Paul Wright: A Top Rate Gym for Everybody

I think the rate at which Paul Wright has grown his members is absolutely phenomenal! To go from just 300 when he opened to over 1800 in just 15 months is great. It sounds like he really did a lot of research on his target market. I found it interesting to hear how the name Gold's gym has not only helped his reputation in the business but also may have hurt the business. The name Gold's gym brings people to think of body builders (as do I) and for him to make it more family oriented has probably contributed to his success. I don't think he should change the name of his business as he suggested he might but their logo of the bodybuilder is what leads people to think of them as a bodybuilder gym. The group exercise classes will probably help in attaining more members from the "un-trained" market he has set his sights on. With his gym being near both U-M and EMU campuses, it was a good idea to offer student discounts as an incentive to join. I only hope I can be as successful in my own business venture as Paul has been! Donna Armstrong

I find the speed of Paul wrights success just great. I believe that it has a lot to do with the fact that you did go with a franchise gym. The name though gave him lots to think about, as it should other inspiring entrepreneurs before deciding to go with a franchised company. The franchise name must be look at as if you have no outside beforehand mind set going into the determine process, take the remarks of others about the franchise name, but leave out any of your own thoughts this will help to see what the image of the franchise is to other people. In doing this you can avoid situations like Paul is now in. Paul has in image preset for is company because of the franchise that he now is trying to fight against to give it the image of a family gym, and not just a power house. If Paul would have gone with another gym franchise he may have already had a family image. I do not think that changing the name would be a god idea. Paul has had a huge climb in new members since he opened and changing names now may come back against him. To try and get more of a family interesting the company he should host open house of the gym, with them targeted to kids. If a company can convince a child that they are what the child needs, they have just gained another source of advertising as it is more then likely that the child with annoy the parents into coming back to the gym. Paul has put a solid base of employees down which will then bring the parents around to join. Paul can also offer discounts on family memberships to bring in more family, also family classes, can help to change his image from the inside out, not the outside in. With these and as always the cheapest way to advertise, word of mouth Paul can change his gold gym from a muscle mans gym, to a family fitness center, well retain the benefits of a franchise. Richard Higgins

Hey Paul, My name is Gary Warren and I am a junior at EMU and I am taking a course this semester in Entrepreneurship and for this class we are required to do a business plan on a company that we want to start. The industry I am doing my business plan on is the fitness industry and doing this project I realized how great of a market it is for people to get into, and has you said in your interview you started Gold Gym from scratch and now you have 1800 members and the industry continues to grow and grow. I can relate to you on the fact that when people do hear of Gold Gym they think of body builders and that might steer them away from joining and when I was deciding my business name I wanted to find something that people could relate to and feel comfortable with. You picked a great area to start Gold Gym because there are two major universities in the area and other small colleges that will give you the opportunity to attract college students which will bring you a lot of customers. I also was very interested when you said that you are trying to target people that do not have regular work out routines because they are greater in number then people who normally workout. It is important to make sure that your gym is catered to all type of people because it will brings more and more clients in and it will make your company grow. It is also very important to have a friendly staff so that your customers can feel comfortable about being at the gym and also if they are trying to become fit. I am really impressed that you do not have machines that people have to wait for it and this is to an advantage to you because customers want a gym that has a lot of different variety. I really enjoyed your interview because it made me think about things that I should consider when trying starting my fitness center. What you are doing at Gold’s Gym is very amazing Paul because you are trying to make the name of your company be more appealing to people and you are ensuring that every customer that comes in does not have to wait for a machine which is impressive. Best Regards Gary Warren EMU Student

