Getting into the Fitness Entrepreneurship Space... Thoughts?

[LPPC]

Hi all,

I've been doing some soul searching and after a lot of thinking, I've decided to start a business in the fitness space. The 3 main reasons for this are:

1) I've been lifting weights for 7 years. It's something I'm good at and genetically gifted for it.
2) I can help people and this will give me a sense of fulfillment that I won't regret at the end of my life.
3) There is good money to be made

The only thing I'm hesitant about is what vloggers claim, that you can't take time off from recording at all or the competition eats you and you go broke. Is that really true? They don't say it that directly, but it seems implied in what they say.

So I've been lifting weights for 7 years, but the past 1.5 year I haven't lifted any because of a shoulder injury. Now it's healed, but I have to start all over again because I lost all my muscles. The idea is to have my followers follow me on my journey to getting fit and muscular again, see my gradual improvements and inspire them to get fit too. Like: if he can do it, I can too.

I will create a brand through youtube videos for example.

I would really appreciate some advice on how to this the right way from the start and some general advice and opinions.

For example, what are some advantages and disadvantages of the several monetizing options I have? I could for example start a supplement line from the beginning and sell the supplements I would take myself like whey and creatine (dropshipping in the beginning). That way people will have trust in the supplement because it helped me grow too.

Looking forward to some (harsh and) constructive feedback/advice.

Thank you!

Edit:
I am also going to get a trainers certificate and work in a real gym to learn firsthand how to train people. It's one thing to be able to train yourself, but it's something else to be able to train other people.

 

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[Waspy]

Your reasons are terrible for starting this.

1) I like it, so I'll start a business
2) I want to feel fulfilled
3) I want money

Need - Is there?
Entry - None, there are hundreds of millions of people who work out and could record videos
Control - Nope, YouTube has that
Scale - I suppose the potential market is sizeable
Time - Yes, you will use loads of that

Have you read the book?

Fitness blogger space is also very well catered for already. Don't mean to shit on what you want to do, but this forum is largely about businesses which make CENTS, and imo, yours doesn't.

 

[LPPC]

@Waspy

Thanks man, always open to constructive critism!

It's not necessarily that the reason for me wanting to do this is that I like it ( I do), but it's because it's my strength and I think it's wise to build on strength.

Need: the fitness industry is very big and will grow because more and more people have an unhealthy lifestyle and will be in need of fitness advice and training.
I might not bring something new to the table, because I think fitness is more of a science that has already been figured out.
The way I see it is that there is definitely a need for fitness and there is clearly an audience for it. The way I differentiate myself, and the most important way Vloggers can differentiate themselves, is by being themselves and thus unique. People then love you or hate you for it. But the people who love your personality will listen to you and you will become their source of information.

Of course, it would be ideal if I could really solve a need unmet, but is that a necessity to focus in this industry? I could very well be wrong though!

Entry: There are millions of people who work out and could record videos, but will they? Will they survive the years long grind of building an audience? Let alone overcome the fear that comes with taking the step of starting a channel and doing it the right way and provide value, instead of only posting pics and videos of them flexing their muscles?

Control: I can always host my videos elsewhere and use advertisement to get new visitors?

 

[MidwestLandlord]

@Waspy

Thanks man, always open to constructive critism!

It's not necessarily that the reason for me wanting to do this is that I like it ( I do), but it's because it's my strength and I think it's wise to build on strength.

Need: the fitness industry is very big and will grow because more and more people have an unhealthy lifestyle and will be in need of fitness advice and training.
I might not bring something new to the table, because I think fitness is more of a science that has already been figured out.
The way I see it is that there is definitely a need for fitness and there is clearly an audience for it. The way I differentiate myself, and the most important way Vloggers can differentiate themselves, is by being themselves and thus unique. People then love you or hate you for it. But the people who love your personality will listen to you and you will become their source of information.

Of course, it would be ideal if I could really solve a need unmet, but is that a necessity to focus in this industry? I could very well be wrong though!

Entry: There are millions of people who work out and could record videos, but will they? Will they survive the years long grind of building an audience? Let alone overcome the fear that comes with taking the step of starting a channel and doing it the right way and provide value, instead of only posting pics and videos of them flexing their muscles?

Control: I can always host my videos elsewhere and use advertisement to get new visitors?

What you describe here is not selling fitness, but selling motivation.

You just said yourself that there is little need in this space because fitness has mostly been figured out by science, meaning there is plenty of information on how to be fit and healthy, but people still CHOOSE to remain unhealthy despite this information being available.

No one needs information on how to be fit. A google search for "how to be fit" has 799 million results.

In my opinion, the only real need in the fitness space is for physical exercise to somehow become the default option like it was when we had to go forage for our food or we didn't eat (pain point).

