Importance of Gym Location

[Derrick Fish]

I recently opened a CrossFit gym (about 6 months) and we our off to a good start. We our currently on a main street that on a daily basis has a lot of people walking by the gym and a good amount of traffic. We have started to look at other locations so we have an idea of what our options are. Some of these locations are not on main streets and don't get nearly as much traffic as the place we are currently in. My questions is, do you think location is significant when dealing with a CrossFit gym?

[Mark E. Wallace]

("Are." Not "our.")

That all depends on you.

There are gyms in great locations that -- due to various controllable factors such as poor coaching, poor member relations, etc... -- suffer from retention and growth issues.

And there are gyms in seemingly poor locations that -- due to great coaching, great word-of-mouth, great community development, etc... -- have tremendous growth and retention rates.

And a lot has to do with how much and how well you market your business. If you are very active with marketing activities *and* run a great gym, people will come.

- Mark

[Brian Strump]

We're in the back of a business park, and expect to be cracking 200 members by the end of July.

Low overhead. Safe, well lit. Exceptional facility. Lots of classes. Great trainers trump location everyday of the week.

My 2c.

[Bruce Henderson]

We spent almost 3 months trying to find the right location.
Our key points were:
Easy access from major traffic flow.
The right size (2500-3000 sq ft)
Lease rate (lower is better)
Enough parking
Good area to run with low traffic (business or industrial park)

High visibility or foot traffic was the least of our concerns. I know others feel differently but we've been open since November and are way above our member goals. It's been word of mouth and social media marketing that gets us the majority of our new members.

[Boris Wartenberg]

I´m just about to look forward for "the" right place for a box. I just want to start it as "fun" as I already train a few guys, my wife and friends of her.
We are a group of 8-15 - depends on the weather ;-)

A CrossFit Box is something different - well I do not have to tell here - than a regular studio or gym!
Make sure people have a parking lot, easy drive by? (sorry my english is far from perfect!) and that´s it.
I think mouth to mouth is much more important than i ever thought.....

all the best
Boris

Question: what is the average price for a m² or a square foot if you rent a warehouse?