How to Open a Gym in Australia

When I opened the doors to my gym in Melbourneâs outer east, I was operating on a mix of adrenaline, exhilaration, and that special kind of panic that sets in when youâve thrown your life savings into a businessâventure. I still remember the smell of the fresh rubber mats, the slightly crooked logo decal we stuck on the front window the night before, and the silence right before that first member walked in. That silence was thick with one question: HaveâI made the biggest mistake of my life?
If youâre reading this, chances are youâve got the itchâthe dream of running your own gym, building a tight-knit fitness community, and turning your passion into a business. That was me not too long ago. But hereâs the thing: Whenâit comes to opening a gym in Australia, itâs a lot more than simply buying a few barbells and sharing inspirational quotes on Instagram. Itâs a minefield of council bylaws, hidden costs, unreliable contractors, early morning classes where no one turns up, and the very real stress of feeling like you have to be everything forâeveryone at once: owner, cleaner, marketer, coach, and sometimes therapist.
This is notâan article filled with bland affirmational fluff. Itâs a behind-the-scenes look at the stuff you canât see but that makes the business tick â the day-to-day operations and systems that help my gym run itself and serve my clients the way I want them to be served. This is a real-world walk through I want to give you so that you can see the truth about what Iâve done and how Iâve done it the hard way â by making mistakes, fixing them, surviving, and ultimately building a gym that by the time youâre reading this is stillâstanding and better than ever before.Â
If youâve ever thought to yourself, âCould I really doâthis?â âthe answer is yes. But only if you walk in with your eyes wideâopen.
Let me show you how I did it.
Finding Your âWhyâ
Before I ever set out a single rubber mat or set up a squat rack, I struggled in my head for months with one question: Why do I really want toâopen a gym?
My initial response was easyâI loved fitness, I loved helping people, and I had no desire to spendâthe next 30 years at a desk. But the more I dug, the more I learned that passion alone wasn't going to get me through the 14-hour days, theâ5 a.m. alarms, or the gut-wrenching moments when I didn't know if we could afford rent that month.
Itâs what motivates you to keep going when the novelty factor wearsâoff. There has toâbe something concreteâsomething that connects you to the way you felt in the beginning.
For me,âit began years ago. I was working in an office job that I didnât love, dragging myself to the gym every eveningâto feel alive again. Before I knew it Iâwas correcting peoplesâ form, writing programs for my mates, and unofficially coaching classes. People wereâlike, âYou should do this for real.â At first, I laughed it off. Butâthe thought wouldnât disappear.
Eventually, it clicked. I didnât want toâjust be in a gym â I wanted to create a place that could be more than a gym, where people felt seen and supported and challenged. A place where regular humans, not just the shredded-influencer types, could show up and actually getâfitter.
Iâve seen people open gyms for the wrong reasons â to capitalize on a fitness trend, maybe, or because theyâthink itâll be a form of passive income as they go about their daily business (newsflash: it wonât). Those gyms donât last. You have to know what you stand for, because that will shapeâevery decision you makeâfrom the kind of gym you open to how you interact with your members.
So, before you go searchingâfor space, or sketching your dream floor plan, ask yourself: Why this? Why now? And why you?
Answer that in truth, and youâre wellâon your way.
Market Research and Location Scouting
If you build it, they will come â unlessâyou build it in the wrong place.
This was a lesson I learned the hard way.
As Iâbegan scouting locations for my gym, I was really focused on one thing: rent. I thought if I could keep costs low, everything elseâwould work out. I discovered a nook behind a strip mall, and the rent wasâlow, the space was O.K., and the landlord was laid-back. It seemed perfectâuntil I opened and realised that no one could find the gym..
There was no foot traffic,âsignage wasnât visible from the main road, and parking was terrible. Even my mates got lost when theyâtried to find the place the first time.
So hereâs what I wish Iâd doneâfrom the get-go: market research.