If I eat poorly and don't exercise TODAY, I won't feel the pain of those decisions for YEARS...even decades.

So...most these fitness guys on youtube or whatever end up selling motivation and not fitness, because the pain point of proper health is too far into the future.

 

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[CycleGuy]

Your reasons are terrible for starting this.

1) I like it, so I'll start a business
2) I want to feel fulfilled
3) I want money

Need - Is there?
Entry - None, there are hundreds of millions of people who work out and could record videos
Control - Nope, YouTube has that
Scale - I suppose the potential market is sizeable
Time - Yes, you will use loads of that

Have you read the book?

Fitness blogger space is also very well catered for already. Don't mean to shit on what you want to do, but this forum is largely about businesses which make CENTS, and imo, yours doesn't.

This is all correct....



Fitness community is over-saturated, dirty, shady, and filled to the max with "inspiration" and "WORK HARDER"...

Find a need within the fitness community and try to solve the problem...

I have a very successful friend who moved from owning a gym and being a PT, to selling used gym equipment. He saw how saturated the industry was for certain things and changed course to fill a need.

 

[LPPC]

What you describe here is not selling fitness, but selling motivation.

You just said yourself that there is little need in this space because fitness has mostly been figured out by science, meaning there is plenty of information on how to be fit and healthy, but people still CHOOSE to remain unhealthy despite this information being available.

No one needs information on how to be fit. A google search for "how to be fit" has 799 million results.

In my opinion, the only real need in the fitness space is for physical exercise to somehow become the default option like it was when we had to go forage for our food or we didn't eat (pain point).

If I eat poorly and don't exercise TODAY, I won't feel the pain of those decisions for YEARS...even decades.

So...most these fitness guys on youtube or whatever end up selling motivation and not fitness, because the pain point of proper health is too far into the future.

Indeed, most of it has been figured out already. But someone who just started to get into fitness, is completely lost most of the time because of all the scattered information and different viewpoints (some true and some not) that exist on the internet. That's where a lot of them turn to someone they can trust and they like for the correct way to go about it: that's where I come in.

Of course, there are hundreds of ways to get fit. The only need that I can indeed think of right now is indeed that a lot of people can't bring themselves to workout consistently, be it because of laziness, emotional problems whatsoever. I don't think I can provide a concrete solution for that.

But does that mean that I can't make money like all the other fitness entrepreneurs are doing without coming up with something completely new? Many of them have taken something that already exists, rebranded it and did great marketing to make it successful. An example is intermittent fasting (leangains and kinobody).

It also reminds me of the pickup community: most of the teachings have existed for a decade, but still many products are being sold and many entrepreneurs are doing well with it.

Isn't the need the simple fact that people want to get fit and they need the information from someone they can trust and like? I can cater to the people that like me...

This is all correct....



Fitness community is over-saturated, dirty, shady, and filled to the max with "inspiration" and "WORK HARDER"...

Find a need within the fitness community and try to solve the problem...

I have a very successful friend who moved from owning a gym and being a PT, to selling used gym equipment. He saw how saturated the industry was for certain things and changed course to fill a need.

There is indeed a lot of noise in the fitness industry, many different viewpoints and so on. Let alone all the bodybuilders on gear lying about it and all the shitty supplements that are bad for your health.


Would love some more viewpoints guys.

Thanks again.

 

[Waspy]

You say a new people wanting to work out are overwhelmed by conflicting and varying scattered information. Arent you just adding to that issue by adding ANOTHER point of view?

To make this work I think you need more than just another YouTube channel. It needs to be different from the get go.

EDIT: I would go bespoke. Target the high ticket, not the high volume market. That is, if you have the knowledge and ability to provide value to those paying customers.

 

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[LPPC]

You say a new people wanting to work out are overwhelmed by conflicting and varying scattered information. Arent you just adding to that issue by adding ANOTHER point of view?

To make this work I think you need more than just another YouTube channel. It needs to be different from the get go.

I won't be making things up myself, my methods will be based upon scientific research and my own experience and methods that have worked for many other people. So what I will do is distill the most scientific and most proven methods and share those, that way people don't have to look through the sea of conflicting information that many times are just untrue. There is also a lot of misconception and myths in the fitness industry, that are not necessary.

So yeah, I will be yet another source of information, but not necessarily another point of view. If that makes sense...

But I agree, I have to be different from the get-go. I have to find a niche and cater to a specific audience. I also have to have an USP. I haven't found one yet, but I could take an existing method and do some good marketing to make it successful and earn money.

Or is all of this very unrealistic and I have to find an unmet need and solve that need, or else I will be unsuccessful and I shouldn't do this?

