Business experts and Gym Kix owners Carrie Harris and Stephanie Beveridge
Number seven on our list is pricing your services! Pricing your service (tuition) is extremely important. “How much is it?” is usually the first question a customer will ask and—while you don’t want them to gasp for air at your answer—you want to be profitable and competitive with your market.
Your tuition cannot out-price your target market, yet a profit for your company must be made in order to keep your lights on. There are several approaches to pricing; ours is just one version for making pricing decisions that take into account your costs, the effects of competition and the customer’s perception of value.
Definitions:
- Cost is the total of the fixed and variable expenses (costs to you) to provide your service. (Rent, payroll, utilities, etc…)
- Price is the selling price per unit (monthly, 6-week session, a year etc…) customers pay for your service.
Price has to be set higher than the cost in order to turn a profit. How the customer perceives the value of your service determines the maximum price customers will pay.
Perceived value is created by an established reputation, marketing messages and your facility’s environment/personality. What do parents want for their children? What do parents value? Students learn life lessons, goal setting, courage, the humbleness of defeat and the glory of winning, etc. Parents know that these traits are valuable to their children and will more likely pay for those skills in addition to their child learning a back handspring. How are you different and what does your gym do better than your competitor? This will play into perceived value as well because your customer will compare you to other gyms.
Use cost-based pricing along with value-based pricing to come up with a price that is fair to your customer and profitable for you!
–Carrie Harris & Stephanie Beveridge
Past posts:
Starting a Gym 101: Licenses, Permits & Insurance
Starting a Gym 101: All Things Legal
Starting a Gym 101: Making the Big Decisions
Starting a Gym 101: Writing a Business Plan
Starting a Gym 101: Legal Forms of Business Ownership
Business experts and Gym Kix owners Carrie Harris and Stephanie Beveridge
Number six on our checklist of key steps that every business should take to start their business on the right track is to get all necessary licenses, permits and insurance. There is so much to do when opening a business that sometimes people overlook the important legal requirements. In addition to the information we are providing below, please seek help from your city’s chamber of commerce, a lawyer or other trade associations serving the cheerleading industry.
Federal Requirements
With the exception of Sole Proprietors, most business types must apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN).
Most businesses do not require a federal license or permit.
State Requirements
Business licensing requirements vary from state to state; however, we have listed the most common types below:
Business Licenses: A state business license is the most important document required for tax purposes and conducting other basic business functions.
Occupations and Professions: State licenses are frequently required for occupations – the cheerleading profession does not have this requirement; however, if you have a daycare type facility (keeping children for over 3 hours usually) you may want to check your state requirement.
Licenses Based on Products Sold: Some state licensing requirements are based on the product sold.
Tax Registration: If the state in which you operate has a state income tax, you’ll have to register and obtain an employer identification number from your state’s Department of Revenue or Treasury Department. If you’re engaging in retail sales, you will need to obtain a sales tax license.
Trade Name Registration: If your business will only be operated in your local community, registering your company name with the state may be sufficient.
Employer Registrations: If you have any employees, you’ll probably be required to make unemployment insurance contributions.
–Carrie Harris & Stephanie Beveridge
Past posts:
Starting a Gym 101: All Things Legal
Starting a Gym 101: Making the Big Decisions
Starting a Gym 101: Writing a Business Plan
Starting a Gym 101: Legal Forms of Business Ownership
Were you intrigued by our journaling article? That’s not surprising—after all, journaling isn’t only helpful for athletes. If you’re a cheer professional whose mind is constantly racing, it might be time for a “brain drain”—aka writing morning pages.
The practice of writing morning pages is a tenet of The Artist’s Way, a creativity book and lifestyle pioneered by Julia Cameron. The idea is simple: write three pages every morning upon waking to prepare for the day ahead. It doesn’t matter what you write, as long as you write. “It allows you to clear your mind for the day and becomes a moving meditation,” says Kelly Morgan, who has taught an Artist’s Way-inspired course for 20 years. “It helps you get past some of the calcified beliefs you have about your world. This means getting into the present, forgetting about everything else.”
Much like any new endeavor, journaling takes a bit of practice at first. However, the work is often worth it, as Morgan notes that writing morning pages serves to “weed out” some of the negativity and tendency to judge. “Journaling enables people to open up to a different vision, to seeing themselves in a new way,” she says.
In this week’s guest post, Danielle McAnn from White Echo shares her top social media tips for cheer professionals:
For those who feel daunted by the prospect of engaging their audience on this new medium, here are some basic and important tips to keep your social media feed above average.
Keep regular: To keep in contact with your audience and keep their attention, you will have to establish a satisfactory rhythm. This means updating really regularly, as a part of your strategy. Updating regularly does not mean, however, that you should bombard your followers with multiple updates everyday, because overdoing it will result in being unfollowed. Regular updates means finding a satisfactory timeframe and sticking to it. Market research shows that once every two days works well. It may vary on your audience, however, so get in contact with a social media expert for more information.
Quality and quantity: Don’t confuse regular updates with updates for the sake of updates. Everything you post should be good quality. Each time you post, ask yourself how it might be considered “value-added” for your reader. Is it funny? Is it interesting or informative? Does it offer them important information or an attractive deal? If you were a follower, would you click on this update? Would you like to be a part of what they are posting about? Look around at the social media of your competitors, and take what you like from their approach.
Use multimedia: Don’t make all of your updates text-based—mix other forms of media in there too, like images and videos. These are proven to be very popular and good at boosting social media attention.
At this point, who isn’t wearing Rebel Athletic? From Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders to Cheer Athletics, Rebel Athletic custom uniforms, practice wear and warm-up designs are dominating the way cheerleaders express themselves—bringing a fresh breath of innovation to all-star gyms, competitions, and schools everywhere.
Couture Innovation. Rebel has set the new standard as “the innovators of cheer apparel.” They were the first to introduce the BodySkort©, a one-piece fitted uniform featuring a skort which provides the athlete superior movement and comfort for stunting and tumbling, but is also super-flattering. Rebel recently unveiled the Full-Body Appliqué on Cheer Athletics’ Panthers Uniform at 2013 Worlds (the most talked about uniform of the weekend)! After USASF announced new rules for cropped uniforms, Rebel released The Illusion Midriff© featuring Fleshtone Lycra to comply with the new rules while paving the way for a new revolution of full length uniforms at competitions. Total Rebels.
Custom Designs. The Rebel design process embodies a pro-customer approach, allowing personalized one-on-one consultations with their designers so that you can be a part of the design process from start to finish. Each of their designers possesses a high-fashion background, always bringing you creative and unique designs that aim to set trends. Rebel’s designers take your ideas and make your dream a reality, offering you several design sketches to tweak and customize to your exact specifications. Once you approve the design, you can see and feel your customized luxury garment when your free prototype arrives. Completely custom, completely you.
An Honest Approach. Rebel was founded with the promise to eliminate the stresses gyms were used to facing when it came to ordering uniforms and apparel. By only accepting a limited number of new customers each season, Rebel commits to firm delivery dates, ensuring you always feel like their number one customer.
Join the Rebellion. Whether you have a design in mind or need inspiration, have a strict budget or the sky is the limit, Rebel is available to make your apparel ordering experience enjoyable and fun. Visit www.RebelAthletic.com now and contact your regional Rebel Representative to get started. If you decide to “Join the Rebellion” to customize your team’s apparel with Rebel Athletic, your athletes will make their mark as a trendsetting team, exuberating the confidence and teamwork needed to put the “cheer” back in cheerleading.
