So, you’re passionate about fitness and want to open your own gym, but will you be able to make ends meet on a gym owner’s salary? There’s a lot to consider before you make the final call on opening your own gym; you’ll need to prepare to hire employees, pay salaries, buy equipment, pay for equipment repairs, pay utilities, keep up with rent, pay for renovations, and a whole lot more. If at the end of the day, all that hard work doesn’t deter you from fulfilling your dream of gym ownership, you could end up turning a pretty profit.
Initial Investment
Keep in mind, the process of opening up a gym can involve a hefty initial investment. Between buying franchise rights, purchasing equipment, renovating parts of the building, paying rent and move-in fees, and unexpected fixes, you will need reliable financial backing to build a successful gym. If you are planning to open a gym, be prepared for an initial investment of $200,000-$500,000. We know that is quite a range, but in truth, you can easily keep costs down by purchasing gently-used equipment or starting with a smaller scale facility.
Monthly Revenue and Cost of Operation
Australians spend on average $65 per month on gym memberships, with most of their business going to 24-hour no-frills gyms. If you manage to pick up 100 clients in the first few months, you could be seeing revenue as high as $6,500 from memberships alone. Include a snack, juice, or protein bar, additional classes, personal training, and other special services, and you could see revenue skyrocket.
Don’t pocket the profits just yet. As a gym owner, you’ll be responsible for paying all the necessary bills, salaries, and utilities before you cut your own check. Equipment will need regular servicing, repair, and replacement, you’ll need consistent air conditioning and heating, running water, electricity, Internet, and other utilities. Trainers, desk managers, and janitors will need to be paid, and money will need to be invested back into the company for marketing and advertising.
If you stick to it and continue to build and grow your business, you could be earning anywhere from $105,000 – $210,000 per year owning your own gym.
Personal Training vs. Gym Ownership
If owning your own fitness business sounds like a dream come true, but you don’t think owning a gym is the right path for you, you might consider becoming a personal trainer. Where the cost of operating a gym is extremely high, the cost of operating your own independent personal training business is relatively low. Some personal trainers choose to invest anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars on equipment they keep in their personal workout space or home studio; others host workouts at their favorite gyms or partnering fitness centers.
Like owning a gym, being a personal trainer allows you to contribute to someone’s fitness journey in a meaningful way. Personal trainers work one on one or in small groups to help clients achieve goals, connect with their bodies, and improve their confidence. For both personal trainers and gym owners, there are plenty of opportunities to create a business, foster clients, and build a successful career.
{{cta(‘eff694b4-90a1-4763-9f91-b1a5eb9c227e’)}}
Personal Trainer Salary and Benefits
Though owning a gym can be an incredible opportunity, personal training has its own unique benefits. As a personal trainer, you have the ultimate ability to set your own hours and schedule, providing you have the discipline to do so. Personal training also allows you to work in your ideal environment, rather than reporting to a location of your employer’s choosing every day. Being a personal trainer also allows you to foster closer, more personal relationships with clients, making this a perfect choice if you prefer a more holistic approach to fitness.
Though you can set your own hours, one of the difficulties of personal training is the discipline required to balance life and work. If you can successfully set your own hours and build your business, you can easily make personal training your career. On average, personal trainers in Australia earn $29 per hour; work 40 hours a week, and you could be earning $60,000+ per year helping people change their lives.
Personal Training and Fitness Certification
Whether you want to own a gym, work as a personal trainer, or just teach a few spin classes now and then, you are going to need the proper certifications. At PT Academy, we have been educating and certifying fitness professionals for more than a decade, and have helped countless personal trainers achieve their fitness career goals. We offer courses in Certificates III & IV, and provide a range of continuing education courses to help our established graduates stay abreast of the latest trends in fitness.
Ready to start your fitness career path? Visit PT Academy today to learn more about our certificate and continuing education courses.
{{cta(‘d7294f79-8518-4e26-b8d3-555293b0f75e’)}}
