» Management
LOCATION
F
PICKING A CLUB
Take a methodical approach to finding the best spot to launch your business.
BY BARB GORMLEY
inding the home of your dreams may start with a fo- cus on “location, location, lo- cation,” but if you’re opening a fitness club, think again.
Aspiring club owners need to work through a slew of other steps before they even think of committing to a general location, says Mike McPhee, owner of Club Teamworks, a Toronto- based company that specializes in fitness club design, marketing and management. “Far too many people pick out a
place and put down a deposit – and then they ask me to do their business plan,” laments McPhee. “Then they’re disappointed when they discover they can’t put in a pool, there are signage restrictions or restrictions on services and products they can sell because of competitors in the building.” McPhee’s ideal approach begins by helping clients complete a 10-page questionnaire that clarifies exactly
30 Fitness Business Canada January/February 2009
the type of club they want to create and how they dream about growing it. The questions are as basic as, “Do you want to be a big box player, a small boutique owner or a no-frills club?” and as detailed as, “Do you want sau- nas in the locker rooms?” “Once you have all this information and have cal- culated an estimated square footage, then you should start looking at loca- tions,” says McPhee. After you’ve written your busi-
ness plan and before you sign on the lease’s dotted line, follow these sug- gestions from McPhee and other club experts, to help find your club’s perfect location.
Investigate numerous locations
Be open minded, and look at a large number of possible locations. “I wouldn’t look at fewer than five or six locations,” says McPhee. Assessing many options increases the odds of
“About 25% of the clauses in a generic lease can be modified in a club’s favour without much negative impact to the landlord and great long term implications for the tenant.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64