The first thing we did was attend Metzger's Small Business Boot Camp. The second thing we did was write a business plan. We already knew where we wanted to be location wise. Very affluent city with no other gymnastics program at the time (It was a no brainer!). There were a few retail locations that we already had our eye on. Our business plan ended up being so vital because it helped us to secure our business loan (though we were turned down twice before we found a great local bank that backed us). We also had our own money to put into it as well (about $40,000). Bringing that kind of cash up front helped the bank feel more secure about lending to a brand new business.
The whole process from business plan to opening day took close to a year. We started in a small retail space in a shopping center surrounded by high income neighborhoods which really helped we to be seen and noticed quickly. Our space when we started was only 4,000 sq ft. In the three years we've been open, we have expanded our existing space to about 8,500 sq ft and we are in the process of adding an additional 1 to 3 thousand sq ft more. Currently, we run about 650 students through our gym weekly.
My biggest advice is to be patient. Everything at the beginning moves SO slow and can be quite frustrating. From signing/negotiating the lease, going to planning board meetings, waiting to receiving building permits, working with the contractor and the town etc... the list of stuff going on before you even move equipment into your space is lengthy and things take time. We thought we were going to easily be open in Oct and did not end up opening our doors until Feb. Financially, we had to account for that and be very careful of how we spent our money while waiting for our business to open.
I, as the gymnastics director (husband is the business manager) had to and still have to be patient to this day. We have a very small team (only 20 kids out of the 650 students) which makes sense finically because the more recreational students we have, the more profitable our gym becomes. As a former team coach, I would like to expand and make the team bigger... but long term. Our strategy from the beginning was to create a healthy recreational based program and once that is established, we can then look into expanding other less profitable programs, like team.
One other thing I felt like aided in our early success was how we differentiated ourselves from other gyms. Our gym is bright, colorful, clean and DOESN'T smell. We keep our mats and equipment looking as new as possible. We have extremely well thought out preschool and recreational lesson plans and content. We put so much time into making these programs as creative and innovative as we can. Our coaches and staff are super customer oriented. We try to get to know every family that spends time and money with us on a personal level. We try to set the standard in customer service.
So much more that I could write about but these are the first few things that came to mind. There is so much to do/think about and even though the process is long and tedious it is such an exciting time too! Wishing you the best of luck with your endeavors!
