How To Start A Gym Equipment Supplier

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If you ask any entrepreneur, starting a business comes with its fair share of challenges.

Starting a gym equipment supplier requires a great deal of effort, dedication and most importantly passion.

If you're willing to put in the effort to build your own business, you're going to want to follow the critical steps to creating a successful brand.

We've created a guide that covers each step of the process - from making key financial decisions, to launching and marketing your business the right way, and tips/strategies on how to grow your business effectively.

&#; Introduction To Starting A Gym Equipment Supplier

Is Starting A Gym Equipment Supplier Right For You?

There are many factors to consider when starting a gym equipment supplier.

We put together the main pros and cons for you here:

Pros of starting a gym equipment supplier

&#; Rewarding work

Starting a gym equipment supplier can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

&#; Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

&#; Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a gym equipment supplier. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

&#; High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

&#; Pick & choose the clients you work with

Gym Equipment Supplieres have the ability to choose the clients they work with. You have the freedom to work with only a few loyal clients or with hundreds of clients!

&#; Unlimited income potential

With starting a gym equipment supplier there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make.

&#; Daily physical activity

Gym Equipment Supplier's typically involve a much greater degree of movement than other lines of work. Most days, you will spend your day walking, running errands for your business, and performing a multitude of tasks. This can have a positive impact on energy levels and your overall health.

&#; Predictable income stream

Your businesses income stream tends to be predictable based on the number of customers you have signed up. This makes financial planning and outlooks much more seamless!

&#; You can sell your product in various places!

There are various different markets to sell your product, which will help you reach different audiences and revenue streams.

&#; Simple business model

A gym equipment supplier has the advantage of a simple business model, which makes launching and building the business more seamless.

&#; Strong Demand & Relatively Recession Proof

The demand for gym equipment supplier is increasing year over year and the business is known to be relatively recession proof.

&#; You can promote and sell your product on Amazon

Although there are some disadvantages to consider when selling your product on Amazon, there are also a host of benefits. Mainly, Amazon is the world's largest online retailer, so you're bound to tap into new business and reach an entirely new audience.

&#; Make money while you sleep

The advantage of starting a gym equipment supplier is that you have the ability to have passive income and make money while you sleep. This is the dream for many entrepreneurs.

&#; Low maintenance customers

In this industry, customers are known to be very appreciative and low maintenance. This can help with your stress levels and allow you to focus on growing your business.

Cons of starting a gym equipment supplier

&#; Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your gym equipment supplier, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

&#; Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

&#; Longer Sales Process

A gym equipment supplier can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

&#; Low margins

The gross margins for your gym equipment supplier are typically around 30%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.

&#; High employee turnover

In the gym equipment supplier, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment.

&#; Work can be inconsistent

As a gym equipment supplier, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.

&#; Lack of benefits

With a gym equipment supplier, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.

&#; Isolation

Often times, as a gym equipment supplier, you typically work alone and do not have much face-to-face interaction with other team members.

&#; Taxes

As a gym equipment supplier, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

&#; Stressful work

This line of work can be stressful for both you and your clients. This type of transaction is a significant financial decision for your client, so expectations are very high for you. Although this career path can be very rewarding, it also comes with its challenges and stressful moments.

&#; High overhead expenses

With starting a gym equipment supplier, there are overhead expenses that come with selling a physical product. You will want to make sure you strategically budget for these overhead costs. We discuss this more in the startup costs section below.

&#; You may need to charge sales tax

If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article

&#; Strict regulations

With any gym equipment supplier, there are strict rules and regulations as it relates to processing your product. You must follow these regulations specifically, or significant legal issues could occur.

&#; Complex development process.

The development process for a gym equipment supplier can be quite complex, which may cause delays and challenges when launching and growing your product.

&#; Complex maintenance

Your gym equipment supplier will require a long-term investment due to the need for updates, bug fixes, and security vulnerabilities. It's important that you (or someone on your team) stays on top of this at all times.

&#; Be prepared to get out of your comfort zone!

Although this is exciting for some entrepreneurs, it can be a big challenge for others! You may find yourself in uncomfortable social and business situations, jumping into tasks and responsibilities you aren't familiar with, and pushing yourself as far as you can go!

&#; You might struggle financially (at first)!

If you bootstrap your business or choose not to pay yourself (or pay yourself less than you were making at your corporate job), this can be financially taxing. It's important to adjust your lifestyle and set a plan for yourself so you don't find yourself in a stressful situation.

&#; More of a challenge to run your business from home!

Running your business from the comfort of your own home is a big appeal for many entrepreneurs. With a gym equipment supplier, you are more likely to run your business out of your office or storefront space.

&#; Minimal physical activity

A big part of starting a gym equipment supplier is sitting at a desk for the majority of the day starting at your computer. Some may enjoy this, but others may struggle with sitting for the majority of your day without much physical activity.

&#; Work is not always glamorous

With starting a gym equipment supplier, you may need to get your hands a little dirty. Although it may seem glamorous from the outside to start this business, the work can require a lot of physical activity and repetition.

&#; Learning Curve

When you start your own business, you no longer have upper management to provide you with a playbook for your roles and responsibilities. You should know the ins and outs of every aspect of your business, as every decision will come down to you.

&#; The job can be demanding

This is one of the major disadvantages starting a gym equipment supplier. It's important to understand that you may need to make yourself available on a 24/7 basis.

&#; You may need to relocate

There can be a lot of opportunities that come your way when starting a gym equipment supplier. Although moving around can be fun and exciting, it can also be physically and emotionally taxing for you and loved ones.

&#; High liability

Running a gym equipment supplier involves a lot of liability, which means the cost for insurance premiums may also be high.

&#; Equipment Breakdowns

Over the years, your equipment can get damaged, break down, and may need repairs which can be expensive. It's important you prepare for these expenses and try to avoid damages/wear & tear as much as possible.

&#; Answering Phones

The gym equipment supplier is still considered a traditional business, which means answering phones is a big part of the job. If you or your team miss calls, you could be missing out on potential revenue opportunities. If you are unable to attend to your throughout the day, it would be in your best interest to hire a call center or an employee dedicated to this.

&#; The job can be dangerous

Your gym equipment supplier can have its dangerous moments, which puts you and your employees at risk. It's important to consider all liability and put processes and procedures in place that will prepare you and your team.

&#; Takes time to see results & make money

Results and revenue do not come overnight with a gym equipment supplier. Often times, it takes weeks, months or even years for your work to monetize.

&#; Technical issues can be frustrating

Technical issues are common in this business. If you struggle with the technical side of things, you may want to consider outsourcing this responsibility to save yourself the time and frustration.

&#; More challenging to earn passive income

It can be more of a challenge to make passive income in this business. Often times, the amount of revenue you bring in is limited by the amount of time you have in the day.

Players

Big Players

Small Players

Search Interest

Let's take a look at the search trends for over the last year:

How To Name Your Gym Equipment Supplier

It's important to find a catchy name for your gym equipment supplier so that you can stand out in your space.

Here are some general tips to consider when naming your gym equipment supplier

• Avoid hard to spell names: you want something easy to remember and easy to spell for your customers
• Conduct a search to see if others in the space have the same name
• Try not to pick a name that limits growth opportunities for your business (ie. if you decide to expand into other product lines)
• As soon as you have an idea (or ideas) of a few names that you love, register the domain name(s) as soon as possible!

Why is naming your gym equipment supplier so important?

The name of your business will forever play a role in:

• Your customers first impression
• Your businesses identity
• The power behind the type of customer your brand attracts
• If you're memorable or not

It's important to verify that the domain name is available for your gym equipment supplier.

You can search domain availability here:

Find a domain starting at $0.88

powered by Namecheap

Although .com names are the most common and easiest to remember, there are other options if your .com domain name is not available. Depending on your audience, it may not matter as much as you think.