Hey Paul. My name is Sean Hoffman. I am a Business Management major at Eastern Michigan University. I am on the Eastern baseball team so I was very attracted to your podcast since I work out so regularly. I will be graduating in April of 2009. I was attracted to your podcast for a number of reasons. First of all, like I listed above, I enjoy working out. I also hope to open up some kind of business of my own some day. I thought that it was very interesting how you expressed how you want your business to have more of a family like atmosphere. When I first heard Gold's Gym was on this web site I immediately thought of a power house gym. I can see how people are intimidated by the name. You mentioned that you are thinking about changing the name on the building. I think that this would be a good idea. You could make the gym more original and it would definitely attract more customers. I think what separates Gold's Gym from it's competitors is it's target market and their caring attitude. Paul wants to attract customers of all demographic backgrounds, not just bodybuilders. Changing the name would help with this but so would using word of mouth advertising. There are so many students from Michigan and Eastern Michigan who would work out and spread the word about Gold's Gym. 1800 people is a lot but like you said, people aren't waiting in lines to use the machines so you could definitely add more memberships. I also think the attitude of Gold Gym's staff will help attract customers. I have worked out at so many places where I don't feel important so I don't ever feel like going back. This is a huge competitive advantage. Watching this interview has definitely increased my knowledge about Gold's Gym. It looks very appealing to me, especially because of the attitude of Paul. Thanks for the info. Sean Hoffman

Dear Paul Wright, I am amazed that your membership grew from 300 to 1800 in just 15 months that is so great. Using a franchise like Gold’s Gym was great idea in addition to your drive and passion to succeed. I would agree with your thought of people thinking that Gold’s Gym is targeted for body builders and heavy weightlifters until listening to your interview I always assumed it wasn’t for the whole family. It is great to hear that you want to include the whole family. I have worked in the recreation industry for the past 8 years and noticed that many of the programs and activity are only targets for specific family members. I love to see the whole family doing activities together like rock climbing, or swimming, very few places offer that. It is interesting to hear that you want to change names, I think it might make a difference and bring in the whole family and the un-trained. Most people living in the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti probably know where Gold’s Gym is located and changing names may not make a difference people may just assume it will always by Gold’s Gym regardless if the name does change. It is great to know that working out at Gold’s Gym will not have anyone waiting in lines for machines, very few places have enough space for that, in addition to the amount of memberships that have come through the door. I think you are doing a great job. It is hard to find great customer service, it is encouraging to know that your staff is friendly, so few people what to go the extra mile to help make someone’s day better. I thinking having friendly staff can contribute to the number membership that come through the door. No would return if the staff treat them badly. Thank you for all that you do to accommodate to students, college is not cheap and knowing students can work out and stay health without draining their bank accounts. Sincerely, M. Hogan Eastern Michigan University Student

Hello Paul my name is Megan Langton and I am a senior at Eastern Michigan University. I am currently taking Intro to Entrepreneurship and am interested in starting my own health facility. After watching your video I am happy that you have been trying to target the untrained population. Michigan hasn’t been known as the fittest state in America and I’m glad that you are trying to change this image. I’ve been to a couple of different gyms and have noticed that you always see the same people working out. It’s interesting to see that you are trying to change this by offering different types of classes and equipment. When I first think of Gold’s Gym the body building image comes to mind, but after watching your video I have a different opinion. I think it takes a creative mind like yours to try to appeal to a wide variety of people. By offering these classes and services that other gyms don’t you will most likely see a rise in gym memberships. Another thing that stood out was that you were putting in a basketball court and a pool. I think those are really good ideas that offer people alternatives to cardio and weight lifting, which would draw in more customers. Another business idea that I thought you really grasped was the fact that you are drawing in customers for other businesses. I know that when I go work out I want it to be convenient for me. So if I can go work out, tan and then do some grocery shopping all in one place I’ll be there. Another perspective that you touched on was location. I’m from the country and it takes at least 15 to 20 minutes to get anywhere and with today’s gas prices location is key. That just strengthens your point that if you find a key location that is located by other facilities people are most opt to use your gym.

