FAQs for Existing Club Owners

Why My Club?

In these uncertain economic times it is important to plan for the future of your club. If you are like a lot of club owners you have seen the dramatic effect on your business due to the struggling economy. Many clubs that at one time were quite profitable are now barely breaking even and in some cases have already gone under. There are several questions you can ask yourself that might help you make the decision to make a change.

Is my business showing growth?
Could I withstand a new, larger and better equipped health club moving into my area?
Could I withstand a low priced model health club moving into my area?
Do I have the type of club that can attract people that would not normally join a health club?

If you answered no to any of these then it may be time to at least consider moving in a different direction and Fitness For $10 may be an option worth exploring. We have a proven track record of withstanding all of the above scenarios. Let us show you how you can dominate your competitors and withstand future competition in your area.

What makes Fitness For $10 different from other health clubs?

If you have ever been to a traditional health club before or signed up for a gym membership before you have no doubt experienced the overriding “sales” mentality that permeates these establishments. Many clubs use “hard” sales tactics very similar to what you find in a car dealership. They want you to sign up “right now”, they want you to give them the names of your friends and family so they can call them about memberships, they try to get you to buy personal training or add someone to your membership. The entire buying process is one of pressure, negotiation and frankly in many cases intimidation. What you end up with is a member who experiences buyer’s remorse, who is afraid to ask questions about the club for fear that they will have to deal with a sales person. Worst of all you will have a member who will never refer someone they know to the club because they don’t want to expose a friend, family member or co-worker to the “buying experience”. To make matters even worse, the sales person in most cases could care less about the new member once the sale is complete.

Another element of the “traditional” health club that is vastly different from Fitness For $10 is the value that members receive for their fitness dollar. In most health clubs the memberships start with a processing fee that can be as high $200 or more! Then you throw in the monthly dues which will start at a minimum of $29 and go up dramatically. If you decide to go the route of paying for a year in full you are looking at paying a minimum of $300, usually higher! As you can see, with our rates, our lack of sales pressure and the overall value of our memberships it’s easy to see why we do the high volume that we do.

What does it cost?

FF10 just may be the most affordable health club license on the market today. Licensed territories can be purchased for $4,000, which guarantees a 7 mile radius around your club. You can also purchase larger areas for multiple clubs at a lower negotiated rate. After your initial investment of $4,000 your monthly license fees are a low $500 a month. These fees do not escalate with your dues base as many licensed operations do, Fitness For $10 wants you to succeed and more importantly keep a bigger share of the money you deserve.

What do I get for my investment?

The entire Fitness For $10 philosophy is based on value, value for our members and value for our licensees. Here are the highlights of your relationship with Fitness For $10.

Fitness For $10 licensees will have the benefit of a combined 50 years experience in the health club industry.
Custom Website designed around your club with full online membership purchasing capability.
Custom Back Office Managerial software designed to manage every facet of your operation. This software gives an owner the power and organization to operate one or multiple locations.
A proven and successful business model that will allow you to compete with any type of club in your area.
The support of a knowledgeable and helpful staff that has run health clubs and succeeded with the low priced model.

Why can’t I just do it myself?

Many people ask us “what do I need you guys for? Why can’t I just start selling low priced memberships on my own”? It’s true, you could start selling low priced memberships on your own but ask yourself the following questions.

What pricing would be right for my club?
How do I convert my current members?
How do I make the transition from my current sales model?
Do I want to spend thousands on redesigning my web site, or creating a new one?
Do I know what type of changes to my club would help me sell low priced memberships?
Do I know how to attract members who would not normally join a health club?

The fact of the matter is that becoming a Fitness For $10 is far less expensive than if you were to re-invent your own club. Your club as it stands right now has a brand, in other words your club is known for doing business a certain way. It is very difficult to re-brand yourself as a low priced model when you are known as something else. Look to the car industry for a good example. When Honda wanted to sell luxury cars they knew that people would not pay top dollar for a Honda, they already had a brand and that brand was economy and value. Then Honda rolled out its luxury line and called it Acura. Acura started as a luxury line and therefore people were willing to pay more money for it. This is the same reason that Nissan produced Infinity and Toyota introduced Lexus. They had to change to change the brand and the way people viewed their product. Health clubs are the same way, you need to reinvent your image and product in order for the buying public to embrace you. A Fitness For $10 conversion can accomplish your brand and image change with minimal costs when compared to doing it yourself.

Although it may seem easy to sell low priced memberships believe it or not there are techniques and nuances that can make your club far more appealing than simply low price. The important thing is making your club more attractive to the section of the population that would normally not join a health club while maintaining the members you already have. Fitness For $10 can show you how to do that.

Do I need to buy all new equipment?

Unlike many health club licenses Fitness For $10 does not require existing health clubs to purchase all new equipment. In most cases your club’s current equipment will suffice. We do expect that the club’s equipment to be in good repair. We do not expect our licensees to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on new equipment. However, be prepared for your club to handle more members than it has ever seen before so you may want to consider adding more equipment, especially cardio.

What is expected of me as a Licensee?

Fitness For $10 wants to give you the best possible solution for success while allowing our licensed partners the autonomy that made them want to get in the business in the first place. There are many licenses out there that will dictate everything to you from your advertising to the color of your uniform shirts to the billing company you can use. Changes can sometimes be forced upon your business regardless of the extra expense to you. Compliance is not an option or your license rights will put in jeopardy. Fitness For $10 welcomes the creativity and independence of our licensees, we do ask that the following guidelines be followed.

Our signage/branding be followed accurately
Our color scheme be prominent throughout the club
Every club has at least a $10 and $20 a month membership.
Every club uses our custom website for online membership purchasing.
Every club uses our back office software which enables us to track your membership totals.

As a Licensee what restrictions are placed on me and my club?

Fitness For $10 does not impose many of the restrictions on its licensees that are common with franchised operations. It seems as though some franchisors throughout the country are more concerned with growing their name brand than they are health of the franchised clubs they already have. Fitness For $10 believes that it is possible to grow the company name as well as keep our licensees happy and profitable. In contrast to the many restrictions other franchisors demand here is a short list of the options you do have as a Fitness For $10.

You may own other health clubs under a different name while you own a FF10 as long as it is outside of a 7 mile radius of your existing Fitness For $10 club.
You can purchase a single club or the rights to an entire area.
You will not have unreasonable expansion rates placed upon you if you decide to purchase an area.

Finally, Fitness For $10 has built its reputation on the idea that Health Clubs should be free of sales pressure, without gimmicks and without some of the attitude that is common in other health clubs. We would hope that our licensees would adopt that same attitude that has made our clubs so successful.

Is there any other information for me to look at?

Listed below are some links to various news articles and stories done about Fitness For $10 that will give you an idea of what we are all about.

http://curtismock.audioacrobat.com/download/853ee423-c771-d587-0030-339061d018ac.mp3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l_jLCjIe9g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI4e9i6DJzk

http://www.nnbw.biz/ArticleRead.aspx?storyID=12902#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKI0soi7C-0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cg_MGtiZXI

What’s the next step?

If you feel that Fitness For $10 is the business opportunity you have been looking for, or if you simply want to get more information we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you. We can be reached at 775-884-3152 (Steve Main) or 775-352-8663 (John Gutierrez) during the hours of 8am-5pm PST Monday through Friday. You can also contact us via email at steve (at) fitnessfor10.com or john (at) fitnessfor10.com. For Fitness For 10 license inquiries in Canada, please contact Licenses (at) fitnessfor10canada.com. Thank you for showing interest in Fitness For $10, we look forward to hearing from you again.