illuminate gym offers a different kind of franchise financing
DENVER—September, 2009—illuminate gym, affordable personal training featuring unique High Oxygen Training (HOT), announcing publicly that it is offering creative ways to help franchisees get their business off the ground in a tough credit market.
illuminate gym is no different than most other fitness franchises in the way that we’re all having trouble finding ways to get franchisees aprooved for the funds to start their own business. At illuminate gym we became a part of the SBA registry earlier this year but like many other franchises we’ve found it’s tough to get people’s SBA loans accepted by banks. Because of this issue it seems a new sort of financing has been born where accountants roll over people’s 401k or IRA plans into usable cash for start-up money. At illuminate gym our staff has heard these options are being pushed by many franchises, but illuminate gym isn’t sure this is the best path for people to take because of the possible penalties that can be incurred by such financing programs. So illuminate gym has tried to create its own financing methods for qualified franchisees.
One of the biggest investments a franchise owner will make at illuminate gym is equipment costs. So illuminate gym has begun acquiring their own equipment to offer to qualified and motivated franchisees in an attempt to keep their franchisees start-up costs down. “At illuminate gym we’re interested in building a brand which means we’re directly connected to each of our franchisees’ long term success. In other words, it’s better for us to invest in our franchisees to ensure we give them the best chance to build a profitable business,” David Sedbrook CEO and founder of illuminate gym said. Now illuminate gym has even taken it a step further by also offering to invest $10,000 into each franchisees’ business to help their future franchisees with other miscellaneous costs to start up their own illuminate gym.
These are all attempts by the illuminate gym franchise to keep their franchisees’ initial cost down rather than tapping into their retirement funds. “We just feel that it’s short sided to ask people to tap into their savings to start an illuminate gym. We obviously know that as an entrepreneur you have to take a risk, but draining a 401k or an IRA is a risk we would prefer our franchisees don’t take. Our goal is to build a better life for everyone that comes into contact with illuminate gym. In other words, we want to help our franchisees build a better retirement plan rather than depleting it… And we feel we can help our franchisees with this process,” David Sedbrook said. illuminate gym feels they are on the cutting edge of franchise development because of their approach to franchisees which they call a partnership. This new way of helping franchisees with start- up costs could make IGDC (illuminate gym Development Company) an invested partner with their future franchisees.
