There are not many high-quality leisure clubs (health centers) in the USA, so opening a new complex could be a good investment. A healthy lifestyle is a trend of the present and future. More and more people are switching to a healthy diet, regularly visiting doctors and trying in every possible way to help their body. A leisure club is not just a gym or a swimming pool, it is a whole culture of life. People are willing to pay money and spend time to put their body and health in order.
Business relevance
World Health Organization data indicate that life expectancy is falling, people are getting sick more often. This is due to the low level of medicine and the quality of life.
Most people care about their health, they are ready to invest in wellness treatments and miracle pills. Health problems are becoming more and more vivid, and the explicit promotion of a healthy lifestyle is increasing.
Following from this, the relevance of a health club with quality services will continue to grow in 2021. The correct approach to the selection of the services provided, the inclusion of innovative procedures will make the business successful and prosperous. Opening your own leisure club will not be difficult and will bring good income in the future.
The target audience of the health center is all age categories of people, so you need to think over complexes of exercises, procedures and entertainment activities for each age.
Step-by-step business plan for a leisure club business
If you nevertheless decide to open this type of business, then you should take care of the following points:
- Construction or rental of a building for a health complex. It is important to consider the place where the building will be located: it should be picturesque, away from highways and industrial enterprises
- Select the type of activity provided by medical services
- Business registration
- Purchase of equipment and furniture
- Obtaining a license to open a business
- Conducting an advertising campaign
It is necessary to take care of creating a marketing plan in advance because your profit will depend on the promotion of the club.
Leisure club services
All classes are divided into different types:
- Group lessons
- Gym
- Personal training
Usually, a health complex is zoned into:
- Gym
- Free weights area
- Cardiovascular equipment area
- Pool
- Recreation area by the pool
- Zone for sections: boxing, mixed martial arts, etc.
- Room for yoga, gymnastics, pilates
- Solarium
- Massage room
- Cabinet of fitness diagnostics and health
- Cafe
You can open a wide variety of sections: swimming, running, athletics, dance studio. It’s a great idea to open up a Zumba studio, a new popular form of dance fitness.
Fitness diagnostics is a check of a person’s physical condition, his/her strength, endurance, checking for the presence of heart, lung and other diseases.
You can expand the list of sports services and increase profits:
- Providing the services of an experienced dietitian who will design the nutritional program
- Selling natural cosmetics for the body
- Selling sports nutrition
Financial plan
The financial plan includes the following calculations: start-up investments in the business, monthly expenses, the profit of the sports and recreation complex.
Initial investment in business
- Rent – $1,500
- Renovation of the premises – $6,000
- Purchase of equipment – $35,000
- Purchase of furniture – $2,000
- Advertising campaign – $3,000
- Other expenses – $1,000
Total, the initial investment will be about $48,500.
Monthly expenses
The costs include:
- Rent – $1,500
- Utilities – $500
- Salary for staff (depending on the number of trainers) – from $5,000
- Consumables for cleaning, equipment – $500
- Advertising – $1,000
- Purchase of goods for the store – $1,000
- Other expenses – $100
Total monthly spending will be about $9,600.
As you see, the expenses to start a health club business are significant, so you should have a large sum of money. If you are really fascinated with this idea but it’s impossible to save such an amount or borrow from friends/family, you may get a personal loan Michigan as temporary financial assistance. The key advantage of such loans is that they’re easy to get. In fact, many personal loan companies are able to give you an immediate lending decision and transfer cash to your bank account within several hours. Some lenders are even available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and have purely online applications.
Profit calculation, business profitability
To calculate the profitability of a business, it is necessary to calculate all sources of income. They will be:
- Regular customers buying a subscription to services. On average, 150 regular customers come a month, the cost of services may be about $100. That is, the profit will be $1500
- Temporary clients. Usually, at least 10 people come to the sports complex per day, they pay about $10. This means 300 visits of $10 each, which equals $3000
- The sporting goods store will also generate profits. Approximately $2,500
Total, monthly revenue will be at least $7,000.
The payback of such a business usually comes after 7-10 months of work. The profitability of the health club is kept at the level of 20-30%.
Advertising strategy
The business plan for a health club should include a well-developed advertising strategy. Future profits depend on a successful marketing campaign.
Recommended promotion methods:
- Buying advertising on the Internet, creating thematic pages on social networks
- Outdoor advertising: banners, billboards, distribution of leaflets
- The use of word of mouth
Word of mouth is one of the best advertising methods for this type of business. An incentive for clients can be in the form of a free additional service, a discount, a gift in honor of the client’s birthday, and so on.
Production plan
The key goal is to open the club. For this, it is necessary to complete several stages.
Business registration
Before opening a leisure club, you must collect all the necessary documents and register a business. Health clubs that operate without a license may be subject to penalties. First, ensure that you’re registered with the right regulatory authority. In most states, this is either the state’s Division of Consumer Affairs or the Division of Consumer Protection. To find out more case-specific information, check with a city official or your chamber of commerce.
Room selection
The choice of the club’s place must be approached very responsibly. The target audience is the population from 18 to 45 years old who work on a strict schedule, so they need a sports complex near work or at home.
Choose the building in a densely populated residential area. It should be located near pharmacies, banks, beauty salons, schools or offices.
You will need a room with a minimum area of 100-250 square meters, you need to provide a place for parking cars. You will need even more space to open the pool.
It is necessary to equip the premises for:
- Lobby, reception desk
- Locker room for clients
- Locker room for staff
- Shower rooms
- Restroom
Necessary equipment
Equipment for the health club includes:
- Exercise bikes
- Swedish wall
- Power trainers
- Vacuum, roller trainers
- Orbitrek
- Treadmills
- Trainers for the upper and lower press
- Free weights
- Rugs
- Ropes, dumbbells.
You can buy used equipment or inexpensive brands, it all depends on your budget.
If you are planning to open any section, then it is worth purchasing inventory for it as well.
For example, for the boxing section, you will need:
- Boxing ring
- Boxing shells – 5 pieces
- Boxing pears
- Special stopwatch
- Boxing gloves – 10 pairs
- Shell gloves – 10 pairs
- Ropes – 20 pieces
You can also install entertainment equipment: darts, billiards, minigolf.
Staff recruitment
The main percentage of the staff will be professional trainers, and their recruitment should be approached responsibly. After all, the opinion and prestige of your establishment will depend on the ability to communicate with clients, find an approach to people, their qualifications.
Often, employers hire young coaches with a perfect figure. It is believed that such trainers will motivate clients. But sometimes this is not entirely true, it is worth hiring a couple of age coaches and coaches with an imperfect figure in the staff, then some clients will be much more comfortable in their presence.
In addition to coaches, you will need to employ:
- Administrator
- Masseur
- Nutritionist
- HR manager
- Accountant
- Director
- Cleaner
- Medical worker
Sports shop inside the complex
To increase profitability, a wellness center business plan may include opening its own sports store on site.
You can sell everything related to sports:
- Sportswear and footwear
- Food
- Individual sports equipment
You can start with a small shop with any one category, and if everything goes well – expand the store, add a new assortment.
You will need to hire an experienced sales consultant who understands sports nutrition.
Such a store can become an additional income + it will not need advertising. Club visitors will become its customers and vice versa.
Final words
Opening a leisure club is an investment in a profitable, relevant business. Poor health is a social problem. The tendency to maintain physical and mental well-being in good shape is gaining more and more popularity among the population. A perfect business plan will prepare an entrepreneur for all possible risks. In no case should you save money on advertising and hiring professional trainers, your profit will depend on them.