

It is this apathy that we are trying to combat by creating a culture of excellence in the run-up to the two usual influx periods. Get important repairs and training done in the quieter months such as December. For independent gym’s near academic institutions, sorting these issues out in August are ideal. 

Increasing members aren’t just turning towards independent gym’s for their fitness needs, they want a unique experience and a service that will enhance their life in meaningful ways. 

By offering a compelling working space that offers a tangible sense of community and an aura of excellence, an independent gym is taking a massive step towards not just being a ‘seasonal fad’ for some members. 

2. Discounts on Classes, Personal Trainers, Event Days:

On the other side of the coin, another way to get people to stick around is to incentivise them! If a member just comes to a gym every other day during January and February, interacts with very few people and the independent gym or fitness club essentially ‘leaves them alone’. It will be very, very easy for that person to disconnect with the gym and get rid of their membership come March. 

Apathy begets apathy. Otherwise known as, you get what you put in! 

Which is why we recommend that during these influx months that independent gyms and fitness clubs start laying it on thick with the classes and incentives. 

Whether it is discounts on membership packages, class bundle discounts, introductory offers on personal trainers or special event-invites. Each piece of engagement might help the influx members forge bonds, whether it is with staff or other members, that will make them that much more likely to retain their gym membership thereafter. 



3. Soft-focus on seasonality in marketing during the fluctuation period:

When we say ‘soft-focus’, we just mean to be subtle. Talk about issues that affect members during these influx periods without directly saying ‘Don’t give up!’. It is a hard balancing act, but one that will be noted. 

Not only should this focus be about attracting new members during the influx periods, it should be able to offer positive messaging to try and help retain those members that do signup. 

Create content that will resonate with the challenges that these members are facing at the time. If it is New Year, marketing should focus not only on the desire for self-improvement, but plans for the year or half year. In turn, if it is Summer, it is important to not only push the notion of self-improvement but about sustainable exercise all year around. 

4. Increase focus on Secondary Spending during the influx months:

Stocking key products in the run-up to an influx period could be the difference between retaining members and not. Not only do common secondary spend items at independent gyms constitute a vital support network for members, they also represent an opportunity to link quality products with an independent gym or fitness club.

If members start to incorporate these products into their daily routine, the connection with the independent gym becomes stronger. We find that many gyms just try and batten down the hatches and ride out this period with their usual stock levels. Not only do shortages not leave a good impression, they also deny potentially greater integration between gym and members.

5. Work out what works! Data, Feedback and Customer Retention for independent gyms during the fluctuation months:

Finally, and most importantly, it is about keeping track of what works, what doesn’t and how great an impact these measures are having on the seasonal retention rate of an independent gym or fitness club. 

As we mentioned in the introduction, this will require detailed and powerful membership details not always available with every suite of gym membership management software currently available on the market. 

But for those that do, the potential to understand and eventually master the process of seasonal gym member retention is significant. With the right gym membership management software, independent gyms will be able to keep track of which of their initiatives are working, even being able to break down the trends across the month or even the week the member joined.

When supported by surveys, this data can become truly transformative, allowing independent gyms to cross-reference the trend of member history with their opinions on retention. 

And given that the seasonal cycle will repeat itself, there won’t be long before they can put into practice their feedback for the next year. This can help create a cycle of positive momentum, powered by the seasons themselves, allowing independent gym’s to increase their members (and therefore profit) while minimising attrition.

Not only that, but with the right gym membership management software, these influxes can even be charted and tracked when it comes to potential earnings, members and capacity. This can be invaluable for future planning, allowing the seasonal tide to act as a powerful engine for profit generation and growth within an independent gym. 

The pitfalls, negatives and potential costs of gym member seasonality: What independent gym and fitness club owners should be careful of regarding seasonality

Now that we’ve covered the positives, we will spend the latter part of this article looking at some of the pitfalls that can open up for new independent gym and fitness club owners if gym membership seasonality isn’t appropriately accounted for using the techniques we have looked into above. 

While we have focused on the positives of maintaining momentum and either keeping stable or steadily increasing the flow of members. The opposite is also true. A significant number of members leaving, even as part of a seasonal cycle, can be damaging to morale and of course, damaging to profits. 


Operational Costs Instability

Without proper eyes on membership numbers, there is the potential for a vast amount of inefficiency and waste to occur on the front of operational costs.

Without suitably robust gym membership management software to understand the ebbs and flows of members, gyms risk taking on too many staff, marketing incorrectly and a host of other pitfalls that can arise from not having sufficient eyes on the details of their operation. 

This is where the importance of a reliable gym membership management software package shines through. Even if it takes a few cycles for the retention initiatives to work, the reassurance that knowing how the cycle will most likely play out every year is invaluable to any serious independent gym or fitness club owner!

Unreliable members, unreliable revenue:

Without the ability to chart, track and rely on a stable membership, the dips can become costly. It is a well-known fact in the fitness industry that a relatively small increase in retention can vastly increase profitability. 

As such, independent gym owners who ignore the issue of seasonal dropoff do so at their own peril.

Lost Potential

Independent gym and fitness club owners that don’t take the opportunity to learn from their seasonal cycles are, unfortunately, destined to repeat the worst aspects of them. Not only that, but without the appropriate data capture, the potential for improvement will be squandered year after year.

