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Gym Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Gym Business Plan & Example

You’ve come to the right place to create a gym business plan.

We have helped over 100,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their gyms.

Gym Business Plan Example

Use the example below as a template to write a gym business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Steven’s Gym is a startup locally owned gym located in El Paso, Texas. Steven’s Gym will include various exercise equipment, strength training equipment, free weights, aerobic equipment, and plenty of cardio equipment. The gym will also offer HIIT group classes, spin classes, strength training instruction, and personal training.

Located in an up and coming, newly developed, and highly trafficked area of town, Steven’s Gym will attract both men and women ages 16 to 75+. There is something for everyone at Steven’s Gym, whether someone is just beginning their fitness journey or is a seasoned athlete and gymrat. The gym will have a welcoming atmosphere, experienced personal trainers, friendly staff, and frequently cleaned equipment and restrooms.

The membership options are affordable and will be offered on a month-to-month basis, a 6 or 12 month contract, or the ability to pay for an entire year upfront. Discounts will be offered to military, teachers, and healthcare workers.

Service Offering

The following are the services that Steven’s Gym will provide:

  • Strength training equipment
  • Cardio equipment
  • Free weights/dumbbells
  • Aerobic equipment
  • HIIT group classes
  • Strength training instruction

Customer Focus

Steven’s Gym will target all men and women ages 16 – 75+ who are interested in achieving and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. El Paso is a very diverse city that includes men and women from all walks of life. There are numerous blue collar individuals, white collar individuals, government employees, and military members as the local Army base is one of the largest in the country. Since Steven’s Gym will be very affordable, it will be able to attract people from all walks of life.

Management Team

Steven will manage the day-to-day tasks of running the gym. Steven will hire a gym manager to manage membership and three trainers. Steven will outsource a local CPA to handle payroll, accounting, and tax payments. He will also outsource a local advertising company to develop the gym’s logo, branding, photography, social media accounts, website, and billboard design.

Success Factors

Steven’s Gym will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

  • Large, clean, and spacious fitness center that has all the necessary equipment for their fitness routine.
  • Knowledgeable and friendly staff of trainers.
  • Best value for membership pricing. The membership pricing options are affordable and offer military, teacher, and healthcare employee discounts.
  • Convenient hours of operation.

Financial Plan Highlights

Steven’s Gym is seeking $300,000 in debt financing to begin operations of the business. The funding will be dedicated towards securing the warehouse space, gym build-out, and purchase of the equipment. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and working capital. The breakout of the funding is below:

  • Securing warehouse space, gym build-out, and design: $25,000 to $125,000
  • Gym equipment purchase: $50,000 to $100,000
  • Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $15,000 to $55,000
  • Marketing & advertising: $15,000
  • Working capital: $10,000

gym business financial plan

Company Overview

Who is steven’s gym.

Steven’s Gym is a new, locally owned gym located in El Paso, Texas. Steven’s Gym will include strength training equipment, free weights, aerobic equipment, and plenty of cardio equipment. The gym will also offer fitness classes, strength training instruction, and personal training. Located in an up and coming, and highly trafficked area of town, Steven’s Gym will attract both men and women ages 16 to 75+. There is something for everyone at Steven’s Gym, whether someone is just beginning their fitness journey or is a seasoned athlete and gymrat. The gym will have a welcoming atmosphere, experienced trainers, friendly staff, and frequently cleaned equipment and restrooms. The membership options are affordable and will be offered on a month-to-month basis, a 6 or 12 month contract, or the ability to pay for an entire year upfront. Discounts will be offered to military, teachers, and healthcare workers.

Steven’s Gym History

Steven’s Gym is owned by Steven Malone, a retired Army Master Sergeant who is also a seasoned powerlifter. Steven was stationed at El Paso’s Fort Bliss for many years before eventually retiring and deciding to stay in El Paso and embark on his dream of eventually owning his own gym. As a frequent gym goer, Steven recognized that El Paso lacks high quality independent gyms. The nicest and most equipped gyms in El Paso are large franchises that have too many rules and regulations. Steven envisioned a gym that was welcoming to all types of people that is encouraging, clean, and adequately equipped for those who are focused on sustaining an active, healthy lifestyle.

Since incorporation, Steven’s Gym has achieved the following milestones:

  • Found a 10,000 square foot warehouse space for lease in El Paso, Texas that can easily be converted to a gym.
  • Registered Steven’s Gym, LLC to do business in the State of Texas.
  • Began the branding image, logo, website, and social media accounts for the gym.
  • Began researching and pricing out equipment.

Steven’s Gym Services

The following will be the services Steven’s Gym will provide:

Industry Analysis

The Gym industry is expected to grow to an annual revenue of $38 billion in the next five years. This growth is likely a result of increased per capita disposable income, in addition to growing health-consciousness. As consumers’ disposable income levels rise, individuals are usually more willing to purchase gym memberships. Additionally, time spent on leisure and sports is expected to increase over the next five years, effectively increasing the potential pool of consumers.

During this period, demographic changes are expected to drive revenue growth for operators. In particular, as healthcare costs continue to escalate, health insurance providers may implement incentives to promote preventive health practices, including the use of fitness centers among individuals within their provider network. Additionally, initiatives that promote the health benefits of exercise will likely increase over the next five years, stimulating industry revenue.  

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Steven’s Gym’s target audience will include all men and women ages 16 – 75+ who are interested in achieving and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. El Paso is a very diverse city that includes men and women from all walks of life. There are numerous blue collar individuals, white collar individuals, government employees, and military members as the local Army base is one of the largest in the country. Since Steven’s Gym will be very affordable, it will be able to attract people from all walks of life.

Customer Segmentation

Steven’s Gym will primarily target the following customer profiles:

  • High school and college students
  • Locally-based Military
  • Athletes who frequently train for fitness competitions

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Steven’s Gym will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below. Gold’s Gym Gold’s Gym is a large franchise-owned gym with two locations in El Paso. Gold’s Gym gives access to everything one needs to transform their life: state-of-the-art amenities, a variety of fitness classes tailored towards someone’s fitness needs, and the world’s best trainers. There are weekly fitness classes for group workouts ranging from martial arts-inspired cardio classes to foundational yoga sessions. There are also certified trainers if someone is new to exercise or just looking for more guidance and coaching. Gold’s Gym’s amenities include cardio equipment, group exercise, personal training, a pro shop, sauna/steam rooms, group cycle, free weights, functional training, kids club, locker rooms, and wifi.

Planet Fitness Planet Fitness is for people from all walks of life, whether they’re a first-time gym user or a veteran member, they are there to provide a workout environment in which anyone and everyone can be comfortable. All Planet Fitness members enjoy unlimited access to their home club and the support of their friendly, knowledgeable staff anytime they need it. PF Black Club members receive additional benefits, including the ability to bring a guest for free and access to any of their 2,000+ PF locations. Also, the PF member can take advantage of their free fitness training or find motivation by reading real member experiences on Planet of Triumphs. The goal of Planet Fitness is to provide a clean, safe, welcoming environment for anyone who walks through the door, and all the equipment, amenities, and support they need once they arrive.

Anytime Fitness Anytime Fitness is a welcoming gym that exists to help someone get to a healthier place – by giving the right support at the right times, in the ways the member wants. Every member receives a free, personalized Get Started Plan when they join. Their friendly, professional staff is trained to help someone along their fitness journey, no matter how much support they need. Aside from a large selection of strength and cardio equipment, Anytime Fitness offers the following services – 24-hour access, 24-hour security, convenient parking, anywhere gym access, private restrooms, private showers, health plan discounts, wellness programs, cardio TVs, and HDTVs.

Competitive Advantage

Steven’s Gym will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

  • Large, clean, and spacious facility that has all the necessary equipment for their fitness routine.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Steven’s Gym will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

  • Large, clean, spacious, and well-equipped facility.
  • Dedicated team of trainers.
  • Affordable membership pricing plans.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Steven’s Gym is as follows: Social Media Marketing Strategy Steven’s Gym will invest in advertising the gym on social media platforms Facebook and Instagram. By using targeted social media marketing, Steven’s Gym will be able to reach the appropriate target audience of El Paso. Before opening, Steven will hire an advertising agency to develop the branding and photography needed to create captivating social media posts.

Billboards Steven will invest in two billboards strategically located at busy intersections that receive thousands of traffic daily. The advertising agency will develop the print for the billboard design. Website/SEO Marketing Strategy Steven’s Gym will invest in a strong SEO presence so that when someone enters “El Paso gym” or “local gym near me” in their Google or Bing search bar, Steven’s Gym is at the top of the list. Their website will list all of Steven’s Gym’s services, location, pricing, and contact information. Word of Mouth Word quickly spreads around town and once a few people experience the clean, affordable, and professional staff at Steven’s Gym, more and more people will come in to see for themselves and sign up for a membership plan.

The pricing of Steven’s Gym will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive value when purchasing their services.  

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Steven’s Gym.

Operation Functions:

  • Steven Malone will be the sole gym owner and operator of Steven’s Gym. He will oversee the staff, maintain that the cleaning schedules are being enforced, and ensure that all equipment is working per standard and safely. He will also manage all ordering of new and replacement equipment, schedule the group HIIT classes, and daily management tasks.
  • Steven will hire a gym manager to be in charge of members and member management.
  • A team of three trainers will run all of the fitness classes. As the membership grows and clients require more attention, more trainers and fitness classes will be added.
  • A local CPA will manage all high level accounting functions, such as payroll and tax payments.
  • Steven will also hire an advertising agency to develop the gym’s branding, photography, website, social media accounts, and billboard design.

Milestones:

Steven’s Gym will have the following milestones completed in the next six months. 8/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease warehouse space. 8/15/202X – Begin build-out and design converting warehouse space into a functional gym. 9/1/202X – Hire advertising company to begin developing gym’s branding, logo, social media accounts, website, and billboard design. 9/15/202X – Order all equipment. 10/5/202X – Hire gym manager and team of personal trainers. 10/15/202X – Train staff on proper policies and procedures. 11/1/202X – Grand Opening of Steven’s Gym.  

Steven’s Gym will be solely owned by Steven Malone. Steven is a retired Army Master Sergeant who has been stationed off and on at El Paso’s Fort Bliss for the past twelve years. Upon retirement, Steven decided to make El Paso his permanent home and embark on his dream of owning his own gym. Steven recognizes the lack of quality, independent gyms in El Paso and wants to open a gym that fits his idea of what a high-quality gym should be.

As a former powerlifter and personal trainer while serving in the military, Steven is aware of the proper equipment and facilities a gym should have. Steven envisions his gym to be friendly, clean, well-equipped, and affordable for the average person so that people from all walks of life will feel comfortable going to the gym and achieving their fitness goals. Steven will dedicate his life and focus on ensuring that his gym is always clean, staffed with the best trainers, and members are happy with what the gym has to offer.  

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Steven’s Gym are the membership fees it will charge each person that signs up to become a member. Each member will be placed on a membership plan where they can either pay month to month, enroll in either a 6 or 12 month contract, or pay for the entire year upfront.

The cost drivers will be the payroll for the staff, rent, utilities, cleaning supplies and equipment, and gym equipment purchase and maintenance. Other cost drivers will be the targeted marketing costs on social media and monthly fees for the CPA and advertising company.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

  • Initial Number of New Clients per Month: 60
  • Average Monthly Membership Fee: $150
  • Gym Lease per Year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income Statement

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

Gym Business Plan FAQs

What is a gym business plan.

A gym business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your gym. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing strategies and details your financial projections.

You can  easily complete your gym business plan using our gym business plan template here .

What Are the Main Types of Gyms?

There are many types of gyms or fitness centers. There are large, franchise gyms that have multiple locations across the country. There are also large single facility gyms. Finally, there are smaller gyms that tend to focus on a particular fitness segment, such as strength training, CrossFit, or group HIIT training.

What Are the Main Sources of Revenue and Expenses for a Gym Business?

The primary source of revenue for a gym or fitness center are membership fees. Typically, members pay month-to-month, or fulfill a year-long contract.

The key expenses for a gym or fitness center are the costs associated with payroll, purchase and maintenance of equipment, cleaning supplies, marketing costs, and working capital. Other expenses will be rent, utilities, taxes, accounts payable, and other licensing fees (if necessary).

How Do You Get Funding for Your Gym?

Gym businesses are most likely to secure funding from banks. Typically you will find a local bank and present your gym business plan to them. Family and/or friends could also be potential investors and other types of capital-raising such as crowdfunding are other common funding sources.

A well-crafted gym business plan, complete with a solid financial plan is essential for attracting any type of potential investor. This is true for a new gym business or established businesses looking to grow.

What are the Steps To Start a Gym Business?

Starting a gym or fitness center can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Write A Gym Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a solid gym business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include market research on the fitness industry and potential target market size, information on the services and/or products you will offer, marketing strategy, mission statement, business model and pricing strategy and a detailed financial plan.  Our business plan template is the perfect guide to show you how to start a gym business plan.

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your fitness   business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your gym business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Gym Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your gym business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your gym business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Gym Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your gym business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your gym or fitness   business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising to reach your target audience.

Learn more about how to start a successful gym or fitness business:

  • How to Start a Gym Business

Where Can I Get a Gym Business Plan PDF?

You can download our free gym business plan template PDF here. This is a sample gym business plan template you can use in PDF format.

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Mountain Brook Fitness Center

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">, opportunity.

People in the area need to have a place where working out can be a family activity. Parents can bring children to be taken care of while they do whatever exercise activity they desire. 

Mountain Brook Fitness Center will expand and create a larger childcare facility. In addition, new equipment will be purchased for the childcare center. The childcare center can currently care for 30 children but only five infants. The new facility will be able to handle up to 60 children including 15 infants. The childcare facility expansion will be funded with a short-term loan.

Monroe is a city on the move. The population has grown by 15% each year for the past three years. The current population of Monroe is 600,000. Most importantly, the growth has been fueled by the increased employment in the city’s high-tech companies. This has attracted a type of professional that is the target customer for the Mountain Brook Fitness Center.

Competition

There are other gyms in the area. However, we are one of a kind since we are focused on families.  They can come and do things together or do separate things and then grab lunch after. 

The Mountain Brook Fitness Center is a thriving business-person’s club but is also one of the only family-focused clubs in the Monroe area. Fifty percent of our members are under the age of 45 and have young children. Currently, the center has 900 members. A center membership is $800 a year. The Mountain Brook Fitness Center wants to add an additional 300 members with families over the next three years.

Expectations

Of course, our forecast depends on key assumptions, especially retention. We think, however, that we can launch and reach critical mass early enough to establish profitability from year 1. 

Financial Highlights by Year

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Problem & solution, problem worth solving.

People in the area need to have a place where working out can be a family activity. Parents can bring children to be taken care of while they do whatever exercise activity they desire

Our Solution

Mountain Brook Fitness Center has the ability to offer reasonably priced childcare in a safe environment while a parent works out in the fitness center. The club has increased the size of its fitness center and added more equipment, but many members would be unable to use the center if they didn’t have a service to watch their children while they exercised. In fact, the service has become so popular that the clubhouse has outgrown its existing childcare facilities. Offering childcare has kept many members coming to the club. The lack of current space for a larger childcare area has even kept some prospective members from joining.

Target Market

Market size & segments.

Market Analysis Summary

4.1 Market Segmentation

The Mountain Brook Fitness Center will focus on the young urban professionals as its primary customer base.

Current Alternatives

Our advantages.

The competitive edge of the Mountain Brook Fitness Center is our focus on the family. We offer our members childcare services that are second to none.

Marketing & Sales

Marketing plan.

Our marketing plan will include – signage, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Website – where we will have our trainer blogs/recommendations as well as our classes, and well-placed radio spots to get the attention of potential clients that are not social media savvy. 

The sales strategy is to highlight the childcare service to prospective center members. The focus will be marketing the center to young active families. Every Saturday morning will be an open house for the childcare center. Families will be able to visit the facility for the entire morning.

Locations & Facilities

The Mountain Brook Fitness Center is one of the only family-focused clubs in the Monroe area. The center has grown steadily over the past four years. Our clubhouse is 50,000 square feet and our new fitness center is 12,000 square feet. The Mountain Brook Fitness Center is located at 1234 Main Street in Monroe.

The Mountain Brook Fitness Center has the following activities and services:

  • Fitness center with cardiovascular and weight training equipment
  • Court sports
  • Physical therapy

The club is a 24-hours facility, seven days a week.

Milestones & Metrics

Milestones table, key metrics.

Our Key Metrics are: 

  • cancellations
  • average membership retention
  • # of tweets and retweets 
  • # of website link shares 
  • # of page views and Faceview post shares 
  • # of views of our classes and sharing of our trainer blogs

Ownership & Structure

The Mountain Brook Fitness Center is managed by co-owners Robert Sinclair and Arnold Hess. Robert Sinclair is the center’s operations manager and Arnold Hess is the center’s fiscal manager.

Company History

From its beginning in 1996, the Mountain Brook Fitness Center has had an exceptional swimming and tennis program. Two years ago, a loss in membership pointed toward the need for a fitness center to round out the club’s offerings. The club spent approximately $140,000 to add a fitness center with cardiovascular and weight training equipment. The club has also become a 24-hours facility, seven days a week, with childcare.

Management Team

Both Robert Sinclair and Arnold Hess holds MBA degrees in finance from State University. Robert Sinclair has held executive positions with two of Monroe’s top athletic clubs. Robert managed the Decathlon Athletic Club, with a membership base of 1,500, for five years prior to opening the Mountain Brook Fitness Center. He also served as Assistant Manager of the Downtown Athletic Club for three years before joining the Decathlon Athletic Club.

Arnold Hess’ experience is in accounting. He has been a member of both Johnson, Billings, and Konig and Johnson and Associates over the past ten years.

Personnel Table

Financial plan investor-ready personnel plan .">, key assumptions.

  • Increasing overall demand for gyms and fitness continues 
  • Increasing overall demand for healthy organic food continues
  • No big changes in general view on gyms vs. outside activities
  • No major push from chain competition

Revenue by Month

Expenses by month, net profit (or loss) by year, financing needed.

We have existing loans of $100,000 long-term and $70,000 short-term. We’ll be opening a new credit line of $70,000 as we start with this plan. 

Projected Profit & Loss

Projected balance sheet, projected cash flow statement.

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Gym Business Plan

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Is exercise or fitness your passion? Or do you have a good understanding of gym equipment and workout routines?

If yes, you might have considered having your own gym at some point. After all, who doesn’t want to turn their passion into a profession?

And guess what! Just like you wouldn’t hit the gym without a workout plan, starting your own gym demands a comprehensive gym business plan!

If you’re seeking investors to kickstart a new fitness center or aiming to expand an existing gym business, a modern business plan is an essential tool.

A well-written gym business plan will help you pay attention to every detail, and support your entrepreneurial journey to make the best strategies for a profitable business.

But before diving right into the detailed gym business plan; let’s check out some interesting facts about the fitness industry.

Fitness Industry Outlook

  • The growing enthusiasm for fitness and the desire for a healthy lifestyle has led to the demand for gyms. As of now, 39% of Americans have gym memberships.
  • The fitness industry has been booming in recent years, and it is expected to have 230 million members by 2030 .
  • The Health and fitness market revenue is estimated to grow at a rate of 11.52% annually, reaching a market volume of US$2.32 billion by 2027.
  • The fitness industry is expected to increase its revenue by 172% from 2021 to 2028 – reaching $435 billion.
  • From 2011 to 2019, the revenue for gyms and health centers in the United States consistently increased each year.
  • Recently, the United States led the world in gym industry revenue and is expected to add 15.6 million more members by 2030.

