THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IN A SLOW ECONOMY SNAP FITNESS FRANCHISEE FINDS SUCCESS IN TOUGH ECONOMY
FranchisingAuthor :
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In this day and age, no one is safe from economic hardship.
Whether you are a high-level executive or an entry level employee, today’s job market can leave you with the unsettling feeling that while you may have a job today, it might not be there tomorrow.
For Shawn Crawford, 38, you could say the writing was on the wall. He used to be the director of operations for a physician group that operated 30 doctor’s offices.
“I was responsible for set up, business development and customer service,” he says. “At first I found the job very rewarding, but once the economy started to get bad and the rapid expansion stopped, it reached a point where I feared my own job was about to be eliminated.”
Instead of waiting around to see what would happen, Crawford decided to follow his dream to start his own business. In July of 2006, he quit his job with the physician’s group and became a consultant; but spent every spare moment researching business opportunities.
“I wanted to do something that would capitalize on my experience and help people at the same time,” he says. “I figured people want to look good, feel good and be healthy, so why not open a gym?” But when he started looking into the costs involved in such a venture he became discouraged, that is until he came across some research that showed huge growth potential in health and fitness franchising. According to the International Health and Racket Sport Club Association, while the average growth rate for fast food franchises stands at 20 percent, the fitness sector’s five-year growth has been an impressive 144 percent.
There are a lot of health and fitness franchises out there, but the one Crawford decided to go with was Snap Fitness, the fastest-growing franchisor of compact, state-of-the-art 24/7 fitness centers in Canada and the United States. “The thing I liked best about Snap initially was their business model was pretty much turn-key,” says Crawford. “Unlike a traditional business start-up which would have required a lot of research, development and capital investment on my part, they did all the work for me.”
After he paid his franchise fee and found the perfect location, Snap Fitness provided the blueprint he needed to follow to get his business up and running. He was assigned a project manager who helped him every step of the way.
“The process was laid out and very easy to follow,” explains Crawford. “Snap provided everything I needed to get started – plans for the club design, access to vendors who would sell me the right equipment at a deep discount, all the tools I needed to set up my company Web site and the marketing materials I needed to get the word out.”
Snap also provided the financing, and today handles billing, security and other operational and marketing support for Crawford’s club, which opened for business in October of 2007 and now has about 900 members.
When people ask him for advice about franchising, Crawford advises them to do some investigative work. Talk to a business broker, pick up and read copies of some of the industry’s most knowledgeable publications, and when they’re ready to proceed, contact a franchisor like Snap Fitness directly. Most franchisor Web sites provide rich information about the business model, financial requirements and much more, and they grant access to executives and franchisees during your discovery process.
“We understand what a big decision opening a franchise can be, and that’s why I personally meet weekly with prospective franchisees to answer questions and help them make a decision that’s right for them,” says Snap Fitness CEO Peter Taunton.
“I followed the plan Snap gave me, and I’m quite pleased with my financial success, says Crawford, who is set to open his second Snap Fitness club sometime in April of 2008.
In addition to the fast, convenient and affordable workout option that Snap provides members, they are on the cutting edge of health and wellness, offering added benefits such as online meal planning, health and wellness coaching and personal training services. This adds a great deal of value for Snap members, while creating increased streams of revenue for franchise owners.
“It’s all about increased value and innovation, partnered with a quality customer experience,” says Taunton. “Don’t be content with following the pack, rather, you should always be seeking new ways to give your customers better results and more for their money.”
The results speak for themselves. Today, Snap Fitness has over 60 locations sold across Canada, and a total of approximately 1,600 locations worldwide. And if their recent growth is any indicator, Snap will be providing entrepreneurs from all across the world the opportunity to take control of their financial future and partner with an industry leader for years to come.
QUICKREAD
A Franchise Worth Looking Into
(ARA) – In this tough economy, many Americans go from day to day fearing they may lose their jobs. For Shawn Crawford, 38, of Brownsburg, Ind., a suburb of Indianapolis, you could say the writing was on the wall.
He used to be the director of operations for a physician group that operated 30 doctor’s offices across the state of Indiana, but once the economy started to get bad and the rapid expansion stopped, it reached a point where he feared his own job was about to be eliminated.
So he decided to go out on his own and open a health and fitness franchise. According to the International Health and Racket Sport Club Association, while the average growth rate for fast food franchises stands at 20 percent, the fitness sector’s five-year growth has been an impressive 144 percent.
There are a lot of health and fitness franchises out there, but the one Crawford decided to go with was Snap Fitness, a fast-growing franchisor of compact, state-of-the-art 24/7 fitness centers in Canada and the United States. “The thing I liked best about Snap initially was their business model was pretty much turn-key,” says Crawford. “Unlike a traditional business start-up which would have required a lot of research, development and capital investment on my part, they did all the work for me.”
