Moving Forward
So the past couple of weeks had some pretty intense ups and downs. If things had gone the way I expected them to, I would be picking up my keys to my location today. Instead I am working on my Plan B. My lack of Plan B always bothered me. I would stop mid working on my business and think, "what if this all falls apart, what will I do?" and I never really came up with a solution. One of the ideas that I had would be to open an acting after school program but it has been half a lifetime since I have acted and I truly doubted my ability to pull this off. I posed the question to my community (especially since walking away from purchasing the franchise) but I don't think many people took my question as a serious request for help. Those that did take a moment to think about it almost always came back with ideas that catered to one of the many sub-cultures that I live in. The difficulty with this is that by their very nature, sub-cultures are small and I want a business that will be growable and ultimately will bring in an income high enough to support my family if ever the need shall arise. I need a business that pulled from my strengths but catered to the masses. That is why I chose the business that I did.
For the past week, Tina and I have been brainstorming ideas. Many if the ideas included things we really enjoyed during our recent travels and since Vancouver is a tourist destination, many of the options seemed viable. The main obstacle was financing; these ideas required more start-up than I had and without a rich relative willing to invest in you without question, getting start-up funds is very difficult. Then a few days ago I asked Tina what she thought about me starting up my own gym without purchasing a franchise.
There are many reasons that I wanted to open a circuit gym. Some of those reasons were professional, some were personal, and all of them still exist today. The main reason I wanted to purchase a franchise was brand recognition. The franchise has national TV adds and has just signed on a high profile celebrity spokes person. I can not compete with that. It will definitely take more effort for me to get the butts through the door. But doing it on my own opens me up to being able to do things that I could not do with a franchise. For me the most important thing is that I can have a gym that is open to all genders. As a member of the LGTB community, I thought a lot about what a women only gym meant and who I would permit to work out at my location. In the end I had decided that anyone who identified as a woman regardless of biological characteristics qualified.Now with the idea of opening my own co-ed option, the whole gender spectrum would be welcome.
I have done some initial research into getting the hydraulic machines that work well for circuit workouts and there are a number of businesses that sell this style of machine for commercial gyms. I would need to figure out what I will do for database management, advertising, and branding because all of these things would have been done for me by the franchise. I truly believe that there is a market out there for people who are uncomfortable going into a typical gym but want to get healthier and I really want to create a space where out of shape people feel welcome to come and become in shape people.I really want to do something that will change people's lives for the better. I want to be part of the solution.
Here is my real fear with this idea. The gym industry is made up of big names. When was the last time you saw a small, independently run gym? I saw one over the holidays on Vancouver Island and was surprised. Can I compete with all these big names by offering what they can not- individualized and personal support without judgement? When I think about the people who inspire me as an entrepreneur, I know what they would say. My professor would tell me to suck it up, this is business. Jillian Micheals would tell me to "feel the fear. Do it anyway". I wonder if I have learned enough about health this past two years to be able to move forward with this. I think I would definitely want someone with a health or training background on staff to help me build the business and its system. Who knows, maybe I could grow the business and expand throughout Canada. Maybe I could franchise out my brand and try and remember the lessons I learned in this experience so that I do not do the same to my franchisees.
I am not 100% sold on the idea of opening my own brand of circuit gym. I want to do a little more research and update my business plan with all the changes that would come in with doing it all myself. But right now it is my top idea.
For the past week, Tina and I have been brainstorming ideas. Many if the ideas included things we really enjoyed during our recent travels and since Vancouver is a tourist destination, many of the options seemed viable. The main obstacle was financing; these ideas required more start-up than I had and without a rich relative willing to invest in you without question, getting start-up funds is very difficult. Then a few days ago I asked Tina what she thought about me starting up my own gym without purchasing a franchise.
There are many reasons that I wanted to open a circuit gym. Some of those reasons were professional, some were personal, and all of them still exist today. The main reason I wanted to purchase a franchise was brand recognition. The franchise has national TV adds and has just signed on a high profile celebrity spokes person. I can not compete with that. It will definitely take more effort for me to get the butts through the door. But doing it on my own opens me up to being able to do things that I could not do with a franchise. For me the most important thing is that I can have a gym that is open to all genders. As a member of the LGTB community, I thought a lot about what a women only gym meant and who I would permit to work out at my location. In the end I had decided that anyone who identified as a woman regardless of biological characteristics qualified.Now with the idea of opening my own co-ed option, the whole gender spectrum would be welcome.
I have done some initial research into getting the hydraulic machines that work well for circuit workouts and there are a number of businesses that sell this style of machine for commercial gyms. I would need to figure out what I will do for database management, advertising, and branding because all of these things would have been done for me by the franchise. I truly believe that there is a market out there for people who are uncomfortable going into a typical gym but want to get healthier and I really want to create a space where out of shape people feel welcome to come and become in shape people.I really want to do something that will change people's lives for the better. I want to be part of the solution.
Here is my real fear with this idea. The gym industry is made up of big names. When was the last time you saw a small, independently run gym? I saw one over the holidays on Vancouver Island and was surprised. Can I compete with all these big names by offering what they can not- individualized and personal support without judgement? When I think about the people who inspire me as an entrepreneur, I know what they would say. My professor would tell me to suck it up, this is business. Jillian Micheals would tell me to "feel the fear. Do it anyway". I wonder if I have learned enough about health this past two years to be able to move forward with this. I think I would definitely want someone with a health or training background on staff to help me build the business and its system. Who knows, maybe I could grow the business and expand throughout Canada. Maybe I could franchise out my brand and try and remember the lessons I learned in this experience so that I do not do the same to my franchisees.
I am not 100% sold on the idea of opening my own brand of circuit gym. I want to do a little more research and update my business plan with all the changes that would come in with doing it all myself. But right now it is my top idea.