That means going to other gyms in your area. Not just to âcheck out the competition,â but to see the community. Who trains there? What vibe do they give off? Whatâs their price point? I recall walking into three different gyms in one afternoon, sitting in the car after and taking notes on theirâclass structure, their branding, even how clean the bathrooms were.
You also need to know who youâspecialize in. Are you starting a CrossFitâbox? A functional fitness space? A posh gym for businessâprofessionals? Your nicheâshould echo the neighborhood. A high-end group studio may not fly in aâblue-collar industrial suburb â but a no-frills strength gym might clean up.
Things took a turn once I moved to a nicer location, which was still affordable, but on a mainâroad with lots of schools, stores, and coffee shops around me. Walk-ins increased. Word spread faster. Membersâstarted trickling in just because they could see people training when they drove by.
Also, check the council zoning rules.. Someâretail spaces may not be zoned for gyms. Donât assume anything. And trust me, itâs not fun to get halfway through a fit-out only to have toâapply for a permit you didnât even know existed.
Bottom line here - donât just go for the cheapestâlease. Chase the right location. It couldâbe one of the biggest things that determines if you succeed or if you struggle.
Budgeting and Startup Costs
Let me beâfrank: opening a gym is expensive. I felt like I had a pretty good handle on my budget when I first got started â I was wrongâby about $20,000. Thatâs noâsmall gap when every dollar matters.
So hereâs aâbreakdown of what I ended up spending (in AUD):
- Lease bond and firstâmonthâs rent: $8,000
- Equipment (racks, bars, plates, mats, cardio gear):â$30,000
- Fit-out and signage: $12,000
- Council licensesâand legal costs: $3,000
- Website and preliminaryâmarketing: $2,500
- Insurance andâbusiness registrations: $2,000
- Unplanned âoopsâ costs: More thanâ$5,000
- Total: Roughly $62,500
So, could I have doneâit more cheaply? Probably. But I also wrestled with some costlyârookie mistakes.
For example, I overbought a lot of equipmentâinitially. I thought I needed it ALL: five squat racks, piles ofâcardio machines, specialty bars, you name it. But in the first sixâmonths, half of it went virtually untouched. HadâI begun with a leaner setup and gained along the way based on demand, I could have saved a lot.
One place whereâI could save was the fit-out. I kept it industrial and simpleâno frills on the walls, polished concrete floors, and all the gear either homemadeâor cobbled together. It wasnât pretty, but it was serviceable and on-brand forâthe kind of training we were doing. They werenâtâinterested in fancy lighting â they cared about results and atmosphere.
With regards to financing, I had a combination of personal savings and a small businessâloan from my local bank. I steered clear of recurring investors in the early days, because I didnât want to give up controlâbefore I knew what I was doing. That meant some sleeplessânights while I watched my bank balance dwindle down more than Iâd hoped â but it also meant learning and pivoting on my own terms.
Pro tip: Plan for at least 3â6 months worth of operating expenses after yourâgrand opening. You will not beâprofitable right away. Actually, I didnât draw a real paycheck in theâfirst five months. If I hadnâtâallowed for that, Iâd have keeled over before I even got a chance to stand up.
Legal and Compliance Requirements
Hereâs something they really do not tell you in those âHow to Start a Businessâ YouTube videos: the paperwork isâserious.
To be honest, once upon a time I thought registering a business was filling out a form, paying aâfew bucks, and that was it. In the real world, getting a gym started in Australia is a mesh of council regulations, insurances, permits and licences â and if you miss one step, it can haltâyour launch to a stand-still.
Let me go through what I hadâto confront.
Business Structure: I decided to registerâas a Pty Ltd. It gotâme liability protection and made it easier to get business banking set up and a loan secured. A sole trader arrangement is cheaper and easier to get started with, but itâs a small cost in the overall scheme of things if you intend to grow orâone day hire staff. They found out that the company took about two weeksâto register through ASIC and set up with an ABN and GST registration.
Council Approval & Zoning: This was nearly my downfall.
