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Dominic Esposito Signature Gym Paul Hefty Kines 492W Dominic Esposito Josh Mulberger Kailey Gibb Ricky

The T Rex-Groves Matt Reichard Connor Drohan

Human Resource Development Leadership and Management Definitions If your actions inspire others
to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams.

The definition of a leader I believe is one who

inspires. Its a person who influences someone to do something and then lets them figure it out for themselves. A leader develops the ingenuity of the people that are under them. Its that ingenuity that can have people succeed or fail, but it all depends on how good the leader is at influencing the individual in completing the vision they set forth. [Leaders] are not interested in the how-most great leaders regard details as necessary evils. (Bates 2008, p. 8). This explain my point precisely. Leaders usually dont mind the manner in which something is done, as long as it is done properly and according to the vision put forth. I believe a manager is one who organizes. A manager guides people on what to do and how to do it. Managersare intensely interested in the how because they are charged with the responsibility of making the goal happen. (Bates 2008, p. 8). Managers dont look at the goal or the vision; they are only worried about the process of achieving that goal. Good managers love to take responsibility and action for every part of the goal setting process. Leadership Goals In order to understand leadership goals, one must understand what makes a great leader. First, great leaders create a group culture. A great leader must create a set of values and beliefs that would best reflect their company. You want assure that 2

every employee complies with the culture that you create in order for the business to run smoothly and for customers and clients to have a consistent way that they are treated since that is most likely one of the reasons they chose a company. When your culture is strong, members will experience consistent treatment from your associates, whether or not a manager is present. (Bates 2008, p. 8). This is very important when pertaining to a culture. If you have a culture that has a solid base, it wont need enforced by a manager because the other employees would do the enforcing through subtle means (actions, speech, etc..) or outright telling disobeying employees to correct themselves. The next important aspect to a great leader is to be trustworthy. If there is no trust, then people are divided and this can spell disaster for your company. great leaders must always times, it may be beneficial
A house divided against itself cannot stand.Abraham Lincoln

In order to avoid this problem, do what they say they will do. At to under promise and later over

achieve expectations to gain trust. The final aspect to be a great leader is to communicate goals. Great leaders understand that people are drawn toward the vision of success. If the vision is unclear or is continually changing, people start to question what they are doing and why they are doing it. (Bates 2008, p. 9). Communication is vital to any organization. If employees arent aware of what is going on and what the goals are, everything breaks down. Great leader must always remind their followers of what the goal is and to make sure they are focused on that goal. Now that I have explained what makes a great leader, I can explain my goals and values of leadership for my company. The values I hold are very similar to the 3

characteristics of a great leader. I will create a culture that I believe is appropriate for my business. For example, I would have a culture that is very friendly to each member at my facility. That way, people feel welcome when they come to exercise. The second value, being the same as the characteristics, is trust. I believe trust to be important both in business and life. A particular goal to achieve in this would be to hire and retain trustworthy employees. For example, employees that dont lie to me and make up reasons why they cant make it to work or told me they finished cleaning all the treadmills when they didnt. I dont want another member or employee telling me what really happened because not only am I embarrassed, but my company looks bad in the process. Another important value is communication both to my employees and to the members. A goal I would like to achieve through this would be to have an email database as well as post any important information in the facility and online. If bad weather is expected and I dont want anyone trying to kill themselves just to get to the gym and workout, I would notify members and employees through email and online that the gym would be closed. One value though that has been instilled in me by my family is to lead by example. If one cant do as they say, then why should others? All of these are very practical goals that dont get very specific in my company. Some more specific goals that I would like to achieve however could be along the lines of increasing revenues by 50% that are non-due based in a given year, increase member retention, increase class based training, and incorporate new/practical equipment. These goals I would set for myself as a leader and try to incorporate them into my employees goals. 4

Leadership Evaluation Vision: To help members achieve their fitness goals and promote a friendly environment to do so I believe this vision to be important to me. I got into exercise because I genuinely liked to do it. This was somewhat due to the facility I first trained had a great atmosphere that I felt comfortable in. I wish for my members to have the same experience I had. Though visions and goals are important, it is always good to evaluate how well you are as a leader and if goals were accomplished by self-evaluation and employee or even member evaluation. One very simple way to achieve this would be to make a check list for myself:

___ Maintain company culture? Problem area:


How to fix?: What was done well?: ___Build and maintain trust Problem area: How to fix?:

What was done well?:

Another very simple way to evaluate goals is to ask employees. Have meetings a couple of times a year and let employees speak their mind on what is good, bad, and if they believe the company has met, exceeded or fell short of its goals. This would be especially vital for evaluating areas separately in the company since no one can 5

be everywhere at once. Even member evaluation would be appreciated. Bates (2008) describes these two as preordinate evaluation models which, provide a process and specify the criteria necessary in determining the worth of a program. (p. 355). This sums up ultimately as being feedback. In the case of achieving some of my goals, I would communicate a vision for my employees to do. For example, I would urge my customer service representatives who are working at the front desk to learn as many of the members names as possible. That way they can greet each member by name, this should make the members feel more comfortable with the facility. They can complete this in many ways. They could have conversations with them and get to know them or attempt to memorize names as they scan or sign in when entering the gym. I leave the how up to my employees. The overall vision though of greeting members by name will reflect my business as a friendly environment that will draw in new members. I would evaluate my employees by checking once every so often to see if they are greeting members by their name or attempting in some way to learn names. I myself will try my best to get to know as many of the members as possible. The overall vision of creating that friendly environment is what I will be striving for. As I stated before, helping members out in anyway is a vision I would like to achieve and there are many ways to accomplish this. Golds Gym on their website has simple fitness goals for their members and ways in which to achieve it. An example of this is they have members exercise their whole body for 30 minutes with 20 second rests between sets (2006). Something as simple as this can help members with their goals. It also explains to members how they can achieve those goals. Overall, when it comes to evaluative measures and 6

achieving goals in my company, I will always keep in mind that the members come first. I believe that as a company if we failed to help a member, then we failed as a whole. Learning Style My learning style is one that is very hands on and interactive. I like to be told and shown what to do. I believe that this interactive style of learning will be the most effective for my business. Take for example two employees. Both are being taught how to process new members at my facility. The first employee is being taught in a way that is similar to a classroom setting. The employee is being told what to do step by step, but with no real interaction with the process. The second employee is being taken through step by step, but they are actually using the system and filling out the paper work with teaching employee or manager. What I have always found to be true with exercise is very applicable with my business. You train the movement, not the muscle to have the best effect. In this case, an employee is performing the task rather than learning about it in theory. Sure training in a classroom or one on one type setting can be effective and important just like just training the muscle, but actually getting the experience of working hands on at task is much more beneficial. Just like working on the movement of a squat. You could work the Quadriceps by using a leg extension machine, or the Glutes by performing laying leg raises or even performing a leg press would work the same muscles as a squat. However, actually executing the squat will create the greatest benefit on muscular gains for that movement. Bringing that concept back, I believe that interactive training that is relevant to the task is most beneficial for a person to 7

learn. Some employees though may learn better in different ways. One simple way to combat this would be to during training evaluations I notice that an employee is struggling with a concept, but I know that they were taught it and I can see that the employee is trying; I will approach them during training feedback and ask them what went wrong. If it turns out the employee had trouble understanding the instruction, I will ask them how they learn best. This way I will attempt to help them learn in the way that they can learn best. For example, if an employee for some reason wouldnt be comfortable with the interactive training. I may ease them into it at first by creating a list of procedures for me to teach to them so that they can memorize it. This way, they may feel more comfortable with performing the interactive training at a later time. As a leader, if I see that an employee is struggling in their training, but still trying, I will try my best to accommodate them as much as possible. If my employees give me 100%, I will give them 100%. Organizational Design/Type/Style The business I would like to focus on will be a Fitness center that is a for profit business. My organizational design for my business will include hiring qualified personnel who will be trained with knowing their responsibilities for their job as well as cross training them for other positions. An example of this can be seen in many gyms where a personal trainer might also be a working at the front desk or cleaning equipment in the gym. The facility I will be organizing will most likely be a smaller one so the employee hierarchy will not be complicated and will look something like this:

Gym Organizational Chart123

Ex: Approve new equipment and marketing, manage facility, analyze business plan

Owner

Ex: Ensuring gym cleanliness, train employees, customer satisfaction

General Manager

Ex: Resolve Issues, improve/ manage customer service and equipment

Operations Manager

Ex: Manage fitness classes, schedule and approve classes, train trainers and supervise them

Fitness Director/Leader

Ex: Clean equipment and facility, maintain equipment and fix when broken

Maintenance/ Custodian

Ex: Greet members, sign new members up, help members with possible problems

Member/Customer Service Rep.

