FRANCHISE FIT
Operating as a personal trainer is entirely different from running a franchise, says award-winning Kate Davidson.
The story of one journey from personal training to award-winning franchisee.
It was a series of decisions and events that led Kate from her role in public service to business ownership, and she has made the most of her unexpected journey.
Studying health and fitness while still in the public service led her to a PT role with a local studio. Just one year later and Kate and her husband were on the move, relocating for his career from Brisbane to Noosa. Kate had no idea this location shift would take her down the path to being an award-winning franchisee.
“That’s when I came across EFM Health Clubs. I was doing bootcamp and personal training.”
Kate had notched up 10 months as a casual fitness coach at the local EFM club when the franchisee offered to sell her the business, and it was just too tempting to resist.
“I hadn’t really thought properly about running my own business but it’s always in the back of your mind. It is hard to run a PT business, it’s hard to keep up your numbers, but I’d never really taken any steps towards it,” she says.
It proved to be the right move, even though there were challenges.
“The studio had been open for seven and a half years when I took over. The first challenge was the transition. In the members’ mind I had gone from part-time casual coach to new owner. The previous owner was very popular and no one had any idea he was selling.
“I knew everybody but people don’t like change. It took some members a little while to adapt.”
Kate says the transition from casual coach to fullyfledged business owner was quite quick – and she learned fast how different the two roles are.
“Running a PT business isn’t like running a franchise. I was learning everything on the job. We did have franchise training and I spent a lot of time with the support office. EFM does have lots of internal processes and systems that work well and are user-friendly. You can call anyone at any time. But there’s a lot to learn,” she admits. “But there is so much support and financial systems, membership-based systems, social media,
EFM deals with the website. They provide us with promo details and marketing materials. There’s a lot of additional work and it’s very helpful to have the extras.”
Kate had no second thoughts about her choice of business, or the brand, and because she had done thorough due diligence before actually buying the franchise, she was confident in her choice.
“The first time I came across the model, I loved it. We provide much more than a standard gym service. We provide a personalised fitness coaching service to every person in a group environment, but one-on-one service with a personal trainer. We write a workout every day, people come when they like it. They work at their own pace.”
Now she loves the franchising model of business, but Kate admits that she was quite ignorant about it at first.
“I always thought of it as fast-food and coffee chains. I never thought a small business like this could be a franchise. I started to realise how many local businesses are run by franchisees.”
It was early in 2019 when Kate’s journey to award status began. First nominated in the Franchise Council of Australia’s Queensland awards, Kate’s regional win put her in the running for the national award. So in October, along with other franchisee hopefuls, Kate attended the gala dinner and was named the top Single Unit Franchisee with less than two staff. It’s an accolade that thrills her.
“I’m so proud and the members are so proud. Winning the award was amazing, but ever since my members have been really congratulatory. It makes me confident I am doing the right thing, it makes me so happy.”
Kate’s got her feet on the ground, though, and knows there is much more to business than scooping up awards.
“My biggest achievement has been seeing the club really successful. I have really good attendance and retention rates, that means clients are enjoying their membership, they are staying with us. People vote with their feet, so people are telling me they are happy with the service.”
The figures speak for themselves. Although the first year proved tough, in 2017–18 the business catapulted forward with 19 per cent growth, and from 2018–19 there was a further 11 per cent growth.
Kate believes her people-first approach is behind her success.
“I focus on how many members I want to have involved. I break that down into how many I need to speak in a week, how many I need to offer a trial to, and then how many I need to convert.
“It works better for me, in terms of interaction with people. I focus on people and the staff I work with, that’s how my business plan works.”
The business has been very dependent on her skills, and she’s been hands-on coaching. She’s ready to grow, but not yet in a second location. Kate’s immediate goal is to provide more variety for members in the training, and she has been able to take on three casual trainers whose combined hours are still less than one full-time role.
Financially, being a franchisee has had a big impact on her life particularly now the business is profitable, Kate reports.
“We’re hoping to buy a house in 2020, which is something I haven’t been able to save for before.”
Running a successful franchise has also had other personal positive effects, she says.
“It’s made me much more confident in my abilities, and that makes me a happier person in general.”