Starting a Gym

[alextheassassin]

Hello everyone, I am thinking of starting a boxing gym, I am a competitive amateur and I am also certified by USA Boxing as a coach as is my friend that is opening with me. I was wondering where I could find info on opening a gym? Thinking of doing small groups around 5-10 people and having a small floor space maybe around 700sq ft. So I am thinking 4 heavy bags, 2 speed bag platforms, a double end bag (my gym will be connected to a strength and conditioning gym so I will have access to various equipment such as jump ropes, med balls ect). Anyone have any pointers, advice, information, I would greatly appreciate it.

[LoadedWraps]

My advice is not start off until you acquire/can afford a good ring, bags alone will not suffice.

Things I consider when looking for a new gym if I were to leave my own:

location: commuting issues and parking, also, is it safe?
equipment: new/in good condition, and is there anything missing? There should be plenty of heavy bags with some speed bags round bags and specialty bags, like uppercut bags etc. Also, what other options are there? treadmills? weights? ropes? a ring is key, and necessary for sparring, and expensive.
mirrors: key for training beginners.
cleanliness: keep the gym clean or it gets a bad rep.
knowledgable trainers and staff: very important, if your trainers are respected and have good resumes, your gym can thrive. If your trainers get a bad rep, if could be your downfall.
Proper marketing: If you aren't familiar with marketing tactics hire someone who is.
rates: expensive memberships and or non attractive rates are deal breakers for most people unless you are only going to be avilable to people who are very well off and will only cater to upper class citizens.


All in all alot of word of mouth can help or help destroy your business. gyms know about other gyms and gyms with bad rep suffer, gyms with sought after trainers will always have business.


~LoadedWraps has spoken

[alextheassassin]

Thanks for the input man. I may pull a loan to buy a ring, it sets a real gym apart for b.s. I currently have in storage brand new ready to go:
-2 100lb Everlast Heavy Bags
-2 70lb Everlast Heavy Bags
-1 double end bag
-1 speed bag platform
-a few pairs of mits
-1 body shield
-a ton of jump ropes, med balls and workout equipment provided at the gym that is connected to the space i may rent.


Things I am thinking of getting:
-round heavy bag (wrecking ball)
-uppercut bag
-another double end bag
-a ring
-10 pairs of gloves
-10 pairs of headgear


Business side:
-rent is cheap so membership will not be outrageous, I am thinking $40 per month for normal classes and open gym more for personal training sessions.
-I have experience marketing business
-My only local competition is a gym that only has heavy bags and jump ropes and one trainer that i dont think has ever laced up, besides that the closest gym is more than an hour away. I think there is a big hole to fill.

[Ray Corso]

If you want a "competitive gym" then open it in the area where the kids who would benefit from it could run, walk, ride a bike too! You need atleast a floor ring 15 square!!!

The other kind of gym , isn't a gym its an investment in a yuppie exercise area!

Real gyms are not a good investment to make money, if your good enough in time to develop regional and national competitors how are you going to get them there? Its not cheap and there a big piece of your time that will be spent "raising funds"!!!! Sponsorship of your gym will let you know you've arrived it will also break the kids hearts if you can't deliver them to their destinations to compete.

ex; after the second year my gym expenses went from 5,000.00 to 35,000.00
my grant money salary for a year was 2,300.00 HA!!! Ray.

[alextheassassin]

Thanks for the input Ray. As far as what type of gym i want i definitely want a hard core competitive gym, definitely not some ridiculous aerobic place for moms. The market I am in is very interesting however, have the city is very wealthy while there are many small pockets of very low income familys all over, its a tourist beach town. I could definitely see how travel would add up but I am in California so there are a lot of opportunities here for competitions. Thanks so much for your input

Also where could i learn about grants?

