5 Misconceptions About Health Club Consultants

John Taffer on “Bar Rescue,”, the sharks on “Shark Tank”, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey’s and Marcus Lemonis on “The Profit,” provide an image of business consultants. However, in spite — or perhaps because of — these over-the-top dramas, there are still misconceptions about the need and the work of management consultants.

These misconceptions may keep fitness owners from reaching out for the specialized guidance that management consultants bring for a variety of situations faced by gym owners. Here are 5 misconceptions that fitness club owners have about bringing in a management consultant.

Your gym needs to be struggling

While failing gyms can certainly benefit from an outside fitness club consultant to get the club back on track, you don’t need to wait that long. If a gym is failing, it may already be too late to turn it around. Therefore, successful businesses benefit from an outside and experienced eye that an expert fitness club consultant can bring. Even if your fitness facility is going well, as an owner, it is imperative to evaluate if It is hitting the goals you set and have someone help you figure out what tweaks can help boost your business.

Your health club needs to be established

Whether you are in the planning stages or your gym is new, working with a fitness club consultant can provide a great opportunity to create a strong foundation from the beginning. If you have recently expanded your fitness club to a second or third location, you are probably facing new challenges than when you were in that planning stage or even running a single gym location. This again is where a fitness club consultant can bring experience of running multiple gyms and guide you as you move down the path of going from a single club to establishing a fitness club chain.

Consultants are costly

Fitness club consulting comes in many shapes and sizes, including long-term relationships to one-off projects to help with equipment procurement or doing a feasibility study for a new location. Rather than letting financial concerns stop you from reaching out, sit down with your team to determine the risks of not working with someone that can help you reach your goals. It could be the difference between a member working out on their own or working with a personal trainer and reaching their goal quicker and easier with expert guidance.

For example, you probably have an idea of where you want your gym to be in one, three or five years, but do you know the right steps to take to make it there? Maybe you are great with numbers but hiring great staff is not in your wheelhouse. Or perhaps you are great with being on the cutting edge of fitness trends but don’t really know how to set up and track key performance indicators (KPIs).

Once you know where you want to be and where your weaknesses may be use them as you interview consultants to see where their experience aligns with your goals so your investment will yield a significant return.

Fitness club consultants will give advice and then leave.

Sure. You can work with a consultant on a quick one-off project. However, any gym consultant worth his or her salt will not give cookie-cutter advice that simply doesn't fit in with the fitness
facility owner’s needs.

A good fitness club consultant will show and teach solutions and best practices while also helping gym owners implement them to help ensure long-term success. Consultants want to see your club succeed and will not abandon you once the check has cleared. And you can always go back to the consultant when new issues pop up as your gym grows.

Consultants don't need to have experience in the fitness industry

While there are plenty of business and management consultants that can speak on general business practices, every industry brings its own set of specific issues and challenges. The fitness industry is no different. Fitness clubs need to track specific KPIs to ensure that they are on track to reach business goals. Understanding the fitness equipment and class trends that can bring in members in as well is also key to being able to help a business owner. Only experts in the fitness industry could help in these situations and a myriad of others.

Whether just starting a fitness club or trying to revive one that is established, working with a fitness club consultant can help fine-tune your fitness operations and help you reach your goals. For more information about our services, check out our website: atwoodconsultinggroup.com or give us a call, (508) 654-6244.