So with most businesses closed for now (though things are slowly changing), I have made a list of the top 10 things to do before you reopen.
1. Clean up your house
This is the perfect time to give your place a Spring clean. While you are homebound, go through room by room, drawer by drawer and donate or give away what you don’t need or haven’t used for years. Someone may really appreciate something you don’t want or use anymore.
2. Clean up your business
Now you have cleaned up your house, how about your business?
Do you need to replace or get some new equipment? Do you have everything you need to start training people again?
If you have a physical location, what about doing a major clean and wipe down of all the equipment, machines, floors and so forth. What about the signage around your centre? Think of this time as a great opportunity to get your venue looking spic and span and ready to open the doors again.
Also look at adding additional items around your centre such as disinfecting wipes, hand sanitisers, masks, post prevention posters and disinfecting products.
Don’t forget to clean up your business online too – review all your social media channels (when was the last time you updated those profile pictures) and make sure all information is up to date? You may need to update your opening hours or make some changes to your web site.
3. Start planning
Despite more than six weeks away from the gym, a recent consumer
survey by Fitness Australia has found more than 85% of gym users will renew their memberships when gyms safely reopen.
So time to start planning right now. How you will reconnect with your current members? Can you win back those lapsed members? How are you going to attract new clients to your business?
If you have been holding online training sessions, will you continue to keep streaming virtual sessions (and what will this look like)? Some members may not feel comfortable so this is good option to keep going.
4. Welcome back promo
When the restrictions start to lift and you have a better idea of when fitness businesses will open again, think about a “welcome back” promotion. Whether it is a discount or a free week, give people that extra motivation to start training as soon as they are allowed too.
Communicate your reopening plans with your members, staff and community. And keep in mind things may change, so your plans need to be able to be flexible as well.
5. Keep in regular touch with members
There is an old saying, “out of sight out of mind” so make sure your members and clients don’t forget about you. This is the time to really dial up the personal connection.
Give them an email and provide them some training tips. Call them up and see how they are going and if there is anything you can do to help them stay active and healthy.
Consider surveying your clients. That way can get an idea of where they are at and use their responses to help guide decisions. Clients will feel like they are a part of the decision and that you value their feedback.
6. Check in with staff
Consider these stats from Fitness Australia who did an analysis of gyms and exercise professionals and discovered:
- All businesses have had to stand down employees with less than 10% of staff still working
- 81% has lost their job or main source of income
- 71% had not had a single client since gyms closed on 23 March 2020
- 44% of respondents has lost more than 61 per cent of their income
This is truly frightening especially for those who work full time in health and fitness.
So make sure you check in with your staff to see how they are going and if they need any assistance. Keep up to date with what the latest government announcements and what you can and can’t do.
When you reopen, do you have the staff to reopen effectively? Do they feel safe to come back? Will you need to hire new people? Consider all your staffing options.
7. Put in place gym safety and hygiene procedures
Your member’s safety should always be your number one priority but even more so now. So when everything starts to open, hygiene needs to take top priority.
Keep in mind you should only open when you believe it’s safe for you, your team, and your clients.
When things do reopen, social distancing will still play a major role. Do you have enough space in your facility for everyone to workout with a safe distance from other people? What will be the limit to class numbers? Think about masks, temperature checks, check your insurance and upgrading the cleaning schedule.
8. Keep yourself physically and mentally strong
Don’t forget about the most important person in your life and that’s you.
You may not be able to train in the gym or teach a class but what about taking up some running, getting into cycling, go for a bushwalk, do some boxing with your partner, have a tennis game. Set a goal to train so many times a week or walking 10,000 steps a day. Tell your members what you are doing so you keep them motivated and stay as a role model for your clients.
9. Learn something new
If you find yourself twiddling your thumbs, this is the time to look at doing some extra study or a new course.
This is also an investment in your business and will ultimately give you an advantage over your competition and makes you more marketable.
Look at upskilling your staff with online training courses or internal training sessions.