 

[Longinus]

Just start, even when it doesn't work out (no pun), you will learn new skills and stuff.

Your first shot will probably not be your best anyway.

 

[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

So I'm actually working on opening a gym myself.. I know you were talking Youtube, but I'm always wondering how people can corner a niche market in the fitness industry.

Willing to take a stab here and get feedback as well. Here's what's on my whiteboard right now (I started doing this slow-lane as a personal trainer, decided I want to move into the fitness boot camp space)

Need: People need exercise at convenient times to fit hand-in-hand with their busy lives. Specifically, young/middle aged working adults in the city. They want to be healthier, more fit, more confident, etc.

Entry - owning a gym in the city has a significant cost - rents can be high, equipment costs, etc. You also need sales systems, marketing systems, and RESULTS. I actually filled out a form for a local gym's FB ad and they wanted ME to fill out the form with all this information, and then I HAVE TO CALL THEM to actually set up my free trial.. they don't call me. People are unmotivated ALREADY, why am i going to take all these steps to sign up? I run marketing AND SALES systems (at least, that's what i'm working on) to get people in the door

Control - I'm going to eventually LLC and brand under my own name - I thought about franchising (some decent fitness franchises out there) but it would violate this.

Scale - The boot camp model can scale to about $200K a year, which I am okay with as a ceiling. Once I have a system that works and I cap out around 100-150 clients, I could continue to scale by opening another location. I'm also exploring the online personal training space.

Time - I'm currently trading TIME for $$ as a personal trainer - once I have enough cash flow to fund the full operation, I'll look at hiring trainers and opening my own space (I sub-lease for now). One of the challenges will definitely be margins - I think the boot camp prices and ability to run a class with multiple people at once makes it possible to have enough $$ to hire other people in your place to do it all for you - so you can step OUT of the business.

Average person will come 2.5x a week = 10 sessions a month.

Hold 30 classes a week = 120 classes a month (30 min classes)
Each class holds 10 people (estimate) = 1200 spaces / month
1200 spaces / 10 sessions per client = 120 clients at FULL capacity with PERFECT scheduling..
I'd say you can have about 100 clients until the gym is capped.

100 clients x $150/mo x 12mo = $180K
Facility + Insurance x 12mo = 36k
Trainer salary: 60 hours/mo x 12mo x $20/hr trainer = $15K
Booking Software & Misc Expenses = 1k/mo x 12mo = $12K
Gross 117K (65% margin) without having to be physically operating IN the business.

Obviously there's a start up cost for some basic equipment and renovating a space for the purpose of a gym, marketing, etc. (I've found that my CAC is between $100-500 and LTV is around $1800 when I do 1-1 personal training which is far more expensive for the consumer.. so CAC should be far lower)

Am I missing something?

ISSUES:
- What makes this gym BETTER than others / unique selling proposition / how do we do it better?
- What's the clear NEED?
- The market is SATURATED
- What's the NICHE?

I'm still trying to answer these questions.

I'm thinking:
- Most gyms are too commercial, and either too cheap or too expensive in which you just join and workout or get over-charged for training. Also the sales thing I mentioned above - these gyms just market, they don't actually motivate, inspire, and sell people into coming in. Lot of these gyms are still grasping 21st century marketing, too.
- The NEED, in my opinion, is going to tie into the NICHE (more on this below)
- Saturation proves there's a market. The solution to be better and succeed is going NICHE
- I'm trying to think of what type of niche I'd like to go into for fitness boot camps. What if it was a boot camp purely focused on B2B and partnering with companies/corporations to keep their workers in kick-a$$ shape?

To go one step FURTHER.. what if it was specific to a company role - like sales team boot camp - I work in SAAS sales full time, and lot of the guys are trying to become more health-conscious because the job has worn them out over the years..

Just a couple of ideas - I'm open to feedback, I've thought a lot through this and would really like help to make sure I'm not just spinning my wheels.

My goal is to get enough clients (boot camp / 1-1) on EFT at the sub-lease studio I operate in, until it would cover the fixed monthly expenses to operate my own studio - then I'll open the gym (need about 15K devoted for a marketing launch, rent, renovation, equipment etc)

I wouldn't say this is super-fastlane or redefining the industry.
I would say that this is a practical business with a clear need, something I'm passionate about, good at, and understand well.

Any feedback?

 

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[MakeMoreMoves]

Are you trying to be one of those self branded fitness dudes. Through Insta or Youtube? The only thing you need in the fitness industry is to have a 10/10 aesthetic physique, face can actually be a 5/10 and succeed. Do you know the youtuber Ian mccarthy. Apparently the guy uses logical evidence, but looks like shit. Following is thrash. On the other hand, if you have a guy with a good physique spewing out garbage, his following will be higher. Combine aesthetic with logical fitness knowledge and your channel/page will explode. Aesthetics are an absolute must.

