5 Questions to Find Out If You'll Make a Great Fitness Franchisee If you've been dreaming of owning your own fitness franchise, make sure you have the right mindset for success.

Not all franchise opportunities are created equal. And not all aspiring franchisees are cut out to find success in just any industry—each requires a certain skill set and mentality to navigate the daily requirements and to chart a path to success.

Fitness franchises are no exception. Take it from Micaela Hoglund. Along with her husband, Brent, Hoglund owns two F45 Training franchises in Ontario, Canada. They have plans to open a third by the end of the year and a fourth sometime after that.

Hoglund and her husband first experienced F45 several years earlier when they were living on Australia's Gold Coast. "We knew it was only a matter of time before it started blowing up in the Canadian market, and that it did," she says. The pair opened their first F45 franchise in Etobicoke, the westernmost section of Toronto, in the fall of 2018.

While Hoglund and her husband were former athletes, her professional background was in advertising and law. How did she know she'd make a great franchise owner in the fitness industry? Here are five questions she suggests anyone who has been dreaming of owning their own fitness franchise should ask themselves before taking the plunge.

1. Do you have a vision for your life/lifestyle?

Before you set out to create something—namely, a fitness business—you need to understand what it is you're trying to accomplish, Hoglund says.

"You have to envision how this will change your life and the lives of those around you and then work toward that," she says. "I always envisioned designing a work routine that made sense for me and provided a better work life balance while also affording me security, freedom and flexibility in scheduling and planning my day to day. Because I had spent so much time thinking about how I wanted to spend my days, I was able to see that vision through, through opening our first studio."

2. What is your 'why'?

This may seem like a cliché, but Hoglund says that answering this question is critical to being able to execute your vision and doing it in a way that creates a lasting impact. "My 'why' is that I want to create spaces and communities in which anyone and everyone feels welcome despite their age, race, background, sexuality, ability, or disposition in life and so on," she says. "I want to be useful and create value in all aspects of my life and hope that making fitness more accessible to more people, does that, and hopefully, helps a lot of people do the same in their own lives."

If you're in the market to own a fitness franchise, Hoglund suggests taking a pen and paper and creating two columns. In one, write down all the things that do not make you happy, whether it be in current or past jobs, relationships etc. In the other, write down all the things that do make you happy in those same areas. "Draw the most prevalent themes from both columns and you will have your 'why' right in front of you," she says. "And the other column are the items you should drop from your life immediately."

3. Are you prepared to go all in?

Fitness businesses were particularly impacted during the Covid-19 health crisis, with many having to temporarily close their doors. As with owning and operating any business, you need to be prepared for anything. Successful owners are always prepared to stick it out and "play the long game," Hoglund says.

"If this pandemic has taught us anything, it's that learning how to adapt and pivot at a moment's notice is essential," she says. "Ask yourself what you're prepared to lose if something goes wrong and then, ask yourself what's on the line if you don't move forward. If it's something that you really want, going all in will become the only viable option."

4. Are you open to learning?

Regardless of your level of prior experience in fitness and business, the most successful business owners are often people who accept feedback and learn on-the-fly. Stubbornness and bullheadedness can be negative qualities when a person is running a business like a fitness franchise that requires constant contact with people.

"Being open to new ideas and ways of doing things will make or break you as an operator," Hoglund says. "I have watched vastly different personality types go through the process of opening F45 franchises and other endeavors and the ones who do things well are those who are open to feedback, constructive criticism, and open communication with their clients, staff, and colleagues."

5. Will you practice what you preach?

Even though Hoglund didn't have a background specifically in fitness, she does believe that successful fitness franchise owners should have some underlying interest in or passion for it.

"The most successful studios I've seen are doing well because the owners practice what they preach and are heavily involved with their training teams, studio culture, as well as all higher-level management and operations," she says. "My husband and I are both ex-athletes so we had some experience and understanding of being involved in a team dynamic as well as hands-on knowledge of functional fitness and training patterns."

If you love what you do, it makes it easy for others to believe in the service you're providing, Hoglund says.

Click here to learn more about how you can become a F45 Training franchisee today.