By: Justin Cates The task of business is a comp-
licated one. The number of moving parts can seem in nite. We plan for everything possible, but it never works out completely to plan. Simplistically, some keys to long- term success include: Always learning from your mistakes, as well as the successes of others. Populating the business with a team of trusted and capable staff members who buy into the company’s mission and values. And, doing everything ethically possible to build a customer base that loves, trusts and values your brand. Embedded within those tasks are thousands of sub-tasks that exponentially complicate things. Now, consider a family business.
Take the previous points and throw in the further complications that can come from the personal nature of family relationships, as well as the personalities of family members involved in the company. Having grown up in a family business, CLUB INSIDER, albeit, a much simpler one to operate compared to a full service health and tness club, I have seen rst-hand some of the issues that can rear their head with such an organizational structure. A key to success here, even more so, is once again learning from your mistakes, as well as the successes of others. This month’s cover story subject,
Club Fit, with two large full-service locations in Westchester County, New York, is a company that has mastered many of these issues. Their track record of success now spans more than 40 years. What follows are several illuminating interviews with the key principals of Club Fit: Beth Beck, who joined the company
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Norm’s Notes
in 1973 and is the former President; Bill Beck, who is the current President; and Ellen Koelsch (Bill’s sister), who is the Vice President of Marketing. You will learn about the beginnings of Club Fit, its evolution into the modern era of the health and tness club industry, the opportunities and challenges of family business as well as many other nuggets you can learn from and apply to your health and tness club business.. I welcome you to read on...
The Early Days of Club Fit
An Interview With Beth Beck, Former President of Club Fit
CLUB INSIDER (C.I.) - Let’s go back in time and discuss what you can recall about the founding/early days of Club Fit in 1973 and beyond. How did you meet David Swope and come to be with Club Fit? And, please tell us about the original Club Fit facility prior to its many advancements over the years. Beth Beck (BB) - In 1973, Club Fit started as an 8-court, pay-as-you-go all- electric indoor tennis facility in 1973, and everything was done in ledger books. I came there in 1979 as an enthusiastic tennis player and agreed to help my friend run it. By then, four racquetball courts and a small, leased tness space were also there. Shortly after, my friend left, and an owner asked me if I would meet with David Swope, who had left a law practice to run his father’s
businesses. David
explained to me that the business wasn’t viable because of the high-energy costs. He asked if I would stay on and run it until it could be sold for warehouse space.
David Swope, Ellen Koelsch, Bill Beck and Beth Beck
As we worked together, we found that we enjoyed it and felt we could turn the business into a successful one if we could institute monthly EFT billing and add more activities. We were one of the rst clubs to do EFT at a time when it wasn’t very common.
C.I. - Please tell us about some of the key physical plant changes made by Club Fit to bring it into the modern era our industry knows today. What year and how did the second location come to be? BB - Over the next ve years, we added more racquetball, expanded tness and exercise classes and added a tennis bubble and pool.
In 1985, we saw an opportunity to
purchase our Briarcliff club. At this point, we had many staff who were good at what they did but were looking for advancement. We saw this as a perfect way to expand. We loved the business and traveled to IHRSA and many independent clubs to learn more. Some of our key changes over the years include adding cafés, which while not wildly pro table, added the social, family element we were looking for. The addition of physical therapy centers was also very successful in the early days. Briarcliff’s indoor track was a nice plus and outdoor tennis bubbles allowed us to expand our tennis program.
(See Club Fit Page 12)
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