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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
Sometimes the best way to make a business more successful is to narrow its focus, or in other words, simplify. For local businessman Keith Larsen, owner of the Utah Planet Fitness franchise, having such a narrow focus has been useful.
Most people have three main complaints about joining a gym: an expensive monthly cost, long contracts and the uncomfortable feeling of working out around serious body builders. Planet Fitness is designed to be a gym that appeals to everyone with a low monthly fee — only $10 — no contracts and top-of-the-line equipment. Its motto is "the judgment-free zone."
Keith tells me the idea for Planet Fitness was a result of a desire for expansion. In 2006, Keith and two partners, Dell Loy Hansen and Steve Vucovith, were operating five successful gyms in Utah and Idaho. They wanted to expand and started searching for a gym concept that would enable them to do so.
Once he discovered the Planet Fitness franchise, Keith knew it was exactly what the partners had been searching for. He purchased the rights for both Utah and Idaho, and the first Planet Fitness opened in Logan three years ago. Since that time, three more locations have opened in Utah and Idaho. Keith hopes to eventually expand that number to 10 gyms in each state.
Keith feels Planet Fitness has experienced such great success because the gyms are designed to welcome anybody who wants to exercise. In fact, at the $10 price point, there is no room for sales commissions, leaving the managers to be rewarded not for the amount of memberships they sell, but for the facility's cleanliness and having properly functioning equipment. Planet Fitness has more than 280 facilities nationwide with solid plans to continue to expand.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
