is a hardcore bodybuild gym a profitable business?

[Figo]

65 bucks is too much to pay a month.

isn't it 65 australian dollars

[Coach is Back!]

I can tell you from experience, I've had a 7200 sq ft hardcore strength oriented place since 1995 near Philly PA and have yet to make a dime. I work over 80 hours a week, do my own cleaning and repairs, never take vacations. You only make money from the people you sign up that NEVER come in and in our type of place every member comes in every night and busts up the place.

www.ironsport.com

I've seen the video tour of your gym and you have a great set up. IMO, thats the way a gym a should be. Yours, EliteFTS, Defrancos, etc are great gyms. "Bodybuilding" type-gyms are a dime a dozen. I do know that Joe's (Defranco) has a different business model not being open to the public. That's the way have our little set up.

[Dr Dutch]

so gyms are low percentage of success businesses?




my original life long dream was to buy a whore house and rent it to prostitutes but I looked it up in the criminal law books and it's illegal

Come to Holland! You can open a whore house and I can teach you how to train !!   

[Figo]

Come to Holland! You can open a whore house and I can teach you how to train !!   

whorehouses are headaches, and not much money
 

[monopoly19]

I can tell you from experience, I've had a 7200 sq ft hardcore strength oriented place since 1995 near Philly PA and have yet to make a dime. I work over 80 hours a week, do my own cleaning and repairs, never take vacations. You only make money from the people you sign up that NEVER come in and in our type of place every member comes in every night and busts up the place.

www.ironsport.com

Steve,

I love your gym. If I lived in your area that's where I would train. I worked for 2 years as the GM of a successful gym franchise. Based on everything I always hear from you I would either move the gym super close or into Philly or hire some trainers and start doing PT. PT is where all your money is going to come from. I know you personally hate training people so either hire someone or have them pay you money every month ($200-$300) and then let them keep anything they make. This way you take on zero overhead. I wish you luck bro.

[monopoly19]

65 bucks is too much to pay a month.

$65/mo is too much to pay? You guys suck. If it's a good gym, with good equipment, members, enviroment, etc that's nothing IMO. I guess training is more important to me. Small price to pay for a place you like to go and can make gains at.

[Palpatine Q]

Great machine!

Yup...I love the center mounted extension machines.

The ones with the bar coming from the side can't possibly be engineered so precisely that the weight distribution is even, I just don't see it.

[Big Worm]

basic equipment with heavy ass weights but charge the same as the fancy panzy gyms?

depends.. Only one or two days out of the month.. Once on monthly dues,and another on Supplement purchases.. But not much on anything else..

[Tapeworm]

65 bucks is too much to pay a month.

Welcome to Australia, Land of Retarded Pricetags On Everything.

[Coach is Back!]

Welcome to Australia, Land of Retarded Pricetags On Everything.

A little (a lot) naive on this, but is the Australian $$ the same as the American? Meaning if I went to Australia would I have to exchange American $$? Did that make sense?

[Tapeworm]

A little (a lot) naive on this, but is the Australian $$ the same as the American? Meaning if I went to Australia would I have to exchange American $$? Did that make sense?

Yep, they share the name 'dollar' but it's a different currency so you'd be facing exchange rates.  I think the Aus dollar is pretty strong these days but that's not the worst of it for visitors.  Americans fall over backwards when they see the cost of some things here.  I buy all sorts of things online and they are far cheaper than retail even after paying shipping costs.

The economy here is somewhat out of control imo but no one seems to ever talk about it so maybe I'm nuts.  I retain my US passport tho in case of emergency.  Even with the mining, I'd be surprised if there isn't a crisis here in the next decade.

[apply85]

I heard the cost of beer is astronomical

[Tapeworm]

I heard the cost of beer is astronomical

I'd guess the cheaper stuff is under $2 a can at the shop but you can burn $20+ on a 6 pack easy enough.  Haven't been in a city pub in years but I expect you'd pay about $10-$12 a pint.

[apply85]

haha, what? 2 dollars a can what, 10 - 12 a pint WHAT

what is the explanation, high alcohol tax?

[Tapeworm]

Idk man.  Everyone has to charge a lot for their shit in order to make enough money to buy other shit when everyone else is charging a lot for their shit too.   

[apply85]

What you said means that the australian dollar is worth about half of the us dollar, what you're saying.... that everything is just expensive, in economic terms this translates into the currency not being worth as much as the currency of a country where "everyone doesn't charge as much for shit," catch my drift?

[jwb]

A little (a lot) naive on this, but is the Australian $$ the same as the American? Meaning if I went to Australia would I have to exchange American $$? Did that make sense?

Yes coach you would actually have to exchange your US dollars for Australian dollars. They are worth about the same at the moment.

[jwb]

What you said means that the australian dollar is worth about half of the us dollar, what you're saying.... that everything is just expensive, in economic terms this translates into the currency not being worth as much as the currency of a country where "everyone doesn't charge as much for shit," catch my drift?

Wages are a lot higher but Aussies are still in more debt than just about anybody in the world trying to keep up their lifestyles.

Houses prices are very very high. A huge bubble in my opinion.

[jwb]

Guess how much this old house in sydney is for sale for? 1million even!

[Tony Doherty]

65 bucks is too much to pay a month.

Maybe you have to up your income mate.

If you train 5 X week, then it is about $3 per visit. You have access to 5 gyms 24:7 with every piece of equipment imaginable.

If you have a job then this should be easily affordable in any country. I spent $65 on a nice steak yesterday. People spend that on liquor nightly.

Better still if you smoke a packet a day in Australia, that is about $455 per month. 

[wes]

I pay $60.00 a month to train at a university gym.......only gym in the small town where I live.

[DroppingPlates]

65 bucks is too much to pay a month.

Stop whining, or join your local Planet Fitness.
When a gym has good equipment, friendly & knowledgeable staff, and a good environment to bust your ass, than it's well worth those 65 bucks.

[jwb]

Maybe you have to up your income mate.

If you train 5 X week, then it is about $3 per visit. You have access to 5 gyms 24:7 with every piece of equipment imaginable.

If you have a job then this should be easily affordable in any country. I spent $65 on a nice steak yesterday. People spend that on liquor nightly.

Better still if you smoke a packet a day in Australia, that is about $455 per month. 

for what messiah offers that is a fair price.

being an aussie who now lives in america it is always funny to go shopping and hear people complain about paying $3 per kilo for bananas or 80 cents a litre for petrol.

[galain]

$65 per month for an outstanding gym is very good value in Melbourne. I left Oz 3 years ago and wasn't paying a lot less than that for a significantly more run down facility.

Tony - do you ever/did you ever spend time thinking about or planning around your competition? And if so, who do you see as your competition? The chains? I was on the other side of town and can only name BodyWorld as a 'hardcore' type facility, and even then, that's more to do with the lack of any other options other than the weight room.

[Tony Doherty]

$65 per month for an outstanding gym is very good value in Melbourne. I left Oz 3 years ago and wasn't paying a lot less than that for a significantly more run down facility.

Tony - do you ever/did you ever spend time thinking about or planning around your competition? And if so, who do you see as your competition? The chains? I was on the other side of town and can only name BodyWorld as a 'hardcore' type facility, and even then, that's more to do with the lack of any other options other than the weight room.

No have always beaten to my own drum. I have never worried about what anyone else does, just kept pushing.