I started a blog a couple months ago, about fitness. But ever since I started business, physique dropped to like 5/10. Use to be like 8-9 physique. Going to get back to it and take half nudes of myself on blog. LOL

EDIT: I'd start with instagram and just keep taking pics of your godly physique. Eventually people will take notice. People will start asking the basic fitness questions to you. At this point, promote youtube channel through insta. Once you get posted on natty or not .com You made it brahhhh

 

[theag]

Only read the title, but: do something else.

 

[Jake Studebaker]

I will create a brand through youtube videos for example.

I would really appreciate some advice on how to this the right way from the start and some general advice and opinions.

I recently met a girl in college, so no older than 20, who is doing the same thing you are. Same goals and ambitions, just she already started. She has been a personal trainer to friends for about 4 years and she just recently bought a gym. The problem you're going to face is commoditization.

If a 20 year old girl has got a head start, along with a host of others you have some catch up to play. Not discouraging, just saying you need something to differentiate. A lot of in shape people start up fitness gyms just to find out that it's not the greatest industry for start-ups.

As long as you find your golden ticket (your differentiator) you can make an impact, but as long as you do it even halfway like someone else, expect to get lost in the crowd.

 

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[SquatchMan]

I used to be in the YouTube space. I was in pranks before it was saturated, but it's similar stuff in terms of branding.

Anyway, in my experience no one gives a shit about logic, sound advice, or anything like that. People either want to see the ideal image of themselves (fitness niche, models, Dan Bilzerian, Kardashian show, etc.), or someone so bad that it makes them feel better about themselves (socially awkward pranks, My 400lb Life, Hoarders, My Strange Addiction, etc.).

So for fitness since you want to brand yourself as what people want to see. What do people want in life?

1. Sex.
2. Money.
3. Good looks (separate for emphasis)

How do we cover these three things?
Note: Some of this the techniques are borderline unscrupulous. The entertainment biz is super fake, so get used to it if you want to enter. I left because I didn't want to fake it (I also got bored).

1. Get a bunch of hot girls in your videos.
-Sex sells. Always has. Always will. My prank videos featured mostly attractive college girls. Incorporate hot girls into your fitness videos.

2. Show people you have lots of money.
-How? That's for you to figure out.

3. Get a 10/10 body. Then start vlogging.
-Sorry, no one gives a shit about your 3 year long progress vlog. There are already a million people trying to get swole on YouTube. People want to see a 3 minute time lapse of Mr. 400 pounds turning into Arnold Schwarzenegger. People love the instant gratification that a time lapse provides. Three minutes is the sweet spot for video length in my experience.

Notice how I didn't say providing good advice or anything useful. No one wants to hear how to do it or even put in the work. They just want to watch other people have a good life. Look at shows like the Kardashians, Real Housewives, or the overall obsession with celebrities.

There is a guy on YouTube called Connor Murphy. He has 10/10 looks and lots of hot girls swooning over him in his videos. He doesn't have money, but sex sells more than money.

Connor has 500k subscribers.

 

[Choate]

The fitness space is exploding for people who hold sometimes multiple personal training certificates with some combination of nutrition degrees, bachelor and master degrees in kinesiology/exercise science; who have already established their footing somewhere at either a gym chain, sports team, club, etc. Having a good physique is just one small piece of that. But they still have to hustle to get clients no matter where they are and often compete with other trainers.

For everyone else, its one of the toughest spaces to get into. PPC ad cost is astronomical and your value add is going to be relatively low if all you are offering is your own personal experience. Whether you started skinny and got fit or started fat and got fit, whether your male or female, tall or short, your personal experience is only going to connect to a very specific subset of people.

Add in the fact the legal barriers that are oft overlooked regarding offering nutrition advice (aka, you really can't give any nutrition advice at all which is like 80% of the battle for most people) and its a lot more tough than just "I figured out how to get fit so now I can package my experience and wisdom for others to use".

 

[HADES]

You say a new people wanting to work out are overwhelmed by conflicting and varying scattered information. Arent you just adding to that issue by adding ANOTHER point of view?

To make this work I think you need more than just another YouTube channel. It needs to be different from the get go.

EDIT: I would go bespoke. Target the high ticket, not the high volume market. That is, if you have the knowledge and ability to provide value to those paying customers.

Intresting also having a Fitness channel but like you said i'm just blending in.

Would you have any advice on how to collect data in the fitness community or pain problems, especially authenticity because that is what's lacking in the industry, how can i be different?

 

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