Hello, First of all congrats on your sucess with Golds Gym. I was a member of a Golds out in Howell and I loved how it was so clean, new, and roomy. Unfortunatly I'm never in Howell anymore so I lift elsewhere. But anyways, I'm glad to see that your client base has expanded so rapidly. Seeing as this interview was taken so long ago there's probably a good chance that it's much higher than 1800 at this point. I currently go to EMU and I was just wondering what the kind of discount you offer to the students. I'm out in your general direction quite often and I would like to being going back to a golds if possible. I also am curious if your idea of changing the name on the building ever went thought. I know my sister works for a golds in A2 and it's still called golds but that doesnt nessesarily mean its the same facility as yours. If your name has changed I'm interested in knowing the new one. I'm currently in an entreprenuership class and am considering starting my own business as well. I'm currently debating between opening a gym in Livingston county or starting a landscaping company(lawnmowing isn't landscaping) if you have any pointers i'd be glad to listen. Well congrats on all your sucess and hopefully you double your 1800 person membership.

I really enjoyed watching this interview because Paul has a real down to earth attitude and you can tell he connects to his customers and understands their needs. The first example of this is seen with his idea to change the name and discontinue the current name Gold’s Gym. When I think of Gold’s Gym I think of body builders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger. I am sure that I am not the only person to associate body builders and muscle heads with this brand. As Paul mentioned in this interview that this can create a false sense of whom they are and scare away clientele. Workout facilities can be an intimidating atmosphere and people may be weary to enter this especially if they are out of shape. The real reason why people go to gyms to lose weight, tone up or stay in shape. I believe this is a great idea to differentiate themselves from this franchise and create their own ideas that will draw in more customers and increase memberships. I can tell Paul is up to date with current trends as well including the combat class and cycling classes. Some people may enter a gym that have never worked out before and do not know where to start. These classes offer guidance and training through an instructor. Also MMA is becoming a growing trend and people are really interested in it. This combat class can help people who have dreams of fighting in the octagon and give them a hands on experience of what it really entails. I also liked to see how involved he is with this operation noticing that lines are not forming and people are not waiting for machines. This could be discouraging because people usually only have a limited amount of time to work out and do not want to wait for machines while at the gym. If I had to ask one questions it would be; What would you do if your memberships did increase to the point that lines are forming at weight machines, would you expand your current location of limit the number of memberships that you give out? Zac Donofrio

Gold’s Gym Franchisee Paul Wright designed his gym for families. He opened in June of 2006 with 300 members. He discussed his target market – the untrained population, the 80% of the population who do not have an exercise routine. He said they had no trouble getting the 20% of the population who already exercise to come to his gym. People have a preconceived notion that Gold’s Gym is a bodybuilders’ gym. He said this keeps out his target market. They are a bit afraid to come in because they are not bodybuilders or weight lifters. He also started some group classes, which were mostly populated by women. He is considering changing the name on the building, but remaining a Gold’s Gym franchise, thinking this would help him reach his target market better. Sadly, his website is no longer functional, and there is no longer a Gold’s Gym in Ann Arbor. I also tried to locate his gym under his name, but it appears the company is no longer around. I wondered if changing the name of the gym from Gold’s would be a reason for Gold’s Gym to cancel Mr. Wright’s franchise. Once he strays off their pre-planned path and into uncharted territory, it could have given them the desire to cancel his franchise. Or maybe he decided he had had enough of owning his own gym, or switched to another type of gym franchise, like Powerhouse Gym, which is also a very popular gym franchise. I think this interview shows that people don’t necessarily have to come up with their own idea, but can purchase a franchise and tap into someone else’s idea. He started with research before opening his new business, which is how all of the other innovators I viewed started up their businesses. His research told him that 80% of the population does not have a regular exercise routine – this is the market he wished to target. By using the Gold’s Gym plan, he was able to start the gym fairly quickly (5 or 6 months).The branding gave him the ability to sell 300 memberships before he even opened the gym. Within one year he had 1500 memberships. Franchises are a great way to start your own business. Although they are very expensive, they come with a plan already prepared for the new business owner. If you follow the plan, you will be in business quickly and have a customer base immediately based upon just the brand name of your business. If Mr. Wright had started his own gym without a franchise, it could have taken years before he had 1500 memberships sold, instead of the single year it took because of the Gold’s Gym brand for his product. I am glad Mr. Wright shared his experience on this website. I hope that Bud will interview him again soon so we can see what has happened in his business since June of 2006 when he opened his gym.