Now that you know the fitness industry outlook, it’s time to explore all the key components you will need to include in your professional gym business plan outline:

Key Components of a Gym Business Plan (w/ Examples)

  • Executive Summary
  • Company Overview
  • Industry and Customer Analysis
  • Competitor Analysis
  • Service Offerings
  • Marketing Strategy
  • Management Team
  • Operations Plan
  • Financial Plan

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary is the first and foremost section of the business plan. Generally, it is a quick overview of your entire gym business plan.

It should be clear, concise, and engaging as it will create your first impression and draw readers to delve further into your plan.

You can start this section with a brief introduction to your gym business and discuss the following key elements:

  • Market Opportunity
  • Vision & mission statement
  • Target market
  • Your products and services
  • Marketing strategy
  • Management team
  • Financial Outlook

After that, end your summary with a clear call to action to invite potential investors or readers to the next meeting.

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gym business financial plan

2. Company Overview

The company overview section provides a more detailed description of your gym business.

It includes the legal structure, location, ownership, critical success factors, business history, and everything about your business.

First, provide the basic details of your gym including what is the name and what type of gym you are operating.

Mention the names of your gym owners/partners along with the qualifications. You can also include the business history(if any) and milestones you have achieved.

After that, describe your business goals to convey a high level of aspirations and vision that you want to achieve. Here is an example, describing the business goals and objectives:

Setting future business goals for a gym is a crucial step in outlining a clear path to achieve success and growth. The Stayfit Company’s goals and objectives include;

  • Increase the client base by 100 customers within the first year of operation.
  • Relocating to a large and more appropriate location facility by the first year of operation.
  • Expand service offerings to provide a comprehensive fitness experience.
  • Establish partnerships and increase brand visibility to become a recognized fitness brand in the community.
  • Increase total memberships to 500 within 5 years.

Remember, this section gives an in-depth understanding of your business and business owners. So, make it clear and intriguing.

3. Industry and Customer Analysis

In the industry and customer analysis section of your gym business plan, it’s necessary to offer a comprehensive overview of the fitness industry and target market.

This section gives you a deep understanding of your industry and target customer attributes which will help you in business planning.

Here are some questions that will help you in the analysis:

  • What is the current market size of the fitness industry in terms of revenue?
  • What are the current trends in the gym business?
  • Who are the target audience, and which customer segment do you wish to serve?
  • What is the growth forecast for the gym business?

For example, look at this market segment and target market of the gym business with the help of Upmetrics:

market segment and target market of the gym business

As a gym owner, you can target the following customer profiles:

  • Blue-collar employees (factories, warehouses, service industry)
  • White-collar individuals(corporate or government employees)
  • High school & college students
  • Military members and their families
  • Athletes who often train for fitness competitions

In short, a thorough industry analysis will educate you about the local market and help you prepare marketing strategies according to the market trends.

4. Competitor Analysis

This competitor analysis will help you understand the top competitors and identify the strong points of their service offerings.

As a gym business, you should make a list of the number of gyms or other fitness businesses operating in your locality, their size, and their customer base. Try to specify who are your direct and indirect competitors.

  • Direct competitors can be other local gyms
  • Indirect competitors can be another type of gym or fitness center, or health club in your area.

Now, let’s focus on your direct competitors and provide an overview of each competitor, including their size and where they’re based. Evaluate their strengths and weaknesses including their service offerings and pricing structures.

Refer below example; showing competitor analysis description:

gym business competitor analysis description

A better way to conduct this analysis is by noticing things from a customer’s perspective. You might even ask your competitors’ clients what they like or dislike about them to get valuable insights.

This way you can understand what makes your competitors successful and what gaps you can fill. Also, consider the unique selling proposition of your gym business.

Specify your tactics to stay ahead in the competitive landscape and make all the difference in the local gym market.

5. Service Offerings

Next, specify the scope of your service offerings and elucidate how they meet the diverse needs of your clientele.

This section must be informative, precise, and client-focused, as it is a detailed breakdown of what your fitness business offers your customers.

You can include a comprehensive suite of services encompassing types of membership options, available exercise equipment, personal training sessions, group fitness classes, or nutritional counseling.

Here, you can take a reference from the below example written using Upmetrics AI Assistant :

Also, detail any membership fees or pricing plans in this section to add or revise services. Mention if your gym provides any additional services, like physical therapy, massage therapy, recovery modalities, etc.

6. Marketing Strategy

Writing the sales and marketing plan section means jotting down all the customer acquisition strategies and the tactics for how to retain them.

You can consider the following marketing approaches to gaining and keeping customers for your new gym business:

Unique Selling Proposition

Define your gym’s USPs depending on the market you serve, the gym equipment you use, and the unique services you provide. Highlight certified gym trainers, specialty programs, and regular community events.

 gym's USPs

Social media marketing

Use social media platforms to attract more users. Create engaging content and entice your audience with inspirational posts and special offers. Connect with your customers digitally as well as in the gym.

Establish a professional website and brand symbol (gym’s logo) to reach a wider audience. Showcase all your service offerings and build trust among potential customers.

Loyalty plans

Consider loyalty plans to retain existing gym members and encourage long-term commitment. Create membership tiers or referral programs to offer discounts or additional benefits.

Collaborations

Partner with local businesses (health food stores, fitness centers, or clothing brands), and fitness influencers to cross-promote services or offer collaborative discounts. That can expand your gym’s reach and draw a broader audience.

Offline advertising

Traditional offline marketing can still be effective in engaging with your local community. Clearly state your advertising strategies, including open bulletin boards, print marketing, flier distributions, or community events. For instance,

Consider following offline advertising strategies to reach specific demographics:

  • Local Print Media: Advertise in local newspapers, magazines, or community newsletters to target residents in your area.
  • Flier Distribution: Distribute flyers or brochures in strategic locations such as community centers, local cafes, or residential areas to raise awareness about your gym.
  • Community Events: Sponsor or participate in community events, fairs, or health expos. This not only promotes your gym but also allows for direct interaction with potential members.

Pricing strategy

Try to develop detailed strategies, like offering special introductory discounts, free trials, seasonal promotions, or membership packages with additional services to attract and retain members.

7. Management Team

A strong management team is essential to showcase your gym’s ability to thrive in the industry. This management team section emphasizes the key members who can help grow your fitness business.

You can highlight your key managers, fitness experts, personal trainers, or nutritionists. Also, explain each member’s expertise and roles.

Also, discuss the compensation plan in this section, along with their salaries, incentives, and other benefits. For instance,

compensation plan of gym business

8. Operations Plan

This operations plan is like a map that shows how you will make your business work.

It provides detailed insights into the day-to-day operations of your gym and highlights key areas such as staffing and operational processes.

Consider adding below essential components to your operational plan:

Try to mention the number of trainers, support staff, and therapists needed. Briefly outline the duties they will perform and detail their qualifications & training required.

Operational Process

Summarize the processes and techniques you will use to run your gym. Your operational process section may include hosting fitness classes, assigning trainers, scheduling the group HIIT classes, billing, training staff, etc.

Equipment & Machinery

You can include the list of gym equipment and machinery required for the gym, such as strength training equipment, pull-up bars, cardio equipment, free weights/dumbbells, and aerobic equipment.

Refer to the below example written using our AI assistant:

9. Financial Plan

Presently, you are in the business planning phase, but devoting some time to putting together the most realistic financial projections is also crucial when you start seeking funding from investors.

It is a detailed blueprint of all the cash flow and revenue streams, initial startup costs for setting up your gym and equipment, profit margins, and operational costs.

So, mention all the below elements in your gym business plan outline:

  • Profit and loss statement
  • Cash flow statement
  • Balance sheet
  • Break-even analysis
  • Business ratios
  • Exit strategy

This financial forecast has a substantial value in terms of whether you secure funding or not. And evaluate the funding resources, including bank loans, SBA-guaranteed loans, crowdfunding, or personal savings.

Here’s an example of a projected P&L statement for a gym business plan with the help of Upmetrics:

projected profit and losss statement for a gym business plan

Download Free Gym Business Plan PDF

Need help writing your gym business plan from scratch? Well, here you go; download our free gym business plan pdf now and start writing.

This modern, user-friendly business plan template is specifically designed for your gym business.

With a step-by-step guide and example, it helps you write a solid gym business plan without missing any crucial steps.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

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Start Drafting Your Plan with Upmetrics

With Upmetrics, you will get easy-to-follow steps, 400+ sample business plans, and AI support to streamline your business planning approach.

Our financial forecasting tool will help you develop accurate financial forecasts for 3 or more years if you’re not great with financial formulas.

Whether you’re venturing into a new business or aiming for expansion, Upmetrics provides valuable resources and insights to build successful and professional business plans that perfectly align with your objectives.

So, don’t wait; start planning now !

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Frequently asked questions, where can i find examples of successful gym business plans.

There are various online platforms where you can find sample business plan templates. Consider reputable sources like Upmetrics , which offers a successful gym business plan template for your specific needs.

What should I include in my gym business plan?

You should include the following key elements in your gym business plan:

  • Executive summary
  • Company overview
  • Industry and market analysis
  • Customer Analysis
  • Competitor analysis
  • Service offerings
  • Marketing Plan
  • Operations plan
  • Financial plan

What are important gym location factors to consider when writing a business plan?

While writing a business plan, consider the following gym location factors:

  • Easy accessibility and high visibility area
  • Assess the availability of sufficient parking space
  • Check and comply with local zoning laws and regulations
  • Analyze the local demographics to align with the target market
  • Evaluate the proximity of competitors

How often should I update my gym business plan?

It is very necessary to regularly update your gym business plan, especially in dynamic industries like gym & fitness. Consider updating it at least once a year or more often if there are significant changes in your business.

What are the common mistakes to avoid in a gym business plan?

Following are some of the most common mistakes you should consider avoiding when writing a gym business plan.

  • Ignoring thorough market research
  • Overestimating financial projections
  • Neglecting competitors analysis
  • Overlooking marketing strategy

About the Author

gym business financial plan

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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Gym Business Plan Template

Gym financial plan.

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you have 100 paying members by the end of your first month 200? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? And will the average member pay you $100/month or $150/month? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : While balance sheets include much information, to simplify them to the key items you need to know about, balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. For instance, if you spend $500,000 on building out your gym, that will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $500.000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your gym, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. For example, let’s say a company approached you with a $300,000 contract to provide personal training services to their employees. Let’s further assume the contract would cost you $100,000 to fulfill in terms of increased staffing costs. Well, in most cases, you would have to pay that $100,000 now for employee salaries, etc. But let’s say the company didn’t pay you for 180 days. During that 180 day period, you could run out of money.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a gym:

  • Gym build-out including design fees, construction, etc.
  • Cost of equipment like free weights, cardio machines, etc.
  • Cost of other supplies (towels, cleaning supplies, etc.)
  • Payroll or salaries paid to staff
  • Business insurance
  • Taxes and permits
  • Legal expenses

GYM BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE

  • Gym Business Plan Home
  • 1. Executive Summary
  • 2. Company Overview
  • 3. Industry Analysis
  • 4. Customer Analysis
  • 5. Competitive Analysis
  • 6. Marketing Plan
  • 7. Operations Plan
  • 8. Management Team
  • 9. Financial Plan
  • 10. Appendix
  • Gym Business Plan Summary

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Download a Free Business Plan Template

How to Create a Business Plan for Your Gym

Crafting a gym business plan that prioritizes modern technology can help your new fitness business succeed.

gym business financial plan

A passion for fitness alone isn't enough to open a gym. If you want your business to thrive, you must create a roadmap for success. Gym business plans outline your business's goals and strategies to help you reach those goals, providing a structured framework for decision-making, resource allocation, and long-term growth.

Let’s explore everything you need to know to craft a successful business plan for your gym.

Why Do You Need a Gym Business Plan?

Writing a business plan can feel daunting, and you may wonder if it's worth the time and resources. While you may feel overwhelmed now, pausing to plan offers significant benefits.

Improves Success

A well-thought-out business plan improves your chances of success and accelerates growth. Studies show that entrepreneurs with formal business plans are more likely to succeed .

Additionally, companies with well-developed plans grow 30 percent faster than those without. Why? A strategic business plan creates a path toward achieving important milestones. It outlines specific strategies, timelines, and measurable targets, enabling you to track progress and adjust as needed.

Helps Secure Funding

Whether you're seeking a loan or attracting investors, a comprehensive business plan is essential to secure funding for your gym. Potential investors and banks typically require a business plan that includes market data and opportunity, a high-level marketing and growth plan, and projected costs and revenue.

Crafting Your Gym Business Plan With Modern Technology at The Forefront

With over 32,000 United States health clubs vying for members, new gyms must incorporate modern technology in their business plans to outperform their competitors.

"Technology spans nearly every element of the modern gym environment," says Randy Hetrick, Founder and CEO of OutFit Training. "From member acquisition, utilization, and retention analytics to scheduling, billing, goal setting, program design, biometric analysis, and more – technology touches nearly every aspect of a modern club."

In today’s rapidly evolving fitness landscape, adopting a tech-forward strategy isn't optional; it's a necessity.

Benefits of a Tech-Driven Business Approach

Improves member retention.

Providing a location to pump iron and break a sweat isn't enough to retain members. In fact, most gyms lose 50% of new members within six months of joining. Today, gym goers demand more than just equipment. They want a seamless experience that takes their fitness to the next level. Incorporating modern technology, such as personalized workout apps, virtual classes, and progress tracking, enhances your member's experience and improves retention.

Streamlines Operations

Repetitive administrative tasks are a time suck for gym owners. Ditch the spreadsheets and opt for a more efficient gym management strategy by investing in gym management software. Gym management software streamlines fitness facility operations by centralizing tasks like member registration, class scheduling, and billing. It also automates routine processes, like membership renewals and payments, reducing administrative work and minimizing errors.

Diversifies Revenue Streams

The demand for online exercise courses has increased 132% year-over-year. This trend presents opportunities for gym owners interested in diversifying their revenue streams and bringing in more money.

Offering virtual workouts caters to individuals who may be too busy to visit the gym every day. It can also help boost in-person attendance by 12%. This means not only meeting the needs of those who prefer the flexibility of virtual workouts but also encouraging more people to show up at the gym when they can. It’s a win-win situation for gym owners looking to adapt to changing preferences and attract a broader audience.

The Core Components of a Tech-Driven Gym Business Plan

Now that you understand the importance of a business plan and technology's role in helping your gym thrive, let's explore the essential elements aspiring entrepreneurs should include when crafting their strategies.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary serves as a bird's eye view of your gym, providing insights into your business model at a glance. This section introduces your business idea to readers and includes your mission statement, goals, leadership, operations, and locations.

Products and Services

This section outlines the range of products and services your gym will offer. Here, you should provide pricing information and detail your services' unique features and benefits, emphasizing how technology will enhance the overall fitness experience for your members.

Market Analysis

If you want to turn your dreams of gym ownership into a reality, you need to understand consumer behaviors in your area and economic trends in the fitness industry. In this section, delve into your local market, identifying target demographics, competitors, and potential growth areas. Analyze the demand for tech-driven fitness solutions and showcase how your gym is positioned to meet and exceed these market needs.

Marketing Strategy

This section should detail your marketing strategy, outlining how you plan to promote your gym and attract members. Include both traditional and digital marketing approaches, like social media marketing. A well-crafted marketing strategy will include strategies for building brand awareness, promoting special offers, and fostering community engagement.

Financial Projections

This section should outline your gym's financial planning and projections. If you already own a fitness business, include your financial statements from the previous two years, a listing of current or desired equipment to be purchased, and other relevant financial documents.

Aspiring gym owners should provide detailed financial projections, including revenue forecasts, expense estimates, and expected profit margins. If you need funding, include details about the financial assistance your gym will require. Most likely, you already know your business growth path. Demonstrating that growth path to third parties will help you unlock the funding you need to spur things into action.

The Importance of Financial Forecasting

Opening a gym is not for the faint of heart. Industry professionals estimate that 81% of fitness studios fail in their first year. This failure rate is often due to insufficient funds. If you want to avoid becoming a negative statistic, it’s essential to have a realistic financial plan in place before you open. Financial projections can help establish a budget and create benchmarks toward achieving your gym’s financial goals.

Creating Data-Driven Financial Projections

Financial projections predict the future income and expenses of your gym. This information helps you anticipate financial needs, set realistic goals, and demonstrate your business’s viability and potential success to investors.

Steps to Create a Financial Projections

Collect relevant data.

Established gyms can consult their historical data, like past financial statements, when crafting their financial forecast. However, aspiring gym owners with no historical data must conduct more research. Helpful data to explore when creating financial forecasts includes comparable market research (local and national), industry benchmarks, and analyst reports.

Forecast Expenses

Typical gym expenses vary widely from facility to facility. Opening a gym can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $1 million. When creating your financial forecast, consider the cost of opening a gym and ongoing operational expenses like staff salaries, insurance, the cost to lease property, and marketing.

Forecast Sales

Make a list of your planned revenue streams and project the monthly sales for each. Possible revenue streams for gyms include memberships, merchandise, digital classes, and personal training. Use the data you collected at the beginning of this process to make sales predictions. Remember that revenue tends to ramp up over time, so include a reasonable growth rate for revenue, start at $0, and build into what you believe is realistic.

Forecasting Profit

To forecast your net profit, compare how much money you plan to spend on the business with your predicted revenue. Demonstrating a path to profitability will show your lenders or investors (and most importantly, yourself) that your gym can be a successful and profitable operation.

Innovative Marketing Strategies for the Modern Gym

You could have talented trainers, high-tech equipment, and unique classes, but if no one knows your gym exists, you won't stay open long. including a comprehensive marketing strategy in your business plan is essential to attract new members. this strategy should include a variety of digital channels and outline what techniques you plan to utilize to reach your target audience., create a well-designed website.

Today's consumers expect businesses to have a website. Nearly everyone conducts online research before making a purchase. If you want to be on your target audience's radar, you must provide them with the opportunity to learn about your gym online.

If it's in your budget, we recommend working with a website designer. Poorly designed websites can do more harm than good, driving away potential customers. Skilled website designers will ensure that your website looks professional and is easy for users to navigate.

Optimize for Search Engines

Many business owners think having a website is enough to get discovered. However, creating a professional-looking site is just the tip of the iceberg. If you want your business to show up when prospects search for gyms in their area, you must invest in search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO enhances your website's visibility by optimizing your site's content and structure to rank higher in search results. This makes it more likely that prospects will find your business. Tools like Semrush and Ahrefs can help you identify keywords to include on your site that may help improve your ranking. Given how tricky SEO can be, having a pro in your corner can make things way easier and boost your gym's online game.

Implement Social Media Marketing

With over 302 million social media users in the United States alone, social media marketing helps gyms reach a wider audience. Leveraging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok allows fitness establishments to connect with potential clients, share engaging content, and build a community around their brand.

When crafting your social media marketing strategy, include multiple social platforms. Today, the average user engages with up to seven platforms a month . Creating content across different platforms aligns with user behavior and maximizes your gym's visibility.

Utilize Email Marketing

As other digital marketing strategies have arisen, you may wonder if email marketing is still relevant. Let’s set the record straight. With 99% of email users checking their inbox daily , email marketing remains an effective tool for reaching and engaging your target audience.

Gym owners can utilize email marketing to promote special offers, fitness challenges, and exclusive content to their members.

Leveraging Technology to Enhance Your Members’ Experience

When deciding what products and services you want to include in your business plan, consider ways you can integrate technology into the workout experience. Offering fitness tools beyond the standard free weights and cardio machines will help improve your members' health journey and help you stand out from competitors.

