1. Industry Risk Analysis

(1) Policy Risk

Currently, the fitness club industry faces multiple risks in the policy life cycle: During the policy – making stage, due to the stricter supervision of the health industry, new regulations such as the deposit management of prepaid card funds and the mandatory certification of coach qualifications may be introduced rapidly, leading to a sharp increase in compliance costs. During the implementation stage, there are differences in law – enforcement intensity across regions. For example, the uncertainty of fire safety acceptance standards or business area restrictions may cause repeated investment in store renovations. During the policy evaluation stage, if there are public opinion events such as gym closures and defrauding customers, it is likely to trigger the tightening of consumer rights protection policies. Mandatory third – party custody of prepaid payments or the introduction of a consumer protection fund system will directly squeeze the cash flow. During the policy adjustment or termination stage, the existing transitional policies such as rent subsidies and tax incentives for the sports industry may be phased out. Coupled with the policy tilt towards community gyms, the cost advantage of traditional commercial gyms will be diluted.

(2) Economic Risk

Under the fluctuations of the economic cycle, the fitness club industry is squeezed by both the contraction of consumer demand and the rise of operating costs. On the one hand, during the economic downturn, the disposable income of residents decreases, and non – essential health consumption is the first to be cut. The renewal rate of the traditional annual prepaid card model declines. On the other hand, rigid expenditures such as property rent, equipment depreciation, and labor costs continue to rise during the period of economic stagflation. Value – added services such as personal training courses and group exercise classes are difficult to command a premium due to homogeneous competition, and the gross profit margin is continuously compressed. New entrepreneurs not only have to compete against the diversion pressure from low – cost fitness pods and online courses but also face the price war launched by existing clubs to maintain cash flow, making it extremely difficult to balance the cash flow.

(3) Social Risk

From the perspective of inter – generational consumption, the fitness club industry faces the risk of inter – generational demand fragmentation. Generation Z and millennial consumers tend to choose digital and fragmented fitness models (such as online courses and services combined with smart devices), which weakens the attractiveness of the traditional annual card model. Although the middle – aged group maintains the habit of offline fitness, their consumption power is squeezed by the economic downturn, and the renewal rate continues to decline. At the same time, the industry is in a dilemma of “not meeting the needs of either end” – it is difficult to meet the upgraded needs of the younger generation for social attributes and technological experience and cannot break into the health management market for the elderly. Coupled with the rigid increase in commercial real estate rent, the inter – generational consumption gap is accelerating the reshuffle of the industry.

(4) Legal Risk

The current legal risks in the fitness club industry are concentrated in the aspects of compliance management and liability assumption. Entrepreneurs need to ensure that employee contracts and social insurance payments comply with the Labor Law to prevent the risk of labor arbitration. They should strictly implement the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law to prevent disputes over prepaid card consumption and refund issues and avoid administrative penalties due to false advertising. They should comply with the Regulations on the Hygiene Management of Public Places, implement equipment disinfection and safety protection measures, and prevent civil compensation caused by members’ sports injuries. At the same time, they need to standardize the process of collecting and using members’ data in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Law to prevent the risk of privacy leakage. Against the background of stricter industry supervision, the costs of administrative licensing procedures such as obtaining qualifications and fire safety acceptance are rising. Breach of contract or illegal acts will directly lead to business interruption or high fines.

2. Entrepreneurship Guide

(1) Suggestions on Entrepreneurship Opportunities

Currently, entrepreneurship opportunities in the fitness club industry focus on the in – depth development of niche markets and technology integration. Launch vertical course systems for postpartum women, middle – aged and elderly groups, and corporate health management. Build an intelligent fitness management system integrating 24 – hour unattended service, AI body posture assessment, and live – streaming workout functions. Combine with the community – based venue operation model, and quickly acquire customers through B – end cooperation channels such as corporate health service procurement and community health station joint operations. Focus on the blank spots within a 500 – meter living circle around emerging residential areas and industrial parks in second – tier cities. Simultaneously develop a fitness data tracking mini – program to enhance user stickiness. Use flexible payment mechanisms (such as transferring single – visit cards and corporate subsidy accounts) to lower the consumption threshold.

(2) Suggestions on Entrepreneurship Resources

Based on Timmons’ theory of the entrepreneurial process, fitness club entrepreneurs should focus on the leveraged integration of resources. First, reduce the costs of venue decoration and customer acquisition through resource replacement or cross – industry cooperation (such as co – branded benefits with healthy catering and sports equipment brands). Adopt intelligent fitness equipment (such as IoT – enabled equipment and AI body scanners) to achieve asset – light operation and reduce heavy hardware investment. Take advantage of the community space renovation policy and choose existing commercial venues with flexible leases (such as supermarket annexes and industrial park fitness corners). Tap the value of fitness coaches’ private domain traffic and design a tiered member referral mechanism (such as exchanging new – member – brought – in class hours). Access the government’s national fitness subsidy list and cooperate with health industry parks to obtain policy resources (such as tax exemptions and training subsidies). The key is to transform high – value resources (coaches and user data) into reusable operational assets through modular technology development and resource combination.

(3) Suggestions on Entrepreneurship Teams

Fitness club entrepreneurs should first recruit members with fitness coach qualifications, operational management experience, and online marketing capabilities to form a team structure with complementary skills in technology, management, and marketing. The founder should lead the establishment of a clear equity distribution mechanism and a system of job responsibilities and rights to maintain the stability of the core team. At the same time, clarify the exit mechanism through a partnership agreement. In daily management, implement the system of “monthly goal breakdown + weekly meeting review”, and quickly optimize the service process based on member data feedback. In view of the high turnover rate in the industry, establish a coach grading training system and a special post for maintaining member relationships. Reduce the risk of talent shortage through the “mentorship” model of “senior – leading – junior”. Focus on the reserve of compound – type talents with both Internet operation thinking and traditional service awareness.

(4) Suggestions on Entrepreneurship Risks

Fitness club entrepreneurs should first accurately position the target customer group and select the location to avoid the risk of homogeneous competition. Establish a member – grading service system to improve the retention rate and reduce the risk of customer loss. Strictly control the costs of rent, equipment maintenance, and coach labor. Use intelligent equipment to optimize the scheduling efficiency. Strengthen legal compliance review to ensure that business licenses (such as hygiene permits and fire safety acceptance) and employee labor contracts are legal and compliant. Establish an emergency reserve fund for more than three months to avoid cash – flow disruption. Regularly conduct benchmarking of competitors’ operational data and dynamically adjust the pricing of personal training courses and marketing strategies to disperse the risk of a single profit model. Transfer accidental losses through equipment liability insurance and public liability insurance, and establish customer health records to avoid disputes over sports injuries.