by jimthomas | Feb 12, 2019 | 6 Week Challenge, fitness center business, gym business, gym consultant, gym marketing, Gym Sales Help, gym sales training, Member Retention, New Gym Start Up
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jennifer Hutchinson
Director of Public Relations and Events
ABC Financial
501-515-5029
jennifer.hutchinson@abcfinancial.com
ABC Financial and Jim Thomas Consulting Announce Vendor Relationship
LITTLE ROCK, AR., (Feb XX, 2019) – ABC Financial (ABC), the leading software and payment processing provider to the health and fitness industry, announced their preferred partnership with Jim Thomas, the founder and president of Fitness Management USA, Inc., a management consulting, turnaround and outsourced CEO/COO firm specializing in the fitness and health club industry.
With over 25 years of experience owning, operating and managing clubs of all sizes, Thomas lectures and delivers seminars and workshops across the country on the practical skills required to successfully build teamwork and market fitness programs and products. Since forming Fitness Management, he has helped gyms and fitness centers get back on track or go to that next level and garnering a reputation as a producer of change…a sharp-eyed troubleshooter, a brilliant sales trainer, and a motivator. Fitness Management provides programs that show measurable results and Jim’s team is proud of their ability to glean profit from every square foot of a client’s investment.
“Alignment with forward thinking, revenue driving consultants to support our customers’ growth is another way we provide value to our customers,” stated Kelly Card, SVP of Partner Relations at ABC Financial. “Fitness Management USA has decades of experience in tapping into new and renewed income streams for clubs.”
About ABC Financial
ABC Financial is the nation’s leading software and payment processing provider for health and fitness clubs. Its comprehensive offerings include payment processing solutions and advanced health club management tools, such as DataTrak, that allow gym owners and managers to track and manage memberships and member and employee schedules, drive member engagement, and automate payment processing functions. Founded in 1981 by Jim Bottin, ABC Financial’s cutting edge technology and top quality customer service are utilized by more than 7,000 health clubs across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The company’s software has won numerous design and feature awards, such as Club Industry’s Best of the Best and IHRSA’s Vendor of the Year. In January 2018, ABC Financial was acquired by an affiliate of Thoma Bravo, LLC, a private equity firm based in San Francisco, CA and Chicago, IL.
by jimthomas | Oct 14, 2018 | 6 Week Challenge, fitness center business, gym branding, gym business, gym business plan, gym consultant, gym design, gym equipment, gym marketing, Gym Sales Help, Member Retention, New Gym Start Up
Reposted from www.abcfinancial.com
There are several key criteria to consider when calculating the cost of owning a gym. If you know all of the included costs ahead of time, you will be able to plan accordingly in order to maximize your profits.
Location
Location will likely be the largest cost of owning a gym but will also be the biggest factor in gaining foot traffic and potential customers. Rent mainly depends on where you plan on opening a gym; the cost of opening a gym in downtown Los Angeles will be significantly higher than the cost of opening a gym in the surrounding suburbs. In order to make the right decision, you need to balance out the rental cost with the location in the city. Another item to consider related to location is the demographics you want to target for your gym. If you are considering opening a gym for an audience between the ages of 18 and 34, it might not make sense to open it in the suburbs or rural areas since 26% of a city’s population is made up of this age group compared to 23% for suburbs and 21% for rural areas. Remember, high traffic areas are best, but if the cost is insurmountable, then it may not be worth it.
Equipment
Your second highest cost is your equipment. Gym equipment can be what differentiates you from other gyms and propels you to the top. However, this doesn’t mean you should blow all of your budget on equipment. For a commercial gym, equipment costs can range between $300,000 and $500,000. For smaller gyms, costs tend to be around $100,000. Take a look at your finances to figure out which category you fit into comfortably. Luckily, in many of these cases, costs are fixed, which means that you only have to buy them once and you should be good to go. You may need to upgrade and maintain some of your equipment in the future, but that will be a far lower cost.
Employee Costs
When it comes to employees, you have many decisions to make. You need to decide how many workers to staff, how many personal trainers to hire, and what to pay each of them. With all of these decisions, you need to find the right balance between quality of staff and reasonable costs. There are several employee positionsthat could be beneficial to your gym’s success. These positions include a cleaning crew, floor watchers, a front desk to answer the phone as well as questions about the facility, and fitness consultants to sell memberships. Additionally, your trainers need to be licensed, so you can either hire licensed personal trainers or hire non-licensed ones and provide them the ability to obtain a license.
Additional Upfront Costs
There are a few additional costs of owning a gym, but these are largely dependent on you. To open a gym, you need certain permits and licenses, but the cost of these vary on number of employees. Furthermore, you may want to plan ahead by hiring legal help to gain the necessary insurance and avoid any issues. Lastly, gym management software can help you run an organized gym.
Membership Delinquencies
While the cost of owning a gym may seem high, remember that you will attract members who pay a monthly fee. One thing to be aware of with memberships as it indirectly relates to gym costs, is membership delinquencies. It is a real possibility that some of your members will “forget” to pay their monthly fee, which means less revenue for you. New gym owners do not always recognize membership delinquencies as a possibility, so to avoid trouble down the road, you may want to include this category when tallying profit. Gym management software and payment processing can help mitigate these risks.
