A Day in the Life: What It Takes to Run Your Own Gym Franchise

After a difficult year, the gym sector is coming back swinging. But if you’re looking to start your own gym franchise, what can you expect your average day to look like?

It’s no secret that the gym and fitness industries were hit hard by the pandemic. But, as we all look forward to getting back to normality again, gyms are looking to reopen and re-energise their business. 

If you’re looking to run your own gym business, your tasks will be varied. On a daily basis, you could be working with industry-leading equipment, helping to market your franchise, attending meetings or working directly with some of your clients. 

To give you an idea of the sorts of things you could be doing from one day to the next, here’s a list of four things you could be doing as a gym franchisee.

A day in the gym sector

• Morning routine: Working in the gym industry, you could start work at any time of the day you want. Literally. Many modern gyms are now open 24/7/365, so as long as your gym has at least one person working at all hours, it’s up to you what time you start your day.

• Market your gym: The UK is a fitness hotspot. In Europe, only Germany has more gyms than the UK, making our gym sector one of the most competitive around [Statista]. As a franchisee, you’ll already have plenty of support to call on when it comes to marketing, but you’ll need to be doing everything you can to try and stay ahead of your local competition.

• Working directly with your customers: Many gyms are turnkey operations, meaning that more often than not, you’ll just need to open up your gym and let your customers use your facilities. However, this does also mean that a lot of the service your customers enjoy will be either from you directly or from your employees. Whether you’re helping to induct new gymgoers or dealing with enquiries, make sure that your customer service skills are up to scratch. 

• Working with industry-leading equipment: Treadmills, cycling machines and cross-trainers can be found in any gym in the country. But, as gyms look to specialise and offer better and better equipment, you could be working with any number of sophisticated gym machines. Fitness innovation means never standing still, so if you want to be working with exciting and specialist machines, consider opening a franchise with a specialist gym, such as Snap Fitness.

The advantages of joining a gym franchise

While you could try and start your own independent endeavor, you’ll almost certainly find it tough going. Without some of the experience, scale or support that some of your competitors have, you could find it very difficult to get going.

As part of a franchise, you’ll be able to skip over many of the challenges that new and small businesses have to face. As part of a franchise:

• You’ll enjoy pre-existing customer demand: You won’t need to invest heavily in your marketing or networking in order to get your first few customers. You’ll already be a recognised gym and customers will be looking for you.

• State-of-the-art training: Your franchisor will have been working in this industry for many years already, and they’ll have picked up plenty of useful tips along the way. You’ll benefit from all those years of experience as you progress through your initial franchisee training and even after your opening.

• Job satisfaction: The difference that you, your team, and your gym can make to people’s lives and confidence will be huge. Whether people are looking to make a whole lifestyle transformation or improve their mental health, gyms can help people to build their confidence. And you will have helped them do it.

Challenges of joining a gym franchise

• Work schedule: Working to a flexible schedule can be great. But as part of a 24/7/365 business, you might find that running a round the clock business brings with it a constant stream of issues. You’ll need to make sure that even in the early hours, a number of safety and security processes are followed. Someone may need to be on-call in case of any issues, and evacuation procedures will need to be ready in advance. Flexibility brings with it its own challenges as well.

Become a franchisee in the gym sector

If running your own gym franchise still sounds like the right thing for you, you could be the ideal candidate for a gym franchise. So, here are a couple of exciting gym franchises currently operating in the sector:

1. Snap Fitness 24/7

Snap Fitness 24/7 is a gym with ambitions of going above and beyond what is normally expected from a gym. Open 24/7, this franchise is focused on offering the most inclusive and supportive fitness experience to members at every level of experience. 

Following a minimum investment of £160,000, you’ll immediately become part of a globally recognised network, with support ranging from planning and finance, to property locations, recruitment and ongoing growth.

2. 9Round

As we all move towards more flexible working patterns, our traditional ways of living will need to move with us, and fitness is no different. 9Round fits this model perfectly by offering ultimate 30-minute, total body, kickboxing circuit training.

After your minimum investment of £80,000, you’ll be given all the support that you need to make your gym a success. Your franchisor will help you with planning, finance, recruitment, specialist analytics, personal contacts and launch support.

Invest in a gym franchise and become a franchisee today

If you’ve decided that investing in a gym franchise is the right thing for you but you’re not sure how to start your own gym franchise, Point Franchise has all the information you need. Or, if you’d like to see franchising opportunities in other sectors, you can see a full list of opportunities on the UK franchise directory.