Ex: Train clients, help clients achieve fitness goals

Personal Trainer

Ex: Lead group classes, help members achieve fitness goals

Fitness Class Instructor

Owner Responsibility explained Free Weight Room This is a layout plan* for one part of a gym. An owners and possibly a mangers responsibility may be to make and approve a plan like this: 40-50 feet

Clean Platforms Dumbbell Rack Weight Rack Squat Racks

Bench Area

*Notes would be made on hard copy A fitness Director may create a schedule and the owner or general manger would then have to approve it: Fitness Class Schedule: 8:00 am: Cycling Class (45 minutes) 9:45 am: Free Weight Training Class (45 minutes) 10:30 am: Core Work (35 minutes) 12:00 pm: Kick Boxing workout (50 minutes) 2:45 pm: Cycling Class (45 minutes) 4:00 pm: Dance Class (35 minutes) 4:45 pm: Free Weight Training (45 minutes) 5:30 pm: Yoga (40 minutes) These were just a few organizational design examples to show how the facility I have in mind to be put together.

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My organizational style will include the owner having the final say, but many smaller decisions would be delegated to the general manager, the operations manager, and/or the fitness director. I would also like my employees to all have a say in the business during meetings throughout the year. This should bring fresh ideas that upper management may never think about. As I mentioned before, my leadership vision for my business is To help members achieve their fitness goals and promote a friendly environment to do so. My management vision would be to create and maintain a fitness facility through proper personal training, exceptional customer service, and clean and maintained equipment all while in a safe and supervised environment. These two visions seem different from one another. One seems to be very friendly while the other almost totalitarianism, but they both achieve the same goal. The goal of a fitness facility is to serve its members. The best way it can serve its members is to create an environment where they are able to exercise and achieve their goals. How might they achieve their goals? As a facility manager, Im not forcing members to workout in one way and one way only, they can work out however they please. How else can we as a facility help the members? I believe we can ultimately do that through offering proper and correct personal training if they want it. As well as exceptional customer service that can help members with anything they need. To keep the members safe as well as keep them continuing towards their fitness goals, facility equipment needs to be well maintained and cleaned. One vision is there to say what the facility is to do, while the other is stating how it will be done.

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Staff Recruitment Job Description: Personal Trainer: An individual who is enthusiastic in the field of fitness and exercise and is willing to help others achieve their fitness goals through teaching proper lifting form, creating a proper exercise plan, and motivating their client to the best of their ability. Interview process: Review the resume and cover letter of each person who has sent in a cover letter and resume. The interview selection process will then start with people being selected based on resume and cover letter. Interviews will begin with the person being interviewed and the interviewer stating who they are. The actual interview process will start with broad questions being asked to the person being interviewed. Most of these questions will be business and character related questions and they are chosen to give an idea of who the person being interviewed is. A few of these questions may be: Why should I hire you? What is your long-range objective? What is your greatest weakness? The interview will then continue to the second tier of questions. These are broad questions, but are more related to the field of fitness: Name three characteristics that a personal trainer should have? Why did you get into personal training? 12

What is your definition of a personal trainer? These questions are to test what the person being interviewed thinks of the field of fitness as well as personal training. They also can show how interested the individual is in fitness. The final tier of questions will be most related to the filed of fitness as well personal training. Some questions will even test their knowledge fitness and exercise:

A 34 year old women is interested in losing fat mass, what advice would you give her to help her do so?

A member of the health club you work for approaches you and informs you of a piece of equipment that is broken. The manager and assistant manager are not in the facility. What would you do?

The first interview process will then end with the interviewer asking the person being interviewed if they have any questions. The interviewer will then evaluate the interviewee on how well they answered the questions. This will then determine if the interviewee will be asked to continue with the interview at a later or date or immediately after. The second interview process will have a 10-20 minute evaluation of what the interviewee can do with a potential client. The client will be played by another employee at the facility. The interviewer will then evaluate the interviewee on how well they dealt with certain conditions. Some of these conditions may be: 13

A 74 year old female client who wants to train for their health. A 54 year old male heart attack victim who wants to lose fat mass. A 26 year old female who wants to train for a marathon. A 32 year old male who wants to increase his strength and muscle mass. One to two of the conditions like these will be selected for the interviewer to observe. Interview questions: Array 1: Why should I hire you? What is your long-range objective? Are you a team player? What is your greatest weakness? What is your greatest strength? Have there been conflicts with prior jobs? Describe your work style Do you work well with other people? What motivates you? How do you evaluate your success? How do you handle stress and pressure? What is your passion? Do you see yourself as a leader? Array2: Name three characteristics a personal trainer should have? 14

How would you define a personal trainer? Why did you get into personal training? What interests you about this job? What do you plan on getting from this job? What can you do for this facility? Why do you want to work here? What challenges do you see coming from personal training? Have you ever been a leader in the personal training field? Array 3: A 34 year old women is interested in losing fat mass, what advice would you give her to help her do so? A member of the health club you work for approaches you and informs you of a piece of equipment that is broken. The manager and assistant manager are not in the facility. What would you do? A member is using equipment inappropriately. You see that the member could cause harm to other members and there self. What would you do? An older client with a heart condition wishes to begin working out. What advice would you give them?

Roles: The manager of the facility will most likely be conducting the interview. They will also review applications, resumes, and cover letters. The manager will also determine which candidates seemed good enough to have a face to face question 15

interview. The question interview will then be conducted by the manager and at which time they will evaluate the interviewee on how they answer the questions and what traits they exhibit. The Manager then will either on the spot or later determine if the interviewee is good enough for the final interview step which involves client training. The manager will evaluate all information and recommend the best candidates for the position to the owner. The owner will then be able to look over the interview notes, resumes, cover letters, and evaluations. The owner will then have the final say on who to hire. Evaluation: Our total evaluation will be an analysis of every part of the interview. The cover letter, resume, question interview, and potential client training will all be evaluated to assess the ability and character of the interviewee. An evaluation sheet will be used that will help the interviewer assess many attributes of the person being interviewed. A 1-5 scale (1 being poor, 5 being great) will be used to grade the interviewee on each subject. Notes can be taken to justify each section:

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1 (Poor) Fitness knowledge Notes:

3 (Average)

5 (Great)

Motivation

Leadership abilities

Education and qualifications

Personality

Customer service

Teamwork ability

Communication skills

Creativity

Passion

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Staff Development Plan Internal Training: Needs Analysis: According to Bates (2008), there are five steps to achieving an internal training program (p. 62). The first being needs analysis. During this as a manager, I will attempt to assess what areas I need to focus on in my facility. Personally, I will focus on my customer service since I believe that is the most important aspect to running a fitness facility. I will either first observe my customer service area of my facility for a period of time (probably couple of weeks), or if in the case of starting a business I will train and assess the ability of my new employees at how well they are at customer service. During this observation period, I will make a file for my customer service area that has all the information that I was able to gather. This can include outside sources from articles or seminars that I may have attended, notes I took while physically observing the employees, and memos and advertisements. Bates (2008) mentions that, Later, when it comes time to put together a training program or delegate training to someone else, a collection of discussion items will be at hand. (p. 63). Choose a topic: The next step in creating an internal training program is to choose a topic. After gathering all the information during my observation period, I will create a list of tasks that need to be worked on. Bates (2008) separates his topics into three different categories: Urgent which is to be met within 30 days of the needs analysis, Short-term which is to be completed within 90 days of the needs analysis, and lastly 18

Long-term which is to be completed within 6 months to one year of the needs analysis (p. 63). I would like to use this method of categorizing with my own facility. An example of a topic list for my gym may look something similar to this: Customer Service Topics Training Topic -Learn computer system -Cross training (Clean equipment and facility, fix equipment etc.) -Learn members names (During shift) -Be aware of all facility events -Understand basic problem solving (Basic problems if members need help) -Phone usage Level of need Urgent Short-Term Short term Urgent Urgent Urgent

-Proper etiquette for greeting members


-Personal training/fitness instructor Training?

