do i need to go to college to own and run my own gym?

Question

if i don't than what are the requirments to owning your own gym?

Answer 1

No you do not. Is this question serious? I hope so because I am giving a serious answer.

You do not have to have any qualifications except for the money and know how to open your own gym. Personally I think a gym is an excellent investment. I am biased though. I have been consulting to gyms, health clubs, spas, and martial arts centers for 20 years. That being said:

There is no requirement to "own" any business you can afford. You could own a hospital is you have the money.

What you do need to open a gym is a great location, plenty of parking available, especially at night when most of your clients will be visiting. There needs to be a strong market for another gym in your area. If there is an over-crowded, successful gym in your area that is a very good sign of a strong market.

Next you need equipment. You can buy or lease. I recommend a little of both. You can buy custom made weight benches that are better than the brand names. But, I would include one line of Nautilus or Eagle-Cybex equipment for their support and a quality circuit training program is an excellent marketing tool. You can lease you equipment sometimes with absolutely no money out of pocket depending on your personal credit.

Next is you cardio line and this is going to require some funding. You need stationary bikes; Lifecycles are still the most popular. The stair-climbing machines are your most used machines so you need to invest smart. Stair-master is the king in my opinion. But if you find another company who has a quality machine and is willing to lease and help with some promotional support this is an excellent option.

The last step is your schedule of events. Are you going to have aerobic classes? Yoga? Martial Arts? Decide by the studying the interest of your market. If you are in the DC area then you need to consider your local people. If you are one the Maryland side maybe have square dancing instead of yoga classes. But, if you are in Georgetown, you could offer yoga, tae chi, and Qi gong, which is the next trend as soon as someone figures out a basic way to market it.

The great thing about the gym business if you can start with almost no capital is you have good credit. In most states you can start selling memberships before you buy one piece of equipment. Maryland will allow but Virginia will not so be aware. Local authorities will watch you like a hawk, but you are fine as long as you spend the pre-sale membership funds on the gym. Most major health clubs chains have already paid for the gym through pre-sales before they even open the doors for business. But when they do open all of the promised machines are there, the finish is complete, and every employee is at his or her station. This includes, Bally's, Gold Gym, World Gym, and Powerhouse, as I have consulted for them all personally.

Gyms do fail though. The most common cause is just plain old stupidity. An ex jock opens the place and thinks he can still strut around like he is king of the campus acting like people are lucky to be in his presence. That won't work. For success in the gym business you must service your members smarter that your competition. Make your gym the cleanest of any around. It should be an almost sterile environment, meaning even your sales team should take an active part in wiping down the machines and checking for any dangerous wear and tear. This also keeps the sales staff in touch with their product and you can require them to work out which is a great idea.

Now on the sales team. The has-been jock will always think he doesn't need a sales team. Fine, he will be out of business in 6 months with only a terrible credit report and a few judgments against him to show for whatever money he put up to start. A gym has to have some sort of sales force who is actively inviting members into your gym. You will lose at least 10% of your membership every year just due to people moving away or joining another gym. You need to replace those members and add more for the future. Advertising and marketing will take up close 30% of your gross income. It a gym tries to run on 10% they will go out of business.

On the other hand if you open your gym with a bang of a Grand Opening. Use this as a membership drive and you can get enough members to at least maintain your club. Any new members are your profits, meaning you and your investors. But you still need to invest 10% of your gross back into the club for repairs of equipment, and another 15% to buy new equipment, TV's, juice bar, or any other value added service you decide to add on later. Either a gym is growing or it is dying. There is no in between.

Now I know this is the Grandpa Simpson version of the answer to your question. But if I were you and seriously thinking about opening a gym. I would copy my post and paste it into a Word document that you can still view 5 years from now.

Work hard, stay honest, be smart, and you will know success.

Answer 2

No, you don't need to go to college to run a gym. The requirements for owning a gym are 1. Having a crapload of money and 2. Having a crapload of money. If you study nutrition or food science in college and have really good credit that should be a plus. Some business management classes would be a huge plus also.

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
do i need to go to college to own and run my own gym?
if i don't than what are the requirments to owning your own gym?

Answer 4

No college degree is necessary. A business plan, working knowledge in this field, and proper financing are what's needed.
If a loan is involved, you will need to show that your business plan is viable, and location of the gym is a very important factor of your success in the business, as well as securing your loans.
Good luck to you!

Answer 5

Check with your local government for the requirements. You will surely need a business license and insurance. Even if you do not seek out a degree from college some courses whould be benificial to your business. Courses in physical fitness and the human anatomy as well as business and accounting. Good luck.

Answer 6

No, but sometimes you might need to get a government permit. Check with your local government office. If you have the money you can open a gym.

Answer 7

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