Customer Reviews

The Business of Fitness: Understanding the Financial Side of Owning a Fitness Business

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am starting a World Gym in New England. Although there were only 2 reviews for this book (very good reviews I might ad), they both hit home with me. One of which was the Drapers' comments. Their gyms have an excellent reputation and seeing them praise this book was enough for me (no, I have never met the Drapers and do not kow them). About me: I have a BS and an MBA (majoring in Entrepreneurship) from a top business school in MA. Therefore, I have a good knowledge base of finance, marketing, and more. I also have very good managerial skills from my profession as a Project Manager and beleive I have good common sense. I read this book cover to cover. I learned something on just about every page. This book will take you from setting up pre-opening sales to having very specific checks and balances after the business is open. In addition, this book provides a full drawn out plan for you. I cannot praise this book enough. Although I have not put the teachings of this book to use, I found all of the teachings VERY informative and VERY sensible! Buy this book if you're opening a gym or have had a gym for a number of years. Well worth the $!!!!!

I got this book thinking I would learn something new, my advice is this: If you have a strong base in Business Consulting, DONT BUY IT. If you have NO business savvy, then its for you. He really knows his stuff, but I was disappointed as I expected something else, and since I work for a business consulting firm, I was more than surprised to discover that its a BUSINESS CONSULTING BOOK. I had expected lists of gear to buy, places to call, etc.

I did find this book interesting in the respect that I already smoked his "industry standard" statistics, and liked his marketing ideas. I read it cover to cover. I dont suggest you follow his advice of opening a club in debt, and stay in debt. Its VERY easy to get and stay solvent. From the beginning.

He also gives you great numbers and referrals of agencies to call, for processing and such. However, with the advent of the Internet, I found even BETTER ones out there!!!

Thomas Plummer literally saved our gym business, more than once in fact. My husband and I have been around gyms for over 60 years between us, but that doesn't mean we know how to make the business end work, so when a friend recommended we take a Plummer weekend seminar, we took the plunge.

Six months and a bunch of changes later, we went back for more. A year later, we went to his week-long business school, and the following year we sent our staff to his weekend seminar.

Five years have passed and we're now selling our gym. One of the first things we did was get the new buyers to schedule themselves into a Plummer seminar. While they're waiting for one to hit the calendar, I ordered a copy of "The Business of Fitness." One of the new partners is so caught up in it he can barely sleep. The other partner's getting anxious to learn this material, so much that I had to come back and order a second copy.

Good thing. The first copy is highlighted in yellow, scribbled on and too dog-eared to share anyway!

If you're in the gym business and want to know how to compete with the big guys down the street, get a copy today and read it this weekend. No kidding!

Laree Draper
Dave Draper's World Gym Santa Cruz

I have owned a gym for three years. This book has transformed the way I think about my business. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone except my immediate competition. :-)

This book has inspried me to go on and open my own fitness center. Written in text book style, it's easy to read and loaded with great, useful information that will make opening a center easier. In addition, it has practical information for the business to be finanacially successful and have longevity. I recommend this book for anyone who is thinking of this business opportunity.

In the controversed industry of health and fitness clubs, this book brings a needed ray of light.
Mr. Thomas Plummer knows the business of fitness and shares informations kept secret by many big fitness club corporations and sold for a lot of money by some good consulting agencies.
The book is obviously written for the US market, but you can make good use of its information on the other continents.
This book will give you good insights in the "business of fitness" , no matter what you are - rookie or industry veteran.
This book has a lot of information about how to invest in and how to run a commercial fitness club.
I give a small quotation from this book (from memory):
" When comes about training the employees, mant club owners and managers say :
' What happens if I train them and they leave for other club?'
Mr. Plummer replys:
'What happens if you do not train them and they stay?'
I am sorry that is not Mr. Plummer the one who runs Bally Total Fitness. With him doing this, this industry will do much better.

Plummer does a great job of informing the new health club owner on how to run and market a successful club. I would highly recommend this book to ANYONE in the health and fitness industry!

I highly recommend you this book if you are new in the fitness business. It shows you how to evaluate the business if you are buying a club. It shows you how to analyze the numbers. After having read this book twice, I feel confident that I will succeed with my new club.

The book is insightful for those looking into getting into the fitness business. A good resource tool.