Urgent
Long-term

I have made many of these topics urgent because as I said before, I see customer service as being the most important to the success of my business in the fitness field and these topics need to be addressed immediately with regards to this area. Choose a strategy: The next step is very important because I must understand how I will implement these training needs that I have listed. Bates (2008) asks many questions with understanding how this step will be done: who will provide the training?, where will the training take place, and for how long? (p.64-68). I would like to address this by giving an example of what I believe is the best method of achieving 19

this. One of the best strategies I would use to internally train my employees would be on the job training. I believe the best way for someone to learn is to actually perform the task. With the supervision of a current employee or more experienced employee, the new employee can learn what to do with tasks that actually come up while they will be working. A great example of this would be to assign a mentor to a new employee for a couple of days in the facility. That way, the new employee can observe and be supervised on many different tasks such as proper cleaning of equipment, usage of company computer systems with regards to signing new members up and processing fees, and understanding basic procedures that need to be done during work hours (emptying trash, greeting members, restocking paper towel dispensers, filling up spray bottles, etc). That way, they are physically performing these tasks and I believe will be more capable of understanding what needs to be done rather than handing them a to-do list. This process of on the job training may take a week or two before the employee fully understands what needs to be done. During that time, the mentor or manager will slowly let the employee take over the tasks that they observed the mentor doing. That way they arent just thrown in and have no idea what they are doing. I believe this example best describes my strategy for implementing my needs analysis for an area. Delivering the Material: This step was already somewhat discussed earlier in the choosing a strategy section, but I feel that it needs to be explained more. Bates (2008) believes that the way in which a manager delivers the material to an employee is, the most critical element of effective training (p. 68). I believe this to be true as well. The way in 20

which you teach someone can make or break a great employee. Like I mentioned before, I believe on the job training is best for most people to learn how to perform a task. It is interactive which means it gets the new employee involved, it can be broken down easily for them to understand with the mentor present, the employee can feel more comfortable with the one on one interaction with the manager or mentor, and it also addresses the problem of inexperience. You might ask though how would that address the problem of inexperience? There would be an observation period where the new employee would observe the mentor and watch what they do. The employee would then begin to slowly perform these tasks on their own while the mentor watches them and is there to praise them or correct their mistakes. One issue though with the delivering this training process is that the new employee may become too attached to the mentor who is guiding them. This will create an employee who is timid and possibly wont take any initiative. A way in which I will assure that this wont happen would be to emphasis to the mentoring employee that they must deliver the strategy in a way where they give the employee the initiative with tasks. That instead of telling them exactly what to do the mentor would only tell them the task to complete, but not the manner in which the will perform it. This teaching style will force the new employee to learn by their own means and use what they have learned during the observation phase. An example of this could be seen after a period where the employee has observed the mentor and the mentor has them solve a problem for a member. The member informs the new employee of a malfunctioning piece of equipment. The employee could either make a note of where the piece of equipment is and whats wrong with it or have the 21

member show the employee where the piece of equipment is and show them what is wrong with it. The employee could then leave a note on the machine saying out of order or if possible take the piece of equipment to a location in the facility where no members can use it. Either way, the employee could later then inform a manager or assistant manager of the malfunctioning piece of equipment. In this scenario, there were multiple ways the employee could deal with this problem with regards to customer service. The mentor would have allowed the employee take initiative in determining what action to take by not interfering with their decision making, but at the same time still monitoring their actions. Creating Accountability: The final step is more of an evaluation for the other four steps in the internal training program. Bates (2008) believe there to be many ways to evaluate an employee: testing by verbal, formal or informal means by which an employee will perform a given task, financial tracking, written follow up (p. 72). I believe the most effective though for my facility will be to do impromptu testing and/or observing employees after training has ended. I will be looking for if the employees have began to use materials taught during training and how they implement them. I personally believe that someone can get lucky on a test and someone can write one thing and do another. Financial tracking can also be very weird in the sense that its not going to show who these employees are and how they react to the training too well. I believe that physically seeing someone perform a task or seeing them implement a training program is the best way to test them on how well or how much they learned. I plan on doing creating accountability by observing my employees without 22

them knowing and making notes on how well or how poorly they are doing. A period of time after, I would meet with each newly trained employee and inform them on their progress and give them feedback as to how well they are doing. Internal Training Agenda

Needs Analysis Assessment -Select area -Gather information -Create file for area Choose Topic -Urgent -Short-term -Long-term Choose strategy -Who will perform training? -Where will it be? -How long? Delivering the material -What learning strategy -Teach mentor strategy -create effective teaching programs Create Accountability -Evaluation -Were tasks met? -Was training effective? -Possible improvements? -Feed back to employees

2 Weeks

3 Days

1 Week

1-2 Weeks

1-2 Weeks

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External Training: An important external training program that I will implement in my business is to compensate my employees who want to become certified in some fitness training area. I want my employees to be certified because then they will better be able to help members attending the facility. Many of the popular certifications being the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association, ACE (American Council on Exercise), and NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine). Any of these certifications would be acceptable to get to be a personal trainer at my facility. Obviously getting the CPR and AED certification should be a priority for any trainer though. I also would encourage my employees to get certifications in more minor or specific areas. Some of these may include a kettlebell certification or crossfit certification. Another external training method I will use would be to have my staff and myself attend seminars that are related to the field of fitness. An example of this would be to find a seminar at an event or online on customer service in the field of fitness since it is very important. I believe that other than certifications and seminars that it wont be very applicable for me to bring in other people to train my employees because outside sources dont know my employees and dont know how to teach them. One exception to this would be to possibly bring in an expert on a new piece of equipment that my staff or I dont have much knowledge on. Training Evaluation: I have worked in some of my training evaluation of my employees during my plan for internal training, but overall evaluation I believe is more complicated. First I 24

would like to address job training performance. Immediately following job training, a manager or myself will evaluate the employee while they are performing a task or working that was related to the job training. An example of this would be to check to see if an employee was able to understand what was instructed to them about a new piece of equipment and see if they know how clean and maintain it properly. I dont want to train an employee and find out later that the employee didnt understand the training and they get hurt or someone else gets hurt because of it. After training is over, I may look over the training method and assess ways to improve it or even create alternative methods for other employees. As with the learning style, not all employees make like the interactive way of learning. Some employees may be better suited for classroom type settings. Evaluation of my own training methods will most likely be needed. I will create evaluation forms that may look like this: Training Evaluation: Scale of 1-10. 1 being poor or worst ever. 10 being exceptional or the best. Put any number between 1-10 in each section below. Please be as direct as possible, dont hold back. I need the feedback! Training effectiveness_______ (Did this training do what it was supposed to do?) Training style______ (Did you enjoy how the training was set up?) Time______ (Was the training setup so it gave you enough time to learn it?) Environment______ (Was the training done in an environment that was most effective?) Comfortable______ (How comfortable were you with the training?) Feedback (Do have anything else to add? Improvements? What was good and bad? Can you justify some of your answers?):

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These evaluation forms are setup so that I and other employees can fill them out and evaluate the training. I believe it to be very important to get varying viewpoints because other people may see things that I completely missed or they may give suggestions that I never had thought of. I will make these forms anonymous for my employees so that they can feel more comfortable when they are completing them. I feel that people tend to be more honest when they dont have to put their name to something. Not only though would I be evaluating the training methods, but I intend to fully evaluate my employees. As I mentioned before, I will assess each employee to see if they have understood the training. Training evaluation forms for my employees may look similar to this:

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Employee Training evaluation Employee name__________________________________________ Date__________

Training Task___________________________________________________
Task Performance______ Notes: Task Understanding______ Notes: Willingness to perform task that was trained______ Notes: Personality and Character while performing task? Other Notes:

*The blank will be filled in on a 1-10 scale. 1 being poor or low, 10 being exceptional or high.
Evaluation kept confidential.

This evaluation form should me as a manager understand how well the employee was at performing the task and how they seem to like it and understand it. Performance seems to be and obvious evaluation, but understanding the task is a little complicated. What I mean by this is does the employee seem to know why he or she is doing certain procedures from the training. Does the employee seem to know why the new member sign-up sheets go in a certain file. Willingness to perform task would be does the employee seem to want to perform the task or do they try to avoid and/or pass it on to other employees. Personality and character notes would be making note of the demeanor of the employee as they are performing the task. Do they seems angry, sad, confused, upset, happy? If an 27

employee receives poor remarks on any of the sections, I may ask them to have a meeting with me to discuss why that may be. Staff Compensation: There are many benefits to wage based pay and there are many benefits to commission based pay. I say why only have one? Wage based pay being either hourly wages or salaries. This has the benefit of being equal, everyone gets paid the same for the same job. A drawback to this though is that some people work harder than others and can often not be very motivating. The other pay is commission based pay which can be based on performance since the harder an individual works the more clients they get and the more money theyll make for the facility and themselves. A drawback to this though is that this can create over competitiveness and some positions are more capable of creating commission based revenue (ex. personal trainers). I would purpose that a combination of these two methods would be optimal. What I mean by this is to give everyone a wage based pay and personal trainers and fitness instructors would receive a commission based pay. Since other positions like customer service and maintenance and custodial work dont have the ability to be commission based, I will make them be partially performance based. Bates (2008) logic behind performance-based pay is that, improved performance should result in greater employee productivity, which in turn should result in improved business results. (p. 111). This means that if during employee evaluations an employee does well and performs their job beyond expected than they will get a bonus to their paycheck. This should even out the pay methods between the sets of positions. An issue though with implementing this plan would 28

be cross training. I want my employees to be able to be cross trained in many aspects of the facility. The way I will combat this would be to give performance based pay to personal trainers and fitness instructors as well if they perform duties that include customer service and maintenance needs. However, some of these employees who cross train will already be compensated for this work by a base waged base pay. The wage base pay will only be paid to employees who work with the customer service, club maintenance and cleaning of the facility. To make this simpler, an example of this would be a personal trainer who trains individuals and gets a commission pay of 60% of what they charge (40% goes to the facility). If they also perform tasks involving front desk work (customer service) they will get a wage base pay for that as well as performance base pay depending on how well they performed their tasks. Many factors will fall into the performance base pay. Some of these will include: hours worked, enthusiasm/motivation, initiative, willingness to work, arrival time to work, working during non-wanted hours (early or late hour work), completion of tasks, how well tasks were completed, leadership abilities, customer/member relations, club maintenance, and availability (picking up shifts, not calling off work, taking vacation). Here is a chart to better explain the jobs and what kind of pay they would get:

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Commission/ Performance pay

Wage Pay

-Personal trainer -Fitness instructor

-Personal trainer -Customer service representative (Who also performs -Custodial work Work in wage pay area) -Maintenance work -Fitness Instructor (Performs work in -Facility upkeep Wage pay area) (Take out trash, change paper -Customer service rep. towel dispensers, fill up or Custodial work disinfectant bottles) (does exceptional job)

I mentioned with my external training plan, I will compensate my employees with their certifications they would want to achieve. This may be in the form of paying for certain certifications or helping to pay for them. That is if they pass the exams of the certifications. With employees coming in who have certifications, I may give them bonus to compensate them for their certification or offer to pay for a second or further certifications. I will also encourage my employees to attend seminars that are related to the field. I would compensate them with an hourly wage for attending the seminar. As always though, vacation time and sick leave will be accounted for, but many factors affect that which would include position, years worked at facility, weekly hours worked, and performance evaluations. Staff Development Program: A staff development program is very important to the progression of a facility. In order to begin a staff development program, I need to assess the needs of the staff and the facility. As the manager, I will assess the needs of my staff and the 30

facility to better understand what needs to be done. I will then move onto how I will address these needs. In what ways will I fix these problems? The next step will be then to how are these improvements measured. Next I will set a timeline for these needs to be met. Finally, the most important part of the entire program I will write the process down. This is extremely important, if I cant physically see what Im doing on paper, I may get lost and confused. The staff development needs will then not be met. Lets take an example of this process in my facility. Say for instance our new member sign up is overly complicated to my employees and is not very well organized. Ill first look at the need which is the staff and facility need a better way to address new member sign ups. I will then look at ways to address this need. There are many ways it could be addressed, but on way could be to simply purchase a better or newer system that would process members much quicker and easier. Another possibility (if funds are tight) would be to look over the member sign up form and format it in a way that is much easier to understand and have better flow to it. Member information and rates will be bolded and enlarged on the first page. The next pages will then explain facility procedures and safety clauses (proper clothing and behavior etc). Ways to better organize the paper work would be to purchase a filing cabinet that is clearly labeled to show which paper work goes where. I will then train each employee on the new system and type up a procedure to have at the front desk so each employee is aware of what to do. How will I measure this? One way to measure this would be to implement my own training evaluation tool and see how well my staff was able to adapt with this new system. As well as receive important feedback about it. What would my timeline be? Something 31

like this since it is heavily related to customer service, I would rate as an urgent need so within a month. I will then write or type each section so Im able to assess what still needs done in the program. This staff development program of Assessing needs, addressing ways to improve, measure improvements, creating a timeline, and finally writing down the program could be used for anything in my facility. Potential Areas to Develop/ Enhance/ Explore Customer Service Method/Activity / Resources to Achieve Goal Outcomes / Revisions

Goals:

Target Date

Date Completed

Facility Cleanliness

Overall, we feel that with our staff development plan our facility will have the best trained and most prepared staff in the business. We dont want to throw our new employees straight into the fire so to speak. This can damage their development as well as cause inconveniences to our customers. Our goal is to have our employee starting their first day to be as prepared as our employee who has 32

been with us for two years. Our staff development plan is thorough and intense. We are confident once our new hires finish the development program they will be ready for anything. Its such an important feature of our club to have staff that can handle anything thrown at them. A happy staff helps create happy customers and happy customers are more likely to come back, everyones just happy, happy, happy. Having an excellent staff is the lifeblood to any fitness club.

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Member Recruitment, Retention, Profitability 1. Marketing Strategies A. Internal Marketing For marketing our facility, some of the tactics we plan on using are internal and external marketing with the help of social media. Some internal marketing plans we have are different promotions and incentive programs for our members. We plan to have our members sign up for either a text message or email alert, based on their preference so they are able to get notified about upcoming events and promotions. We plan on doing promotions for members once a month; each promotion will run a week long. Some promotions would include discounts on memberships, group fitness prices, tanning, and personal training sessions. In order to get many of these promotions, members must achieve some sort of goal that beats other members. We may have promotions that include who biked the most in a week, or who lost the most percent body weight in a month, or even who attended the most group fitness classes in a week. We will have member appreciation days where we give away free merchandise such as water bottles, t-shirts, hats when we get merchandise in. We will run raffle drawings where each member will get a raffle ticket for each time they come in that week. If they bring guests with them they will receive more raffle tickets. At the end of the week there will be a raffle drawing to win a week of free group fitness classes, tanning, or personal training sessions. If the members are not present during the raffle we will notify them via text message or phone call to make them aware of their winnings. We will also run incentive programs for existing members based on referrals. For every five new members 34

that a member refers, the member receives a free month membership. For every ten members that a member refers, the member receives one month free plus one month free group fitness. For every fifteen members that a member refers, the member receives one month free plus one month free group fitness plus one free personal training session. We will be able to exchange the prize for another amenity for the member that better fits their needs. For example if a member wins a month of group fitness, but wants tanning or something else, they would be able to exchange it for tanning or another service we offer. B. External Marketing Our external marketing is strategically to get our name out to large populations with the least cost as possible. We plan on sponsoring local youth sporting teams and other local events such as 5Ks. By sponsoring teams we plan on having our facility name and logo on the back of sports teams t-shirts. When we sponsor local events we will have our logo and facility name on banners and other advertising for that event. By sponsoring these teams and events we are able to help out them as well as gaining advertisement. We will go to local businesses and handout flyers about our facility and for what we have to offer to our members. When we settle into our facility and have the funds to do so, we will sell merchandise to our members with our logo and facility name, as well as phone number. This way when members are using or wearing the merchandise, other perspective members are able to see that in a way of advertisement. Word of mouth will be a huge external marketing strategy for us as well since we are a small town based facility. Hosting events such as lift for life and other competitions will be 35

another useful way to market. We will host these events in either the outside space of our facility or rent space from a local gymnasium such as the YMCA or a local school. For the internet, we will be paying a fee to Google to make sure our facility is at the top of the list for gyms in State College. That way, when people search for gyms, ours comes up first. One of our biggest ways to reach perspective members and market externally is by joint marketing with other businesses. Our main marketing plan is to go to local businesses about a month before opening and set up a joint contract with them. Prior to our grand opening (this will take place at least a month before we open) we will be traveling to businesses in the area. We will go to the business trying to create deals with them, so that they will want to help their employees by paying a portion of gym membership fees. Many businesses are trying to start corporate fitness programs within their company, and by us trying to work deals with businesses we are allowing for them to have a type of corporate fitness. There has been a large wave of businesses that are trying to get their employees more active, fit, and healthier. Employers want and need their employees to be healthy and exercise more, so we will be allowing these businesses to give their employees a facility to exercise at. We will do this by going and speaking to owners and/or managers of different companies in this area. Our idea is to offer the businesses to pay half of the monthly fees for their employees that will be a member of our facility, and then the employee will pay the other half of the monthly fees. This will allow for a cheaper fee for their employees, because they would only need to pay a $20 monthly fee. The prices that we charge all depend on the rates that the employer wants to pay. This will also enhance the businesss employment; this 36

allows the business to have a greater compensation program for their employees, which will increase their employee retention. It is well known that a fitter employee gets sick less often, are more energetic, be less stressed, have better attitudes, have more self-confidence, inspire more confidence in others, and the list goes on. So, by paying a partial fee for their employees to exercise will benefit the employees working ability, and enjoyment of working for that employer. We will also have the employee sign a contract that will allow their employer to see how many times the facility is being used by their employees. This will allow our facility to attract the major portion of the population in the State College area. C. Social Media We created a social media page on Facebook for our facility. On this page members will be able to find our facilitys contact info and location. We have a description of our facility and what services we have to offer such as memberships, tanning, group fitness classes, and personal training programs. We also will have pictures of our facilities and classes so those new to the gym and page can get a better feel for what we offer. Members also provide testimonials on the Facebook page of their experiences at our facility. Our page also provides updates on any cancellations, upcoming events, and promotions going on. Members are also able to contact a facility employee via Facebook with any questions they have. A Twitter page is coming soon as well as another way for members to keep up on promotions, new specials, class and training updates, and any other special events going on in the gym that day, week, or month to come. Increasing Sales 37