Theâspace I rented was zoned for âlight industrial use.â Sounds fine, right? Nope. It looks like running a gym needs some planning permits and it depends on the suburbâand the council. I have had to cross leaseâand apply for a change of use, send in floor plans, meet with a town planner and pay application fees to the council. It set myâopening back six weeks.
Lesson: Before you sign a lease, find out from the council whether that propertyâis zoned for fitness. Never take the landlordâs wordâfor it.
Insurance: I ultimately took out threeâcritical policies:
- Public Liability Insurance - (in case a member gets hurt).
- Professional Indemnity Insurance (ifâyou are coaching or supplying programming)
- Workers Compensation Insurance (onceâI brought staff on)
This runs me about $2,000 a year combined, but itâis non-negotiable. A few insurers will even ask you to implementâparticular safety measures or assessments before they let you on their policy.
Health and Safety: You also need to meet baseline Work Healthâand Safety (WHS) requirements â things like emergency exits, signage, first-aid kits, and staff training. The pandemic added another layer, with issues like contact tracing andâcapacity limits. Although those rules have relaxed, members have nonetheless grown accustomed to stringent levels ofâcleanliness and safety.
None of that is fun to get right, but itâmakes for a stable base. And believe me: Anything is better than getting smacked withâa fine â or, worse, having to close up because you cut a corner.
Designing the Member Experience
You can have the best equipment, a slick websiteâ, and a killer workout routine âbut if the experience inside your gym doesnât feel good, people wonât stick around. I learned this lesson not in a business book but from a member who took me aside at one point and said: âI come hereâbecause it feels like someone actually gives a sh*t about me.â Thatâresonated more than any spreadsheet.
Designing the member experienceâisnât just about serving up protein bars and high-fives to everyone who walks in the door. Itâs about how your gym feels from the moment someone walks in â about what they see,âand hear, and smell, and whose presence they sense, and whether they get the idea that they might belong.Â
First Impressions Count
It's all about thatâfirst impression. Enter your own gym like itâsâyour first time. What do you notice? Isâthe front desk disheveled? Does the music sound too loud or tooâdead? Can people tell where to go? Are the toilets clean?Â
In my early days, I was so focused on training programs that I forgot to look up - literally. There was a water stain onâthe ceiling for weeks. Dumbbells were strewn around likeâlandmines. Itâs theâsort of thing that doesnât bother your mates but bothers a new mum whoâs been training at a gym once in the past 10 years. Or the alienated teenager whose already uneasy relationshipâto their body may return uneasy gazes?Â
Flow and Function
I began to carve out 10 minutes at the end of each day forâa âwalkthroughâ the way an intrepid explorer would. It changed everything. Your design should follow howâpeople move. Do theyâknow where they can warm up? Is there room to move without someoneâs barbell nearly falling onâthem? Are there dead spots in the gym, pockets of space where noâone ever ventures?
Three times inâthe first year, I reconfigured my floor plan. It was initially a mess â rows of machines that didnâtâwork very well in the space. Then I watched how members naturally adapted to different zones: stretching mats near the front, lifting stations along one side, turf strip down the middle for sleds and dynamic work.Â
Even how people enter and leave the gym makes a difference. I installedâa giant chalkboard near the front, and it has the challenge workout on it, plus a quote of the day and birthdays. Suddenly, people stopped and chatted. It fosteredâflow and community.Â
The Onboarding ExperienceÂ
The first week at your gym is the mostâimportant. Thatâs when people decide whetherâthis is âtheir place.â Ifâthey get lost, become invisible, or are overwhelmed, youâve probably lost them. We developed an onboarding systemâdivided into three parts:
- A quick phoneâcall before the first session to welcome them.
- One complimentary guided visit with one of our trainers (even if they are justâjoining for open gym access).
- A handwritten note orâfollow-up call in the first 48 hours.
It may sound like overkill, but itâestablished trust early, and that trust paid off in longer memberships.