To learn more about the current state of the gym industry and owning a gym, check out our infographic! https://bit.ly/2yj6LoD
Reposted from www.abcfinancial.com
Jim Thomas is the founder and president of Fitness Management USA Inc., a management consulting, turnaround and brokerage firm specializing in the gym and sports industry. With more than 25 years of experience owning, operating and managing clubs of all sizes, Thomas lectures and delivers seminars, webinars and workshops across the globe on the practical skills required to successfully to overcome obscurity, improve sales, build teamwork and market fitness programs and products. In addition, his company will buy gym equipment from gyms liquidating or closing. Visit his Web site at: www.fmconsulting.net or www.jimthomasondemand.com.
by jimthomas | Apr 6, 2018 | 6 Week Challenge, gym business, gym business plan, gym consultant, gym marketing, Gym Marketing Promotion, Gym Sales Help, gym sales training, Member Retention, New Gym Start Up
Example of Percentage Based Commission Structure
- You have 2 employees
- Hours are Monday–Friday: open for sales 5 days per week
- Current month is June: there are 21 “work days” (number of days the club is open this month)
- You only sell 12-month membership types at $30 per month
- Employee A works 14 days in June
- Employee B works 7 days in June
For the month of June, you set a realistic goal of gaining 15 new members!
First, you are going to want to figure out how many members each employee is responsible for signing up. This is not a guessing game, there is a formula used to calculate your goals.
Total Monthly Goal / # of Work Days = # of Members to Gain Daily
15 members / 21 work days in June = 0.71428 members per work day
Once you know how many members need to be obtained each day, you can continue on to figure out how many members each employee needs to sign up.
# of Members to Gain Daily x Number of Days Each Employee Works = Individual Goals
0.71428 x 14 work days = Employee A’s goal is to gain 10 new members
0.71428 x 7 work days = Employee B’s goal is to gain 5 new members
How to Pay Out Commission
Hit Full Goal: Collect 3% of the annual membership cost.
Hit AT LEAST Half of Goal: Collect 1.5% of the annual membership cost.
LESS THAN half of Your Goal: Collect no commission.
We recommend paying commission once at the end of each month. You need to know how your staff is going to finish off the month.
3% of $360= $10.80… If Employee A sells 10 memberships, they would earn $108.00 in commission for the month.
1.5% of $360= $5.40… If Employee A sells at least 5 memberships, they would still earn $54 in commission for the month.
The purpose of setting goals is to have something to strive towards. As we previously mentioned, the monthly goals you are setting for your staff should be realistic in correspondence to the specific month. Paying commission can sometimes feel like you are “giving away” your money. But, having goals in place and paying commission could result in your club gaining more new members than usual, as a result of having a motivated staff.
All gyms are different and a commission structure may not work for everyone. One thing that will always be the same for any gym is that in order to be profitable, you need to have paying members. For more ideas and guidance on successfully filling your club with paying members, contact us today!
by jimthomas | Mar 13, 2018 | 6 Week Challenge, fitness center business, gym business, gym consultant, gym marketing, Gym Marketing Promotion, Gym Sales Help, gym sales training
WE’VE CREATED FUN AND EFFECTIVE FITNESS, YOGA, AND MARTIAL ARTS CHALLENGES WHICH WE MARKET FOR YOU TO BRING YOU NEW MEMBERS.
WE RUN THOUSANDS OF 6 WEEK CHALLENGES ALL OVER THE GLOBE WITH:
YOGA / MARTIAL ARTS / FITNESS / GYMS
500+ gym partners 35,000+ challenge participants
We pioneered the 6-week challenge marketing model years ago, and we’re still running strong!
OUR MISSION IS TO HELP GYM OWNERS GROW THEIR MEMBERSHIPS & MAKE MORE MONEY, BY HOSTING OUR 6-WEEK CHALLENGES.
What makes us different from other marketing companies is that we DO NOT charge for our services. We ONLY make money when you make MONEY.
Partner with us, and here’s what you’ll get:
A TURNKEY PRODUCT
We provide you with a customized marketing campaign for your challenge and an online system to manage your leads. Then we teach you how run a successful challenge using our fitness and meal planning curriculum’s.
MONEY IN YOUR POCKET
As people sign up, we split the revenue, and you’ll earn approximately $100 for each challenge participant. Set your goal: 20, 30, 50 participants per challenge? It’s up to you!
LIFETIME VALUE
We bring highly motivated, cash paying customers into your gym for each challenge. Challenge participants become gym members, buy merchandise, and refer their friends. The lifetime value of these customers is yours alone.
In Summary…
1) We run a bunch of awesome ads
2) We get you a ton of qualified leads
3) Leads show up at your gym
4) You sign them up and take payment
5) We split the revenue
It’s So Simple!
Are you ready to get started? We can chat and decide if this will be a good fit for your studio. Click here:
Click Here to See if You Qualify
But, you must act right away as we only accept one client club in a marketplace. Don’t let your competition get here first!
Please click here to see if you qualify for the 6 Week Challenge program to be conducted in your gym.
