What Do You Do if Your Fitness Business Is Not Making a Profit?

Dave • August 8, 2019

There are many challenges when it comes to running a fitness business. The main reason why anyone starts up a business is in order to turn a profit. Yes, you might want to be your own boss and set your own hours and run the business in the way you like. But you have to keep in mind that the main aim of any business is to turn a profit. And this is what most entrepreneurs are looking for in a fitness business as well.

Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs don’t know that much about running a small business. This is normal. Unless you have an MBA or some other business degree, you’re not going to know that much about running a business. As a result, many small businesses take a long time to break even. Some might even be forced to go out of business. So if you’ve been running your fitness center for six months or a year and are not turning a profit, it might be time to take stock and think about what you should do next.

Why Isn’t Your Fitness Center Making a Profit?

There could be many reasons why your fitness center isn’t making a profit. Maybe you started a fitness center offering high impact classes in an area which is full of senior citizens. Or maybe you haven’t been putting enough effort into marketing your business, so no one has heard about it. Or maybe there are too many gyms in the area where you decided to start another one.

However, it might be hard for you, as a business owner, to figure out exactly why your fitness center isn’t making a profit. This is largely because you might be too close to it. You’ve been involved in running it from day one. And as far as you know, you’re doing everything necessary to run it as well as possible.

If this is the case and you’re unable to figure out what’s going on, speak to someone you know. This could just be someone who lives in the neighborhood or a friend who is close to you. You could also consult another business owner or you could hire a consultant to look into the matter. Either way, you have to take some action if you want to see results. Just having a fresh set of eyes looking at the situation can make all the difference.

What Changes Can You Make to Improve the Situation?

There are many things you can do to improve the situation. If you do some digging and you find that there’s a very obvious reason why your fitness center isn’t working, then you can fix that.

Offerings: If there are a lot of senior citizens in your neighborhood, then stop offering high impact cardio classes. Instead, start offering yoga or t’ai chi, since this is what seniors prefer.
Marketing: If you haven’t been marketing your business, then hire a digital marketing agency and set up a website, blog and social media pages. If someone who works at your fitness center is active on social media, make it their task to update your social media pages. It’s something they’ll enjoy doing and your fitness center will also benefit. You can also hire a writer or a company to update your blog.
Ambiance: Maybe the problem is just that your gym is looking a bit run down, in which case it needs a new coat of paint, some more lighting, and a few new machines.
Trainers: Or maybe you need to hire better trainers to work with your clients. They might be expensive for you but the expense will be worth it when they attract new clients to your business.

Try brainstorming about what else you can do to succeed in your fitness center business and try out a few options that occur to you. If you keep putting in more effort, you’re bound to hit on something that will work, sooner or later.

David Michael Gilbertson is the founder and president of 3 Elements Lifestyle, LLC., a Fitness and Weight Loss company that specializes in YOU!. With more than 15 years of experience owning, operating and managing clubs of all sizes, David lectures, delivers seminars and gives workshops on the practical skills required to successfully help you with your health and fitness goals. David also helps you build the teamwork, management, and training necessary to open your own fitness center. For more information on Licensing and Consulting Services Visit his Web site at: www.3elementslifestyle.com or email at daveg@3elementslifestyle.com or call (805) 499-3030.

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