1. Advantages and Disadvantages of Opening Benoff’s Fitness for All
Presented to:
Professor Anita Manders
Business Studies Department
Bucks County Community College
Prepared By:
Zachary Benoff
Business Communication Student
April 28, 2015

2. Zachary Benoff
4559 Camel Road www.Benoff.com
BensalemPA19020 (215)456-2910
April 28, 2016
Professor Anita Manders
Business Studies Department
275 Swamp Road
Newtown, PA 18940
Dear Professor Manders:
The Attached report, requested by you in an assignment dated January 22, describes
the advantages and disadvantages of opening a gym Bucks County. I believe you will
find the results of this study useful in evaluating future development of a gym within
Bucks County.
This study was designed to examine:
 Calculate start-up costs for opening a new gym including purchase or rental of facility
 Examine demographic options in Bucks County, PA
 Investigate a variety of advertising methods including cost analysis
Primary research consisted of an interview with Frank Schiano, who owns Retro Fitness in
Philadelphia going on twelve years now. Also there were fifty surveys sent out to individuals
who participate regularly at the gym. Secondary research sources included: Zimmerman, Eilene.
"A Planning Tool For Start-Ups," "Bucks County Quick Facts from the US Census Bureau", Kim,
Cookhwan, et al. "Random Effects Model For Estimating Effectiveness Of Advertising In Online
Market places", books, and other online resources. Results of this research, discussed more
fully in this report, indicate Benoff’s Fitness for All…
I would be pleased to discuss this report and its conclusions with you at your request. Thank
you for your confidence in selecting my company to prepare this comprehensive report.
Sincerely,
Zachary Benoff Student
Business Communication
ii

3. TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION:Advantages and Disadvantages of Opening Benoff’s Fitness for All………………. 1
BACKGROUND: Statistics and information on opening gym…………………………………………………… 1
DISCUSSION: Startup Costs, Demographics, and Advertising…………….…………………….……………… 1
Startup Costs……………………………….………………………………………………………………….................... 2
General startup costs………………..………………………………………………………………………………. 2
Business Expenses…........................................................................................................ 3
Capital Investment…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
Demographic……………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………. 3
Statistics on the Bucks County area……………………………………….…………………………………… 4
Present and Future Trends…………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
Advertising………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
Advertising methods…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
Affective Forms…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS………………………………………………………………………….... 7
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………. 8
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1 General startup costs for opening your standard fitness gym…………………….……………….………. 2
2 Population and the average income from household to household ………….……………….………. 4
3 Statistics from surveys on effective advertisement …………………………………………………….….... 6
APPENDIXA
APPENDIXB
iii

4. INTRODUCTION: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF OPENING BENOFF’S
FITNESS FOR ALL
This research report was designed to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of opening a
fitness gym in the Bucks County, Pennsylvania area. The report seeks to answer the following
statements:
 Calculate start-up costs for opening a new gym
 Examine demographic options in Bucks County, PA
 Investigate a variety of advertising methods including cost analysis
BACKGROUND: THE ROLE OF BENOFF’S FITNESS FOR ALL IN THE BUCKS
COUNTY AREA
Bucks County Community College’s Business studies Department commissioned this study of
opening a fitness gym at the request of Professor Anita Manders. Before any development could
take place the advantages and disadvantages of opening the business needed to be outlined and
examined to determine whether or not it is a good fit for the Bucks County area. Investigation of
this business will conclude: start-up costs, the examinations of demographics, and different
advertising methods.
For those who are unfamiliar with starting up their own business it can be a very difficult and
confusing process. It is very important for anyone who is thinking of running their own business
to be careful and always have some sort of plan. You need to know what you are trying to sell,
who your trying to sell it to, where you are going to sell, how much it is going to cost you to sell
it in that area, and many more aspects of starting a business. “The only way to run a successful
business is by having a well written plan and following it (Guillebeau).”
In this report the goal is to discuss a few important areas when starting a business such as: startup
costs, Demographics, and advertising in opening Benoff’s Fitness for all in the Bucks County
area. The Bucks County area from the research provided seemed to be a great place for this kind
of business to flourish and be successful.
All firsthand data was collected from surveys of individuals who actively go to the gym, and
personal interview from a successful gym owner. All other data was found from online sources
and a few books.
DISCUSSION: START-UPCOSTS, DEMOGRAPHICS, AND ADVERTISING
The results of this research indicate that Benoff’s Fitness for All may show potential of being a
successful business in the Bucks County area by showing the advantages and disadvantages. All
findings gathered for this report will be presented into three categories: (a) Start-up Costs, (b)
Demographics, (c) Advertising.
1

