Gold's Gym Franchisee Association

Welcome to the GGFA Interactive Website! As a member of the GGFA, you are entitled to browse through the informative and critical pages inside. You’ll find fast-breaking news important to your business along with great franchisee dialogue about everything from “what is your commission structure” to “how is the economy affecting your new member sales”.

Our Website changes and updates regularly so be sure to visit each week. New this week, you’ll find an easy category guide to your industry vendors who are part of the GGFA Supplier Partnership Network. Each company is linked to their site for quick and beneficial information. Let us know how you like it!

Be sure to register for the 2008 GGFA Owners Conference in Santa Monica! The theme “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” showcases a respectful nod to our heritage, understanding who we are today and preparing for the future. Our keynote speaker, Rajendra Sisodia, co-authored the best seller “Firms of Endearment” which epitomizes the passion and love Franchisees have for the Gold’s Gym brand and people. For a complete look at the agenda, please click here. You’ll need to reserve your hotel room now! Just follow the directions on the link.

Thanks! And I look forward to seeing you in California!

Ginger Collins
Executive Director
GGFA

Fellow Franchisees,

As many of you know, the pre-convention message from the GGFA triggered a good deal of discussion, some introspection and hopefully some alignment between the franchisees and the franchisor. Our message is not emotional, nor malicious, but rather a candid statement representing the collective voice of our franchisee members, which currently stand at 370 open gyms.

While the convention had a somewhat “somber” texture from the veteran franchisees, it wasn’t without some cautious optimism as well. For me personally, this is the first time that the discussions around the marketing material have not been whipsawed between “love” and “hate.” I would describe the post-convention collective communication stream regarding the brand direction as – “They understand who we are. The tagline is strong and is more than a tagline. Some of the creative needs some help, but the platform speaks to me, it is a promise we can keep, it represents who we really are, and is in stark contrast to the rest of the industry.” Credit goes to Lisa Zoellner and the marketing staff for embracing a collaborative process by which the agency would be chosen and to McKinney for “getting it.” This process is demonstrative that our entire system runs best on the fuel of collective buy-in. Creating buy-in will happen when there is an inclusive, open, and trusting process.

Looking ahead our hope is that GGI will move more toward a collaborative relationship that is more transformational in nature. That simply means that action is taken to create positive change based on the collective needs of the system. The needs of the system can only be identified by listening to the system. Even good solutions are unlikely to take hold if they are conjured up and developed in a vacuum. One step toward this goal would be the empowerment of franchising (GGF) to balance its legal, administrative, and enforcement duties with more communication, learning and educational duties. It seems to make sense that a stronger focus on mutual learning, education and communication will reduce the need for legal and enforcement. On that same note, it is equally important that the marketing department focus strongly on communication so franchisees have full exposure to all that is available. To that end, a marketing “road show” will take place this fall and will allow for enough stops that every franchisee will have the opportunity to get a full drill-down into the new marketing. We are each responsible to avail ourselves and our key staff to this communication stream.

For the present, the GGFA enthusiastically requests your attendance to the rapidly growing Owner’s Conference (OC) on September 25th and 26th in Santa Monica California. The GGFA is your company and the Owner’s Conference is your event. Attend it. It is unfolding into a bright spot of education and a sharing of ideas. As has been our goal with the OC, the sessions are designed to help us become better business people, better leaders, and better stewards of the communities in which we do business. Whether you own one club and have revenues of $500K, or 10 clubs and revenues of $30 million, you will benefit by attending. If you still feel you will derive no benefit then please attend with the heart to provide benefit to others. Your purpose as an attendee is to both get and to give benefit.

Santa Monica is the location for a reason. Venice Beach and Santa Monica are the birthplace and the launch pad for this brand. All great brands have a “creation story” and we intend to be good stewards of the heritage and the story. There is a little bit of SoCal in every Gold’s Gym. We should celebrate our heritage….together.

Please secure your room immediately and register for the OC. We also strongly encourage everyone to read our keynote speaker’s book, Firms of Endearment, before the OC.

Always be diligent and never stop learning.

Sincerely,

Blair C. McHaney
President of the Gold's Gym Franchisee Association

2008 GGFA Owners Conference - Posted - Thursday, September 04, 2008

September 25 & 26th, 2008
Santa Monica, California
Le Merigot - A JW Marriott Beach Hotel and Spa!

We are in full swing preparing for an awesome conference! The agenda is being fine-tuned to provide an informative and valuable experience for all! The meetings and keynote addresses are coming together and the social events/off-site excursions will be memorable in beautiful Santa Monica, California! If you are still waiting to confirm you’ll make the trip to join your fellow franchisees and guests, please realize that the deadline for securing hotel reservations at the preferred rate is fast approaching!

Review the Agenda Highlights

Wednesday, September 24th :
- Early Registration at the Le Merigot Hotel.
- “Meet and Greet” with Rajendra Sisodia at Le Troquet terrace bar - Maybe
    you’ll bump into Donald Sutherland too!

