Cover Story
His fi rst encounter with the franchise’s assistance came as he began the hunt for the perfect location for his new club. With a territory marked out, David called on the head offi ce’s property team to help him pinpoint a potential home – a challenge they passed with fl ying colours. “That service helped me greatly,” continues David. “They scoured the territory and they came back to me with a proposition – a great property in a great location.
“I had a lot of to-and-fro over minute details with the landlord and it was an interactive process but it was ultimately straightforward and amicable. The property is one of the key things, really. It has to be the right one in the right location and once you have that, the rest of it is fairly easy!”
Sterling support
In addition to helping him pick out the perfect property, Anytime Fitness provided David with support and advice over the fi ner points of planning a new club. David benefi ted from a training course for new franchisees and admits to leaning “very heavily” on the years of collective expertise of Anytime Fitness’ specialists. He says: “The franchise consultants are at your beck and call to run small details past and give you a strategy for items such as pre-sales targets and sales staff KPIs. Until someone explains it, you just won’t get there. They were very important and helpful.” Armed with his new knowledge, David set about the all-important pre- sale process in October 2015 hoping to convince around 400 people to sign up ahead of the club’s opening two months later. Such was demand that Anytime
Fitness Tooting started life with 585 members and actually reached full capacity within six months.
While the popularity of his franchise had obvious fi nancial benefi ts, David also put his club’s success down to the state-of-the-art equipment and facilities in a community-spirited environment. He says: “We were very happy with the pre-sale as it’s very important to get that right, but ultimately it’s about having a consistent fi rst six or seven months of operation and continuing to drive sales once it has fi nished.
“Hitting 585 members before we opened helped us to put more money into new pieces of kit and add a few diff erent elements to the club. It gives members a sense of value and they can see money is being reinvested. The most effi cient type of sale is referral and we have a lot of members who have been there from the start, been impressed by how we have looked after them and then got friends and family to join, too. A recommendation from an independent person is so valuable.”
Enjoyable way of life Aside from his club posting great numbers and earning a glowing reputation in the local community, David points to a fl exible work-life balance as a benefi t of running his own franchise.
After completing administrative duties
from home during the morning, David visits his club during peak hours in the afternoon and early evening to check on its progress and ‘walk the fl oor’ to meet members face-to-face. “I enjoyed my previous job and had a great band of people with similar
Anytime Fitness Health and fi tness
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tness.co.uk
jointhefamily@anytimefi
tness.co.uk 0330 3322 362
backgrounds,” he explains. “But being able to work when I want and meet a diverse set of people is great. We have members from all walks of life and as I’m interested in health and fi tness, it’s great to hear what people are doing. “Some clubs have 20,000 square feet and several thousand members – they will feel impersonal. The size of our club creates a tighter-knit community and helps to build relationships.” Following on from the runaway success
of Tooting, David is continuing his Anytime Fitness journey by opening a second club in Ladbroke Grove – and he holds the franchise in such high regard that he hints at the possibility of further expansion in the future.
He adds: “Anytime Fitness has
created a very equitable system of costs and processes. It’s great that it helps local people, but it’s attractive because it works fi nancially. Unlike other available franchises, Anytime Fitness does not charge a percentage of earnings and sticks to one low monthly fee. “I would like to go to number three depending on the success of Ladbroke Grove – I will see how it goes. Starting your own club is not for everyone and it’s not as hands-off as you might imagine, but if you follow the model and get it right then it’s very rewarding.”
February 2017 |
BusinessFranchise.com | 21
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