Starting your own gym is a great way to combine your passion for health and fitness with work. Starting your own fitness company allows you to do what you love and make a difference in other people’s lives.

How to Write a Business Plan for Your Gym

You can empower people to feel healthy inside and out, all while generating revenue throughout the process. And of course, you get to be your own boss, create your own schedule, and have full creative control over how you run your business.

There are numerous benefits of opening your own gym, but there’s one thing you need to have to achieve it; a business plan. Most likely, when you think of all the things you need to open a gym, the last thing on your mind is a business plan.

The best elliptical machines, equipment, location, and staff quickly come to mind—but a comprehensive document that outlines every aspect of your business does not.

That’s exactly what business plans do; they help you document every aspect of your business, from your company mission to your competitor analysis to your financial projections.

Most importantly, business plans are the stepping stone towards fundraising from banks or investors. No lender will loan you money without a detailed business plan, so it’s important for you to start working on one while you’re ahead. Here are a few tips on writing a business plan for your gym:

Use a Business Plan Template

Unless you have experience writing business plans, using a premade business plan is the best way to go. A gym business plan can help guide you through content and decide what type of description, data, and details go in what sections.

On the same token, you should also take a look at business plan samples, both in your industry and in other industries. Reading other business plans can give you deeper insight into what it takes to create a stellar business plan.

Understand Standard Structure

By now, you should have a basic understanding of what standard business plan structure and format looks like based on the business plan templates and samples you’ve seen. The better you understand the structure, the better positioned you’ll be to create a plan that resonates with potential lenders.

Lenders and investors expect a specific layout when it comes to business plans, and if you deviate too far from this, you could end up confusing or complicating the document as a whole.

Focus on Your Executive Summary

Your executive summary is the first section of your business plan, but it should be written last. As the name suggests, the executive summary summarizes all other sections of your business plan and contains the most important and appealing information.

This is the first impression that any reader gets about your business. If you think of your business plan as a book, your executive summary is the book jacket that encourages potential buyers to head over to the checkout.

Take your time writing this section when your business plan is officially completed. When you’ve finished writing your executive summary and feel confident in your business plan as a whole, consider hiring a business plan consultant to review your work and pinpoint areas where you can make improvements.

Alternatively, if you’re on a lower budget, you can work with a business plan writer who has experience working on successful business plans.

Accurately Determine Your Lending Amount

Typically, the primary purpose of your business plan is to raise funds for your business so that you can continue operating. Most small business owners will need several years before they can turn a profit and get a return on their investment, and most investors don’t have enough cash in the bank to wait this out.

It’s crucial that you ask for a funding amount that aligns with your needs and provides proof that the money you’ll be spending directly correlates to your future profit potential. For instance, you can’t ask for $100,000 without having a detailed plan that describes how you’ll be allocating that money and how your allocation will lead to profit.

Many business owners make the mistake of simply adding up the amount of equipment they use and how much stuff they think they need, then asking for that amount. But what if you purchase a piece of equipment that visitors aren’t using? What if you don’t need three employees during the afternoon shift or what if you don’t need contracted personal trainers?

These are all important questions you have to ask yourself if you want to be realistic with yourself, make smarter financial decisions, and increase your chances of securing funding.