Aerobics -- Dancing For Profit

Although the national obsession for group exercise has begun to level off, estimates claim 23 million Americans participate in aerobics in health clubs and exercise gyms.

This includes people enrolled in programs run from community facilities, YMCAs, and gyms, to dance studios in shopping malls.

This figure represents 10% of the U.S. population who exercise occasionally, definitely a fraction of what it used to be 10 years ago when the craze was at its peak and America was waking up to the urgent message of the importance of exercise.

NEW MARKETS

The decline of enrollment-based fitness programs has forced many studios to expand their services.

For example, some jazz exercise studios now offer skin care and nutritional counseling. Some offer shiatsu (accupressure)classes.

The biggest problems for any stationary fitness program is being able to organize classes that work around the schedule of its potential clients. The interest in fitness remains. The market did not dwindle as the figures suggest. The biggest challenge in this industry to identify new ways to deliver its services to the market.

BUNS OF STEEL

If you are an aspiring exercise entrepreneur, here are three avenues by which you can deliver and sell your services to your market:

• CORPORATE CONTRACTS
  Many businesses recognize that healthy employees are productive employees, something the Japanese realized decades ago. You can send instructors to a business location to conduct exercise classes that are subsidized by the employer
• SATELLITE CLASSES
  You can lease community or church facilities, recreational centers or school gymnasiums and hold classes for people in that community. Some very large apartment complexes have halls or function areas where classes can be held.
• VIDEOS
  Students who attend your class once can continue the routine on their own time. That's the convenience video can offer. Instead of coming to an organized exercise class, people will attend an exercise class in front of their VCRs. In fact, a video tape can be an excellent add-on product to corporate contracts, satellite classes, or studio classes.