Itâs the Little Things That Count
New members will remember what they felt in yourâgym far more than what they lifted. A clean bathroom. Remembering their name. Aâmusic playlist that doesnât suck: An actual foam roller thatâthey can find when they need one.Â
Iâd always believed the formula for growth wasâmore: more equipment, more classes, more promotions. But the real magic came whenâI zeroed in on better â not bigger. Better conversations. Better systems. Better vibe.
Your equipment draws them in. They might beâenchanted by your programming. But the experience? Thatâs whatâbrings them back.
Hiring Staff and Building Culture
Iâll be honest: I waited way too long to hire my first trainer. I was doing everything â running classes, answering emails, cleaning toilets, chasing late payments,âeven refilling the toilet paper at 9 p.m. It wasnâtâjust tiring â it was impossible to sustain.Â
Eventually, I learned that ifâI wanted my gym to continue to exist beyond me, I had to create a staff. But it needed to be moreâthan just a team â I wanted people who could help mold the culture of the gym, not just catch a failed squat or count reps.Â
Hire for Character FirstÂ
The first person I hired was a mate of mine I trainedâwith. He was competent, passionate and strong as an ox, but heâdidnât quite âgetâ our members. He yapped at folks that they didnât push hard enough, wisecracked about the culture of âmanâupâ and just didnât get our vibe in general. Great coach on paper. Poor fit in reality. That was a lesson from that experience, too: Iâcan teach someone how to run a class. I cannot teach them how to giveâa damn. WhenâI hire now, three other things are always my priority:
- Warmth â Do they make peopleâfeel seen?
- Adaptability â Do they readâthe room and change their approach?
- Belief â Do they believeâin what we are building?
Your Team Reflects Your GymÂ
Your staff are your gym. They were the first faces people saw when I couldnât be there, the ones leading warm-ups, the ones driving effort, and answering the awkward questionsâat the front desk. They could make a 6 a.m. class a highlight of someoneâs day, or be part of the reason someone came once and never came back.
I beganâhosting team huddles every two weeks. Nothing fancy â just 30 minutes to work through what was working, what wasnât, and whatâwe could do next. Weâd tellâeach other about member wins, trade coaching tips, and keep each other in the loop. It enabled alignment andâaccountability. I also made a âCulture Guideâ forânew employees. Not a dull guide, but aâslim guide of what counts here. Here is some of what it contains:Â
- We greet everyone by name.
- We never make jokes about anyoneâs bodyâor their weight.
- We come early, andâwe stay a little late, and we clean up after ourselves.
- We make it safe to try, fail, andâtry again.
When your team knows the values, theyâcan improvise with confidence. At first, I wantedâto control everything. Iâd micromanage classes,âtimetables, Instagram posts, you name it. It was well-intentioned (my gym was myâbaby), but it stifled initiative. People were waiting for me to sign off onâevery decision.Â
The turning point wasâwhen one of my trainers asked if she could run a womenâs lifting intro course. I said yes, I gave her free reign. It sold out in a week. The members loved it. She felt valued. And I didnât have to do anything. Thatâs when Iâswitched from trying to control everything to enabling people to own something.
When Itâs Time to Let Someone Go
Kicking a teammate to the curb sucks. Iâve had to do it twice. In one instance, someone didnât respect boundaries,âarriving late, joking inappropriately, and not taking feedback well. The other was less subtle: someoneâwho had checked out emotionally but hung around for the paycheck.
On both accounts, the clinging on too long was a blightâon the culture.
Hereâs the thing I learned: Itâs better for everyone to moveâon if itâs obviously not working and theyâre not growing with the team. A single toxic or disengaged team member can unwind a yearâs worth of building cultureâin a few weeks.Â
Hiring isnât just about getting bodiesâonto the payroll. Itâs about creating the kind ofâplace youâd want to train in â even if you didnât own it. Thatâs the filter I use now. If I canâtâimagine being coached by this person, why should I assume my members would? Hire thoughtfully, notâdesperately. Your gym â and your sanityââ will thank you later.
Sales, Marketing, and Pre-Opening Strategy
Hereâs whatânobody tells you when youâre opening a gym: Youâre not just opening a gym â youâre launching a brand. And if you havenât started marketing before opening the doors, youâre going to be paying rent on a very expensive emptyâroom. I learned this the hard way.