While this might be imperceptible, when gym owners do this they are essentially borrowing from tomorrow. The deficit will eventually become apparent, and then overwhelming. The value of data outputs powering the decision making of today can’t be overestimated, especially when both the fitness industry and independent gyms and fitness clubs rely so heavily on the seasonal cycle.

Conclusion

And thus ends our brief overview on how independent gyms and fitness clubs can harness the power of the seasonal tides, using the data and experience to create positive momentum that can endure all year around.

If you are an independent gym or fitness club manager or owner who feels that their gym isn’t making the most of their data or their yearly influxes, perhaps the problem lies in your gym membership management software and partnership?

Without quality and meaningful data outputs and the powerful BI technology necessary to interpret them, it can be an uphill battle.

But we here at Ashbourne have over twenty five years of experience in the fitness industry, helping thousands of partner gyms, fitness clubs and more take their operations and profits to the next level. 

And our expertise doesn’t end at data and membership management. Our teams have helped transform the business-as-usual operations of gyms across the country in every arena, whether it is marketing, web-presence, access controls or business development. 

Interested and want to know more? Then please don’t hesitate to contact our demonstration team here today! They are on stand-by, ready to learn about your gym and how Ashbourne Membership Management can help it be in a better position this time next year!

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What Is Fitness Class Management Software?

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What Is Fitness Class Management Software?

In today’s blog we will be tackling one of the most important technical issues for an independent gym or fitness club to get right. 

Class Management

 

Or more specifically, Class Management Software. The days of keeping track of classes on a blackboard have passed! (Though you can keep doing it for the retro-aesthetic if you want!) We are looking for a method of fitness class arrangement that can’t be completely disrupted by a board-eraser/rubber. 

Much as with Gym membership management and access controls, the discipline of class management has been revolutionised in the last twenty years. Gone are the reams of paper and notice boards as the sole method of communication. 

Now the market has expanded, there are multiple providers of powerful software that enable an independent gym to organise and maintain a complete class booking system on a significantly reduced budget.

This software empowers gym and fitness club management with fast, reactive, and efficient means to handle bookings, payment, scheduling, rescheduling, and customer service. 

The centralisation of these tasks into a single piece of effortless and intuitive software can help revolutionise the amount of time and energy required to organise multiple classes in an active independent gym or fitness club environment.  

The drain on staff hours that used to come with the endless organising, rescheduling and liaising between instructors and class attendees can now be diminished and made manageable. 

With this in mind, we will be looking at the top features of fitness class management software and why it is a must-have for any independent gym or fitness club, whether they are looking to expand their class offering by freeing up capacity, or cope with their existing class structure that has become too unwieldy. 

Desirable Features

A Unifying Force

Perhaps the most impactful selling point of fitness class management software is how it can act as a central hub. Class management can, with very little warning become a quagmire. It is not uncommon that we hear horror stories from independent gyms and fitness clubs, usually concerning how they needed to reduce the number of classes or the scale due to the flaws in their approach to organising and administering the classes. 

Given that once a class schedule and scheduling system is introduced, it is meant to run constantly and consistently week after week, it is to be expected that even the slightest miscalculation in setup might result in significant inconvenience, either for the staff, the instructors, or the membership themselves.

This is where fitness class management software can set independent gyms and fitness clubs off on the right foot with their class scheduling endeavours.

By unifying every aspect of class management within a professional, tried and tested structure, the chances of these systems spiraling out of control is dramatically reduced.

With all the necessary information not only to hand but easily changed, updated, and amended, the process loses a lot of its inherent risk for spiralling out of control. 

With fitness class management software that allows gym members and staff alike to be reactive and proactive, the pitfalls of class management for independent gyms start to fall away.

Class Booking Applications

Software To Suit Any Independent Gym Or Fitness Club

With our twenty-five years of experience in the fitness industry, we know better than most that every independent gym or fitness club is unique.

This is why we recommend only going for fitness class management software that can provide the necessary flexibility to accommodate a broad range of classes and facilities.

Luckily many pieces of fitness class management software, including our own, are versatile, allowing staff to balance class-subscriptions, packages and bundles, single class payments and recurring payments, as well as discount codes. 

This is vital for ensuring that the payment infrastructure is connected to the fitness class management software and therefore has the flexibility to deal with the preferred method of payment for both the gym and the membership.

Payments

Contactless, Online, App-Based, Direct Debits

This brings us to our next interlinked feature which is a must-have for all fitness class management software. 

As touched upon above, the ability to integrate a payment environment safely and securely is a must. 

Ideally, this should go beyond just web-based online payment as well. Post-Covid it is expected that fitness class management software should be able to handle not only app-based payments but also contactless. 

One of the main functions of fitness class management software is to make transactions as smooth and accessible as possible across the potential desires of an independent gym’s membership base! Different members will want to pay in different ways for their classes and the software and its supporting app must be able to facilitate as many as possible.

 

Software Designed To Suit And Assist Any Instructor

As with members and staff, there is no point in having fitness class management software if it does not exist to aid the instructors.

The most sophisticated piece of software in the world won’t be worth the price point if no one in a gym or fitness club can use it. 

That is why fitness class management software must be usable by all parties, not just staff and the membership of the facility. 

Without this, the risk of further complications and the unnecessary transfer of information between staff and instructors.

