Gym startup

[Richard P]

I have decided to take the plunge and try to get my own gym off the ground Nothing too fancy, half a dozen heavy bags, a few speed bags, matted area, ring and free weight area with a few basic cardio machines

Does anyone have any experience with this? im struggling to work out a more exact monthly membership number (50% of monthly income will rely on membership fees as my current number feels less exact than actual exact outgoings - such as rent, utilities & Business Rates)

Anyone had any experience in the UK about government grants for small business start ups?

Any help will be welcome

[stephenmc]

I have decided to take the plunge and try to get my own gym off the ground Nothing too fancy, half a dozen heavy bags, a few speed bags, matted area, ring and free weight area with a few basic cardio machines

Does anyone have any experience with this? im struggling to work out a more exact monthly membership number (50% of monthly income will rely on membership fees as my current number feels less exact than actual exact outgoings - such as rent, utilities & Business Rates)

Anyone had any experience in the UK about government grants for small business start ups?

Any help will be welcome

First of all well done, if you need anything give a shout, also when your proper up and running, maybe a trip for sparring might be on the cards in couple of years please god.

Now have you insurance???
Number 1 rule make sure you are covered, and never in the gym by yourself ie,another trainer with you.

2: grants are available, but you might have to go through a bit of a rig marole to get one, first of all, renting a premise might not deter your chances of getting one, a permanent residence is what they mainly look for.

Check the governing body,get in contact and tell them your starting up,what's the story?

All gyms I've been at do not work on a monthly basis,
It is €10 a week opened monday-wensday-friday or whenever you decide to open,
It is €5 if you only attended the one day. And families might be offered a discount.

Look to venture in to boxercise classes for women, and keep fit classes for men and try if you can to keep your boxers separate, those classes will normally provide a steady enough income to go towards the gym bills/ insurance and other fees incurred by the boxers.

Do you have your trainer cards and police vetting done? That is a must.

Some fundraising will have to be done regularly enough to start out,and for when funds are low,so check with supermarkets about bag packing and the police about street flag/collection days.

[stephenmc]

Also you can charge what you like for fees, but if it's 2 high, they will just go to another gym or boxing place....

[Richard P]

i have done generic PT training courses but no police vetting as yet but good shout, completely forgot that i will probably need some sort of CRB check as i have kids classes planned.

The gyms near me are the big chains, crappy leisure centre style or my current boxing gym (which is very bespoke old school) from my market research people are keen for a gym that isnt just cardio machines but not too fight centric.

Just from my experience (spending way too much time at other peoples gyms) i have a class schedule where their will be invitation only sparring and fighters classes keeping separate to generic beginners boxing. Fortunately my children are of a young school age and doing the school run here and there a lot of the mums are keen for a boxercise type class at 10am on a school day.

I have sourced premises (yet to sign the lease) but all in all things look ok, just worried about that final step

All the outgoings seem to be very concrete and accurate and dont really change massively month on month, the income the other hand seems a lot more guess work

[stephenmc]

i have done generic PT training courses but no police vetting as yet but good shout, completely forgot that i will probably need some sort of CRB check as i have kids classes planned.

The gyms near me are the big chains, crappy leisure centre style or my current boxing gym (which is very bespoke old school) from my market research people are keen for a gym that isnt just cardio machines but not too fight centric.

Just from my experience (spending way too much time at other peoples gyms) i have a class schedule where their will be invitation only sparring and fighters classes keeping separate to generic beginners boxing. Fortunately my children are of a young school age and doing the school run here and there a lot of the mums are keen for a boxercise type class at 10am on a school day.

I have sourced premises (yet to sign the lease) but all in all things look ok, just worried about that final step

All the outgoings seem to be very concrete and accurate and dont really change massively month on month, the income the other hand seems a lot more guess work

Ya you need at the very least a level one coaching course done, and
police vetted with the governing body (,they send you a card in Ireland anyway). But please have another trainer with you atto all times, I have seen it,and heard about It throughout boxing clubs here and the UK where a trainer is left on their own. A child can easily say you hit them or touched them or whatever and that's it for you,Its your word against theirs. BE CAREFUL.

The insurance is the big cost but the most important thing.
If something happens in your gym and your not covered your fecked.
And trust me their will be people coming in just to see if they can claim, the travellers can spot a claim a mile away and if anything is out of place your done for.

On the cost side of things, I hope your not planning to make any money for yourself. Most (nearly all) boxing clubs on this side of the world are non profit voluntary work. In fact the governing body is strict enough on this especially were grants are concerned.
Do you work??
If not you might be able to get paid from registering for a scheme (I don't know if that's available in the UK)

The costs are most of the time going to outweigh the income.
So look for a few sponsors in your area, example a few quid off this company towards the ring and they can put up a sign or something like that.

It's tough, and a lot of expenses are involved, but if you get a good enough rep, word of mouth will spread and you can get up and running properly then.

I was going to set up my own boxing club but have put it on hold for a few years, I'm earmarked to take over the current boxing club I'm coaching in,in a few years,so I might do that instead because most things are in place anyway and I'm getting good experience and meeting other clubs so my face and name will be known for when I do.

[Rockin']

get yourself some TRUE experience before just giving your money away..................

[Richard P]

Cheers for the advice, not aiming to make any money for 3 years, fortunately I have other income streams and with some belt tightening, I can cover my household/living costs.

Call it a mid life crisis, I'm well into my 30's now and bored of the daily commute in a job I have no passion for. I help out with the kids and real green newbies at my current club so the teaching side of things I'm not phased on. Start small, I know no great fighter will walk through the doors but I know over time with some hard work and nurture I can do something that I don't see as a means to an end.