Posts Tagged ‘real estate’
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Everyone is very concerned about the economy today. Real estate prices are uncertain and banks still aren’t loaning out money and because of this on a daily basis we hear that people just aren’t sure about starting up a new business. Now at illuminate gym we know it’s always a risk to start a new business but we also see that there is a lot of opportunity for new entrepreneurs in our current economy. People always ask how there could be a lot of opportunity in being an entrepreneur at this time. Well within the illuminate gym model we have found that there is a ton of opportunity in opening your own fitness franchise and we are finding creative ways to make our fitness franchise one of the most affordable fitness franchises in America. Now as franchisors this has created more work for us and less money but since the inception of the illuminate gym model are focus has always been on helping our franchisees and perspective franchisees as much as possible. Currently, as we move forward with a few active franchisees we have never seen such leverage on our negotiations on real estate and equipment acquisition. This economy will turn around and many experts believe the fitness industry is a recession proof business and we have statistics that prove this fact as illuminate gym is still doing as well as it ever did even with the slow in the economy. Many people within the illuminate gym model are making sacrifices in their lives like where they entertain themselves or how they feed themselves. However, many of our clients are not willing to sacrifice their fitness over a bad economy because the old saying ‘you don’t have anything if you don’t have your health’ is as true today as the day the phrase was coined. At illuminate gym we show our customers the value in being a part of illuminate gym. We also show them physical results in weight loss, lowering of blood pressure, lowering in cholesterol, and a better self esteem. These are the things we have focused on which make us a part of people’s lives they just don’t want to give up. That’s why we believe this is a perfect storm for people to build a successful illuminate gym in their community.
If you are interested in hearing more about the franchise opportunities at illuminate gym please give us a call or check us out at www.illuminategym.com/franchises.php.
Tags: banks, business opportunities, business opportunity, credit markets, economy, fitness franchise, fitness franchises, franchise, franchisers, franchises, franchisors, real estate, weight equipment
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Sunday, December 20th, 2009
Over the last couple weeks we have been working very hard to get one of our franchisees’ lease completed. There were a few hang ups on the deal as the HVAC system and a few other issues with the space were not quite up to par with the illuminate gym standards. Late yesterday we were informed that the landlord was okay with making the appropriate changes to the space and they also warrantied the HVAC system for our future franchisee.
This is an exciting time for our franchisee as they begin to look forward at the beginning of their career as an illuminate gym owner. At the end of the day we all feel confident in what we have done as a franchise to help our franchisee get the best real estate deal possible. The real estate deals out their in our current economy is incredible because today future tenants have more leverage than I have ever seen. Many people look at this time as a scary time to start a business but as an entrepreneur I believe there has never been a better opportunity to take hold of an opportunity of a lifetime. When the market completely turn in 2010 the deals we are seeing now will no longer exist. A business is an investment just like the stock market. And just like the stock market it’s bad to start making your investments when the market is at its highest point. In other words, I don’t think there has ever been a better time to buy into a franchise unit. Even here at illuminate gym we are finding ways to make our model more affordable for future entrepreneurs as we are committed to our partners long term success rather than our short term success. If you are interested in hearing more about the franchise opportunities then please check us out at www.illuminategym.com/franchises.php. Thanks so much for reading and have a healthy day.
Tags: CO, Colorado, franchise, franchise opportunity, franchise unit, franchisee, Greenwood Village, gym, illuminate gym, landlords, market, real estate, tenant, tenants
Posted in Fitness | 1 Comment »
Monday, December 7th, 2009
Earlier this week one of our franchisees was ready to sign a lease. As a franchise we had agreed with the landlord to all the key issues that will appear on the lease such as, price per square foot, how many months free from rent and how many months at half rent. On paper the deal looked really good however, in the 12th hour the landlord shot an email out to our real estate agent telling us that they would not agree to warranty the HVAC system which sent up red flags for us at illuminate gym. However, our franchisee had been inside of the space and the HVAC appeared to be working great. However, using our wisdom and experience we wanted a company we trust to check out the HVAC sytem so we put a call into the landlord and told them we wanted into the space. The landlord quickly responded by saying they would have thier HVAC guy check out the heating and cooling systems and let him know that I wanted our own specialist to check it out.
