We recently connected with Zach Petrone and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Zach, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?
Being a gym owner comes with many challenges related to finances of the business. People often forget that we are in the service industry, and members/clients can come and go. With the ups and downs of that part of the business, you need to be prepared to look at overhead consistently and know what your ceiling is for staying profitable and actually making money! Overall, I would say the biggest challenge to profitably is from the starting point of how much is costs to fully outfit a gym with the necessary equipment you need, and the costs of commercial real-estate and getting a sizable space needed to smoothly and effectively run your gym or studio. If you can figure out those start up issues, then moving forward is looking at how you are going to continually promote, market and grow.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born and raised in Colorado, and the Rocky Mountains have always been something I was drawn too, with them being that close. I was an athlete growing up, and we spent a lot of time in the mountains growing up with camping, hunting and hiking as a family. Post college and receiving a business degree from University of Arizona, I decided that the office life was not for me and wanted to do something more personal and helpful to others. I ended up getting my Certified Personal Training certificate and starting working at a big box gym. From there I became a strength & conditioning coach and worked at some smaller studios as well.
After many years, I was able to open up my own gym Rocky Mountain Strength. We provide some of South Denvers premier small group classes and personal training. We are in the business of making people healthier, stronger and happier. What sets us apart from most gyms, is we love to focus on the Colorado lifestyle and training for adventures outside the gym like hiking, mountain biking, skiing , backcountry hunting, archery and so much more! Being MountainFIT is something we are proud to offer and see the excitement of what training in Rocky Mountain Strength will do for your outside adventures! When you walk into our gym, its different from most! It gives you that outdoor mountain feel from our elk and bear murals, to our cold tubs or the wood balance beams you may see set up. We are a welcoming community and want all walks of life to be comfortable and happy when training with us.
Any advice for managing a team?
Management is always a work in progress, and I’m continually learning how to be a better leader. It takes years and lots of deep breaths to be better and make others better as well! My best advice is to give the support and knowledge to your team, and let them be the people they are. Work ethic and camaraderie should stem from the leader. I would rather not be looked at as a boss, but rather a support system that is there for my team. I never shy away from letting my team know when they are doing a great job, or when they can improve. Transparency is #1 with anything I do. It keeps it simple, and leave no room for error on the side of knowing or not knowing something.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
The initial capital of funding your business can come in many different ways. I initially turned down investors, as I wanted to only owe myself and not rely on anyone else. It is very tough to get a business loan when starting out, as you do not have the financial to prove you can be successful in you business venture. For me, I ended up taking out personal savings and having to sell my dirt bikes in order to have some cash flow. With that, I secured a personal loan as well which gave me enough capital with all things said and done to start my business. The bummer part of taking personal loans, is that it effects your personal finances, until your business is tenured enough to get its own loan.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rockymtnstrength.com
- Instagram: @rockymountainstrength
- Youtube: @rockymountainstrength