Member Experience

5 Key Elements to Opening a Successful Fitness Business

If you're thinking about starting your own fitness business, here are five key elements that will help you succeed.

Eric LeClair
October 12, 2021
5 Key Elements to Opening a Successful Fitness Business
TL;DR
If you're thinking about starting your own fitness business, here are five key elements that will help you succeed.
fitness business
Photographer: Geert Pieters | Source: UnsplashPhotographer: Geert Pieters | Source: Unsplash

With the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, restrictions are being lifted, and gyms and fitness studios are again allowed to operate. After staying at home for an extended period in the last couple of years, people are rushing to hit the gyms and get fit. If you have been considering starting a fitness business, there is no better time than today. Here are some of the key elements that you should remember when starting a fitness business –

Identify Your Niche from Different Fitness Business Ideas

There are several different options for the type of business you can start depending on your unique selling point. Set up a general gym and fitness center with standard fitness equipment like stationary bikes, cross trainers, weights, and others. You can choose to set up a specialized gym that focuses on certain types of training, such as Zumba, aerobics, weight training, or endurance training. If you are looking for more flexibility and do not want the considerable expense of opening a gym, you can consider starting an online business or offering personal training. Some other popular fitness business model includes fitness business podcast or selling fitness products online. Pick a fitness business you will be great at.

Narrow Down Names Ideas

You have decided to become a gym owner, offer your services as a personal trainer, or begin your online business podcast. Before you can make a mark in the fitness industry, your business needs a name. Choose from health and fitness business names that reflect your brand and are a representation of who you are, what you do, and the customers you serve. If you can’t come up with the best name, use an online business names generator. All you have to do is enter certain words related to your business, and you are provided with a number of options to choose from. Aim for a short and catchy name that will be easier for potential clients to remember.

Starting a Fitness Business with a Comprehensive Plan

Gyms, fitness studios, and other fitness businesses have many moving parts and administrative needs. If you want to know how to start , you need a solid business plan. You need to define how you will run your business, market yourself, get people to sign up, collect fees, purchase equipment, make a profit and grow in years to come. All these will become easier when you have a watertight plan. It will not only keep you focused but also show your commitment to your fitness business. Look at your financial projects, revenue, and profitability of your fitness business before committing.

Setting Up Fitness Business Operations

Once you have a plan in place, the next step is execution. If you are running a gym, you need to pick a location that is easily accessible, space for the equipment, and classes you wish to run. For an online fitness coaching business or online fitness podcast, you will need hardware and software to deliver your services and keep your clients motivated. You need to set up an online training space and pick the best software that works for you and your business.

Managing and Establishing Yourself in the Market

Client management is a key part of running your business as you need to keep track of your clients, process payments, manage membership, and more. There are also a number of legalities that you need to follow to keep your business in good standing. You’ll have to file an annual report, prepare and file your taxes, pay estimated taxes, renew your business permits and licensed every year and even make sales tax payments regularly.

Fitness Business Summary

Learning how to start a business presents a huge opportunity to take advantage of the big fitness pie that is nowhere near saturation. With the online popularity gaining in the last couple of years and more and more people looking to overcome weight loss obstacles and improve their fitness in a flexible manner, you too can start to build your offerings. When you showcase your value, you can easily convert your target audience into paying clients.

Eric LeClair

Eric LeClair works on the Marketing Team at PushPress. Eric has been a CrossFit Affiliate owner for 16 years. He's built three separate gyms and developed over 20 staff members to run operations at those facilities. He's a Veteran of the US Army, married with two little kids, and spends lots of time with his two boxers backpacking and exploring new adventures!

The gymOS Podcast

Helping gym owners build better businesses, one episode at a time.
Listen Now

Ready to scale your fitness business?

Try our hassle-free Gym Management Software loved by thousand of successful Gym Owners.
Get started for $0/month
“PushPress is the reason my gym became profitable.”
—Joe M. Gym Owner

Follow along and build a better gym with us

Get actionable strategies and ideas to help you grow your gym and manage it successfully, in your inbox every week!

No Spam. Ever. Unsubscribe anytime.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.