1. Customer Service A. Internal Customer Service Customer service is a key part to our business and increasing our sales. We will be sure to get to know our members and greet them by their first name to make sure they feel welcomed. Simply asking how their day is going or how things are going in their life will make the members know that we care. The personal trainers that work with the members one-on-one will be able to get to know the members more personally. The personal trainers will develop a relationship with members that allow them to feel cared about and safe. Fitness instructors will be able to get to know the members as well as the group fitness classes will provide an opportunity to create a type of bond amongst the class. Group fitness instructors will provide an enthusiastic and encouraging environment for the members to exercise in. Personal trainers and fitness instructors will also be able to provide the members with any feedback on their performance and suggestions to their fitness routine based on their observations. By establishing this mind set in the members and making them feel comfortable in our facility, they will want to make it part of their routine to better their health. B. External Customer Service A way of staying connected with our members is by communication. We will call new members after their first sessions to follow-up on their experience. We will also follow-up with member that we have not seen for a while. If group fitness classes or a personal training session has to be cancelled for the day, we will be sure to call any member signed up for those sessions and inform them of the change. 38

Convenience and accountability are important to us and providing for our members. Our main vision is that the customer is always right, so if a problem were to arise we would address it immediately and try to solve it the most efficient way that meets the members needs. As discussed later with retention, we will provide suggestion boxes for members to share any concerns or suggestions they feel need to be brought to attention of the staff. We will listen to any members suggestions and concerns that they may have. We will be sure to not just meet the members needs and expectations but exceed them with a special touch that the member will appreciate. We will do this by solving the problem but then ensuring the problem is to never happen again. For example if a member suggests that there need to be more towels in the locker room because there is never any clean ones available when they get out of the shower. We would solve this problem by ensuring there are towels in the locker rooms at all times by having the front desk personnel check and stock the towels on an hourly basis. This would meet the needs of the member. To exceed their expectations, we would order more towels for the facility to ensure that the problem would not happen again and that there would be no excuse for there not being any clean towels. Members need to be involved as much as possible since they are the reason we are in business and their opinion is the most valuable. 2. Member and Customer Retention When members make it a routine to be a part of our facility and continue to keep coming for over a year that is when the members become retained. Members must use the facility consistently on a scheduled basis to be considered a retained member. Retention is taking the member through a plan from orientation to 39

involvement to commitment. By participating in group classes and clubs that our facility offers helps build relationships with the members. When relationships are created, the members tend to want to keep coming more often. Social connections make it easier for the members to stay involved and having another person to exercise with will keep them motivated as well. There are many times when members keep to themselves and often lose interest or motivation because they often get bored. We want to encourage our members to establish relationships with other members and faculty to create a welcoming atmosphere where member can look forward to coming to. Our faculty relationships with the customers are an important part of retention. When fitness instructors, personal trainers, or even front desk personnel establish a relationship with a member, the member should feel a sense of loyalty to them. The members will develop a trust with our faculty in knowing that we care and that they can be comfortable in our facility. When a member is dealing with a personal situation or feels stressed out, they can come to our facility as a way to get away. Our faculty relationship with the member will allow the member to feel comfortable if they need to talk about anything. In order to create and maintain member retention, all our programs must aim towards new, active, inactive, and potential members. We can do this by creating programs that meet the needs of current active members, create a new start for inactive members, welcome new members to become involved, and develop an interest for potential members. To meet the needs of current members we must first be aware of their needs. We will offer suggestion cards for members to fill out and submit anonymously. They can state their concern or suggestion and to 40

what area of the facility it pertains to, or faculty member. We will regularly check these submissions and address the problems as efficient as possible. If we continue to get similar reoccurring suggestions or concerns we will hold a meeting to reevaluate things and find a solution. The meeting will consist of all faculty members and a few volunteer members. The volunteers will represent the diverse populations of different ages and genders. We will also have follow ups with our members to see how satisfied they are with their progression and exercise program. We will then offer new programs for our members so they add diversification into their routine. Members often get bored doing the same exercise routine week after week. Even if the member enjoys the fitness classes they are attending, we will offer different expertise level such as beginner and advance. This way we can use one program to promote another if the member feels the class is becoming easy for them; they can increase the intensity by trying out the more advanced class. By targeting the active members needs they will remain satisfied and remain retained members. To create a new start for the inactive members we will offer communicate with them what their goals are so we are able to target them so they do not lose interest again. We will communicate with the inactive members with a phone call to follow up with them since they have not been attending our facility. We will find out why they stop attending and what we can do to get them to return again. At the time of their return, a staff member will meet with them to go over their goals and interests. We will then introduce the different fitness classes and training sessions that we offer to see what the member may be interested in. We will help the 41

member design an exercise schedule so they make it a part of their weekly routine. By helping the member design a schedule the member will be able to attend the classes or events that work with their schedule. We will also provide them with a schedule of upcoming events and a schedule of all the group fitness classes in case their schedules were to change. The different promotions we will run in our facility will create a type of incentive program for our members for being avid participants. By appreciating and recognizing through promotional rewards, the members will want to keep coming back. It is important that the member stays committed to their program so they become a retained member after time. We will aim towards new members by incorporating them into our facility and showing them their role in our facility. We will show them their importance and how much they matter to us. When a new member joins we will introduce them to our facility to begin. We will give them a tour and discuss the different services we have to offer to our members. By discussing the different group fitness classes, tanning, and personal training sessions we hope to create a new interest for them. For example the new member may have never done a Zumba dance fitness class before and it make create an interest for them to try it. Once we create interest in the member, we can then instruct them. When the member first starts their exercise routine, the fitness instructors or personal trainers will provide them with the information they need to learn the new exercises. Once they adapt to the programs they can then be instructed on how to improve their performance and technique to get better results. We will be sure to make follow-up calls after their first couple visits to see how things are going and keep inviting them back as a way to make 42

them feel welcomed. Involvement is important for the new members as this is a way for them to become more committed to our facility as well as develop relationships with other members and staff. Once the member develops a sense of belonging at our facility and with their program, they can then become more involved. The member may want to try a fitness class or even increase the number of times they attend per week. If they just want to become more involved with whats going on within the facility the can join a committee for any upcoming events we may be hosting. They may even want to become a volunteer to represent their population at the staff meetings. We will have a wall in our facility that we will post photos of the new members, at their discrepancy. The photos will include a brief description of their interests. This way existing members will be able to see who the new members are and if they have similar interests. Then the members will be able to establish new relationships among members, as well as get involved. The new member wall is at the members discrepancy, so they are not obligated to participate. By welcoming the new members and providing them with ways to get involved, they are more likely to become retained members. Potential members are very important as they will increase our revenue. When we gain the potential members interests, our marketing strategies show to be effective. In order to gain potential members we must create an interest in them for our facility. Once they become aware of our facility and what we are, the next step is to introduce diversification and new experiences. We will provide a calendar that includes upcoming events that is accessible to everyone, even non-members. We will provide services that are very diverse, like yoga, kickboxing, Zumba, senior 43

strength & conditioning. We will provide fitness classes for different age groups and fitness levels. One aspect that will is geared toward potential members is the fun phase of their progression. Our goal is to make fitness fun and to make our members enjoy what they are doing. Our fitness instructors and personal trainers create an energetic and motivational atmosphere for the members. We will make fitness fun by having various clubs or groups, such as a running group or a fitness group. These groups will be established by members. There will be bulletin boards located in the locker rooms where these groups can post flyers and information. These groups must speak with management first before posting any information in the facility however. These groups may consist of running groups, nutrition groups, yoga clubs, etc. There are endless possibilities for these clubs or groups, but we recommend these groups to be fitness based if they are going to be promoted in our facility. One aspect to our facility that will be a vital part in a potential members decision is our reliability. We will ensure that our programs will remain consistent with scheduling and progression. Members will rely on programs to be held at the same time each week; this will determine when the members will attend the facility. We will be sure that the schedule for classes will remain consistent for months at a time. Programs will typically change around the time of each season change, typically every three months. However, if a program is popular among members and meets schedule needs then that program will typically remain unchanged. As well as if a fitness class is consistently being filled up and some members are unable to participate, then another class may be added depending on costs. By creating reliability and diversification within our programs, we are able to target these potential members 44