Member Apps

If you want to attract tech-savvy members, Randy Hetrick recommends investing in a gym app, saying,"Start with a great member app that engages, challenges, and rewards your members for exhibiting the behaviors that will deliver the results they seek."

Not techy enough to create an app yourself? No worries. Gym management software often includes custom-branded member apps as part of their software solution. These apps allow members to view and reserve classes, track workouts, and access digital exercise programs.

Remote Training

While some people enjoy going to the gym to pump iron, 56.1% of exercisers prefer working out at home . Offering remote training options like digital personal training or online classes can help you tap into this market and add another revenue stream to your business.

Wearable Tech

As fitness technology advances, exercisers have become increasingly interested in tracking their health data. Nearly one-third of Americans use wearable tech like smartwatches to track metrics like steps, heart rate, and burned calories.

Recognizing consumer interest in this trend, successful fitness brands like Orangetheory Fitness utilize smart tech in their workouts. This provides members with helpful information on their health and facilitates friendly competition.

Consider elevating your gym’s membership experience by investing in customized wearable tech for your members. Providing devices like MyZone trackers at the beginning of each training session lets you gamify classes through leaderboards showcasing individual efforts.

Smart Equipment

With 38% of gym goers citing equipment as their primary reason for visiting their gym, investing in quality exercise tools is crucial. Smart equipment like Peloton bikes and Tonal strength machines track users' progress and provide real-time feedback. This data allows individuals to refine their exercise techniques, prevent injuries, and optimize their workout efficiency.

Gym Pricing Strategies and Membership Models

Determining the right pricing strategy for your gym can be tricky. If you charge too much, you'll scare away your target audience. On the flip side, if you charge too little, you'll hurt your bottom line.

To strike the right balance, examine your forecasted expenses and research your competitors' pricing. This will give you a strong idea of how much money you need to bring in each month to stay profitable and how much you can charge to remain competitive in the market. Below are standard pricing model options that may be a good fit for your business.

Monthly Memberships

Monthly memberships are one of the most popular membership models among gyms. These plans have a fixed monthly fee that grants members access to gym facilities and services.

Tiered Memberships

Membership plans structured in tiers offer varying levels of access to amenities and services based on the chosen tier. Higher tiers often come with additional benefits at a higher cost.

Class Packages

If your gym offers a variety of classes, you may want to consider offering class packages. This membership option allows members to purchase packages that include a set number of classes allowing flexibility in attendance.

Measuring Success: Key Metrics to Track in Your Business

After creating a gym business plan, ensure it stays on track by using metrics to monitor its progress. Research shows that companies that track their progress are more likely to achieve their business goals . While the best metrics to track will vary from business to business, keeping tabs on the following metrics will give you valuable insights into the health and growth of your gym.

Net Profit Margin

Net Profit Margin is a profitability ratio that calculates the percentage of net profit relative to total revenue. Your net profit margin is one of your gym's most important financial health indicators. This metric helps determine how much of every dollar your make is kept as profit.

Gross Profit Margin

Gross Profit Margin is the percentage of revenue left after subtracting the cost of products and services sold (like labor, equipment, and other consumables), showing how well a gym manages its core operations.

Revenue Growth

Revenue growth is the percentage increase in total income over a specific period, reflecting the expansion or contraction of the business. It's important for gyms (and all businesses) because steady revenue growth indicates an increasing demand for your services.

Member Retention Rate

Your gym's member retention rate is the percentage of members retained over a set time period. A high retention rate indicates happy clients that contribute to a consistent revenue stream.

Member Growth Rate

Your gym's member growth rate reflects the percentage increase in members over a specific period. A higher growth indicates an increase in popularity and will likely increase revenue.

Bottom Line

Opening a successful gym requires a little planning. But, investing time into crafting a strategic business plan increases your likelihood of success and improves your chances of receiving funding. Check out the U.S. Small Business Administration's resources for more information about creating a business plan.

More Advice for Gym Owners

  • Best Gym Management Software
  • Ultimate Guide to Opening a Gym
  • Grow Your Gym: Capitalize on Fitness Business Trends
  • Best Fitness Industry Events for Fitness Professionals
  • How to Increase Gym Membership Sales

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  • Bplans. Do You Need a Business Plan? Scientific Research Says Yes
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BUSINESS STRATEGIES

How to create a gym business plan

  • Annabelle Amery
  • Sep 5, 2023

how to create a gym business plan

When starting a business , it’s crucial to create a comprehensive and clear business plan. This applies to all types of businesses , including a gym business . A gym business plan is a strategic document that outlines the goals, objectives and strategies for starting and running a successful gym.

A gym business plan serves as a roadmap for entrepreneurs, providing guidance on how to navigate the challenges and complexities of the fitness industry. It helps entrepreneurs define their vision, mission and target market, as well as identify the resources and steps needed to achieve their goals.

Need a way to promote your gym business online? Get started with Wix’s website builder , which includes built-in marketing and scheduling tools.

Why create a gym business plan?

A gym business plan is particularly important for individuals who are new to entrepreneurship. It provides a structured approach to starting a gym by outlining the necessary steps, such as securing funding, finding a suitable location and acquiring equipment. Some of the other main advantages include being able to:

Attract funding: A well-written gym business plan can attract potential investors or lenders who may be interested in supporting your venture financially. It demonstrates your understanding of the market, your competitive advantage and your plans for profitability.

Understand resource requirements: A comprehensive gym business plan helps entrepreneurs identify the resources required to start and operate their gym successfully. This includes business registration (cost to start an LLC ), equipment, staff, marketing materials and other supplies necessary for day-to-day operations.

Achieve long-term success: A gym business plan provides entrepreneurs with an opportunity to thoroughly analyze their target market and competition. By conducting market research and competitive analysis, they can develop strategies to differentiate their gym from others in the industry.

Set goals: A well-crafted gym business plan helps entrepreneurs set realistic and measurable goals for their gym. These goals can include financial targets, membership growth, customer satisfaction levels and other key performance indicators.

Make better decisions: Having a clear business plan in place helps entrepreneurs make informed decisions about various aspects of their gym, such as pricing, marketing strategies and expansion plans. It serves as a reference point for evaluating options and making choices that align with the overall business strategy.

Guide your website messaging and design: A gym business plan also includes considerations for creating a business website . In today's digital age, making a website is crucial for attracting customers and promoting your gym. The business plan can outline the website's purpose, design, functionality and marketing strategies to drive traffic to the site.

How to write a gym business plan in 6 steps

A gym business plan is a crucial document that outlines the strategies and goals for starting and running a successful gym. It provides a roadmap for entrepreneurs, guiding them through the process of establishing and growing their fitness facility. To create an effective gym business plan, it is important to include six main parts:

Executive summary

Business and domain names

Market analysis and research

Operations plan

Marketing and advertising

Financial plan

01. Executive summary

The executive summary is a concise overview of your gym business plan. It provides an introduction to your gym, highlighting its unique selling points and summarizing the key elements of your plan. The executive summary should include a brief description of your gym, your mission statement, an overview of the target market and competitive landscape, a summary of your marketing, your advertising strategies and an outline of your financial projections (including how you plan to raise money for your business ).

Example of an executive summary for a gym:

“ABC Fitness is a state-of-the-art gym located in downtown Cityville. Our mission is to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment where individuals of all fitness levels can achieve their health and wellness goals. With top-of-the-line equipment, certified trainers and a variety of group exercise classes, we aim to be the premier fitness destination in our community.

In an increasingly health-conscious society, the demand for fitness facilities continues to grow. ABC Fitness differentiates itself by offering personalized training programs tailored to each member's specific needs. Our strategic location in the heart of the city ensures easy accessibility for our target market of urban professionals.

To attract customers, we will implement a comprehensive marketing campaign that includes online advertising, social media promotions, and partnerships with local businesses. We project steady growth in membership numbers over the next three years, resulting in increased revenue and profitability.”

02. Business and domain names

Choosing the right business name for your gym is crucial for building brand awareness and trust. It should reflect your gym's values, target market and unique selling proposition. Here are some steps to consider when deciding on a company name:

Brainstorm keywords and concepts related to fitness, health and wellness

Use a business name generator (or specifically a small business name generator ) for inspiration and to generate unique name ideas

Consider the availability of domain names associated with your chosen company name

Check the availability of the chosen domain name using domain registration websites

Be inspired: Gym business name ideas , Fitness business name ideas

Learn more about registering your business once you’ve landed on your business name and legal structure.

03. Market analysis and research

Including market analysis and research in your gym business plan is essential for understanding the competitive environment and developing a better business strategy.

Target market: Analyze the target market by identifying demographics, psychographics, and fitness preferences of potential customers. Conduct a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) to assess your gym's internal and external factors.

Competitors: Research competitors in your area to understand their strengths, weaknesses, pricing strategies and marketing efforts. Identify opportunities for differentiation by offering unique services or targeting underserved segments of the market.

04. Operations plan

The operations plan outlines the logistical aspects of your gym, including location, premises, equipment and staffing needs. Make sure to select a suitable location that is easily accessible, has ample parking and aligns with where your target market is based.

Then determine the size and layout of your gym space based on the number of equipment, exercise areas, locker rooms and amenities. Research and budget for the necessary gym equipment, including cardio machines, weightlifting equipment and fitness accessories.

Lastly outline staffing requirements by identifying the number of trainers, instructors, front desk staff and maintenance personnel needed.

05. Marketing and advertising plan

The marketing and advertising plan lays out the strategies and campaigns you will implement to promote your gym business. To do this you’ll need to first identify your target audience and tailor your marketing efforts to reach them effectively.

Then, plan out a strong brand identity by creating a logo, color scheme and visual elements that resonate with your target market. (Need help creating a logo? Check out these fitness logo ideas or Wix’s free logo maker .)

Consider using various marketing channels such as social media platforms, online advertising, local partnerships and community events. Then plan compelling content that highlights the benefits of joining your gym and showcases success stories from existing members. You can also implement referral programs or incentives to encourage current members to bring in new customers.

06. Financial plan

The financial plan is a cornerstone of any gym business plan, providing an in-depth overview of how the business will secure initial funding, manage expenses, generate revenue and outline the projected time frame for achieving profitability. This section is pivotal in demonstrating the financial viability and sustainability of the gym business to potential investors, stakeholders and lenders.

Startup costs and funding: Starting a gym business entails various upfront costs that should be carefully estimated for accurate financial planning. These costs include lease or purchase of the gym space, equipment procurement, interior design, licensing and permits, marketing, initial staffing and operational supplies. Funding for these startup costs can come from diverse sources, such as personal savings, business loans, grants, partnerships or investments.

Revenue projections: Revenue projections provide a forecast of the expected income over a specific period, usually the first few years of the gym's operation. These projections should be based on thorough market research, competitor analysis and realistic expectations.

Profit and loss projection: The profit and loss projection, also known as the income statement , offers an overview of the gym business's revenue, expenses and net profit or loss over a specific period. It provides insights into the financial health of the business and its potential profitability.

Time frame for profitability: The time frame for achieving profitability in a gym business depends on factors like membership growth, marketing strategies, operational efficiency and retention rates. Typically, gyms aim to reach profitability within the first year or two of operation

steps to developing a business plan

Gym business plan examples

Creating a gym business plan from scratch can be a daunting task, especially if you're new to entrepreneurship. Fortunately, there are many resources available that provide gym business plan templates to help you get started. These templates serve as a framework for organizing your ideas and ensuring that you include all the necessary components in your plan. Here are two draft business plans for hypothetical gym businesses, incorporating the main parts discussed earlier.

By using templates as a starting point, you can customize them to fit your specific vision and goals for your gym. Remember to conduct thorough research, analyze your target market and develop strategies that set your gym apart from the competition. With a well-crafted gym business plan in hand, you'll be well-equipped to start your journey towards building a successful fitness facility.

Business plan template #1: neighborhood fitness studio

The Neighborhood Fitness Studio is a boutique gym located in a residential area, catering to individuals seeking a personalized fitness experience. Our mission is to provide a welcoming and supportive environment where members can achieve their health and wellness goals. With certified trainers, state-of-the-art equipment and a variety of group exercise classes, we aim to become the go-to fitness destination in our community.

Company name and domain name

We have chosen the name "FitHub" for our neighborhood fitness studio. The domain name www.fithub.com is available and aligns well with our brand identity.

Our target market consists of local residents aged 25 to 45 who value convenience and personalized attention

Competitor analysis reveals that there is no other gym within a two-mile radius offering specialized fitness programs tailored to individual needs

We plan to differentiate ourselves by offering personalized training plans, nutrition counseling and small group classes

We have secured a 2,000 square foot space in a commercial building with ample parking for our gym

The gym will be equipped with cardio machines, free weights, strength training equipment and a designated area for group exercise classes

We will hire certified personal trainers, fitness instructors and front desk staff to ensure excellent customer service

Marketing and advertising plan

We will utilize social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to promote our gym and engage with potential customers

Local partnerships with health food stores and wellness centers will allow us to reach a wider audience

We will offer a free trial period for new members and implement a referral program to incentivize word-of-mouth marketing

Business plan template #2: upscale fitness center

The Upscale Fitness Center is a premium gym targeting affluent individuals who prioritize luxury and exclusivity. Our mission is to provide a high-end fitness experience that combines cutting-edge equipment, personalized training and luxurious amenities. With our state-of-the-art facility, expert trainers and exclusive membership perks, we aim to become the preferred fitness destination for the elite in our city.

We have chosen the name "Elevate Fitness" for our upscale fitness center. The domain name www.elevatefitness.com is available and reflects our commitment to helping members elevate their fitness journey.

Marketing analysis and research

Our target market consists of high-income individuals aged 35 to 55 who value personalized service and are willing to invest in their health

Competitor analysis reveals that there are no other fitness centers in our city offering the same level of luxury and exclusivity

We plan to differentiate ourselves by offering VIP amenities, personalized training programs and exclusive member events

We have secured a 10,000 square foot space in a prime location, featuring high-end finishes and top-of-the-line fitness equipment

The fitness center will include dedicated areas for cardio, strength training, group exercise classes and a spa-like relaxation area

We will hire certified personal trainers, nutritionists and spa professionals to provide a comprehensive wellness experience for our members

We will leverage digital marketing strategies, such as targeted online advertising and influencer partnerships to reach our affluent target market

Exclusive membership events and collaborations with luxury brands will create buzz and attract high-profile individuals

We will offer personalized consultations and complimentary services to prospective members to showcase the unique value of our fitness center

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Manage your business, booking options, coach your clients, retain your customers, billing your clients, your mobile app, marketing tools, integrations, creating a gym business plan - a complete guide.

If you’ve found your way here, there’s a good chance you’re either looking to open a gym or revamp your current business plan - Congratulations!

Any business can benefit by starting with a solid business plan. Even if you’ve already hit the ground running, it’s never too late to put one together. In fact, most people are pleasantly surprised that business plans are not all that time consuming to create and that creating a gym business plan can significantly improve your already established business.

A business plan reveals who you are as a business and gives a logical preview of where you’re heading. It is a roadmap that lays out how your business is structured, how you plan to make it succeed, and the exact steps you need to take to get there.

A gym business plan will clearly define the structure of your business , give you a comprehensive insight into your target market and help you lay out your management structure, marketing strategy and financial strategy.

Though we might think of a gym business plan as a one and done type of document, it is actually an ever-evolving plan that grows and changes with you and your business. Ready to carve out a space for yourself in a multi-billion dollar (and climbing!) industry?

First off ask yourself a couple of tough questions:

  • Can I afford to run a gym?
  • How much time can I invest in this?
  • Do I feel comfortable working with people face to face on a daily basis?

Here’s the thing: starting a gym from the ground up is not an inexpensive venture. Between equipment costs, hiring PTs and group class instructors, insurance, rent, etc. you will need to be honest with yourself if this is a business you can afford to get involved with.

If finances are not an issue, it’s time to reflect on how much time you have /are willing to put into this new venture- especially at the onset. Owning and operating a gym or boutique studio is not a 9-5 job and working for yourself can make it extremely difficult to carve out a work/life balance.

Finally, getting started in a fitness business means you need to prepare yourself for an onslaught of face-to-face interaction with members, staff, investors, etc. If that much one-on-one interaction is not something you had prepared yourself for, you might want to re-think this venture.

The good news is that if owning and operating a gym is your dream - the money and hard work that you need to invest in making it a successful venture will be truly worth it.

Your Gym Business Plan Template at a Glance:

Step 1: Executive Summary

The first part of your gym business plan template is your executive summary. This is a quick, to-the-point statement that delineates the what, why and how of your business. It needs to be impactful and concise in framing your goals, your mission and your vision. Don’t worry if you feel like you have more to say - you can add more details in your company overview.

Step 2: Company Overview

If the executive summary was an outline of your gym business, the company overview is where you have the opportunity to go more into depth with your overall vision. Here you will go over the purpose and plans for your gym, your business model and the strategies you will employ to accomplish these objectives. A general overview of your target clients and what products/services you will provide for them can be included as well, but you will get more into detail regarding your target audience and services below. Don’t be afraid to get personal here! Include your own history in the world of health and fitness and/or business. Clearly communicate your vision for this gym. These are all relevant details for potential partners and investors to know when they are deciding on getting involved with you and your business. Aim to build your know-like-trust factor.

Step 3: Management & Operations

The management & operations section of your gym business plan is where you will present the plans for your employee ladder . What are the positions you need to fill and what sorts of skills will these employees need to have in order to make your gym successful? Think beyond your PTs and group class instructors. You’ll also likely need sales and membership personnel, marketing managers, customer service professionals, a maintenance team, etc. What responsibilities will each of these employees have?

Set up and present an organized chart that breaks down all of your staff positions, detailed descriptions of their roles, compensation structure, and benefits plan as well as incentives to attract and retain quality employees.

If you already have your management team in place, be sure to expound upon their individual skill sets, relevant experience and how they will contribute to the success of your gym.

Step 4: Market Research and Marketing

The market research and marketing step is the part of your gym business plan where you will explore: Your niche (the clients you will cater your gym to) Current trends in the industry that your target audience is looking for What your competitors are offering and for how much Plans for marketing your gym

Market research

You must start with market research and dive into who is in your local market and who you are focusing on as your target audience, your ideal clients - your niche. Are they students, working professionals, stay-at-home moms or dads, etc? Or will you target a specific group of fitness enthusiasts: bodybuilders, yogis, cyclists, etc. How do you plan to successfully fit your gym into your decided upon demographic?

When your target market is sorted out you can start researching your competitors. Direct competitors are those with gyms or boutique studios similar to yours in your area who are also going after a similar target audience. What are their strengths and weaknesses? How does your gym compare to theirs? What do your target clients have to say about them?

Once you are comfortable with your niche and your offerings in comparison to those of your direct competitors, the marketing portion is all about how you plan to get your gym and its services/amenities in front of this target audience and how you will attract them to your gym. It’s time to let your creativity shine! A detailed strategy, who will be handling this job, plus estimated cost is ideal. Your marketing strategy might include social media marketing, email marketing, TV or print advertising, sponsorships, loyalty plans, membership promotions, referral programs and more. Marketing can be any idea you have that will help make your gym stand out, build your customer’s loyalty and increase your revenue at the end of the day.

Step 5: Services and Amenities

In your company overview you briefly described the services and products you plan to offer at your gym, and here you will expound upon these services. This will give a clearer picture of what your gym or studio will look like for your members. Services will cover everything from membership options, group classes and personal training options to the specific exercise equipment you will offer. Amenities will include things like lockers, spa services, a swimming pool, child care options, etc. Products are physical items you plan to offer for additional revenue opportunities: juices, snack bars, protein powders or pre-workout, t-shirts, towels, etc.

