Why Open a CrossFit Gym?
CrossFit Gyms have become wildly popular in recent years, leading many people to want to open their own box gym. CrossFit is an intense workout routine that combines Olympic weightlifting, aerobics, gymnastics, rowing and more. The goal of this system is to do the maximum amount of work in as little time as possible.
There is a higher monthly membership fee for CrossFit gyms in comparison to traditional gyms, but that does not deter the thousands of Americans who have joined these box gyms. This has made CrossFit gyms a lucrative enterprise for entrepreneurs.
Finding the Perfect Location for Your CrossFit Gym
When you are searching for the perfect location for your box gym, it is important to not let your excitement speed up the process. You need to find a location that can bring in business, and that you can afford the rent on while you are working on building up your business. While taking the premium location with the pricey rent right away may seem like the best move, it is not always recommended to do this before you have built up a clientele.
Building Details
The Bion CrossFit gym in Arizona is a General Steel building featuring stucco panels, faux stone siding and a column free interior. The Bion gym started with General Steel's pre construction package where our team provided 3D renderings, floor plans and an A.I.A. certifiable cost analysis. This allowed the owners of this CrossFit gym to know exactly how much the project would cost before ordering their steel building kit.
Building Size
70' x 80' x 22' 6"
Location
Tucson, AZ
Pitch
.25 on 12
Walls
Stucco Panels and GenStone
Roof Color
Polar White
Trim Color
Dark Bronze
Project Consultant
Ken King
Project Coordinator
Bill Burnham
Space and the Building Itself
You need to get a building that will be big enough to hold all of your clientele, but you also do not want to overestimate and end up with a lot of large, empty space. It is recommended to estimate you will need 10 square meters (108 SQFT) of space per person to ensure there is enough space for everyone to work out safely.
“Get a big enough space right away. There are several examples from colleagues in Finland and abroad, where the space have gotten too small already after 4-6 months from opening,” Mikko Aaltonen, from Reebok CrossFit 33100, said.
Location
When evaluating potential locations, it is important to think about the demographics of your area. Zeroing in on the population can help you determine if where more ideal locations may be since demographics will help you pinpoint the locations in an area where your main clientele live and work. Putting a gym in the outskirts of urban areas, in the more industrial parts of a town, allows for cheaper rent, larger buildings or lots, and room to grow but you need to find the parts of the outskirts where your demographic would be willing to go. Location is a big factor people take into consideration when looking for a gym, so it needs to be key in your mind too.
Network with Other CrossFit Gym Owners
It is recommended by other box gym owners that you develop a network of owners from other CrossFit locations to get advice and help each other with their individual businesses. One person on Reddit who sold his CrossFit after just a few months said his biggest mistake was not talking to other enough other box gym owners:
Putting it All to Use
One couple who has had their CrossFit gym since 2007 said that they were approached by new affiliates regularly, but they would often come in unannounced and just start asking questions. The wife, who was unnamed in the interview, said:
“If you want to ask a current owner questions, do something for them. Don’t just drain them dry with your questions and waste their time…Take them out to eat, get them a gift certificate, clean their gym. You are more likely to learn something if you are respectful of their time.”
Other owners advise that you will be in charge of a lot of things you may not have initially accounted for, such as cleaning the gym and repairing the equipment. Once you are ready to open your CrossFit gym, the application process is set up to be completed quickly and easily on their website. Take your time getting everything prepared to set up your business and it can flourish, like other CrossFit Affiliates worldwide.
