Gym Financial Plan

Are you a fitness freak dreaming of opening your own gym? Well, it could be the most exciting and rewarding move for you!

But in the process of shaping a gym business plan, you might be wondering how to draft a solid financial plan without any hassle.

However, it’s very crucial to understand the financial aspects of your business, starting from startup costs and funding needs to break-even analysis.

Well, we know that financial planning is not an easy task; that’s why we are here to guide you!

This sample gym financial plan will help you get started and provide valuable insights into your gym’s profit & loss potential.

Sounds good? Let’s dive right in.

Gym Financial Outlook

Before jumping right into financial planning, let’s take a closer look at the financial state of the gym industry.

The gym & fitness industry is currently experiencing significant growth with the increasing health consciousness and the growing demand for fitness services.

Here are some key highlights from the industry:

• It’s projected that the global health & fitness market will grow at an annual rate of 7.67% and is estimated to have a total worth of $169.7 billion by 2030.
• The total revenue of the gym & fitness industry in the United States was recorded at an impressive $31.2 billion in 2023, with about 113,000 fitness businesses in the mix.
• The US personal training market size was valued at $14 billion in 2023, providing employment opportunities to nearly 839,000 people.
• Amongst the different trends, fitness app usage has surged, and the global revenue from fitness apps is expected to reach around $6.86 billion in 2024.

Overall, the gym & fitness industry outlook shows a promising future for new businesses to emerge in this competitive marketplace.

Now, without further ado; let’s understand how to draft a winning financial plan.

1. Calculate Business Startup Costs

Once you’ve decided to open a gym, it’s very crucial to have a clear understanding of your finances, right? So, you’ll need to calculate the gym startup costs very first!

You may start by identifying all the initial expenses associated with your fitness venture, including facility rent, gym machines & equipment, staff salaries, marketing, and administrative costs.

You can also research local market conditions and industry benchmarks to evaluate the typical costs of starting a gym. This will help you get accurate estimates.

Try to be clear and comprise every potential cost, no matter how small it is. You can make a specific list of all the expenses, as shown in the below table:

So, having a good idea of startup costs will help you create a proper budget and determine the necessary capital to launch your business successfully.

2. Determine Financing Requirements & Strategy

Sometimes, people don’t have enough money to start their own business. So, they might need to ask for help from others to get the initial investment.

For your gym, you may evaluate the current monetary position and determine how much startup capital you’ll require to fund your business. Also, assess various financing options and develop a clear strategy to secure funding.

Here are a few funding options you may consider:

• Traditional bank loans
• Small Business Administration (SBA) loans
• Private investors
• Crowdfunding
• Partnerships

For each option, you have to evaluate the terms, interest rates, and repayment methods. This will let you devise a financing strategy that aligns with your investment goals and risk tolerance.

Then, you can decide which funding option is the most appropriate for your gymnasium business.

Furthermore, while seeking credit from banks or investors, you’ll need a professional document that projects how your gym’s financial modeling works. It will assist potential lenders to have a better idea of your business.

3. Understand Your Business Model

Developing a scalable business model is a crucial aspect of a financial plan. This is something you have to decide before you start running your business.

It is a strategic framework that defines how you generate income, manage expenses, and reach your financial objectives.

Here is a list of different business models for a gym:

• Traditional gym
• Boutique studio
• Online fitness platform

While deciding on any of the above models, you have to understand their financial considerations, including revenue potential, market demand, scalability, market demand, and operating costs.

This will help you make well-informed decisions and achieve your financial goals in the long run.

4. Identify Revenue Streams

Identifying your business revenue streams is an essential part of maximizing profitability. So, try to diversify your income sources within the market and create a robust portfolio.

It will help potential investors or lenders determine how much revenue your business intends to generate over the next few years.

For instance, you may include the following revenue streams in your gym financial projections:

• Membership plans
• Personal training sessions
• Group classes
• Retail sales of fitness products
• Wellness programs

Providing a range of offerings can help you appeal to a broader audience and maximize revenue potential.

Well, using Upmetrics could be a great help here. It will not just calculate financial projections but also help you identify relevant revenue streams.

For better understanding, you may consider the following example prepared using Upmetrics:

Furthermore, it allows you to make informed decisions about your revenue by using different ways to forecast income streams, such as unit sales, the charge per service, recurring/hourly charges, or fixed amounts.

So, this can be an effective and accurate way of estimating your income potential.

5. Market Analysis and Pre-Assumptions

A successful business requires a comprehensive market analysis to gain valuable insights into the local business landscape.

While writing a gym business plan, you’ve already conducted thorough market research and have a good knowledge of the target market, customer segmentation, industry trends, and competitors.

So, it’s time to use that knowledge to prepare a financial forecast and make realistic assumptions about membership rates, retention rates, ongoing facility maintenance, payroll, and operating expenses.

Here are a few key components that you should include in your plan:

Pricing Strategy

When it comes to devising a pricing strategy, there’s no bound law. Yet, you’ll need to analyze a few factors, such as your membership offerings, target market, gym facilities & equipment, and local competition, to develop optimal pricing.

You may conduct a competitive market analysis to comprehend the general market prices and set competitive yet profitable sales prices.

