Franchising - Frequently Asked Questions

Please read the Frequently Asked Questions below and then call the Australian and New Zealand support office on 1300 799 669 (Australia) or 61-7-3870-5528 (New Zealand).

What's the difference between Healthy Inspirations and women's fitness franchises? Most fitness franchises only offer a fitness facility and at best pass out a standard diet. Most of their members want weight loss but few achieve it. Healthy Inspirations centres are weight loss centres that offer a highly-developed Australian weight loss program called The Great Shape Program that includes exercise as one of its key ingredients.
What's the difference between Healthy Inspirations and weight loss franchises? Healthy Inspirations is a weight loss franchise that includes an advanced supervised resistance exercise program done in the centre. So the whole program is integrated and under one roof.
Who is the market (the typical customers) for a Healthy Inspirations centre? All members are female, ranging from teenagers to women in their eighties, wanting to lose weight to learn how to manage their weight. Most members are aged between 35 and 55 and come from mid socio-economic backgrounds. Most have tried un-integrated diets, and gyms without success.
Why only females? The irony is that while there are more overweight men than women, women are far more willing to go to centre and pay for a solution. Plus overweight women are more comfortable in a non-intimidating female-only environment?
How much does it cost to open a centre? There are some fixed and some variable costs to open a centre:
1. The fixed costs are the franchise fee and the exercise equipment, fixtures and fittings. The franchise fee is $30,000 (including GST) and it includes: pre-defined territory, site selection assistance, site design assistance, initial franchisee training, staff recruitment guidelines and on-site 5-day staff training school, pre-launch marketing assistance, soft-launch on-site operations assistance and the first three months royalty. The exercise equipment, fixtures and fittings cost $45,000 and this is usually financed.
2. The variable costs are mainly for construction. This depends on each individual site, the size, how much work it needs and any contribution from the landlord. This ranges from $5,000 to $30,000. There is a standard interior and furniture specification. Allowance must be made for working capital. The launch marketing program is designed to get the business to break even as quickly as possible.
3. Healthy Inspirations is a Westpac-approved franchise. Westpac offers up to 50% lending secured against the cash flow of the business to approved applicants.
What is the royalty and what does it include? The royalty is fixed at $250 per week (subject to CPI increases). This is an all-up amount that includes marketing development contribution. The weekly royalty gives you access to the intellectual property, ongoing support and a comprehensive marketing program that each franchisee can tailor to their market.
Who controls the marketing? The franchisor creates the marketing, but each franchisee controls and pays for their own media mix, so they can respond to their competitive market situation and local media opportunities. The franchisor provides a suite or low cost community outreach marketing tools for the franchisee to implement locally.
How many staff do I need? In the beginning, the staff comprise of the franchisee, another full time person and 2 to 4 part time women.
What training is provided? The franchisee and their team get to attend a full week training school delivered on site for each centre. The franchisee (and their partner) is also invited to attend a full training week before their own training week. There is a complete package of on-the-job training materials to help a franchisee training new staff that join after the centre is open. The franchisee and their team members can also attend other training sessions (at no cost other than travel and personal accommodation expenses) and teleconferences held on a regular basis.
What ongoing support is offered? The franchisee and their team have access to unlimited phone support, monthly marketing strategies, online franchisee networking forum, online business benchmarking (small cost), teleconferences and franchisee conferences (2 per year).
Is my income restricted to membership? No. The strength of integrated weight loss program is that it provides what the customer wants (results) and provides the franchisee with multiple revenue streams from: initial membership payments, joining and program fees, direct debit membership fees and profit from the sale of supplementary weight loss products and services. This means that the business does not need large volumes of members in order to have a viable business.
Do I get an exclusive territory? Yes. We clearly define the territory boundaries for each centre to ensure that there is an adequate population for the centre. Ideally each centre should have a population of at least 25,000 people.
Can I sell my business? Yes, to an approved purchaser.
Can I open more than one centre? This is possible, but only after successfully running one centre for a full year, and subject to franchisor approval.
How long is the franchise term and what happens at the end of the term? The franchise term is 5 years and there are two five year options. There is no renewal fee payable.
Can I meet and talk with other franchisees? Yes. We provide a complete list of existing and past franchisees with their contact details.
Where did Healthy Inspirations come from? The Healthy Inspirations system was developed in the USA to fill the gap between the fitness and diet industries with a fully integrated program.
When did Healthy Inspirations start in Australia? The first centre opened in Queensland in 2001. A team of technical experts, including three leading Australian dietitians adapted the program to suit local tastes and foods commonly available in all major Australian supermarkets
What are the attributes that make a successful franchisee? The most successful franchisees are business-minded women (or couples) who have lived in the proposed territory for at least 2 years and the woman manages the business full time for the first year. The successful franchisees are disciplined about managing their own weight and fitness, are comfortable with promotions and sales, and are passionate about providing great customer service.
OK. I think I'm interested to find out more. What do I do now? Call the Healthy Inspirations Australian and New Zealand support office on 1300 799 669 (Australia) or 61-7-3870-5528 (New Zealand).

Franchising - Frequently Asked Questions

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