Choose a Fitness Franchise
Fitness franchises are among the most popular type of franchise businesses. When you own your own fitness franchise, you’ll be tapping into a major need for the vast majority of the population. Each year more and more people want to lose weight and get in shape. As the nation looks at rising obesity rates, especially in children, fitness is going to become a bigger concern.
If your background is in the fitness industry, or you’ve been a lifelong athlete, owning a fitness business could be the opportunity you’ve been looking for. Consider the following fitness industry statistics:
* There are over 30,000 health clubs across the United States
* Over 42 million Americans belong to a type the fitness club
* Adults 55 years of age and older make up about a quarter of fitness club memberships Read more
Great Weight Loss Franchises
In recent years, America has become increasingly aware of what is now one of our biggest national health risks: obesity. There are no two ways around the fact that, as a country, we’re fat. Some reports claim that as much as one-third of adults in the United States are not just plump, but obese (meaning roughly 50lbs or more overweight). Perhaps it’s a problem that has been a part of our society for some time, but the sudden awareness of it and all the health problems associated with it has brought along an interesting response: a sharp increase in diet and fitness businesses. Everywhere you look, another fitness establishment is cropping up, trying to help America slim down, but it’s more than a noble cause; the diet and fitness industry is one of the biggest in the industries in the country.
For those entrepreneurs whose interest is health, ranging from operations specializing in fitness, to those that take a more holistic, diet-and-exercise approach. But if starting from scratch seems less than appealing, here are some great weight loss franchises that can get you off on the right foot with your business. Read more
Healthy Living Franchise Opportunities
Franchise- the word derives from France meaning honesty or freedom. Not a typical thought when it comes to some mainstream chain stores, but a few high end whole lifestyle franchises give both the consumer and the small entrepreneur a value that is true to the sense of the words freedom and honesty. Freedom in the sense of being able to choose a lifestyle based on desirable healthy holistic practices and honesty in that the management teams have hit upon proven successful businesses with a cooperative backup support system. In all goes hand in hand when a franchise owner understands support from his/her management team in how it plays in the arena of the retailer’s relationship to the consumer. According to the Natural Marketing Institute, consumers known as LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) constituent 23% of the American buying public. While “Purity and detoxification” were the leading wellness trends of product launches in 2006, the current focus of this healthy consumer market is moving toward a complete package approach that supports better living lifestyles.
Jamba Juice whose motto is “Today is the first day of the rest of your health” is a perfect example of this trend. According to their website http://www.jambajuice.com, Jamba Juice is not just about customer service, its all about the lifestyle. Making their smoothies from 100% real fruit and juice concentrates, Jamba functional drinks like Heart Defender, Protein Berry Workout or Coldbuster caters to the customer who wants both convenience and healthy living. This made for a great partnership as Jamba Juice entered into strategic operating agreements to open stores within several Whole Foods locations in 1997.
“I’m surprised there aren’t more companies creating a culture beyond selling a soulful experience for the customer. That’s been the basis for our success.” Says founder Kirk Perron who started the company in San Louis Obispo, Ca in 1990 and sold the franchise sixteen years later in March 2006 for $265 million dollars. Read more
Combat Childhood Obesity with a Kids Fitness Franchise
Childhood obesity poses a serious threat to children and adolescents, and unfortunately, it can happen to any child. Being overweight as a child can lead to many problems socially and health-wise. Obesity can cause serious health problems such as heart disease or diabetes. Children who are obese from a young age may also develop poor habits that can affect their health and self-esteem for a lifetime.
One way you can fight back against childhood obesity is to start your own children’s fitness business. Children’s fitness is one of the key elements to preventing obesity in children. With a children’s fitness business, you can use tools and proven strategies to help your own children and well as others to overcome the battle at a young age.