This is a factor that often leads to the disintegration or discontinuation of effective class management structure in our experience, so it is important to find an app that removes the incentive by empowering the instructors appropriately. This can be achieved by giving them limited but direct access to the class management software. 

It is every bit as vital that they can manage their clients and class members in an independent but controlled virtual environment. By using fitness class management software that allows for payment, communication, alterations, and information requests, a significant amount of stress, hassle, and time commitment can be eliminated from the process. 

With the right fitness class management software, an independent gym or fitness club management will be able to confidently oversee their class scheduling system while being assured it is still in the hands of their staff and instructors.

A Powerful Retention Tool

Engaging And Communicating With Members

Deeply connected to the previous feature, we also thought it was worth referencing that the features of a truly impact fitness class management software suite will help empower members and aid retention. 

When looking for which fitness class management software to use, it is important to look for features that allow instructors and staff to communicate with the members regarding the classes they have signed up for. 

In our experience, it has been proven time and time again that members who receive bespoke, pertinent communication (not just spam!) about the classes they have signed up to are more likely to attend. 

Sometimes a bespoke message from an instructor or trainer can be all that it takes for an otherwise reluctant member to go to that Friday Barre class. And a member that goes to that class is that much more likely to keep their gym membership! 

It is a simple example but a powerful indication of what we all know communication can do when it comes to that all-important mission of retaining membership numbers.

It is an easy, efficient, and effective way of fostering a sense of belonging and community outside of the four walls of a fitness facility. A class will normally only last 45 minutes to an hour but with the ability for instructors to communicate it is a way to make that class feel like a more tangible part of the members’ life between sessions. 

Virtual Workouts And Fitness App Integration

The dual-rise of Virtual Workouts and Fitness Apps had begun before the Covid-19 pandemic, however, both skyrocketed in popularity as a result of the lockdowns. 

While the popularity of virtual workouts has not maintained their lofty highs from the now surreal lockdown, they are still much more popular than before 2020. 

This trend especially applies to millennials and Gen Z, who, as we have covered in other blogs recently, now make up the vast majority of gym and fitness club members. 

With these two developments in mind, it is no wonder that the desirability of virtual workouts and recorded classes has increased significantly in the last half-decade. 

Much like the communication feature we discussed earlier in this blog, virtual workouts allow for an independent gym or fitness club to project their influence and reach well beyond the four walls of the fitness facility itself.

Virtual engagement is now being seen as a powerful retention tool for the younger generations. They are tools that suit many of the values and capabilities they hold dear, whether it is working from home and then immediately partaking in a virtual workout or relying on their phone as the sole point of virtual interaction with their gym. 

As larger chains start to adopt more and more virtual and fitness app services, independent gyms and fitness clubs mustn’t be left behind in their choice of fitness club management software. 

Data Analytics, BI And Exporting Reports

And here at Ashbourne, we know the importance of software that doesn’t just deal with business-as-Usual but is capable of raising an independent gym or fitness club’s operations to the next level. 

That is why one of the features we advocate for most keenly when it comes to fitness class management software is data. 

While everything we have covered up until this point is necessary, desirable, and important for a modern gym or fitness club looking to get its fitness class scheduling system under control, we don’t believe it is enough. 

As with every aspect of modern gym management software, whether it is membership management, access control, or fitness classes, we believe that that software should be giving the staff and management valuable feedback. 

Whether it is monitoring the correlation between attendance and price-point, the popularity of a certain time slot or class, or simply understanding the total number of members engaging with the fitness class system, a truly powerful piece of fitness class management software should be constantly working for the gym or fitness club. Gathering information that can be easily exported and turned into meaningful, usable data. 

Without this, valuable data such as the preference members have for certain classes, the waxing and waning popularity of classes across the weeks and seasons, and the impact of the peak hours on the class system, all of this gets left on the table, fated to disappear into the void.

Given the cumulative effect that this can have, we believe that analytical reporting features are a must on any piece of fitness class management software. 


As ever in business, it isn’t just what actions are taken, it is what actions are not. Without sophisticated reporting capabilities, data and feedback will be left on the table every week, every month, and every quarter. 

It is these data-driven decisions that can make a profound impact on the course that an independent gym or fitness club’s class offering will take. Without the ability to collect anything other than anecdotal evidence, the inability to react to otherwise obvious patterns is vastly diminished.

Conclusion

We hope this blog has helped impress just how vital fitness class management software can be for an independent gym or fitness club, as well as reinforcing what features can truly make a difference.

It isn’t enough just to purchase any piece of fitness class management software, it is about picking the right one for the right club. 

Here at Ashbourne Membership Management, we believe we have created a complete suite of software that can handle fitness class management as well as elevating a host of other areas vital to the business-as-usual running of a fitness facility.

Whether it is assisting with access controls, BI interfaces or membership and payment, Ashbourne’s software is capable of unifying the key (and often disparate) functions of a gym or fitness club into one environment. 

So whether you are just interested in resolving some troublesome class scheduling issues or want a complete suite and a partnership that will help take your business to the next level, click here to arrange a demo today! 

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Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

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Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

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How To Beat A Pure Gym: Case Study of an Independent Gym – The Fit Club: Redditch

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How To Beat A Pure Gym: Case Study of an Independent Gym – The Fit Club: Redditch

In every industry and sector, we have stories like this. The biggest fish is moving in. McDonalds to the fast food industry, supermarkets for convenience stores.

