setting up your own studio

The dream for many personal trainers is to one day have their own studio business. There are many options and considerations in going through the process of the set up stage. A studio can be a highly leveraged and income producing business or it can be a time-consuming, poorly paid job. Having been at both ends of the spectrum, the highly leveraged business is much more enjoyable. Here are some of the pitfalls when setting up your own studio:

1. You don’t have a proper business plan of bank approval status - The step up from a corporate job or personal training into running a studio is quite significant. The varied skills required to make the business successful require a team of people to make it happen. Sticking to a set of proven plans and tactics is fundamental to long jeopardy. “Flying by the seat of your pants” does not work in this environment.

2. You plan to do more than 10 hours of PT and basically be a PT under a very expensive rent - Don’t even consider doing more than 10 hours of PT a week otherwise you will set yourself up for failure. This ‘heads down’ approach is very limiting in building a business and likened to a job. Create leverage via a team.

3. You don’t have a line of credit, capital or available cash - “Without a good chunk of money behind you to manage the initial start up costs, you will end up chasing your tail from day 1” says Jeni from Sullivan Dewing Accountants. “ A lack of cash flow is what kills most start up businesses”

4. Failure to invest in staff or team - Should you plan to wear the hat of administration, sales, marketing, accountant, head trainer, customer care officer and cleaner then you are making the common mistake of the rookie studio owner. It is impossible to complete these tasks and have a life outside of your business. The unbalanced nature of living this way will take you down the path of burnout, stress and fatigue.

5. Proper well qualified advice and a support structure - Having a support structure to guide you, give you qualified advice as well as support during the critical first 12 months is key to studio success. On your team of professionals you need an accountant, solicitor, financial adviser and business coach. Your team needs a manager, head trainer, sales person and administration person and of course the best asset in the business is you.

6. You believe location and equipment are the critical things to owning a studio - I recently read a marketing brochure of a poorly run studio and it mentioned “brand new equipment, experienced trainers and great location”. Now if I want to lose weight do I really care about any of the above? My problem is that I am overweight, a brand new treadmill is not the solution, either is the location. So much profit is consumed by expensive rents and key locations which means you need to work harder and longer to make more money all because of the common misconception about location.


7. An agreed formal lease put together with all legal considerations - Understanding that 90% of your clients will be in a 6-12 minute radius of the location you want to ensure some stray clause or a poorly worded lease doesn’t come back to bite you following the building of the business. Ensure you tick the boxes on structuring a formal lease agreement with the landlord.