9+ Sample Gym Proposals

What Is a Gym Proposal?

A gym proposal is essentially a business sales plan pitch that comprises detailed plans of putting up an indoor gym, outdoor gym or any fitness facility. It seeks to establish the who, what, where, when, why, and how of setting up a gym business.      

According to a 2021 online article published by Men’s Health, among the hundreds of gyms and fitness clubs, these ten gym chains rank the highest: Life Time, Gold’s Gym, Anytime Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness, Crunch Fitness, Pure Barre, Blink Fitness, Equinox Fitness Club, and local chains such as Bay Club.

Parts of a Gym Proposal

Like any sales pitch, you need to be able to cover all the key information while keeping your proposal persuasive and compelling. The content of your gym proposal will greatly depend on the type of gym you are pushing for; and it can be detailed and lengthy as needed. These vital elements below are key sections that definitely need to be part of any gym proposal:   

About the Company: The reason for pitching any proposal is to gain approval and/or funding. Your gym proposal should, therefore, be informative and convincing at the same time. As an introduction, the most basic thing to do is to introduce your company or proposed business. As much as possible, this section should be brief and straight to the point. Provide just enough background about the company and its origins. Avoid creating lengthy and dragging paragraphs. It is best to pick out only the most important information about the company. Mission Statement: Although it is not absolutely required, a mission statement can highlight a sense of purpose in your proposal. Like any effective mission statement, keep it brief with a maximum of two sentences. It should also be action-oriented, so do not discount the use of powerful descriptive language. For example, a fitness company’s mission for putting up a gym could be to help clients rediscover the health benefits and advantages of having a concrete fitness program. Services Offered: This section requires a detailed enumeration of services. As you propose your gym business, make sure to include all the amenities and services you intend to offer your clients. This could include a personal trainer program, a nutrition and diet program, gym equipment, strength training, group classes, conditioning and physical therapy, locker rooms and showers, etc. Your gym could include any of these services or even all. If your goal is to create a one-stop shop gym, you can even offer retail and food options for clients and customers. Market Segment or Clientele: It is important to identify market segments and establish who your ideal customers are. This is where customer profiles can prove useful. Apart from location, customer base is an important factor that could determine whether or not a fitness facility will be able to flourish or not. It is important to determine who your ideal gym client is. What is his or her background? Attributes like household income, educational attainment, purchasing power, and even marital status may seem unrelated but these are subtle factors that influence a gym goer’s likelihood to stay on a program or not. Finances & Revenue: Like all businesses, earning a profit is the bottom line goal. A gym business is no exception. There are a lot of factors to consider financially before implementing a gym proposal. Areas such as budget, estimated expenses, overhead costs, and revenue projections need to be covered and presented in such a way that it is more advantageous than disadvantageous to put up a gym. If, for example, you are a self-sufficient fitness company but are looking to rent a space for your physical gym, your proposal would need to persuade a landlord of how financially stable or lucrative your business could be. Sales & Marketing Plan: Aside from financing, a solid sales and marketing plan is also an important requirement. In a sense, it cannot be separated from the financial aspect of your proposal. High sales equal high profit. Your gym proposal should be able to address this. Creating a sound and feasible plan for marketing, promotions, and boosting sales is absolutely crucial. This will set the tone of how likely and whether or not your financial goals will be met. The more detailed your sales and marketing plan is, the better. A marketing plan could outline traditional methods like print ads or celebrity endorsements, and also digital solutions like social media strategic plans and management. Operations Overview: This section demands a detailed and concrete description of the operations side of running a gym business. Operations means the day-to-day management and everyday functions in the gym. It should include basic information such as the gym location or complete address; the floor size; number of rooms, etc. It is imperative to note down even the easily overlooked details. For instance, is it a two-story gym or just a single-level area? What is the maximum capacity of the gym for both personnel and clients? These are some questions that need to be asked in order to paint an accurate picture of the business.

Ideas for a Gym Business

Not all gyms are created equal. And there are many types of sports facilities that cater to different people as well. There are small, pocket gyms that house just a few basic equipment; CrossFit and boxing gyms; then you have your big commercial companies that operate a chain of gyms around the world. A gym can house several facilities and offer multiple amenities, depending on the budget or capacity of the operators. The following examples are just some ideas you can explore when drafting a gym proposal:  