Go into details about how the services you offer will fill the needs of your target audience and describe the benefits of each. Finally, create a pricing list that clearly outlines the costs for each product and service. This will make it easier when you get to the financial forecast and strategy section.

Step 6: Financial Forecast & Strategy

Finances are easily the most important part of your business, and are generally how you will measure success and profitability. The financial forecast and strategy is where its time to get real with an in-depth and up close projection for the future of your gym.

First, where do you need to spend your initial capital? Rent or building maintenance/upgrades, hiring costs, gym equipment, operational costs for the first 3-4 months, legal fees and marketing costs among others are all places you’ll want to investigate. Give a realistic cost estimate next to each. Then, add it all up: how much money will you need to successfully launch your gym?

Next you will dive into where your income will come from. Estimate how much your services (memberships, classes, PT, physical products) will bring in. The idea here is to show your potential partners/investors/employees that you have a plan with a solid ROI.

Finally, use all of this information to project a sales forecast for the first, second and third year in business breaking down each month as well as annual earnings and expenses.

Step 7: Payment Options

A big thing to think about is what sort of gym management software you will use. A streamlined system like Virtuagym , that automates membership billing and other fees, simplifies online and onsite scheduling, enables easy booking for classes or PT sessions, as well as other backend processes not only looks great for potential investors, it also serves to increase member retention and improve the overall client experience.

Step 8: Funding

You will round out your business plan with a clear description of where any start-up capital is coming from. Personal savings, bank loans, partners, sponsorships or even “soft loans” from family members or friends are all resources you might consider.

You’re Almost There!

Starting a gym has a multitude of benefits but is no easy task to undertake. That said, with the right business plan your rewards will far outweigh your challenges and you can look forward to a happy and successful future within the fitness industry. Refer back to your business plan whenever you need to make important decisions, secure new investments or show new partners or employees the greater vision and direction of your business.

A Personal Checklist:

Feel free to use this checklist to help you through the next stages of running your own gym. Refer to it throughout the development of your business to ensure you don’t miss a thing.

  • Write business plan
  • Register business
  • Apply for business license and permit
  • Open business bank accounts
  • Select online payment platform
  • Obtain tax payer’s ID
  • Purchase insurance
  • Organize rental space / purchase facility
  • Purchase / rent equipment
  • Secure funding
  • Set up Direct Debit service
  • Recruit employees
  • Draft contract documents and any other legal documents required
  • Design company logo and brand
  • Develop website
  • Write website content
  • Create accounts on social media platforms
  • Design leaflets and brochures
  • Organize branded uniforms
  • Hold launch party!

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Contact Information

Nicolas Fisher

Nick is a Marketing Specialist with a keen eye for market introspection and relevant insights. Adept in relating to people, he often seeks ways in which we can use human relations to bring our businesses and clients closer together to create lasting bonds by using his insights and expertise in the industry.

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Gym Business Plan Ultimate Guide + Free Example

gym business financial plan

July 6, 2023

Adam Hoeksema

There are numerous reasons why writing a business plan for your gym startup is essential, but the primary motivation for most founders is often the requirement of potential lenders and investors.

It's unlikely that you woke up this morning eagerly anticipating spending the next few days meticulously crafting a detailed plan for your business. If you're anything like me, the business plan is already conceptualized in your mind, and you're eager to dive into starting your gym rather than getting caught up in writing a comprehensive plan. Especially when there are several different types of gym business models and the variables change for each model.

However, it's crucial to acknowledge that the individuals with the financial resources you need—your potential investors and lenders—have requested your business plan and projections

So, if you find yourself in this situation, this article will provide guidance to help you navigate the following steps effectively:

Gym Business Plan Outline

  • Conducting Market Research for Your Gym Business Plan
  • Creating Financial Projections for Your Gym Business Plan

Example Gym Business Plan

Gym business plan faqs.

With that in mind as the path forward, let’s dive in. 

What Should be Included in a Gym Business Plan?

A gym business plan should effectively communicate to investors and lenders why customers would choose to join and regularly visit your gym, why you or your team are well-equipped to manage and operate the gym, and how the financial projections are tailored to secure a profitable financial outcome for their investment. Below is a comprehensive outline of our complimentary gym business plan template.

I. Executive Summary

A. overview of the business, b. key objectives and mission statement, c. market analysis and target customer, d. financial projections, ii. company description, a. background and history, b. ownership and management structure, c. legal structure of the business, iii. market analysis, a. overview of the fitness industry, b. identification of target market and customers, c. market trends and growth opportunities, d. competitor analysis, iv. service and product line, a. description of services and facilities offered, b. equipment and technology used, c. description of pricing and membership options, v. marketing and sales strategy, a. overview of marketing and advertising efforts, b. sales channels and customer acquisition strategy, c. marketing budget and expenses, vi. operations and management, a. description of day-to-day operations, b. overview of staffing requirements, c. management and leadership structure, vii. financial projections, a. overview of revenue and cost structure, b. projected financial statements, c. risks and challenges, how to conduct market research for a gym business plan.

Market research plays a vital role in developing a comprehensive gym business plan. It is crucial to gain a clear understanding of your position in the market and validate the demand for your specific gym concept, location, and pricing structure. You can delve deeper into our gym market research methodology here, but ultimately, In order to effectively conduct market research for your proposed gym, you can adapt the following strategies and tools:

Determining Advertising Costs for a Gym

To assess the cost of advertising for your gym and attract customers to your gym's website, we recommend using tools like Google Keyword Planner . This tool can help you identify relevant keywords that potential customers might use in their online searches. Additionally, it provides estimates of the cost per click for advertising with different keywords, as shown below:

gym business financial plan

Keywords Used in Customer Searches

To discover the keywords driving traffic to your competitors' gym websites, you can utilize tools such as Google Keyword Planner and Ahrefs . By analyzing reports on your competitors' websites, you can identify the keywords they rank for and the amount of organic traffic generated by each keyword. This information can guide your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts for your gym website.

gym business financial plan

Seasonality in the Gym Industry

Using platforms like Google Trends , you can assess the level of seasonality that might exist within your gym concept. For example, the graph below demonstrates that “gyms near me” in the United States is somewhat seasonal in nature. January is consistently the peak, with the late fall tending to be the low point of the season

gym business financial plan

How Many Customers Do my Competitors Receive Each Month?

To gain insights into the number of customers your competitors attract, it is beneficial to generate foot traffic reports for their gyms. This data can help you estimate the typical monthly visits for a specific location, as illustrated in the example below:

gym business financial plan

Understanding the potential customer base for your gym is a crucial factor in projecting your financial success. Analyzing competitor footfall can assist you in estimating the potential traffic to your gym, which will be a fundamental assumption for your financial projections.

How to Create Financial Projections for a Gym Business Plan

After conducting thorough market research, it's time to develop financial projections for your gym. One easy way to create financial projections is by using our gym financial projection templates which are designed to provide a solid foundation for estimating revenue projections by considering factors such as membership numbers and average class rates and more. While some gyms may be limited by the available workout space, others may have constraints related to the capacity of trainers or class schedules. Creating accurate financial projections is crucial to demonstrate your gym's potential to repay loans and offer attractive returns on investment to potential stakeholders. To accomplish this, you'll need to focus on the following key steps:

  • Estimate startup costs for your gym
  • Forecast revenue - either based on membership or class attendance
  • Project labor costs
  • Estimate your operating expenses like rent and utilities
  • Calculate how much investor or loan capital you will need to open

By following these steps and utilizing our gym projection templates, you'll have a comprehensive financial outlook for your gym business, which will help attract potential investors and lenders while providing a roadmap for managing your gym's finances effectively.

Presented below is our gym business plan content. To help you create your own gym business plan, we offer a downloadable Google Doc version of our Gym business plan template here . This enables you to customize it to suit the specific needs and vision of your gym. We have also prepared a video walkthrough to guide you in adapting the business plan to align with your unique gym concept.

Table of Contents

Our gym, called "FitLife Gym," is a new state-of-the-art fitness facility that will offer a comprehensive range of exercise equipment, group fitness classes, and personal training services to members of the local community. Our mission is to provide a welcoming and supportive environment where people can achieve their fitness goals, regardless of their current fitness level or experience.

Our primary objective is to become the go-to fitness center for individuals in the community who are looking for a high-quality gym experience. We aim to differentiate ourselves from competitors by offering a wider range of services and amenities, including group fitness classes, personal training, and cutting-edge exercise equipment. Our ultimate goal is to create a supportive and inclusive community where members feel encouraged and empowered to reach their fitness goals.

The fitness industry has experienced steady growth in recent years, and we believe there is a significant opportunity to capture a share of the market in our area. Our target customer is primarily individuals between the ages of 25 and 55 who are interested in improving their health and fitness and are willing to pay for access to a high-quality gym experience. We also plan to target local businesses and organizations as potential corporate members.

Based on market research and our understanding of the local market, we anticipate that our gym will generate $500,000 in revenue in the first year, with a net profit of $60,000. We expect to see continued growth in revenue and profits in subsequent years as our business establishes itself and expands its offerings.

FitLife Gym was founded by a team of experienced fitness professionals and entrepreneurs who have a passion for helping people achieve their fitness goals. The founders have worked in the fitness industry for over a decade and have a deep understanding of what it takes to create a successful and sustainable gym business.

FitLife Gym is owned and operated by the founding team, who will also serve as the key management personnel. The management team will be responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations, developing and implementing marketing and sales strategies, and ensuring the overall financial success of the business.

FitLife Gym will be organized as a limited liability company (LLC), offering the founders the benefits of limited liability protection and the ability to raise capital more easily than a sole proprietorship or partnership.

The fitness industry has experienced steady growth in recent years, with the market expected to reach $96 billion in the US by 2026. The increasing emphasis on healthy lifestyles and the popularity of fitness and wellness have driven growth in the industry, and the trend is expected to continue in the coming years.

Our target market is individuals between the ages of 25 and 55 who are interested in improving their health and fitness and are willing to pay for access to a high-quality gym experience. This demographic is often seeking a supportive and inclusive environment where they can feel comfortable working out, regardless of their current fitness level or experience.

There is a growing trend towards boutique-style gyms that offer specialized services and amenities, and we believe this presents a significant opportunity for our gym to differentiate itself from larger, more traditional fitness centers. Additionally, the trend towards health and wellness is expected to continue, providing a stable foundation for continued growth in the fitness industry.

Our primary competitors will be other gyms and fitness centers in the local area, including large chain gyms and smaller, independent facilities. We will differentiate ourselves from these competitors by offering a wider range of services and amenities, including group fitness classes, personal training, and cutting-edge exercise equipment. We will also focus on creating a welcoming and supportive community atmosphere that sets us apart from other fitness centers.

FitLife Gym will offer a comprehensive range of exercise equipment, group fitness classes, and personal training services to members of the local community. Our facilities will include:

  • Cardio equipment, such as treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes
  • Strength training equipment, including free weights and weight machines
  • Group fitness classes, including yoga, spin, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
  • Personal training services, with certified trainers available for one-on-one sessions
  • A private stretching and recovery area, including foam rollers and resistance bands

We will invest in high-quality, commercial-grade equipment from leading fitness brands, including Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, and TRX. Additionally, we will utilize cutting-edge technology, such as virtual personal training and mobile apps, to enhance the overall gym experience for our members.

We will offer several membership options, including monthly and annual memberships, as well as corporate memberships for local businesses and organizations. Personal training services will be offered at an additional cost, with packages available for both one-on-one and small group sessions. Our pricing will be competitive with other gyms and fitness centers in the local area, with a focus on offering value to our members.

We will utilize a multi-channel marketing and advertising strategy, including:

  • Social media and digital advertising, including targeted Facebook and Instagram ads
  • Local print and online advertisements in relevant publications and websites
  • Promotional events and partnerships with local businesses and organizations
  • Referral programs for current members

Our sales channels will include online sign-ups, in-person tours and consultations, and corporate memberships for local businesses and organizations. We will also offer trial memberships and special promotions to attract new members and generate word-of-mouth referrals.

Our initial marketing budget will be $50,000, with ongoing marketing expenses accounting for 5% of our overall operating budget. We believe that a strong marketing presence is essential to establishing our brand and attracting new members, and we are committed to investing in a comprehensive marketing and advertising strategy.

Day-to-day operations at FitLife Gym will include tasks such as staffing and scheduling, equipment maintenance and repair, and customer service. The management team will be responsible for overseeing these tasks, ensuring the gym is running smoothly and efficiently at all times.

We will initially hire 5 full-time employees, including a manager, 2 certified personal trainers, and 2 customer service representatives. As the business grows, we may add additional staff as needed to meet customer demand and support the growth of the business.

The management team will consist of the founders, who will also serve as the key decision-makers for the business. The manager will be responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations and ensuring the gym is running efficiently, while the personal trainers will be responsible for delivering high-quality training services to members. The customer service representatives will be responsible for responding to customer inquiries, managing member accounts, and providing support as needed.

Revenue will come primarily from membership fees, with additional income generated from personal training services and corporate memberships. Our costs will include rent and utilities, equipment and supplies, staffing and salaries, marketing and advertising expenses, and general operating expenses. Our startup cost requirements will total around $600,000 which includes working capital to cover cash losses until break even as well as equipment and leasehold improvements. We will use an equipment loan, SBA loan, and personal investment to cover the startup costs.

Our projected financial statements, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, will be based on our business model, industry trends, and realistic assumptions about membership growth and expenses. We project steady revenue growth over the next 5 years, with an estimated break-even point after the first 2 years of operation.

As with any new business, there are inherent risks and challenges that we must be prepared to face. Some of the key risks and challenges we anticipate include competition from other gyms and fitness centers, changes in consumer behavior and preferences, and unexpected economic downturns or changes in the local business climate. To mitigate these risks, we will focus on delivering high-quality services, building a strong brand and reputation, and maintaining a flexible and adaptive business model that allows us to quickly respond to changes in the market.

All of the unique financial projections you see below were generated using ProjectionHub’s Gym  financial projection template s. Purchase includes a gym membership and class-based gym versions. Use PH20BP to enjoy a 20% discount on the template. 

Projected Financial Summary:

gym business financial plan

Annual Sales, Gross Profit and Net Profit:

gym business financial plan

Key Financial Ratios:

gym business financial plan

Watch how to create financial projections for your very own gym:

gym business financial plan

Income Statement:

gym business financial plan

Balance Sheet:

gym business financial plan

Cash Flow Statement:

gym business financial plan

VIII. Conclusion

In conclusion, we believe that FitLife Gym has the potential to be a successful and profitable business, providing an innovative and community-focused fitness solution to the local market. With our extensive experience in the industry, passion for fitness, and commitment to excellence, we are confident in our ability to make this business a success.

What are the key components to include in a gym business plan?

A gym business plan should include sections on executive summary, company description, market analysis, target market and services, gym equipment and facilities, pricing and membership options, marketing and promotion strategies, staffing and trainers, and financial projections.

How can I choose the ideal location for my gym?

When selecting a location for your gym, consider factors such as accessibility, visibility, parking availability, proximity to residential areas or workplaces, competition in the area, and the potential to attract your target market. A convenient and visible location can help drive membership.

Do I need to provide specialized training or certifications for my gym trainers?

Providing specialized training or certifications for your gym trainers can enhance their credibility and expertise. Consider certifications such as personal training, group fitness instruction, or specialized programs (e.g., yoga, Pilates) to ensure your trainers are qualified to offer a wide range of fitness services.

How can I estimate the financial projections for my gym?

Financial projections for a gym should include estimates for start-up costs, monthly expenses (rent, utilities, equipment maintenance, staff salaries), projected membership revenue based on pricing and expected member count, additional revenue streams (personal training, classes), and a break-even analysis.

About the Author

Adam is the Co-founder of ProjectionHub which helps entrepreneurs create financial projections for potential investors, lenders and internal business planning. Since 2012, over 50,000 entrepreneurs from around the world have used ProjectionHub to help create financial projections.

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Gym Financial Statement Examples (Free Templates)

Get these free gym financial statement examples to compare with your gym financial statements.

Gym Financial Statement Examples

Get some help comparing gym financial statements, learn how to create a gym budget , how to create a gym sales forecast , and how to write a gym business plan . Understanding and effectively managing your gym financial statements is crucial for long-term gym success and increasing gym profitability . Financial statements provide valuable insights into the financial health and stability of your gym, enabling you to make informed decisions and implement strategies to drive growth and profitability.

Fitness Income Ideas

In this article, we will take an in-depth look at various aspects of gym financial statements, including their importance, key components, revenue sources, expenses, profit margins, cash flow patterns, membership trends, financial ratios, gym key performance indicators (KPIs) , industry benchmarks, tips for improvement, common challenges and solutions, budgeting and forecasting, and leveraging technology tools for streamlined finance management. So, grab a cup of coffee and get ready for a comprehensive exploration of gym financial statements.

Discover various gym financial statement examples to gain insights into the financial health of your fitness business. Understanding gym financial statements is an important part of learning how to write a gym business plan , learning how to create a gym budget , and learning how to get a gym loan —all important things to consider as tools for helping you open a new gym . Learn how to create gym financial statements and get some ideas from the below example gym financial statements.

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Example Gym Financial Statements

Let’s assume this gym has $1,000,000 in annual revenue, and we’ll make some assumptions about its costs and other factors. Remember, these are purely hypothetical and might not represent the actual figures of a real-world gym. You’ll need to adapt these to the specific circumstances of your gym.

Example Gym Profit and Loss Statement (Income Statement)

  • Revenue: $1,000,000
  • Membership Fees: $750,000
  • Personal Training: $200,000
  • Merchandise Sales: $50,000
  • Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): $300,000
  • Trainer Salaries: $200,000
  • Merchandise Cost: $100,000
  • Gross Profit: $700,000 (Revenue – COGS)
  • Operating Expenses: $400,000
  • Rent: $150,000
  • Utilities: $50,000
  • Marketing: $50,000
  • Administrative Expenses: $50,000
  • Depreciation: $50,000
  • Insurance: $50,000
  • Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT): $300,000 (Gross Profit – Operating Expenses)
  • Interest and Taxes: $100,000
  • Interest on Loans: $50,000
  • Taxes: $50,000
  • Net Income: $200,000 (EBIT – Interest and Taxes)

Example Gym Balance Sheet

  • Assets: $1,200,000
  • Cash: $200,000
  • Equipment: $800,000
  • Prepaid Expenses: $50,000
  • Accounts Receivable: $150,000
  • Liabilities: $600,000
  • Accounts Payable: $100,000
  • Accrued Expenses: $50,000
  • Long-Term Debt: $450,000
  • Owner’s Equity: $600,000
  • Initial Investment: $500,000
  • Retained Earnings: $100,000

Example Gyn Cash Flow Statement

  • Cash Flow from Operating Activities: $250,000
  • Net Income: $200,000
  • Cash Flow from Investing Activities: -$100,000
  • Equipment Purchase: -$100,000
  • Cash Flow from Financing Activities: $50,000
  • Loan Received: $100,000
  • Loan Repayment: -$50,000
  • Net Increase in Cash: $200,000

Example Gym Financial Projections / Forecast

For creating gym financial projections, you would estimate future growth based on past performance and your business plan. For example, if you plan to add new classes or increase membership fees, that would increase your projected revenue. If you plan to hire more staff or expand the gym, that would increase your projected expenses. You would then adjust your cash flows accordingly.