At the start, I figured theâequipment, the vibe, and the results would speak for themselves. I thought if I just built an incredible training environment, people wouldâcome to me.Â
They didnât.Â
Or at leastânot fast enough to prevent me from sweating bullets by month two. The truth is, marketing is not a dirty word. Itâs how you connect with the people you want to serve. But not just anyoneâyou want to attract the right members, the ones who will stay and help build your culture.
Begin Talking Before The LaunchÂ
Eight weeks out from launch, I started teasing the gym on Instagram: photos of the fit-out, snippets of our United Weâre Stronger philosophy, short videosâof me talking to the camera about what the space would represent. Iâalso set up a landing page with just an email opt-in. No fluffâjust:
âBe the first to know when ourâdoors are opening. Early access, discounts, and a bonus 1-on-1âsession for founding members.âÂ
That email list ofâmine was my goldmine. When we opened, I had overâ100 people on it. Around 30 converted to paying members inâthe first month. No paid ads. Nothing butâregular posting and sincere updates.
If I had begun that process twelve weeks out rather than eight, I bet I couldâhave doubled those numbers.
Crafting the Right MessageÂ
Donât just rentâtime on equipment. Thatâs what every other gymâis doing.â Instead, ask yourself: What do those who trainâthere get?
What problem are you solving? What makes someone come to you instead of the 24-hour chainânext door?
For me,âthe answer was: community and coaching. I wasnâtâattempting to attract the elite athlete or bodybuilder. I was attempting to serve people whoâdidnât feel comfortable in a big box gym, but who were looking for structure, support, and results without the ego. So I led with that message:
âThis isânot a gym full of mirrors and meatheads. Itâs a placeâfor real people who want to train hard, feel better and be part of something.â That resonated. Because it was true.
Founding Member OffersÂ
I offered a Founding Member special: theâfirst 50 people to sign up would get a discounted rate for life. No joining fee. A free PT session. A branded shirt. Total cost to me? Maybe $25 per person. But the perceived value was massive â and theâcommitment was genuine. I gave themâa deadline:
âFounding memberâslots close on [DATE]. From there, we jump up toâregular price.â Thisâgave people a reason to act now. I even had people DMing me on the last day, asking, âCan I stillâget in?âÂ
Guerrilla Marketing Moves ThatâWorked
- Flyers on local cafĂŠ noticeboards
- Partnerships with local physios and massage therapists (referral deals)
- Running a âpop-up workoutâ in a nearby park the week before opening
- Asking mates to share posts on their socials
- Getting listed on Google Maps early and asking early members to leave reviews
All of this was accomplished on aâmicroscopic budget. It wasnât that fancy, butâit was real, and people felt it.Â
What Didnât Work So WellÂ
Iâspent a few hundred dollars on a print ad in a local paper. Crickets. Additionally, Iâtested boosting Facebook posts without targeting correctly. Money down the drain.Â
Lessonâlearned: Donât waste money on marketing. Put in so much effort,âconsistency and clarity.
You have one shot atâa first impression. Do not waitâuntil you can open your doors to show people who you are and what you stand for. Develop the intrigue, develop the trust, develop (most important of all) theâconnection. That isâwhat marketing is.
The First 90 Days
The initial threeâmonths were a blend of chaos and clarity, so many things unclear. I had a vision, some bare-bones equipment, a few founding members â and a to-do list that was piling up even faster than the number of peopleâsigning up to be members.Â
This isâthe part other people barely mention: the grind of those early months, when the honeymoon has ended, and reality sets in.I learned more about running a businessâin those 90 days than I did in the full 12 months of planning.Â
Expect a Slow BurnÂ
Unless youâve bought into a franchise and started with a six-figure advertising budget, your first 90 days likely wonât beâfilled to the brim with new members. I thought Iâd open theâdoors and have dozens upon dozens of walk-ins. Instead, it was more like one every few days. This is normal.
