Happy New Year! We hope your 2024 is off to a terrific start.
begin a new year, one of the key takeaways from the 2023 BFS State of the Industry is very much on our minds: only 9.4% of surveyed studios had profit margins of 20% or more.
A big part of our mission is to help studios with precisely those types of metrics. So we thought, “We can do better, As an industry we can do better. As an organization, we can help more.”
Therefore, we have three recommendations to help you reach that 20% milestone this year (and if you’re already greater than 20%, still read this, because it’s good stuff!):
Recommendation #1 - Be radically consistent when you implement basic, proven business tactics in your community. It sucks. It’s boring. It will make you want to drive your head through a wall. But it works.
Let’s use a weight loss metaphor to illustrate this recommendation.
Anyone who has coached weight loss knows that the best way to lose fifty pounds (50 lbs) is through the consistent implementation of proven techniques and systems for producing caloric deficits. Often, these systems include exercise and eating the same types of bland, boring food like chicken, fish, and veggies day after day after day. It’s monotonous and unexciting but this approach results in sustained weight loss because, as we know, there are no magic pills (even in this world of “magic shots,” the impact of which we’ll be exploring in the coming weeks).
If you already have proven systems that have been effective for your business, stop searching for new and different systems. Double down. Triple down. Community outreach bringing in those new clients bit by bit? Do more. Phone calls to 1st time visitors creating great conversion rates? Keep doing them. Now - when you want to do something new, layer on top. You don’t want to stop doing what’s been effective. You want to add to that proven success base and do a little more.
How do we know this method works? 1) Because “slow and steady” has been the advice written on cave walls from time immemorial to the writing of the classic fable “The Tortoise and The Hare”, and 2) Because several BFS Members had their best years ever (we’re talking $1MM+ at a single studio, up 20%+ in growth) last year by doing exactly that.
And just to help you on your way, we’ve got a library and community full of insights and advice that can help you find the particular system that can work for you. Simply browse our Free Resource Library, register for a BFS Sprint or enroll in our Skills Enhancement and Employee Development (SEED) program to get guidance on universal best practices, curated by some of the industry’s finest.
Action Step: Consider enrolling in the Strategic Foundations: Four-Week Business Mastery Course or Executive Coaching for Fitness & Wellness CEOs, both of which begin February 4, 2024.
Recommendation #2 - Boost your Revenue Per Member by driving more revenue from existing clients and members. Expand the scope of your services and begin incorporating wellbeing services such as nutrition, mental health, recovery, and semaglutide into your offerings. Increased RPMs could be a partnership away.
Action Step: browse the BFS Marketplace to discover companies that are excited to partner with you to serve your members' total wellbeing needs.
Recommendation #3 - Incorporate AI into your business this year to increase your operational efficiency and to drive profitability. Trust us, AI is not going away. Last year, many tech companies began experimenting with AI and, this year, we expect some of those companies will have refined their AI-enabled software, making them more powerful and impactful. Therefore, we encourage you to make it a resolution to select one company or product to dive down the AI rabbit hole with and invest the time to learn how that company can power your business throughout 2024.
Action Step: Consider enrolling in the AI Fit: Empowering Fitness Studios with Artificial Intelligence Sprint that begins on March 3rd.
If you have any questions about how to implement any of these recommendations, contact us and one of our colleagues will be happy to chat with you about your business.
Wishing each of you a healthy & profitable 2024.
Julian & Nt