In response to Kevin’s question from North Scottsdale CrossFit:
Perhaps in a future post you can address your thoughts on priority of spending $ for new affiliates. As entrepreneurs we succeed or fail based on how we allocate our scarce resources, time, money, energy. There are a thousand things I would like our gym to have: 5 more rowers, two more GHD’s, a ‘nicer’ box, MBO, pre-printed postcards to send for PR’s, referrals, etc. But which is the best use of the money in terms of growing our membership and ensuring the quality of our member’s experiences?
Obviously if you have more resources and are going big from the start you can afford to outfit your box exactly as you want. For those of you starting with limited fundage here is my basic list of essentials for starting a CF box. They are not ranked in order of importance…It’s my opinion that you need them all. Think of this list as the backbone of a gym…from which you will increase quantities of various items and grow your equipment base as your clientele grows.
The 13 Essentials:
1. A clean space (whether it’s 500 or 1500 sq ft) Be sure your box is well maintained and clean. CrossFit boxes are typically in light industrial spaces, often in less than desirable neighborhoods. If you offer top-notch training and your facility is well maintained it will make up for the less than ideal location. No one wants to train in a dirty box in a bad neighborhood.
2. A barbell or two with about 450 lbs of bumps.
3. A squat rack
4. Lots of dumbbells. In the beginning you can modify almost every barbell met con and use dumbbells. You will need the barbell for strength work, but folks can share a bar. Dumbbell workouts are less space intensive as well. If you have your clients do Fran with dumbbells it’s not the end of the world. Most of them won’t know any different anyway.
5. Pull up bars
6. At least one set of rings (great for body rows for your pull up progression)
7. One rower
8. MBO - you are in business and you are a professional. It’s my opinion that you should run it that way from the start. You will need a merchant account anyway…the total software package is about the same cost as a merchant account that does recurring billing and you get SO MUCH MORE! Also, the emails you collect in your client profiles can be immediately uploaded into Constant Contact which is a cheap (free for fewer than 100 contacts) way for you to send out newsletters/information to your clients. Fundamentally all of the data that MBO collects will be useful for future marketing efforts. If you aren’t collecting this information now you are doing your business a disservice.
9. A blog. A simple WordPress blog is a great way to start.
10. One 20 in box – this also makes for a great fanny target if you get some de-conditioned folks with limited range of movement.
11. Jump ropes (cheap!)
12. Dynamax balls – one each 20#, 10#, 6#
13. Continue to invest in yourself! Every seminar you attend helps make you a better coach and increase your value to your clients.
You can do a whole heck of alot of training with minimal gear. As you grow you fill in the gaps. You can get by with a single rower for quite some time. You can get by with a single GHD (or without one) for quite sometime. We went without a GHD for our first year and a half.
As for energy and time:
In the beginning you will most likely have more of both of these (relative to money). These two resources are also in limited supply however and you should still be protective of both.
I see a lot of affiliates doing what we did when we first opened: Offering classes morning, noon, and night, even though you don’t currently have the clientele to support you being there all the time. There is no reason for you to teach a “class” that has only 2 or 3 people in attendance. That hour is best spent doing a shared private session for a greater return on your time. Only open classes as demand grows…start with a morning and an evening session. As those fill add another, and another, etc. There is much more energy in a class of 12 than a class of 2 or 3 and the time you spend training will be quality. To grow your business you need to be energetic and smiling. Nobody wants to train with a trainer that’s worn out and tired.
Also, if you aren’t spending time teaching a “class” with 2 people you can use that hour to wear your CF shirt to the coffee shop or Costco or Trader Joe’s or wherever and chat with the folks behind the counter. Mention your next beginner class, tell them to check out your website, etc. Don’t be pushy, but be friendly and let them know what you do. (Robb is good at always weaving our gym into conversation at check out stands…the topic is usually brought up by the checker who comments on a t-shirt we’re wearing…easy!)
Thanks for the quick turnaround and great advice Nicki! I’m almost there at all 13. I guess I’m going to have to sign up next week for MBO.
Nicki,
This stuff is all awesome – and perfectly timed. As I teeter on the edge of getting myself up and running, all of this info is a wellspring.
It’s obvious to me that the more hours I spend reading this blog, the less months I’ll waste making mistakes on the business side.
Keep up the good work.
