If you’re a fitness professional or personal trainer and you fancy running your own gym, it’s important to understand exactly what’s involved, how much it’s going to cost you and how you’ll finance it. Read this guide to find out everything you need to know.
Opening a gym requires a lot of work, but the steps below can help get you started:
1. Check you have the right qualifications and skills
2. Research licensing
3. Find the right premises
4. Consider insurance
5. Acquire gym equipment
6. Hire staff
7. Market your gym
To run your own gym, you’ll need to have good people skills and be prepared to work long hours. Remember that most gym users will have jobs of their own which means they’ll often want to work out in the early morning or evening.
You’ll also need a minimum of a Level 2 qualification as a fitness instructor which you can complete in-person or online. You and any employees should have adequate safety training and you’ll need an appropriate number of first aiders on site too.
Make sure you understand what licensing you’ll require. This will depend on the range of activities you plan to offer.
For example:
You’ll also need to pay a data protection fee if you are processing personal information from your customers.
Finding the right premises can take a lot of time and research. You’ll need to think carefully about the location and consider whether each premises you view has sufficient parking, office space and room for showers and changing facilities. Also think about whether you want to buy or lease the property.
Some properties are sold as going concerns which means that you can simply take over the gym ownership and you won’t need to make many changes to the layout. Some might also come with planning permission to extend the premises.
You will also need to double check whether the sale is for the franchise only, or whether you’ll have ownership of the actual premises.
There are a number of business insurance policies you’ll need to take out when running a gym. These include:
Consider exactly what gym equipment you need – whether that’s treadmills, exercise bikes, cross trainers or weight sets – and how you’ll acquire them. You might prefer to buy the equipment outright if you’ve got the cash available, or you might prefer to lease them. Both have their pros and cons so consider what works best for you.
If you have a small gym, you might only need two or three members of staff. But larger gyms are likely to need a lot more and tend to have instructors with a range of skills and approaches. Make sure you check their qualifications carefully before hiring and, depending on their role, consider holding test classes or personal training sessions as part of the interview process.
Finally, you’ll need to build a website and market your gym in the right way. Consider online marketing, advertising in local newspapers or directories, and using flyers and posters. Also be sure to set up social media profiles to help get the word out.
The profitability of opening a gym in South Africa depends on different factors, including location, target market, competition, pricing strategy, and operational efficiency.
While there is potential for profitability, it’s important to conduct thorough market research and financial analysis to assess the viability of the business. Consider factors such as local demand for fitness services, demographic trends, income levels, and the presence of existing gyms in the area. Additionally, evaluate the costs related to leasing or buying a property, furnishing the gym with equipment, staffing, marketing, and regulatory compliance.
By carefully evaluating these factors and developing a good business plan, it’s possible to create a successful and profitable gym business in South Africa. However, like any other business, opening a gym carries risks, and success depends on factors such as effective management and customer satisfaction.
The costs of opening a gym will depend on a range of factors, including the size of the premises and its location, whether you’re planning to launch a budget gym or a premium one, how much equipment you need and how many members of staff you require. You’ll need to factor in both one-off and ongoing costs when doing your calculations.
One-off costs you’re likely to incur to get your gym up and running include:
One-off costs could come to between R75,000 and R100,000, if not more.
On top of this, you’ll also need to brace yourself for a range of ongoing costs to keep your gym running smoothly. These include:
You could be looking at ongoing costs of around R20,000 or more each month.
Opening your own gym offers several advantages. These are:
If you need to borrow funds to help you get set up, here are some of the options to consider:
If you need funding to help you acquire gym equipment, such as treadmills and cross trainers, asset finance is worth looking into. You can usually choose between hire purchase and leasing.
Hire purchase means you affectively hire the equipment from the lender and pay for it in monthly instalments over time. Once you’ve made the last monthly payment, you’ll own the equipment.
With leasing, you rent the equipment from a finance provider and then pay a regular fixed fee over a set term, with interest added. At the end of the term you might be able to pay a lump sum to buy the equipment, continue to lease it or cancel the agreement.
A business loan is a popular way for businesses to borrow money. The funds are paid to you as a lump sum and you can then use them however you require. You repay the amount borrowed in monthly instalments over a set term, with interest added.
Unsecured business loans are offered by mainstream banks and let you borrow without the need to secure the loan against any business assets. Secured business loans, on the other hand, let you borrow a larger sum of money but you’ll need to use an asset such as property or equipment as security. That means if you’re unable to repay the loan, the lender can sell the assets to recoup the cost of the loan.
You might also qualify for a startup loan which is designed to help new businesses launch and grow.
Rather than starting your own gym from scratch, you could consider buying a franchise instead. To do this, you’ll need to pay a franchising fee to a larger company and you then open the gym in a new location in that franchise’s name.
If you choose to go down this route, you might want to apply for franchise finance. Many high street banks have specialist franchise teams that can help you. However, they will often only fund between 50% and 70% of your total set up costs, so you might need to find further funding to help you with additional costs.
Opening a gym with no money requires resourcefulness, creativity, and strategic planning. Begin by using available resources such as your own skills and network to develop a business plan and identify potential investors or partners who may be willing to provide funding or support.
Consider alternative funding sources such as crowdfunding, grants, or sponsorships from local businesses or community organisations. Additionally, explore opportunities to minimise costs by negotiating favourable lease terms for gym space, sourcing used equipment or partnering with equipment suppliers, and offering memberships or services in exchange for volunteer assistance or sponsorship.
Focus on creating value for your target market and building a strong brand reputation through good customer service and effective marketing strategies. While opening a gym with no money presents challenges, with determination and perseverance, it is possible to overcome challanges and build a successful fitness business.
When opening a gym, you’ll often face a number of challenges and it’s common to make a few mistakes along the way. Below is a list of some of the mistakes to watch out for:
If you’re unsure how to get funding for your new gym business, the team of experts at Swoop will be happy to talk through your options and help you find the best solution. Get started today.
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Written by
Rachel has been writing about finance and consumer affairs for over a decade, helping people to get to grips with their finances and cut through the jargon. She's written for a range of websites and national newspapers including MoneySuperMarket, Money to the Masses, Forbes UK, and Mail on Sunday. Rachel has covered almost every financial topic, from car insurance and credit cards, to business bank accounts and mortgages.
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