Thursday, September 25th :
- Dan McGraw – “How to Make Better Teams”. Dan owns a development and
   consulting firm and has 37 years of experience in supporting clients in the
   areas of goal planning, team building, and business development.
- Rajendra Sisodia – Our Keynote Speaker and author of “Firms of Endearment –
   How World Class Companies PROFIT from Passion and Purpose”.
- Rick Caro – “Critical Steps to Improving Club Profitability in Today’s Uncertain
   Business Environment”. Rick is Founder, Director and President of Management
   Vision, Inc., and is a well-known speaker at IHRSA and other industry events.
- Roundtable Sessions – Facilitated by Tenured Franchisees- Your successful peers!
- Special Guest Speaker, Navy SEAL, and Author, Marcus Luttrell.
- GGFA Cocktail Reception-Enjoy the evening on your own in beautiful
    Santa Monica, a estination that combines the historic and the hip
    in a way few southern California towns can match!
- Roundtable & SPN Sessions
- Group Purchasing and Speed Meetings
- Fighting the Competition
- Calculating the Value of your Business for Sale or Expansion
- Aggressive Expansion – Very popular topic at the convention last July
- Gold’s Gym at Venice Beach – “A Tour to the Mecca”

Departures or stay for the weekend; visit Hollywood, Beverly Hills and the local gyms owned by Willy and Angel Banos.

Saturday, September 26th :
- Tour of the award-winning Simi Valley Gold’s Gym!

If you haven’t signed up yet, follow these steps TODAY!

• Hotel Arrangements - Just call the hotel reservation desk and give the group name as “Gold’s Gym Franchisee Association” or the “GGFA”. The rate is $250 single/double. Call 310-395-9700. The address is 1740 Ocean Ave Santa Monica, CA. The Room Block is filling up fast! Be sure to make your hotel reservation today! And visit the website at: http://lemerigothotel.com/

• Registration – Click Here to download the attached- scan & email or fax to us at ggfaassist@aol.com or 770-614-0909.

Additional directions and details will be sent out within a few days!

Contact Deb Collins at 678-730-0815 for questions and additional details.

See you at the Conference!

Marketing Road Show Announcement - Monday, August 18, 2008

       GGI and your peers from the GGFA worked closely together in choosing our new
       ad agency, McKinney. Their understanding of who we are led to what we feel is the
       most sound, genuine and powerful brand position and message we have ever had.
       The marketing team will be taking the new messaging “on the road” so that all
       franchisees will have the opportunity to see what is available and how we can leverage
       our position in this industry. We urge you to attend one of the Road Show stops
       listed below and to RSVP to Cody Pierce as to which one you will be attending.

       Blair McHaney
     President of the Gold’s Gym Franchisee Association

MARKETING ROAD SHOW RSVP REQUIRED

Announcing the first ever Gold’s Gym Marketing Road Show

coming to a city near you this September.

Per the announcement at convention, we have developed a comprehensive Marketing Road Show that highlights our new strategic brand platform along with updates on other key marketing initiatives. This road show is a great opportunity for members of your staff to come and see the new branding, tools and resources that are available from your monthly GGAP investment.

We have a packed schedule so plan on spending the entire day with us. The agenda includes:

· Brand Strategy/Positioning – Learn about the new position that defines our brand, our target audience, and the new advertising campaign.

· Ad Builder – We will present a unique new tool that allows you to activate the new advertising by customizing artwork for your marketing needs.

· National and local launch of the new positioning – Learn about the national and local efforts that will be used to launch the new position.

· Customer Retention Management program – Get an update on the new retention tool that will be available to the system in January.

· Public Relations – We will present updates on the PR strategy to keep Gold’s Gym in the media at both national and local levels.

· Brand Research – We will present the most comprehensive brand research study ever conducted that will provide you with key insights into what consumers want in a gym membership and how they feel about Gold’s Gym.

· Partnerships - Hear about updates on our partnership program and how these incremental memberships can benefit your gym.

In order to gauge the participation of the Road Show, we have developed a schedule of cities which most effectively cover the nation. See below for a TENTATIVE schedule of dates and cities. This list is not final; we need to know if you are planning on participating before we prepare the necessary arrangements for a show.

TENTATIVE CITIES/DATES

9/9 New Jersey – Paramus

9/10 Boston (North East Area)

9/11 Washington DC

9/10 Utah – Salt Lake City

9/16 Seattle

9/16 Florida – Ft. Lauderdale

9/17 Los Angeles

9/18 San Francisco

9/18 Chicago

9/19 Dallas

10/8 Atlanta

EMAIL CPIERCE@GOLDSGYM.COM WITH THE CITY YOU PLAN TO ATTEND, NUMBER OF ATTNEDEES AND GYM(S) REPRESENTATIVE NO LATER THAN AUGUST 21^TH.