Word of mouth takes time. Community takes time. People need to feel confident that your gym is notâjust a âpop-upâ that will vanish in six months. I preserved my sanity with this oneâthing: I concentrated on over-delivering for the members I had.Â
Class by class, check-in by check-in, name remembered, Questions like âHowâs yourâshoulder feeling?â mattered. These peopleâbecame my most enthusiastic advocates. They brought friends. They left reviews. They created momentum.Â
Early ChallengesÂ
Here are a few unexpected things Iâencountered:
- Equipment breaking (a broken rower foot strapâduring a session)
- Canceling aâdouble booking because I didnât have my calendar synced correctly
- Members showing up early when I was still vacuuming the floor
- No-shows for free trial sessions
- Tech fails â Wi-Fi dropped out mid EFTPOS transaction
If you come to it with an attitude of âevery problem isâfeedback,â you will get better and better. Iâbuilt in some buffer time between classes. I posted clearer signage. I had spare equipment ready. I began to anticipate insteadâof react.Â
Key WinsÂ
Little wins will keep you movingâforward. My very first Google review felt likeâI had just won an Oscar. The first time someone messaged me and said, âI actually look forward to training nowâ I took a screen shot of it and I stillâhave it.
Three members who didnât know each other before they joined arranged a post-class coffee and invited others. Thatâs when I knew we were beginning to gain traction âânot as a gym, but as a community.Â
Tracking and TweakingÂ
I maintained a basic spreadsheet with theseâweekly statistics:
- Total members
- Session attendance
- Revenue vs expenses
- New leads and the processâof obtaining them
This yieldedâme data, but more to the point, it gave me a direction. I saw that Wednesdays were dead, so I triedâa midweek challenge class. It filled up fast. I discovered that 80% of all new leads I gained would comeâfrom referrals, so I put in place a basic refer-a-friend bonus.Â
Systems That Saved My Sanity
Hereâs something I didnât realize when I first started:âsystems are the difference-maker between a thriving gym and a hot mess. For those first couple of weeks, I was pretty much flyingâblind.. Each booking, each payment,âeach cancellation, each towel restock was my weight to carry. I assumed thatâs just how itâwent when you were âhustling.âÂ
But the reality is that hustle without systems just grindsâyou down.Â
Why Systems MatterÂ
When youâre a one-person show (or prettyâclose to it), systems are your silent employees. They keep things moving when youâre coaching a class, mopping the floors,âor grabbing your first 10-minute lunch in 14 hours. A greatâsystem takes choice out of it. It gives you timeÂ
Hereâs aâhandful of systems that got me through:
Membership &âBooking Software: I went with Gymdesk after trialling a few different platforms. What sold me was how simple and intuitive it wasânot just for me, but for members. Setup was quick, the dashboard is clean, and it integrates well with everything from payments to email marketing. Plus, it didnât feel bloated with features I didnât need, and the pricing was fair for a startup budget.
Gymdesk let me:
- Take recurring payments
- Let members book and cancel sessions online
- Track attendance trends
- Flag inactive members so I could reach out
Honestly, it felt like having a part-time admin assistant. I didn't have to train or pay by the hour.
Payments and Invoicing: I implemented Stripeâthrough my booking software.Â
I have used Xero in the past forâstuff like invoicing (mostly for PT sessions and merchandise early on). Create regular invoices forâyour customers. Connectedâmy business checking account. At the end of the year, I didnât have to scroll through 12 months of paper receipts orâscreenshots.
Communication: Iâwas early to create a private Facebook group for the community. Not a marketing pageâa group. It was where I posted classâupdates, issued monthly challenges, and shared member shout-outs. It created a connection, fast. Members began calling out to oneâanother, organizing meetups, swapping recipes. Iârealized that this was more than just software â this was a digital version of our community. These days, I also use email automation (through Mailchimp) to onboard new members. They receive a welcome email,âone with tips and a check-in at 2 weeks and 4 weeks. All automated. Itâs a big retention difference, and I donât have to doâanything once they first set it up.
