by Lloyd Shaw
There are a number of ways to do this , become a part of an organized group
or company , or be a complete independent and go it alone. There are plenty
of machines to choose from now , and with an unbiased review site like this
you can now make a good choice with some degree of confidence. The outwardly
most logical conclusion would be to say , I have basically what I need , so
why be involved with anybody else.
The easy answer to that is this , TRAINING and SUPPORT ..
The programs and other advice given on this site may give you a good
indications of what to do and not what to do , but it must be understood
that I only graze the surface of what you need to know , when you have a
customer come in with a problem , you cant say come back later or wait and I
"might" have an answer for you , while you jump online . And we certainly
wont answer loads of technical questions on here , as this site is here for
the consumer . If we full it up with questions or conversations about
complicated medical issues we lose our readers very quickly. And I hope
no-one ever tries to abuse our help for commercial gain.
But the manufacturer will help me you then say , after all I have spent all
this money ? The fact is that is not seen as their job at present so any
help will be limited and nowhere near enough to run a business on.
This is not a semantic argument , I have witnessed the result of no basic
training combined with no support . A perfect example of this was a studio
here in N.Z. This was run by licensed physios who also run a successful
Pilates company. So they had plenty of knowledge between them and did not
lack experience. They had VibroGym Pro units , so the machines were as good
as you could buy at the time , so no problem there. The exact reason for it
not working was given on this forum by the owner himself ,
"lack of support , no training and no-one to ring ".
Think about this.......
Once you decide to start earning money off a machine , it stops just being a
machine and becomes a "durable product that produces an income " . It might
be seen as the center of your business but that is not the case , you are
the center of your business , without you the machine is worth less than
nothing. Everything you are about to spend relies solely on how you will
handle every situation and how confidently you can project yourself to the
consumer.
Lets look at the basic outlay of a studio in the order of price......
(1) Cost of machines.
(2) Fitting out of premises.
(3) Payment systems and/or computer system for client information , even a
manual system will cost in set up.
(4) Marketing material, flyers , booklets , signage.
(5) Phone , internet.
Then you have the ongoing lease/rental and maybe wages if you are not doing
all hrs yourself. If you sit down and actually work out how much goes into
setting up and run a commercial operation you will find there is no cheap
way of doing it , its going to cost you a fair chunk no matter how its done.
Getting basic training will give you the confidence to open your doors to
the public and hit the ground running , and the ongoing support will give
you the confidence to know when you get up in the morning that no matter who
comes in today , you can give them an answer. This of course is no guarantee
of success , but the mere fact you are reading this site means you really do
understand the power of information anyway.
I hope all companies involved in the commercial sector see the value in
protecting their customers and start offering initial training and support,
yes it may cost a little more than just buying a machine off the shelf ,
but at least the smaller independent studio has the option then of some form
of backup. In the mean time if the company you decide to deal with does not
even offer this service , ask why. Sometimes a little pressure from you
while you are still just a consumer is enough to get them moving in the
right direction.
