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> These could also work for your ladies lockerroom since they can be outfitted with
> removable shower curtains.
Are you kidding me ? Women *have* to soap each other up in the showers, touch each other's nipples to compare firmness. Having a divider would prevent this essential activity all women do in the locker room shower (based on all the movies I have seen![]()
LOL. I've seen the same movies.
This is really useful info - thanks so much![]()
You're welcome... I hope it works out. In the end, we couldn't get our numbers to work (wildly optimistic assumptions from the franchiser), but I really wanted it to. The idea of owning a gym has always appealed to me. I hope yours is a success, jerkitout.
^ THIS.
If you're about to invest both your money and time, or some investors money, into this gym idea of yours, I sincerely hope you'll do the necessary research in the area. You need to create a focus group, it's quite easy. Either you can put out ads, searching for volunteers, and maybe offer a small compensation for their time. Or you could try and "pick" the people you want in your focus group, and thereby you have the power to pick a group that would better represent the people within the area you're thinking about opening the gym. Based on the answers from this focus group, you'll know what to do next.
A decision about opening a new business can't be made from asking a simple question on an internet-forum, atleast not solely from that. To research on the internet is good as well, but you need more information regarding the specific area you're about to invest in. :smile:
HappyBoi makes a very good point. You need to find a representative cross-section of your target market and find out what they want, what would make them join your gym, why they've not joined a gym before or if they have, why they've left it or stuck with it, etc.
I did a focus group (of sorts) with foot traffic that came through the strip mall I was considering locating my gym in and got some great feedback. I spent three consecutive Saturdays in front of the grocery store there (with permission) and had a sign that said "Donate MY $10 to YOUR favorite charity!". It worked; everybody was curious about it and I had enlisted my neighbor's daughter to sort of pitch the interview and qualify people. For people who met my basic criteria (over 18, employed, lived in a three-mile radius and would answer 15 questions), I gave them $10 and told them they could keep it or donate it to their favorite charity. Then, we sat down at my little card table and I went through my questions with them. With the exception of a few people, I think I got a lot more than $10 of information from them. In some cases, people gave me their contact details so I could email them if I went through with the gym.
Two of the gems I learned: people would pay extra for towel service and the universally most important thing for a gym was 'cleanliness'. All in all, I think I interviewed something like 85 people and it was probably the very best market research I could have done. Don't be afraid to spend money to ensure you have a good idea. Think of it as investing a few hundred dollars now to prevent losing tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars later.
Good luck.