No, running a successful MMA Gym or Martial Arts Dojo is not JUST about looks, but the physical design of your facility does make a difference!
Restaurants and clothing stores call it “environmental psychology.” It’s about understanding that environment can affect people’s habits, especially spending. It is important that the design and feel of your gym is “inviting” if you want to grow your business.
First, you should consider the “why” of doing a redesign of your facility. There are two main reasons gym owners consider a redesign. First, is to change or add to the space in order to offer more program options. Second, is to simply change the look and give the gym a fresh new feel. The latter is more common as adding space is often too costly.
Design and layout is important
Watch the traffic patterns in the gym, and work to keep your gym as inviting and clean as possible. Being successful for the long-term is more than just having great coaches and the best training equipment. If you want to broaden your market penetration, especially with women and families with kids, you have to make the facility “look” better!
There is always a budget to consider when redesigning a business, but you can make improvements without breaking the bank. One of the quickest and least expensive ways to make changes is with paint. Painting your facility, adding new, bright colors will make a dramatic difference. Also, if you have equipment that nobody is using, pull it out and create more functional space. This can help you earn more money per square foot instead of just filling space with equipment.
Create a “flow” throughout your gym so that it doesn’t look cluttered. Weight equipment here… bags there… floor mats here… ring or octagon there, etc. Your students shouldn’t be confused as to where they need to go when they arrive. Your design should make your gym easy to navigate, giving every student and class the space they need.
Here are some other relatively inexpensive design tips to consider:
- Add new lighting to brighten up the gym.
- Add pictures and graphics to the facility. Not every picture needs to be an MMA fight picture, consider adding lifestyle training photos, sports photos or even local art.
- Less clutter: organize your facility from the front desk on back to eliminate clutter.
- Social space: make sure you have an inviting, clean area where people can just sit down and hang out. Social time in your gym is important.
- Consider new wall pads with your logo on them.
- If you have equipment that nobody is using, pull it out and create more functional space.
Want to learn more about the design and layout process you’ll experience when you redesign your gym with Zebra? Contact our team today to learn more!