Remember, your prices should reflect the value of your gym and still help you generate sufficient returns on your investment.

Sales Forecast

A sales forecast is a primary element of any business, serving as the cornerstone for its profitability and growth.

It helps you estimate future gym membership sign-ups and revenue generation based on market demand, consumer preferences, pricing strategy, marketing efforts, and economic factors.

You can analyze historical sales data and industry trends to predict future demand for your target market and gain insights into the potential growth trajectory of your gym business.

Business Expenses

Generally, business expenses are operating costs or day-to-day expenses that will keep your business running smoothly.

For your fitness center, you may conduct a detailed analysis of its anticipated expenses, including rent, utilities, insurance, payroll, equipment maintenance, and marketing fees.

In addition to that, you may consider a few factors, like market trends, inflation, regulatory changes, or unexpected repairs, while evaluating your business expenses.

Here, you should note one thing—you must account for probable cost overruns or unexpected expenses during business operations. So, be conservative in your financial projections.

6. Make Financial Projections

If you want to attract investors, let the numbers do the talking. This is so because potential investors or stakeholders will look at the financial reports once and decide whether or not to invest in your business.

So, ensure that the key financial reports give a clear picture of your gym’s financial performance and viability.

Here’s a list of several financial statements and analyzes you should incorporate into your projections:

Cash flow statement

A cash flow statement helps you track the cash flow in and out of your business over a specific timeframe, generally monthly, quarterly, or annually.

It provides a detailed explanation of how much cash your gym brings in, pays out, and ends with the cash balance. Typically, it’s an illustration of how well your gym is generating cash.

You may take into account the cash flows related to membership fees, buying or selling gym equipment, loan repayments, borrowing, or equity investments.

Be realistic about your financial assumptions and measure your business’s liquidity, capability to meet financial obligations, and sufficiency of cash flow to fund future investments and expense outlays.

Balance sheet

A balance sheet provides a quick overview of your business’s financial position at a specific time.

It clearly demonstrates what you own, what you owe to vendors or other debtors, and what’s left over for you. After all, it has three main elements:

• Assets: Cash, gym equipment, property, and accounts receivable
• Liabilities: Debts, loan repayments, and accounts payable
• Equity: Owners’ equity & other investments, stock proceeds, and retained earnings

Ideally, it is formulated as, assets = liabilities + equity

By looking at your balance sheet, anyone can get the exact idea of how financially stable your business is, how much cash you hold, and where your money is tied up.

Income statement

The income statement is also known as a profit and loss statement(P&L), explaining how your business made a profit or incurred a loss over a specific period, typically monthly, quarterly, or annually.

Depending on the structure and type of your business, consider adding these factors—revenue or sales, operating expenses, and gross margin to your profit and loss statement.

You may calculate the gross margin by subtracting the cost of sales or COGS from revenue. It enables you to determine your business’s efficiency in utilizing resources.

Further, the P&L statement should also include operating income, which is equivalent to EBITDA. And the net income is the ultimate goal of any business, found at the end by deducting the operational expenses from EBITDA.

Overall, the income statement helps you gauge your business’s profitability, financial performance, and feasibility in the long run.

Break-even Analysis

The break-even analysis allows you to determine the point at which your business’s total revenue matches its total expenses, causing no profit or loss.

It helps you evaluate the level of sales or revenue needed to cover your gym’s fixed and variable costs.

This analysis provides valuable insights into your financial sustainability and helps you set sales targets, pricing strategies, and cost-control criteria.

7. Test Assumptions and Scenario Analysis

As your entire plan is prepared based on assumptions, you’ll need to regularly review and stress-test your financial projections to check their relevance with market realities and business performance.

In this stage, you may consider various “what-if” situations and think about scenarios where things go well or don’t.

For instance, you’ll need to consider the changes in membership rates, operating costs, or market demand to measure the stability of your gym’s financial projections.

By performing test assumptions and sensitivity analysis, you can adjust your strategies accordingly to mitigate risks, optimize returns, and make well-informed business decisions.

8. Monitor and Update Your Plan

Once your plan is ready, continuously evaluate and monitor your gym’s financial performance closely against the financial projections and key performance indicators(KPIs).

You can compare the actual financial results with the projected income streams, expenses, and ROI to take note of any variances or deviations from the plan.

If some factors are remarkably different from projections, recognize the causes behind them. This will help you understand which areas need improvement and which works as anticipated.

Also, review and update your strategies accordingly to optimize financial results and achieve long-term success.

Now that you know how to create a solid gym financial plan, it’s time to explore an example for easy understanding.

Gym Financial Plan Example

Creating a gym financial plan from scratch can be overwhelming, right? But not to worry; we’re here to help you with a realistic financial plan example prepared using Upmetrics.

It includes all the key elements of the gym’s financial projection, including the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and break-even point. This will streamline the entire planning process and help you get started.

Start Preparing Your Gym Financial Plan

And that’s a wrap—we’ve discussed all the fundamental aspects of financial planning. So, it’s time to put that knowledge into action.

But if you still feel swamped by the thought of creating a financial plan, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.

Upmetrics’ AI Assistance and financial forecasting features will help you create accurate financial projections and make smart decisions for your business’s future.

You’ll have to simply input the financial assumptions and let it figure out the rest!