It's also important to thoroughly check if social media handles are available.

As soon as you resonate with a name (or names), secure the domain and SM handles as soon as possible to ensure they don't get taken.

Here's some inspiration for naming your gym equipment supplier:

• Cavernous

  check availability

• Gymnastics Group

  check availability

• UpscaleGym

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• Dark Fitness Pro

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• The Empty

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• EmptyGym

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• Large

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• Old Room Place

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• New Gymnasium Pro

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• Exercise Spot

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• Downtown Bodybuilding

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• Elementary Gymnastics Co

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• Gymnasium Group

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• Tiny

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• Multi Gymnastics Collective

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• Empty Hall Place

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• ElementaryGym

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• Elementary Clubhouse

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• Giant Gymnastics

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• CavernousGym

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• MultiGym

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• Favorite Fitness Place

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• Modern Gymnastics

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• Fancy Exercise Group

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• MakeshiftGym

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• The Main

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• Hour

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• Dark Room

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• Workout Trading Co

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• Favorite Clubhouse Spot

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• Dingy

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• OwnGym

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• The Seat Workout

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• Jungle

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• Jumble Gymnastic

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How To Create A Slogan For Your Gym Equipment Supplier:

Slogans are a critical piece of your marketing and advertising strategy.

The role of your slogan is to help your customer understand the benefits of your product/service - so it's important to find a catchy and effective slogan name.

Often times, your slogan can even be more important than the name of your brand.

Here are 6 tips for creating a catchy slogan for your gym equipment supplier:

1. Keep it short, simple and avoid difficult words

A great rule of thumb is that your slogan should be under 10 words. This will make it easy for your customer to understand and remember.

2. Tell what you do and focus on what makes you different

There are a few different ways you can incorporate what makes your business special in your slogan:

• Explain the target customer you are catering your services towards
• What problem do you solve?
• How do you make other people, clients, or your employer look good?
• Do you make people more successful? How?

3. Be consistent

Chances are, if you're coming up with a slogan, you may already have your business name, logo, mission, branding etc.

It's important to create a slogan that is consistent with all of the above.

4. Ensure the longevity of your slogan

Times are changing quickly, and so are businesses.

When coming up with your slogan, you may want to consider creating something that is timeless and won't just fade with new trends.

5. Consider your audience

When finding a catchy slogan name, you'll want to make sure that this resonates across your entire audience.

It's possible that your slogan could make complete sense to your audience in Europe, but may not resonate with your US audience.

6. Get feedback!

This is one of the easiest ways to know if your slogan will be perceived well, and a step that a lot of brands drop the ball on.

Ask friends, family, strangers, and most importantly, those that are considered to be in your target market.

Here's some inspiration for coming up with a slogan for your gym equipment supplier:

• Buy Gym Now!
• Big Gym, We Are Here
• There's Lots Of Fun In Gym.
• Gym Is My Sport.
• Gym Chews 'Em Up And Spits 'Em Out.
• You Wouldn't Want To Miss Gym.
• Monsieur, With This Gym You Are Really Spoiling Us.
• Get More From Life With Gym.
• From Big To Dwarf
• Aim Of The Fitness
• From Turnaround To Humble
• You Can Do It When You Gym It.
• Work Hard, Boxing Harder
• Gyms With Part
• Gyms With Life
• From Little To Generous
• Rec Is What We Do
• Gym Will Get You More Girls.
• Indoor Gym - A New You
• Gym. The Power On Your Side.
• From Old To Raw
• Free For All Gym.
• High Gym, Built For You
• From Make Full To Clean
• Take Two Bottles Into The Gym?
• Lay Of The Bodybuilding
• Don't Live A Little, Live A Gym.
• Gym Keeps Going And Going.
• It's That Gym Feeling.
• New Athletic Facilities Are What We Do
• Old Room, Big Athletic
• I Lost Weight With Gym.
• Space Of The Room
• Gym, What Else?
• See The Gym, Feel The Shine.
• Cleans A Big, Big Gym For Less Than Half A Crown.
• Empty Fitness, Large Sports
• Skipping Rope Is What We Do
• The Best Part Of Waking Up Is Gym In Your Cup.
• Private Sports, Large Gymnastics
• You Too Can Have A Gym Like Mine.
• From Low Spirits To Lofty
• Calistheneum Is What We Do
• Mat Is What We Do
• It's My Gym!
• Gym Always The Right Choice
• Gym - Today And Tomorrow.

Learn more about starting a gym equipment supplier:

Where to start?

-> How much does it cost to start a gym equipment supplier?
-> Pros and cons of a gym equipment supplier

Need inspiration?

-> Other gym equipment supplier success stories
-> Marketing ideas for a gym equipment supplier

Other resources

-> Gym equipment supplier tips

&#; How To Start A Gym Equipment Supplier

How Much Does It Cost To Start A Gym Equipment Supplier

If you are planning to start a gym equipment supplier, the costs are relatively low. This, of course, depends on if you decide to start the business with lean expenses or bringing in a large team and spending more money.

We&#;ve outlined two common scenarios for &#;pre-opening&#; costs of starting a gym equipment supplier and outline the costs you should expect for each:

• The estimated minimum starting cost = $62
• The estimated maximum starting cost = $60,032