Remember, creating financial statements for a gym requires specific information about your business and should be done with the help of a financial professional. These examples are oversimplified and for illustrative purposes only.

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How to Interpret Gym Financial Statements

Here are some details “behind the numbers” so that you can better understand gym financials. Here is a general outline of what each of these statements might look like for a gym.

Gym Profit and Loss Statement (Income Statement)

The profit and loss statement, also known as the income statement, shows the gym’s revenues, costs, and expenses during a particular period. This helps determine the net income or net loss of the gym.

  • Revenue: Includes income from memberships, personal training sessions, group classes, and other services like locker rentals, merchandise sales, etc.
  • Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): The direct costs of providing the gym’s services, such as the salaries of trainers.
  • Gross Profit: Revenue – COGS
  • Operating Expenses: Includes indirect costs like rent, utilities, marketing expenses, administrative expenses, depreciation, etc.
  • Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT): Gross Profit – Operating Expenses
  • Interest and Taxes: The cost of any loans and taxes payable.
  • Net Income: EBIT – Interest and Taxes

Gym Balance Sheet

The balance sheet provides a snapshot of the gym’s assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity at a specific point in time.

  • Assets: Includes cash, equipment, prepaid expenses, inventory (if any), etc.
  • Liabilities: Includes accounts payable, accrued expenses, long-term debt, etc.
  • Owner’s Equity: Includes initial investment, retained earnings, etc.
  • The total assets should be equal to the total of liabilities and owner’s equity.

Gym Cash Flow Statement

The cash flow statement shows the inflow and outflow of cash from operating, investing, and financing activities.

  • Cash Flow from Operating Activities: Includes cash received from customers, cash paid to suppliers and employees, interest paid, taxes paid, etc.
  • Cash Flow from Investing Activities: Includes cash used for purchasing equipment, etc.
  • Cash Flow from Financing Activities: Includes cash from loans, owner’s investment, etc.

Gym Financial Projections and Model

Financial projections and models for a gym would include forecasting future revenues, expenses, and cash flows based on current data, market trends, and business growth strategies. This would typically include revenue projections based on expected membership growth, expense projections based on planned activities, and cash flow projections based on these expected revenues and expenses.

Please consult with a financial advisor or accountant to get accurate financial statements and projections for your gym. The above information is just a general guideline and does not provide actual financial data.

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Understanding the Importance of Financial Statements in the Gym Industry

Financial statements serve as a window into your gym’s financial performance, providing a snapshot of its financial position, revenues, expenses, and cash flow. By analyzing these statements, gym owners and managers can gain a clear understanding of how the business is doing and identify areas of improvement. Financial statements are essential for attracting investors, securing loans, and making strategic business decisions. They enable you to track your progress, set realistic goals, and measure your gym’s performance against industry standards. In short, financial statements are the compass that guides your gym’s financial journey.

One important financial statement in the gym industry is the income statement, also known as the profit and loss statement. This statement shows the gym’s revenues, expenses, and net income or loss over a specific period of time. It provides valuable insights into the gym’s ability to generate revenue and control expenses. By analyzing the income statement, gym owners can identify areas where expenses can be reduced or revenues can be increased, ultimately improving the gym’s profitability.

Another crucial financial statement in the gym industry is the balance sheet. This statement provides a snapshot of the gym’s financial position at a specific point in time, showing its assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity. The balance sheet helps gym owners and managers assess the gym’s liquidity, solvency, and overall financial health. It allows them to evaluate the gym’s ability to meet its short-term and long-term obligations, make informed decisions about investments and financing, and monitor the gym’s capital structure.

Key Components of a Gym’s Financial Statement

A gym’s financial statement is composed of several key components, each serving a specific purpose. The balance sheet provides an overview of the gym’s assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity. It reflects the gym’s financial position at a particular point in time. The income statement, also known as the profit and loss statement, shows the revenue, expenses, and profit or loss generated over a given period. The cash flow statement tracks the inflow and outflow of cash, providing insights into the liquidity and cash management of the gym. These components work together to give a holistic view of your gym’s financial performance.

Another important component of a gym’s financial statement is the statement of retained earnings. This statement shows the changes in the gym’s retained earnings over a specific period. Retained earnings represent the accumulated profits or losses that have not been distributed to the gym’s owners or shareholders. It is calculated by adding net income or subtracting net loss from the previous period’s retained earnings and adjusting for any dividends or distributions. The statement of retained earnings helps track the growth or decline of the gym’s retained earnings and provides valuable information about the gym’s financial stability and ability to reinvest in its operations.

Analyzing Revenue Sources in Gym Financial Statements

Revenue is the lifeblood of any gym, and understanding its sources is crucial for financial success. Gym financial statements allow you to track and analyze the different revenue streams, such as membership fees, personal training sessions, group classes, merchandise sales, and any other income sources. By analyzing revenue sources, you can identify which areas are performing well and which ones need improvement. This information enables you to focus your efforts on the most profitable segments and implement targeted strategies to increase revenue.

One important revenue source to consider in gym financial statements is corporate partnerships. Many gyms form partnerships with local businesses or corporations to offer discounted memberships or wellness programs to their employees. These partnerships can provide a steady stream of revenue and attract a larger customer base. Analyzing the revenue generated from corporate partnerships can help gym owners assess the success of these programs and make informed decisions about future partnerships.

In addition to analyzing revenue sources, it is also important to track and analyze expenses in gym financial statements. Understanding where the money is being spent can help identify areas of inefficiency or excessive costs. By closely monitoring expenses, gym owners can make necessary adjustments to improve profitability. This may involve renegotiating contracts with suppliers, implementing cost-saving measures, or reallocating resources to more profitable areas of the business. Analyzing both revenue and expenses together provides a comprehensive view of the gym’s financial health and allows for informed decision-making.

Examining Expenses and Cost Breakdowns in Gym Financial Statements

Managing expenses is essential for maintaining a healthy bottom line in your gym. Gym financial statements provide a detailed breakdown of your expenses, allowing you to identify areas of overspending or inefficiencies. By closely examining expense categories such as rent, utilities, equipment maintenance, staff salaries, marketing, and supplies, you can find opportunities to cut costs without compromising the quality of your services. Analyzing expenses also enables you to allocate resources more effectively and make informed decisions about investments and budgeting.

One important aspect of examining expenses in gym financial statements is understanding the impact of fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs, such as rent and utilities, remain constant regardless of the level of activity in your gym. These costs are essential for maintaining the physical space and infrastructure of your gym. On the other hand, variable costs, such as staff salaries and supplies, fluctuate based on the level of usage or demand. By analyzing the breakdown of fixed and variable costs, you can identify areas where you have more control over reducing expenses.

In addition to analyzing expenses, it is also crucial to compare your gym’s financial performance to industry benchmarks. This allows you to assess how your expenses and cost breakdowns compare to similar gyms in terms of percentages and ratios. Benchmarking can provide valuable insights into areas where you may be overspending or underutilizing resources. It can also help you identify best practices and areas for improvement, allowing you to optimize your cost structure and increase profitability.

How to Calculate and Interpret Profit Margins in Gym Financial Statements

Profit margins are an essential metric to assess the financial viability and profitability of your gym. Understanding how to calculate and interpret profit margins is paramount. Gross profit margin measures the profitability of your core operations, while net profit margin takes into account all expenses, including overhead costs. These margins help you evaluate your gym’s pricing strategies, cost structure, and overall financial performance. By monitoring profit margins over time, you can identify trends, benchmark against industry standards, and implement strategies to optimize your gym’s profitability.

Assessing Cash Flow Patterns and Liquidity in Gym Financial Statements

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, and gyms are no exception. Analyzing cash flow patterns and liquidity in gym financial statements is crucial for managing day-to-day operations and planning for the future. A positive cash flow ensures that your gym has enough liquidity to cover expenses and invest in growth opportunities. By analyzing cash flow statements, you can identify cash flow bottlenecks, plan for any seasonal fluctuations, and make strategic decisions to improve cash flow management.

Tracking Membership Trends through Financial Statements in the Fitness Industry

Membership trends are a key indicator of the success and growth potential of your gym. Financial statements can provide valuable insights into membership trends, including new memberships, cancellations, and retention rates. By tracking these trends, you can identify patterns, understand customer preferences, and develop targeted strategies to attract and retain members. Additionally, financial statements can help you evaluate the financial impact of membership promotions, discounts, and loyalty programs, ensuring that they contribute to the overall financial health of your gym.

Utilizing Financial Ratios for Performance Evaluation in Gym Financial Statements

Financial ratios offer a quantitative way to evaluate your gym’s performance, profitability, efficiency, and financial stability. Ratios such as return on investment (ROI), return on assets (ROA), and return on equity (ROE) provide insights into your gym’s financial performance relative to its investments and assets. Additionally, ratios like current ratio and debt-to-equity ratio help assess the financial health and liquidity of your gym. By regularly calculating and analyzing these ratios using data from your gym’s financial statements, you can identify areas for improvement, compare your gym’s performance to industry benchmarks, and make data-driven decisions to drive growth and profitability.

Identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through Gym Financial Statements

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are specific metrics that reflect the critical success factors of your gym. Financial statements provide valuable data to identify and track KPIs relevant to the gym industry. KPIs can include metrics such as revenue per member, average lifetime value of a member, customer acquisition cost, member retention rate, and average revenue per square foot. By monitoring these KPIs through your gym’s financial statements, you can measure your progress, make informed decisions, and implement strategies to improve your gym’s performance.

Comparing and Benchmarking Gym Financial Performance Against Industry Standards

Comparing your gym’s financial performance against industry standards and benchmarks is essential for understanding where you stand in the market. Financial statements enable you to analyze various financial metrics, such as revenue growth rate, profit margin, and return on investment, and compare them to industry averages or competitors. Benchmarking your gym’s financial performance helps identify areas of improvement, set realistic goals, and implement strategies to stay competitive in the market.

Tips for Improving Financial Health and Stability based on Gym Financial Statements

Gym financial statements provide insights and opportunities for improving the financial health and stability of your business. By closely analyzing your financial statements, you can identify potential areas for improvement. Consider areas such as cost management, revenue growth initiatives, expense optimization, and cash flow management. Additionally, implementing strong accounting practices, investing in staff training, staying updated with industry trends, and seeking professional advice can further contribute to improving your gym’s financial health.

Common Challenges and Solutions for Managing Finances in the Gym Industry

Managing finances in the gym industry comes with its unique challenges. From seasonal fluctuations in revenue to unexpected expenses, gym operators must be prepared to navigate these challenges effectively. By understanding common financial challenges, such as high overhead costs, consistent revenue streams, and financial planning, gym owners can implement solutions such as budgeting and forecasting techniques, diversifying revenue sources, developing cost controls, and seeking financial guidance when needed. Overcoming these challenges will allow your gym to thrive financially.

Strategies for Effective Budgeting and Forecasting using Gym Financial Statements

Budgeting and forecasting are essential tools for financial planning and control. Gym financial statements provide the necessary data to develop effective budgets and forecasts. By analyzing historical financial statements, identifying trends, and considering future business goals, you can create realistic revenue and expense projections. Budgets and forecasts help you allocate resources efficiently, manage cash flow effectively, and make informed decisions based on accurate financial projections.

Leveraging Technology Tools for Streamlining Finance Management in Gyms

In today’s digital age, technology plays a crucial role in streamlining finance management in gyms. There are various software applications and tools available that can automate financial processes, from accounting and bookkeeping to budgeting and reporting. These tools streamline data entry, provide real-time financial insights, generate comprehensive reports, and facilitate better financial decision-making. By leveraging technology, you can save time, reduce errors, improve efficiency, and focus on growing your gym.

By now, you should have a comprehensive understanding of gym financial statements and their significance in the gym industry. From analyzing revenue sources to tracking membership trends, from calculating profit margins to identifying KPIs, financial statements equip you with the necessary tools to make informed decisions and drive financial success. So, take the insights provided in this article and apply them to your gym’s financial management to build a solid foundation for long-term prosperity and growth.

How important is gym financial analysis for a gym’s success?

Gym financial analysis is crucial for a gym’s success as it provides insights into profitability, cash flow, and financial health. Effective financial analysis helps gym owners make informed decisions, identify trends, and address areas that need improvement. Regular analysis of financial data ensures that the gym stays on track with its financial goals and adapts to changing market conditions.

What role does gym accounting software play in managing a gym’s finances?

Gym accounting software plays a pivotal role in managing a gym’s finances by streamlining financial processes like tracking income and expenses, generating financial reports, and managing gym assets. It simplifies complex accounting tasks, ensures accuracy, and provides real-time financial data, which is essential for effective financial planning and analysis.

  • Accounting for Gyms

What are considered gym assets, and why are they important?

Gym assets include tangible items like fitness equipment, technology systems, and the physical facility, as well as intangible assets like brand reputation and membership contracts. These assets are crucial as they represent the value of the gym and are key to generating revenue and ensuring long-term sustainability.

Can you provide an example of a gym business plan executive summary?

An example of a gym business plan executive summary would highlight the gym’s mission, target market, unique selling points, and an overview of the financial plan. It should succinctly outline the gym’s goals, strategies for achieving them, and a summary of projected financial performance, including income statements and balance sheets.

What is typically included in a gym income statement?

A gym income statement typically includes revenue generated from memberships, personal training, and other services, as well as expenses such as staff salaries, equipment maintenance, and operational costs. It provides a clear picture of the gym’s profitability over a specific period, showing the net income after all expenses are deducted from the total revenue.

Can you give a gym balance sheet example?

A gym balance sheet example would list the gym’s assets, such as equipment, cash reserves, and property, and liabilities, including loans and accounts payable. It also shows the gym’s equity, representing the owner’s stake in the business. This snapshot of financial standing at a given moment helps assess the gym’s financial health and stability.

What is included in a gym financial plan?

A gym financial plan includes projections for revenue and expenses, cash flow analysis, and strategies for achieving financial goals. It outlines how the gym intends to manage its finances, including investment in assets, managing debts, and ensuring profitability. A comprehensive financial plan is essential for guiding the gym’s financial decisions and long-term success.

What are the key elements of gym business plan financials?

Key elements of gym business plan financials include detailed projections of income and expenses, cash flow statements, balance sheets, and break-even analysis. These elements provide a comprehensive view of the gym’s expected financial performance, helping to attract investors and guide strategic decision-making.

What are the most important metrics for proving ROI in the fitness gym health club industry?

The most important metrics for proving ROI in the fitness gym health club industry include member retention rates, average revenue per member, cost of customer acquisition, and profit margins. These metrics help evaluate the effectiveness of business strategies and investments, demonstrating the return on investment in various areas of the gym’s operations.

Given that this year it appears that the gym will barely cover its operating expenses, what financial strategies should be considered?

If the gym is projected to barely cover its operating expenses this year, financial strategies such as cost optimization, revising membership pricing, exploring additional revenue streams, and enhancing marketing efforts should be considered. It’s also crucial to conduct a thorough financial analysis to identify areas where efficiency can be improved.

What should be included in a financial plan for a gym business?

A financial plan for a gym business should include realistic revenue projections, detailed expense budgets, cash flow analysis, and strategies for managing debts and investments. It should also consider contingency plans for unexpected financial challenges and outline plans for future growth and expansion.

Can you provide a sample gym financial plan?

A sample gym financial plan would typically include a three to five-year projection of income and expenses, cash flow statements, a balance sheet, and a break-even analysis. It would detail the gym’s financial goals, strategies for achieving them, and metrics for tracking financial performance.

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BusinessPlanTemplate.com - The World's Leading Business Plan Template Directory

Gym Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

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Gym Business Plan

If you want to start a gym or fitness center or expand your current gym business, you need a business plan.

The following sample gym business plan gives you the key elements to include in a winning business plan for a gym.

You can download our Gym Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Gym Business Plan Example

Below are links to each of the key sections of a detailed gym business plan:

  • Executive Summary – The executive summary is a brief overview of your gym business plan, including your company’s mission statement, target market, objectives, and goals. If you are seeking potential investors, it is important to make a good first impression with this section.
  • Company Overview – The company overview provides an overview of your company, including its history, legal structure, business model, and ownership structure.
  • Industry Analysis – Conducting an industry analysis is critical to understanding the market opportunity for your gym business. This section should include a description of the industry, its size, growth potential, and key players.
  • Customer Analysis – This section of your gym business plan should describe your target customers, including their demographics, needs, and purchasing habits.

Download our Gym Business Plan Template and learn how to start a gym business plan.

  • Competitive Analysis – Conducting a competitive analysis is essential to understanding the landscape of the market you are entering. This section should include an overview of your direct and indirect competitors, their market share, and their strengths and weaknesses.
  • Marketing Plan – Your marketing plan should describe the marketing strategies you plan to use for reaching your target audience. This section should include your pricing strategy, membership fees, advertising and promotional strategies.
  • Operations Plan – In the operations plan, you should describe your fitness center, exercise equipment and fitness classes, as well as your personal trainers and their qualifications.
  • Management Team – This section of your gym business plan should describe the experience and qualifications of your management team.
  • Financial Plan – The financial plan should include your financial projections (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement), as well as how you plan to secure funding such as bank loans.

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Gym Business Plan Sample

gym business plan template

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Business and Plans

Gym Business Plan Template

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What You Get

  • A compelling & detailed pre-written Gym business plan template in WORD
  • A full-fledged Gym financial plan model in EXCEL that you can easily customize
  • Customized text tailored to the Gym & fitness services business
  • The ability to paste advanced charts and tables within a click
  • No accounting or specialized financial knowledge needed
  • A truly low cost solution saving you time & money

Gym Business Plan Template Description

Gym business plan template with financials

Our ready made gym business plan package allows you to plan, fund, execute and launch a successful gym business as well as engage prospective investors to raise capital. The package includes a pre-written business plan in Word and an automatic financial model in Excel that you can easily customize to make them perfectly fit your own gym project. Our ready-made gym business plan package is the most cost-effective solution allowing you to have a professionally written gym business plan in record time. Check below the full content description.

gym business financial plan

Gym Business Plan Document in Word

Our ready-made Gym business plan template is in Word format and includes 24 pages. The document is divided into multiple sections. Each section contains the essential points that are necessary to effectively present your Gym project. Each section and sub-section offers you a sample text that you can easily customize to make your business plan unique. Below is a small extract of your pre-written gym business plan in Word.

Gym business plan in Word

Automatic Pro-Forma Financial Plan in Excel

Our pre-populated Gym financial model is in Excel format and includes multiples worksheets. You can easily edit the model’s inputs including changing costs and revenue assumptions to automatically generate pro-forma financial forecasts including P&L, Cash flows and Balance Sheets. Below is a small excerpt of your gym financial plan in Excel.

Gym financial plan in Excel

This Ready-Made Gym Business Plan is For

  • Entrepreneurs wishing to start a Gym business
  • Aspiring Gym owners who want to create a business plan fast and easy
  • Gym entrepreneurs who wish to pitch their project to investors
  • Fitness professionals who wish to better understand the potential of the opportunity

Immediate Delivery by Email

  • Once you complete the order, you will receive an email with links to download your documents
  • Your order will contain the full pre-written business plan in Word
  • Your order will contain the full customizable financial model in Excel

Your Gym Business Plan Content

Executive Summary: Our Gym business plan template starts with a compelling Executive Summary. This key section is very important as it summarizes in 1 page your gym business opportunity. It will introduce your business model, the key people behind the project as well as the unique selling proposition offered by your Gym venture. This section will also mention how market conditions and consumer trends are favorable for launching your project.

