A Day in the Life of a Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs Franchisee

Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs, the 17-unit fitness concept, is not shy about its robust franchisee support systems, and this shines through in franchisee and corporate employee Samantha Gorman’s everyday schedule.

“I own three franchises with Fitness Premier, but I typically house myself at our corporate office,” Gorman said. “So, a day in the life… The babysitter comes over, watches the kids, then I come to our corporate office in Manhattan. Pretty much throughout the day, I’m on my computer, answering emails, going through staffing questions, facilitating schedules and things like that. It’s kind of hard to tell you specifics because it changes on a day-to-day basis, but it’s a lot of communication.”

Though she originally came to the company as a trainer at an already-established Fitness Premier location, Gorman now owns three of her own franchises and provides substantial corporate support to others within the network as well.

Despite an ever-changing list of needs as she works to support other franchisees, evaluate operational efficiencies and manage her own staff, Gorman says she tries to visit each of her three clubs every week to check in. These visits may not be scheduled, but they provide a valuable opportunity to connect, and Gorman’s staff know that if they need her, she will be there.

One of the more predictable aspects of Gorman’s role is her responsibility to conduct leadership trainings.

“I also teach leadership for the corporate office. So, every Wednesday and then once a month on Fridays, I teach a leadership topic for our company,” she explained. “So we’ll have managers and lower-level staff from all the locations come to the corporate office, and we do a two-hour leadership training session.”

Gathering with many people from the Fitness Premier network allows Gorman to get to know everyone while gaining an aerial view of how everything works together. Rather than focusing on franchisees’ weaknesses, the brand’s leadership prefers to identify everyone’s unique strengths and leverage those. Gorman plays a critical role in this process as she conducts these leadership trainings.

Gorman’s path is certainly attainable for those who are driven to succeed, but it is not the only way to be a successful franchisee with Fitness Premier.

The brand has multiple franchisees who either focus their time in the corporate office or maintain a primary job outside Fitness Premier. For these folks, Gorman says that connection is still key.

“As far as a leadership standpoint, we train staff to do whatever they need to do. So if you hire someone and say, ‘This person is going to be the person who has boots on the ground running this location for me,’ we will train that person from the day they start until we feel like they’re ready to be set free at the club,” Gorman explained. “Still, the franchisee should at least understand the people working in their units, even if they're not going to physically step into meetings.”

Regardless of what happens in any franchisee’s everyday life, they must prioritize connecting with their people on some level. 

“If there was one thing I could teach these people that has worked time and time again, it’s to invest in these people as people,” Gorman added. “Not to think about what they're doing for you, but to think about what they're doing for them and always tie your end goal in with theirs. My biggest piece of advice is to fully invest in your team that's on the ground because if they're not growing, you're not going to grow either.”

About Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs:

Fitness Premier 24/7 Clubs is a fast-growing, 17-location, group-workout gym concept that creates a community with its staff and guests. Backed by franchise executive Jason Markowicz and his franchisee-focused corporate team, Fitness Premier differentiates itself with great people, culture, and systems compounded by a growth focus in strategic yet smaller markets where some fitness brands would not think to grow. To learn more about franchise opportunities, visit https://1851franchise.com/fitforyoufranchising.