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Guest post by: Cary Williams-Nunez Become an Author

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--Walk into the Prime Time Boxing gym, and the energy hits you like a short left to the chin.


The sound system's pulsing beat turns the Del Paso Boulevard gym into a dance floor, while the trainers shout encouragement like drill instructors to the men and women working in the ring or pounding on the heavy punching bags.

"What time is it?" an instructor yells at the group in the ring.

"Prime time!" comes the loud response.

For Cary Williams-Nunez and Angelo Nunez, owners of Sacramento-based Prime Time Boxing, Inc., the time is now to break into the big ring of business.

Digging into their own earnings and operating off a line of credit, the pair are taking their local concept to the next level, hoping to turn their boxing-as-fitness venture into a nationwide franchise. Prime Time, which will open its second location April 2 in Roseville, hopes to sell its first franchise in May.

"The whole concept was that we took a product that's been around a long time and we're creating quality, service and atmosphere," Williams-Nunez said. "Who would've thought 20 years ago that someone would pay $3 for a cup of coffee?," referring to a certain franchise success story. "We want to be the Starbucks of fitness."

Their move could be well-timed.

From boxing to Pilates to yoga, today's rapidly growing $18 billion U.S. fitness market is continually cooking up new ways to entice members.

Concepts range from children's fitness centers to women-only clubs like Curves, a Waco, Texas-based chain with thousands of locations worldwide.

"It's an unusual niche, but boxing is a popular sport," said Terry Hill, a vice president at the Washington, D.C.-based International Franchise Association, an industry trade group. "There's pretty good success for fitness. The key is how you target it."

Hall said at least 24 different fitness concepts are available as franchises among the IFA's membership.

"Club operators are focused on niche markets, and boxing is a niche market," said Brooke Correia, a spokeswoman for the Boston-based International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, a health and fitness club industry trade association. "(Boxing clubs) are sort of an old thing that's here to stay."

But there are no easy knockouts in the highly competitive fitness market, according to a recent study by Chicago-based Mintel International Group Ltd., a market analysis company.

Since 2000, the number of U.S. health and fitness clubs has exploded, reaching nearly 27,000 -- a 75 percent increase. But health club membership in that same period has only grown by roughly one-third and revenue per member is also in decline, raising fears that the market has become oversaturated.

"With new clubs being built at growth rates well over 10 percent a year, membership is clearly not keeping pace," said the Mintel study read.

The study added that the gap between the growth in clubs and club memberships "could pose a risk for the industry as increasing numbers of clubs are built."

The couple's boxing gym, which they started nine years ago, isn't the only boxing fitness center in town. But it's based on the couple's own history.

Angelo Nunez, Prime Time's president, paid his dues, first in amateur boxing ranks in his teens, then during a 10-year pro career fighting the likes of world champions Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

His wife and business partner, Williams-Nunez, is a California State University, Sacramento, graduate with a degree in environmental science. She was a boxing neophyte until she met Nunez in high school. Now, her resume reads coach, trainer, fitness model, fight promoter, entrepreneur, boxer.

The latter arose from a simple philosophy: If you haven't lived it, you can't teach it. So she trained locally to become a competitive boxer.

She claims Prime Time is a unique contender in the fitness arena because it's focused purely on boxing, not martial arts or other pugilistic pursuits. "We've both competed, we've both promoted -- everything there is to do in boxing," said Williams-Nunez, Prime Time's chief executive officer. "(Participants) are going to learn as a competitive boxer."

Their business concept was an outgrowth of Nunez's fighting days, when he'd have to train at separate boxing and fitness gyms to keep himself in top condition.

"Why not have something that combines it all?" Williams-Nunez recalls asking. That was 1996. Two years later, Prime Time Boxing opened its doors.

"(It took) two years of researching and putting a business plan together. We didn't have an idea of how to go about this," Williams-Nunez said. "We kind of created something out of thin air."

What they created is a no-frills concept that's a contemporary take on the neighborhood boxing stable by incorporating standard boxing conditioning with diet, weight and cross-training. Former fighters like Nunez are among the trainers.

Classes are in four-week blocks, or "camps," at three skill levels: novice, journeyman and contender. Classes range from 14 to 16 members.

The couple plan to start small. They filed their Uniform Franchise Offering Circular -- the key documents that detail a franchise operation for investors and the government -- in California and New York.

They say they've received offers from potential franchisees both here and outside California. With a $27,000 franchise fee that's near the industry median, they figure a number of takers will be willing to invest.

Prime Time had been approached by fitness chains that wanted to license the gym's regimen for use in their clubs, but the couple wanted to maintain control of their concept.

"We weren't sure of the quality of the programs (in others' hands). We wanted to make sure the facilities, the marketing and the programs were the same," Williams-Nunez said.

On a recent Monday night, Prime Time's members ranged from young professionals in their 20s to aspiring fighters, as well as middle-aged men and women using the boxing ring to get into shape.

"There's no fluff in boxing. They're not here for the glamour. They're here for the hard work," said Angelo Nunez.

The class includes participants like Gwen Scott, a young Sacramento attorney, whose hands are wrapped protectively in red tape.

"It's really hard, but it's the most fun workout I've ever done," said Scott, who's been working out at Prime Time for about six months. "It builds confidence. If you feel strong and powerful, you're going to feel more confident."

That's the attitude Prime Time is counting on to make its brand a household name.

"People have said (a boxing workout) gives them everything they've looked for. So we said 'Let's go national -- and international -- with it,' " said Nunez.

HIGH ASPIRATIONS

So is Prime Time ready for, well, prime time?

Like all aspiring franchisees, the Sacramento-based boxing fitness club will need to overcome the challenges facing many small businesses that want to branch out nationwide, said Terry Hill, a vice president at the International Franchise Association, a Washington, D.C.-based industry trade group.

Here are some of his general tips for small businesses considering starting a franchise:

* Know how to spot talent

"The majority of franchise companies look for someone with business savvy. The temptation is to give (a franchise) to someone because they can afford it. That's not necessarily the best reason."

* Trust your franchisees

"You're turning your concept over to others to run," Hill said. "Sometimes there's a challenge in saying, 'Here's my concept. Run it.' " Provide them with training, but trust them to do the job right.

* Be aware of competitors

"Once other people see you, they (decide) they can do it, too. You launch competition."

* Invest in planning

"You need a lot of planning and legal advice," Hill said. "What you don't want is have a few (franchises) running, then hit a snag."

* Grow gradually

Some franchises become "too popular too fast. You have to be careful. It's like an army outrunning its ammunition chain. You want managed growth."

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