8 Undeniable Truths of Health Club Ownership

Rob Bishop Headshot

I've been a club owner for more than 20 years. In that time, I've met a lot of people who want to own their own club, and they sometimes ask me what it's like. Here are eight truths that anyone interested — or already entrenched — in this profession should always keep in mind:

1. A health club is a business.
Almost every future club owner I speak with talks about how much they want to help people, how much they want to change people's lives. In order to do that, you have to keep the doors open, and that means paying the bills. You will need a basic understanding of accounting. You need to know how payroll works, how to balance your checkbook, how to manage the process of billing your members. You may have help with some of these things (a bookkeeper or an accountant), but you will still need to understand them. Take an accounting class.
 

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