Two days later our HVAC guy was at the space and he called me up and I asked, “is the unit working?”
“Yes,” he responded.
“Great,” I said.
“No not great David… The HVAC system is working but I have no idea how.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well the unit is 23 years old and it appears that the system hasn’t been serviced in the last 23 years.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Well there are a few broken parts… The coil has been damaged by what looks to be hail and the unit is absolutely filthy. I’ll send you some pictures.”
Sure enough pictures were then sent to our franchise offices and the unit looked awful. We have since responded to the landlord letting them know that we won’t be interested in a lease if the unit isn’t up to par with the illuminate gym standards. The space is perfect for our franchisees’ needs but as a franchise we can’t put our franchisee in a position where they could be liable for a $10,000 HVAC system. This is another example of why it makes sense to join a franchise unit like illuminate gym. I know I made a lot of mistakes within the first lease of illuminate gym years ago and it ended up costing me a lot of money. Today we have attornies and specific real estate specialists ready to help our future franchisees with issues just like this one. People are always afraid of their initial franchise fee but the truth is you are buying a brand, a territory, training on a franchise model, and the support to make sure your business gets started on the right foot. If you are interested in learing more about a fitness franchise please contact us here at illuminate gym or check us out at www.illuminategym.com/franchises.php.
Tags: franchise, franchise fee, franchisees, franchises, franchisor, ftiness franchise, illuminate gym, landlords, real estate
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Monday, November 23rd, 2009
Over the weekend illuminate gym got closer to getting a ntreal estate deal done in Greenwood Village and also began to get closer on making a deal in the Saddle Rock, Colorado area. We are very hopeful to have 2 more locations opened here in Colorado by early 2010 and it looks like it may happen. There is a lot of concerns out there from franchisees about the future of the economy in the United States but what we have found over the past few weeks is there may not be a better time to start your own fitness franchise for a few key reasons.
1. Landlords have never been more open to negotiating leases. We won’t get into exact details of our current lease negotiations but I will tell you that during this time if you have good representation franchisees will have the leverage to negotiate the best leases I have ever seen. However, times are bad and landlords would like to see successful businesses that thrive and then hopefully in a five years times will be different and they can fill their available spaces with higher paying tenants. That’s why we are pushing our perspective franchisees to start moving on their goals of owning there own business in the fitness industry because now is the time to solidify a long term lease at a low rate.
2. The second reason we are pushing franchisees to move forward with their goal of owning there own franchise is because in my career in the fitness industry I have never seen such low prices on exercise equipment. I think at this time like most industries there is just so much exercise equipment out there and not enough buyers which give us buying power.
I like to look at starting a business as an overall investment like buying stocks. The question you have to ask yourself is do I want to make an investment when stocks are at the highest and hope they go higher or do you invest when the market is down and build a business that will flourish when the economy turns. The only thing I can say to future entrepreneurs is I wish I was negotiating our lease and purchasing weight equipment today because I would have saved myself a lot of time and money. If you are thinking of starting your own business now is the time to start laying the ground work. If you are interested in hearing more about the franchise opportunity at illuminate gym please give us a call at 1-877-427-2615 or you can check us out at www.illuminategym.com/franchises.php. Thanks for reading and have a healthy day.
Tags: equipment, fitness franchises, fitness franchsie, fitness industry, franchise, franchise opportunities, franchise opportunity, franchises, gym, gym equipment, illuminate gym, landlords, real estate, weights
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Friday, November 6th, 2009
“Is this a good time to buy a franchise… and start a business??” is a question we have been hearing from perspective franchisees at illuminate gym for the past 6 months. People are concerned about the economy and the buying power of America as the long recession continues to carry on. In Colorado, we have plans to open at least one more franchise unit by early 2010 and we continue to speaking with people across the United States. However, it’s the question that lingers on which is making people hesitant to become entrepreneurs…. ‘the economy??’ …. ‘it’s the economy stupid!’ , we heard from Bill Clinton in the early ’90’s and we have come full circle again. I can appreciate people’s fears as they look into opening a franchise and the fear that goes into investing money at a time when Americans are not spending as much money. However, at the end of the day starting a franchise during any economic climate is always going to be a risk you have to be willing to take to be a business owner. Today there are some definate pro’s to starting a business during these times….
1. I have never seen landlords so willing to negotiate with franchises on price per square foot because many centers are only partially filled and some money is always better than no money. When the economy turns for the better these same landlords will be less likely to negotiate with such aggressive demands by franchisors and their franchisees.
2. If your business is successful during these tough economic times then you should find your business or franchise flourishing when this economy turns around.
3. At illuminate gym we have also found that some of our preferred vendors are much more likely to offer deals to our franchisees on such things as, exercise equipment.
I personally think right now is wonderful time to start a business and really to start laying the ground work to be very successful in the next few years. You have to remember as an entrepreneur that their is always risk involved with starting your own franchise or business. That risk is what separates entrepreneurs from employees or leaders from soldiers. You have to be willing to take that risk on yourself. As a business owner myself I know that owning your own business can be very challenging but it can also be the most rewarding adventure of your life.
Also as a side note we would like to let you know that we also understand that every franchise opportunity is different but illuminate gym continues to prosper during these tough economic times because we offer incredible service from our personal trainers and the results we obtain with ‘High Oxygen Training’ is really second to none. We have also found in a tough economy that people are still focused on their over all health and fitness. People understand the importance of feeling and being healthy as it pertains to their quality of life. Working out at a place like illuminate gym with a personal trainer is good for people’s physical and psychological well being. At illuminate gym we have found that over the past 6 months we have had an influx of clients who are even out of work right now, yet they still find a way to take care of themselves physically and mentally with future success on their mind. Maybe it’s time you think of your future success! If you are interested in illuminate gym’s franchise opportunities then please give us a call or check us out at www.illuminategym.com/franchises.php. Thanks so much for reading and have a healthy day!
Tags: business, commercial real estate, economy, fit, Fitness, fitness franchise, fitness franchises, franchisees, franchisors, gym, gym franchise, gym franchises, health, High Oxygen Training, illuminate gym, landlords, personal trainer, personal trainers, personal training, personal training franchise, real estate, risk, www.illuminategym.com, www.illuminategym.com/franchises.php
Posted in illuminate gym the franchise | 2 Comments »
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Blizzard like conditions in the Denver area have kept our newest franchisee from being able to meet with his real estate agent to finalize the ‘Letter Of Intent’ (LOI) on our newest location in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The storm crept up on us here at illuminate gym early this fall and has absolutely pummeled the us with snow. Today I sit in our franchise location on 7th and Colorado Boulevard and I watch as the snow continues to fall wondering when this winter wonderland will let up so we can get back to negotiating our latest real estate deal for our latest franchisee. Our attorney in California continues to call us wondering what the status of our meeting was yesterday not understanding the severity of the storm like conditions in the Denver area.
On a brighter not people are still warming up by working out here in the Denver franchise location. They just can’t miss that workout with their personal trainer even though there is over 2 feet on the snow. It’s a testament to our work ethic and the results we get for our clients as they continue to show up at illuminate gym to make sure they stay on track with their regimen. Thanks for reading and if you would like to read more about our franchise opportunity then please give us a call at 1-877-427-2615 or check us out at www.illuminategym.com. Thanks for reading!
Tags: Colorado, Denver, fitness franchise, franchise, franchisee, franchisor, Greenwood Village, gym franchise, lease, letter of intent, LOI, personal training franchise, real estate
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Friday, October 16th, 2009
One thing that is becoming more and more evident to us here at Illuminate Gym that we have to trust our franchisees and their ideas on real estate a little more than we are. illuminate gym is poised to open at least 2 more locations in the Colorado market over the next 10 months and we have been heavily involved with the basic research on properties. The question as a franchisor is how involved should we be in finding real estate for our future franchisees? This is an important question we have to answer because as we move forward with our franchise opportunity across the country we obviously won’t be able to give the same real estate support as we are with franchisees in our backyard.
It’s important to note that at illuminate gym we do have basic parameters for our future franchise locations such as, estimated square footage, recommended signage requirements, visibility and other aesthetic and building recommendations we have. However, we have to be sure we don’t over step our our obligations when it comes to dealing the seeing real estate. Ultimately, we would like to approve all of the future illuminate gym locations but we also have to be able to trust our franchisees with their decision on where they believe they can make their business prosper the most. As a franchisor we are merely consultants trying to help our franchisees to become successful entrepreneurs and in turn our business will grow. It’s an exciting time in our franchise growth but we need to be able to take a step back to allow our franchisees to grow into business owners and decision makers. Thanks so much for reading and have a healthy day!
Tags: business, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, fitness franchise, franchise, franchise locations, franchisee, franchisor, real estate
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Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
For More Information:
David Sedbrook
1-877-427-2615
Franchise@illuminategym.com
www.illuminategym.com
illuminate gym has plans to open 2 more locations in Denver by 2010
DENVER—October 14, 2009—illuminate gym, affordable personal training featuring unique High Oxygen Training (HOT), announced today that there are plans as of this week to open 2 more illuminate gyms in the Denver area.
The first franchisee of illuminate gym is a long time client who originally started working with the personal trainers at the original illuminate gym over 4 years ago. His results and his faith in both ‘High Oxygen Training’ and the business model of illuminate gym made it an easy decision to look into joining the illuminate gym system.
The second franchisee, who is currently looking for real estate in the Denver Tech Center, is a current personal trainer at illuminate gym who has developed ‘High Oxygen Training’ from its inception. He also sees the opportunity illuminate gym offers for his future success.
At illuminate gym we would like to wish these 2 franchisees luck as we begin to search for real estate in their communities. “It’s great that people who have experienced the service and business dealings of illuminate gym are the future of illuminate gym in Colorado. We wish them luck and hopefully with a little help from us they will build successful businesses.”
If you are interested in tracking the progress of any of our future franchisees and their success check out illuminate gym’s CEO Blog at www.illuminategym.com. Have a healthy day!
Tags: client, fitness franchise, franchise, franchisee, gym, High Oxygen Training, illuminate gym, personal trainer, real estate
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Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
The search for real estate in the Denver Tech Center has begun for a perspective franchisee. At illuminate gym we offer a service to qualified franchisees where we actually have our real estate teams get into the markets they are interested in so we can show our future franchisees a legitament margin sheet to ensure that they understand exactly what they are getting into. It also helps our company determine what the best location would be for our franchise units. The location of a franchise could be eliminated based on income levels, price per square foot or taxes. These simple things can be determined by a franchisor before a franchisee wastes time viewing a space that isn’t right for them. This is just a way for us to pre-screen real estate options, present a total investment our franchisees and make the best recommendations for a future site of an illuminate gym.
We didn’t believe this was anything different than any other franchise does until a perspective franchisee made it very clear that other fitness franchises were of little help with real estate until the FDD was signed and they had their initial franchise fee in hand. At illuminate gym we are interested in showing our support to even those who just have interest in opening an illuminate gym. I have heard from other fitness franchises and franchise consultants that here at illuminate gym we should not waste our time and energy on people who have not baught into the franchise system. Our take is we are in the business of being dedicated to people, so we will extend to people interested in opening an illuminate gym.
Just the other day I had a franchise lead that came from a young man from Arizona… Currently, he is not in an economic situation where he can invest in a franchise. However, in the future this young man may just call illuminate gym when he gets to a place where he can afford to buy into a fitness franchise.
Tags: business, Denver Tech Center, FDD, fitness franchise, franchise, franchisee, franchisor, illuminate gym, real estate, taxes
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Monday, September 21st, 2009
Earlier this weekend I went to visit a perspective franchisee to ease his mind about buying into the illuminate gym model. He was concerned about the real estate he was being shown by the real estate agent our department had set him up with. So I made it a point to travel to the area he is looking to business in and check out the property before he made a decision on our FDD. He was shocked when I arrived because no other franchisor had offered to meet him at his house to help him with his decision. At illuminate gym we are not just interested in helping people with personal training (High Oxygen Training) because we are also interested in helping our franchisees to build successful businesses. At the end of the day I think the perspective franchisee and myself were able to come up with some viable real estate options that will help him achieve success.
At illuminate gym we are so committed to helping our franchisees find success that we are willing to go above and beyond what our competitors are willing to do. We feel in the long run our approach to clients, personal training and our franchisees will separate our business from all other fitness franchises. Thanks for reading.
Tags: FDD, fitness franchise, franchise, franchisee, franchisor, gym, illuminate gym, personal training, real estate
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