Parkour is an athletic sport in which athletes get from one point to another using only their body while running, jumping, climbing, balancing, rolling and moving through different obstacles in the natural and urban environments. The sport requires practitioners to increase many of their core fitness fundamentals such as strength, balance, spatial awareness, agility, explosive power, flexibility, coordination, precision, control, and creative vision.
Parkour has become increasingly popular, and due to this, many people (both practitioners and outsiders alike) are intrigued by starting a business surrounding the sport. Before you jump into opening your Parkour business though, you need to be well informed on what it takes to start this type of business. We have gathered the top five tips you will need to start your Parkour business seamlessly.
Tip #1 Understand the Business Side of… well Business!
You might be well versed in Parkour, but running a business is a whole other beast. So the first thing you need to get your mind around is how your Parkour business will work as a business. First, what type of business will it be? Will it be a clothing brand, a performance team, a consultation company, or a Parkour & Freerunning gym? Gyms are the most popular emerging Parkour businesses right now, so let’s assume you choose that. If it’s a gym, will you need to find a location. Do you already have one? If not, do you need to build one or can you lease a complex? If you need to find one, it might be best to work with a commercial real estate agent who can help you see what’s available to rent. When searching for a facility keep in mind the layout of the building, parking, the height of the ceilings, price, and the surrounding business environment.
Even before you decide on a facility you will need to be thinking about expense. What will it cost to open the gym, and what will it cost to operate? Insurance, electricity, employees, computers etc all cost money. Think through every detail possible and how much it will cost so that you at least have a fair, conservative estimate on costs before moving ahead. Also, think about what you will charge students and the public to train at your gym. How many students you will need to operate? Will you have only ongoing classes or will you have summer camps too? Understanding what your expenses will be to open the gym and run it, and this will clue you in to how capable you will be in keeping the gym running.
Tip #2 Find The Right Equipment
You can’t just open a blank space and call it a Parkour gym. Parkour requires a lot of obstacles, so you will need to get creative and find a way to fill your gym with these! Remember, this isn’t like a typical gym where you can fill it with treadmills and weights (although some Parkour gyms have these for supplemental training). Rather, you will need obstacles and equipment that allow for the movements of Parkour to be trained at low levels and progressively higher levels as well. You will need things like boxes, walls, bars, and special flooring such as a spring floor or appropriate mats.
You might be able to make your own obstacles. Most Parkour gyms do. Obviously this will create a custom feel for your gym, and it will most likely serve your students better. But you don’t have to build everything from scratch. For example, you can easily buy durable pipes and put them together to create a climbing structure for swinging and bar techniques. Whatever you decide, we highly recommend working with fellow Traceurs (or hiring some) to create a complex and challenging gym design that’ll stand the test of time by serving new Traceurs and old Traceurs alike.
Tip #3 Find a Catchy Name for Your Business
Finding the right name is a must! You can always go with something simple like “{THE CITY YOU ARE IN} Parkour”, but finding something catchy that speaks to the ethos of your company may help you market your business in a unique way.
Think of a name that is easy to remember and easy to spell so that your customers can easily look up your information online. Additionally, and most importantly, you want to make sure that the name you want isn’t already being used by someone else, so try to think of something that is unique to you. Checking, and purchasing, an available domain name (a .com for example) is one great way to check availability while securing your name, but it’s also best to check the USPTO or your respective government business or trademark agency to make sure that the business name you like isn’t already in use. If you use a name that someone else is already using, you open yourself up to lawsuits and forced rebranding later down the line.
Tip #4 Make Your Brand
While you are focusing on the name of your business and the marketing aspect, you will also want to make sure you have gym branding in place. What will the logo be? What are the colors? What is the feel? This may be the most difficult part of starting your company because it requires short-term and long-term thinking. Plus it has to be good because this becomes very difficult to change down the line as it’ll be reflected in everything you do. Luckily, there are many companies out there that can help with this. Plus once you have a unique brand and feel for your business, gym branding companies can help get your name out there too which will help make you more recognizable and attract new customers to your gym. Having someone who can help with this can be a huge benefit for your business as they will help you use strategic online marketing to reach your target customers.
Believe us, marketing is that other pesky aspect of running any business, and having great brand and a strong head start will do wonders for your company in the short and long term.
Tip #5 Hire A Team
While you may be incredibly knowledgeable in Parkour, running a business takes so many skills, so it usually requires a village. You will need to understand business concepts like cash flow, financing, marketing, insurance, and countless daily administrative tasks. As the founder, you probably have a vision for all of these things, but getting help for some of them can be invaluable because it can give you more time to focus on what is most important for your company. For example, maybe you want to run your social media pages, but most people know how to do that now, so maybe it’s best to give that task to someone else so that you can focus on lesson plans and teaching.
It is wise to analyze every aspect of your business in this way. Ask, “Am I the best person for this role, or can I provide more value to the company by freeing up my time through letting someone else do this?” As you see value in working with others and as your business plan allows, hire others and that will allow your business to grow.
Final Thoughts
Starting a Parkour business is definitely possible, and it’s becoming more and more common. It’s no wonder! Parkour is amazing, and having a Parkour business is extremely rewarding! But remember, even though you might know a lot about Parkour, there are a lot of other things needed to run a successful Parkour business, so before you start make sure to keep our tips in mind: understand your start up and operating expenses, find a location, get/build equipment, make sure to choose a unique name and brand for your gym. Finally, make sure you surround yourself with the right people who can take over responsibilities and initiatives from you so that you can focus on what’s most important.
Follow these tips and you will be running your own Parkour business successfully before you know it. When you do, let us know! We’d love to feature you on our site and in our social media. And if you have any questions before, during, or along the way, you can reach out to us, and we’re always willing to provide feedback.
Good luck!