5 Factors in Choosing a Location for your Gym
Whether you’re opening your first gym or getting ready to start a second or third, taking a step back to evaluate your business plan will make all the difference.
Your gym location is one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle.
With costs, visibility, and market to consider, it can be tough to find the perfect balance, but hopefully this article will clear some of the confusion and help you end up somewhere where your gym will grow and prosper.
Factor #1 — finances
Do you lease or buy, go for the affordable out of the way location or the perfect but pricey location?
The answers depend on your long term goals and financial calculations, but one thing is for sure: you want to get this right. Poor cash flow, bad visibility, pricey rent — all these things can ruin a gym. Your gym is unique. There is no one-size-fits-all formula unless it’s this: take your time, calculate very carefully, and be conservative.
Factor #2 — market research
Chances are, you think your gym is the best. Is it the best for those in your vicinity though? What if your gym is too pricey for your neighborhood? What if you’re targeting kids, but you’re surrounded by elderly communities?
The question you need to ask is not “where is the ideal location for me?” but “where is the ideal location for my prospective customers?” Find where they live and settle down there. Unless you run a highly-specialized gym, most of your clients are going to come from near at hand. Everyone has busy lives. They don’t want to squander their time driving to and from your gym.
Factor #3 — competition
Part of your market research needs to look into your competition. Sure, your CrossFit might be better than the CrossFit down the road, but remember, the average Joe doesn't know that.
If someone signs up for the gym down the road, it doesn’t matter if your gym is better — they may never try it! Also, you may lose customers with shaky loyalty. When there’s less competition, people will stay with you because you’re all they have.
Factor #4 — visibility
The first question you need to ask yourself is: “Does visibility matter for my gym?” It might not. If you run a small gym and are plugged into your community, you might be able to fill your gym without any roadside marketing at all.
If you determine that you really need that visibility, then how much and how are you going to get it? Your two biggest considerations are going to be traffic and signage.
In other words, how many people are going to drive by your sign and how good of a sign can you get? If you’re stuck in the back of a shopping center with a logo drowned out in a board with many bigger logos, you may get little attention. Try to get an eye-catching sign where lots of people are going to see it. This is a large part of your real estate.
Factor #5 — waiting space
Once again, what you need depends on what you do. If you exclusively do personal training, a waiting room is probably unnecessary. If you teach karate for kids however, having a nice place for parents to wait is going to be crucial. The parents pay the bills so no matter how nice the experience is for their children, they want to have a nice experience too. Don’t make them wait in the car!
Choosing the right location for your gym is like setting up a well-oiled machine. You don’t want a machine that sputters and groans and falls apart. Carefully calculate finances, the local market, competition, visibility, and waiting space and you’ll have covered the major bases.
To your success!