And often there are one of two reactions to this development. One, incorrectly, is to view it with an air of defeatism and inevitability. Some approach it with the steady resignation that impersonal and corporate brands will just roll across the country, setting up cookie-cutter businesses with the lowest overhead and the largest appeal.

While this is not unfounded, it is also not useful and ultimately, not true. 

McDonalds has existed as a global force for over 50 years, the supermarket as we know it is (debatably) pushing a century. And yet neither has eradicated independent and local business. 

PureGym, for those curious, is 15 years old this year and just like our previous examples, does not need to signal doom and despair to independent gyms and fitness clubs. 

And as we like to show our workings, our blog today is about a real instance of an independent gym fending off and thriving when a PureGym moved to their large town. 

So we will be looking at how Fit Club picked the second reaction to a PureGym moving, not despair and defeatism, but energy, dynamism and resourcefulness. We will look at how they were able to maximise their strengths and account for their weaknesses, all while taking into account what really mattered, their membership and the local area. 

3 Things You Will learn...

01

How the Fit Club thrived

A look into the key factors that had to change for the Fit Club to hold their ground against Pure Gym.

02

Ashbourne's
Arrival

How Ashbourne’s membership management software and access control helped solve problems.

03

Community Building

How the focus changed to building a community within the club.

How The Fit Club Thrived When A Pure Gym Moved In Next Door

We will start by painting a picture of The Fit Club in Redditch as it was just before PureGym moved into the town…

It is a gym that attracts members from all walks of life and all levels of fitness. Seeking to put itself into the bracket of a ‘low-cost provider that delivers more’ with a large range of top quality equipment, free induction upon sign up, a sauna, and a raft of daily classes hosted across three separate studios. 

The situation just before PureGym opened (and before their partnership with us here at Ashbourne), the club was not in a good place. Known as Prime Fitness Redditch at the time, the gym had several glaring problems, some were systemic, others just unexpected results of other, necessary decisions. 

The first issue that was identified was that the club had adopted an unsustainable, costly, and unprofitable 24-hour model.

 Further compounding this problem, members were able to share access codes without any recourse or mechanisms to check. 

So the arrival of the PureGym represented something of a wake-up call. The inadequacies and profit leaks of the past would no longer be acceptable. With a competitive, more up-together and well-known brand moving into the area, many aspects of the fitness club would need to change. 

So we are going to look at some of the key factors that had to change for The Fit Club to hold their ground against PureGym. 

This will include the practical measures that Ashbourne helped introduce and enable through our membership management software, as well as structural initiatives and more social-based, community outreach that The Fit Club engaged in. 

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Key Factors

Value Proposition Increase For Members

Once the name was changed from Prime Fitness – Redditch to The Fit Club and the partnership with Ashbourne had been forged, it was time to get to work.

 PureGym was already on the march so time was of the essence to make meaningful, tangible changes that would improve the experience for the existing membership while hopefully drawing in new members through positive word of mouth. 

At Ashbourne, we know that one of the biggest obstacles to retention is the Value Proposition.

 If members do not feel like they are getting value for money, the likelihood of them retaining the services of an independent gym or fitness club drops dramatically.  

So we identified the first big win, one that was impacting the image of the Brand, the operational costs, and the perceived value generated from gym membership.

That unhelpful 24-hour opening time.

In and of itself, not an inherently bad concept of course, if it is managed correctly. But the complete lack of access controls, combined with the very low number of regular paying users made this the first area our Membership Management Software was able to ascertain. 

While the physical infrastructure was in place in theory, a full-height turnstile was backed up by a keypad access system. It was not supported, either by personnel or software. 

This was combined with the 24-hour nature of the pre-Fit Club and pre-Ashbourne facility. It meant that pin sharing was rampant and there was no effective recourse to stop it. 

This collapse of access control and security represented our first massive impact on the value proposition, and this one problem reduced not only the perceived value but the actual value of Prime Fitness membership in several ways.

 The first and most apparent, is, of course, a not-significant amount of unrealised income. Money is not spent by those using the facility who might otherwise have memberships. 

And of course, news spread around Redditch that this was the case, not least among the members of the old gym.

 This meant that the perceived value was reduced drastically. If others are getting away without paying and the gym is doing nothing to stop them. Why pay? Is it a club worth paying for? Suddenly the entry price could be zero if only you knew someone with a valid access code. It was a recipe for disaster and the reputation suffered, all from this one, unaddressed problem.

 And finally, of course, there was the vandalism that can come with unchecked, 24-hour gyms and clubs. 

All of this represented a significant drain on profit, morale, and value for the members. Something had to change if this club was going to survive the arrival of a PureGym. 

Ashbourne Arrives...

Once the partnership with Ashbourne had been cemented, things quickly began to change.

 Like many fledgling operations, the initial club was not collecting data about many key factors of their operations. The club was running on inertia. It generated money, but outside of an amount deposited, no one knew how much or why. 

This is where the first major change came in.

With Ashbourne’s membership management software and access control, several problems that had previously seemed insurmountable were quickly solved.  

First, our gym management software allowed the newly minted Fit Club to deny duplicate entries into the facility when they originated from the same gym membership. This was simple and incredibly effective, instantly ending access sharing. 

