Many fitness instructors aspire to own and run their own studio from a room in their home and for many the attractions of running such a business.
Advantages include
- No additional Rent and commercial business rates taking away profit
- Maximizing time availability to see clients between other commitments
- Multi-tasking with domestic work and family matters between clients
- No long commute to and from work
- More time with the family
Disadvantages include
- Work life encroaching on family life
- Isolation and loneliness
- Potential for poor professional appearance
- Distractions
- Not always an option due to lack of space
However when all of this is taken into account – some of the happiest and financially secure studio owners run studios from their homes and the number of studio owners who wish they had never moved out of their home studios to take on larger commercial properties is considerable.
What if there was a third way? A way in which you can have all the advantages with few of the disadvantages? Imagine if you had your own purpose built fitness studio in your garden. A garden gym or garden pilates studio at the bottom of your garden, fitness at your fingertips. The sheer delight on the faces of your clients when you show them round your bespoke garden gym for the first time. Warm and comfortable all year round, specialist pilates or gym equipment, the prestige associated with making your customers feel special. The third way works for personal gym users too. No more expensive subscriptions, getting changed before forcing yourself to take the tube or car to the gym. Your very own garden gym holds many advantages, not to mention that your personal fitness instructor can come to you.
Establishing a Home fitness and Pilates business
Case Study Joselyn Lee North London 6mL x 4mW x 2.7mH
Joselyn had been running her PT business for a while in a converted garage at home. The image immediately springs to mind of a tiny garage with low ceilings and concrete walls. This was far from it, Jos’s home gym was well appointed and well equipped but the problem was her business had expanded and it was too small. There were also limitations on the type of equipment and exercise that could be done due to the low ceiling height.
In November 2017 she decided to enquire about building a new bespoke gym at the bottom of her garden. After meeting a client of My Eco Space at a posh London party she was encouraged to speak to them to see what could be achieved.
The logical area to building her new gym was at the bottom of her garden but there were tow problems. First she had only just had a new very expensive decking area installed and second, behind the decking the ground level sloped away dramatically so she was concerned about the cost of foundations.
It was eventually decided to cut away part of the decking and site the base on ground screws which allowed the building to be raised at the back and fit seamlessly against the decking.
The most important aspect of building a garden gym weather for business or pleasure is making sure it’s sized correctly. Too small and you won’t fit your equipment in and too large and your using up valuable garden space and also paying more than you need. It’s also important that you mention how many people will use the gym at the same time. It’s wise to seek out a gym supplier that has a unique cooperation with industry leading home gym equipment manufacturers as they often offer a FREE gym design service ensuring that the optimum size gym is specified. That way you don’t pay for more than you need. It is definitely worth the effort to find a company with such a cooperation as some offer an equipment induction course to ensure you use it safely and effectively giving you more bang for your bucks.
Jos Lee had an idea of the size but not certain so before going any further she decided to use a gym design service to make sure all her equipment fit in and also to ensure the ceiling height was adequate. There are also considerations on the type of flooring, wall covering and equipment. Flooring was very important to Jos and she went for a made to measure high impact 10mm rubber gym flooring for durability and acoustic properties. Then there’s heating which is where it’s important to know how many people will use your gym. Jos would have on average 7 people in her 6m x 4m gym so she decided on climate control as her preferred choice
“My Eco Space built my beautiful cedar wood gym last year! I would absolutely recommend the company to everyone. They are a very professional company with a prompt service and excellent quality products throughout.”
