Can I operate a profitable gym in a town of 1000-5000 residents?

Based on experience it’s a resounding yes! I own and operate two profitable towns with a listed population less than 1500 residents in each community. However it is definitely a different beast than the clubs I have been involved with in larger towns and cities.

6 Tips on How to Promote Your New Small Town Fitness Club, Before it Opens.

1. When to start Pre-promotion - Instagram & Facebook:

You don’t need a lot of pre-promotion when opening in a smaller community. Especially if this is your hometown or you will be the first gym to open 24 hours in your area. The word-of-mouth in the small town can spread quickly, and if people learn about it a month before and get excited to join, that fervour can cool off. I would recommend that you get everything ready to go and start when you now you make will hit your target opening. You are a week to two weeks before you start promoting it on your new website and your new gym. Facebook and Instagram because this is a small community, and word of mouth will spread quickly. Supposed to be any, but as long as you include that when you are opening & when people can start to register. I would also include things like where your equipment is, the square feet, what amenities you do and do not have, and how much it costs. If you are specializing or not, you’re going to be one of those. It can be a separate post that will get attention. Be prepared on the first day; you will be inundated with new members.

2. Flyer Drop:

Create a flyer that shows a special membership rate for the first X number of members. Lead the to your website and even the grand opening and rearly registration dates. . Like why she’s ahead of I know that most of us gotta think of things. Also, the Saturday before your grand opening, if you’re not open Saturday otherwise, I would do this on the morning of your flyer drop at your local grocery store, stopping mall, or any place where you can walk into a parking lot of that 50 to 100 flyers. If you can do that, if you are opening on a Saturday, I would recommend a couple of kids to do this. However, if you don’t, there's a good chance that they'll end up in a trash can. I actually caught a kid doing that with one of my promos, be aware of that. So once you meet up with the first responders,

3. First Responders Promotion:

Once you get through the first three weeks and the buzz starts to slow down, it’s time to pursue the next level of promotion. I think this should be a First Responders-type of membership. First Responders are very recognized (especially since Covid) as people who are pushed hard in their jobs, and as rewarding as that service is to the community. By first responders we are talking about paramedics, fire, police officers, and frontline health care workers.

4. Student Memberships:

I would expect that to be from week 3 to 6 then consider whether or not you want to offer seniors or student memberships. If you are opening in February or March, April, May, you should prioritize the student membership when your community. In my experience in towns as small for seven and 10 years, when universities and colleges get out early to mid-April, most students return home. The 17th to 23-year-old cohort will come to your gym joint for a full month, full summer for one flat fight mom and dad will take care of it. I have a gym in a town of less than 1000 people, and I get 25 to 30 students in April returning home from college or uni that join. April and May are actually my most profitable months because not only do these students purchase a 5-month membership, but I typically don’t incur any heating or AC costs in the month of April or May. Therefore, the profit-loss statement looks pretty rosy in April/May. How I do that You can summer student promotion is available out here. It is my experience that if you open in a town of 5000 residents and there is not currently an existing Fitness debt by the time you get three months and you will have certainly hit your casual targets and your membership targets, and will be possible. You can take foot off of this because again if you have a cat market and you’re in a small community. Everybody will know it’s the more you can focus on keeping your facility clean and safe operation/building your community through customers. Member action is the best thing you can. Ways to save money as you will. Thank you need more to start, and you actually do a full list of the ideal amount of equipment for 0 to 100 members and then 150 and 150+ check out here.

5. Utilize Technology to Save Money and Increase Efficiency.

Many gyms utilize computers to monitor performance, track calories burned, and display exercise routines. Some gyms employ heart monitors to measure heart rate and other factors. It's easy to see why fitness technology has become as crucial to gym members as it has become to customers. But what about streamlining your business operations and reducing reliance on staff expense? Good software that facilitates easy management of gym access, member administration, payment processing, class scheduling, and online registration can not only dramatically save on staffing expenses but also make your operations more efficient. Focus on what matters and keep everything seamlessly organized with software like Kinect from Facility Kinetics. I have one small-town gym operation that operates with zero staff! It is mostly managed with Kinect software and occasional attention from me.Surveillance camera systems. ...

Last Tip…

I would recommend that if you’re working full-time while pursuing this project, you take the first week off from your job, and then, if possible, your partner takes the second week off. You will require a lot of one-on-one time with new members to get things set up. I guarantee, as exciting as it is, it will also be exhausting. But it's a great problem to have!

This is the game plan I will follow when I open my third gym! Feel free to reach out to me anytime at BJ@facilitykinetics.ca, or you can text me at 613-858-2266, or give me a call. It's free, and I love talking shop. Small-town fitness is my passion.