There are a few fundamentals of starting a fitness business, no matter your niche. You need to market your brand to potential clients, manage a schedule of classes and maybe even shoot workout videos to promote your services or train clients virtually.
It’s a lot at first, but just so you know, Wix Fit streamlines operational tasks, like managing calendars and onboarding new clients, and modernizes your business with quality live streams and online challenges.
But let’s back up a bit, because a successful fitness business can take a lot of forms. A fitness business is any company that offers a fitness service, either in person or online—or both. Popular fitness businesses include yoga or Pilates studios, Cross Fit boxes and kickboxing gyms. Whether you’re a personal trainer or the owner of a studio or gym, you have the power to make your fitness business truly your own.
Steps to start a successful fitness business:
Discover your niche
Before you dive into the business essentials, you’ll need to establish your specialty and fine tune your brand. Do you want to start a gym business? Are you interested in learning how to make money as a personal trainer? You’ll need to obtain the right personal training certifications to establish your authority.
Once you’ve pinpointed your niche, research it like it’s your job (because it is). Understand your target audience, the specific clients you’re trying to reach and your competition when it comes to starting a service business.
Create a business plan
Next, it’s time to plan. Do you have a name for your business? If you need help, check out the Wix Business Name Generator, which offers ideas based on a few questions about your business.
Be inspired: Fitness business name ideas, Gym business name ideas
Once you have a name, it’s time to create a logo that represents your brand and goals. You can look at fitness logo ideas beforehand to understand the kind of look and feel you should be aiming for, or learn how to make a fitness logo.
Then, to start a business you’ll need first a business plan. A business plan is a professional document that outlines the purpose, goals, strategy and financials of your venture (things like gym equipment, rent, insurance and staff wages). It usually includes a summary of your business, industry and customer analysis, an operational plan and financial projections. You can tailor yours to fit your needs. You can read more about creating a business plan here.
Fund your fitness business
The cost of starting a gym varies a ton, especially whether it’s a digital gym or a physical one.
So, how are you going to pay for your gym? Your options are essentially:
- Fund it yourself
- Partner with an investor
- Secure a business loan
The more you invest in your gym personally, the more say you’ll have in running it.
Find your space
Even if your business is virtual, you’ll need to think about where you’ll shoot your workout videos and run your online sessions. It helps to have a cohesive look to your set, so find a well-lit room in your house and stick to the same location for each video in your series. If you plan on training clients outside, renting a space for a full-on fitness facility requires more effort and money.
Create a website
You’ll need to build a fitness website to display your services and allow for online bookings. When making a website think of it as the center of all the action—the place where people come to learn more about you and your services, sign up for a membership, book a session with you, watch your training videos and purchase your apparel.
Here are a few elements worth adding to your fitness site:
- Photos: Add a photo gallery of your sessions with clients, your gym or studio and events. Photos are an integral part of your fitness business website design, so make them count.
- Videos: Learn how to shoot a workout video like a pro and display workout demos or offer full training videos. (Try the Wix Video Maker.)
- eComm: Sell fitness equipment, healthy foods and apparel in an online store.
- Testimonials: Feature recommendations and personal stories from your clients.
- Your contact information: Include your name, phone number, email address and social channels so that clients can reach you. FYI: A custom email address looks more professional than your personal one.
- A blog: Start a blog to share the latest fitness industry trends, workout tips or personal stories. Get started with a blog maker.
- Scheduling: Use an appointment scheduling app in order to secure bookings.
Offer online classes and sessions
Integrate Zoom directly with your site, so you and your staff can easily host classes. Even if your training is better done in pairs, like martial arts, you can still demo drills and exercises online to supplement your in-person training sessions.
Implement a clear payment process
Your payment process should be transparent and direct. Clearly list the plans on your site and explain the specific benefit of each membership and package. As a general rule, offer no more than three plans, so you don’t overwhelm your clients with too many options.
