How Anytime Fitness Found a Winning Way in Fitness

Becoming a franchisee has its benefits, and a stable support system with procedural guidelines is one of them. You can be the business owner you want, but you don’t have to figure out every detail on your own.

Chuck Runyon, CEO of Anytime Fitness, discussed how the brand has managed to succeed in the 24-hour fitness segment in franchising.

Before founding Anytime Fitness, Runyon and his partner spent several years doing consulting work for traditional big-box fitness centers. During those years, they spent countless hours speaking with members about what they really wanted in a gym. They kept hearing the same things over and over again: A friendly, welcoming club atmosphere; clean and well-maintained equipment; affordable membership fees and convenient hours; and most importantly, a supportive and knowledgeable staff.

Anytime Fitness designed smaller gyms so franchisees could focus on serving their members instead of empty spaces. They also empowered their franchisees and members with convenience, a supportive community, and ongoing health and business coaching.

• The keys to becoming the fastest-growing health club franchise include giving members unlimited access to all 4,000 clubs with a key fob, providing feelings of independence and trust.
• Another key is finding the best franchisees in the world, who share a genuine passion for helping others in their community lead healthier, happier lives.

In the early years, Anytime Fitness had to deal with antiquated legislation in various states and countries that prohibited their business model from growing. However, they fought hard to educate policymakers and overturned bad legislation, allowing the brand to thrive in all 50 states and 30 countries.

The brand differentiates itself by listening to its best franchise owners and balancing standardization and innovation to foster entrepreneurialism within its network. When creative ideas are proven to increase efficiency or member satisfaction, they enable their best franchisees to pull the brand forward with their success.