The competition you can see is only a fraction the total competition you face in the gym industry. We have two types of competitors that affect our gym – Revealed Competitors and Concealed Competitors. Our gym defines ‘competition’ as organizations or individuals who fight for our customers or influence our customers to spend money elsewhere instead of our gym. We define ‘Revealed Competitors’ as those who are identifiable. They are discernible and readily recognizable. Conversely, ‘Concealed Competitors’ are Hidden Competition who negatively influence customers away from your...

Congratulations to Chuck Lawson Fitness Industry Council of Canada is proud to announce Chuck Lawson as the 2018 Canadian Fitness Industry Leadership Award recipient. Chuck Lawson entered the fitness business in 1987 by purchasing a Gold’s Gym in Langley, B.C. New to the industry, Lawson struggled to get the business started. He was all about lifting weights and training, but eventually he had to figure out a way to sell memberships. Fortunately, other Gold’s Gym owners assisted and mentored him. Once he hired a sales force, things started looking up. He eventually built the club up to $25,000...

Interview with Mike Tan, National Sales Manager for Orangetheory Fitness Canada.   What initially attracted you to the fitness industry? Like most who competed in sports, I started training in the gym at a young age. That said, my journey into the fitness industry was a coincidence! A part-time gig to transition to University and ease my mother’s concerns embarked me on a journey I am forever grateful for.   How did you find your first role in the fitness industry? I was shopping for a new gym membership and waited 15 minutes in the lobby to meet with a membership...

IHRSA 2018 welcomed fitness industry professionals from around the world to San Diego, CA, to sample the latest fitness equipment and learn how to better their businesses. Fitness industry professionals from more than 80 countries were in San Diego, CA, for IHRSA 2018, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association’s 37th Annual International Convention & Trade Show, held March 21-24, 2018. Attendees experienced the latest equipment and technology during the two-day Trade Show and early morning workouts, attended education sessions given by industry experts, worked out and power...

One of the biggest decisions you have to make in the fitness business is how to respond to new competition. What you do when a new gym opens or a new personal trainer starts a business to compete with you determines the direction of your own business. Since my gym, X Fitness, opened 17 years ago as an independent start-up, an unusual number of competitors have emerged. I have a lot of experience with new competition. I have attracted new competition in every profession I have worked in. I had minimal competition when I started writing law enforcement textbooks in 1992. Competitors dramatically...

I remember not so fondly one of my first jobs. I showed up excited and nervous on my first day. The receptionist had no idea who I was nor was anyone aware that a new employee had been hired. My new supervisor had forgotten that I was starting that day and showed up an hour later with a fully booked schedule.  I was shown to an office, given an employee handbook and told to spend the next hours reading the handbook and going through the desk to get “acquainted” with my job. I was not given a tour or introduced to other employees. No one asked me to eat lunch with them and I wasn’t sure whether...