5. Start-up Costs
The initial startup costs for opening a gym vary from gym to gym. It really depends on how you
decide to open your business. For example, will you open on your own, or will you open it
through a franchise. Each of these choices both have their advantages and disadvantages. For this
report we will discuss the startup cost for someone who is going to being opening a new gym as
a sole proprietor. It is also important to keep in mind that when taking an inventory pf startup
cost that you determine if they are essential or optional. The Small Business Administration
states, “A realistic startup budget should only include those things that are necessary to start a
business” (SBA.gov).
Figure 1
GENERAL STARTUP COSTS FOR OPENING YOUR STANDARD FITNESS GYM
Source: http://blog.projectionhub.com/a-powerful-financial-model-for-a-startup-gym/
General start-up costs
The data shown in figure one are only estimates because we can only make assumptions for the
different costs for this business due that they vary from business to business. Shown in the bar
graph we can see that start up inventory will cost us $1,500, and startup cost will also cost
$1,500. To furnish the entire gym it will cost about $3,000, and for gym equipment it will cost
around $175,000. As you can see most of the investment is in gym equipment because high cost
of new gym equipment.
2
0.00
0.01
0.10
1.00
10.00
100.00
1,000.00
Startup Inventory Startup costs Furniture Gym Equipment
Thousands
General startup costs

6. Business expenses
Besides your initial startup cost you also have costs pertaining to running and maintaining your
fitness facility. Here we can also make assumption for these costs: Accounting = $100/month,
Advertising = $250/month, Insurance = $3,000 the first month of each year, Legal = $500 in the
first month, Office Supplies = $100/month, Rent = $3,500/month, Telephone = $100/month,
Travel = $150/month, Utilities = $300/month, Website = $25/month, Owner Draw =
$1,000/month in the first year then $2,000 and $3,000/month in year 2 and 3 respectively. As
stated above these are monthly costs so you must keep in mind how much you will need to earn
each month to cover your fixed costs. Also if you want to make a profit you will need to take in
more income than your paying for expenses. This will be determined by how you price your cost
for memberships. Discussed later in the report is advertising which is how you will promote your
gym and attract the most costumers.
Capital Investment
From the information that you have read above we can see that there is a large amount of money
being invested into this type of business. The money for starting up this business has to come
from somewhere and there is a mass amount of ways to find capital for starting your first
business. When starting your own business, it is very important that you first have some of your
own capital to invest into it. The reason this is so important is because this is the only way any
bank will give you a business loan. If you do not have your own money to put into the business
than the bank will not take a risk of losing money on an investment that you do not have a stack
in.
Before you plan to open your business make sure you have a substantial amount of capital
accrued of your years of working to invest into your business. There is also different way to find
capital for your company such as: creating a go fund me account which is an account that
everyday people donate money to help you raise capital for your business, you can also find
private investors to help you find the needed capital. The only thing important to know about
private investors is that when they invest in your company they will want either some of the
income earned for some period of time or an actual piece of the company and sometimes both.
Demographics
When starting any new business, it is extremely important to look at the demographics of the
area where you will be placing your business. This information will show many details on the
population surround that area such an as average earned income, average age, income, education,
and much more. “Whether the demographics describe national or local markets or small groups
such as those within an age range, the information helps you avoid the hit-and-miss marketing
method” (Sessoms). All the specifics on the population around your business are very important
because they are all potential customers. The information will tell you how you should price your
memberships, and the best way to promote and advertise the business to its customers.
3

7. Statistics on the Bucks County Area
The total current population of the Bucks County area consists of about 625,249 people and
89.4% of those individuals are white Caucasian. The average earned income per capita $37,910
and the median household income was estimated at $76,824. Poverty in the area is only 6.6%
which is low when compared to a majority of other areas. Working citizens in the area amass a
number of 244,396 people of the 625,249 people living in the area (Bucks County QuickFacts
from the US Census Bureau). With this information we can see that there is great potential for
this business because the average person has excess income that they may want to invest in
physical fitness. Also there is a large population who are all potential customers.
Figure 2
POPULATION AND THE AVERAGE INCOME FROM HOUSEHOLD TO HOUSEHOLD
Source: http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/SEX255214/42017
Present and Future Trends
In figure 2 we see the present trends of what the total population of the buck’s county area from
household to household earns. The average house hold earns around $37,000 a year and the
median home earns around $76,000 a year. The individuals who earn $23,400 or below for a
four-person family are considered to be below the poverty line and will not contribute to the
income of the gym because they do not possess any extra income to spend on luxuries such as
the gym.
4
Total Population
$37,910 $76,824 $23,400 or below