Startup Expenses: Average expenses incurred when starting a gym equipment supplier. Min Startup Costs: You plan to execute on your own. You&#;re able to work from home with minimal costs. Max Startup Costs: You have started with 1+ other team members. Office Space Expenses Rent: This refers to the office space you use for your business and give money to the landlord. To minimize costs, you may want to consider starting your business from home or renting an office in a coworking space. $0 $5,750 Utility Costs For Office Space: Utility costs are the expense for all the services you use in your office, including electricity, gas, fuels, , water, sewerage, etc. $0 $1,150 Total Office Space Expenses $0 (min) $6,900 (max) Employee & Freelancer Expenses Payroll Costs & Fees: Payroll cost means the expense of paying your employees, which includes salaries, wages, and other benefits. This number depends on if you decide to pay yourself a salary upfront and how many employees you have on payroll. At first, many founders take on all responsibilities until the business is up and running. You can always hire down the road when you understand where you need help. Keep in mind, if you do plan to pay yourself, the average salary founders make is $50K. $150 $250 Employee Hiring Expenses: Apart from payroll and benefits, there are other hiring employees costs. This includes the cost to advertise the job, the time it takes to interview candidates, and any other turnover that may result from hiring the wrong candidate. $1 $2 Employee Rewards: It's vital to acknowledge and reward workers, whether they hit their goals or do a great job. This does not have to be costly. In fact, simply taking workers out to a meal or giving a gift or bonus is among the many ways to show how the worker is valued! $0 $100 Total Employee & Freelancer Expenses $151 (min) $352 (max) Business Formation Fees Small Business Insurance: Depending on which state you live in and the business you're operating, the costs and requirements for small business insurance vary. You can learn more here. $500 $2,000 Permit and License Fees: Depending on your industry, there are certain licenses and permits you may need in order to comply with state, local, and federal regulations. Here is an article that goes over all the permits and licenses you may need for your gym equipment supplier. $50 $700 Trademark: Filing trademark registration will protect your brand and prevent other businesses from copying your name or product. USPTO has several different types of trademarks, so the cost to apply can vary (typically anywhere from $400-$700). $0 $700 Lawyer Fees: Although you may want to avoid attorney fees, it's important that your business (and you) are covered at all costs. This comes into play when creating founder agreements, setting up your business legal structure, and of course, any unforeseen circumstances that may happen when dealing with customers or other businesses. $0 $1,500 A Patent: Patents provide protection against others stealing or selling your idea.Securing a patent can be very valuable, but it's important that you are 100% sure this will be a smart business move for you, or if this is something to consider down the line.The process of securing a US patent can be both lengthy and pricey, and typically includes filing an application with the USPTO. $5,000 $15,000 Set up business: LLC & Corporations: The first step in setting up your business is deciding whether your business is an LLC, S Corp or C Corp. The cost for this depends on which state you form your business and which structure you decide on. We put together an article that goes over the 10 Steps To Setting Up A Business. $50 $500 Total Business Formation Fees $5,600 (min) $20,400 (max) Equipment & Supply Expenses Cleaning Supplies: Cleaning supplies are essential products we used daily at home and in almost all places worldwide. These items are used to effectively and safely remove dirt and germs to control allergens and prevent the spreading of contagious diseases, helping us stay healthy. $63 $200 Uniforms: In this business, it's common to wear uniforms. The cost will depend on the number of employees you have and the quality of uniform you buy. $0 $500 Total Equipment & Supply Expenses $63 (min) $700 (max) Inventory Expenses Upfront Costs For Inventory: This includes all upfront inventory you will need in order to launch. Be sure to compare prices of wholesalers to ensure you're getting the best deal and margins remain high. $300 $5,000 Inventory Storage: If you decide to have a physical space for your gym equipment supplier, whether it be used for inventory or as a showroom, you may have monthly rent payment or a large down payment associated with renting/buying the space. $0 $5,000 Package Design: Packaging refers to wrapping and protecting products during distribution, shipping, and sales.Your package design is your customer's first impression of your brand, so it's important you spend some time and energy to get this right from the start.Many businesses design their own packages using design software and tools. There is always the option to outsource this to a design expert, but that route tends to be much more expensive. $50 $3,000 Shrinkage: Shrinkage refers to the loss of inventory at any point between the purchase from your supplier and the purchase by your customer. Although you will try to avoid this at all costs, this does happen sometimes (especially in the learning stages of your business), and it's important to plan ahead financially in case this happens. Fortune states that retail shrinkage costs U.S. retailers approximately 1.4 percent of their total sales. $0 $1,000 Distribution costs: Depending on what distribution plan you choose, expenses such as renting vans, hiring delivery drivers and gas costs can add up. If you are looking to save money upfront, you may want to consider conducting distribution on your own. $0 $750 Total Inventory Expenses $350 (min) $14,750 (max) Vehicle Expenses Mode of Transporation: For your gym equipment supplier you'll need to rent or purchase an operating vehicle such as a van, vessel, RV, or enclosed trailer. $0 $10,000 Commute cost: Commute expense is the cost that results from traveling back and forth from their place to their employment. Commute costs can include public car expenses and bike expenses. This expense will also consume a huge portion of your business&#;s budget. $2 $4 Total Vehicle Expenses $2 (min) $10,004 (max) Training & Education Expenses Online Learning Sites: With a gym equipment supplier, you and your team may not know all the steps for starting and growing a business. There are plenty of resources out there to help you, such as online courses or learning platforms, but they aren't always free! Starter Story is a great resource for case studies, guides and courses for starting your business. $0 $1,000 Consulting fees: You may find yourself needing to hire a consultant for different aspects of your gym equipment supplier. The cost for this varies depending on the scope of work and length of contract. $0 $1,000 Total Training & Education Expenses $0 (min) $2,000 (max) Website Costs Domain Name: Your domain name is the URL and name of your website - this is how internet users find you and your website.Domain names are extremely important and should match your company name and brand. This makes it easier for customers to remember you and return to your website. $12 $200 Business Hosting Service: An hosting runs a dedicated server. Once you have your domain name, you can set up accounts for each user on your team. The most common hosts are G Suite and Microsoft 365 Suite. The number of accounts you set up will determine the monthly cost breakdown. $1 $15 Total Website Costs $13 (min) $215 (max) Food Business Expenses Initial Ingredients: To get your gym equipment supplier started, you will need to purchase initial ingredients to test recipes and eventually create your final product. $25 $500 Total Food Business Expenses $25 (min) $500 (max) Retail Business Expenses Building improvements and remodeling: If you plan to operate a physical location, you may find yourself dealing with building improvements and remodeling costs. Even if these costs are minimal, this is something to consider when renting/buying a physical location. $0 $950 Total Retail Business Expenses $0 (min) $950 (max) Advertising & Marketing Costs Business Signage: Business signs let people know they're in the right place and are one of the first impressions your customer will have of your business.The cost for signage depends on a variety of elements:- material- size- number of colors- durability- installation and laborThere are plenty of design tools and software to create your own signs, or you can hire a sign business to do this for you. $75 $2,486 Total Advertising & Marketing Costs $75 (min) $2,486 (max) Software Expenses Accounting & Invoicing Software: It's important to have an accounting system and process in place to manage financials, reporting, planning and tax preparation. Here are the 30 best accounting tools for small businesses. $0 $50 Project Management Software: You may want to consider using a project management and collaboration tool to organize your day-to-day. This can also be very beneficial if you have a larger team and want to keep track of everyones tasks and productivity. For a full list of project management tools, check out this full list here. $0 $25 Payroll Software: The main purpose of payroll software is to help you pay your team and track each of those payments (so that you don't have to do it manually). If you do not have any employees or have a very small team, payroll software may not be necessary at this stage. Here are the 11 best payroll tools for small businesses! $0 $200 Total Software Expenses $0 (min) $275 (max) Specific Industry Expenses Handyman Tools: To start your gym equipment supplier, you will need to have the essential tools to bring to each job. Here's a list of tools to get you started - you may find that you already have these in your tool-kit or garage! $0 $500 Total Specific Industry Expenses $0 (min) $500 (max) Total Starting Costs $62 (min) $60,032 (max)

Raising Money For Your Gym Equipment Supplier

Here are the most common ways to raise money for your gym equipment supplier:

Bootstrapping

You may not need funding for your gym equipment supplier.

In fact, many entrepreneurs take this approach when starting their own business, whether they have a little amount of cash or a substantial amount to get started.

So what exactly does the term "bootstrapping" mean?

This method essentially refers to self-funding your businesswithout external help or capital and reinvesting your earnings back into the business**

Bootstrapping means building your company from the ground up with your own, or your loved ones, personal savings and reinvesting all earnings back into the business

Here are some tips to consider when bootstrapping your business:

• Use your savings as your capital - one of the best ways to bootstrap your business is to collect your savings and use them as startup capital. This will also help you avoid using your personal or business credit cards when getting started.
• Determine exactly how much capital you need and how much capital you have to get your business off the ground. Generally, when bootstrapping your business, you may want to consider starting a business that involves less startup capital.
• Consider starting a business that will generate immediate returns so you can put money back into the business
• Be as lean as possible - this refers to cutting down expenses as much as possible, such as payroll, fancy software tools, unnecessary travel, renting an office, etc
• Consider outsourcing instead of hiring - in the beginning, you may not need to hire someone permanently to help run your business. It tends to be much less expensive to outsource work to a freelancer and hire someone permanently down the road!

Want to learn more about bootstrapping your business? Check out this article

Business Accelerator

Accelerators are organizations that offer a range of support and funding opportunities for startups.

Typically, this means they help enroll startups in programs that offer mentorship, office space, and resources to grow the business.

These programs are typically 3-4 months and involve intense education and mentorship - most importantly, the startups also offered capital and investment in return for equity.

Here are some of the most popular and well-known startup accelerators in the U.S:

Here are some tips on how to get into an accelerator program:

• Have an MVP (Minimal Viable Product) in place
• Make sure you have actual customers and an overview of how your business is doing (revenue, site traffic, growth metrics)
• Build a team
• Crush your interview - this is a critical piece in the process. Know your business and metrics inside out and most importantly, be able to portray what makes it so unique.

VC Funding

VC funding is a traditional and long process, but an effective way to raise money for your business.

