How to open a gym

[MadSquabbles500]

Don't. Unless you have someone who is an endless wallet. Otherwise you're bound to end up upside down. I work in a World famous gym and it barely turns a profit without certain aspects to it, which are very intricate. Put it like this, if I had to write out everything we had to do to turn a sustainable profit...it would look like a research paper.

Also, another notion. The U.S. and U.K are unusual in how we structure boxing gyms. As in, you have a boxing team (or boxER)...and they have a gym. Everywhere else, you have a gym...and that gym has a boxing team, which is supported by the entire gym in general. The latter is smarter.

So most boxing gyms are actually just fitness gyms, and they have regular fitness customers with the cycling classes, and pilates etc ?

 

[MadSquabbles500]

yeah i agree with him, i have pretty much been told similar things by many people and the few gym owners i do know, work other jobs as well. I also know some that opened gyms, closed their gym, and work as cooks now. These are all acquaintances though not close friends. Part of the reason why UFC gym is successfull, is because its a GYM, not just an MMA gym. I might end up trying to just run a small fight team out of my house for side income instead of trying to make it my primary thing.

UFC gym is a fitness gym like LA Fitness?

 

[DoctorTaco]

Move somewhere the rent is dirt cheap, but has a surprisingly vibrant community. .

See also: “gentrification”

So most boxing gyms are actually just fitness gyms, and they have regular fitness customers with the cycling classes, and pilates etc ?

even if they don’t have any of the extra equipment, successful gyms earn 90% of their revenue from fitness and cardio classes. Boxing boot camp, cardio kickboxing, bag classes, etc.

Our boxing gym has a 20-30 people consistently showing up to bag work classes twice a day, 6 days a week. On the opposite side of that coin, we’ve got 15-20 members on our competition team, half of whom actually compete and fight

 

[j123]

yeah i agree with him, i have pretty much been told similar things by many people and the few gym owners i do know, work other jobs as well. I also know some that opened gyms, closed their gym, and work as cooks now. These are all acquaintances though not close friends. Part of the reason why UFC gym is successfull, is because its a GYM, not just an MMA gym. I might end up trying to just run a small fight team out of my house for side income instead of trying to make it my primary thing.

Not just that, but the brand is strong. People literally go there so they feel like fighters, without even going through a camp

Oh X fighter trains here, and taught a class. My "coach" is this top 10 guy or former world class guy. They get motivated, feel badass, then tell all their friends, and their friends do the same. You don't really get that with the regular conglomerate chain gyms, unless they're really into bodybuilding, and even then, its still an even smaller niche crowd.

Only people in the community like us know its more of a bells and whistles gym, but the average person doesn't, so it sells like hot pockets

 

[Judoka1532]

See also: “gentrification”

even if they don’t have any of the extra equipment, successful gyms earn 90% of their revenue from fitness and cardio classes. Boxing boot camp, cardio kickboxing, bag classes, etc.

Our boxing gym has a 20-30 people consistently showing up to bag work classes twice a day, 6 days a week. On the opposite side of that coin, we’ve got 15-20 members on our competition team, half of whom actually compete and fight

Yes I forgot to include classes in my essay that I wrote. They are very good to have, even if it's just a marketing tool to make you more comprehensive with more services.

 

[dudeguyman]

Can anyone on here that currently runs a gym explain to me how to do it?

I have looked into it and I really dont see how its possible without getting a large business loan or having a ton of money in the bank. The majority of places want around $2500 a month. I would think that you might not even break even for several months, let alone make any profit. How do you open a gym, pay gym rent, pay your house rent, etc?

I have been training my entire life, from the moment i first started boxing at the age of 12 i thought to myself way back then, i would like to run a gym one day. I feel I would make a good coach, however I dont know what to do or how to get started as far as running an actual gym.

Everything I can find online only provides stupid common sense answers like, you will need a ring, choose a good location, you will need bags and pads, you will need insurance. It doesnt give any info on what type of paperwork/permits are need, or how to obtain them. And it doesnt mention anything about startup costs, loans, or how to have money to get started.

For adult students you could try starting out with privates at weird places and stuff like parks and shit. Then when you get a gym location you can convert some private students into a real class hopefully. Plus lots of kids classes for that $$$.

 

[biscuitsbrah]

UFC gym is a fitness gym like LA Fitness?

Yes. It’s exactly like 24 hour fitness except you can pay more to take kickboxing, boxing, bjj, and some yoga and cardio classes.

I don’t like the UFC and their business practices but it’s pretty great for the average person. Gives a lot of fighters jobs too

 

[j123]

For adult students you could try starting out with privates at weird places and stuff like parks and shit.

He can't do that. He's gonna be instantly stereotyped as that weird white cat teaching kung fu and "self-defense" to grannies. All he needs is to be fat to fit the stereotype.

He's one serving of Mexican food away from being a laughing stock of the town.

 

[shincheckin]

amazing responses from everyone on here and much appreciated. Im burnt out from work today guys so give me some time for some resposnes and I also have more questions as well.

