catlady
Cheer Parent
- Jun 6, 2012
- 2,817
- 6,228
Ok... I'll try to answer them. Hahah...
Average local income in this area is 75,000$ annual, medium city (surrounded by a lot of other cities), I'm not sure about divorce rate, I'm not sure about their operating costs...I am the ONLY cheer person (no help from their employees AT ALL) no benefits....
The hours suck but I didn't pick them...They did. They shut the gym down at 7:30 every day. The athletes can bring friends whenever they want :) and we have fun bring a friend activities and days too. Yes we have performed at a few charity events to promote and our girls are active in the community doing charity work as a team. I wrote the contract (which is why I own the rights) but it is up and I have not renewed it. I have created flyers and flyered everywhere. Put some in the private schools in the area (public does not allow becausew e are not nonprofit) I have taken out ads on facebook and google, and offered deals on yelp and groupon, tried living social but they said no (not big enough in this area yet).... I truly believe it is just the cost and the fact that the gym does next to nothing to support the cheer team...
Thank you :) At least I know I'm not the only one... I think I'm going to look into leaving the gym and joining another and just tell the girls that this is where I am going if they want to come...
Here's the catlady's business 2 cents......When you look for a new gym, find out what time the schools let out in the surrounding area. Our HS's get out at 3:30 PM, MS's get out at 4:15 PM and elementary at 2:30 PM. Most of the after school activities for our HS end between 5:30-6:00 PM, on top of that, many older siblings have to watch the younger until the parents get home. Even if your schools get out earlier, your hours of 4:00-7:00 PM, three days a week are not work friendly. I understand that is the gyms hours and they chose your hours, but the harsh reality is you accepted to sublease their space at those times. Secondly, subleasing isn't cheap, you are not only helping pay for the monthly lease, but also, everything associated with just running the building in general from taxes, utilities, maintenance, supplies, etc. Businesses that sublease space generally are not responsible for providing support, employees or marketing, unless it was otherwise agreed upon in the terms of your contract.
Honestly, you are subleasing and you get to keep the rights to your teams, your price is reasonable at a yearly rate of $2760. Your take of $74 per student may seem low, but the gym owners take is pretty low considering your current enrollment. Apples to apples, our gyms yearly tuition is about $500 more than yours, but ours does include music and choreography. Our uniform, warm ups, bag, shoes, bows, gym wear and comp fees are substantially more with an average income that is comparable. You had some great marketing ideas, but your customers spreading the word is going to help you out the most. Look at those hours and the product you are providing. If not, are you in an area that understands competitive cheer? Educating the public is a whole different ballgame.