Special Feature
Mike Racz owns 50 franchises across a variety of brands within hospitality, retail and leisure. In 2015, he opened his first Anytime Fitness gym in Gateshead and now has seven branches, with another three planned for 2018.
Why did a franchise with Anytime Fitness appeal?
Gyms let me combine business with a personal passion. Plus, Anytime Fitness is expanding fast, so it’s the obvious partner. The benefit of being aligned to a world leader in fitness franchising was a huge draw for me. The rate of expansion worldwide shows that franchisees are seeing a fantastic return on investment and that, coupled with the strength of the brand, reassured me that it was the franchise for me.
How do you rate the training? It’s very good for new franchisees and covers a wide variety of topics. Having a dedicated franchise performance coach is also very helpful for day-to-day aspects.
What first attracted you to franchising? The simplicity of the franchise model was a great attraction to me. You’re given a lot of support from the franchisor to ensure your business is a success, which is really valuable when you’re coming into a new sector and have limited knowledge of suppliers, for example.
After starting out in hospitality, you moved into gyms with Anytime Fitness. What attracted you to the sector? I’ve always been into my fitness and I used to be a personal trainer, so it was of huge relevance and interest to me. The opportunity to own and operate an Anytime Fitness club was the perfect way for me to combine business and passion.
Have you found any similarities between the different franchise brands that you run?
The similarities come in the form of investing time and effort. Despite having the gravitas of world-renowned names behind you, you’ve still got to put in a lot of work throughout the process to make sure that the business is going to be a success.
Has running a business in the fitness sector been what you expected? It has been on the whole, and the process is made easier by the fact you’re working alongside really highly trained and
Anytime Fitness
motivated staff. To be in the fitness industry, you need a certain amount of commitment and self-confidence, and working with these types of people makes running Anytime Fitness sites a pleasure. My personal aim is to own 10 Anytime Fitness sites by the end of this year.
What are the fitness sector’s biggest strengths when it comes to operating a franchised business? The importance of customer relationships and the longevity of your customers. You have customers that will stay with you for years and it’s great that you’re able to nurture relationships with them in a way that you can’t in other sectors. The draw of Anytime Fitness is particularly strong, as its name and reputation mean that more and more people search for the brand when they’re considering a gym membership.
“The simplicity of the franchise model was a great attraction. You’re given a lot of support to ensure your success”
Do you have any advice for new franchisees?
Really understand your business. Get funding in place, know your profit and loss statement and projections inside out, and grill your suppliers and contractors. Second, get a good solicitor, so you’re on top of your lease and all your contracts. Third, do all the training!
April 2018 |
BusinessFranchise.com | 27
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