The Club Insider Archives: February 2023
Terry Blachek
His Name is Terry, and He is Your Friend.
By: Justin Cates
Justin CatesWhat are some of the key attributes of success in business? I'd start out with a vision, a plan, people, timing, and hopefully, some money. The latter (money) can be combatted when all the other elements are really chugging along, whereas the latter cannot usually combat the lack of the former (vision, a plan, people and timing), at least not forever. This month's cover story subject, Terry Blachek, CEO of Austin Fitness Group (Orangetheory Fitness Area Developer), paints this picture to a T, as he discusses his work with Orangetheory Fitness, both at the corporate level during the advent and in the early days of the brand, as well as today, being a successful Area Developer of the company.
Read More
Exercise IS Medicine
By: Mike Alpert
Mike AlpertIt is hard to believe, but Hippocrates was the Father of Scientific Medicine back in 460 - 370 BCE as the first physician to provide a written exercise prescription for a patient with the disease of consumption. I am not sure what "over eating" back then referred to, but today, we only have to watch the ads on television to get a good idea of how food is valued, and often, it is not by quality but rather by quantity.
Read More
Managing Moments of Truth
By: Herb Lipsman
Herb LipsmanA "Moment of Truth," as described in this article, is any interaction between two or more people in our clubs. This could be between co-workers. It could be between a staff person and a member or guest. It could be between a manager and a direct report. It could be between a staff person and a vendor. It could be a simple telephone or email inquiry. It would be impossible to write policy and standard operating procedures for every single potential circumstance among the thousands we face in our clubs each day, although some club chains have tried in vain to do so. A much better approach, with a much higher probability of successful outcomes, is to take a more wholistic approach to "Managing Moments of Truth."
Read More
Riding the Recovery Wave for Revenues
By: Casey Conrad
Casey ConradThere are only three ways to grow revenue in any business: get more customers; get customers to buy more frequently; and get customers to make bigger purchases. Adding recovery services to your facility is something that can accomplish all three revenue generation goals! More importantly, recovery services are a perfect adjunct to any fitness facility, because they are a natural extension of the existing client base. Furthermore, many "recovery" devices are also used in wellness facilities, which provides operators the potential to market to a wider population. The question I am most often asked is, "What device/s should I add?" My response is, "It depends." Let's explore the variables that must be considered when making intelligent recovery equipment decisions.
Read More
How to Calculate Business Risk
By: Jim Thomas
Jim ThomasBusiness risk is any risk that a business faces that can negatively impact its profitability. It can have both internal or external risks. A company needs to know what its risks are to get a risk management plan in place. Business risk can include many different factors, such as...
Read More
Let's Do the Math
How Social Is Your Club?
By: Jeffrey Pinkerton
Jeffrey PinkertonOn a scale of 1 to 100, how social is your facility? If you were to measure the social energy of your club, including your staff and members, how would it rate? If a number is too difficult to quantify (more on that later), just consider this: When you walk through your facility, do you see mostly headphones and heads down, or is your facility packed with "Hellos" and high-fives? If you are looking to grow a socially buzzing, ever-welcoming, always engaging, people friendly business, there are decisions and investments you need to make to your people, your processes and your programming.
Read More
Crunch Fitness Rises in Entrepreneur's Annual Franchise 500 Ranking
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - Crunch Fitness demonstrates continued growth in Entrepreneur's 44th Annual Franchise 500 ranking, maintaining its spot in the top 10% for the second year in a row. Climbing the ranks from #43 to #39, Crunch exhibits how franchisees have successfully adapted and evolved to meet the unique circumstances and opportunities that have shaped the industry over the last three years.
Read More
Cincinnati Sports Club First Health Club in Nation to Offer Free Confidential Counseling Program for Mental Wellness
CINCINNATI, OH - Cincinnati Sports Club takes great pride in being a steward to their members by fulfilling the whole person, serving them physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The club recently began providing free, confidential counseling services by licensed mental health professionals to their members.
Read More
Norm's Notes for February 2023
By: Norm Cates
Norm CatesHELLO EVERYBODY!!! This is your Club Insider Founder and Tribal Leader Since 1993 excitedly checking in with our 350th monthly edition of this home-based "Labor of Love" we call Club Insider! YAHOO!!! This is a milestone edition, and we have a good one for you folks! STAY TUNED as we dig in now to share recent news and thoughts with you!
Read More