Whether you are a high-level executive or an entry level employee, today’s job market can leave you with the unsettling feeling that while you may have a job today, it might not be there tomorrow.
For Shawn Crawford, 38, you could say the writing was on the wall. He used to be the director of operations for a physician group that operated 30 doctor’s offices.
“I was responsible for set up, business development and customer service,” he says. “At first I found the job very rewarding, but once the economy started to get bad and the rapid expansion stopped, it reached a point where I feared my own job was about to be eliminated.”
Instead of waiting around to see what would happen, Crawford decided to follow his dream to start his own business. In July of 2006, he quit his job with the physician’s group and became a consultant; but spent every spare moment researching business opportunities.
“I wanted to do something that would capitalize on my experience and help people at the same time,” he says. “I figured people want to look good, feel good and be healthy, so why not open a gym?” But when he started looking into the costs involved in such a venture he became discouraged, that is until he came across some research that showed huge growth potential in health and fitness franchising. According to the International Health and Racket Sport Club Association, while the average growth rate for fast food franchises stands at 20 percent, the fitness sector’s five-year growth has been an impressive 144 percent.
There are a lot of health and fitness franchises out there, but the one Crawford decided to go with was Snap Fitness, the fastest-growing franchisor of compact, state-of-the-art 24/7 fitness centers in Canada and the United States. “The thing I liked best about Snap initially was their business model was pretty much turn-key,” says Crawford. “Unlike a traditional business start-up which would have required a lot of research, development and capital investment on my part, they did all the work for me.”
After he paid his franchise fee and found the perfect location, Snap Fitness provided the blueprint he needed to follow to get his business up and running. He was assigned a project manager who helped him every step of the way.
“The process was laid out and very easy to follow,” explains Crawford. “Snap provided everything I needed to get started – plans for the club design, access to vendors who would sell me the right equipment at a deep discount, all the tools I needed to set up my company Web site and the marketing materials I needed to get the word out.”
Snap also provided the financing, and today handles billing, security and other operational and marketing support for Crawford’s club, which opened for business in October of 2007 and now has about 900 members.
When people ask him for advice about franchising, Crawford advises them to do some investigative work. Talk to a business broker, pick up and read copies of some of the industry’s most knowledgeable publications, and when they’re ready to proceed, contact a franchisor like Snap Fitness directly. Most franchisor Web sites provide rich information about the business model, financial requirements and much more, and they grant access to executives and franchisees during your discovery process.
“We understand what a big decision opening a franchise can be, and that’s why I personally meet weekly with prospective franchisees to answer questions and help them make a decision that’s right for them,” says Snap Fitness CEO Peter Taunton.
“I followed the plan Snap gave me, and I’m quite pleased with my financial success, says Crawford, who is set to open his second Snap Fitness club sometime in April of 2008.
In addition to the fast, convenient and affordable workout option that Snap provides members, they are on the cutting edge of health and wellness, offering added benefits such as online meal planning, health and wellness coaching and personal training services. This adds a great deal of value for Snap members, while creating increased streams of revenue for franchise owners.
“It’s all about increased value and innovation, partnered with a quality customer experience,” says Taunton. “Don’t be content with following the pack, rather, you should always be seeking new ways to give your customers better results and more for their money.”
The results speak for themselves. Today, Snap Fitness has over 60 locations sold across Canada, and a total of approximately 1,600 locations worldwide. And if their recent growth is any indicator, Snap will be providing entrepreneurs from all across the world the opportunity to take control of their financial future and partner with an industry leader for years to come.
QUICKREAD
A Franchise Worth Looking Into
(ARA) – In this tough economy, many Americans go from day to day fearing they may lose their jobs. For Shawn Crawford, 38, of Brownsburg, Ind., a suburb of Indianapolis, you could say the writing was on the wall.
He used to be the director of operations for a physician group that operated 30 doctor’s offices across the state of Indiana, but once the economy started to get bad and the rapid expansion stopped, it reached a point where he feared his own job was about to be eliminated.
So he decided to go out on his own and open a health and fitness franchise. According to the International Health and Racket Sport Club Association, while the average growth rate for fast food franchises stands at 20 percent, the fitness sector’s five-year growth has been an impressive 144 percent.
There are a lot of health and fitness franchises out there, but the one Crawford decided to go with was Snap Fitness, a fast-growing franchisor of compact, state-of-the-art 24/7 fitness centers in Canada and the United States. “The thing I liked best about Snap initially was their business model was pretty much turn-key,” says Crawford. “Unlike a traditional business start-up which would have required a lot of research, development and capital investment on my part, they did all the work for me.”