The term "VC funding" refers to venture capital firms investing in businesses in exchange for equity.

The VC's (venture capitalists) are an individual or small group investing in your business and typically require substantial ownership of the business, with the hope of seeing a return on their investment.

VC's are typically the best approach for businesses with high startup costs - where it would be very difficult to raise the money on your own or through a loan.

When deciding whether to take this approach, it's important that you have a few things in place first, and know what you're getting yourself into:

Determine if your business is ready

Having an idea is not enough to get VC funding.

Typically, VC's will check to make sure you have these things in place prior to closing any deal:

• An MVP (Minimal Viable Product)
• A founding team with all proper documents in place (articles of organization, business formation)
• A validated idea with actual customers buying your product/service

Get everything in place and build a pitch deck

A VC individual or firm will be expecting a fine-tuned presentation that gives an overview of your business.

Here's what you should consider including in your pitch deck:

• Management team, their previous experience + current roles in the business
• Market challenge and solution
• Company financials - including a P&L statement, cash flow statement, and projections
• Company progress
• Investment amount - how much do you need and why?

Research the right VC to fund your business

Research the types of VC investors out there and what niche they focus on.

Then, put together a list of target VC's you want to approach and your strategy around setting up meetings.

Be sure you have everything in place (as discussed above) before setting up any meeting!

Make sure the terms and expectations are right for your business

Committing to VC funding is a big deal and a decision that should not be made lightly.

Although the money and experience from VC's can help your business quickly grow, you are also giving away a stake in the company, and the money comes with strings attached.

Be sure you do your due diligence in finding the right investor - one that truly believes in the growth and success of your business.

What Skills Do I Need To Succeed In Starting A Gym Equipment Supplier?

As a gym equipment supplier, there are several essential skills and characteristics that are important to identify prior to starting your business.

Let&#;s look at these skills in more detail so you can identify what you need to succeed in your day-to-day business operations:

Design Skills

Whether you are the one designing the product or the decision-maker for the product, an eye for design is critical when starting a gym equipment supplier. Here's what this looks like:

• Creative Thinking - the ability to develop or design different products or ideas
• Visualization - being able to imagine or visualize how the product will look
• Articulation - the ability to communicate what the design will look like and how it will be executed
• Detail-oriented - paying close attention to all of the small pieces when designing or working on a project
• Some technical skills - knowledge of the design software you are using to create the product or build prototypes.

Other skills that may be valuable to have when starting a gym equipment supplier include digital marketing skills, branding experience, and basic business knowledge.

Business Savvy Skills

When starting a gym equipment supplier, there are a few fundamental business skills you will want to learn in order to be successful:

• Leadership and training skills: A great team starts with YOU. Make sure you have all company policies and training procedures in place prior to hiring your team
• Decisive and self-confident: Over the course of your career, you will need decisions that could impact your business significantly. It's important you are able to think clearly and rationally about these decisions.
• Ability to understand the financials: You don't need to be an accountant, but it is important that you are able to clearly understand and define metrics such as expenses, revenue, profit, margins, COGS, etc.
• Strategic Thinking: Setting clear goals and benchmarks, identifying opportunities, risks. Ability to effectively communicate these insights to your team.

These are a few of many business savvy skills you should have (or work on) when starting a gym equipment supplier.

For a full list, check out this article here.

Self Motivation Skills

Self motivation and discipline skills are critical in order to become successful in this field.

It's likely that you will find yourself starting and running your gym equipment supplier from home, which could mean there are more distractions for you.

Here are the basic skills needed for self motivation & discipline:

• Becoming a self starter: It's important that you are capable of independently completing a task without the help or direction of anyone else
• Listening and following directions: When you are given direction by others, it's critical that you are able to follow directions and ask the right questions in order to get your job done
• Taking the initiative in problem solving: Instead of taking the easy route, you'll need to learn to troubleshoot issues on your own as much as possible.

*Negotiation Skills

The ability to negotiate on behalf of your client will be an essential part of your every day job.

This is one of the most important qualities you can have when starting a gym equipment supplier, so it's important you practice and perfect these skills.

Here's what this looks like:

• Ability to analyze all parts of the deal: your biggest power is to understand and analyze all parts of the deal for your client, choose when to walk away, and know to what lengths you can negotiate a deal.
• Building rapport: This is key in the gym equipment supplier. You are much likely to reach an agreement and favorable terms if you spend just a few moments getting to know each other before talking about the deal at stake.
• Be diplomatic: Being in control of any situation presented and showing intention with your words are key qualities for someone in this line of work. This includes asking good questions and listening actively.

Becoming a good negotiator does not happen overnight, but as long as you are persistent with practicing these skills and putting them into action, you will see growth day by day!

Advice For Starting A Gym Equipment Supplier

We've interviewed thousands of successful founders at Starter Story and asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are just getting started.

Here's the best advice we discovered for starting a gym equipment supplier:

Kaevon Khoozani, founder of Bells of Steel ($1.2M/month):

If I could do it over again, I would have stuck to my guns more regarding pricing. If you can&#;t sell something and make money, don&#;t sell it. Simple, I know.

Read the full interview &#;

-

David Barnes, founder of Gym and Fitness ($150K/month):

Start small, limit your risk, test your product and market and always be ready to make changes according to feedback. Most of all make sure you&#;re having fun along the way!

Read the full interview &#;

-

Write a Business Plan

Writing a business plan from the start is critical for the success of your gym equipment supplier.

Why?

Because this allows you to roadmap exactly what you do, what your overall structure will look like, and where you want to be in the future.

For many entrepreneurs, writing out the business plan helps validate their idea and decide whether or not they should move forward with starting the business.

You may want to consider expanding upon these sections in your business plan:

• Executive Summary: Brief outline of your product, the market, and growth opportunities
• Overviews and Objectives: Overview of your business, target customers, and what you need to run your business
• Products and Services: Specifics on the products and services your business will provide
• Market Opportunities: Analysis of customer demographics, buyer habits and if your product is in demand
• Marketing: Outline of your marketing plan and how you plan to differentiate yourself from other customers
• Competitive analysis: Analysis of your competition and the strengths and weaknesses therein
• Operations: Hierarchal structure of the company and what it will take to run the business on the day-to-day
• Leadership Team: Detailing roles and responsibilities of each manager based on their specific skill-set
• Financial Analysis Understanding of all expenses, operating budgets, and projections for the future.

Learn more about how to write a business plan here

Determine Which Business Bank Account You Need

There are hundreds of banks out there, and it can be overwhelming to find one that's right for your business.

Here are some factors you may want to consider:

• Location - Is your bank close enough that you can easily make deposits or get cash?
• Low Fees - Make sure to understand any and all fees associated with setting up and maintaining your bank account. Ask for a list - banks usually try to keep this hidden and in the fine print.
• Online Banking Services - Make sure you can easily navigate through your online portal and you have easy access to everything you need.
• Line of Credit - What do your options look like (even if you don't need this now, you may need this down the road).
• Every bank has something that differentiates them from the rest, so make sure whatever that is applied to your needs and values.

Check out this list of the 13 Best Banks for Small Business in and what makes them so unique.

Setting Up Your Gym Equipment Supplier (Formation and Legal)

When it comes to setting up your business, you may find yourself in a place where you have to make some financial and legal decisions.

The first thing you'll want to decide on is whether you want to be an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp.

These three options are found to be the most common when starting a small business, and all serve to protect your personal assets and also provide you with certain tax benefits.

• LLC: All income and expenses from the business are reported on the LLC personal income tax return.
• S corp: Owners pay themselves salaries + receive dividends from profits.
• C Corp: C Corps are separately taxable entities that file a corporate tax return (Form ). No income tax is paid at the corporate level and any tax due is paid at the owners individual expense.