[Ray Corso]

City commisions meetings need to be attended (youth sports, deprived areas grants should be there) , P.A.L leagues, (if the police still back boxing gyms, there was a time hey did very strongly then boxing lost alot of interest inside police depts. Start looking locally for what grant money is avalible then look state wise then nationally! You would benefit from a board of directors with individual talents that you WILL need if you can achieve success! (Lawyer, Doctor, Bankers, Police (chief, sargent etc) business owners capable of writing checks for maintaining and bank rolling tourney trips!!
People with money or access to it and well known businessmen in your area!
There is alot of leg work that needs to be done, without you will struggle!!!
Yu will also run into alot of adversity because theres always some people who think your adding thieves, your presentation makes or breaks it!!

my righthand man was a detective sargent who as known for his heart with the ****** kids and his fists for punk azz punks!!! hahaha His name was Dutch Otto and without him I would have been in doubtfull situation getting to Nationals and Country Wide Tourney (PAL, lden Gloves, Ohio St. Fair, USA/ABF, Olympic Training Center, other than the USA/ABF all the other final destinations changed each year for us. So from Hamden/New Haven Conn. we could be travling to Denver, Chicago, Detriot, Miami, Alb. $$$$$$$ he raised alot of dough.

R.I.P Dutch impossibe to replace, I gave the gym away 2 years after he passed! He was the man!! Ray

[mconstantine]

I don't understand the notion that a gym can't cater to the fitness crowd AND to competitive fighters. Who says it wouldn't work? It's narrow-minded thinking like that keeps this sport stuck in the mud. Innovate. Create new rules.

For example...most of the fitness heads will want to come in either early in the morning before work, or early evenings after work. Kids that are fighting competitively would typically come in during the late afternoon so technically, the timing could work out to have your gym be a hybrid model. The key is having REAL boxing trainers for the competitive fighters that actually know their shiet.

Think like an entrepreneur...

Just make sure your gym does NOT have air conditioning...because that is just unacceptable and going to far lol.

[New England]

I don't understand the notion that a gym can't cater to the fitness crowd AND to competitive fighters. Who says it wouldn't work? It's narrow-minded thinking like that keeps this sport stuck in the mud. Innovate. Create new rules.

For example...most of the fitness heads will want to come in either early in the morning before work, or early evenings after work. Kids that are fighting competitively would typically come in during the late afternoon so technically, the timing could work out to have your gym be a hybrid model. The key is having REAL boxing trainers for the competitive fighters that actually know their shiet.

Think like an entrepreneur...

Just make sure your gym does NOT have air conditioning...because that is just unacceptable and going to far lol.

an entrepreneur wouldn't touch a boxing gym with a 10 foot pole unless it was 100% catering to the middle class, "fitness" type boxing gym. there's no money to be made training poor local kids. you actually lose money and need to raise it, as ray pointed out. if you're thinking like an entrepreneur those kids are just a liability.

you really expect middle class people to work out in a ****** gym with no AC and a bunch of hood kids sparring in the background? they're gonna go home early and never come back. the fitness crowd is going to die without AC, for starters.

people who open real boxing gyms that train fighters generally do it because they love the sport, not to make a ton of money. your best bet to make money in boxing as a trainer / gym owner is to get a fighter who you can take to the top and take that 10%. that's never going to be easy. some of the divisions are wide open. a decent american HW could make you some money. there's a huge void there. if you're looking to make money by owning a gym and being a trainer i wouldn't expect to get rich training local kids. very few gyms in the entire country are actually doing well financially.


they're often more like a non profit / charity for the local kids than a business.

[mconstantine]

an entrepreneur wouldn't touch a boxing gym with a 10 foot pole unless it was 100% catering to the middle class, "fitness" type boxing gym. there's no money to be made training poor local kids. you actually lose money and need to raise it, as ray pointed out. if you're thinking like an entrepreneur those kids are just a liability.

you really expect middle class people to work out in a ****** gym with no AC and a bunch of hood kids sparring in the background? they're gonna go home early and never come back. the fitness crowd is going to die without AC, for starters.

people who open real boxing gyms that train fighters generally do it because they love the sport, not to make a ton of money. your best bet to make money in boxing as a trainer / gym owner is to get a fighter who you can take to the top and take that 10%. that's never going to be easy. some of the divisions are wide open. a decent american HW could make you some money. there's a huge void there. if you're looking to make money by owning a gym and being a trainer i wouldn't expect to get rich training local kids. very few gyms in the entire country are actually doing well financially.


they're often more like a non profit / charity for the local kids than a business.

When I say "think like an entrepreneur" I mean in terms of creativity. I agree that you could throw darts at business ideas blind folded and 99% of them would make more financial sense than a typical boxing gym lol.