If you are planning on starting your own fitness studio but you don’t have a suitable fitness studio business plan that fits your budget, then this is the plan for you.
You can start your very own fitness studio with little money and credit if you do enough research to find out how to get low cost equipment, space for your studio and low cost programs to help you acquire your certification. Below is a summary of how you can execute a low cost fitness studio business plan.
Your Low Cost Fitness Studio Business Plan
Get Certification
If you are already certified, then you don’t need to include this step in your fitness studio business plan but if you are not, you should find out which certification programs are offered in your area. When you do a thorough research, you will find that there are plenty of low cost intensive programs that run over several days.
Find The Right Location
This should be next the next step in your fitness studio business plan. Retail space is much more expensive than office rental space. You can appeal to your town zoning as a one-on-one training facility so you will eligible for office rental space and you will be given a minimum number of free parking for your clients. Negotiate with your landlord for better rates especially if the place has been vacant for a while.
Acquiring Equipment
Once you have found a good location for your fitness studio, you need to find the right exercise equipment. You can choose to directly purchase the equipment. The only problem that comes with purchasing equipment directly is you need to have large amounts of cash up front; something which you probably don’t have because you are on a tight cash budget.
Some fitness studio startups choose to start with used fitness equipment. It is much cheaper and you can find equipment that is still in excellent condition. On the other hand, you can also purchase refurbished equipment which is also relatively cheap.
Some fitness studio startups also seek financial help from banks and other financial institutions. This may be a good option if you have been in business for more than two years, you have a good credit score, you can provide collateral that is equal in value to the loan you are asking for and you have enough money to pay at least a 20% of the loan as down payment. If you do not meet one or more of these criteria, then you might not be approved for a loan.
The other option is to ask well wishers to loan you the money that you need to purchase all the pieces of equipment that you need and promise to pay them back. This may or may not be a viable option for you.
The last, and certainly not the least option, is to lease the equipment that you need. The reason you should include leasing in your fitness studio business plan is because it is one of the cheapest ways of acquiring state-of-the-art equipment at a relatively low price.
You don’t need to provide any collateral because the equipment leasing company will use their equipment as collateral. You also don’t need to make any down payments or have a high credit score. As a matter of fact, you can get approved for a lease if you have a damaged credit score. There are plenty of companies that have special programs for lessees who have damaged credit scores.
Leasing will help you manage your cash flow and expenses because your money will not be tied up in equipment.
Final Word
These are just some of the steps you should consider including in your fitness studio business plan. You should start small and not get in over your head. A number of fitness trainers start this way and end up staying in business for more than twenty years. Make sure you manage your expenses at the very beginning and avoid bringing in new equipment until your business is supporting your rent. You will probably meet many people who will give you “expert” advice or try to sell to you things so be true to yourself.
For more information on leasing equipment for your fitness studio business plan, simply CLICK HERE.