The Problem Opportunity: Next, your ready-made Gym business plan will list a number of problems experienced by your prospects in your target market and will show how this presents a unique opportunity for your fitness center. These can include issues such as lack of gyms in a certain location, low or average quality of service offered by existing players, undifferentiated offering by current actors in the market…etc.

The Solution:  This section explains how your Gym will take advantage of the current problems in the market and will detail your innovative solutions.

Mission & Vision:  Your mission will explain in a couple of sentences your Gym’s business ethos. In other words, it will summarize your unique value proposition and will explain how you are different than the competition. Your vision will explain the long-term plans for your Gym concept. Are you planning to start with one branch today and expand to a multi-branch business model? Are you looking to transform your Gym business into a franchise model?…etc.

Business Model:  This section details your Gym concept using the business model canvas method. In a visually appealing table, we will detail your Gym’s key partners, activities, resources, value proposition, customer segments, customer relationship plan, marketing channels, cost structure and revenue streams.

Products & Services:  Next, we will talk in details about your various products and services. We will describe your gym membership options and the different fitness classes you offer (Aerobics, CrossFit, …etc.) We will also provide information about your pricing by type of service.

Market Analysis: This important section describes the various market statistics and consumer trends in the fitness industry and explains how they support your Gym project. The purpose of this section is to show that the market conditions are favorable for launching your new Gym concept.

Global Market Trends: In this sub-section of the market analysis, we will discuss the latest global market trends in the fitness services industry. We will look at the global industry size, growth rate, growth diving factors and consumer trends.

Local Market Trends:  This sub-section explains the local market trends that are relevant to your particular Gym business.

Target Customers:  In this section, we will describe your various customer profiles by providing information about their demographics, behavior and purchasing habits.

Competitive Analysis:  We will analyze key competitors active in your target market and provide insights about their strengths and weaknesses.

Competitive Advantages:  After looking at the competitive landscape, we will then show how your Gym business is differentiating itself from the competition through a number of key advantages.

SWOT Analysis:  This section features a 4-quadrant table with explanations about how your Gym intends to leverage its key strengths, mitigate weaknesses, capture opportunities and thwart any future threats.

Marketing Plan : This chapter provides detailed information about your go-to-market strategy.

Branding & Awareness:  We will describe in this sub-section your choice of key marketing channels to build branding and awareness.

Customer Acquisition:  We will describe in this sub-section your choice of key marketing channels to acquire customers and increase sales.

Operating Plan:  This chapter provides information about your Gym’s opening hours, internal processes and describes the interactions between various key departments and teams.

Management Team:  It is very important to present the key people behind your Gym project and thus we have dedicated a section for this very purpose. It is also important to talk here about the founder’s vision, his past education and professional experience.

Hiring Plan:  No business can succeed without having on board the right team. This section lists all the key positions you plan to hire with information about their salaries and expected start dates.

Key Milestones:  To be able to launch and execute your Gym project, you need to follow a set of actionable tasks with target deadlines. This section serves this purpose.

Financial Plan:  Without a robust financial plan, your Gym business plan would be an incomplete document. This important section provides crucial information about your pro-forma financial projections and shows that you have really done your homework. The data mentioned in this and the following sections will be provided by the Excel financial model accompanying your Gym business plan.

Projected Revenue:  This module shows your Gym’s revenue projections over the next three years.

Projected Profit and Loss:  This module shows your Gym’s income statement (also called profit and loss statement) over the next three years. Your income statement includes detailed projections about your sales and expenses and shows how your Gym’s revenue is converted into a net profit.

Projected Cash Flows:  This module shows your Gym’s cash flow projections over the next three years. The first year of operation is even detailed on a monthly basis. Your cash flow statement will detail the various cash inflows your Gym will generate from its day to day operations and from funding sources, as well as the various cash outflows required to pay for operating expenses and business investments.

Projected Balance Sheet : This module shows your Gym’s balance sheet projections over the next three years. The balance sheet will provide a summary of your Gym’s short term and long term assets in addition to your short term and long term liabilities and capital.

Profitability Analysis:  In this section, we will provide information about your gross margin, net margin and discuss the profitability of your Gym business.

Funding Requirement:  This module states the amount of funding your need to be able to comfortably launch your Gym business. It also describes the planned allocation of the funds between Opex and Capex.

Conclusion : Finally, we will conclude your business plan by recapitulating the key points that make your Gym project compelling and reiterate the rationale behind your business opportunity.

Why Use our Ready-Made Gym Business Plan?

  • Speed & Convenience: Once you complete your order, you will receive the Gym business plan directly in your mailbox. Since it is already pre-written with fully customizable financials, you will only need to spend a couple of hours to edit it and adapt it to your own Gym project.
  • High Quality: Your Gym business plan has been written by our professional team of business plan writers and experts from the Health and Fitness industry. You will receive a professional Gym business plan template ideal for presenting to potential investors or banks.
  • Low-Cost: Our pre-written Gym business plan template is the most cost-effective solution in case you need to build a solid and professional Gym business plan. We are confident you will save hundreds if not thousands of dollars by ordering our premium business plan compared to hiring a consultant or subscribing to complicated and expensive software.

If you have any question regarding our ready-made Gym business plan package,  do not hesitate to contact us , we are here to help.

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Indoor Cycling Studio Business Plan PDF Example

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  • February 19, 2024
  • Business Plan

the business plan template for an indoor cycling gym

Creating a comprehensive business plan is important for launching and running a successful indoor cycling studio. This plan serves as your roadmap, detailing your vision, operational strategies, and financial forecasts. It helps establish your gym’s identity, navigate the competitive market, and secure essential resources for growth.

This article not only breaks down the critical components of a gym business plan, but also provides an example of a business plan to help you craft your own.

Whether you’re an experienced entrepreneur or new to the fitness industry, we wrote this guide along with an PDF business plan to use as an example to help you prepare a professional business plan for your indoor cycling studio. Let’s dive in!

Our indoor cycling studio business plan follows a clear and straightforward structure, covering all the important areas you need in a business plan. It outlines the business operations, its strategy, the market landscape, your key competitors, the management and your financial projections among other things.

Below are the key sections of our business plan:

  • Executive Summary : a quick look at your indoor cycling studio’s business, market landscape, management and financial plan.
  • Facility, Amenities & Equipment : what your indoor cycling gym looks like, what equipment it has, and its features.
  • Location & Accessibility : where your indoor cycling studio is and why it’s a good location for potential customers.
  • Memberships & Classes : types of memberships and classes available (as well as prices)
  • Key Stats : the industry size, growth and some recent important statistics on the indoor cycling industry.
  • Key Trends : the recent market trends defining and driving the indoor cycling and/or the studio fitness industry as a whole (regulation, customers trends, etc.)
  • Key Competitors : who are your key competitors in the area and how they compare vs. your business.
  • SWOT : strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
  • Marketing Plan : how you intend to attract and retain members / customers.
  • Timeline : major steps and goals from starting up to growth (12 months minimum plan)
  • Management : who runs the indoor cycling studio and what they do.
  • Financial Plan : the expected 5-year financial performance of your indoor cycling studio (revenue and profits), as well as how much you expect to spend.

the business plan template for an indoor cycling gym

Indoor Cycling Gym Business Plan

Download an expert-built 30+ slides Powerpoint business plan template

Executive Summary

The Executive Summary introduces your indoor cycling studio’s business plan, offering a brief look at your studio and what it offers. It should cover your positioning, the type of classes and memberships you offer, its location, size and a summary of operations.

This section should also highlight how your indoor cycling studio fits into the broader immediate market (in the area), how many direct competitors you have and who they are, as well as your unique selling points.

Finally, you should also include here details on the management and co-founding team (who they are and what they do), as well as a summary of your financial projections (5-year revenue and profits are enough).

Make sure to cover here _ Business Overview _ Market Overview _ Management Team _ Financial Plan

business plan indoor cycling exec summary

Dive deeper into Executive Summary

Business Overview

For an Indoor Cycling Studio, the Business Overview in your plan covers 3 main areas briefly:

Facility, Amenities & Equipment: Outline your studio’s layout and the high-quality cycling equipment you offer. Mention any extra features like showers or social areas, focusing on creating an engaging and comfortable environment for members.

Location & Accessibility: Describe the studio’s location, emphasizing convenience and ease of access for your target demographic. Highlight how the location supports easy commutes and fits into the community.

Memberships & Classes : Discuss the variety of classes and membership options available, catering to different schedules and fitness levels. Highlight unique offerings that distinguish your studio from competitors, ensuring flexibility and inclusivity for all members.

Make sure to cover here _ Facility, Amenities & Equipment _ Location & Accessibility _ Memberships & Classes

business plan indoor cycling business overview

Market Overview

In the Market Overview of your indoor cycling studio business plan, begin by evaluating the current size of the indoor cycling market and its prospects for growth. This assessment will give you a clear picture of the potential customer base and market expansion opportunities.

Following this, delve into the recent trends within the market, such as an increasing emphasis on immersive fitness experiences and the popularity of indoor cycling for cardiovascular health and weight management. For example, mention the rise in demand for classes that combine high-energy music with engaging visual elements to enhance the workout experience.

Finally, address the competitive landscape, which encompasses other cycling studios, multifaceted gyms, and at-home cycling options. For example, explain how your studio differentiates itself through unique class offerings, state-of-the-art equipment, or a strong sense of community among members. This comprehensive overview will illustrate the demand for indoor cycling, the competitive context, and your studio’s distinctive position in the marketplace.

Make sure to cover here _ Industry size & growth _ Key competitors _ Key market trends

business plan indoor cycling market overview

Dive deeper into Key competitors

First, perform a SWOT analysis to identify the indoor cycling studio’s Strengths (such as state-of-the-art cycling equipment or a central location), Weaknesses (like high startup and operational costs or substantial competition), Opportunities (for example, a surge in interest for indoor cycling within the community), and Threats (such as potential economic downturns impacting customer spending).

Next, devise a marketing strategy that details ways to attract and keep members through targeted advertising, attractive promotions, active social media presence, and participation in local events.

Lastly, set a detailed timeline identifying important milestones for the indoor cycling studio’s launch, marketing activities, increase in membership, and goals for scaling up. This approach ensures that the business moves forward with clarity and strategic focus.

Make sure to cover here _ SWOT _ Marketing Plan _ Timeline

business plan indoor cycling strategy

Dive deeper into SWOT

Dive deeper into Marketing Plan

The Management section focuses on the gym’s management and their direct roles in daily operations and strategic direction. This part is crucial for understanding who is responsible for making key decisions and driving the gym towards its financial and operational goals.

For your Indoor Cycling Studio business plan, list the core team members, their specific responsibilities, and how their expertise supports the gym’s mission.

business plan indoor cycling management

Financial Plan

The Financial Plan section is a comprehensive analysis of the Indoor Cycling Studio’s financial plan, including projections for revenue, expenses, and profitability. It lays out the gym’s approach to securing funding, managing cash flow, and achieving breakeven.

This section typically includes detailed forecasts for the first 5 years of operation, highlighting expected revenue, operating costs and capital expenditures.

For your gym business plan, provide a snapshot of your financial statement (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow statement), as well as your key assumptions (e.g. pricing strategies for memberships and services, etc.).

Make sure to cover here _ Profit and Loss _ Cash Flow Statement _ Balance Sheet _ Use of Funds

business plan indoor cycling financial plan

Privacy Overview

I'm a HENRY financial planner who makes $125,000. Here's how I manage my money — and the mistakes I see others making.

  • Georgia Lord, a HENRY and financial planner, earns a salary of $125,000 but doesn't feel wealthy.
  • Lord's financial goals include early retirement, travel, a wedding, and a larger NYC apartment.
  • She warns HENRYs against investing without knowledge and recommends financial planning for everyone.

Insider Today

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Georgia Lord, a 27-year-old certified financial planner and HENRY in New York City. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I studied finance and started my career in Brisbane, Australia.

When I was 22, I moved to New York to join Morningstar in the credit ratings division. I pivoted to financial planning for a Canadian Fintech called Wealthsimple a year later.

I discovered that I love financial planning and working one-on-one with clients. Last year, I got my certified financial planning license .

I now make a comfortable living, but I consider myself a HENRY and have a way to go before I hit my goals.

I make 6 figures but don't feel wealthy

I earn a base salary of $125,000 and manage to live in New York City by being frugal. I love a bargain or a sale. I save for certain things I want, and I'm good at it because it's my job. I'd feel like a hypocrite if I didn't do what I told others to do.

I save on my Broadway tickets by entering into the lottery. I splurge on some things — I spend around $600 monthly on dining out. I also travel a lot, so I automate a certain amount of money every month for travel.

I lived with roommates for four years, and I've lived with my boyfriend for the last year. We split the rent more favorably to me since he makes quite a lot more, so I contribute $1,500 per month. That's also been helpful for managing my finances.

I have a few financial goals

One of my financial goals is to save up for the professional designations available in my field since they can be expensive.

I want to retire early , and I want to keep prioritizing saving for travel and visiting my home in Australia, which is not cheap.

I'm also saving for a wedding and improving cash flow to move into a larger apartment.

To reach my savings goals, I automate at least 20% of my paycheck every two weeks and deposit it in a high-yield savings account . I use Wealthfront but also like Ally, CapitalOne360, and Betterment. I preach that to all of my clients who are HENRYs : Automate your savings for big goals.

There's not a number in mind that I'm looking to reach to feel rich, but I will feel successful if I can achieve my goals without sacrificing my lifestyle in the process. Being in a great financial position today and in the future is what I consider rich.

I see HENRYs making one big mistake

Because the market did well in 2023 , I've noticed HENRYs (both in my personal life and those I see as clients) wanting to throw money into it without thinking about how they will fund other goals, like a down payment for a house.

Not only is it harder to access funds once they're invested, but there can also be financial benefits to other strategies. For example, some stock market returns might've been 3% last year, but some high-yield savings accounts have a return of 4.5%.

I still invest in the market, but I do so strategically. I have a 401(k) , Roth IRA , Traditional IRA , brokerage account with Betterment, and a brokerage account in Australia. I mostly invest in ETFs — I'm not a stock picker and love the diversity that ETFs provide.

It can be difficult to figure out how to divide your money and where to put it, so I recommend HENRYs work with a financial planner . We're not just for the rich — I've worked with clients in many different financial situations, and all can benefit.

Even if you're not ready for a financial planner, take the time to think through what your goals are and what you want to spend your money on. That's just as important as putting $100 into the stock market every week.

gym business financial plan

Watch: A financial planner reveals an important money lesson young people can learn from the rich

gym business financial plan

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US is imposing more than 500 new sanctions on Russia’s war machine, indicts Russian businessmen

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to VTB Bank Chairman Andrei Kostin during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, July 11, 2023. The Justice Department announced Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, a series of arrests and indictments against Russian businessmen and their facilitators in five separate federal cases meant to send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Among those targeted are sanctioned Russian banker Kostin and two of his U.S.-based facilitators. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to VTB Bank Chairman Andrei Kostin during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, July 11, 2023. The Justice Department announced Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, a series of arrests and indictments against Russian businessmen and their facilitators in five separate federal cases meant to send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Among those targeted are sanctioned Russian banker Kostin and two of his U.S.-based facilitators. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department plans to impose more than 500 new sanctions on Russia and its war machine on Friday as the U.S. vows to keep up its financial pressure on Moscow with the war entering its third grueling year.

The sanctions represent the largest single tranche of penalties since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. They come on the heels of a series of new arrests and indictments announced by the Justice Department on Thursday that target Russian businessmen, including the head of Russia’s second-largest bank, and their middlemen in five separate federal cases.

The Biden administration is seeking to demonstrate its unwavering support for Ukraine, even though Republican lawmakers allied with former President Donald Trump are blocking vital additional U.S. military aid.

The White House had promised major sanctions in response to the death last week of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in an Arctic penal colony. Biden said Thursday after meeting with Navalny’s wife and daughter that the sanctions would be “against Putin, who is responsible for his death.”

FILE - A flower and a picture are left as a tribute to Russian politician Alexei Navalny, near to the Russian Embassy in London, Feb. 18, 2024. The U.S. government is hitting Russia with the largest tranche of financial penalties imposed on Moscow since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. They target roughly 600 people and firms from Russia to China to the United Arab Emirates. The sanctions are timed to the second anniversary of the invasion, and in response to the death of Navalny. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

The planned sanctions were previewed by two administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity before their release on Friday. Additional sanctions are expected from the State Department as well.

Thousands of sanctions have already been imposed on Russian officials, businessmen, banks, companies and entire industries since the start of the war.

Out of the Justice Department, the cases announced Thursday include charges unsealed in New York against sanctioned Russian banker Andrei Kostin and “two of his U.S.-based facilitators.” The facilitators, Vadim Wolfson and Gannon Bond, were arrested Thursday.

Kostin, the longtime president of state-owned VTB Bank, is charged with engaging in a scheme to evade sanctions and launder money to support two superyachts. He, along with the two others, is also accused of trying to evade sanctions by concealing his ownership of a home in Aspen, Colorado. The indictment says Wolfson and Bond arranged to sell the house and provide Kostin with about $12 million from the sale.

Michael Khoo, a co-director of the department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, said on a call with reporters that the announcement was meant to send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that “we’re not going away” and “we can play the long game as well” so long as the war continues.

The KleptoCapture task force enforces the economic restrictions within the U.S. imposed on Russia and its billionaires.

The Justice Department says over the past two years it has secured court orders for the restraint, seizure, and forfeiture of nearly $700 million in assets and has charged more than 70 people with violating sanctions and export controls.

The United States has been able to transfer more than $5 million of seized Russian assets to Europe in support of Ukraine’s defense, U.S. officials said Thursday. But the process of justifying each confiscation of alleged illicit assets in court is a painstaking one by law, playing out over years.

“The Justice Department is more committed than ever to cutting off the flow of illegal funds that are fueling Putin’s war and to holding accountable those who continue to enable it,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.

The U.S. and other allies of Ukraine had hoped to cripple and isolate Russia’s economy with a succession of sanctions targeting its financial sector and sources of revenue, including oil sales. But Putin has worked with Iran and others to blunt the impact of the international sanctions, so that the International Monetary Fund reports Russia’s economy growing at an unexpectedly healthy pace.

Also Thursday, an indictment was unsealed in Washington, D.C., charging Vladislav Osipov with bank fraud connected to operating a 255-foot luxury yacht owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg . Osipov, a Russian national, lives in Switzerland. The State Department has offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

The indictment identifies the superyacht as the Tango, the first belonging to a sanctioned Russian with close ties to the Kremlin to be seized at the request of the U.S. government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In Florida, Serhiy Kurchenko, a sanctioned pro-Russian Ukrainian metals magnate, was indicted for trying to evade sanctions that prevent him from doing business in the United States. He and Kostin are believed to be in Moscow and thus unlikely to face U.S. justice.

Also in Florida, a civil forfeiture complaint was filed against two luxury condos in Bal Harbour owned by sanctioned Russian businessman Viktor Perevalov, the co-owner of a Russia-based construction company that was sanctioned for building a highway in Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula that Russia seized in 2014.

And in Georgia, Feliks Medvedev pleaded guilty earlier this month to helping launder over $150 million on behalf of Russian clients through bank accounts he controls. Medvedev, a Russian citizen, lives in Buford, Georgia.

AP Writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

FATIMA HUSSEIN

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How Fast Should Your Company Really Grow?

  • Gary P. Pisano

gym business financial plan

Growth—in revenues and profits—is the yardstick by which the competitive fitness and health of organizations is measured. Consistent profitable growth is thus a near universal goal for leaders—and an elusive one.

