Gym business simulator
See what your gym or studio would turn over, how many members you'd win and who you'd lose them to — month by month for two years — before you spend real money.
Memberships, January sign-ups and the March drop-off. This one opens as Northside Fitness: An independent gym and class studio selling memberships and classes to the town. Rename it, reprice it, or describe your own gym or studio and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady gym ends up with
Played steadily for all two years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady gym here ends its last year on $156k of revenue and $19k of profit, with 276 members and 2.4% of the market (#5 of 5).
It starts from nothing: $30k in the bank and you, 50 hours a week, with no members yet.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $156k
Profit in the last year: $19k
Members at the end: 276
Share of the market: From nothing to 2.4%
Where it finishes: #5 of 5
Years and decisions: 2 years, monthly
What you'll decide each month
Each month you set your rates, how many people are on the books and how many members each can look after, what you spend on being found, and which areas you cover.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your members are
A local service is booked on trust and lost on a missed membership. Every member needs somebody's time, so the people you can put on the work are the limit, and word of mouth is the cheapest marketing there is.
14,000 members in all, across your town, the next town over, the villages around, the county town and out by the ring road.
Budget members: Gym access at the lowest price, and gone if it rises. About 7,000 of them, worth $527 a year each.
Class lovers: Here for the instructors and the community. About 2,800 of them, worth $1.1k a year each.
Corporate memberships: A local employer paying for its staff. About 1,400 of them, worth $1.6k a year each.
New Year starters: Signed up in January, deciding by March. About 2,800 of them, worth $279 a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The budget gym chain: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 25% of the market.
The boutique studio: Wins on price and little else; its customers leave the moment somebody is better. Holds about 20% of the market.
Working out at home: Clever and quick, but stretched thin and hard to get hold of. Holds about 10% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of member, three rivals and five areas.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe your gym or studio in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady gym ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included. Then run it month by month for two years.
Also for
fitness · yoga · pilates · crossfit · studio · personal trainer
How much does the gym business simulator cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this gym or studio market, change anything in it and see what a steady gym ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included.
Can I make it match my own gym or studio?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the members and what they pay, the rivals, the areas, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe your gym or studio in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. If you already trade, upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to your real numbers, starting from where your business stands today.
Are the numbers realistic for a gym or studio?
The template is checked against what real ones do: played steadily, a believable one finishes year two turning over between $100k and $600k, with between 120 and 1,200 members. This one's preview comes to about $156k and 276. Your own prices, costs and figures change that, which is the point of trying it here first.
Can I use it to test a gym or studio business plan?
That is what it is for. Put your plan's prices, costs and starting cash in, play it forward month by month, and see whether the money lasts, how many members you would need and what a rival's price cut does to you — before you put real money in.
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