Sometimes when you least expect it, opportunity knocks. Or in the case of Rafael Sanmiguel, flexes its muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lewis Center resident had long been an entrepreneur, owning a carpet, upholstery and window-cleaning company. After leaving that business, he wasn\u2019t necessarily looking for another. But he got an email from a franchise consultant. \u201cAnd this caught my eye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, he\u2019s a GYMGUYZ franchisee, offering clients most of the opportunities afforded by a gym but brought directly to their home or office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have a van equipped with all different types of equipment,\u201d Sanmiguel said. \u201cWe can\u2019t have a treadmill or elliptical machine, but we have weights, ropes, medicine balls, whatever the latest trend is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concept resonated him with because \u201cmy true passion was fitness and nutrition. I\u2019ve been involved in fitness pretty much since I was a kid \u2014 and I\u2019m 49 now \u2014 so it\u2019s always been a big part of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanmiguel is offering to bring his brightly colored van to a client\u2019s location for workouts as early as 5 a.m. any day of the week, and as late as 10 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on weekends. The workouts are in the client\u2019s location \u2014 usually a house but sometimes a business \u2014 using the equipment that is packed in the van specifically for that client\u2019s workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A package of sessions typically breaks down to about $60 per session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the workouts begin, Sanmiguel or a trainer he has trained puts a client through an assessment that measures body fat, current fitness level and past workouts, then determines the client\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No two workouts are the same \u201cbecause no two people are the same,\u201d Sanmiguel said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Workout clients \u201ccan be anybody, but typically people who have trouble getting to the gym,\u201d Sanmiguel said. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s a question of time, or not being comfortable going to the gym \u2014 those are major factors \u2014 or they\u2019re looking to get healthier, lose weight, have a healthier lifestyle.:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The GYMGUYZ concept was created in 2008 by Josh York, a longtime fitness devotee who quit a job at a marketing company to start the business out of his parents\u2019 dining room. \u201cI had a van, a laptop and a vision,\u201d York said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, the chain, with headquarters in Plainview, New York, has more than 70 vehicles serving 4,000 clients in 14 states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Upfront costs for franchisees are the van, training and a franchise fee \u2014 an initial investment of around $60,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very reasonable,\u201d Sanmiguel said. \u201cSince I was a franchise owner before, I know it\u2019s a very good deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cartoon characters on the vans are modeled after York and his brother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about the branding,\u201d York said. \u201cThat van is everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Columbus, the van has definitely been everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanmiguel started with one van. \u201cThe idea is as you grow, you add more. If you have more than 30 clients or so, there\u2019s only so many sessions you can do in a day, so you order an additional van.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since quietly launching earlier this summer, the business has done so well that Sanmiguel is being joined by another franchise operator, Naomi Hoyt of Dublin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hoyt, who will serve clients in Dublin and Upper Arlington and on the Northwest Side starting next week, said the van\u2019s importance goes beyond branding to its functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of trainers going around to people\u2019s houses,\u201d Hoyt said. \u201cBut do they have 300 pieces of top-of-the-line, professional equipment? No.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The GYMGUYZ van is a marketing idea that\u2019s \u201ccommendable to get somebody\u2019s attention,\u201d said Deborah Mitchell, a professor of marketing at Ohio State University\u2019s Fisher College of Business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt this point, personal training and fitness in general is almost a commodity,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201c And in the commodity category, there\u2019s nothing new. So in a category like this, having something that gets any kind of attention can be useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you think about the Geek Squad when it started out, it had an interesting visual look with those Beetles and nerdy guys, and that really worked,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe big question is, longer term, can it really be a source of competitive advantage?\u201d she said. Often the answer is no. \u201cThey\u2019ll need to back it up with something special to create loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n