Our industry is constantly changing with new trends, equipment, and fads. As current and aspiring business owners it's critical to stay on top of these trends in order to stay relevant and ahead of the curve in a crowded and competitive market.
But sometimes the best way to stay relevant is looking inward.
When you own a fitness studio, you have so much extra time on your hands that you’d welcome the opportunity to spend hours upon hours dealing with an IRS audit, right?
Yeah, not exactly. Outlined here are some things you should or should not do to help keep the IRS off your back and avoid that dreaded IRS audit.
Business is war and the competition is the enemy--right? Wrong. Though competition is a fundamental aspect of being in business, savvy entrepreneurs know that viewing competitors exclusively as adversaries is shortsighted and potentially damaging.
Every February in Chicago there’s a week properly titled, Restaurant Week. The program was designed to promote the restaurant industry and drive traffic to participating establishments during a typically slow time of year. For fourteen days, diners can enjoy value pricing for lunch and/or dinner throughout the city and surrounding suburbs.
Using discounts to sell the services you offer in your fitness studio is an antiquated technique to get more clients. Discounting puts you on the path to becoming a commodity. This technique is often used as an incentive to get a potential prospect to buy or to reward someone that refers.
Discounting occurs when you don’t have the sales skills to get a prospect to pay what you are worth and possess a negative mindset around money.
The annual Convention & Trade Show of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) was held March 21-24 in San Diego.
From the AFS corporate perspective, over 30 meetings were held with a wide variety of fitness industry leaders including major equipment suppliers, new-wave technology firms, certifying organizations, influential trainers, and leading studio operators.
As any fitness facility owner knows, staff are crucial to success. They are on the front lines, working with clients, ensuring the day-to-day runs smoothly, and are important advertisements for your business.
Finding the right people to work for you is essential, but once you’ve hired your dream team, the next challenge is to keep them happy, engaged and growing with your business.
“No excuses,” you tell yourself. “Today’s the day, I am going to do a better job at marketing my business on Instagram.” No more random posts when you have time… you’re going to really see this thing through. You pull up your account or register a new one (no time like today to try something new!), and create what you think just might be the next viral post on Instagram.
Your heart is racing as you click post.
One of the things I love most about the AFS Community is that our members aren't shy about sharing the ideas and programs that have worked so well for them, with others.
I also love taking part in several of our member Roundtable Discussions because it allows me the ability to learn from our members, exactly what's working, what's not, what's new and exciting, and where they're looking to improve.
In Simon Sinek’s famous TED TALK he simply stated that people don’t buy WHAT we sell, they buy WHY we sell it. In other words, if your purpose aligns with that of your customer then you are likely to form a long-term bond.
What is your purpose as a trainer or fitness facility? I’m not asking WHAT you do or WHAT you offer but WHY do you do it?
It is tax season, every fitness studio owners favorite time of the year, right? Eh, probably not. If you are like most small business owners out there, you absolutely dread the following items:
• Trainer, Manager or Owner • Beginner or Veteran • 500-10,000 sq.ft.