To achieve that goal, companies need a growth strategy that encompasses three related sets of decisions: how fast to grow, where to seek new sources of demand, and how to develop the financial, human, and organizational capabilities needed to grow. This article offers a framework for examining the critical interdependencies of those decisions in the context of a company’s overall business strategy, its capabilities and culture, and external market dynamics.

Why leaders should take a strategic perspective

Idea in Brief

The problem.

Sustained profitable growth is a nearly universal corporate goal, but it is an elusive one. Empirical research suggests that when inflation is taken into account, most companies barely grow at all.

While external factors play a role, most companies’ growth problems are self-inflicted: Too many firms approach growth in a highly reactive, opportunistic manner.

The Solution

To grow profitably over the long term, companies need a strategy that addresses three key decisions: how fast to grow (rate of growth); where to seek new sources of demand (direction of growth); and how to amass the resources needed to grow (method of growth).

Perhaps no issue attracts more senior leadership attention than growth does. And for good reason. Growth—in revenues and profits—is the yardstick by which we tend to measure the competitive fitness and health of companies and determine the quality and compensation of its management. Analysts, investors, and boards pepper CEOs about growth prospects to get insight into stock prices. Employees are attracted to faster-growing companies because they offer better opportunities for advancement, higher pay, and greater job security. Suppliers prefer faster-growing customers because working with them improves their own growth prospects. Given the choice, most companies and their stakeholders would choose faster growth over slower growth.

Five elements can move you beyond episodic success.

  • Gary P. Pisano is the Harry E. Figgie Jr. Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the author of Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation (PublicAffairs, 2019).

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3. Writings On Education From Introduction To Tolstoy's Writings by Ernest J Simmons (1968)

After Tolstoy's speech at the Moscow Society of Lovers of Russian Literature in 1859, the president of that organization, devoted to popular views of the immediate social significance of literature, coldly reminded him that, however eternal truth and beauty may be in art, the artist is a man of his own times, and that the present historical moment was one in which self-indictment acquired a special meaning and an indefeasible right and hence must manifest itself in literature.

The time would come when Tolstoy's own views on literature for the people would radically change, but at the moment he had reached a point of despair and thought of abandoning literature forever. To scribble stories was stupid and shameful, he told A. A. Fet in a burst of enthusiastic confidence when he learned that this poet was thinking of settling on an estate near him and subordinating literature to farming. Literary friends, learning of his intention to plunge into educational theory and start a school at Yasnaya Polyana, pleaded with him not to deprive Russia of his literary leadership. He answered that his new endeavours bore a direct connection with his retreat from literature. For whom did Russian authors write, he asked? For themselves and the cultured few. For masses of illiterate Russian peasants literature was useless. If they could not read his writings, then he would teach them. This, he declared, was the first and essential step toward the creation of a "literature for the people." Here was a purpose that would satisfy his thirst for activity and moral influence.

When Tolstoy opened his school in the autumn of 1859 in a single room of his large manor house at Yasnaya Polyana, free education for peasant children did not exist in Russia. Occasionally, a village would boast of a priest or an ex-soldier who taught a few children at so much per head. The subjects were elementary, the method a mixture of blows and learning by heart, and the results negligible. This situation Tolstoy wished to remedy by substituting public education based on entirely original pedagogical methods.

With half a year of highly successful teaching behind him, it was almost inevitable that Tolstoy should find himself bedevilled in a maze of speculation on pedagogy and obsessed with schemes for improving national education. In March, 1860, he wrote to a friend, E. P. Kovalevsky, brother of the Minister of National Education, of his efforts and mentioned that he already had fifty students and that the number was growing.

"Wisdom in all worldly affairs it seems to me," he continued, "consists not in recognizing what must be done but in knowing what to do first and then what comes after."

He boldly questioned the value to progress in Russia of roads, the telegraph, literature, and the arts, as long as only about one per cent of some seventy millions of people were literate. As a remedy he proposed the establishment of a Society of National Education. Among its duties would be setting up public schools where they were most needed, designing courses of instruction, training teachers in suitable educational methods, and publishing a journal devoted to the dissemination of the society's pedagogical ideals.

Tolstoy received no official encouragement for his proposed program, but from the evidence of fragments of pedagogical essays at this time it is obvious that he had begun to think out his own course of instruction. In one fragment, entitled " On the Problems of Pedagogy ," he wrote:

"For every living condition of development, there is a pedagogical expediency, and to search this out is the problem of pedagogy."

Aware that he was trying, without sufficient knowledge, to handle large abstract concepts of educational theory, which in Russia were entirely dominated by Western European influence, he went abroad in 1860 to study them at the source. A full account of this effort reveals how thoroughly he pursued his objective. He visited schools and participated in classroom work in Germany, France, and England; he talked with teachers and leading educational theorists in these countries; and he collected and studied quantities of textbook samples and read numerous foreign treatises on education. After visiting schools at Kissingen, he jotted down in his diary:

"It is terrible! Prayers for the king; blows; everything by rote; terrified, beaten children."

Another entry shortly after:

"The idea of experimental pedagogy agitates me. I can scarcely contain myself...."

And in still a third entry, after reading Montaigne, he wrote:

"In education, once more, the chief things are equality and freedom."

Julius Froebel, nephew of Friedrich Froebel the celebrated educational reformer and founder of the kindergarten system, has left an interesting account of his discussion with Tolstoy:

" 'Progress in Russia,' he told me, 'must come out of public education, which among us will give better results than in Germany, because the Russian masses are not yet spoiled by false education."'

Tolstoy went on to inform him of his own school in which learning was in no sense obligatory.

"'If education is good,' he said, 'then the need for it will manifest itself like hunger."'

And Froebel also relates that Tolstoy spoke of the Russian masses as a "mysterious and irrational force," from which one day would emerge an entirely new organization of the world, and said that from the Russian artel would develop in the future a communistic structure.

This report reflects the proud, dogmatic, almost arrogant attitude that Tolstoy adopted toward European personalities he met on this educational study trip. While sincerely seeking knowledge, he invariably made it clear that he belonged to no school of thought, had his own point of view on most questions, and that Europeans did not understand the real failings of their civilization.

From his visits to the schools of Marseille, Tolstoy took away a gloomy impression of the futility of the subjects taught and the lifeless, unimaginative methods of teaching them. On the other hand, when he talked with workers and children on the streets, he found them intelligent, free-thinking, and surprisingly well informed, but with no thanks to their schooling.

This situation led him to conclude in a later account of these experiences, in an article entitled " On National Education ":

"Here is an unconscious school undermining a compulsory school and making its contents almost of no worth.... What I saw in Marseille and in all other countries amounts to this: everywhere the principal part in educating a people is played not by schools, but by life."

This is the kind of characteristic half-truth that Tolstoy was fond of deducing from incomplete experience, and it became an important factor in his educational theorizing. But even half-truths that blasted away the hard shell of traditional and erroneous thinking on vital social problems had their value for him.

Tolstoy returned to Russia in the spring of 1861. He erected a three-room schoolhouse at Yasnaya Polyana, and, with several teachers employed to assist him in the instruction, he worked for the next year and a half with self-sacrificing zeal on theoretical and practical problems of education. He expounded his theories and described his practice in twelve extensive articles and a series of notes published in a magazine he founded called Yasnaya Polyana, the issues of which appeared between February, 1862, and March, 1863. Teachers and students also contributed to the magazine. Much of what follows here is based upon Tolstoy's articles, which for that time were quite original in substance but often weakened by perverse and exasperatingly dogmatic reasoning. Though truth was his sole aim, he occasionally forgot that his sweeping generalizations were based on limited experience with his own little school and on the efforts of unique students and a unique teacher. A persistent scepticism was the trade secret of his thinking in educational matters as in other fields of human endeavour.

Over the door of the school Tolstoy placed the inscription: " Enter and Leave Freely ." Perhaps he was thinking, by way of contrast, of Dante's inscription over hell: " Abandon Hope, All Ye who Enter Here ," which he would hardly have hesitated to place above the entrance to most European schools he had visited. Certainly the atmosphere of his own school convinced the children that education was a precious and joyous heritage.

Tolstoy believed that all education should be free and voluntary. He supported the desire of the masses for education, but he denied that the government or any other authority had the right to force it upon them. The logic of things, and his study of the operation of compulsory education abroad, convinced him that in this form it was an evil. Pupils should come to learn of their own accord, for if education were a good, it would be found as necessary as the air they breathed. If people were antagonistic, then the will of the people should become the guiding factor. Tolstoy's faith in the " will of the people ," even though the people might oppose commonly accepted notions of progress, contained the seeds of his later anarchism, and was a direct slap at radical reformers who would uplift the masses against their will.

Tolstoy also believed that education should answer the needs of the masses, but his conception of their needs had nothing in common with that of contemporary progressive thinkers. Nor did he have any patience with the widespread pedagogical conviction that education should mould the character and improve the morals of students. These were matters for family influence, he declared, and the teacher had no right to introduce his personal moral standards or social convictions into the sanctity of the home. In public education he was concerned primarily with peasants, the vast majority of the population. But he was not bent on elevating them above their class by the power of education (a definite evil in his eyes); he was concerned with making them better, more successful, and happier peasants.

In this context the individualistic direction of Tolstoy's thought was apparent. The assumption of civilization's progress in Macaulay, Buckle, and especially in Hegel, he firmly rejected. For some time opposition between the good of the individual and the good of society had been troubling him. He was already developing a philosophy hostile to the pragmatic ideal that progress could be achieved only by social education of the people through the medium of democracy. Progress was personal, he felt, and not social. Education must serve the individual and not society, for the individual's capacity to serve humanity was what gave meaning to life. Yet he did not appear to see the contradiction in his rejection of the whole modern concept of progress. He would teach the peasant child what he needed, but what he needed was often conditioned by the social system in which he lived.

In his article " On National Education " Tolstoy defined education as "a human activity based on desire for equality and a constant tendency or urge to advance in knowledge." Education, he asserted, was history and therefore had no final aim. Its only method was experience; its only criterion, freedom.

Tolstoy attempted to realize in practice even the more extreme aspects of his educational philosophy. Since he believed that the functioning of a school must be adapted to the peculiar conditions of the pupils, he conceded that his own village school might well be the worst possible model for those elsewhere. Attendance was non-compulsory and free to all. Classes ordinarily ran from eight o'clock to noon and then from three o'clock to six, but, as Tolstoy proudly wrote a friend, the students often continued an hour or more beyond closing time,

"because it is impossible to send the children away — they beg for more."

During the morning, elementary and advanced reading were taught, composition, penmanship, grammar, sacred history, Russian history, drawing, music, mathematics, natural sciences, and religion; in the afternoon there were experiments in physical sciences and lessons in singing, reading, and composition. No consistent order was followed, however, and lessons were lengthened or omitted according to the degree of interest manifested by the students. On Sundays the teachers met to talk over the work and lay out plans for the following week. But there was no obligation to adhere to any plan, and each teacher was placed entirely upon his own. For a time they kept a common diary in which were set down with merciless frankness their failures as well as their successes.

Originality was the guiding spirit. Freedom ruled, but never to the extent of anarchy. When Tolstoy purposely left the room in the middle of a lesson to test the behaviour of his students, they did not break into an uproar as he had observed was the case in similar circumstances in classrooms he visited abroad. When he left, the students were enjoying complete freedom, and hence they behaved as though he were still in the room. They corrected or praised each other's work, and some-times they grew entirely quiet. Such results, he explained, were natural in a school where the pupils were not obliged to attend, to remain, or to pay attention.

Tolstoy insisted that only in the absence of force and compulsion could natural relations be maintained between teacher and pupils. The teacher defined the limits of freedom in the classroom by his knowledge and capacity to manage. And the pupils, Tolstoy wrote, should be treated as reasoning and reasonable beings; only then would they find out that order was essential and that self-government was necessary to preserve it. If pupils were really interested in what was being taught, he declared, disorder would rarely occur, and when it did, the interested students would compel the disorderly ones to pay attention.

The successful functioning of such a school demanded unusual ability on the part of the teacher. Tolstoy admitted this, and justly claimed for himself a certain pedagogic tact. Always in his mind was the pupil's convenience in learning and not the teacher's in teaching. He argued that there was no best method in teaching a subject; the best method was that which the teacher happened to know best. That method was good which when introduced did not necessitate an increase of discipline, and that which required greater severity was bad. The method should develop out of the exigencies of a given problem in teaching, and it should please the pupils instead of the teacher. In short, teaching, according to Tolstoy, could not be described as a method; it was a talent, an art. Finality and perfection were never achieved in it; development and perfecting continued endlessly.

In this free atmosphere of student-dominated learning, certain traditional subjects were resisted in a manner that led Tolstoy to doubt their ultimate usefulness and to question the desirability of teaching them to youngsters. Grammar was such a subject. Although his emphasis in instruction favoured analysis, the kind involved in grammar put the students to sleep. To write correctly and to correct mistakes made by others gave his pupils pleasure, but this was only true when the process was unrelated to grammar. After much experimentation with teaching the subject, he concluded in an article in Yasnaya Polyana that

"grammar comes of itself as a mental and not unprofitable gymnastic exercise, and language — to write with skill and to read and understand — also comes of itself."

In the pages of his educational magazine, Tolstoy provides vivid accounts, filled with all the charm of his realistic art, of daily life at the school. On a cold winter morning the bell would ring. Children would run out into the village street. There was no lagging on the way, no urge to play the truant. Each child was eager to get there first. The pupils carried nothing in their hands, no homework books or exercises. They had not been obliged to remember any lesson. They brought only themselves, their receptive natures, and the certainty that it would be as jolly in school that day as it had been the day before.

At the end of a lesson Tolstoy would announce that it was time to eat and play, and, challenging them to race him out-doors, he would leap downstairs, three or four steps at a time, followed by a pack of screaming laughing children. Then he would face them in the snow and they would clamber over his back, desperately striving to pull him down. He was more like an older brother to them and they responded to his efforts with devotion and tireless interest. Their close, even tender, relations are touchingly reflected in one of the magazine articles. He describes how, after school, he accompanies several of the pupils home on a moonless winter night by a roundabout way through the woods, entertaining them with tales of Caucasian robbers and brave Cossacks. The youngest, a ten-year-old boy, furtively clasps two of his teacher's fingers during the most fearful part of a story. At the end of the narration, by one of those quick transitions of children, an older pupil suddenly asks why do they have to learn singing at school? "What is drawing for?" Tolstoy rhetorically asks, puzzled for the moment about how to explain the usefulness of art. "Yes, why draw figures?" - another queries. "What is a lime tree for?" a third asks. At once all begin to speculate on these questions, and the fact emerges that not everything exists for use, that there is also beauty, and that art is beauty

"It feels strange to repeat what we said then," Tolstoy writes, "but it seems to me that we said all that can be said about utility, and plastic and moral beauty."

The ten-year-old was the last of the group to be delivered to his home. He still clung to Tolstoy's hand, out of gratitude it seemed, and as he entered the miserable thatched hut of his poverty-stricken parents, in which his father and the drunken village tailor were gambling, the lad said pathetically:

"Good-by! Let us always have talks like this!"

Tolstoy ended this account in his article by meditating on the age-old question of the moral and practical utility of educating the masses. The cultured, he wrote, would remonstrate: Why give these poor peasant children the knowledge that will make them dissatisfied with their class and their lot in life? But such a peasant boy, concluded Tolstoy, addressing the upper class,

"needs what your life of ten generations unoppressed by labor has brought to you. You had the leisure to search, to think, to suffer — then give him that for which you suffered; this is what he needs. You, like the Egyptian priest, conceal yourself from him by a mysterious cloak, you bury in the earth the talent given to you by history. Do not fear: nothing human is harmful to man. Do you doubt yourself? Surrender to the feeling and it will not deceive you. Trust in his [the peasant boy's] nature, and you will be convinced that he will take only that which history commanded you to give him, that which you have earned by suffering."

The question of art and its relation to his young peasant pupils interested Tolstoy. With his customary freshness, attention to detail, and marvellous power of direct vision he discussed the subject in one of his most remarkable articles, " Who Should Teach Whom to Write, We the Peasant Children or the Peasant Children Us ?" It was inspired by an exciting experience in composition in his school. Themes on the usual subjects, such as descriptions of a forest, a pig, or a table, drove the children to tears. Tolstoy then suggested that they write a story on peasant life, to illustrate a proverb. The pupils found this difficult too, but one boy proposed that Tolstoy write the story himself, in competition with them. He composed several pages and then was interrupted by Fedka, who climbed on the back of his chair and read over his shoulder. Tolstoy explained the plot of the story and the boys immediately became interested. They criticized what had been done and suggested different ways of continuing. Fedka took the leading part in this discussion and surprised Tolstoy by his imagination and sense of proportion, important qualities in every art. Tolstoy set to work to write to the dictation of his pupils Syomka and Fedka, who angrily rejected superfluous details offered by others and eventually took command of the situation. The rest of the boys went home.

Tolstoy described how he and his two pupils worked feverishly from seven in the evening till eleven. Neither hunger nor weariness bothered them. In his account of their collective effort, he gave a number of convincing examples of the artistic rightness and fitness of details, descriptions, and selection that the boys argued and insisted upon. They drew from their experience of village life and characters; and they were nearly always right. Tolstoy was tremendously excited and admitted that he had felt such a strong emotion only two or three times in his life. He was amazed at his discovery of such artistic and creative powers in two peasant lads who could scarcely read or write, and it seemed almost offensive that he, a nationally known author, was virtually unable to instruct these eleven-year-old pupils in his art.

The next day, and still a third day, they continued the story with equal enthusiasm. Then the work was interrupted because Tolstoy had to go away for a few days. During his absence a craze for making popguns out of paper swept the school and the unfinished manuscript of the story was unwittingly sacrificed to this childish diversion. When Tolstoy discovered the loss upon his return, he was deeply chagrined. Fedka and Syomka, aware of his keen disappointment, offered to reproduce the tale themselves. They came after school one evening at nine o'clock and locked themselves in his study. Tolstoy listened at the door and heard them laughing. Then all grew quiet, except for subdued voices discussing the story, and the scratching of a pen. At midnight he knocked and was admitted. Fedka still had a few more sentences to dictate to Syomka, who stood at the large table busily writing, his lines running crookedly across the paper and his pen constantly stabbing at the inkpot. At last Tolstoy took the copybook. After a merry supper of potatoes and kvas, the boys lay down on their sheepskin coats under the writing table, and until sleep over-took them, their healthy, childish laughter rang through the room.

Tolstoy read the story over and found it very similar to the original draft. Some new details had been added, but the tale contained the same truth, measure, and feeling for beauty of the first version. Under the title of the Russian proverb, " The Spoon Feeds, but the Handle Sticks in the Eye ," he printed it, with very few changes, in his pedagogical magazine.

From this unusual experiment in composition Tolstoy drew some interesting conclusions. He declared that nearly all contemporary art was intended for people of leisure and artificial training and was therefore useless to the masses, whose demand for art was more legitimate. He dismissed with some vexation the stale notion that in order to understand and appreciate the beautiful a certain amount of preparation was necessary.

"Who said this?" he asked in his magazine account of the writing of the story. "Why? What proves it? It is only a dodge, a loophole to escape from the hopeless position to which the false direction of our art, produced for one class alone, has led us. Why are the beauty of the sun, of the human face, the beauty of the sounds of a folk song, and of deeds of love and self-sacrifice accessible to everyone, and why do they demand no preparation? "

Tolstoy's position was no doubt extreme, and there was also considerable exaggeration in his unqualified praise of the literary ability of his pupils, who were unquestionably inspired by his own artistic interests. Yet such schoolboy efforts helped to teach him the fundamental truth that the need to enjoy and serve art was inherent in every human being, and that this need had its right and should be satisfied.

