The gym launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 46 steps in 8 phases, 22 of them specific to a gym. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan46 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
A gym earns recurring dues from a base of members, then layers higher-margin services on top of the people who actually walk in.
Typical for one unit is $300,000 to $2,000,000 a year; the owner keeps 15 to 30% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of all new U.S. employer businesses are still open after five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 3 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: buy for an existing base and cash flow, but underwrite the real active-and-paying member count rather than the roster; build only with the capital and a market dense enough to fill... Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
Opening a gym is mostly equipment and .
The itemized cost to open9 lines
- Cardio equipment (treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, rowers): $45,000 to $229,000Remanufactured commercial treadmills run about $3,900 to $4,300; new full commercial ones $5,000 to $12,000
- Strength machines, free weights, racks and class gear: $38,000 to $155,000
- Rubber flooring and mirrors: $10,000 to $81,000
- Build-out (walls, cooling, electrical, plumbing, locker rooms): $33,000 to $165,000The biggest swing; a former gym with locker rooms, power and cooling in place costs a fraction of a raw shell
- Front desk, lockers and signs: $7,000 to $42,000
- Door access, cameras, TVs and computers: $5,000 to $33,000
- Design, permits, insurance, deposits and fees: $35,000 to $92,000Architect, permits, health club registration, first premiums, lease and utility deposits
- Pre-sale marketing and opening supplies: $15,000 to $27,000
- Initial working capital: $75,000 to $200,000Payroll, rent and marketing while the membership base fills; your plan works out the amount
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed4 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to $5M · 10 yr (25 with real estate) · 75 to 85% guaranteed)The workhorse for opening or buying a gym: it funds build-out, equipment, working capital and acquisitions.
- SBA 504 loan (Up to 25 yr · real estate & heavy equipment)For owners buying the building too.
- Equipment financing or lease (Secured by the equipment · usually a few years)Finance the cardio and strength floor on its own, secured by the machines.
- Seller financing (Often 5 to 20% of price · 3 to 7 yr)Common when buying a gym.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/5Open
Find and secure the spaceone to three months
Gyms draw from a tight radius, usually the few miles a member will tolerate on the drive home.
What decides it for this business: population density, visibility & signage, parking & access, competition, demographics & income.
One call to the planning desk with the address: is this use allowed there, and what will it take (, permits, fire sign-off)? A space that needs a change of use can add months.
Rent, free months for the , who pays for what, the and the renewals, subject to financing and permits. The lender needs this letter or a draft lease to take your application.
After: ,, renewal options, increase caps, what the landlord adds on top of rent, and what happens if you have to leave. For a location business the lease is part of the purchase price.
After:at minimum; property, workers’ compensation and the rest as the business needs. The landlord asks for a certificate at signing and the lender at closing.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the or draft lease, the and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
After:The lender approves against the ; you sign the lease once approved; the loan closes against the signed lease and the insurance certificate. Ask for the to match the or longer.
After:
- 06Not started0/9Open
Permits and the build-outone to three months
A gym is a public assembly space where people exert themselves, so it carries building, fire and consumer rules that a store does not.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:For the , cardio circuits, showers and cooling upgrades, pulled by your contractors and closed out by inspection.
After:City approval for exterior signs and lighting, on top of the landlord’s sign rules.
Register your or corporation and get a city or county business license.
State registration to collect tax on retail, drinks and supplements; some states also tax membership dues.
Many states require health clubs to keep an AED on site and a CPR-trained staff member on duty; check what applies to unstaffed 24/7 hours.
Licenses from the performing rights groups (ASCAP, BMI and others) for music on the floor and in classes.
Fire marshal review of the occupant load, exits, emergency lighting and extinguishers.
After:The space must be approved for a fitness use, which often counts as an assembly with stricter exit, restroom and fire rules than retail.
After:
- 07Not started0/10Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
Bills dues on schedule, retries failed cards, tracks check-ins and flags members who stop coming; it is the core of a recurring business.
Enables 24/7 hours and ties entry to membership status, so a lapsed member is locked out without a conversation.
Desk, cleaning and class coaches are paid from week one; scheduling against check-in data keeps the desk covered without overstaffing slow hours.
General and professional liability, property, and workers’ comp.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Federal plus state withholding, unemployment and workers’ compensation once you hire desk staff and coaches.
After:Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Owners usually post the jobs a month out and hire two to four weeks before opening so training happens before the doors open.
Daily: Open and clean the floor, cover the desk, run the class schedule,... Weekly: Reconcile sign-ups against cancellations to see whether the base... Monthly: Track churn, member lifetime value, and cost to acquire as one...
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/5Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
Churn & acquisition; Rent & ; Staff & equipment.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
A gym is an asset you will eventually sell, and buyers pay for a dependable stream of dues.