My question for you is simply this: How can we best help you?
We have seen fitness facilities and fitness-related businesses come and go, many failing from the same struggles. We created Global Fitness Association to be the place facilities and businesses can turn to not only for help with problems, but to avoid those problems in the first place.
With over 40 years in the fitness industry, we are confident that we can provide you with the resources and tools you need to be successful in this challenging industry.
We need to hear from you as soon as possible so that we can better understand your views, goals, hopes, fears, and challenges. Having too much pride to ask for help is not the answer. Hoping things will get better tomorrow is not the answer. Hope is not a strategy. Remember, if you don’t ask, you’ll never know.
For all of us — and especially for the many readers we’ve heard from lately — the fitness industry suddenly feels like a very changing industry, one that just doesn’t seem the same as years gone by.
For ourselves, our families, and our financial success, we have to be able to meet the fitness industry’s new and constant challenges. And that’s why you have to stop avoiding your individual business challenges and seek assistance from seasoned professionals. Don’t play hard to get. Reach out and ask questions, ask for assistance, always be moving forward and learning. I had a college professor once tell me, “If you’re not always learning, you’re probably falling behind.”
Everywhere we look, we see rising tensions between large chains, franchises, and individual locations. New competition ... new price wars ... and now, even the threat of government intervention in the form of taxes and regulations.
The investment picture is no less unsettling. We're seeing more mergers and acquisitions than ever before. And now, more and more owners are throwing in the towel than at any other time in our industry’s history. Why is this you ask — it’s because many owners have no other choice but to surrender to the competition because they were playing hard to get by not seeking help.
It’s an awful feeling knowing that your business is out of control and the other shoe may be about to drop, but not knowing when it will happen and who to turn to is the hardest part.
To give you an idea of what your competition has brought to our attention over the past couple of years, the following list outlines their top concerns:
#1. Challenging business environment. Not surprisingly, owners are primarily focused on the challenge of growing their businesses, including finding new customers, hiring and retaining the right staff, and dealing with the competition. Many were seeking help on ways to attract and retain customers because they generally didn’t have large enough marketing budgets to compete with the advertising dollars that larger companies had at their disposal.
#2. Landlord issues. This was more common than not, many owners were unaware of their rights based on the lease they signed. Many of their problems stemmed from paying too high of rent, not understanding the triple net costs, personally guaranteeing the lease, and how to deal with problems.
#3. Understanding Financials. Again surprisingly, owners didn’t know their numbers, and didn’t understand what their percentages should be. Many didn’t understand the correlation between guests, telephone information calls, tours, and sales.
In conclusion, many of the owners spent most of their time working in their business and not on their business. Although it’s important to ensure their customers are happy, it’s equally important for them to develop a business plan, which includes guidelines, systems, and strategies.
My question for you is simply this: How can we best help you? I'm inviting you to contact us at your convenience with no obligation. Tell us how you feel about this challenging industry. What worries you most right now? What are your greatest challenges today? How can my team and I best help you?
For more information on this subject, give us a call at 925-672-4800 and we will gladly do our best to answer your questions. You can also visit our website at www.globalfitnessassociation.com/info for more information.