To further eliminate this problem, a fingerprint entry system would also be added. Allowing not only the benefit to the membership of not having to remember an access code but also increasing security and with it, that all-important value proposition. 

Just as importantly, the implementation of our membership management software across The Fit Club’s operation revealed that the cost of that 24-hour access may not have been worth the price. 

As we alluded to earlier in the blog, the actual number of people that were revealed to be using the facility outside of ‘daylight hours’ was minimal, certainly not worth the physical and moral toll that has been inflicted upon the club.

Up until that moment and without our software, this had not been ascertained. 

This is a frequent trap we see independent gyms and fitness clubs falling into. In the wake of the rise of PureGym and The Gym Group, the fallacy that 24-hour clubs represent one of the ultimate value propositions is often proven to be just that, a fallacy. 

But with better data comes better decision-making, and in addition to the decrease in unauthorised membership, the 24-hour access system was abolished.

This gave The Fit Club a reorientation and a renewal of purpose, as well as defining it against the emerging PureGym. 

Price Increases

With the perceived and actual value of The Fit Club on the increase, these actions transferred into that intangible yet all-important commodity, momentum. 

With the gym staff and management no longer stretched across 24 hours, no longer battling with access control issues and not even fielding their membership enquiries now that the Ashbourne support line had taken over, this meant they were more able to focus on the membership in the facility. 

Furthermore, they were able to work with us here at Ashbourne to set up their own app, using our existing app model, we have made it easy for independent gyms and fitness clubs to have their own professional and bespoke application up and running quickly. 

With the club now being better maintained, the membership more attended to and the security and equipment in much better stead, the club felt confident increasing their prices, incorporating greater benefits such as regular weigh-ins to compensate for this measure. 

The visible increase in service level with the above changes, combined with the record high morale meant that most members were more than willing to pay the small increase. Value had been created and as such, more could be asked of the members.

Focusing On Long Term Membership Health

The next stage became focusing on the long-term health of the members. The goal here was to deliver something that isn’t associated with a PureGym or other large chain while making use of the extra capacity and capability that came from Fit Club’s partnership with Ashbourne. 

This represented a move away from simply putting equipment into a room and walking off. 

Again, this change in direction became possible due to the systems that Ashbourne put in place. 

In the old era, there had not been an app with which to project the benefits of membership beyond attending the facility, there hadn’t been a suitably advanced class-booking system, nor had there been the capacity for the staff to focus on member needs.

With spare capacity and capability came the chance to make a truly lasting impact on the membership. Between classes, equipment, and the regular weigh-ins, The Fit Club came to embody just that, the ethos of being ‘Fit’, not in a vainglorious sense, but in a practical sense. 

Membership management software, access controls, and other technologies were able to give them the space to create something truly personal and affecting for their members. 

A package that was meant to offer something, not just a soulless, automated facility with doors mindlessly opening and shutting to let people in and out. 

It had started to become a club that had the time and ability to focus on the wants and needs of its members.

This brings us very neatly to our last point.

Community Building

So with everything else in place, we reach the last opening initiative that was undertaken by The Fit Club – Redditch during the initial pushback against PureGym.

And that was the focus on building a community within the club and engaging with the community outside of the community. 

Much like focusing on long-term health, this would not have been possible without the capacity created by the Ashbourne partnership. 

The focus then became about investing those new profits into forging something else that would not come easily to a PureGym. A fostered sense of community focused around a local fitness club. 

This approach took several different forms, from hosting events for both members and non-members to approaching the local council to increasing the number of classes.

 The addition of coffee facilities and a seating area only helped to enhance the idea that this wasn’t a place to simply come and work out. 

In a few short months, the facility was able to turn from something running on autopilot to a vibrant, community-focused and driven fitness club on the ascent. 

Conclusion

And what was the outcome of all of these changes?

Well,  we are happy to say that The Fit Club’s membership numbers soared after the Ashbourne partnership to well over 2000 members. This cemented its place as one of the most popular fitness facilities in Redditch. 

This is why we decided to make it the focus of our blog today, The Fit Club is a fantastic example of what can be accomplished when the right facility partners with the right talent.

And the right facility might not be the one you expect. Looking at The Fit Club when it was prime fitness, you would have to squint to see the true value and potential. Luckily, those in charge did, and they contacted us at Ashbourne, who shared their vision. 

The management wasn’t content to try and outcompete PureGym in a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week race to the bottom in terms of prices and quality. 

Instead, they got smart. Recruiting a partner with the experience and knowledge to transform their business by identifying what had gone wrong and what could go right moving forward.

 The Fit Club was able to quickly carve out a niche in the market that PureGym couldn’t occupy, as well as patching the holes in their existing structure that had gone unidentified until the Ashbourne partnership.

And from there, it has been a case of positive momentum replacing stagnant inertia. The Fit Club has been able to invest back into its facility and equipment, with a host of renovations and upgrades across its sauna, reception desk, equipment, and class rooms.

 The partnership and the rebrand has energised this facility and helped it define itself in a challenging market. 

So whether you have a PureGym coming to town or not, perhaps you know a gym that can benefit from an Ashbourne partnership?

As we said, sometimes it is the gym or fitness club you least expect. 