Depending on where you're conducting business, you'll also want to consider securing the proper permits, licenses and liability insurance.

Learn more about securing the right permits and licenses &#;

Need to start an LLC? Create an LLC in minutes with ZenBusiness.

How Do I Pay Myself As A Small Business Owner?

Most entrepreneurs start a business to do something they love- but at the end of the day, you still have bills to pay (maybe now more than ever).

But it's important to strike the right balance - if you pay yourself too much, you could be putting your business at risk.

There are two common ways to pay yourself as a business owner:

1. Owner's Draw

Many entrepreneurs pay themselves through an owner's draw. This means that you are technically sean as "self-employed" through the eyes of the IRS and are not paid through regular wages.

At the point that you collect money from the draw, taxes typically are not taken out - so make sure you are prepared to pay these taxes once you file your individual return.

As an owner who takes a draw, you can legally take out as much as you want from your equity.

This type of compensation is suited for Sole props, LLCs, and partnerships. If you&#;re an S corp, you can pay yourself through both a salary and draw if you choose.

2. Salary

If you decide to pay yourself a salary, you will receive a set and recurring amount. This will be taxed by the federal government and the state you reside in.

The reality is that it can be really complicated to set your own salary, so we have some tips for you to consider:

• Take out a reasonable amount that allows you to live comfortably but also sets your business up for success
• Consider the number of hours you are working weekly + the type of duties you are performing.
• Set your salary based on your industry-standard, location, and profits (or projected profits)
• Look at your P&L statement: Deduct your own pay from that amount. This is important so you can first tackle important business expenses, and then pay yourself from the amount leftover.
• Pick a payroll schedule (and stick to it)! In the US, it's most common to pay yourself and employees twice a month.

To learn more about how to pay yourself and what is a reasonable amount, check out this article.

How To Price Your

One of the most challenging aspects to starting a gym equipment supplier is determining how much to charge for your .

When businesses under-price their product, this can be extremely detrimental to their bottom line and reputation.

Often times, businesses under-price their products to drive demand and volume, but that last thing you want is for customers to view your product/service as "cheap." Additionally, this can have a big impact on the type of customer you attract, which can be difficult to recover from.

On the other hand, when businesses over-price, this tends to be just as damaging to the business.

When customers buy, it's likely that they will explore the internet and look at other competitors to ensure they're getting the best value + deal. This is why it's so important that you research your competition and understand where you land in the marketplace.

Here are some factors to consider when pricing your product:

Understand your customer

It's important that out of the gates, you identify the type of customer you want to attract and how much they're willing to pay for your service. One great way to do this is by surveying your customers. Here are some important items you'll want to takeaway:

• Customer demographic: Age, gender, location, etc.
• Buying habits of your customer: What they buy + when they buy
• Level of price sensitivity with your customer

All of these segments will help you identify the type of customer you're attracting and how to price your product accordingly.

Understand your costs

When pricing your , it's critical that you first identify all of your costs and consequently mark up your so you can factor in a profit.

The actual cost of your may include things like:

• The actual cost to make the product (ie. raw materials, supplies, manufacturer).
• Shipping + overhead fees
• Rent
• Operating costs to run your business

You may want to consider creating a spreadsheet with every single expense involved in operating/owning your business. This will give you an idea as to what you need to generate in order to at the very least, break-even and will help you price your products to factor in a profit.

Create revenue goals

When determining the price of your , you'll want to create goals for revenue + how much profit you want your gym equipment supplier to make.

This process is simpler than you may think:

1. Think about your breakeven cost (by completing the above step).
2. Create a revenue goal based on your break-even cost
3. Evaluate the # of items you plan to sell in a given period (make sure this is a realistic number)
4. Divide your revenue goal by the number of items you plan to sell

This figure will help determine your estimated price per product in order to meet your revenue goals.

Evaluate your competition

The last piece in determining how to price your is by simply looking at your competition.

The best way to do this is by finding like-minded businesses that offer product(s) with similar perceived value. Then, you can compare prices of the different businesses and determine where your fits best in the marketplace.

All of these factors play an equal part in pricing your , so it's important you evaluate each one individually to come up with an accurate price that will help optimize your business from the start.

Gross Margin Calculator: How to Calculate The Gross Margin For Your

Our calculator is designed to be simple and easy to use.

The goal is to help you set realistic expectations and understand what is considered a healthy gross margin for your gym equipment supplier.

Calculate your gross margin and profit margin here.

Design A Prototype

Turning your idea into a reality can feel like a daunting task - but it's critical that you have an idea of what your product will look like (even if it's just a sketch) prior to finding a manufacturer.

Here are some common ways you can design your prototype:

• Draw Your Initial Design on Paper
• Form pieces of fabric together
• Consider Taking A Generic Product And Putting Your Own Brand On It
• Try Making the Product Yourself
• Consider Building A Prototype With A 3D Printer

To learn more about how to design and prototype a product, check out our latest guide here.

David Barnes, founder of Gym and Fitness dives deep into the process of designing and prototyping their product:

Case Study

After growing the company through a dropshipping model, I partnered with a local import/wholesaler and we focused our efforts on importing and re-selling a core range of bars, weights & dumbbells, with no innovation.

We then began to look at differentiating our products by working with manufacturers to combine features from different power racks on the market. This allowed us to develop in-house brands that we sold exclusively through the Gym and Fitness name.

Unfortunately with innovation comes copycats, and despite our best efforts, the Gym and Fitness power rack range has become the world's most copied power rack range!

We now have 7 in-house brands across the categories of Strength, Cardio, Flooring & Recovery, which we not only sell under the Gym and Fitness banner but export to other retailers across the globe.

full story &#;

David Barnes, on starting Gym and Fitness ($150,000/month)

Manufacturing Your Product In House

It's also very common to manufacture your on your own - either from your home or in a commercial space.

In order to get the product right, you may want to consider experimenting with different designs and recipes until you find the perfect one.

Some founders choose to manufacture their product in-house so that they can control quality, manage costs, and easily handle production/logistics.

Down the road, you can always choose to outsource your .

&#; How To Launch Your Gym Equipment Supplier

Build A Website

Building a website is imperative when launching your business, and with the right tools in place, this can be a simple task to check off the list (without having to hire someone).

1. Pick a domain name that's easy to remember and easy to type
2. Choose a Web Hosting Plan (ie. Shopify, Squarespace)
3. Make sure you choose the right theme and design
4. Implement the proper page structure (ie. about page, contact page, pricing etc)

To learn more about how to build a stellar website with little stress, we give you all the details on this step-by-step guide.

Web Design

Once you have chosen the domain, web hosting, and platform, it's time to get started with the design phase.

Themes are a great way to produce the fundamental style and identity of your website - this includes everything from your font design to your blog post styles.

One of the best ways to get started is to simply explore the various themes (free or paid depending on what you're looking for) and test them on your site.

If web-design really isn't in the cards for you, you may want to consider outsourcing a web designer to help bring your vision and brand to life.

Traditional Launch Strategies For Your Gym Equipment Supplier:

There are various different ways you can launch your gym equipment supplier successfully.

Here are a few different strategies to get customers excited about your gym equipment supplier:

• Set up a Facebook page for your business. This is a great way to establish an online presence
• Host an event in a fun location with drinks & food. This is a great way to get exposure in the local community.
• Get Press! Pitch your story to the media and you may just land in an amazing publication
• Live sales to get customers excited
• Send a hand-written letter in the mail with a discount on your services to the local community/neighborhoods.

David Barnes, founder of Gym and Fitness dives deep into the process of launching the business:

Case Study

The earliest days of Gym and Fitness was on eBay with inventory being stored in the garage. As the business evolved and I partnered with a local wholesaler, we began operating out of a warehouse and set up an online store on the osCommerce platform. I had no experience in web development or web admin but as is often the case in start-ups I donned the hat and learned the ropes whilst studying dentistry at university full-time on the side.

