Colorado Fitness Together franchisee shares his thoughts on franchising
Fitness center owner gearing up for busy new year
Growing up in West Virginia, PJ Musilli never dreamed of having his own business.
“The poverty mentality runs deep there,” he said. “You get one job and you’re there for 30, 40 years. It’s in a coal mine, it’s in a steel mill, it’s something like that. So business ownership, entrepreneurial-type things, that was never on my radar.”
But Musilli, fueled by a longtime passion for sports and exercise, is now a local franchise owner of Fitness Together. The Highlands Ranch-based company, a one-on-one personal training fitness franchise, has nearly 500 locations in the U.S. and a handful of other countries.
Musilli took over the local franchise in early 2006. His facility at 5903 Delmonico Drive in northwest Colorado Springs includes three identically equipped training suites and five personal trainers, including himself.
The 34-year-old Musilli has a bachelor’s degree in physical education, health education and sports medicine from West Virginia Wesleyan College. He and his wife have a young son and another one on the way.
QUESTION: You could have set up a business on your own. Why go the franchise route?
ANSWER: Not ever having taken any business classes or being business minded, I knew I wanted a system to plug into. I’m pretty good if you tell me what to do and I can get that done. So that’s what attracted me to a franchise.
Q: What is the most rewarding thing about being a business owner and having employees?
A: I love to develop people both personally and professionally. I do that with my trainers. They’ll set personal goals and I’ll help them, and we’ll also set professional goals.
Q: And what’s the toughest part?
A: At the end of the day, it’s all on my shoulders. It feels like it, anyway. I feel responsible, on the business side, for these four people and making sure we meet payroll, that the bills get paid.
Q: Colorado is the thinnest state in the country, and Colorado Springs is regularly hailed as one of the fittest cities. Does that make this a great place for a personal trainer? Or are people already in shape and don’t see the need?
A: I think it makes it more challenging. It’s such a place to go outdoors, and a lot of people go that route. The other side of that, I just got a phone call from a gentleman who was getting ready to go for a run. He’s done the Pikes Peak Ascent 12 times, but he needs some help. He has some nagging injuries, some muscular strength things. So there are people out there like that.
We’re not a large volume business. I don’t have to sell 400 more pizzas a week to keep going. If we have 75 to 100 active clients, we’re at full capacity.
Q: Do you have a lot of turnover in clients — clients who come in with a goal, work toward that goal and move on once that goal is accomplished?
A: It’s about 50-50. We definitely have that, but the biggest thing that I find our clients come to us for is accountability, the motivation factor. So they’ll reach their goals, but then they’ll stay on with the maintenance thing.
Q: What should one look for in choosing a personal trainer?
A: There are many factors to consider. You should consider their experience level, their education level. Are they certified? Do they have any client success stories for you to see? Will they help you with your nutrition? Do you feel comfortable with them? Do you like the setting they train in?
Q: Do you expect a crush of people with fitness-related new year’s goals?
A: I do. That’s kind of been the pattern.
Q: And what’s the key piece of advice you have for such people?
A: I really encourage people to have a purpose for whatever their goal is, whether it’s to stop smoking, lose weight, get out of debt. They need a vision, a purpose bigger than just, well, I want to lose some weight. Why do you want to lose weight?
Another thing that I highly encourage is having somebody that they’re either accountable to or that they share that goal with. I know a Fitness Together owner on the East Coast. We talk together once a week, and we help each other build our businesses and we hold each other accountable to things that we’re going to do throughout the week to reach our goals.
The last thing is, the goal needs to be specific. It needs to be written down, rather than just ‘I’m going to lose weight this year.’ How many pounds? What’s your target date?
http://www.gazette.com/articles/new-91591-gearing-business.html
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