If you are a gym or fitness club owner or manager and interested in seeing if Ashbourne can help take your business to the next level, please do not hesitate to reach out here!

More to Read...

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.
book a demo

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

book a demo

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

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Building a Stronger Team: Effective Strategies to Reward Your Gym Staff and Boost Business Success

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Building a Stronger Team: Effective Strategies to Reward Your Gym Staff and Boost Business Success

Running a successful gym goes beyond just having state-of-the-art equipment and a trendy fitness atmosphere; it’s also about fostering a positive and motivated team. Your staff plays a crucial role in creating a welcoming and energizing environment for gym-goers. To ensure the continued success of your business, it’s essential to recognise and reward your staff for their hard work and dedication. In this blog post, we’ll explore effective strategies to reward your gym staff and keep your business thriving.

1. Competitive Salaries And Benefits

A strong foundation for staff motivation is ensuring that they are compensated fairly. Competitive salaries, health benefits, and other perks demonstrate your commitment to your team’s well-being. This not only helps attract top talent but also motivates existing staff to perform at their best.

2. Recognition Programmes

Implementing an employee recognition programme is a powerful way to acknowledge individual and team achievements. Recognise outstanding performance in areas such as customer service, personal training success stories, and teamwork. This can be done through regular shoutouts during staff meetings, on a bulletin board in the break room, or even on your gym’s social media platforms.

3. Professional Development Opportunities

Investing in your staff’s professional growth not only benefits them but also enhances the overall quality of your gym. Offer opportunities for certifications, workshops, and seminars related to fitness, customer service, or management. This not only improves their skill set but also demonstrates your commitment to their long-term success.

4. Flexible Schedules And Work-Life Balance

Providing a flexible work schedule and promoting a healthy work-life balance is crucial in the fitness industry. Allow staff members to have input into their schedules and consider implementing policies that encourage time off for rest and rejuvenation. This helps prevent burnout and ensures that your team remains energised and motivated.

5. Employee Of The Month Programmes

Highlighting outstanding employees through an “Employee of the Month” programme can be an effective way to boost morale. This recognition can come with additional perks, such as a reserved parking spot, a small monetary bonus, or a special feature on your gym’s website or newsletter.

6. Team Building Activities

Organise team-building events and activities outside the gym environment. This could include group workouts, sports activities, or even retreats. Creating a strong sense of camaraderie among your staff fosters a positive working environment and improves collaboration.

7. Incentive Programmes

Consider implementing incentive programmes tied to performance metrics, such as membership sign-ups, personal training packages sold, or member retention rates. Offer bonuses, commission-based structures, or other rewards for achieving specific targets. This not only motivates your staff but also aligns their success with the overall success of the gym.

8. Wellness Initiatives

Promote employee wellness by offering gym memberships, fitness classes, or health and wellness challenges. Encourage a healthy lifestyle among your staff, and consider organising fitness challenges with rewards for participants, fostering a culture of wellness within your team.

9. Open Communication And Feedback

Establishing open lines of communication is essential for understanding your staff’s needs and concerns. Regular feedback sessions provide an opportunity for constructive dialogue and can help identify areas for improvement. Act on feedback received to show your commitment to creating a positive and supportive work environment.

Our Final Thoughts

By implementing a combination of these strategies, you can create a workplace culture that values and rewards your gym staff, ultimately contributing to the ongoing success of your business. Recognising the hard work and dedication of your team not only boosts morale and job satisfaction but also creates a positive ripple effect that enhances the overall gym experience for both employees and members. As you invest in your staff, you’re not only building a stronger team but also ensuring the long-term prosperity of your gym in the competitive fitness industry.

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The Golden Ratio: How Many Members Should Your Gym Actually Support

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The Golden Ratio: How Many Members Should Your Gym Actually Support

Within the fitness industry, a lot of ink (and more recently, pixels) have been spilled on one question.

Just how many members can a gym or fitness club fit in it? 

It feels like a simple question, surely we aren’t still debating it over 2,500 years after the Greeks first coined the term Gymnasium?

 As this article might indicate, we are! But luckily we’ve made a few strides in the last two and a half millennia. Some might even say we’ve got it down to a fine art.

 But like all good enduring questions, there are multiple answers and many different methods to reaching those answers.

 So today we are going to take a look into a few different ways to reach the fabled Golden Ratio of gym membership capacity. And as per our expertise, we will be specifically looking at how gym membership management software can be instrumental in not only providing the numbers to calculate capacity effectively, but also provide an agile, proactive and low cost way for independent gyms and fitness clubs to maximise their capacity at all times.   

What Is 'The Golden Ratio'

The term Golden Ratio is thrown around a lot, and unfortunately it can mean different things to different people. 

To some it represents a formula that will effortlessly solve all the capacity quandaries of a gym or fitness club.

 To others it is the ratio of which a gym or fitness club is at ‘perfect’ capacity.

But even the definition of ‘perfect’ varies.

Overcrowding, a topic that invariably comes up during talks of capacity and ratio and that we will focus on heavily, will always play a part. The ‘perfect’ capacity may be too much for some, constituting overcrowding.

 It might be becoming apparent that there is no one-size-fits-all ratio that can be applied to every gym to ensure that ‘perfect’ capacity is reached.

