Posts Tagged ‘fitness indsutry’

A question we hear all the time from perspective franchisesees is what is better an older more established or a newer more aggressive franchise.  It’s an interesting question that can be answered in one simple way… There is no right answer about which franchise would be a better fit for you.  You simply have to look at both business models and make a decision that best fits your goals and aspirations.  I can tell you that illuminate gym is a franchise opportunity that is by all standards a newer member of the fitness franchise world.  However, our model is proving to be a success even over some of the older franchise models offered out there.  I’m not trying to say illuminate gym is a better business model but when dealing with a franchise opportunity you have to realize that the model is proven weather it is older or new.  If it is not a proven business model then you should run away from that franchise because there is no real franchise ‘opportunity’.

At illuminate gym this week we have been in discussion with someone who is interested in becoming a multi-unit franchisee.  He has narrowed his choices down to two different fitness franchises.  We are of course one of the fitness franchises and the other is an older and more established franchise.  Both models have their advantages and disadvantages.  Number one is when a business or franchise is heavily developed there is less of a chance of becoming a major player in the franchise where a newer more aggressive franchise may offer some larger opportunities to someone who is looking to develop a newer brand.  You can also make an argument that larger franchises have a brand that smaller ones do not.  However, in the fitness industry I can really only make the argument that ‘Curves’ is a known entity where other larger brands will not be recognizable to the average person in the public.  The reason being that the fitness industry tends to have less locations than lets just say a burger franchise may have.  So what I would say is branding is less important in the fitness franchise world because no one’s brand is developed enough to cause that many waves.  People want results from their fitness facility that’s your brand in the community…. Nothing more nothing less.

Here at illuminate gym we don’t think there is any difference between dealing with a bigger or smaller franchise.  Bigger franchises have told perspective franchisees that we are not a proven entity in the fitness world.  However, they forgot to check that we put one of their facilities out of business 2 blocks away from one of our locations.  That’s proof enough to our franchisees but the key for a a future franchisee is to look into each franchise opportunity and make an educated decision about the people you will be getting trained by and about the business model itself.  As a franchisee you must really believe in the franchise model you are about to buy into.  Thanks for reading and if you are interested in hearing more about the franchise opportunities at illuminate gym then check us out at www.illuminategym.com/franchises.php.  Have a healthy day!