8. Future trends are looking good for the fitness area because of all the promotion towards living a
healthy lifestyle. The population is starting to become more health conscience. Do to technology
the population has become more educated, and are aware of the health effects of the foods that
they eat and inactivity. These are all good signs that the future of fitness will have an increase in
participation.
Advertising
Advertising is probably the most important aspect for your business to thrive because this is how
you will attract all of you customers. This is the most effective way of letting your costumers
know of all your promotions, and what your gym has to offer.
Advertising Methods
Fortunately, due to the advancements of technology there are a massive amount of way to
advertise your company. We can now advertise online through different social media apps free
such as Facebook, Instagram, and twitter. These types of advertising are great because it does not
cost you anything to get your name out there. You can also pay to have your advertisement
shown on different sites related to your business for some fee. The price for internet advertising
can vary from site-to-site depending on how popular that site is, and the amount of traffic it
encounters.
Mobile advertisement is also a growing advertising market that many businesses are adapting to
and using more frequently. One study showed that, “The results reveal that affective
commitment toward a brand positively influences the attitude toward advertising. This
relationship was shown by Okazaki (2009), who stated that when clients are committed, they
identify with and feel a sense of belonging to an organization (see also Byun & Dass, 2015).
This leads to the acceptance of advertising from that company. If affective commitment toward a
brand is achieved, it will promote consumer loyalty and the creation of long-term customer
relationship management” (Martin-Consuegra). The study showed how much of an impact
mobile advertisement can have on its customers.
There is also your more traditional forms of advertising which are your print forms such as
newspapers, magazines, newsletters, booklets, flyers, direct mail. Sometimes businesses will also
use out door advertisement which is a physical interaction between customer and client in
promoting a business somewhere not at that physical location.
Affective Methods
Although all of the above advertising methods are good some work better for different
businesses than others. From a personal interview from an actual gym owner, he stated that
flyers were the best means of advertisement. They communicated the promotions to the
customers in the most effective way. He also said that you want to target individuals in a close
perimeter around where your gym is located because most people do not want to travel far to go
5

9. to the gym. Another effective advertising method for this business was TV advertisement.
Surveys taken by actually gym members showed what forms of advertisement caught their
attention, and eventually got them to join the gym. Figure 3 shows this information graphically.
Figure 3
STATISTICS FROM SURVERYS ON EFFECTIVE ADVERTISEMENT
Source: 2016 Appendix A Survey Questions
Figure three shows information gathered from an 80 surveys that were filled out. For question
number eight that asked, “How did you hear about this gym?” showed what forms of
advertisement were the best for this type of business. We found from the survey that forty-three
individuals said that they hear about the gym through flyers. Twenty-five seen advertisements on
the television, ten were referred by a friend, while only four people saw the advertisement from
some internet source.
6
Advertisement
The Internet
Flyers
A Friend
TV

10. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Analysis of start-up costs, demographics, and advertising leads to the following conclusions and
recommendations about the opening of Benoff’s Fitness for All in the Bucks County area:
1. To start this business venture an investment of an estimated $181,000 would be needed for
start-up costs; not including monthly business expenses.
2. An overview of the demographics in the Bucks County area showed that Benoff’s Fitness for
All would be profitable due to genuinely higher earned wages of individuals in this area.
3. Advertising for this particular business was most effective when flyers were used as a means
of advertisement, which was reflected by a personal interview and interviews of gym members.
In regards to these findings, it is recommended that when opening this type of business, you try
to keep start-up cost as low as possible since it is projected you will not see a profit until the
second or third year of opening the business. Also choosing who you receive investment money
from is very important because you do not want to lose part of your business to investors who
want a piece of it. It is also important to shop around for discounted equipment and materials for
your facility to keep startup cost down. The person opening this business should focus most of
their advertising on flyers, and televised commercials. The advantages and disadvantages of
opening this business in the bucks’ county area show that Benoff’s Fitness for All could be a
prosperous business if it is followed by the tips presented throughout the report.
7

11. REFERENCES
"Bucks County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." Bucks County QuickFacts from the US
Census Bureau. N.p., n.d. Web. Retrieved February. 11, 2016. Retrieved from
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42/42017.html
"Estimating Startup Costs | The U.S. Small Business Administration | SBA.gov." Estimating
StartupCosts | The U.S. Small Business Administration | SBA.gov. N.p., n.d. Web.
Retrieved Febuary 11, 2016. Retrieved from
https://www.sba.gov/starting-business/business-financials/estimating-startup-costs
Guffey, Mary Ellen and Loewy, Dana (2014). Business Communication -- Process and Product.
Cengage Learning, 8th Edition.
Guillebeau, Chris. The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love,
and Create a New Future. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Kim, Cookhwan, et al. "Random Effects Model For Estimating Effectiveness Of Advertising In
OnlineMarket places." Expert Systems With Applications 38.8 (2011): 9867-9878.
Retrieved February. 11, 2016. Retrieved from
http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=14&sid=afc5452e-46fe-4a0a-a3db-b
db
Martin-Consuegra, David, Mar Gomez, and Arturo, Molina. "Consumer
Sensitivity Analysis In Mobile Commerce Advertising." Social Behavior & Personality:
An International Journal 43.6 (2015): 883-897. Academic Search Premier. Web.
Retrieved April 18, 2016. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.bucks.edu/
Sessoms, Gail. "The Importance of Demographics to Marketing." Small Business. N.p., n.d.
Web.Retrieved February 9, 2016.Retrieved from
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-demographics-marketing-25365.html
8