 But as the old saying goes, perfect is the enemy of good. So while we will use the term Golden Ratio as a catchy and unifying name for our objective, we are not here to sell some mathematically complete, silver bullet solution.

 Rather we will use data, experience and methodology to help independent gym and fitness club owners understand gym membership capacities and ratios in order to better implement it in their own clubs and facilities. 

What are we trying to achieve by managing Capacity?

When we talk about Capacity Management in the context of a gym or a fitness club, what are we really talking about?

 Ultimately it can be boiled down to two key goals. We are trying to ensure that the maximum number of paying members are signed on whilst mitigating the undesirable effects of overcrowding. 

And overcrowding is a pernicious beast. It can be hard to detect for the management of an independent gym or fitness club, it can even be hard to detect for the staff on the ground.

 But for the gym member? It is monolithic. It is pervasive and it is a death by a thousand cuts. 

It saps the desire to go to the Gym. Knowing you’ll have to wait for a treadmill, push through a crowded changing room, or be frustrated that the dumbbells you wanted have once again been taken. 

This brings us to our first formula. 

And that is: Value = Utility – Price. First detailed in Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne.

It is a simple but powerful abstraction.

 What we are focusing on here is Utility.

Specifically, overcrowding represents the death of Utility. 

It needn’t have anything to do with the quality of equipment or the staff, not even the location.

Just the simple fact that a gym or fitness club’s one true desire is to get more members, is also one of the greatest existential threats to retention. 

It is a story we have seen many times within the industry across our twenty-five years of experience. At a certain point of expansion, an independent gym or fitness club will cease to be a pleasant place for gym members to go at certain times. 

When it is no longer a pleasant place to go to, we look back at Value equals Utility MINUS Price and suddenly the amount of utility has been impacted, and the price has stayed the same, which means that in the mind of the customer, the value starts to plummet. 

It is a serious issue, with very real consequences if mismanaged for an independent gym or fitness club. Next, we will look at why overcrowding and utility represent THE primary retention metric that gyms and fitness clubs should be focusing on. 

Capacity Management and Retention

While this list is not exhaustive, in our lengthy experience in the fitness industry there are four main groups of reasons cited when a gym member departs.

They are as follows:

Change in economic circumstance, Change in Location, Lack of Use, Overcrowded

Of these, we must look at what an independent gym or fitness club can reasonably control. It is no use focusing on those who have either had to move or have chosen to move location. And while there is an argument for being able to act upon changes in economic circumstances, ultimately we are not in control of the fortunes of our members.

So we are left with two very familiar sounding concepts that we can control in the grand and unending battle for gym membership retention.

Lack of use and Overcrowding 

Utility and Value.

When seen through this lens, it becomes apparent that capacity management is one of the leading solutions to poor retention.

 It is not a silver bullet, there are as many reasons cited for leaving as members. We are not suggesting that capacity management can solve things such as poor equipment or an undesirable location.

 But what should be apparent is that capacity represents one of the few factors that is eminently controllable by the management of an independent gym or fitness club, with the right data, methodology and mindset. 

Data and Capacity Management

With sufficiently advanced and powerful gym membership management software, capacity management becomes much easier. This is because it can help fill in a significant gap in one of the most effective gym and fitness club membership capacity management formulas. 

Before the implementation of gym membership management software, management and staff would have to either make assumptions, rely on vague intuition or take a leap of faith when it came to understanding just how long their average gym member was actually in their gym. 

Even the slightest disparity between reality and the assumed or intuited information about gym membership could result in wildly different numbers when it came to calculating capacity management.

And as we covered above, that could be the difference between tranquillity and a significant hammer blow to the value that a member is getting from their gym membership, in turn leading to reduced retention. 

So what can the best gym membership management software offer?

It will be able to track the length of every single visit a gym member makes to the independent gym or fitness club.

 And from there, it will be possible to calculate an entirely correct average, to be used in capacity management calculations to help ensure that overcrowding does not occur. 

The difference between this and blind intuition will be like night and day.

 Furthermore, while we will not be covering it here, it is possible to isolate and understand what times are the busiest with gym membership management software and factor that into a capacity management equation. While it is not the focus of today, we will hopefully explore further applications for gym membership management software in capacity management projects in further blogs. 

Example of Capacity Management Formula

So now our theoretical independent gym or fitness club is assured that the average length of a visit to their gym has been perfectly calculated from an up-to-date and verified pool of their membership. 

Now it is time to get down to the calculation. 

Step 1: First the gym or fitness club owner must collate the sum total of all individual pieces of cardio equipment (Treadmills, Elliptical Trainers, etc), all free-standing strength training equipment (Leg Press, Chest Fly, etc), and the number of benches, as well as determining how much studio space is readily available (with a sensible division, everyone cannot be expected to workout within 1m squared!).

 It is important to also keep these individual statistics for Step 5. (Individual number of Treadmills, Leg Press machines etc). We will call each instance (aka, each machine or space) Floor-Capacity or FC.

Once all of those have been calculated, the owner will have the maximum number of members that can be actively using the gym at any one time.

 Keep in mind this does not cover the reception or the locker rooms. 

Step 2: Understand how many people can use the locker rooms at any one time. Again, like the studio floor space, it is important to be honest about how much space you believe a member would be comfortable using.

 Step 3: Combine these two sums for the total number of members that can be IN the gym at any one time.

