How to Start a CrossFit Gym

Part 1 - How to start a CrossFit Gym business - Background

A CrossFit gym is a fitness complex which hosts CrossFit training and exercise. CrossFit, itself, is exercise which combines weightlifting, high-interval training, gymnastics, and bodyweight exercises. It utilizes different equipment, like pull-up bars, dumbbells, medicine balls, kettlebells, rowing machines and resistance bands to help gym-goers build strength. A CrossFit gym promotes health, wellness and overall strength.

Our guide is in 3 parts:

• Part 1 - How to start a Crossfit business - Background
• Part 2 - Our planner tool to see if this idea is the right fit for you
• Part 3 - Action plan to get started

What are the costs involved in opening a crossfit gym?

Initial equipment will cost between $20,000 and $50,000. Meanwhile, starting insurance costs will be around $5,000. Fortunately, CrossFit startup costs—not including staff training—are relatively low. Expect to pay between $50,000 and $70,000. Training, meanwhile, can cost roughly $1,000 per employee if they have little training experience.

What are the ongoing expenses for a crossfit gym?

A CrossFit gym faces a number of costs. The basic buy-in requirements of a CrossFit location, per year, can exceed $3,000 per year. A CrossFit gym additionally needs to maintain an active Level One Certification, which costs $500 every five years. A CrossFit Inc. insurance plan is needed too, costing between $1,000 and $5,000.

Who is the target market?

A CrossFit gym’s business model focuses on fitness enthusiasts, health enthusiasts, active athletes, and nutrition-lovers. For this reason, much of its target market is aligned with the typical gym-goer crowd. Adolescents, young adults, and even middle-aged adults who love outdoor activities, exploration, nutrition, and sports education are great customers.

How does a crossfit gym make money?

A CrossFit gym makes money in gym-goer memberships. Normally, gym memberships are purchased for a flat fee. Then, they’re paid on a subscription-basis. Some CrossFit gyms sell drinks, food, snacks, and nutritional products. Others might sell CrossFit equipment, spare weights, and other sports-centric items.

How much can you charge customers?

The typical CrossFit gym membership costs about $150 per month. As the industry evolves, however, some gyms are reducing this price. Because CrossFit memberships are incredibly expensive compared to regular gym prices—which are about $20—new gyms are adopting cheaper pricing schemes to remain competitive and accessible.

How much profit can a crossfit gym make?

The average CrossFit gym makes about $40,000 in profit per year. This profit is based off of the average, 150-member gym. A highly successful CrossFit gym can make six figures, managing hundreds of accounts across multiple locations.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Be prepared for unexpected fees. Being involved with physical activity, CrossFit gyms often face legal fees pertaining to zoning issues, build-out costs and various business costs.

Day-to-Day and Growth

What happens during a typical day at a crossfit gym?

CrossFit Gym owners work, roughly, 80 hours per week. About 30 hours of this time is dedicated to training. The other 50 hours is dedicated to “business time,” wherein the business owner focuses on maintenance, equipment sourcing, customer account management, and miscellaneous activities.

Where training is considered, a CrossFit owner needs to research new training opportunities, streamline training sessions, help clients with resistance training, assure gym-goer safety, and create quality programs.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful crossfit gym?

A CrossFit gym owner should excel in life’s basic fitness skills. Waking up early, staying up late, having a good diet, and being proactive about fitness is mandatory. An education in exercise science certainly helps, though it isn’t required.

A CrossFit gym owner should similarly be knowledgeable about sports health, sports-related injuries, training success, equipment management, gym maintenance and personal training regimens. Similar to a traditional gym, a CrossFit gym operates beneath a system of ongoing improvement. A CrossFit gym owner must also be a decent businessperson, handling financial, management, marketing and customer relations with a good mindset.

What is the growth potential for a crossfit gym?

A CrossFit gym can expand, but it’s likely to stay local. This isn’t necessarily bad, however, as a successful CrossFit Gym can still make a decent monthly revenue of $20,000 to $25,000. A solid CrossFit gym will maintain a modest salary for its workers, giving them ample resources to invest in new expansions. By partnering with a lot of affiliates, a CrossFit gym can network, expand, and become influential among CrossFit enthusiasts.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a crossfit gym?

Connect with an affiliate. In doing so, you’ll only spend between $20,000 and $50,000 on basic equipment. Common gym equipment, like rowers and metal training plates, can be purchased on Craigslist to save money. Be an intelligent business owner, and spare expenses when possible.

Focus on coaching, too. Successful CrossFit gyms thrive beneath atmospheres governed by intelligent, hard-working coaches. Become a CrossFit affiliate, of course, and maintain training yourself as a standard. The more you increase your knowledge base, the more value you’ll be able to offer your customers.

How and when to build a team

You should build a team immediately. While a CrossFit gym can be run by an independent owner, it’s more likely to succeed when being operated by three to five employees. Training, often, is a one-on-one experience. For this reason, a single employee must be dedicated to a single gym-goer at any one time.

CrossFit is very employee-intensive. Between training, marketing, management, financing, and promotion, a gym can find itself running low on human resources quickly.

Part 2 - Is a CrossFit Gym business the right fit for you?

Part 3 - Action plan to launch your CrossFit Gym business in 90 days