Personal Trainer Program: Having a one-on-one trainer is a popular choice and preferred by a lot of gym clients. It may not be enough to simply house sports equipment. If there is demand for personal trainers then it might be best to incorporate customer-centric personal fitness programs in your gym proposal. On the client’s end, having a dedicated program could bring about better results and higher consistency. And having a trainer can potentially serve as a good motivator; plus, the client will have someone to rely on for accountability. Retail: For those companies that can afford it, strategic placing of retail products can serve as additional income for the gym. Many commercial gyms sell all kinds of merchandise like sports goods, clothing, mats, water tumblers, etc. Having a retail arm as an extension of your fitness facility can be a good way to diversify and tap into other revenue streams. Food and Drink: Another idea, in relation to retail, is serving food or putting up a café at the gym. On the surface, it may sound counter-intuitive. But if the food and drinks to be served are healthy and aimed to supplement training, it could be a feasible idea. Just like retail, it can help augment the facility’s income. One tip is to keep the establishment small and relatively limited. Only serve food and beverages that are aligned with the gym’s objective of promoting fitness and health. Strength Training: Almost every gym is not complete without an area dedicated to weight or circuit training. In fitness facilities, it’s common to see rows and rows of dumbbells and barbells arranged from lightest to heaviest. In addition to cardio and aerobic exercise, strength training is perhaps the most popular and basic form of working out. For any gym plan or proposal, an area for weights is usually a no-brainer. It, no doubt, makes up the core of a fitness facility. Boxing Ring: It is not an essential requirement of a gym, but having a ring can make any space interesting and compelling. Clients can sign up for boxing and sparring classes, or even wrestling classes. A boxing ring can serve as the perfect centerpiece for any fitness gym. Boxing is not only an excellent form of cardio, it is a full body workout that targets everything from strength to endurance to stamina. Group Classes: Another popular trend that many gyms and sports facilities hold are group classes. From yoga to aerobic dance classes to spin classes, there is something for everyone in the variety of workouts that are offered. If you want to cast a wider demographic or reach more people and clients, it is highly advisable to incorporate group exercise classes. These workout sessions are fun, versatile, and help promote camaraderie and confidence. Any gym that wants to add liveliness to their establishment and promote a vibrant atmosphere will definitely benefit from the incorporation of group exercise classes.

How to Create a Gym Proposal

To create a gym proposal, you need two main things: information and conviction. You need to believe in your idea first for others to be convinced about your idea. The right information and projections are key too. If you don’t want to start from scratch, using a ready-made template is more convenient and less time-consuming. Once you’ve decided on a template, simply follow the guide below to get started on your gym proposal.   

Step 1: The Idea

It all starts with an idea. It is important for your idea to not only be compelling, but it ought to be realizable as well. If you want your gym proposal to succeed, it is paramount that you can sell the concept of your business with the right tone and supporting information. Make sure you can clearly establish your smart goals and objectives of why you think your gym company will succeed. Give details about your company’s background, training expertise and qualifications of personnel, facilities, equipment, and execution plans when proposing your idea.    

Step 2: The Operational Plan 

The next step is to cover all operating aspects of the gym in your proposal. In other words, what are the requirements needed to run and sustain your gym on a daily basis? This could mean location details, facilities and equipment plus their maintenance and care; staff size or employee count; business hours; and essentially anything that pertains to day-to-day operations. It is best to cover all these in detail and not leave anything out.   

Step 3: The Marketing Plan

Without an effective sales and marketing plan, generating profit could prove to be a challenge. Sales and marketing are often intertwined and mutually dependent on each other. A sound and solid marketing plan is needed to be able to hit sales targets. For instance, if the goal is to hit five hundred gym memberships per month, you need a concrete and sustainable marketing strategies to execute your goal. In other words, steady sales are needed in order to generate profit and keep your gym running.    

Step 4: The Financial Plan

Lastly, a practical and feasible financial plan is needed to not only implement your gym proposal but to sustain it in the long-run. You need to be able to identify and breakdown the budget, expense, and projected income of your business to get a good picture of just how attainable your proposal is. A good financial plan requires two things. It needs to be realistic and data-driven. Without the right supporting facts and evidence, it will be hard to defend or justify your financial plan. And to do this, you have to include graphs, figures, and concrete statistics in your gym proposal. 

FAQs

How do you write a gym proposal?

To write a gym proposal, you need to present a compelling company overview and back it up with the right supporting ideas. You need a workable financial, marketing, and operations strategy plan to ensure that your business is not just a dream but an actual and attainable goal. For your gym proposal to work, you need to be able to strike the perfect balance between being informative and persuasive.

Is a gym a profitable business?

A gym can be a profitable business, given that it is well-planned and well-managed. Like any business, there is no one factor that will determine success or failure. So if you are planning to propose a gym business, the best thing you can do is to do your research, run the numbers, plan out every aspect, and try to project the most accurate outcome based on reliable data.

What are examples of fitness programs?

Some popular fitness programs that gyms offer are strength or circuit training, weight loss programs, group exercise classes, boxing lessons, cardio and aerobic exercises, muscle conditioning, and physical therapy. There are dozens of programs to choose from. It’s all a matter of finding the right one for you and your fitness level. Today, more and more people are opting for customized workout programs designed especially for them by trained professionals.

If you are dedicated enough to see your fitness plans through, a well-crafted and impactful gym proposal will mean so much more. It is not enough to have a dream; you need a plan that will help you execute those dreams and ideas. Make your gym business a reality now by downloading any of the sample proposals above!