Step 4: Take the figure for the average length of a gym member’s visit to the facility. (As specified above, should preferably be determined by data output from gym membership management software). 

Step 5: This part can either be done across the gym as a whole or across the individual sections of the gym, depending on the level of specificity required by the gym. 

Now we take the time our gym is open. For simplicity, it is open between 8 am and 10 pm, or 14

We will then take the average membership visit, as determined by our gym management software which comes to 60 minutes or one hour. 

Divide Operational Hours by Average Gym Visit for 14 divided by 1 hour in this case to equal 14.  

Now take the number of Floor-Capacity for an area or all areas, in our theoretical example we will do Treadmills, of which there are 15.

Multiple our two figures together (14 x 15) to get the total capacity of the treadmill section (210).

This represents the simplest Capacity Management calculation, not reconciling factors such as peak time and membership variance.

But what it does provide is both a solid number and a framework to expand in complexity. The true strength of capacity management is that a gym or fitness club can go as granular or as broad as they desire. 

What we are left with after our quick experiment is the hard limit of the number of members that can use those 15 treadmills in a given day. Given that we do not live in a perfect world where 14 groups of 15 members arrive every hour, it will need to be expanded and developed.

 But that is where the increasing sophistication of data available to even independent gyms and fitness clubs means that capacity management is now more accessible than ever.

 If we look at what can be achieved even with the simplest calculations, imagine what can be accomplished with sophisticated data outputs, quantifying gym membership attendance, and equipment usage not only across time but section. Establish trends and patterns that can be utilised to turn the above, simple formula into a powerful tool in the fight against overcrowding. A toolkit that can be used to increase retention, value and utility. 

Our Final Thoughts

Retention is what capacity management is all about. We all know it is less costly to retain members and battling the ‘churn’ has become a significant preoccupation for independent gyms and fitness clubs.

The delicate balancing act between expansion and value has become too valuable to ignore, as a lack of efficiency in this domain will significantly damage retention and by extension, profits. 

Luckily here at Ashbourne, we have channeled over twenty-five years of experience within the fitness industry into our gym membership management software, partnering with hundreds of independent gyms and fitness clubs to take their businesses to the next level.

As we showed above, with the help of a gym membership management service and software, an independent gym can go from operating in the dark to carefully planning out aspects of their operation such as capacity, secondary spending and control access. 

Have we piqued your interest? Excited to see how our cutting-edge software and data outputs could help inform the calculations and choices that will drive profit and growth? Look no further and book a demo here today! 

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6 Ways to Futureproof Your Fitness Business

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6 Ways to Futureproof Your Fitness Business

In the dynamic and ever-evolving fitness industry, staying ahead of the curve is essential for the long-term success of your business. As trends, technologies, and consumer preferences shift, it’s crucial to futureproof your fitness business to ensure its resilience and relevance. In this blog, we’ll explore key strategies to help you navigate the ever-changing landscape and position your fitness business for sustained growth.

 

1. Embrace Technology

The integration of technology is a cornerstone for futureproofing your fitness business. From fitness apps and wearables to virtual training platforms, technology can enhance the customer experience and broaden your reach. Invest in user-friendly apps that allow clients to schedule classes, track progress, and access workouts remotely. Consider incorporating wearable technology to monitor and analyse individual performance, providing personalised insights and recommendations.

2. Virtual Fitness Programs

The rise of virtual fitness gained significant momentum, especially in light of global events that prompted the adoption of remote solutions. Offering virtual classes and training sessions allows your fitness business to transcend geographical boundaries, reaching clients beyond your immediate location. Invest in high-quality video production, create engaging content, and leverage social media to promote your virtual offerings.

3. Diversify Your Services

To futureproof your fitness business, diversify your offerings to cater to a broader audience. Explore niche markets, such as specialised training programs for seniors, corporate wellness initiatives, or fitness solutions for specific health conditions. By diversifying your services, you not only expand your client base but also create additional revenue streams that can help your business weather economic uncertainties.

4. Build a Strong Online Presence

In the digital age, a strong online presence is non-negotiable. Create a professional website, optimise it for search engines, and maintain active and engaging social media profiles. Use these platforms to share valuable content, showcase client success stories, and connect with your audience. A robust online presence not only attracts new clients but also builds trust and credibility in your brand.

5. Prioritise Customer Retention

While attracting new clients is essential, retaining existing ones is equally crucial. Establish strong relationships with your clients by providing exceptional customer service, personalised training programs, and regular communication. Consider loyalty programs, exclusive offers, and member perks to incentivise long-term commitments.

6. Stay Adaptable

Flexibility is key in an ever-changing landscape. Stay informed about industry trends, consumer preferences, and emerging technologies. Be willing to adapt your business model and services to meet the evolving needs of your clients. Regularly solicit feedback and use it to make informed decisions that enhance the overall customer experience.

Our Final Thoughts

Futureproofing your fitness business requires a proactive approach to adapt to the evolving landscape. Embrace technology, diversify your services, build a strong online presence, and prioritise customer retention. By staying adaptable and forward-thinking, your fitness business can thrive in an industry that continues to evolve. As you implement these strategies, remember that the key to long-term success lies in the ability to anticipate change and proactively position your business for sustained growth.

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Member of a gym? Simply text "HELP" to 60777 and we'll help you.

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