CWA 2019 Annual Summit Workshops
The Climbing Wall Association annual summit returns to Loveland, Co the week of May 15 and I will be presenting a couple of topics. First, a one-day preconference workshop on creating your business plan for a new climbing gym development. We will be touching on all the aspects of plan development with a focus on presenting the information that will help you gain financing for your project as well as refine your business strategy. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and start your project on the right foot! The second session will be a 75 minute discussion of financial management for climbing gyms, in which we will discuss the metrics and key performance indicators you can use to keep your business on track. You can’t reach your goals looking at a monthly P&L! Check the CWA conference schedule for dates and times. See you at the...
Read More2018 CWA Summit Business Plan Workshop
Are you psyched to start a climbing gym business but still in the process of planning for and financing your new venture? Then join me at the CWA Summit for an all day workshop on developing a business plan for a new gym venture. Its May 16 from 9am until 4 pm and we will be covering a lot of important ground. Align personal goals with strategy – Understand business planning requirements for funding and developing a new gym – Understand funding options for new gym operators – Learn critical success factors for operating a gym – Learn alternative funding methods for expanding into multiple gyms Please email me at bob@climbingwalladvisors.com if you have questions. Or check out the CWA website for more workshop info...
Read MoreTailor Made for Community
My homework assignment each year is to visit as many new climbing gyms as possible. This year I have visited gyms on both coasts, the gulf, Europe and Iceland. What does climbing have in common everywhere I go? It is a natural for creating community. Think about it, most people climb with a partner or a group of friends, you generally rest between climbs, and unlike a lot of activities you can learn a lot by watching other climbers. One of the most educational visits was an evening I spent in Cliffs of Id on Fairfax Avenue in Culver City. Cliffs of Id is a Touchstone gym, of recent vintage, and although I did not climb on my visit, I enjoyed experiencing the community vibe. Inside the front of the gym, near the entrance, they placed a long wooden table about thirty feet long, flanked on both sides by wooden benches. I am guessing they also provided wireless several people were using laptops at the table. The table faces the front of the bouldering complex and provides a hub for resting, watching, doing homework and talking with friends. One climber related how she did her homework at the table a couple of times a week mixing in bouldering problems when she needed a break. I observed other people spend 45 minutes just sitting at the table talking. By chance I met a USC student several weeks later while he was visiting Denver. I asked him if he was a climber and he responded, I climb every occasionally, but often met his friends at Cliffs of Id even if he didn’t climb.” Several other gyms I visited featured ping pong tables, which always seemed to be busy and yet could be folded up and stored if needed. Another gym offered a co working type space. Not sure if that one will catch on, but there was no question in my mind that gyms that focused on creating community and a good place to hang out are destined to be busy. So…. time and money you spend to make your gym inviting to local customers by creating a space to congregate is well worth your...
Read MoreRetail Sales in Climbing Gyms
Retail Sales in Climbing Gyms The CWA Newsletter, Lines, recently published a review of the benefits of selling climbing related products in climbing gyms. That article made many effective arguments. However, I think there is need for a counter argument to selling retail products in gyms. What are some reasons that perhaps selling retail products is not an effective strategy? 1. Your staff is your number one link to great customer service and risk management in your climbing facility. Do you want them focused on selling retail products? 2. Retail buying is somewhat of an art. Do you want to hire and manage the resources required to do this well? 3. Climbing gyms are dusty places. Can your keep your retail goods clean and merchandised attractively for your customers? 4. I have yet to see a gym P&L that shows a margin for retail sales that exceeds that of other gym programs. Most hover around 35%, which is not equal to most retail stores. If you track your revenue and profit per square foot of space (which you should), your probably not seeing a great result for retail sales. 5. You are competing with local retailers that you can make allies by offering gear deals through their stores in exchange for promotion of your facility and possible store employee membership programs. There are certainly gyms with respectable retail businesses as part of their operation, but are they maximizing their return on assets and investment with their approach? Have they taken the time to do this analysis? You may want to play devils advocate before you take the...
Read MoreClimbing Gym Financial Projections
The most common call I receive from aspiring gym developers is, “where do I obtain a template for creating a financial projection for my gym project?” Unfortunately, the industry does not have any industry financial profiles, which are generally compiled by an industry trade association. There are a couple of vendors in the climbing wall industry that provide algorithmic financial models (in Excel format), but my experience is that most fall far short of a strategically based financial projection. What is an aspiring gym developer to do? I suggest a four step approach. Identify other markets, in which gyms operate, that you believe may be similar to your proposed market in terms of demographics and psychographics. Obtain demographic and psychographic reports (I use ring studies) from the internet that profile the existing gyms market. Compare those to your proposed market/location. Are they reasonably similar? Contact the owners of those gyms and ask if they will share their basic financial metrics (number of members, number of day pass users, and how their revenue breaks down by revenue category). Note, you do not need the dollar amounts, which they may be hesitant to provide. So don’t ask for them. Oh, and offer to share your results once your gym is open. Use the square footage footprint of those gyms and volumes to develop benchmarks for your gym, based on its proposed size. Use comparable pricing for health clubs and recreation centers in your market to create revenue amounts and soon you will have your basic financial projection. Contract with an industry consultant to give your business plan and projections a review. It should not require more than ten hours of time. One word of caution is to be careful that you are not using volume numbers for your first year of business that are based on a gym that has developed a mature business. You will need to discount those numbers for your mistakes and early market...
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