Vanguard Key Clubs: A Lifestyle Business, Emphasis on ‘Life’

• Vanguard Key Clubs has no on-site staff, which means no employment headaches and lower operating costs.
• Members, who have monthly subscriptions that provide recurring revenue, use electronic key cards to gain access to any of the gyms, which now number six corporate locations in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts.
• In addition to member subscriptions, personal trainers also provide recurring revenue by paying a monthly fee to gain clients through Vanguard Key Clubs and work with them at the fitness facilities.
• Contractors provide cleaning, maintenance and equipment repair. Members are asked to provide input on any needed repairs, which are shown and updated on video display boards in each location.
• All locations are outfitted with cameras and security phones for security.

The role of a Vanguard Key Clubs franchise owner or manager primarily involves processing online membership enrollments (“which takes about a minute,” Annis says), remotely buzzing in any members who forget their electronic key cards, and looking into any concerns raised by members. “An offsite manager can log in to view security cameras at any time just to see what’s going on. If a member brings up a problem or has a concern, it’s important to us. The offsite manager is only a phone call, text or email away,” Annis says.

A True Lifestyle Business

“We’ve nailed down the business model in a way that you can remotely run full-blown, 10,000-12,000-square foot gyms,” he says. “You’re always connected like any business owner is, but you have a lot of space in between, so you can do life. So, I was able to get my kids on the bus, pick them up from schools, go to their school events, see their field hockey games and their baseball games. And if somebody needed me or if I needed to buzz the door at one of the fitness facilities because they forgot their key tag, they would call me on my cell phone. It just took me a few seconds to buzz the door for them.”

The idea to franchise came about as Dailyn, now 23, approached graduation with a business management degree from Adelphi University. He recalls her thought process about joining the business: “She said, ‘Hey, I’ve seen how Dad works. He’s working in the car as we’re driving on vacation. I’ve seen him do enrollments from an airplane at 30,000 feet or wherever there’s an internet connection,’ so she was interested.”

Dailyn, also a fitness fanatic and former student athlete, brings her own perspective and business education to the franchise. “We both think we have a great business model and we want to share that with other people. We know there’s no one doing exactly what we do,” she says.

A Franchise for Millennial and Gen Z ‘Zees’

“The biggest advantage for a franchisee with Vanguard Key Clubs is the ability to have total work-life balance,” Dailyn says. “This is truly a lifestyle business. You get to make your own schedule. You can work from home or go on vacation and take the job with you. It’s super flexible, and that’s something a lot of people look for in life. They want to be able to go out and do things and not be sitting in an office or at a desk. With Vanguard Key Clubs, your desk can be anywhere you choose.”

While some might think that kind of freedom a pipe dream, Dailyn says many, especially in her Gen Z age group, have come to expect it. They want more control over their working lives, she says. “And because of Covid restrictions, people my age spent a lot of life in remote situations, doing classwork from our bedrooms, and now as young adults, we want a similar kind of flexibility,” she says. “And I think this is definitely a do-able business for a younger adult because the timeline for making back your money is very reasonable.”

The pandemic not only increased interest in remote work, but also served to heighten consumers’ health consciousness, which contributed to greater demand for convenient, accessible fitness opportunities. The global health and fitness club market size is projected to grow from $112.17 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.83% to $202.78 billion by 2030, according to Fortune Business Insights.

Advantages in Scaling

The simplicity in owning and managing one Vanguard Key Clubs location makes multi-unit ownership very attractive. Contractors hired for maintenance, cleaning and equipment repair at one location typically can do the work at other locations. Having other facilities in nearby communities also increases brand awareness and consumer confidence, Craig says. “Our business really started to take off once we added a second location just a few towns away,” he adds.

Dailyn recalls the reactions from prospective candidates as she and her dad previewed the lifestyle business opportunity last May at the International Franchise Expo in New York. “In explaining our brand and what we do, we saw people’s eyes light up. They’d say, ‘Whoa! I can run gyms from anywhere in the country! That’s really cool!’ And I’d say, ‘Yeah, I’m running six from where I’m standing in New York right now, and I could easily run 12 to 15.’”

For more information about franchising opportunities with Vanguard Key Clubs, visit https://www.vanguardkeyclubs.com/franchise.