Franchisees & COVID-19: How One Fitness Franchisee Is Planning a Reopening One Year After Launching

When Rana Pawan signed on to open her first franchise in 2019, she never could have imagined that a year later she’d be bracing to temporarily close her doors due to a global pandemic.

It’s a situation that countless business owners have found themselves in over the past few weeks as Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread across the country. Pawan is luckier than some because her city of Durant, Oklahoma hasn’t announced a shelter in place rule yet. This means that at the time of publishing, her Workout Anytime club is still open for business. However, things have still changed. While her club is meant to be open 24/7, it’s now only allowing members in during staffed hours to keep everyone healthy.

“My staff is constantly on the gym floor wiping down equipment and opening doors for folks so they’re not having to touch the door handle. A lot of little things like that add up,” said Pawan.

Pawan also recognizes that the changes aren’t going to stop anytime soon, and she’s preparing to potentially shut down completely. 

“There could be a day soon when we’re required to shut down. If that happens, we’re already putting stuff in place for our members. Our trainers are putting workout videos together that we can put up on YouTube, for example,” said Pawan. 

In times like these, it can be hard for business owners to remain positive and optimistic. Pawan has found that the best way to do this is to focus on the future.

“When we reopen, we’re viewing it as a grand reopening, if you will. It’s all about celebrating our members because they’re a part of our gym family. That’s why we’re looking at making enhancements that have been on our members’ lists, like getting vending machines with protein bars and energy drinks,” Pawan said. 

In addition to using this time to make enhancements to her club, Pawan is also making lemonade out of the lemons this situation has created by giving back to the community.

She said, “The other thing that we do is partner with a different charity every quarter. This year, we had our members pick the four charities that we’re going to help this year. Right now, we’re working with Families Feeding Families, so we’ll definitely make that a part of our grand reopening, too.  We’re a small town in southern Oklahoma, and there are families here living paycheck to paycheck. We like to help wherever we can.”

While the economic climate is still cloudy, Pawan is committed to her responsibilities and obligations as a franchisee. Even though things are different at the moment, she recognizes that it’s better to be prepared to get back to the new normal as soon as possible.

“What I’m trying to do is stick with my vision. When I entered into the agreement with Workout Anytime as a franchisee, I had a vision to help people. I picked Workout Anytime because it allows me to bring the best possible fitness equipment at a very low price point into a market that needed it from a wellness perspective,” said Pawan. “That’s how I started this journey — it’s all about helping, saving and changing lives one person at a time. That’s how we’ll get through this. Now more than ever, it’s about all of us banding together and helping each other.”