12. Appendix A
Advantages and Disadvantages of Opening Benoff’s Fitness for All
Interview of Frank Schiavino
1. How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or
colleague?
Not at
all likely
- 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Extremel
y likely -
10
It all depends on the individual 7 because what I recommend is to anybody for anybody
who hasn't been in the business is to go through the franchise because they will get
help to tend to the business. If the individual is already informed in handling the
business then maybe opening their business on their own. Like I said it all depends on
the individual and how eager the individual is willing to take risks.
2. What advertising methods do you most use?
Mailers, because they deem to be the most successful for this business. Were on the
internet such as Facebook, own website. They use TV advertising, billboards, pretty
much all forms of advertisement.
3. How long do it take before you started seeing a profit?
You should see a profit within the first three years.
4. Would you say it is important to have some of your own capital invested into
your company when opening a business?
Yes, because you will not get a loan if you do not have your own capital
No
5. Did you obtain any type of higher education before opening your business?
Yes, masters in project management but relative to this business he did not need any type of higher
education besides a high school diploma
No
6. How many hours do you typically put into your business in one week?
When he first started he put in a about fifty five hours a week, eight years later he only needs to
put in about thirty five a week.
7. How did you choose where to locate your business?
I choose to be the first retro fitness in the Philadelphia market because it was the first to be the
entrepreneur in this area. It was very exclusive for him and an achievement in his mind. You
review the demographics and that includes population age income and you of course compare,
you look at your license and you have to calculate. Is the risk worth the reward? When you
identify a location you look at the demographics, the conditions of the site, the surrounding
building, siting, parking, and all these things come into play when you look at where you're
going to locate your gym.

13. 8. How frequently do you have to upkeep on your equipment?
It depends on how the equipment is abused by the clients. There is thorough maintenance twice
a year. They clean the equipment every night. When anything breaks and only has typical wear
and tear. As long as you enforce your gym rules than your equipment is more likely to last
longer. Also promote standard gym educate.
9. What legal aspects did you need to consider before opening your business?
Liability, any all the necessary legal of a corporation. Always carry insurance. You have to get
bonded, and you have to incorporate yourself whether you do an s-corp or an LLC. You have to
get all your insurance in place to protect all your liabilities and assets. Of course you have an
attorney to review all your documentation that you are endorsing, such as you contracts with all
your vendors, landlord, license, franchise agreement.
10. What quality do you offer that separates you from the rest of the competition?
We like to think service, customer friendly service, competitive pricing. Value for a full service
gym. Uniqueness such as the Theater room, smoothie bar, babysitting, TV’s on most of the
equipment. Up to date equipment, top of the line equipment, profit centers like tanning. The
supplement store in the front of the gym which is a big advantage because not many gyms have
their own nutrition store.

14. Appendix B
Benoff’s Fitness for all Survey
Hello, my name is Zack and I am planning to open my own gym. This survey is to help me
understand what aspects of the gym make you choose to participate there. Please answer each
question as carefully as possible.
(circle one answer below each question)
1. How often do you go to the gym?
Once a week
Twice a week
Three times a week
Four or more
2. How do you feel about the atmosphere of this gym?
Lively
Good
Bad
Comfortable
3. What made you choose to come to this gym?
Convenience
Pricing
The hours
Peers
4. Are the hours of this gym open long enough for most of the customers?
Yes
No
What would you change?

15. 5. How likely is it that you would recommend this gym to a friend or colleague?
Not at all likely - 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Extremely likely - 10
6. Is pricing the main factor for you when purchasing a gym membership?
Yes
No
7. Would you spend more money for a gym membership that offered more than the traditional
gym offers?
Yes
No
8. How did you hear about this gym that made you join?
The internet A friend Flyers
TV
Other (please specify)
9. Are the promotions that the gym offers what made you want to join this gym?
Yes
No
10. If you could improve one thing about this gym what would it be?
11. Does the gym have to have all the latest equipment for you to want to join?
Yes
No
12. Do you prefer to go to a gym that offers classes: like Zumba, Yoga, and Soul Cycling?
Yes
No