When we first started expanding our camps in Georgia and Ohio, local gyms weren't too thrilled to see us open up a camp in town.
Why?Our workouts were so different and so effective that we started stealing their clients!Unlike many of the gym's clients, our campers were sweating their butts off, reaching new fitness goals, and loving the accountability that stemmed from the camp camaraderie.
So what was so special about our camps?Here's our brief story: My wife and I both started our careers teaching in inner-city schools in Atlanta, and we gained valuable experience coaching a variety of sports.
With that experience, we started a children's fitness company that focused on group exercise in after-school programs, etc.
As the business took off, we saw a new niche developing - people kept asking us if we ran fitness programs for adults.
We are both certified personal trainers and former collegiate athletes, but up until then, most of our work had been with children.
Within a few months, however, we started marketing our first adult fitness camp with help from a few trainers we knew from the gym (those trainers now make up our core team).
Our first camp drew 18 people - some of them freebie friends and some of them partial payment campers.
We were just looking to get people in the doors.
Overall, it went well, but we made a ton of mistakes that we improved on over the next two or three camps.
By the fourth camp, our numbers had tripled, and the camp was running smoothly.
By the fifth camp, we were making more money than we had teaching, and we made the decision to run camps full-time.
That decision paid off immediately as we were able to devote more time to marketing, recruitment, and planning which launched our attendance well over 100 campers.
Years later, we still run a few camps ourselves, but most of our work is dedicated towards helping people start their own camps.
Use these 3 tips when planning your own boot camps! 1.
Dynamite workouts - Our workouts are well planned and organized to accommodate every fitness level.
This is a real key to success because both the "super athletes" and out of shape folks can co-exist.
We'll scale reps or rounds to suit each level, but everyone is still doing the same workout! 2.
Building Camaraderie - This is something we work on from day one and it takes time to create.
Here's a simple tip but many camps overlook it: Know people's names!Participants need to know that they are not just a number.
3.
Have fun - Your workouts should be challenging, but there are many things that you can add to your camps to make them fun as well.
Team games, "camper of the week" awards, social outings are all components that create a fun experience.
Bottom line - running fitness camps can be extremely profitable, but if that is your only motive, you may want to reconsider.
Helping people get fit and have fun makes the business extremely special!