How to Make a Career Change With an Outdoor Fitness Franchise

Lily Sweeney, writer

Published at 04/12/2021, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 5 min

How to Make a Career Change With an Outdoor Fitness Franchise — Photo © How-to-Make-a-Career-Change-With-an-Outdoor-Fitness-Franchise2.jpg

Making a career change and starting your own franchise business means taking your working life into your own hands. Whether you’re chasing some exciting profits, want a better work/life balance or fancy working in a lively and competitive industry, making a career change with an outdoor fitness franchise might be the perfect franchise for you.

Outdoor fitness franchises have proven themselves to be amongst the most resilient fitness franchises in the UK. While gyms were closed, the only respite many people in the UK had was exercising outdoors. And having clearly developed a taste for outdoor fitness, more people are looking to start an outdoor fitness franchise than ever before.

So if you’ve been wondering whether running an outdoor fitness franchise is the right opportunity for you, this article is going to cover all the essential information you need to know, what steps you need to take to make this change a reality, and some franchises you might want to consider.

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What does an outdoor fitness franchisee do?

An outdoor fitness franchisee takes the leading role in the management of a fitness franchise. Whether you’re actively working face-to-face with customers or focusing on the management side of things, you’ll actively be balancing a wide range of responsibilities on a daily basis, oftentimes:

Liaising directly with customers and fielding enquiries
Conversing directly with your franchisor
Recruiting new team members
Ensuring high standards of health and safety are being followed
Processing the finances of your business
Chairing meetings

When it comes to running your own business, you always need a flexible skills set. Franchising can be an unpredictable and challenging environment at times, so having some of the following skills will certainly be an advantage to you:

A passion for fitness
A commitment to developing a long-term business opportunity
Good organisation
Excellent communications skills
Good business sense
A passion for helping people make a meaningful difference in their lives
Good people-facing skills

How to make a career change with an outdoor fitness franchise

1. Find the right franchise

Step number one is to find a franchising opportunity that truly suits your needs. Outdoor fitness is a wide and diverse industry to work in, so having a commitment to a fitness franchise isn’t enough on its own. Consider what kinds of customers you want to work with: do you see yourself working better with customers looking to trim their weight around the edges, or higher-performing athletes looking for developed strength training?

Not all outdoor fitness franchises will tick all these boxes, so you should make sure that you’ve carried out some good market research and know exactly which franchises are the right fit for you.

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2. Finance your franchise

Once you’ve decided which franchise you are looking to join, you will next need to figure out how best to finance it. If you’re able to pay your franchising fees and minimum investments up front, you’re already in a great place. But if not, you should start exploring different financing options.

The good news is that, as franchise businesses have a higher survival rate than many other kinds of business models, you’ll be able to look forward to some very attractive financial rates - often up to 70% of your start-up costs. Some franchises even have dedicated financial brokers that will help you get the best possible deals.

3. Market in your territorial area

When you join a franchise, you’ll most likely be given a territorial area in which you’ll be able to operate. As with any business, you’re going to need to market it to help it grow. You’ll need to draw customers to get everything going, so work closely with your franchisor to put in place the right marketing materials that will help your outdoor fitness franchise grow.

Look beyond the minimum requirement for buying a franchise, usually listed as the franchise fee and the cost of equipment. Getting a franchise up and running can involve hefty marketing costs and the need to survive on break-even books, or a period of net losses, before your business catches on. - Susan Adams, Forbes

4. Sign your franchise agreement

Your franchise agreement is a legally binding document that sets out the commitments of both yourself and your franchisor when it comes to doing business together. These documents are well worth understanding, as either party’s failure to stick to this agreement can result in the franchise being suspended. So, make sure that you get legal aid to fully explain it to you if you’re not quite certain what it entails.

Franchise agreements contain language that materially affects the franchisee’s rights. This language is often identified by its legal title or name, or is described in sufficient legalese to cause the reader’s eyes to glaze over. - Rick Grossmann, Entrepreneur Magazine

Make a career change with an outdoor fitness franchise

Career changes can be dream moves, but they always require preparation. Having read this article, you should have a better idea of what you’ll need to do to make a career change with an outdoor fitness franchise a reality. Whether you’re looking for a profitable business or want to help people make a tangible change in their lives, there are lots of reasons to get stuck into this sector.

If you’ve decided that your skills might be better used elsewhere though, there are still lots of exciting sectors you could put your mind to. Have a look at the UK franchise directory for a full list of available franchises.