 

[shincheckin]

The idea is that if you cant manage your personal finances, business finances would be a high risk

Look at the gyms that are successful, they arnt fight gyms, they are TKD gyms with 10 kids classes a week, 6 body combat fitness classes, then maybe 5 actual martial arts classes. The reason that Mcdojos are popular is because they make money. If you want to make a living, Kids and soccer moms are your target audience, then the 1% outside of that if were you build a fight team.

As for a side gym, there are to many people watching videos and "teaching" in their basement for free, people don't pay for that shit.
My advice would be teach at somebody elses gym and charge foe privates on the side. other than that, you could try to start up an MT program within an existing boxing or BJJ gym. Use there mat space and cut them in on what you earn?

I can manage money, my credit is poor due to other reasons.

as for the McDojo statement, exactly right, hence the watering down of MT in american, to keep the doors open and lights on!

 

[shincheckin]

I edited my post, have a look

i have had coaching positions in the past and been offered other coaching positions, have exp coaching etc.

 

[shincheckin]

Okay. I'm not kidding, this is literally what my coach (who is no longer with my gym) did.

He went to his local community church, and asked if he could use it.

Do that. Have a weekend class with your local church or YMCA or anything that is about reaching out and helping people, particularly young people. Explain the genuine benefits and that you are competent to teach, and find out if they're interested and what they would want.

Don't worry about running a gym right now, worry about running a class, you can still have a decent team of fighters for smokers without having a proper gym.

My coach did this and keep in mind he is a 55 year old former Lumpinee fighter.

i could do something similar out of my home gym. build a small fight team. Once I have a gym i would like to offer a free or discounted program to at risk youth.

The fight community is small, im pretty well connected in my area at least thanks to being friends with some 10th BJJ black belts and from being a MT coach for a old 10th BJJ gym. Everyone knows 10th planet and they are literally taking over the inland empire.

 

[shincheckin]

I’m general-

Have a prime location. Run fitness boxing/kickboxing classes. Mornings, afternoons, evenings. Work in your technique classes and team training around that and get your fighters to take the cardio classes too.

great minds think alike dude

 

[shincheckin]

Move somewhere the rent is dirt cheap, but has a surprisingly vibrant community. Not everywhere is uber expensive, you need to take out a loan to get started. But you have to be willing to move of course.

I live in one of the poorest cities in the US, however the neighboring cities are more affluent. Finding a cheap location shouldnt be too hard, but Ill give you an idea of how ghetto it is around here, my local barber keeps his door locked during open business hours because too many crackheads cause problems. You want in, you gotta knock first!

 

[shincheckin]

He can't do that. He's gonna be instantly stereotyped as that weird white cat teaching kung fu and "self-defense" to grannies. All he needs is to be fat to fit the stereotype.

He's one serving of Mexican food away from being a laughing stock of the town.

the parks out here arent parks, they are crackhead tent cities, too dangerous.

I have my own home gym, i can run privates or very small classes at home.

 

[MadSquabbles500]

I live in one of the poorest cities in the US, however the neighboring cities are more affluent. Finding a cheap location shouldnt be too hard, but Ill give you an idea of how ghetto it is around here, my local barber keeps his door locked during open business hours because too many crackheads cause problems. You want in, you gotta knock first!

Even though your area is poor, as long as there are wealthy areas around it especially in one of the big coast cities, the RE speculation will still make rent high. That is one of the reason why your area is poor. Their own costs of living are really high, and it keeps everyone down.

 

[shincheckin]

Even though your area is poor, as long as there are wealthy areas around it especially in one of the big coast cities, the RE speculation will still make rent high. That is one of the reason why your area is poor. Their own costs of living are really high.

true that, all the houses are too expensive for anyone that lives here to afford them, all the renters are on section 8, and the people that make enough money to afford them, wouldnt want to live here. its ghetto AF and they want 300k for a house on a street that people have been shot on. were getting off subject now but take a look at what Dr Housing Bubble has to say about this kinda stuff.

 

[William Huggins]

Plenty of good information to help you along....

 

[Sinister]

So most boxing gyms are actually just fitness gyms, and they have regular fitness customers with the cycling classes, and pilates etc ?

In Europe? Yes. When you go to a "gymnasium" for fitness, boxing is just one of a dozen or so things you can take. But it's difficult to tell because it's done fairly well. So when you see videos from places like that, it just looks like a boxing gym:

 

[Sinister]

BTW, what you do doesn't need to be "watered down"...you just have to be VERY clear and specific what you're offering or people won't get it. I have a few hobbyists that I teach (career people who can definitely afford what I charge)...and what they like is the authenticity of what I teach and how I teach. But I organized myself very well. Boxing is also fraught with frauds and people might not know WHY a trainer sucks, they just know they can't actually beat anyone up with any modicum of skill, or they know when they're not learning new things, or having fun.

Personally, I always admired Pedro Diaz's program, and he runs everything out of a Community Center, but it looks great, is very organized, AND he attracts name fighters as well as hobbyists: