If you own a Texas gym or martial arts studio, there’s one thing you can do to dramatically improve your chances of staying in business.
Continuity.
Let me explain…
If you own a Texas gym or dojo, chances are you’re a skilled technician. And you view what you do through that lens.
Yet it’s a poor business model designed to leave profit to chance. If you’re in the right location and a roaring economy, you can stay afloat despite this flawed model.
Then something happens. Your landlord jacks up the rent, disaster strikes (e.g., a pandemic), or the economy tanks. Members disappear faster than water down the drain. And you’re forced to close.
Think this won’t happen to you? It happened to many Texas gyms and martial arts studios during and after COVID-19. They “temporarily” shut down and never reopened.
To financially succeed, you need continuity.
And that comes from long-term membership contracts that generate steady cash flow. Ideally most membership agreements will be 1-3 years in length with renewal provisions that comply with the Texas Health Spa Act.
If your business model is either “no contract” or “month-to-month” with cancel at any time, you’re sitting on a ticking time bomb, not a cash cow.
Because your members will disappear at the least inconvenience (e.g., a temporary COVID shutdown). And won’t return.
So, what’s the “down side” to long-term membership contracts?
It forces you to act like a business owner instead of a technician with an expensive hobby.
If that’s too much, consider either freelance training others or working for someone who owns a successful gym or dojo so you don’t have the responsibilities.
Now if you’re serious about succeeding as an owner, and you need help with your membership agreements, let’s talk. Schedule a phone consultation with Texas Business Lawyer Mike Young.
