Health Fitness Club Management

There are many opportunities for those interested to get an education in health and fitness management. Many universities offer bachelor’s degrees that provide students with a skills set that will allow them to work in an exercise facility or run their own. Many programs offer courses in the business aspects, such as health care financing and accounting, as well as health care systems and kinesiology.

Students who complete these types of programs obtain office management and customer service skills, are familiar with medical and fitness terminology as well as human anatomy, and are well equipped to help clients lose weight, eat better, and become healthier: all of the expertise necessary to be an asset to any fitness establishment.

Health and fitness clubs are just like any other business. States require health clubs be properly licensed and certified, and operate with the state’s laws. After checking compliance with all state regulations, prospective owners should research equipment. What types of exercise equipment are popular enough to justify the cost of owning them?

Prospective owners should use normal business common sense when making such decisions; purchasing an expensive piece of exercise equipment that clients will not use (for whatever reason) is not a smart business decision. Stationary bikes, elliptical machines, treadmills, and stair climbers are all examples of potentially expensive equipment purchases; other examples are extensive free-weight collections and other forms of weight training machinery, swimming pools, hot tubs, and saunas. Then there are considerations such as personnel and retail lines such as vitamins and other health-related products.

Those adept at managing other businesses can prove to be skilled at managing a health or fitness club, if he or she makes themselves familiar with the particulars. For instance, researching what types of products are popular for the club’s clientele can prove profitable. If the clients are mainly high income, unmarried professionals, they probably do not have a lot of time to work out, obviously care about their images and health, and have more disposable income than seniors or working families.

Therefore, the products on the center’s shelves should reflect that. Vitamins targeted towards fat loss or building lean muscle would make more sense than ones formulated to fight osteoporosis would; designer skincare regimens would sell better in a higher-end club than in a more economically sensible one.

Hiring personnel is a vital area of managing a health or fitness establishment. The personal trainers and assistants working in the club are the faces clients see first when they come in, and oftentimes are the ones individually responsible for the clients’ successes. A receptionist or greeter is often the first face clients see when they enter the club, and this person needs to work well with others and be inviting and friendly to all clients.

He or she needs to be able to communicate effectively with clients, finding out what they are looking for in a gym and answer most general questions. He or she also needs to be able to navigate the club’s system (whatever it is) of recording and maintaining customer records. Employees who do not meet the club’s standards will not put forth a positive image for the business and will not satisfy clients, leading to fewer new clients, fewer repeat clients, and smaller profits, resulting in the business becoming financially unsound. Other unwise hiring decisions include hiring unqualified or under qualified trainers. Some states regulate the licenses and certificates that trainers must hold, and establishments found to be in violation of these regulations can face serious censure from a state’s department of regulatory agencies.

Aside from dangerous hiring policies, other serious operational matters include carrying the proper insurance for both the building, the property inside of it, the employees working at the establishment, and the clients patronizing it. Again, state laws regulate the amounts and types of insurances that must be carried on a business in order for it to operate, and many business owners retain a commercial attorney who specializes in such matters to help guide them through a state’s laws and regulations, advising him or her as to what coverages and other precautions are necessary.

Other management tasks include figuring out a fee schedule for services (including memberships and the like), as well as launching an effective advertising campaign. Many clubs hire an in-house marketing individual who can work onsite with the manager to create the marketing materials; others chose to hire a third-party firm to help produce these materials.