with the goal of them becoming existing members that will evolve into retained members. 3. Generating Revenue A. Strategies and Methods As a fitness organization we will have multiple aspects in our business that is going to create revenue for our facility. We will have our main source of revenue, which are the membership dues. These dues include the monthly membership fees, and membership joining fees. This will accumulate most of our gross revenue. For our facility we will be charging a monthly member fee of $40 a month, which this can vary depending on the company that you work at, and the deal that is in place with your employer. We will also charge the new members that are signing up a $50 processing fee. We will also be implementing multiple different profit centers that will be a great asset to increasing revenue for our facility, as well as increasing members and retaining those members. Also, we will have top of the line customer service, which will help create an atmosphere that our members want to be in. Our marketing and advertising plan will also bring in more members into our facility, again increasing membership dues and generating business revenue. B. Profit Centers We will have multiple profit centers when we start our facility. We will have in place Personal Training, Group Fitness Classes, Tanning, and Silver Sneakers when we first open our facility as profit centers. Our Personal Trainers will complete three different types of sessions with the members for extra fees; we will offer information sessions, one-on-one training sessions, and group training 45

sessions. All of the training sessions will be located in our facility fitness room, depending on the exercises that are being done. The information sessions will be a session that lasts 30 minutes, these sessions will allow the trainer to show the member different exercises and the proper form to do these exercises. At the end of the session the trainer will provide the member with a sample workout program that the member can try on their own. Our hopes are that the member will enjoy the session and make them want to work with the trainer on a routine basis. This will help increase the client base for the trainer, which will increase the revenue that they are bringing into the business and more money for themselves. These information sessions will have a fee of $20. The one-on-one sessions that our trainers offer will be an hour session that will allow the trainer to base the workout program on the fitness level of the member and the goals of the individual being trained. This allows for the greatest fitness benefit, because the workout program will be specialized to the individual. With the highly motivated and educated Personal Trainers that work in our facility, we can provide the best programming and help the members get into regular consultations with the trainer. These one-onone sessions will run the member $50 per session. Our trainers will also offer group-training sessions, this will allow for between 2-5 members in one session. These sessions will last for an hour, at a reduced cost to the member because it will not be as personalized as a one-on-one session. This will allow for members that are friends or co-workers to receive training sessions with a personal trainer together. The trainer will base the workout on fitness level of the individuals in the group as well as the goals of the individuals in the group. We would to push for more group 46

training session with our members because it allows for cheaper training sessions per member, as well as allowing the member to build closer friendship with their training partners. We will have many members that work together, and by using group-training session, we can help co-worker relations. Also, by training with a friend this will create a small competition between the individuals in the group to work harder and push themselves, as well as motivating each other to not slack or skip sessions. These sessions will be advertised more to the members because it is a much more efficient way of training individuals, and will help with member retention, and allowing for lower costs to our members. These group-training sessions will cost $30 per person in a two or three person group, or $25 per person for a four or five person group. We will also have Group Fitness classes as a profit center for the facility; this will allow our members to do an assortment of classes, such as Les Mills classes. The group fitness classes will be an unlimited number of classes for the members; this will cost them an extra $15 per month on top of the monthly membership fees. These classes will allow the members to workout in larger group settings, being instructed by a certified instructor. Tanning will be incorporated in our facility, this will allow the members who like to get their tan on, to pay an unlimited tanning fee on top of the membership fees; this will cost them an extra $10 a month for the unlimited tanning. This will increase our revenue by increasing the fees that our business receives per month. Our business will also accommodate for Silver Sneaker members. This will be at no cost of the member; it is a free membership to senior citizens that receive 47

Medicare. For these members we will offer group fitness classes, as well as full access to the facility. This will bring in more revenue for our company, because every Silver Sneaker member that we have will give us a fee that we are given from the Medicare plans. To accommodate these members, a separate sign up form is given to them. We will then track how many Silver Sneakers members we have at our facility.

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OPERATIONS & FACILITY MANAGEMENT Legal & Insurance Contracts Mission Statement: Our vision is to provide an environment, which is affordable, friendly, and beneficial for all members to achieve their fitness goals. We pride ourselves on providing a service that is exceptional to our members. Name_____________________________________________ Date_________________ Birth Date______________ Address___________________________________________________________ Phone Number_______________________ City_______________________ State______ Zip_________ Employer_______________________________________ Email______________________________________ Signature______________________________________________ Rates: Processing Fee: $50 (One time fee) Individual: $40/month Additional Group Fitness: $15/month (requires gym membership) Additional Tanning Fee: $10/month (requires gym membership) Special Rate: ___________________ Processing Fee___________ Pro-Rate Total____________ First Month Total____________ Employee Initials_____________

Billing Notice By filling out and signing this contract, you are agreeing to have the Dominic Esposito Signature Gym, LLC, charge a monthly fee to your account. If for whatever reason the charge is late or it fails to go through, a late fee of $35.00 will be charged to you.

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Name on Card or Account_____________________________________ Date__________________ Card #____________________________ Check/Savings Account #___________________________ Card Expiration Date_____________ Routing #________________________ Card Type: MC VISA DISC AMEX Signature______________________________________________ Cancelation Policy 1. You may cancel this agreement at anytime if you have not received a copy of this agreement. You may also cancel within three (3) business days of signing this agreement as is stated in the Buyers Rights Law. 2. If the facility is to close for more than thirty (30) days and the facility does not provide you with another facility of equal services within ten (10) miles, you may cancel your membership. You are then able to receive your pro-rated amount depending on the date of cancelation or of closing. 3. You are entitled to cancel your month-to-month agreement if prior notice has been given in writing to the facility. It must be noted that in order to cancel this agreement, you must fall under one of the three policies listed above (1,2, or 3). Cancelations must be done in writing either by email, mail, or in person at the facility. In order to cancel in a timely fashion, you must request that this agreement must be canceled prior to thirty (30) days of the last charge you wish to have. If this request is not done earlier than thirty (30) days of your last requested charge, than the next month will be charged to your account. It is your responsibility than to make sure that the receipt of notice of cancelation falls earlier than what is prescribed above. Account Freeze If you wish to not use the facility for a duration of time, but do not want to cancel your membership, you may Freeze your account. When you freeze your account you are charged only $10.00 per month. This relieves you of paying a processing fee when re-activating your account at a later date. Freezing of your account must be given earlier than a thirty (30) day notice. Disability In the incident that you become disabled to the degree that you cannot use the facility, we can offer immediate account freeze for the member, and reimburse you the pro-rate for the rest of the month. If you want to discontinue membership based 50

on your disability, then you will be charged for the rest of the month, and the cancellation will begin in the following month. Rules and Regulations 1. This facility has the ability to cancel or deduct costs from your account on the conditions that there is: a. Intentional Damage, destruction, and theft of facility property b. Failure to pay dues in any way (ex: expired card) c. Fighting or harassing other members, guests, or employees d. Behavior that is considered inappropriate, harmful, or offensive e. Another violation of policies with regards to this contract which if you sign and agree 2. You are responsible for any guests you bring to the facility. 3. You shall dress in an appropriate manner when using the facility. 4. You agree and accept the risk of using the facility. You assume the risk of injury, accident, death, disability, loss cost, or damage to you or your property. That may occur at the facility. The facility is not responsible if any of these things occur. 5. You agree to pay all fees and charges in accordance with this agreement. 6. The facility and management reserve the right to change any rules, regulations and conditions listed in this contract. All changes will be brought to you in an appropriate manner. Initials__________ Date_________ Buyers Right to Cancel By law, you may cancel this transaction within three (3) business days from todays date or the date in which you finish this contract. The cancelation must notify that you wish to no longer be a member of the facility and must be done in writing. The facility is entitled to keep a portion of your payment if applicable. If the facility goes out of business, you are entitled to a bond or line of credit, which you can collect. Make sure to read your contract carefully. This contract is protected under the Health Club Act as well as by the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the district attorney of the county in which the health club is located. For further details, you may contact the State Bureau of Consumer Protection as well as your local district attorney. Any holder of this contract is subject to all claims and defenses, which the debtor could assert against the seller of goods or services, obtained pursuant hereto or with the proceeds hereof. Recovery hereunder by the debtor shall not exceed amounts paid by the debtor hereunder. I fully understand all terms and conditions in this agreement: Signature_______________________________________________ Date_____________ 51

Insurance For our facility, we will buy professional liability insurance, which helps pay for negligence costs in case a lawsuit is brought to our company because of such an incidence. This should cover a majority if not all of our legal fees in this case. We will also purchase general liability insurance which provides us as a business with both legal defense and money from damages if our employees or our products or services cause or may have caused injury or property damage to a member or guest. Renters Insurance is another insurance that we will need, which will cover any damages to our rented space, such as damages to physical property, property contents, and personal injury within the facility. Also, we will need Workers Compensation, which insures employees that are injured on the job. This will provide wage replacement and medical benefits; with this insurance it protects us on legal complications, because the employees lose the right to sue the employer for the occurrence of the incident. Employment Contractors Most employees in our facility will be considered employment at will, so there will be no contracts that bind the employer to the employee. This does not count for the personal trainers and fitness instructors in the facility, which they will be under contract that shall bind them to the organization. This contract shall hold wages and compensation, as well as clauses. One of these will include a no-competes clause (the employee is not allowed to start an outside business that uses member information that takes revenue from the business). Also, we will have an employee handbook stating the benefits the employee receives, policies for employment, 52

defining inappropriate conduct, etc. For some of the cleaning, we will be employing outside contractors to clean our facility. The contract will include which areas the contractors will clean and are responsible for. Risk Management To stay up to code, we need up to date fire extinguishers that are routinely checked by a certified inspector. We need AED machines available for use in case of emergency. First Aid Kits need to be available and easily accessible for anyone to get too. The owners of the facility, because we will be renting, will need to worry about the fire-alarm systems and sprinkler systems being regularly checked and ready for use. Bathrooms need to be routinely and properly cleaned. We will have signs around the facility that explain club policies, and rules for the members. We will have an emergency plan available at the front desk, in case any situation does occur. The employees will have to know where the plan is located, and already have a base knowledge on the plan upon starting. We will also have an incident and accident report for people to fill out in case an emergency does occur.