As the business grew we began to open brick and mortar retail stores across Australia, growing to 7 stores before we ran into some operational issues.

After many years selling out of brick and mortar retail stores, we struggled to scale profitably. With each new store bringing with it increased overheads, we just couldn&#;t see Gym and Fitness growing as quickly as we wanted. With this in mind in , we pulled the pin on our stores letting go of almost half our team to shift our focus to what we were good at and where we saw the most growth opportunity - eCommerce.

Fast forward 4 years and we are operating a far more profitable business with less staff and only 2 showrooms - one attached to our warehouse and the other attached to our head office.

full story &#;

David Barnes, on starting Gym and Fitness ($150,000/month)

Get Press Coverage For Your Gym Equipment Supplier

The more buzz around your brand - the more the phones ring, the more traffic to your website, and the more customers as a result.

Here are a few ways you can get press for your business:

Press releases:

Press releases are a great way to share big announcements or news, but in order to get any traction, you'll need to find a way to make your press release stand out amongst others.

Try to convey a story that really matters, not just to you, but to the reporter and to their audience.

Here are some things to consider when submitting a press release:

• Craft a catchy subject (keep it short and sweet).
• Acknowledge the journalist's past work and interests - this is key!
• Include the main point of the story in the first paragraph, heck, even the first sentence. Reporters want to hear the juice first and foremost.
• Focus on the facts and try to limit the amount of jargon used.
• Pitch yourself! Help them put a face to the story.
• Make sure your topic is newsworthy. If it's not, find a way to!
• Try not to include any attachments of your release!

is one of the most effective and preferred way to send your press release, so as long as you keep your pitch brief, interesting and personalized (no cold emails), you should stand a chance!

Get Press Using HARO

HARO, otherwise known as "Help a Reporter Out" is an outlet for journalists to source upcoming stories and opportunities for media coverage.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Maternity Postpartum Support Belt. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

The best part is, HARO is free to use! There are, of course, premium versions you can purchase, but the free version is still an accessible way to get press.

Once you set up an account, HARO essentially will you based on stories (that are relevant to you) that need to be covered where you will then have a chance to essentially "bid on the story."

Here are some tips when crafting your pitch:

• Discuss your experience and expertise in the space. Make sure it's obvious why you're relevant to this story.
• Answer the question in 3-4 sentences. Try and be as direct as possible
• Offer to provide the reporter with more information and make sure to give them your contact info

Plan a Publicity Stunt

Planning a publicity stunt is an effective and quick way to raise awareness for your brand and gain some traction from the press.

If you're looking to plan a stunt, the objective should be to be bold and create something memorable

However, being bold has a fine line - it's important that you consider the timing of your stunt to ensure you don't come off insensitive or unethical. For example, timing may not be in your favor if you plan something during the general election, or in most recent cases, a global pandemic.

In order to measure the success of your stunt, it's important that you first determine your end goal, for example:

• Is the stunt aimed to raise money for your business or a particular organization?
• Is the stunt aimed to drive more traffic to your website?
• Is the stunt aimed to get more followers and engagement on Instagram?

Here are a few tips for creating a great publicity stunt:

• Research to ensure that there haven't been similar stunts done in the past by other businesses - this could easily turn off journalists and your audience.
• Make sure you can explain the stunt in one headline - this will help grab the media's attention. In other words, simplify!
• The stunt should be related to the product you are promoting. Even if the stunt is a success in terms of viewers, but it doesn't tie back to your original goal, then it's not useful.
• Keep the stunt visual with videos/images.
• Leverage the internet and social media platforms for your stunt by sharing your message across a variety of audiences. This will help with word of mouth and the overall success of your event.

To learn other strategies on how to get press, check out our full guide here.

&#; How To Grow Your Gym Equipment Supplier

Improve your SEO

SEO is not just about driving traffic to your site, it's about driving the RIGHT traffic to your site, and ultimately, converting leads into customers.

One of the most important aspects of SEO is understanding what your customers are searching for, otherwise known as "keyword research."

Here are some tools that can help you choose the right keywords for your gym equipment supplier.

• Google Ads Keyword Planner invaluable for discovering search trends.
• Google Search Console is very helpful once your website is up as it shows you what words/phrases are generating traffic.
• Ahrefs and SEMRush are paid tools that allow you to look at results of your competitor's website.

Publish Great Content

Finding keywords is an important piece of the puzzle, but Google also ranks your site based on the actual content you produce, as this is what your customers are reading and engaging with.

There are various different "forms" of content that you may want to consider diversifying on your sites, such as blog posts, articles, studies, and videos.

So let's discuss what google considers "good content:"

• Length - This will vary depending on the page, however, generally having a sufficient amount of content helps search engines recognize that your site is a good source for a specific topic
• Engagement - The longer people stay on your website to read your content, the higher Google will rank your website. It's important to have informative and "thick" content that keeps people reading
• Avoid Duplicating Content - Google will recognize this and may consider your content to have low value
• Ensure pages load quickly - This will also help with engagement and time spent on your website
• Shareability - Create content that people want to share, and is easy for them to share, especially to their social media accounts (ie. "click to tweet" is a great example of this).

Another element of creating good content is creating consistent content.

If (and hopefully you are) publishing content frequently, it's important to stick to a schedule - this helps build brand trust and easy user experience with your customers.

Planning out your content with a content calendar is key to staying consistent.

Here are a few great content calendar tools that can help you:

• Trello
• Airtable
• If you prefer to keep it simple, your average spreadsheet is just as useful!

Backlinks

Backlinks are an important piece to SEO, as they allow for other websites to link to your content.

Search engines recognize that other sites are essentially "verifying" your content and essentially rank you higher because of this.

Of course, some links are more valuable than others and can affect your site in different ways.

For example, if a highly valuable and credible site like the New York Times links to a page on your website, this could be remarkable from an SEO perspective.

Aside from organically getting mentioned from other sites, there are other ways that you can increase and earn backlinks:

• Create infographics with relevant data that people want to share
• Promote your content on different sites/look into "guest blogging"
• Contact influencers/journalists/bloggers and ask them to mention you!
• Write testimonials for other sites in exchange for a backlink
• Leverage existing business relationships

Learn more about the fundamentals of SEO &#; here and check out Neil Patel's 3 Powerful SEO Tips below

Build A Blog

One of the most effective ways to build brand awareness and grow your business is through consistently blogging.

We've outlined some useful tips for you to consider when creating content:

Consistency and Quantity

Quality is important, but it should be the standard for any content you publish.

What&#;s more important is consistency and quantity.

Consistency is as simple as committing to publishing and sharing a certain number of posts per week. For me, that&#;s three per week right now.

This kind of commitment is key, because one day, a random post will blow up, and you will have never expected it.

Oversaturation

The easiest mind trap is to think "I&#;m posting too much", and &#;I need to give my readers/audience/this platform a break&#;.

This is nonsense.

There is no such thing as oversaturation. Well, there is, but it is just someone else&#;s opinion.

For every person that tells you you are posting too much, there is another person that wants even more of your content.

You should ignore people&#;s opinions on how much you post.

Patience & Persistence

Keep posting, keep trying, and keep putting out good content on the regular. Your time will come, and when it does, it will change everything.

The only thing you have control over is your content.

You can&#;t control how people will react to it. You can&#;t control pageviews, likes, or shares.

So the only metric you should focus on is how much content you can put out in a week, month, etc.

Where to share your blog content

Mailing List

I know it sounds obvious, but the best places to share your content is on your mailing list. It is guaranteed traffic and it is a great way to get rapid feedback from your most loyal readers.