Cleaning and Maintenance: I made a list where each day and week there were toâdo tasks with instructions and taped them to the staff room wall with expectations. It wasnât sexy, but without it,âthings would fall through the cracks. The bathroom goes unstocked. The chalk dust piles up. The vibe starts to slip.Â
Letting Go of ControlÂ
Systems are only effective if you actually use them ââand if youâre prepared to let them take over aspects of the business that you once micromanaged. That took time for me. I was used to doing it all. But when I saw the booking system open up and take class registrations and send emails without my needing to press send, I finallyâtook a breath. It was as if myâgym had ceased being a 24/7 weight strapped to my back â and started becoming something I could step back from.
Your systems will not be perfectâon day one. Mine werenât. But each time I made one â no matter how small â it offered me a little more sanity, a little more clarityâ, and a little more time to concentrate on what mattered most: the people. Right now, build your gym as though youâre not going toâbe there 24/7. Because someday, ifâyou do this long enough, you wonât be.
Mistakes to Avoid
The simple truth is no matter how much planning you do, youâre going to make some mistakes when opening your gym. Itâs part of the learning curve. Still, if I can help you dodge a few of the biggest ones, it might just save your sanity â and your bank balance.Â
Itâs tempting to splash out on the flashiest equipment â top-of-the-line machines, custom rigs, fancy plate-loaded everything. But hereâs the truth: your members wonât care if your hack squat costs $8K or $800 as long as itâs clean, functional, and safe. I blew $5K on a curved treadmill we now use to hang towels on.Â
Donât be me.Â
We all chase sign-ups at the start â and I did too. But retention is what keeps your doors open long-term. I was so focused on getting people in that I forgot to keep them around. No member onboarding, no community building, no check-ins. If youâre not building relationships, youâre building churn.Â
Also, your gym build will live or die on the quality of your tradies. I trusted a âmate of a mateâ to do our rubber flooring. He quoted cheap, then disappeared for three weeks mid-job. By the time he finally finished, it was uneven and bubbled in the corners. We had to rip half of it up and pay twice.Â
Your gym isnât a hangout spot â itâs a business. I hired a mate to help manage the front desk. Lesson learned: he was fun, but totally unreliable. Hire for skill, not convenience..
One BigâMistake (and the Comeback)
 I didnât anticipate how long it wouldâtake for profits to accrue. I hadnât built enough runway into my budget and almost ranâout of cash in month number five. I bounced back by introducing aâsix-week challenge with pre-paid fees to get a big burst of cash and by starting monthly billing instead of casual passes. It saved us.
If I Had My Time Again: Top 3Â
- Begin modestly â You donât have to have 500m²âof shiny concrete on day one.
- Investâin systems sooner â from billing to programming, automate wherever possible.
- Seek helpââ from a mentor, another gym owner, etc. Donât try to figure it all out alone.
Final Advice for Aspiring Gym OwnersÂ
A gym is a lifestyle, notâa job. Itâs hard, itâs rewardingâ, and itâs all-consuming. Before you jump in, know your why â whether thatâs to help others, or create a dream spaceâor community around fitness. If you are not sincerelyâmotivated, the grind will devour you.
Thinkâlike an owner. Understand marketing, finance, andâoperations. Youâre not going to beâable to pay the bills on your passion for fitness alone.
Start lean. You donât have to have everything â equipment and classes â from day one. Nail one or two coreâofferings, then grow based on demand. Youâre working to build a community that will remain loyal to you, not just toâfill a roster â people will stay when they know you know them and support them.
And be prepared to wear every hat: coach, cleaner, marketerâand admin. Thatâs normal in year one. Just ensure youâreâbuilding systems to eventually step back and scale.
Some days will be hard. Butâwhen a member says to you that you have changed their life, youâll realize that you made the right decision.
Gym management software that frees up your time and helps you grow.
Simplified billing, enrollment, student management, and marketing features that help you grow your gym or martial arts school.





