I am an owner is a small 24/7 access fitness facility Bodyworx Fitness 24/7. We opened about two and a half years ago and it has struggled along the whole time as the bottom fell out of the economy within 6 months of our getting open.

 It seems like this happens to me every time I get a gym open to be honest. The same thing happened back in 2000 when I opened Bodyworx Fitness Company. That was when the whole Enron /Tech crash happened.

 The fact of the matter is working out is not a necessary part of life but food, electric, housing is. Even if it’s just a dollar a day the extras goes first when folks are tightening their belts.

 A vicious circle then happens as you lose revenue and cannot advertise or market your gym and many of the people who would have joined do not even know you exist. I did what I could marketing the facility on foot to local businesses and what not but we were struggling to be sure. I was up many a nights wondering if the gym I have worked thousands of hours in without a paycheck (I subsist of personal training) would fail. I did not want to move my clients again to yet another location.

 I have recently had some very bad JUJU happen to me. (See my blog here “Rats in the Sewers”) and this caused huge turmoil in my business with my original partner.  As it turns out we ended up taking on a 3^rd partner who is also the landlord as well! He is a great businessman and is going to mentor me in the ways of business. I owe him so much and he is a great guy. These are debts I am not sure I will ever really be able to repay but he does not seem to care or expect it to be honest.

 Now while all this was going on a HUUUUGE gym formally a Gold’s, 50,000sq/ft in total has closed about a mile from us with no other gym on our side of town but us! My facility is only 5000 Sq/Ft! I have been so busy it is like new years times two! With all this and the new owner we are now starting marketing plan both to get old members back through bulk mailing and new members through the same and coupon magazines. (The ones you look through in the bathroom!)  

 So when the loss of Gold I have at least some Silver lining on a cloud in my current storm!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, June 6th, 2010 at 10:17 am and is filed under Muscle and Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.