Our gym Pro Shop will be a Direct Sales Hub NOT a Retail Center

Since we opened in 2012 we have been cultivating ideas on opening a pro shop.  We had clients suggest we have our own clothing brand, gear, jewelry... All these ideas have been taken into consideration, but I never wanted to open yet another run of the mill pro shop.  Pro shop's have extensively high overhead, and there is usually a great deal of debt that comes with that high overhead.  Furthermore, I don't want to feel the pressure of pushing more product on our valued clients.  Plus having to store, display, ship, and mark up product at retail prices doesn't seem green, nor does it help our clients save money.  I'm not interested in being a middle man.  So I started cultivating thoughts and ideas around the values of sustainability, and here is what I have come up with:

1) Direct Sales.  I know, it doesn't seem obvious.  But hear me out.  When I was in my early 20's I had really negative experiences with MLM (multi-level/network marketing companies) and I steered clear.  I would distance myself as far away as I could from anyone that was involved with an MLM.  But a few years ago my bro-in-law got a job at NuSkin corporate.  He sent me packs of product that I could try, and I was pleasantly surprised at the technology, and results the product produced.  But the price tag was beyond my budget.  But at the very least, I knew there were MLM's that could provide quality, cutting edge products.

2) Client Satisfaction.  Being a gym owner means I am the target of every health and wellness MLM sales pitch on the market.  So I started trying it all (heck most of it was free!  Why not?)  And, if my clients were pleased with the products, I might as well give it a shot.  What I found was that I wasn't a fan of a lot of the stuff that came our way.  Many of the products were filled with synthetic fillers, or simply didn't work that well.  Or if they did, it came at a serious cost.  BUT not all of them were like that.  In fact MANY of the products worked fantastic, AND my clients were extremely excited about them.  Not only that, but I liked how direct sales companies were training people in business, sales, and networking.  I liked how many of the companies were tied to a great cause, and I loved seeing mom's and dad's find ways to improve their quality of life for their family.

3) Community Building.  Direct sales companies help build communities, and motivate people to get out and work together.  I think that is the most valuable thing that comes out of direct sales, and that is not something you can achieve in a retail sales environment.

If you're up for it, check out the proposal I have put together for our online/physical pro shop, and I'd like to hear from YOU, our clients.  Your thoughts, ideas, and energy fuel our ideas.