Are Fitness Franchises A Viable Business Opportunity?

Are fitness franchises a trend or a viable business opportunity? In this episode, Rick and Kim Daly discuss the franchise opportunities in the fitness industry and why you should consider the Alloy Personal Training Franchise. Kim Daly is one of America’s top franchise consultants who has helped thousands of people explore franchise opportunities.

Many franchise candidates who want to invest in a fitness business often have one major worry. They wonder if they are investing in something trendy that people won’t like in three years. As Rick points out in this episode, this concern is valid because fitness can be very trendy. When looking for a fitness franchise, always look for a concept that has staying power behind the brand.

The Alloy brand promise of accountability and specificity has made the Alloy Personal Training Model relevant for over 30 years, even with all the fitness trends that come and go.

Q: Kim – If I invest in a fitness franchise, are certain concepts too trendy to last for 5 – 10 years?

A: Rick – When you look at a franchise concept in the fitness industry, look at a business model with staying power. Most franchises you will have a 10 year agreement. A franchise is a partnership where the franchisor and franchisee have a mutually beneficial relationship.

For example, the Alloy brand has over 30 year’s experience with small group and individual personal training. We have evolved to provide more efficient service and develop new technology over time, but it doesn’t change the longevity and delivery of the brand promise.

Q: Kim – Why hire a personal trainer?

A: Rick Mayo – Most people know that exercise is something that they need to be doing, but they need direction and accountability. The typical demographics for personal training users are in the 45 to 65-year-old age bracket and they have more discretionary income. One thing that’s unique about personal training is it drives the price threshold higher, especially one-on-one personal training. One-on-one personal training is very expensive for the consumer, and also not very scalable as a business model.

So after offering studio training initially, Alloy developed the small group personal training concept. We’ve tried everything from four to six to eight clients at a time, and found our sweet spot is six people is the best model for small group training with one coach. We bring the cost down for the consumer, and this model allows us to provide a better margin and a more scalable model for the business owner. The Alloy concept is a win-win both ways. It’s less expensive than on-on-one personal training and you have the efficiencies spreading the training cost of six people. You also get the benefits of a group dynamic. So it’s fun and you’re actually being held accountable by the other people in the group and the coach.

We also have customers who have been training with us for 30 years, which is crazy. So if you look at a fitness brand and you’re concerned about trends, then you want to look at how long their fitness concept has been in business and how they have developed their customers staying with the business over time.

We also help our clients train with injury prevention in mind and injury rehabilitation. On our corporate team, we have a doctorate of Physical Therapy. We also have a Registered and Licensed Dietitian. All these things factor into a very scalable program model. We also have technology that supports the coaches by matching programs with the level of training, which also contributes to scalability.

Q: Kim – Why Alloy?

A: Rick – When we were first licensing, we hired this great firm out of San Francisco to come up with a name for our brand. When they came up with the Alloy brand name, they amazed us with such a simple name. But when we looked at the Google definition of alloy, it is a combination of metals or things coming together to make something stronger or better. When you think about how the partnership works to the mutual benefit of the Alloy franchisees and franchisor, we’re stronger together.

So our tagline is Stronger Together and everything that we do is about the combination of people’s strengths, talents, technology and training that all come together to make a phenomenal product and service. The result is this philosophy comes clear as it passes all the way through to the consumer.

Q: Kim – Who is your ideal franchise candidate?

A: Rick – Really, there’s the three franchise candidates or avatars.

1. Owner- Operator – This is someone who loves fitness. They’re a consumer of it and love it so much, they would like a job in fitness. They are going to work every day in the business as an owner/operator. So they are trading their corporate job for another job. Now, it’s a fun job, and it’s their passion. Obviously, the owner/operator model is hard to beat. They’re in their shop every day, they’re servicing clients every day and they have a direct effect on the results.

2. Semi-Absentee Owner – Their role is not to work as the manager or trainer day-to-day inside the facility. Trainers work with clients and they will hire a manager to run daily operations. The semi-absentee is there to support hired managers or operators.

3. Investor – This person is not quitting their day jobs. They find operators to run the business. Alloy has systems in place to help them identify talented operators and provide suggestions on business and compensation structures.

Q: Kim: – What are the stages of development for a franchisee and franchisor?

A: Rick shares his analogy for handling franchisees at different stages of their life.

The analogy of a franchisor/franchisee relationship is very similar to a parent/child relationship. If you think about the stages, when a child is one-year-old as an example, they absolutely need the parents for everything. They provide all the comfort, food, and take care of every need. They are the lifeline. This is similar to a franchisee just starting.

The child turns three and starts spreading their wings a bit more. As they develop into a teenager, we all know what the teenager parent/relationship can be like. They might try new things that aren’t quite the business focus, so we advise, educate, and provide direction to keep them focused on success. Being a parent isn’t about being the best friend, it’s about trying to make your children successful.

Finally, you evolve into a 20-year-old who is more mature and appreciative most times. They recognize the franchisor is helping them and they are making money. So the older they get, the less time they need the franchisor helping them grow. We’re totally transparent with franchisees about the growth process and especially the beginning. It’s going to get crazy during build out, it’s going to be hard. We’re going to help get through these things and keep everyone moving in the right direction. We’ve got a great process in place and if we do the right things, we’re going to be successful. Of course, we’re going to run into difficult times and I think that’s okay.

Tune in to this conversation to learn why the Alloy Personal Training Franchise is a viable investment opportunity to get into the fitness business.

For More Information on Kim Daly