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ACCIDENT/INCIDENT REPORT FORM Location of Accident/Incident Name of Injured Person

Time of Accident/Incident

Name of Individual(s) who Dealt with Accident/Incident

Nature of Accident/Incident and Extent of Injury

Details Leading up to Accident/Incident

Details of all Members Involved

Details of Action Taken (Including any First Aid Treatment)

Were any of the Following Contacted Police Ambulance Emergency Contact Doctor ;

All of the Above Facts are a True and Accurate Record of the Accident/Incident Signed: Signed: Date: Date: ; ;

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Equipment Needs Purchasing Equipment Selecting exercise equipment for your facility entails many components. As an owner we needed to look at what function the piece of equipment serves. There are many different types of equipment, which need to be considered when choosing the equipment for our facility. The equipment we choose needs to be suited for the clientele that we will have, and we must look at the benefits of the different types of equipment. Here is a list of different types of equipment that are under consideration for our facility: Free Weights - Allow for free range of motion in any plane, this is for exercises that involve any muscle groups in the body. Free weights consist of: 1. Barbells - Barbells are longer bars, usually for two-handed use, with weight plates added at the ends. There are different types of barbells. In our gym you will find many Olympic bars, which are able to change the weight by adding weighted plates. Olympic barbells weigh 45 pounds and are able to support over 1000 pounds. These barbells have 2-inch diameter holes to hold the plates. The benefits of using barbells for exercising are that they allow for the use of heavier weights, this helps clients gain muscular strength and muscular endurance. 2. Weight Plates - Weight plates are added to barbells to increase the weight on the bar. Weight plates are a necessary gym equipment. Weight plates come in different sizes, shapes and weights; there are 2 55

different types that you will find in our facility. Standard plates have a 2-inch hole that allows you to slip onto the end of the bar. These plates come in weights ranging from 1lbs to 100lbs. The second type of plate are bumper plates, these are coated in rubber. They allow for safer drops to the floor. Bumper plates vary from 10lbs to 55lbs. 3. Dumbbells - Dumbbells are a smaller bar used primarily for single arm use. Dumbbells can vary largely in the weights it can hold. Dumbbells have many benefits, they allow for the performance of motions in any plane. 4. Kettlebells - Kettlebells are a similar in the shape to a cowbell. They have a large portion of its weight away from the handle. Weight Benches - Many exercises for dumbbells and barbells are performed on a weight bench. These benches can be alternated to be flat, decline and incline benches. You dont want a bench to be unstable while being used; so better quality must be purchased to ensure member safety. Cables - Cables machines are pieces of equipment attached with adjustable cables, allowing for the performance of many variations of motions. The cables are attached to a weight stack, using pulleys. An attachment acts as a handle, rope, or bar. Selectorized Weight Machines - Selectorized weight machines are designed for a particular motion. These machines use a cable pulley system, which attaches to a weight stack. These machines have different adjustables, like 56

the seat height or handle placement, this allows for the adjustment of the machine to fit individual body size. Costs of these machines depend on their weight. Weight machines are good for the isolation of muscle groups.

Hammer Strength - Hammer strength is a type of exercise equipment. These


machines are plate loaded instead of relying on cables or pulley systems, like most machines use. Standard plates with 2-inch diameter holes are used on these machines. Having no cable systems with these machines makes them more durable and requiring less maintenance. They allow for a fixed motion. Treadmills - Treadmills allow for walking, jogging or running. Treadmills have the ability to change the speed and incline of slope. A feature that treadmills, as well as most cardio machines have is a heart rate monitor. Treadmills use a belt that is able to rotate, allowing for the locomotion. Recumbent Bikes Recumbent bikes are similar to a bicycle, these allow for the circular rotation of your legs. They place you sitting up with your legs stretched in front of yourself. Elliptical - Elliptical machines are good for low impact exercise, meaning there are small compressive forces on bones and joints. There are two variations of elliptical machines. One has handles that allow for upper- and lower-body simultaneous push and pull movements. The second type does not have handles and is used for a lower body workout. Stepmills - Stepmills are similar to an escalator, which the person is going up the wrong direction escalator. A chain-driven motor controls the step mechanism. The computer controls the system, adjusts the programs and 57

monitors the heart rate and calories burned. Adaptive Motion Trainers - AMTs are a newer type of cardio exercise machines. Adaptive motion trainers signify the development of an elliptical and arc trainer machine, allowing for more freedom of movement. These allow for the motion that the person wants to do. They allow changing the motion from a step climber to a long stride elliptical. These types of cardio machines are very expensive. Stationary Bikes - There are many different models and types of stationary bikes. Stationary bikes are upright bikes with no backrest. Increasing the resistance will increase the intensity of the bike. Rowing Machines - The difference between rowing machines and other cardio machines is that you are in control of the intensity of your workout. The quicker you row, the more intense your cardio workout. Rowing machines are much cheaper then other cardio machines, and are easier to repair. So, by choosing the function we must know our target market, our target market population will be more of the working class. For this set of population we need a balanced amount of strength and cardiovascular equipment in our facility. We also want to put off the image that we are a gym that is for everyone, from the fitness enthusiasts to the beginners. Our goal is to promote fitness and good health to all people, wherever they may be on the health spectrum. So, we want to cater to all individuals and not be specialized in one area.

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Another area of consideration is the cost of the equipment, which is a large factor for purchasing equipment, especially for our business because we are just opening our first facility. So, we plan on purchasing equipment, as well as leasing equipment. We plan on purchasing most of the equipment, with exceptions to the cardio machines and tanning beds. We believe that leasing the cardio and tanning equipment when first opening the business is best because it is a cheaper alternative to buying the equipment. The cardio machines are the best to lease because they are (1) the most expensive equipment to purchase, (2) require the most maintenance, (3) are used the most for prolonged periods, (4) are the more delicate machines having more complex components, and (5) are always advancing and upgrading on there technologies. With leasing some equipment it will keep the costs in the beginning cheaper then if we purchase the equipment. Allowing us to also keep up to date with the cardio machine technology and more flexibility for which cardio machines are used more. The leased equipment will also allow us to renew warranties easier with the company and lessening the stress of age and over use of the machines. Which, the machines that we will be purchasing are more durable and cost efficient to maintain. Our facility will be 10,500 ft2, making us a smaller facility to start. Spacing of the floor plan and equipment is of utmost importance. We need equipment that is versatile, and space saving, so that we are able to have more for less space. We will be utilizing equipment that is multi-purposed, these are machines that can do multiple exercises, or have multiple stations on a single machine. We also want to utilize the free weights in the facility, this is because they are very space saving and 59

versatile. With free weights, you are able to do many different exercises with one piece. We will also be equipped with multiple benches that will be capable to change from a decline angle to a 90-degree angle, this will save a lot of space and allow members to always have equipment available to them. Much of the equipment that we will be purchasing and leasing will be from two well known companies in the fitness industry. York Barbell and Precor will be the companies supplying us will most of the equipment. These two companies are well known for there great quality. These companies are a little more costly then some other companies, but we know that they are worth the extra money. They are known for being very safe and durable equipment. Having safe and durable equipment is all facilities most important aspects when looking for equipment, we need equipment to keep our members as safe as possible. Durability goes along with the ability of your business making money. If we were to buy from a cheaper less durable company, we would be putting all the profits into repairing the items. The companies we are looking at offer the greatest coordination with commercial fitness businesses. They allow for great leasing and purchasing offers, when buying multiple items from them, as well as great maintenance and warranty contracts. This will help our facility, so that we can allow the companies to repair any of the issues with the equipment that may occur. Layout of Equipment 10,500 ft2

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Maintaining Facility Daily Operations Our equipment maintenance will include at least a bi-weekly cleaning of every piece of equipment if not a daily cleaning. This cleaning process will also include an equipment evaluation and check to insure safety. Not only will equipment be checked and cleaned, but also the entire facility will have a to-do list of sorts for employees to follow.

