Growing up I wasn’t a member of a country club. (I did belong to my local pool.) But I had a friend who belonged to a country club and I remember going with him to the pool, walking up to the concession stand and ordering just about the entire menu (can you say gooey French bread pizza!), and instead of paying for it, he simply had to sign a piece of paper, a chit ( def: Chiefly British, a signed note for money owed for food, drink, etc ) ! It was at that exact moment that I knew without a doubt what I wanted to be when I grew up… Read More »

Membership has its benefits…

I’ve written a lot about what we can learn from other industries (fast food, airlines, etc.) and there is a lot to learn by watching some of the best companies and applying their practices to running a gym. BUT (there is always a BUT), there are a lot of things that other industries can learn from us… Read More »

You think I’m gonna tell you in the first paragraph!!?? Ohh heck no, I’m gonna make you read the whole blog and this isn’t one of those 140 character, twitter, what’s your status, and what’s on your mind entries!! This one is almost four whole paragraphs long! My 7th grade English teacher would be proud!

That said, there is no magic elixir for making a club successful. Sure they will tell you it’s the real estate, or the lack of competition but the real secret is…good club management software with complete billing solutions. Ok maybe it helps but that’s not the secret either! I’ve actually managed to boil it down to four items, feel free to post comments on additional rules! Read More »

Everything I learned about the gym…I learned from the prison yard!

(I’m talking Shawshank Redemption not actual jail time served!)

We take it for granted. We (gym people) walk into a gym, any gym, and instantly we know what to do, how to do it, and where to go. The reason, for people like us going to a gym (working in a gym) is second nature.

But let’s think back to a time when it wasn’t second nature. For me that was just 5 years ago…before going to the gym regularly was part of my routine. In fact, I can remember very vividly my first experience; I just don’t want to look like a fool. Read More »

We aren’t curing cancer…

…but if we do our job well, we can get people healthier!

I didn’t have the stomach to become a doctor (or maybe the brains) but I do know that if we, Motionsoft, were to build a better club management software package that has all the bells and whistles that you expect, then in a way I can cure cancer. Things like (ready for my first list) Read More »

(Warning, this blog entry requires me to sit on a very high horse. When reading it please do not look down )

We all know there is a significant disconnect between what the member thinks s/he is buying, what the club sells, and what the club actually delivers. Today’s blog entry will address some of these disconnections. Read More »

Mark your calendars! CI 2009 is almost here!

Make sure to visit us at Club Industry 2009 in Chicago, October 14 — 17. We’ll be at Booth 343. We’ve posted more specific information, like our location at the conference, who’s attending, and what we’ll be exhibiting on our website:

http://www.motionsoft.net/events/club-industry-2009

If you’re interested in meeting with us at CI 2009, you can call us at (800) 829-4321, email us, or fill out our online form and speak to one of our reps that will be attending to make arrangements. We’ll be more than happy to accommodate you.

We look forward to seeing you there!

I’m excited to be travelling up to Boston tomorrow for Club Industry East. Check out where to find us at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center by clicking here.

And now back to my blog about “What Would Your Members Want”. For a refresher on last week’s blog, click here.

From last week: Why are large chains able to do this, while smaller operators seem to falter? The answer is good decision-making.

The easiest way to explain it is that most small gym owners wear multiple hats (owner/operator/chief bottle washer . . .etc.) That means you are living in the gym, eating in the gym, thinking about the gym, and worrying about the gym 24/7/365! As such, most of the decisions made are TACTICAL (remember, tactical decisions are short-term, reactive) and not STRATEGIC (more long-term). Read More »

Let me start this blog by defining two terms:

TACTICAL Decisions are short-term, reactive, disruptive (not a bad thing) and possibly impulsive. They are smaller, faster, easier, more intuitive and qualitative. And they are important to your day-to-day operations as your members will see and feel them immediately. For the most part TACTICAL decisions are lower cost.

Some examples of TACTICAL decisions are:

• Buying a new piece of equipment (based on what the gym across the street has);
• Hiring new or more cleaning staff (in response to member complaints);
• Or, buying ad space in a new magazine.

STRATEGIC Decisions (not to be confused with strategy) are long-term, proactive, and rarely impulsive. They are bigger, slower, more thought intensive, and should have a quantitative component. The decisions will effect the gym over time, and could change the course of the entire business. For the most part STRATEGIC decisions are higher cost.

Some examples of STRATEGIC decisions:

• Marketing decisions (how you present yourself in your advertising);
• Whether or not your personal trainers are W-2s or 1099s;
• Or, expanding existing space or opening a new store.

Read More »

 Gym usage among existing Equinox members grew as much as 15 percent in the first quarter…The gym and fitness-club market will grow 2.2 percent this year, according to Los Angeles-based researcher IBISWorld Inc. 

— In a dead job market, unemployed hit the gym
The Chicago Sun-Times, Stefano Esposito , Tuesday, April 27, 2009

I was recently talking to my co-workers about the economy — a topic frequently on the minds of most everyone I know — and we arrived at an interesting conclusion about our industry and the economy. It’s not contracting the same way as other industries. Read More »