Although the Society for National Education that Tolstoy projected found no support among government officials, his school was not without its influence. After the emancipation of the serfs, the government encouraged them to open their own schools. Peasants in the Tula district, where Yasnaya Polyana was situated, appealed to Tolstoy for teachers, and he willingly suggested a number. By 1862 there were no less than thirteen village schools in his area, and their teachers were all zealous disciples of Tolstoy's pedagogical approach. They caught from him a devotion and enthusiasm in what was essentially a pioneering venture. Living like peasants in the dirty, stuffy huts where they held their classes, and using tables for blackboards, they worked from seven in the morning until late at night. At first, like Tolstoy, they had to overcome the ignorant suspicions of peasant fathers and mothers who distrusted these newfangled methods of teaching and were alarmed because their children were not regularly beaten by the masters. But the fact that they were entirely free to send them to school or take them out overcame resistance. Finally, the happiness of the youngsters and their obvious progress in so short a time eventually won the parent's complete confidence in the system.

In a brief note " To the Public " that introduced his pedagogical magazine, Tolstoy eagerly invited criticism. Much of it was hostile and unconstructive, and particularly that which came from progressive thinkers of the time. He was called a " pedagogical nihilist " and his experiment was castigated as a complete overthrow of educational order and discipline. In a few periodicals, however, several teachers, weary of slavish Russian devotion to foreign models in pedagogy, bravely encouraged the less extreme aspects of his school. But, in general, his efforts failed to inspire enthusiastic acceptance among educators. His principle of freedom for both teachers and pupils was too radical a demand for even the most progressive theorists.

Worse still, in the eyes of critics, was Tolstoy's conviction that his educational ideas amounted to a revolt against established opinion in the name of healthy common sense. More-over, he scorned scientific exposition in his articles and used the simple and forceful prose of which he was a master. If he had elected to write treatises on experimental pedagogy in the accepted trade jargon, buttressed with elaborate footnotes and well-chosen citations from approved authorities, he would doubtless have gained a hearing, even if an unfavourable one.

As a matter of fact, certain government officials regarded Tolstoy's activities in education with dark suspicion. In October, 1862, the Minister of the Interior wrote to the Minister of National Education to complain about the harmful aspects of the pedagogical magazine. He pointed out that its general direction and spirit perverted the fundamental values of religion and morality, and he suggested that the censor's attention should be specifically directed toward correcting the situation.

In part, the fears of the Minister of the Interior were correct: Tolstoy's educational articles did call into question the whole contemporary concept of morality. His extremely radical position represented a danger not only to the whole foundation of educational practice, but to the authority of the State. The freedom that he advocated seemed to verge on rebellion, and children educated in this spirit would hardly grow up with proper reverence for those institutions of tsarist government that had been infested by corruption and oppression. His educational philosophy would place the human worth and well-being of the individual above the well-being of the State. In short, the spirit of Christian anarchy that Tolstoy was later to preach so openly and eloquently had already crept into his thinking. For in his educational articles he condemned the false morality of government and society, their despotism, the use of force, and the belief in the legality of punishment. And he frankly stated his belief that the masses could exist without the educated classes, and hence without government, but that the educated classes could not exist without the masses.

Because of his marriage, various discouragements, and a suddenly renewed interest in fiction writing, Tolstoy abandoned his school and the pedagogical magazine at the end of 1862. But his concern for the education of the young, which soon revived when his own children came along, remained with him for the rest of his life, as frequent references to it in letters and in his diary indicate. For example, in 1872 he published his first ABC Book, in which, he said, he had put more work and love than in anything else he had done. It contained a complete curriculum for beginning pupils. There are sections on reading and writing, with drawings, exercises, and various typographical devices to aid in spelling and pronunciation; there are also sections on natural sciences and arithmetic. He realized the importance of effective examples and exercises, and his selections are original and often reveal rare artistic taste. The frame of reference is restricted by the limitations of the students and their daily lives.

"From the natural sciences," he wrote a friend, "I did not choose what may be found in books or anything that I by chance knew or what appeared to me necessary to know, but only that which was clear and beautiful, and when it seemed to me insufficiently clear and beautiful, I tried to express it in my own way."

Several of the stories used as examples in the ABC Book are entirely Tolstoy's own; others are drawn from various folk sources.

The ABC Book, based upon pedagogical theories that Tolstoy had developed and put into practice in his village school was designed, as he said, for the teacher who loved both his calling and his pupils. The work firmly eschews useless or erudite knowledge, or facts beyond the comprehension or experience of beginners. For the chief significance of teaching, he maintained, was not in the assimilation of a known quantity of information, but in awakening in students an interest in knowledge.

Tolstoy was sadly disappointed at the reception of the ABC Book, in which he had deliberately tried to avoid extremes in his theorizing. However, the innovations infuriated pedagogues, and a deluge of sharp, even vicious, reviews resulted. The reviewers charged that the work was an attack on accepted methods of instruction, that he had opposed to a pedagogical system of reason one of faith, to a system of science one of instinct and imagination, and to a system of conviction and ideas one of moral principles. Stubbornly he turned once again to teaching peasant children in his district, in order to demonstrate the methods he advocated in his ABC Book.

In 1873 an invitation from the Moscow Committee on Literacy to explain his educational system to them again aroused Tolstoy's conviction that he had a national public service to perform in education. One result of the meeting was a request to test his ideas on teaching, in several subjects, against the conventional methods employed in the schools. Two groups of Moscow children of similar ages and social backgrounds were provided. One of Tolstoy's experienced Yasnaya Polyana teachers instructed a group, and a teacher designated by the Moscow Committee on Literacy the other. At the conclusion of seven weeks of teaching, six members of the committee examined both groups of students. Although there was no unanimity among the examiners, a majority decided that the pupils taught by Tolstoy's opponent had excelled in all three subjects — reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Tolstoy felt that the test had failed to prove anything because it had been conducted under the worst possible conditions. And he submitted the article previously mentioned, " On National Education ," to the popular magazine, ' Notes of the Fatherland '. It is in the form of a letter addressed to the head of the Moscow Committee on Literacy. The article (September, 1874) is largely a reaffirmation of the views Tolstoy expressed in the pages of his own pedagogical magazine twelve years before. With ruthless dogmatism he condemns outright the phonetic and visual methods of teaching then used in Russian elementary schools. And those native teachers who burned incense to German pedagogical theory he sharply criticized for failing to understand or respect the educational needs of the Russian masses. All a teacher has to know, he declares, is what to teach and how to teach. To find out what to teach, one must go to the people, to the students and their parents. At present, he asserts, the people demand that their children learn how to read and write and to cipher. Until they demand something more, teachers have no right to teach more. As for how to teach, he sums it up in his old phrase: the only criterion for pedagogy is freedom, the only method is experience.

The article created a great stir among the public, infinitely more so than all of Tolstoy's publications on educational themes in the past. To be sure, the work was attractively written, but now it had also come from the pen of the famous author of ' war and peace ', and he had had the good sense to print it in a widely read periodical. In a real sense the effort suddenly made the public pedagogically minded and inspired a surprisingly large number of articles and letters in a variety of magazines. Although the experts, with few exceptions, vigorously attacked him, his views elicited widespread sympathetic response among laymen. After years of striving he at last had the satisfaction of knowing that his theories had reached the general public.

With such encouragement, Tolstoy felt impelled to try for further success. In February, 1875, he published his New ABC Book. It was shorter, cheaper, more practical, and as he remarked in the foreword, adaptable to any method of teaching. Here, too, he now won success, for the Ministry of National Education recommended the work. It was widely adopted by schools and ran into many large editions (100,000 copies were printed for the 1900 edition).

At the same time, Tolstoy published four children's Readers, which contained material taken mostly from his first ABC Book. The excellence and variety of the selections, the artistic simplicity of the narratives, and no doubt the inexpensive price gained an enormous market for these little books, and over the years they sold in tens of thousands.

Tolstoy's old dream seemed on the point of realization — he was beginning to exercise a pronounced influence on the course of elementary education in Russia. And the dream expanded. He wanted to take a prominent place in the larger field of national education, and he wrote to the minister to inquire whether the government would consider a detailed program that he was contemplating on instruction in the schools and another for training teachers. Although the reply was favourable, it was delayed so long that the impatient Tolstoy had already charged off in another direction. Breaking a rule he had set up for himself, he accepted election to the County Council and an appointment to its Education Committee.

One naturally thinks of the poet Matthew Arnold, inspector of schools in England at this time. With Arnold, however, the post was a means of livelihood and a most unpoetic business. Tolstoy, in his more restricted sphere, found a world of poetry in the work of inspecting local schools. He agitated with some success for inexpensive instruction in the district, and he launched his pet project of establishing at Yasnaya Polyana a teachers' training seminary, for he wished to train peasant teachers to take their place in the milieu in which they had grown up and to provide the kind of education for peasant children that would not instill in them alien desires or render them unfit for the performance of duties to which they would be called by their position in life. This was to be, he remarked, a " university in bast shoes ."

In 1874 the Ministry of Education approved Tolstoy's carefully prepared plan for a teachers' training seminary. And his request to the Tula government for financial assistance in return for a certain number of tuition teaching scholarships was granted. But for some unexplained reason, perhaps because educational centers in the Tula government did not favour the idea, only twelve candidates applied for the program. This poor showing discouraged Tolstoy and he refused to open his " university in bast shoes ." It was his last constructive effort to improve formal education in Russia. A long and arduous chapter in the history of Tolstoy's civic conscience had come to an end.

Despite hostility to Tolstoy's educational practices and writings during his lifetime, since then there has been a tendency to acclaim him a brilliant innovator and one of the most significant of educational reformers. Experimental schools in America and abroad have profited from the full accounts he left of his own experiences. His methods of teaching the alphabet and reading, his insistence on self-reliance by obliging students to do manual labor, and his belief that the child should be allowed as much freedom as possible in the classroom — these features of his system have had their influence in later progressive education. And one of his principal theses, that the school should always remain a kind of pedagogical laboratory to keep it from falling behind universal progress, has found wide acceptance as an educational premise.

In one respect it may be said that his first absorbing educational experiment between 1859 and 1862 fulfilled another purpose: the school at Yasnaya Polyana contributed as much to the historical development of Tolstoy as it had to the education of peasant children — it brought him back to the career of fiction writing. It was as though a kind of catharsis had been effected that once again left his mind and spirit free for artistic work.

With RNC security plans still in the works, Milwaukee boat companies uneasy about potential lost business

In summertime, the water beckons, and the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan are prime locations to enjoy some sun.

But for some businesses on the water, such as tour boats, the Republican National Convention could have a major financial impact during one of the busiest times of the year.

The convention, which runs July 15-18, might force the water businesses to run aground during that week because of security restrictions.

An area that encompasses a section of the Milwaukee River downtown is expected to experience increased security during the event, though local and federal officials have not said where restrictions on travel will be in place.

"It kind of made it real hard for us to start planning or committing to anything," said Jake Chianelli, owner and captain of Milwaukee Boat Line. "Shutting down for something like a week is a pretty significant hit."

More: Area businesses preparing for RNC await news on contracts for the big event. It's early, most not worried

Chianelli said he has not heard much information about what his company should do or prepare for during that week and is taking a “wait and see” approach.  

"It’s not as simple as 'We’ll find another dock or something outside of the security zone,'" Chianelli said. "We're just trying to take a deep breath and not freak out too much and hopefully we’ll get some more information in the next month."

Boat operator concerns arose during the planning for DNC

Ald. Robert Bauman, whose district includes much of downtown, said the boat companies’ concern "is very real" given the river’s proximity to the RNC’s main event venues of the Fiserv Forum and the Baird Center .

Bauman said he heard concerns in the lead up to the Democratic National Convention four years ago , before the COVID-19 pandemic forced that event to go almost entirely virtual.

Bauman predicted that downtown would be largely inaccessible to regular citizens and would resemble an "armed camp" with the thousands of law enforcement officers.

“This is so totally out of our hands,” he said. “The Secret Service will tell us what it is you’re going to have open and not open, and that’s it, case closed. Maybe there’s some room for debate, but I don’t think so.”

A U.S. Secret Service spokesperson told the Journal Sentinel the agency couldn’t say at this point what the Republican National Convention would mean for river access because the security plan is still being developed. 

Jeff Fleming, spokesman for Mayor Cavalier Johnson, said the office hopes there is a way for those businesses to "maintain some operations even if the Milwaukee River is closed to navigation."

"I anticipate Port Milwaukee will be reaching out to see if some accommodations could be made for these companies to temporarily relocate, if that is feasible," Fleming said in an email.

Committee on Arrangements CEO Elise Dickens in a statement said the convention team has been in contact with Milwaukee businesses to answer questions "as we are able to at this time in the planning process." 

“Ultimately, because the Convention is a National Special Security Event, the U.S. Secret Service has final say in security matters,” she said.

RNC could create 'significant financial impact'

In May, Matthew Weber is planning to open Cream City Boats, a new bumper boat business on the Milwaukee River. 

“It’s going to be something fun, unique and different,” Weber said. “They’re all electric, completely silent boats.” 

But for a young business, shutting down for a week can have a huge financial impact.  

“We could lose $1,000 a day, if not more,” Weber said. “It could be a significant impact, especially for a small business."

Even the biggest boat companies on the river are bracing for a hit to their business, and frustration is growing as they wait for information.

"It's more of a disappointment than anything else, that we haven't heard yet," said Lindsay Schwegler, the director of operations for Edelweiss Cruises and Boat Tours .

There had been no definitive answer one way or the other, she said.

She said shutting down for a week in the middle of July would be a "significant financial impact" for the company as well as workers.

"It is affecting our employees for a week," Schwegler said. "It is a financial impact to them."

One company plans to move a boat to Port Washington

In an effort to minimize losses, Edelweiss is planning to send one of its boats to Port Washington and operate tours there with the help of Visit Port Washington.

"The thing that sucks is we won't be able to showcase Milwaukee. And we love Milwaukee," Schwegler said. "It is a great event for Milwaukee but for these businesses that are being directly affected, it's not great."

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COMMENTS

  1. Gym Financial Plan Template [2024 Guide]

    In this blog article, we will discuss some of the key financial considerations for a gym business, including cost structure, capital expenditures, startup expenses, revenue projections, break-even analysis, profit and loss forecast, cash flow forecast and balance sheet forecast.

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    You can easily download the gym business plan (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here <- Customer Focus Steven's Gym will target all men and women ages 16 - 75+ who are interested in achieving and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle.

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    A gym business plan is a document that informs the reader about your company and where it's headed. In other words, it answers essential questions such as: How does your business work? How are you going to succeed? What steps do you need to take to succeed?

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    It will serve as the foundation for your operations, setting out the goals and objectives that will help guide your decisions and actions. A well-written business plan can give you clarity on realistic financial projections and help you secure financing from lenders or investors. A gym business plan example can be a great resource to draw upon ...

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    Written by Dave Lavinsky Gym Business Plan If you want to start a new gym business or expand your existing business, you need a detailed gym business plan. Since 1999, we have helped over 10,000 business owners create business plans to start and grow their gym, health club and fitness businesses.

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    Expectations Forecast Of course, our forecast depends on key assumptions, especially retention. We think, however, that we can launch and reach critical mass early enough to establish profitability from year 1. Financial Highlights by Year Need actual charts?

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    Management Team Operations Plan Financial Plan 1. Executive Summary The executive summary is the first and foremost section of the business plan.

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    Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements. Income Statement: an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L.

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    Forecast Sales. Make a list of your planned revenue streams and project the monthly sales for each. Possible revenue streams for gyms include memberships, merchandise, digital classes, and personal training. Use the data you collected at the beginning of this process to make sales predictions.

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    Operations plan. Marketing and advertising. Financial plan. 01. Executive summary. The executive summary is a concise overview of your gym business plan. It provides an introduction to your gym, highlighting its unique selling points and summarizing the key elements of your plan. The executive summary should include a brief description of your ...

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    Fitness Business Plan Template [Business/Brand Name] Executive Summary Business Concept Briefly describe the fitness business idea, its core offerings, and unique value proposition. Objectives Outline the short-term and long-term goals of the business. Mission Statement

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    Step 3: Management & Operations. Step 4: Market Research and Marketing. Step 5: Services and Amenities. Step 6: Financial Forecast & Strategy. Step 7: Payment Options. Step 8: Funding. A Personal Checklist: If you've found your way here, there's a good chance you're either looking to open a gym or revamp your current business plan ...

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    A gym business plan should include sections on executive summary, company description, market analysis, target market and services, gym equipment and facilities, pricing and membership options, marketing and promotion strategies, staffing and trainers, and financial projections.

  14. Gym Business Plan: Building a Roadmap for Fitness Center Success

    23 Oct 2023 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn In this comprehensive guide, we'll show you how to craft a winning gym business plan that sets you on the path to success. If you're passionate about fitness and looking to transform that passion into a thriving business, starting a gym business might be the perfect venture for you.

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    A Gym Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide provides a roadmap for entrepreneurs, outlining the key components necessary to create a successful gym. It includes a detailed analysis of the target market, competitor research, financial projections, marketing strategies, and operational procedures.

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    Business Plan Creating a comprehensive business plan is crucial for launching and running a successful gym. This plan serves as your roadmap, detailing your vision, operational strategies, and financial forecasts. It helps establish your gym's identity, navigate the competitive market, and secure essential resources for growth.

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    Understanding gym financial statements is an important part of learning how to write a gym business plan, learning how to create a gym budget, and learning how to get a gym loan —all important things to consider as tools for helping you open a new gym.

  18. Gym Business Plan Template & Example [Updated 2024]

    Gym Business Plan Example. Below are links to each of the key sections of a detailed gym business plan: Executive Summary - The executive summary is a brief overview of your gym business plan, including your company's mission statement, target market, objectives, and goals. If you are seeking potential investors, it is important to make a ...

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    Our ready made gym business plan package allows you to plan, fund, execute and launch a successful gym business as well as engage prospective investors to raise capital. The package includes a pre-written business plan in Word and an automatic financial model in Excel that you can easily customize to make them perfectly fit your own gym project.

  20. Indoor Cycling Studio Business Plan PDF Example

    Financial Plan: the expected 5-year financial performance of your indoor cycling studio (revenue and profits), as well as how much you expect to spend. ... For your gym business plan, provide a snapshot of your financial statement (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow statement), as well as your key assumptions (e.g. pricing strategies for ...

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    By henry sheykin, resources on rock climbing gym. Financial Model; Business Plan; Value Proposition; One-Page Business Plan; Welcome to our blog post on how to write a business plan for a rock climbing gym! Rock climbing is a rapidly growing industry, with an annual growth rate of 10.6% from 2021 to 2026. With the increasing popularity of this ...

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  28. Tolstoy On Education: Introduction To Tolstoy's Writings (1968)

    From Introduction To Tolstoy's Writings by Ernest J Simmons (1968). At the end of Tolstoy's first literary period, before his marriage and the beginning of 'War and Peace', disillusionment with literature and art turned his thoughts to problems of education.A series of experiments resulted in a collection of educational writings that are both fascinating and important and all too frequently ...

  29. Milwaukee boat companies uneasy about possible lost business during RNC

    But for a young business, shutting down for a week can have a huge financial impact. "We could lose $1,000 a day, if not more," Weber said. "It could be a significant impact, especially for ...