Anyone own or work for a gym?

[RoJoHen]

Hey, I'm 22 and about to graduate college in a few months, and for the first time in the last 4 years I finally have an idea for what I want to do with my life. I am an Accounting major, which I have been regretting for a long time, but I could never figure out anything else to major in that might at some point be beneficial. I don't want to be an Accountant at all, but I have been told by so many people that the accounting field can provide any number of opportunities.

I realized that I probably should have gone into sports medicine or something health-related, but this idea came far too late into my college career. However, I came up with a plan. I am not normally the kind of person to have goals for his life. I've never know what I wanted to be "when I grow up." But like a baseball bat to the head, I had an epiphany. A way to merge my love of fitness with my accounting/business degree.

I would like to own and operate my own gym.

Right now I'm just a server/bartender at the local TGI Fridays, and it pays the bills for right now. Once I'm done with classes in December, I plan to get a job at a local gym to attempt to get a feel for the business. I don't really have any major plans beyond that since I don't know the first thing about being an entrepreneur, but I was wondering if anybody here either owns or works for a gym. If you own a gym (or any business, for that matter), what can you tell me?

I am only 22, so I definitely have some time to figure stuff out, but I think the more informed I can get right now, the better off I'll be when I finally decide to go for it.

[Yasir]

Bro u can still be an accountant and work as a personal trainer . I mean u spent all tht time in college pnly to not do wut ur good at? I mean if u own ur own gym thts a diff story because its your own business . Well heres an advice get a personal trainer degree from places like ISSA (www.theissa.com) and become a personal trainer , this way you can do both jobs . Trust me bro i just graduated and o failed acct 2ice lol! if ur good at it i think you shud go with tht and try the fitness on the side . Keep ur options open .
Peace

[violator]

Its great that u finally have an idea of where ur headed in life brother...one thing any entreprenuer can tell u is that its all in the financials, & since uve got a good head for them, u should go far.....the greatest entreprenuers all share one thing in common, they work with what theyre passionate about, this is the hallmark of the beginings of success.....just remeber, DO YOUR DUE DILLIGENCE, and CHECK THE SYSTEMS OF THE BUSINESS, like u have been taught, there are many paths to what u are contemplating, a start up of ur own, buying an existing business(gym), or partnering with someone.....who knows, further down the road u could franchise ur system & be the next man to open a planet fitness/ golds like franchise.....it all depends how far u wanna take it...remember, theres money in everything, absolutley anything, and an abundance of it, its all linked to your creative energy..........

Peace, abundance & prosperity to you my brother....

[Upstatebuilder07]

I too am a college student that once held that same dream, ive been personal training at golds gym and before it was golds it was elite fitness, a private gym. What happened was they just couldn't compete with the big corporate chains, ie best fitness, golds, planet fitness. ect. Its a tough cut throat business just like any other where a lot of private gyms end up going under. the key is to find a niche.

[AnthonyB]

damn bro i'm 22 too and you are worlds ahead of me in your goals. congrats

[Ronnie Chop]

I tell you what, I just graduated college in 2005. I'm an engineer right now and of course, NO ONE wants to join the rat race. Owning a locrative gym would be amazing. And I think that you could definitely find something just off having a degree alone. There's managers and the like at Gold's and Bally's, etc. That have no college education. Use your degree/resume and twirk them to fit the job you want. Once you get experience you could do what my neighbor did. He franchised a Gold's, got the knowledge and then opened his own gym.

[IRBS]

You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders. Like was said above, get some experience and then start your research. Due diligence is the key to starting a business. Always remember, when you run a gym as your livelyhood, you have to make it profitable and marketable. Hardcore gyms are awesome for guys (and girls) like us, but we are a small crowd. Be open to all ideas and see where your research takes you.

Also, franchising is an expensive venture. From the research I did on it, you have to have a lot of experience and a crap load of money in the bank to invest to prove to the company that you are in it to win it.

You could always start a gym in a garage or storage unit with a few members/friends with dues and work your way up from there, one piece of equipment at a time...

Good luck bro, I hope you find what youre looking for!

[brandona]

Talk to Lowdown, he is an operations manager for a group of gyms in Cali...Im sure that he can give you a ton of solid info...

-B

[Riesjs]

I work for a gym. I have worked for actually several gyms and have seen a lot, what works, what not to do, how to run it, how not to run it. When i finally get settled in a city that is my next goal, ownership.

[squattingtillipuke]

Hey brother...Accounting huh, I am a controller for a company right now. Have i paid my dues in this field making peanuts, yes but I can tell you this field can help you in your other aspirations. 1) As an accountant there is no better way to learn the inner workings of a business. You have to understand how a business works in order speak to your P&L/Balance Sheet with any sort of intelligence. 2) It is a great job to have if you enjoy working out, I can eat what I want, when I want. I schedule all of my meetings, etc around my feedings. 3) If you are a smart guy and you can understand a business, well you have an opportunity to make some $$$ while you save up for your dream job.

This is definately the rat race that you are entering and I have sometimes questioned my decision but I always seem to come to the same conclusion...it is what it is and I do what I can to the best of my abilities and go from there.

good luck and if you have any questions feel free to pm me.

Mick

[scals17]

I'm a supervisor at Virginia Tech's gym. I don't know exactly what specifics you wanna know but I can try to help you out and talk to my boss and see if he can give you any particulars.

[Vinny]

i never went to college and i own a personal training studio.

[antonito]

That is awesome that you have goals so early in life, you really do deserve praise for that, since a lot of people at your age haven't even stepped out of Moms basement and gotten a job or started college.

I also dream of owning my own company. Not a gym or anything fitness related, but that's besides the point. The best advice I've gotten so far is to make sure you have a nice little chunk of change set aside for emergencies. There'll be speed bumps, and those are a lot easier to go over if you have enough money of your own to pay the bills for a few months if needs be. That's where a lot of otherwise promising people go broke, is those 1 or 2 months where the ends just barely don't meet, and either they give up then, or take out crippling loans or put it on the credit cards to pay for it.

My way of doing this is to work a job that I don't like for people I can't stand, but that pay me well, so as to build up the needed emergency funds. At the same time I am taking baby steps to opening up my own company, starting very small, meeting people, etc. In your case, this could very well mean being an accountant by day and trainer by night.

Just a thought, if it helps.

As far as the actual gym plan, the only thing I can think of is "substance before style". You might be tempted to try to spend money sprucing things up or making nice offices or buy some whizbang machinery that is slightly better than a piece that is way cheaper, but the best return on your investment is to make sure the customers have the equipment they actually need to get the job done. Everything else is just for fun. Although i think since you're on this forum, you probably already knew that.

[Giant Killer]

Funny, I always tell my girlfriend, "I go to my job, but I work at the gym."

[bobbymart]

I manage a gym aand i can't find quality trainers for the life of me it is probably the hardest thing about managing a gym keeping good trainers staffed and my trainers make bank!!!

[Pizzalamp]

I work in a gym and the trainers suck except for a few
getting great trainers is so important

[bobbymart]

Yeah I got one solid trainer but it seems like everytime i hire a trainer they are good until they get a couple clients then they think they are king shit and I have to keep em in check or they just expect clients to fall into their lap and don't want to get their own clients. training is like running you'r own buisness you have to market yourself and get clients you have to have the knowlage people want why else would they buy training form you but on top of the knowlage you need to have personality and know how to market yourself!!!!