Types of Children’s Fitness Businesses
There are many types of businesses related to children’s fitness. Some involve very young children, such as preschool fitness (or preschool P.E.), which helps children develop healthy fitness habits at a very young age. Other businesses focus on older children or teens. A children’s fitness business may include offering preschool fitness DVDs with exercise illustrations and fun music to spark activity. Other business opportunities may include toys or age-appropriate exercise equipment, books, or sports.
With your children’s fitness business, you can provide whole exercise programs for preschools, daycare centers, churches, and other organizations to help combat childhood obesity. You can even provide helpful resources to other parents individually, all while earning a lucrative income. Read more
Gym Fitness Franchise Opportunities
Once you’ve done the research and decided that buying a franchise is the right business opportunity for you, the next step is choosing a franchise. But with so many franchises available in so many different industries, how do you narrow down the selection? First, think about your personal interests. No one wants to run a business he finds uninteresting. For example, if you hate math and crunching numbers, an accounting franchise probably isn’t your best bet. Instead search for businesses that you think would be fun to manage.
One such type of business is a gym. The American fitness craze is definitely here to stay. With $14.8 billion in revenue reported in 2004 and 41.3 million registered health club members as of January 2005, this industry offers franchisees the opportunity to get a slice of a very big pie. If you, like so many other Americans, are a happy passenger on the fitness bandwagon, a gym franchise might be the ideal business venture for you.
Gyms in the Franchise 500®
If you do decide on a gym franchise, of course you’ll want to choose one that has a good reputation for financial performance and franchisee satisfaction. A great tool to help you identify these franchises is Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500®.
Entrepreneur uses the same objective and quantifiable criteria to judge all companies-regardless of size-and formulate a ranked list of the best franchise opportunities Some of the factors considered include: financial performance, growth rate and the size of the company, the number of years a company has been in business and the number of years it has been franchising, start-up costs, litigation, percentage of terminations and whether or not a franchisor provides in-house financing. Read more
Home-Based Health and Fitness Franchise Opportunities
If you’re considering your own home based business, the “health and fitness” industry is a great place to start. There are millions of people of all ages searching for good health tips, products, health advice, vitamins and minerals, etc. So, there’s an ongoing need for health-related businesses - both online and offline. Here are some great ideas for starting your own health related home based business.
Focusing on a Woman’s Health
A woman’s health is very important to her. You can start a home based business based on health and fitness for women only. Women are always trying to lose weight, improve health, and discover the secrets behind true health. You can build a home based business that offers advice for women and “improve your health” products such as vitamins, minerals, diet foods, recipes, etc. Read more
Top Kids Fitness Franchises
Between diet and lifestyle changes in the last 50 years, America has become a very unhealthy and overweight place. When people and public services address this subject, they generally mention that roughly one-third of Americans are obese, and that obesity is one of the deadliest killers in the United States. What they sometimes fail to mention is that an estimated 16% of children are obese, some 70% of those kids will grow up and remain obese and one in 15 children are so bad-off today that they need medical intervention such as gastric bypass to recover from their condition.
Though it may initially seem unrelated, this has had an interesting effect on the business world. In much the same way that America’s weight problem (and sudden societal awareness of it) has prompted fast food restaurants to begin offering healthier alternatives to standard menu items; the nation’s new health consciousness has changed the way we look at kids, even in the franchise business world. Our newest concern is child fitness. If you have a knack for working with kids and a passion for healthy living, then there are business opportunities perfect for you, and here are just a few of them.
Fitwize 4 Kids
The first of its kind, Fitwize 4 Kids is essentially a kids’ gym, offering circuit training that addresses the specific bodily needs of a child age 6 ½ to 15 in a quick 45-minute set of workouts that is both effective and fun. But their work with kids doesn’t stop at cardiovascular exercise, resistance training, and agility training; they focus as well on nutrition. Hoping in all things to make a lasting impact not only on the body, but on the mind, this business’ ultimate goal is boosting each child’s sense of worth as a person. As far as the business is concerned, overhead is relatively low because the designs are so compact that every possible inch of space is used, and professional relationships tend to last for many years, making cash flow solid. Read more