I love your blog, Nicki. I’m a 19 year old college student in North Carolina and I’m considering opening a box when I’m done with school. I have no shortage of passion when it comes to Crossfit and spreading it’s message to people. However, I have no business knowledge. Your blog fills a relatively large information gap in this community. Kudos!
Nicki,
More great advice thanks.
Keep it coming please.
Glad to say we have a 500sq foot space, 4 Oly bars, 200kgs of bumpers, a range of KBs, Squat stands, jump ropes, rings, a floor we can drop weights onto and are having a 7m pull up bar installed.
The plan is to run 1 morning and 1 evening session initially with an additional foundations class Mon, Weds and Friday evening.
Sounds like we’re on program!
Even got a kick ass logo and T-Shirts on their way.
Oh yeah, took your advice re MindBody too.
Thanks again,
Brian
Soon to be Crossfit Central London
Awesome Brian! Keep us posted!
If you are somewhat crafty, and having a lot of time on your hands you should be able to build your own boxes and medicine balls (using the sand and basket ball method). You can also make some extra rings for basic stuff (although I still recommend having at least one pair of ‘real’ rings).
Depending on the hanging arrangement, these can always add a few more pull up stations. When hung from a tall ceiling (12′ or higher) they also don’t take up any room because you can just swing them out of the way and tie the straps to a nearby wall.
Down the road, you can upgrade these things when you want to look/feel more professional.
The biggest expense for almost all new boxes is going to be rent. So make sure you choose your location wisely. Retail space is not a good idea. Go for the “Light Industrial”. . . BUT MAKE SURE IT IS LEGAL WITH THE CITY ZONING LAWS. Don’t even get me started on that one. . .
Just remember, CF is ‘industrial fitness’ so it works best in those types of settings. This works to our advantage because warehouses and industrial areas are cheap compared to retail or even residential.
The ‘industrial’ feel can also be cultivated so that members feel even more “hardcore” about their gym and their training (and they’ll complain even less about the small stuff).
Also, just think about how many rowers/bumpers you can get if you are paying $500 – $1000 less per month because you went with the ‘cheaper’ space.
-jj
Nicki,
Great info on this blog! Glad to have found it. I have a question for ya. We already have 5 established class times per day, and our attendance is pretty low in the mornings. Is it okay to get rid of current class times once you add them? We have 1 guy who wants the 5 a.m. and if we cancel that classtime we might alienate him. Same with the 9 a.m.. (pretty sure he can’t come to any other class times) However, the 5 a.m. guy was our first client, so we really don’t want to alienate him. Thoughts on this?
Hi Jenna!
Of course! It doesn’t make sense to give someone private training at the group class rate. If there isn’t traction for a class you need to cut it…otherwise you’re bleeding money on it. (Even if you’re the one teaching it…if you were paying a trainer to teach it it wouldn’t pencil out at all!)
Now, it’s important to be sensitive to not alienate your first clients. I would check and see if there are any other class times they can come. If not, here’s one more option: Let them know you need to get the numbers up in order to keep the class open. Have them find some people and bring them in. You can also schedule a beginner workshop at that time and try to pack it. Then, after the workshop you will hopefully convert those folks to being regulars at that time slot.
Hope that helps!
Nicki,
Just saw that you responded! Thank you! We moved our 5 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. and it is filling up – our die-hard 5 a.m. guy brought a friend along!!! That, and moving the class to 5:30, has allowed us to get more people in the door.
Now our 9 a.m. is still the problem – there are now 2 people there some of the time. Problem is, the one guy who only shows up at 9 a.m. has brought us several clients, so we don’t want to upset him. Also, there IS no other time that he can come. I’m hoping that with some of the new members we are getting (since adding a dedicated point of entry – an Intro Class – Thank you!!!) the 9 a.m. will begin to fill up. We’ll see. Otherwise, I don’t know what to do! Your idea of holding a beginner’s class at the same time is good – except I don’t know how he would feel about that.
Am I too sensitive?
Hey Jenna,
If he is a reasonable person he will understand that the class needs to grow in order to keep it open. Otherwise, he should be paying for private training…cuz that’s essentially what he’s getting. So…tell him you want to make 9am a rockin hour and to do that you are going to need to have an Intro class at that time and get some folks up to speed. It’s really all in how you present it to him. Keep me posted!
Question regarding t-shirt sales – do you have any sort of “retail license” or do you just sell ‘em and track the sales tax via MBO?
Hi James,
Yes, in the state of California you have to have a seller’s permit. And MBO is awesome at tracking sales tax!