Fitness franchises around the world are taking off, and for good reason. More people than ever are interested in getting and staying fit, so ambitious entrepreneurs can tap into the franchise industry to take advantage of this trend and start independent fitness studios.
But you don’t have to build up a brand from scratch. Instead, you can start a Planet Fitness franchise and benefit from a built-in audience and strong branding. Keep reading for a closer look at what it takes to become a Planet Fitness franchise owner.
The Planet Fitness workout studio franchise began in 1992 when Michael Grondahl purchased a New Hampshire gym that was already failing. He turned around by cutting prices, revamping business procedures and providing new ways to work out for its patrons.
The result? Long-term success. There are now hundreds of Planet Fitness studios around the country, led by current CEO Chris Rondeau, giving people a chance to work out and get fit, plus use expensive gym equipment with affordable subscription prices.
Planet Fitness locations offer exercise machines, fitness training services, tanning services and much more, so new franchisees have many different revenue streams to pursue.
If you partner with this franchisor, you’ll see several immediate benefits, including:
Regarding massive branding, remember that Planet Fitness is the main sponsor of the TV show The Biggest Loser. Since that show was a smash hit, it means that when you start a new Planet Fitness franchised location, you’ll have a built-in customer base right from the get-go.
While Planet Fitness has much going for it as a franchise partner, remember that you can face competition from other franchisees.
That’s because Planet Fitness doesn’t grant true territory exclusivity. You can’t conduct your business at any site other than your approved premises, but your franchise agreement does not include any protected territory or safe area.
Therefore, you’ll want to choose your Planet Fitness studio location very carefully, minimizing the opportunity for other franchisees to come in and take away from your potential customer base.
Planet Fitness provides extensive support resources for its new franchisees and business partners.
These start with newsletters, access to meetings and conventions and toll-free customer support. This gives business owners the tools to contact corporate at any time, build up their support networks and meet with other franchisees to share successful strategies.
When your store is ready to go, Planet Fitness will also help you with a grand opening. They’ll provide staffing and material support so you can drum up anticipation and hype for your studio’s big opening day, hopefully bolstering initial subscriptions.
But what if you can’t find the right location? In that case, Planet Fitness will provide you with support through site selection services and lease negotiation assistance. The latter support can help you secure an excellent lease for your new Planet Fitness building if the lender troubles you.
Even after that, Planet Fitness provides safety and security procedure training and support, field operations help and online support whenever needed.
That online support extends to marketing assistance, as well. For your Planet Fitness studio to be successful, you’ll have to market it aggressively, especially during some of the most critical times of the year (e.g., right after New Year’s when everyone promises to get fit).
Your marketing support includes regional and national media advertising assistance, ensuring that you align with the broader Planet Fitness brand marketing campaign yet also appeal to people in your local area. Additionally, Planet Fitness helps with grand opening marketing.
Planet Fitness provides you with online marketing assistance, too. You can access specially branded ad templates to create persuasive, high-performing advertisements without making them from scratch.
Email marketing and social media marketing assistance is included in this package, so you can build a website and bring people to your brand online.
Your business can provide and use the loyalty program and dedicated app to ensure Planet Fitness customers return to your studio.
The loyalty app incentivizes people to return to your studio repeatedly through discounts, special offers and training opportunities. It’s a great way to make your studio stand out from other fitness centers in your market.
Starting a Planet Fitness franchise could be an excellent business opportunity, but you must meet the cash requirements. The initial investment for this business model can be pricey for first-time entrepreneurs. You need a good amount of liquid capital depending on your franchise location, advertising fees and the number of members.
The initial franchise fee is deceptively small at $20,000. You’ll also satisfy a net worth requirement of $3 million, and $1.5 million of that needs to be in liquid cash.
In total, expect to invest between $1.6 million and approximately $5 million; your exact payment will depend on your Planet Fitness studio's size and the projected profits.
Then you have to consider the royalty fees you’ll pay. Royalty fees are usually 7%, and ad royalty fees clock in at 9%. All of these can eat into your gross monthly profits, comprising gym memberships (e.g., annual membership fees) and other sales.
So you’ll want to take advantage of Planet Fitness’s training programs to ensure you thrive quickly as a Planet Fitness franchisee.
Terms of agreement are for 10 years and are renewable, which can be beneficial as you pay off the cost of real estate and fitness equipment, which are standard fitness club expenses and increase your initial franchise business costs.
If the above costs seem a little high, remember that Planet Fitness does have relationships with third-party lenders and financing organizations.
You can get financing to cover your new fitness studio's startup costs and equipment. Since these represent some of the significant expenditures new business owners must consider, this is no small benefit.
Planet Fitness is a training and fitness business, so it’s no surprise it does well with new franchisee training. You’ll need to complete 20 hours of on-the-job and 74 hours of classroom training before you are ready to lead your studio.
All franchisees, their approved operators and managers for Planet Fitness businesses have to complete an initial training program. The franchisor administers the initial training across two phases:
Both of these modules will ensure that you know how to set up your studio for success, then run it successfully in the day-to-day.
Furthermore, Planet Fitness, as a franchisor, sometimes requires franchisees to send their employees to extra training courses. These additional training courses may include ways to operate gym equipment and how to sell fitness sessions to customers.
While these additional training requirements can crop up occasionally, they are never too long, usually taking fewer than five calendar days per year.
A Planet Fitness franchise opportunity could be perfect for your business ambitions. Consider starting a franchise with this company today.
Check out Entrepreneur’s other articles for more information about Planet Fitness and other franchise opportunities.