Send newsletters often. I have done once a week since starting, and I&#;m moving to twice a week soon.

Work on increasing your mailing list as well. Look into ways to increase your conversion rate to your mailing list. I added a flyout popup thing to my site and now I&#;m collecting ~30 emails per day.

An newsletter is one of the most powerful assets you can have and it is worth its weight in gold.

Reddit

Reddit is one of my favorite places to promote content.

It is a very scary place because you will often get banned or heckled, but it can really pay off.

Create social media accounts for your blog, the main ones I use:

Twitter Facebook Instagram LinkedIn

Set up Buffer and share all of your blog posts to all of your accounts. All of these little shares really do add up.

Automate this as much as possible. I automated all of my social media for Starter Story.

Facebook Groups

When I started out, I put together a spreadsheet of relevant Facebook groups for my niche, and I would post to these groups whenever I had a big story I wanted to share.

Form partnerships for your gym equipment supplier

Starting a gym equipment supplier is all about building relationships and becoming an integral part of your community.

Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking they can do everything on their own. In reality, other businesses (even your competition) and members of your community can be a huge piece of your growth strategy.

When forming any type of partnership, a lot of energy and time can go into this. To ensure it's worth your while, dive deep into the vetting process and ask yourself (and them) the following questions:

• What are your businesses values and priorities?
• Who are your customers? What matters most to them?
• In what ways can we both bring value to each others businesses? Cross promotions? Clout/credibility?
• Should we do a trial run first to make sure this partnership works out before finalizing an agreement?
• What will the agreement look like?

Once you have an idea as to what the ideal partnership agreement looks like, that's when the outreach begins (the hardest part)!

Here are some different ways you can meet other entrepreneurs and form partnerships:

• Simply talk to other people in the gym equipment supplier industry. You'd be surprised as to how willing other entrepreneurs are to share their knowledge with you
• Host an event: By inviting people to your event in your community and industry, you may be able to form partnerships and expand your clientele
• Join a facebook community: Nowadays, everything is online. A great way to meet other people is to become 'active' on a public forum or community
• Use other social networks such as LinkedIn or Twitter to aid your outreach. This can be a very powerful tool if used properly.

Forming partnerships and building relationships within your community can be a very valuable tool, but it's important that you do your due diligence and avoid going in blind to any sort of partnership. This can save you months, if not years of time.

Case Study

Mike Aspinall, founder of The Crafty Gentlemen discusses how brand partnerships are the most important part of his growth strategy and revenue stream:

My main revenue stream is sponsored brand partnerships, whereby a company pays me a fee to feature their product within one of my blog posts.

Over the years, I&#;ve worked with some really cool brands &#; Etsy, Hobbycraft, Cricut, Pinterest, Gorilla Glue, Singer, Janome, Brother, Bosch, and lots more.

For a long time, I was hesitant to charge for my work &#; I was happy to work in exchange for products. But there came a point where I was being offered more work than I could have said yes to &#; something had to change. So I started to charge for partnerships. And brands agreed, no questions asked!

The last 6-12 months have been the most successful yet for my business. I&#;m making regular revenue through multiple streams, including sponsorships, media appearances, influencer work, and passive ad revenue. My website traffic is at an all-time high, and growing &#; as are my social media followings:

full story &#;

Mike Aspinall, on starting The Crafty Gentleman ($1,200/month)

Experiment With Pay Per Click Ads (PPC)

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a performance-based marketing method that allows you to show specific ads for services or products oriented to a very defined target, with the goal that the user visits your website or landing page.

Here are some tips to consider:

• Consider connecting the ad to your corresponding landing page so that the audience receives the necessary information after clicking on the ad.
• Conversion Tracking: When running PPC campaigns, be sure to run the ads with conversion tracking.
• Focus on quality keywords, even if there are few as this will save you time and money. When assessing the performance of a keyword, it's important to track the expense, conversion, and cost per conversion, as well as the ROI.

PPC advertising can be a very important lead generator as long as it's done properly. Your PPC campaign is intended to drive traffic to your website and help the business scale.

Additionally, if the campaign is not having the desired results, you can make the necessary changes immediately to improve them.

Case Study

Ryan Schortmann, founder of Display Pros talks about their investment in PPC Ads:

My name is Ryan Schortmann and I&#;m the founder of Display Pros. We are a custom trade show display booth company offering easy to use portable display &#;kits&#; for small and medium businesses wanting to get into the trade show game.

It did not take long to come to the realization that to compete at any reasonable level, we were going to need to take the plunge and invest in Pay Per Click ads and display.

From experience, I know that it is important to give Google&#;s hivemind some time to settle in before each campaign starts seeing consistent results (this is largely dependent on budget).

A certain amount of PPC budget must be viewed as a &#;marketing research&#; expense and then you can look at the analytics data and make informed decisions on where to refine, tweak or plain scrap an idea.

Google Shopping was an entirely new concept for me. You can&#;t assign keywords to products so at first, I was asking myself &#;How the hell do you refine these?&#;. Then I found some good reading material and courses and learned of some advanced methods that the pros are using. It turns out you can utilize negative keyword lists combined with the priority setting on each shopping campaign to &#;shape&#; the keywords that are coming in and how much you are spending on them.

To learn more about PPC Ads and Google Shopping, check out this video to learn everything you need to know!

full story &#;

Ryan Schortmann, on starting Display Pros ($30,000/month)

&#;&#;&#;&#;&#; How To Run Your Gym Equipment Supplier

How To Retain Customers For Your Gym Equipment Supplier

Retaining customers is one of the most effective ways to grow your gym equipment supplier.

Oftentimes, it's easy to find yourself focusing on generating new customers, vs retaining your current ones.

Look at it this way - you are 60-70% more likely to sell a new product to an existing customer than you are a new customer.

That's not to say that finding new customers and revenue streams is not important, however, the easiest (and most inexpensive) source of new revenue is right there in front of you.

Here are some ways you can retain customers for your gym equipment supplier:

• Responding to comments on social media
• Send discounts (or freebies) to loyal customers
• Provide valuable content, for free
• Write a hand written thank you note
• Provide awesome customer service and build relationships with customers

To find out more tips and tricks on retaining customers, check out this article &#; here

David Barnes, founder of Gym and Fitness dives deep into the process of attracting and retaining customers:

Case Study

The biggest learning along the way has been realizing that we can&#;t be everything to everyone. By employing the 80-20 rule and understanding that the bulk of our sales comes from a minority of our prospect pool, we tend to focus on a small but fanatical segment of customers, who in turn generate word of mouth and send other like-minded customers our way. It is too easy to get lost in trying to do everything and whilst innovation is important, this needs to be controlled.

Gym and Fitness were built with acquisition prioritized over retention. We focused on finding the low hanging fruit and even to this day, we spend a large chunk of marketing budget on Google Adwords to find customers who are ready to buy. These channels are super easy to measure ROI and have allowed us to scale quickly and effectively. We combined this with the understanding that outsourcing specialist tasks such as Adwords, SEO and Paid social would pay for themselves and ensure we were getting the most out of these channels.

Recently we have put far more emphasis on the importance of customer retention, partnering with Klaviyo, and setting up a loyalty program for existing customers. We also refreshed our branding to ensure our look and feel aligned with our core beliefs as a company.

full story &#;

David Barnes, on starting Gym and Fitness ($150,000/month)

Diversify Your Product Line

Adding new products to your business is a great way to expand into new markets and grow your business.

It's important to note that adding new products and diversifying may not be in the cards for you right this moment, and that's okay. You can always consider it down the road.

Here are some reasons you may want to considering adding/diversifying your product

• Meeting the needs of your customers
• Establish yourself as a top provider in your industry and stay ahead of the game with competition
• Resistance to downturns/trends fading
• Create new revenue streams

Word of Mouth

The most tried and true way to grow a gym equipment supplier is through word of mouth - some entrepreneurs would say it's more important than all social media.

