Congratulations on opening your gym. Maybe you just opened or maybe you’ve been in business for a couple months now. Either way, congrats. Most small businesses don’t succeed, so you’re doing something right. Now that you’ve got some money to spend, you’re thinking about adding some TVs to your facility. Do YOU want to add TVs or have people been requesting them? Do you THINK you need TVs or do you really need them? Those are just a couple questions to ask yourself when you decide to make the TV investment. Below are three more questions to ask yourself before you go out about spend $5000 on a gym entertainment system. As we see it, there are some times when adding TVs to your gym make sense. However, more often than not, adding sweet new gym equipment is a better investment.

Will the TVs be Adding Anything to the Environment?

One of the first things you want to ask yourself (or your managers), is if the TVs are going to be adding an aesthetic to your workout environment. If you’ve got a big line of TVs down the middle of your gym, you’re not really doing your gym any favors in the looks department. If you decide to include TVs, think about adding them to the wall on the far-side of your business. This way, if people want to watch TV, they can do so, but they’re not going to plant themselves in the middle of your workout floor. A gym isn’t too impressive when half the members are staring at the TV with their jaw on the floor.

Do Your Members Enjoy Them or Tolerate Them?

Before you make the purchase, think about doing a members survey with your current member’s base. This will pay off in two ways. One, you’ll get the answer directly from the people that will be taking advantage of them. If you’re front desk help keeping suggesting that you put TVs in the gym, maybe it’s because they’re bored and/or lazy at the front desk. However, if your members say that they’d like to have a few TVs in your facility, maybe it’s a worthwhile investment. The second benefit of asking your members is that they will feel appreciated by the fact that you asked for their opinion. Most businesses don’t care too much about their clients, so you’ll be showing them that you’re different.

Is There a Way the Money Could be Better Spent?

Purchasing 10+ 42″ HD plasma TVs is going to set you back several thousand dollars. A word of warning. If you’re not going to outfit your entire business at the same time, don’t do it at all. Adding just one TV will look cheap and might make your current members worry about your liquidity and funding. That said, be prepared to spend $5000 on your TV investment. Now, think about other ways you could spend $5000. That’s a lot of new equipment. That’s fitness center management software. There’re a lot of ways that they money can be spent. Make sure you’re investing your money wisely in your business and make sure you keep some reserves as well.

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