During the nearly 10 years I spent running large scale health clubs and consulting with small fitness studios, one of the most common questions I received was "How do I motivate my team?"
This question was always top of mind for studio owners, directors, managers, GM's - everyone shared the same issue. So how do you overcome this? How do you connect with your team, whether it be personal trainers, Pilates instructors, group exercise, front line staff, or customer service?
While researching the hundreds of fitness studios over the past few weeks, it was alarming to see the amount of common mistakes that studio owners make. Most might seem minor but often lead to a significant loss of leads and sales for their owners.
As a studio owner, you want your website to compliment your business. You want people to understand exactly what you do as quickly as possible. Someone once told me to design your website as if “the dumbest person in the world was trying to understand what you do and navigate your site.” While a drastic approach, that statement stayed with me.
In today’s banking environment, I am asked frequently if any lending is being done. The good news is that lending is indeed being done. The bad news is that as a direct result of our prolonged recession, many funding sources have gone out of business and have exited the leasing business.
This erosion of lenders has put additional demand on the remaining funding sources with a finite amount of capital to lend.
Studio developers (those looking to open their own studio) are often faced with several obstacles (financing, website design, marketing, social media expectations, amongst a slew of others).
One area that’s just as important, but often overlooked is ensuring you have a custom domain. Not only does it reflect your studio’s identity, but represents your brand, helps to improve your website’s credibility, and your search engine rank.
Management software plays an important role in the effective growth of your business. A major component of your software is the billing process, and many fitness facility owners are confused about this component.
A commonly asked question is, "Should I manage my own billing or should I let someone else handle it for me?" If you align yourself with the correct software system and billing process and if you ask the right questions, you will be able to retain members and minimize your processing costs.
You might not enjoy thinking about insurance, but you will enjoy it a lot less if you’re ever in need. Just ask the owners of Amherst Orthopedic Physical Therapy, the Buffalo, NY studio in which a client was left paralyzed when a leg extension machine fell on her.
The $66 million judgment (later reduced via settlement to $19 million) was viewed by the court to be 20% the responsibility of the studio. Ouch! Here’s an insurance primer that outlines the most important coverages.
Social media has become one of the hottest platforms for marketing and messaging. The “experts” would lead you to believe that social media is a “slam dunk” when it comes to generating fans, followers and of course, prospect traffic.
In reality, social media can be an outstanding marketing tool, which in combination with other marketing strategies can be effective in generating consumer interest.
• Trainer, Manager or Owner • Beginner or Veteran • 500-10,000 sq.ft.