Why you should focus on word of mouth:

• Consumers trust word of mouth above all other forms of marketing
• 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising
• 64% of marketing executives indicated that they believe it is the most effective form of marketing

Learn more about word of mouth in our guide: 30 Ways Founders Grow Their Business &#;

How To Crush The Sales Process For Your Gym Equipment Supplier

You may find yourself in a spot where you're ready to hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process.

Regardless if you have one or thirty salespeople, it's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

Mike Korba, co-founder of User.Com walks us through the entire sales process and which teams are responsible for what:

Case Study

User.com Sales Process

Each user and account is qualified with a specialist. For business leads, they are handled by the sales team, and if they are qualified we give them a demo, more than often at the end of their fourteen-day trial. If they&#;re happy they&#;ll add a payment, and get an account manager, so a customer support and success team who will help implement the solution and to use the technology.

Sometimes, users will convert naturally on their own, after using the freemium product and finding it to be something that they will find beneficial.

After they convert, we help with onboarding, give them some personalized tips for their specific business or industry to grow plus all kinds of support, for whatever they need - something we take huge pride in.

The team is right now more than 30 people, with more than half working on the IT and product side, and the rest are in three teams: Support, Marketing, and Sales who all work together very closely.

full story &#;

Mike Korba, on starting User.com ($100,000/month)

Build a Referral Program

Word of mouth is one of the best ways to get the word out about your business and acquire new customers. Especially when you are starting out, it&#;s important to build a solid referral program to encourage existing customers to help you find new ones.

A great way to do that is by offering a reward (ie. credit on your service or cash) to customers that refer you to their friends and family.

A fantastic referral program will help with clout, credibility, and establishing yourself in the space.

Resources

We put together the best resources on the internet to help you start your gym equipment supplier.

Tools

Books

Web Resources

Videos

Case Studies

meet the author

Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.

See full profile

Industry Statistics and Trends

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Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US

Industry Revenue

Total value and annual change from . Includes 5-year outlook.

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Trends and Insights

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Market size is projected to over the next five years.

Trends and Insights

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Market share concentration for the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing industry in the US is , which means the top four companies generate of industry revenue.

The average concentration in the sector in the United States is .

Trends and Insights

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Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US

Products & Services Segmentation

Industry revenue broken down by key product and services lines.

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Table of Contents

About this industry

Industry definition

What's included in this industry?

Companies

Industry Code

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Related Industries

Domestic industries

Competitors

Complementors

International Industries

Performance

insights

charts

Key Takeaways

insights available

Revenue Highlights

Trends

Employment Highlights

Trends

Business Highlights

Trends

Profit Highlights

Trends

Current Performance

Charts

Analysis

What's driving current industry performance in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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insights available

Outlook

Analysis

What's driving the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry outlook?

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insights available

Volatility

Analysis

What influences volatility in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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insights available

Charts

• Industry Volatility vs. Revenue Growth Matrix

Life Cycle

Analysis

What determines the industry life cycle stage in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

Charts

• Industry Life Cycle Matrix

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insights available

Products and Markets

insights

charts

Highlights

Trends

Key Takeaways

insights available

Products and Services

Charts

• Products and Services Segmentation

Analysis

How are the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry's products and services performing?

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insights available

Analysis

What are innovations in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry's products and services?

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insights available

Major Markets

Charts

• Major Market Segmentation

Analysis

What influences demand in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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insights available

International Trade

Heat maps

• Industry Concentration of Imports by Country
• Industry Concentration of Exports by Country
• Industry Trade Balance by Country

Analysis

What are the import trends in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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Analysis

What are the export trends in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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insights available

Geographic Breakdown

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charts

Key Takeaways

insights available

Business Locations

Heat maps

• Share of Total Industry Establishments by Region (
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Data Tables

• Number of Establishments by Region (
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Charts

• Share of Establishments vs. Population of Each Region

Analysis

What regions are businesses in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry located?

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insights available

Competitive Forces

insights

charts

Highlights

Trends

Key Takeaways

insights available

Concentration

Charts

• Combined Market Share of the Four Largest Companies in This Industry (
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• Share of Total Enterprises by Employment Size

Analysis

What impacts market share in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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insights available

Barriers to Entry

Charts

Analysis

What challenges do potential entrants in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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Substitutes

Analysis

What are substitutes in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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insights available

Buyer and Supplier Power

Charts

• Upstream Buyers and Downstream Suppliers in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry

Analysis

What power do buyers and suppliers have over the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing industry in the US?

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insights available

Companies

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charts

data table

Key Takeaways

insights available

Market Share

Charts

Companies

Data Tables

Top companies by market share:

• Market share

• Revenue

• Profit

• Profit Margin

Company Snapshots

Company details, summary, charts and analysis available for

Company Details

• Total revenue
• Total operating income
• Total employees
• Industry market share

Company Summary

• Description
• Brands and trading names
• Other industries

Analysis

What's influencing the company's performance?

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insights available

External Environment

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charts

Highlights

Trends

Key Takeaways

insights available

External Drivers

Charts

Analysis

What demographic and macroeconomic factors impact the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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Regulation and Policy

Analysis

What regulations impact the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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Assistance

Analysis

What assistance is available to the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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insights available

Financial Benchmarks

insights

charts

data tables

Highlights

Trends

Key Takeaways

insights available

Cost Structure

Charts

• Share of Economy vs. Investment Matrix
• Industry Cost Structure Benchmarks:
  • Marketing
  • Depreciation
  • Profit
  • Purchases
  • Wages
  • Rent
  • Utilities
  • Other

Analysis

What trends impact cost in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US industry?

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insights available

Financial Ratios

Charts

• 3-4 Industry Multiples (-)
• 15-20 Income Statement Line Items (-)
• 20-30 Balance Sheet Line Items (-)
• 7-10 Liquidity Ratios (-)
• 1-5 Coverage Ratios (-)
• 3-4 Leverage Ratios (-)
• 3-5 Operating Ratios (-)
• 5 Cash Flow and Debt Service Ratios (-)
• 1 Tax Structure Ratio (-)

Key Ratios

Data tables

• IVA/Revenue (
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• Imports/Demand (
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• Exports/Revenue (
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• Revenue per Employee (
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• Wages/Revenue (
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• Employees per Establishment (
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• Average Wage (
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Key Statistics

2 data tables

Industry Data

Data Tables

Including values and annual change:

• Revenue (
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• IVA (
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• Establishments (
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• Enterprises (
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• Employment (
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• Exports (
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• Imports (
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• Wages (
  )

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the market size of the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing industry in the US?

The market size of the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing industry in the US is measured at in .

How fast is the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US market projected to grow in the future?

Over the next five years, the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US market is expected to . See purchase options to view the full report and get access to IBISWorld's forecast for the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US from up to .

What factors are influencing the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing industry in the US market trends?

Key drivers of the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US market include .

What are the main product lines for the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US market?

The Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing in the US market offers products and services including .

Which companies are the largest players in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing industry in the US?

Top companies in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing industry in the US, based on the revenue generated within the industry, includes .

How many people are employed in the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing industry in the US?

The Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing industry in the US has employees in United States in .

How concentrated is the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing market in the United States?

Market share concentration is for the Gym & Exercise Equipment Manufacturing industry in the US, with the top four companies generating of market revenue in United States in . The level of competition is overall, but is highest among smaller industry players.

Methodology

Where does IBISWorld source its data?

IBISWorld is a world-leading provider of business information, with reports on 5,000+ industries in Australia, New Zealand, North America, Europe and China. Our expert industry analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build an accurate picture of each industry.

Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and IBISWorld's proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights. 

IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools.

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