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With a booming wellness industry and a unique fitness concept, Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs provides franchisees the support, resources and opportunities they need to succeed.
Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs is shaking up expectations for fitness franchising. Established on a foundation of support, community and continual growth, the franchise brand provides franchisees unique turnkey solutions, back office support, development opportunities and flexibility that are not found in other fitness concepts.
“There are a lot of people who come to me and say, ‘This has been a dream of mine forever. I’ve always wanted to have my own gym,’” explained Josh Hettiger, Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs COO. “That resonates with me because I always knew I was going to own my own business, but I didn’t know what it took. There were a lot of times where Jason [the CEO] took me under his wing and showed me exactly what goes into owning and operating a business, and we provide that same guidance to our franchisees.”
As Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs continue to grow, here are five reasons why now is the perfect time to get involved with the brand.
Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs provides franchisees with pre-established programs and turnkey solutions that ensure operations and other processes are handled, allowing the franchisee to devote more attention to their business and what they hope to achieve.
“We handle all of the accounting, human resources and payroll for all of the locations, which is kind of unique and a big value add for franchisees,” explained Jason Markowicz, Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs CEO.
The Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs corporate support team is always ready to help, making this the perfect brand for new and established entrepreneurs. Regardless of experience level, the brand’s network truly does function as a team, and franchisees can be confident that they will not be left to do everything alone after paying their franchise fee.
“We help with all financial aspects of the business, running club support, overcoming member issues — anything you can think of, we do for the franchisee,” said Kathy Mecklenburg, director of operations and HR for Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs and multi-unit owner herself. “We take the headache off of the franchisees so they can focus on building the club, working with clients and enjoying their careers.”
Further, the brand stands out in the fitness industry by providing franchisees access to a proprietary sales system software. This streamlines the sales process, ensuring all financial information is automatically and correctly compiled; it also allows the corporate team to analyze data and provide any support a franchisee needs to stay on the right track.
Great people make a great team. Hettiger has noted that one of the draws to the brand is simply the team; high-achieving staff and a supportive larger network makes Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs an incredibly welcoming and supportive environment. This fact is not lost on the brand’s leadership.
“We have a ton of curriculum built out that encompasses different leadership skills, whether it’s communication, sales, personal finance and everything in between,” Markowicz said.
Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs leverages this knowledge to develop its franchisees and staff both as businesspeople and leaders in a broader sense.
“Not only do we help with your initial staff selection and whatnot, we have three different touch points per week,” Hettiger said. These meetings include training on things like nutrition, coaching, leadership and other skills that will develop even better managers, front desk staff and trainers. “Three times per week, we’re investing in the staff of our clubs, and that makes a world of difference.”
Beyond these weekly get-togethers, Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs also hosts monthly masterminds which serve as deeper leadership seminars as well as quarterly summits that allow staff to connect beyond the club.
“We often say that we’re not in the fitness business, we’re in the people business,” Markowicz explained. “So the more effective we can be at that, the stronger we are.”
Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs’ unique model positions franchisees to bring revenue through more than just monthly membership fees. With retail offerings, personal and team training, nutrition guidance and recovery programs, club owners have opportunities to not only develop multiple revenue streams but truly offer services to meet a wide range of needs.
The brand has always been innovative, but some of these streams actually materialized as a result of the pandemic.
“Our team did a great job of coming through the pandemic, and a lot of valuable new ideas were born from the crisis,” Markowicz said. “I’ve been on both sides of the franchisee-franchisor relationship. I have been in every situation that franchisees have been in. We were proud to create solutions for our franchisees during the pandemic, and we are excited to continue offering new solutions and opportunities for franchisees as we continue to grow.”
While Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs provides franchisees with guidelines for the business, it recognizes that each community is a bit different and has different needs.
“We do it for the communities we serve,” Hettiger said. “We’re not just a one size fits all model. We go into these communities expecting and wanting to be a staple in helping them thrive. Typically the communities that we go into are underserved, and we’re going in to give them a high quality of service and better access to fitness.”
Hettiger describes Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs as a hybrid model, combining the approaches of big box gyms – that feature millions of dollars worth of equipment and can be difficult to run — and boutique fitness models — which can be more specialized, expensive and difficult to access.
“We give you the best of both worlds,” he said, “and I think people find comfort in that.”
Within the $4.2 trillion global wellness industry, Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs has carved out its niche. Its community-first approach leads to great connections between franchisees and their members, but it also creates a unique environment in terms of choosing territories.
“We still have some great territories available,” Markowicz said. “Our philosophy has been to approach more niche markets, even tertiary markets, which are both underserved and typically a little bit less competitive. We’ve developed a niche within these towns, and our franchisees really can become a centralized part of the community.”
In the past 12 months, eight new clubs have opened, and Hettiger says that the brand plans to open an additional 10 by the end of 2022. “We’re looking to grow the brand to 200 locations by 2030,” he said. “We’re expanding nationwide, and we currently have clubs in the works in Wisconsin, Georgia and Florida.”
The total initial investment necessary to begin operation of a Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs franchise is $279,849 to $575,499 per unit, including a $39,999 franchise fee. For more information, visit https://fitforyoufranchising.com/.
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