MATT CICCI • Operations & Management Professional Health, Wellness & Fitness Writer

Increase Your Gym Profitability

The Business of Fitness201

According to ACSM, personal training is the 6th most popular fitness trend of 2016.

Translation: your members want a personal training program.

Consider purpose, pricing,offering, and location before launching a PT program.

Personal training easily makes up the largest percentage of non-dues revenue. If a well-run club is generating 30% of total revenue from non-dues sources, IHRSA estimates that nearly 9.5% of that is coming from the personal training department. These industry averages do not take into account club size, age, total membership and market price point, but the numbers provide a fairly stan-dard and encouraging look at what PT can do for a club. So, whether your gym is already knocking it out of the park with one-on-one training, or just beginning to consider implementing this new profit center, what follows is a starter-guide for improving and growing the personal training revenue at a typical fitness center.

Personal Training • 4

Personal Training

Even with staff & inventory, growing your café over time could yield an easy $25,000 in net revenue for a medium to large club.

A café or juice bar not only provides an additional revenue stream for the club, but also acts as a member gathering point to further promote the club asa second home. It takes a bit of planning and certain amount of investment to successfully implement this service, but the returns are well worth it. A quick formula: If a club with 500 daily swipes sees only 10% of those members make a café purchase at an average ticket price of $8.50, then that is gross revenue of $12,750 per month. And that is a conservative estimate. Even with staff and inventory, growing the business over time could yield an easy $25,000 in net revenue for a medium to large club.

Café/Juice Bar • 9

Café/Juice Bar

Spa or massage revenue can be a great boost to your bottom line.

The modern day gym isn’t all weight lifting and cardio classes anymore. The gym has become a lifestyle center. Few offerings offset the vigorous pursuit of exercise like the relaxing enjoyment of a massage or spa service. For members it’s both a physical and mental escape and for the club it’s a bona fide money maker. But unlike other profit centers, adding this feature creates some of the most difficult challenges for a gym; namely space allocation. Where will it go?

Massage/Spa Services • 14

Massage/Spa Services

If you’re wondering if the spa business is worth it, consider this:

According to Statistica, the spa industry generated 14.7 billion in revenue in 2015.Plus, spa revenue accounts for nearly 5% of total NDR (IHRSA 2013).

80% of gym members have purchased home workout equipment.

That means 80% like to spend money on a healthy lifestyle!

It has been estimated that 80% of gym members have purchased home workout accessories or equipment. This means 80% of your members like to spend money on a healthy lifestyle. That is why a well-run pro shop can create a substantial revenue stream for a gym or fitness center. Members want to buy stuff; clubs just need to give them the opportunity to do so. Here’s how.

Pro Shop • 19

Pro Shop

If you want to set yourself apart from the competition, it’s time to consider adding a recovery station.

Hiding amongst the many members of the typical gym are some die-hard athletes. Not just the Spartan racers and Tough Mudders, but iron men and women, triathe-letes, and others who push their bodies HARD! What these ultra competitors value more than a great smoothie is proper recovery. And they will pay for it. So, if your gym wants to really set itself apart from competitors, it’s time to think about adding a recovery station.

Recovery Station • 23

Recovery Station

Conduct a search for a ‘top 10 trends in fitness’ article over any of the past 10 years and invariable one of the categories listed will be group exercise. IHRSA estimates that 82% of all clubs operating today offer some sort of group training. Additionally, nearly 43% (2 out of 5) members at one point in time have taken a fitness class. Group classes are popular! And while it is customary to offer a variety of free classes with a standard membership, there is also tremendous potential to grow the program into a fee-based profit center.

Group Exercise • 27

Group Exercise

An estimated 82% of all clubs operating today offer some sort of group training.

Additionally, 2 out of 5 members have taken a fitness class at some point. Imagine your results if you could increase that by just one member!