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Economic Challenges Haven’t Shaken the Fitness Industry: Personal Training Franchise Offers Prospective Business Owners an Upscale, Proven Business Model

Written by: Pamela Gold Waldo

Article Overview: During a rough period in our country’s economy, it’s hard to find a business that hasn’t been affected by the consumer trend of spending less, but one brand in the massive fitness and wellness industry has seen positive growth and brand loyalty. One2One BodyScapes, a Massachusetts-based personal training franchise has seen an increase in personal training sales for the first quarter of 2009, up 9% over the fourth quarter of last year. In April 2009, the franchise measured an even larger, 17% cumulative increase in sales over the month before.

Economic Challenges Haven’t Shaken the Fitness Industry: Personal Training Franchise Offers Prospective Business Owners an Upscale, Proven Business Model

During a rough period in our country's economy, it's hard to find a business that hasn't been affected by the consumer trend of spending less, but one brand in the massive fitness and wellness industry has seen positive growth and brand loyalty. One2One BodyScapes, a Massachusetts-based personal training franchise has seen an increase in personal training sales for the first quarter of 2009, up 9% over the fourth quarter of last year. In April 2009, the franchise measured an even larger, 17% cumulative increase in sales over the month before.

BodyScapes Fitness (the franchise's parent company) Founder, Rob Shapiro, explained, "With the economy on a downturn, people are turning towards living a healthier life. Taking care of your health makes you feel good and gives you a better sense of well-being. People are taking less trips, buying less luxuries, but personal training by many people is still being viewed as necessity. What better way to invest time and money than to invest it into your health. These days, people's lives are busier and more hectic... an hour of personal training is an efficient way to relieve that stress."

The franchise caters to upscale clients that are committed to living a healthier, happier life, have the funds to pay for the services, and value the benefits they receive. Because the franchise caters to fairly wealthy individuals and because people seem to be re-evaluating what is important and what they consider necessity versus luxury, One2One BodyScapes has weathered the troubled economy. Additionally, unlike a gym membership, One2One BodyScapes offers individual sessions that allow clients to buy only the services they will use.

Turning Passion into a Career

Bob Dandaraw is a mechanical engineer by education, and spent 15 years working in product development, sales, and marketing for high-tech companies. He always knew he wanted to become a business owner but wasn't sure which industry he'd want to invest in, so he decided to get his MBA from Babson College, which is ranked #1 among all business schools for entrepreneurship. "While at Babson, I studied franchising quite a bit, and decided that was the route my wife and I should pursue."

The couple didn't have a concept or an industry in mind when they began their search but Dandaraw explained, "My wife and I are passionate about health and the fitness industry fit our core values. Additionally, we have three small children and we want to raise our children to be fit, active, and healthy."

He continued, "We first looked at a different personal training franchise, but the territories in this area were completely sold out. We knew the personal training business model would be a successful one so we pursued it and discovered One2One BodyScapes. One2One seemed to be more upscale and more laid back than the other concept we were considering and when we met the company's founders, we were so impressed. We decided to purchase 2 territories."

With three small children at home, Dandaraw ‘s wife currently has the full time job of taking care of their children. Since the business is truly a joint venture for them, their plan as the children get older and they open a second location, is for her to eventually play a bigger role in the business.

Why One2One BodyScapes is Doing So Well...

"One2One BodyScapes is different from the competition for many reasons. The look and the feel of our studios is upscale and professional. We also don't use a hard sell to gain clients. We give them a complimentary session so they can have a good feel for us before they sign up for additional sessions. There's no pressure and people find it refreshing. The concept really sells itself when clients experience our services and we are building a great reputation. In this economy, you have to offer exceptional service and that's exactly what we do," said Dandaraw.

It's hard to compare a gym membership to personal training services. Dandaraw explained that most of his clients have unsuccessfully tried belonging to a gym but they simply don't go. "Our clients stick to their appointments here. They're paying a lot for each session and they want to get as much as possible out of it. We encourage them to turn their phones off and stop thinking about their day-to-day responsibilities, and instead focus on working out. We prepare a complete nutrition and exercise plan for our clients so they can reach their goals and they end up feeling very connected to us. This leads to high client retention."

No Previous Experience is Necessary to Succeed

Shapiro explained that previous industry experience is not necessary to become a One2One BodyScapes franchisee: "We look for people with an outgoing personality, a passion for fitness and a passion for helping people; especially people who enjoy being around other people. Franchisees don't necessarily have to have a background in fitness...just a passion for fitness and owning your own business. People who are interested in being entrepreneurs and taking their future into their own hands are exactly the type of people we are looking to work with."

Dandaraw didn't have his personal trainer certification or any professional experience when he signed his franchise contract. "I got my personal training certification and then went through One2One's training program. I went from having never trained a single person to being very confident in running this business. Today, I have two other trainers that work with me at my franchise location."

Dandaraw just celebrated his business' 1st anniversary and he echoed Shapiro's thoughts on why this business has gained strength through the rough economic times. "Our clients are more fit, healthier, feel the mental uplift, the sense of community, and the endorphin high and they realize the value of our services. If people haven't lost their jobs and they're financially comfortable, they continue to be loyal customers."

Dandaraw concluded, "I would definitely recommend this business to others."

BodyScapes is seeking new franchisees throughout the country. They plan to expand to 150 One2One BodyScapes locations nationwide within the next five years and now is a great time to join them since many prime territories are still available.

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Article Tags: better sense, bodyscapes, brand loyalty, business owner, company founder, consumer trend, downturn, fourth quarter, gym membership, luxuries, mechanical engineer, one2one, parent company, personal training, rough period, sales and marketing, shapiro, troubled economy, upscale clients, wealthy individuals



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