Laundry 1. Check locker rooms for dirty towels and collect them if needed 2. Check front desk and cleaning area for dirty towels and collect them if needed 3. Use blue key for laundry room and bring dirty towels in a basket 4. Load washer to no more than full 5. Insert detergent into washer with prescribed amount (one cap full) 6. Insert Bleach into washer in designated area (one cap full) 7. Set washer to regular load 8. If towels are done being washed, load into dryer 9. Set dryer to normal 10. When unloading the dryer, make sure each towel is folded neatly 11. Separate member towels from cleaning towels

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Locker-rooms 1. ENTER LOCKER ROOM OF OWN SEX ONLY!!!! 2. Make sure no trash or towels are laying around 3. Check soap dispensers and be sure the are working properly and have an adequate amount of soap 4. Make sure paper towel dispensers are full 5. Check trash and plastic recycling, if more than full change bags out 6. Check to make sure showers are running properly

General Housekeeping 1. Check trash bins in entire facility, if more than full empty the bin 2. Check paper towel dispensers, if needed replace rolls (the key is at the front desk) 3. Check Spray bottles, if less than half full refill them in the maintenance room. USE CONTAINER THAT SAYS DISENFECTANT 4. Check dehumidifiers, if full or close to full empty them in maintenance room sink 5. Follow steps to clean and evaluate equipment 6. Check mirrors and windows in the facility, if they need cleaned there is glass cleaner in the maintenance room its the blue stuff in the spray bottle that says glass cleaner on it. Make sure also to use a cleaning towel

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Equipment Cleaning Treadmill Checklist: Week/Month Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Machine Cleaned Weight Bearing Check Test Run Wire Check Electrical Display Check *Staff Member will put their initials on the day and category that they checked Emergency Contact Form Trainer for:

Trainee name_________________ I will train you to have 1. Proper lifting form 2. Proper etiquette and attire in the gym (no horse playing, no flip flops etc.) 3. Proper Respect for other members using the facility Emergency information: Emergency contact 1______________________ Phone number________________________ Address_________________________ Emergency contact 2______________________ Phone number________________________ Address____________________________ 64

(Optional) Doctor_________________________ Doctors phone number____________________________ *I recommend that you visit the doctor to have a physical done if not already completed. My contact information: : Phone number_______________________ Email_____________________________ Trainees Signature_______________________________ Date_________ Needs Assessment Our first thing we need to worry about would be what piece of equipment or area that needs to be assessed. We would first assess all equipment and gather all information into a file for each piece of equipment. After gathering all the information we need, we will move onto determining what the time line would be for each piece of equipment. We will set urgent, short, and long-term goals for the equipment when assessed. After the time line is set, we will be deciding who will be able to fix or clean each piece of equipment as well as deciding how each area will be fixed or clean. We will then move into determining the most effective training protocol and who will teach the employees how to follow the procedure. Lastly, we will evaluate the performance of the maintenance program and assess whether or not change the training, add new things, or keep it.

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Maintenance Needs Assessment for Opening

Needs Analysis Assessment -Select area/equipment for improvement -Gather information -Create file for equipment Choose Topic -Urgent -Short-term -Long-term Choose strategy -Who will be fixing/cleaning equipment? -How will it be done? -How long?

2 Weeks

3 Days

1 Week

Delivering the material 1-2 Weeks -What needs to be learned about the equipment? -Who will teach employee on proper maintenance? -Create effective teaching programs Create Accountability 1-2 Weeks -Evaluation -Were tasks met? -Was the procedure on which the maintenance was done effective? -Possible improvements? -Feed back to employees -How many times should process be repeated?

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Financial Management Financial Statements Equipment Cost

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Balance Sheet

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Income Statement

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INCOME'

AMOUNT'($)'

MONTHS'

Budgeting Break-Even Analysis Monthly Revenue Break-Even Assumptions: Average Percent Variable Cost Estimated Monthly Fixed Costs 10% $32,125 $36,714

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Budget Preparation 1. Gathering Information: We need to look at the growth of the population of the area that we will be opening in. We need to look at the competition that is already located in the area, looking at what is working for them, as well as what we can implement that they do not have that will give our business an edge over them. Looking at the fitness facilities in the State College area, we see that there are an expanding number of gyms. The facilities that are in the area are not entirely similar facilities, but they have similar aspects to their companies, such as group fitness classes are offered in four facilities. There are only two other companies that offer tanning to their members. Only two other companies 73

are working with the Silver Sneakers organization. We also noticed that there are no facilities in this area that will be similar to ours with up to date equipment. We will have top of the line equipment and we will stay up to date on the new technologies and equipment in the future as well. 2. Forecasting Sales: Membership Log

MARCH 95 5 90 470 4750 21375 26125

APRIL 75 5 70 540 3750 24525 28275

MAY 76 6 70 610 3800 27720 31520

JUNE 56 6 50 660 2800 29970 32770

JULY 57 7 50 710 2850 32265 35115

AUGUST 98 8 90 800 4900 36360 41260

SEPTEMBER 88 8 80 880 4400 39960 44360

OCTOBER 69 9 60 940 3450 42705 46155

NOVEMBER 70 10 60 1000 3500 45450 48950

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3. Projecting Profits and Losses: This consists our projected Income Statement, which are our projected income for the first year. By the numbers we figured out, we would be able to hire two part-time Service Reps to work at the front desk after the first 6 months of business. For example, we also project that we will be spending $22,250 of advertising in the first year. We found this amount by finding the projected revenue and decided we will be using about 4% of that revenue for advertising over the first fiscal year. 4. Comparing Against Industry Norms: We were able to look at other businesss norms in the State College area, as well as throughout the country. By seeing these numbers and finding the profits, expenses, and norms with sales we were better equipped to find what would be the best to work with our facility. We also used this information to project our first-years income. 5. Determining Capital Needs: For us to successfully open this facility we, like any starting business, need money. We will need to receive $100,000 from investors, which with our group we will all put $20,000 of our own money into the business as well. This will total to $200,000, this will cover the expenses to open the facility. This will also cover expenses till our company begins to have monthly income, which by our projections should be in our fourth month of being open. Which with our projections, we also plan on paying back $50,000 of the investment money with the first years income. 75

Tax Considerations As a for-profit organization we have to pay multiple taxes. Our main taxes are from Federal Taxes, State Taxes, and Local Taxes. Our business is a partnership organization and we will have to report incomes and taxes for the business, as well as individual taxes. The Federal Taxes that our facility has to pay as a whole will be about 15% of our income in the first year, looking at our projected profit. We fit into this taxing category because of our low income from the first year of being in business. Our business being located in Pennsylvania has a state tax that is about 10% of the income of the business. The Local tax, which would be the tax that we will be paying to College Township, will be about 2% of the income. Evaluation and Expansion We will be located in State College, Pennsylvania in College Township towards the Nittany Mall. We will accommodate for people of all ages, but our main client base will be the working class. Which, there is a high percent of working class citizens living in and around the State College area. Population in this area depends on the time of year, depending on if Penn State semesters are in session. We are hoping to receive a lot of clients that are traveling to or from work because of the large job market in State College. So, we are hoping to get members who also live in Lemont and Bellefonte areas. Though we will be catering to all people from the State College area. The family median income in the State College area is about $60,000. The demographics for this area are somewhat thrown off by the student population. Our future plans are first off to be able to hire employees to perform different duties in the facility. We also want to expand our facility, to be able to accommodate for more 76

profit centers, such as massage, spinning classes, merchandise, etc. We also would like to open a second facility on the other side of town after expanding our current location.

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Wisegeek.com. (n.d.). What does an Operations Manager do? Retrieved January 26, 2013, from Wisegeek website: http://www.wisegeek.org/what-does-anoperations-manager-do.htm

Gold's Gym. (n.d.). General Gym Manager. Retrieved January 26, 2013, from Gold's Gym website: http://www.goldsgym.com/gyms/missouri/kansas-city/516/job-detail/2108 2 Wisegeek.com. (n.d.). What does an Operations Manager do? Retrieved January 26, 2013, from Wisegeek website: http://www.wisegeek.org/what-does-an-operations-manager-do.htm 3 Mayne, D. (2011, June 14). Job Description for a Director of Fitness. Retrieved January 25, 2013, from Livestrong.com website: http://www.livestrong.com/article/300189-job-description-for-adirector-of-fitness/
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