After we have a good idea of attendees we will set the final schedule and email confirmations. If you have any questions, please contact Cody Pierce at cpierce@goldsgym.com or 214-329-3616.

Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Franchise Relationship - Posted - Sunday, August 03, 2008

Franchisees,

We believe that self education and knowledge transfer are invaluable for all of us. This is certainly true for learning about business, leadership, and operations. We also feel strongly that it is vital you learn as much as you can about the focus of other FRANCHISORS as the best ways to succeed in franchising. Here you will find an article that we encourage you to read and share with other franchisees and with your RFMs. We will be posting as much of this information as we can. This comes from the IFA, which as an association of franchisors. Please read the article and post your comments in the Franchisee Conversations section of the website, or email your comments to info@ggfa.info.

Click here to read the article, "Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Franchise Relationship", from the June, 2008 issue of Franchising World.

Gold's Gym Challenge Finalists Chosen - Posted - Wednesday, May 28, 2008

MATRIX FITNESS Judgment Day for the Gold’s Gym Challenge took place on Monday from 1:00 until 6:30 pm at the GGFA office in Chris Palmer’s Gym located in Suwanee, Georgia.

At stake was $70,000 in prize money, with $42,000 going to the best transformation team from one community and $14,000 going to the top overall female and $14,000 to the top overall male transformation.

All teams remained anonymous during the judging and team points were not compiled until all judging was completed.

There were 8 judges, listed below, who participated and the process was very involved.

Matrix Fitness Systems
Kent Stevens
Jason Arters

Basic Elements Nutrition
John Corridore

Gold’s Gym International
Keith Albright
Cody Pierce

Gold’s Gym Franchisees & Staff
Chris Palmer – Suwanee, GA
Adam Ponzio – Hamilton Mill, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Snellville, GA
Jauxniece D’Angola – Suwanee, GA

AND THE WINNERS ARE….
TOP TEAM - $42,000 ($4,200 per person)) – TEAM WENATCHEE (123 points)
1ST RUNNER-UP – TEAM HUDSON VALLEY, NY (96 points)
2ND RUNNER-UP – TEAM LA/HOLLYWOOD (91 points)

TOP MALE
From the 60+ age group – Tom Johnston of Redmond Washington - $14,000!

TOP FEMALE
From the 4049 group – Patsy Mugg of Wenatchee - $14,000!

All teams had amazing results and we are very hopeful to grow this program into a “must” for all gyms wishing to support and promote the culture of member results and community involvement.

Here is a rundown of the top finishers in each category –

Female 18 – 29
1st Place - Safoura Morovati - Team LA/Hollywood
2nd Place - Jessica Cutshall - Team Wenatchee
3rd Place - Adrienne Pinkhardt - Team Hudson Valley

Female 30 - 39
1st Place - Lisamarie Brazeau - Team Wenatchee
2nd Place - Jennifer Ader - Team Arizona
3rd Place - Nancy Dalebout - Team Huntington Beach

Female 40 - 49
1st Place - Patsy Mugg - Team Wenatchee
2nd Place - Alisa Fields - Team Huntington Beach
3rd Place - Donna Vaughn - Team Redmond

Female 50 - 59
1st Place - Robin Demers - Team Capital District
2nd Place - Judi James - Team LA/Hollywood
3rd Place - Michele Loranger - Team Wenatchee

Female 60+
1st Place - Bonita McLean - Team Wenatchee
2nd Place - Nancy Geer - Team Capital District
3rd Place - Liz Markus - Team Treasure Valley

Male 18 – 29
1st Place - Nicholas Suhr - Team Capital District
2nd Place - Vincent Russo - Team Hudson Valley
3rd Place - Moses Cortez - Team Wenatchee

Male 30 - 39
1st Place - Darin Darnell - Team Wenatchee
2nd Place - James Black - Team Hudson Valley
3rd Place - Ariel Pagon - Team Capital District

Male 40 - 49
1st Place - Pete Thomas - Team Wenatchee
2nd Place - James Kerr - Team Hudson Valley
3rd Place - Jonathan Shaw - Team Camp Hill

Male 50 - 59
1st Place - Signe Srenkerud - Team LA/Hollywood
2nd Place - Bruce Larkin - Team Wenatchee
3rd Place - Don Ottomeyer - Team Treasure Valley

Male 60+
1st Place - Tom Johnston - Team Redmond
2nd Place - John Crew - Team Wenatchee
3rd Place - Stan Edwards - Team LA/Hollywood

If you are interested in being a part of our Gold’s Gym Challenge next year, be sure to sit in on the GGFA Roundtable discussion in our Hospitality Suite at the Gold’s Gym Convention!

Congratulations to Team Wenatchee and thank you to all 14 community teams who started this fun and rewarding Challenge!

Ginger Collins
Executive Director
GGFA

Gold's Gym Convention Awards Bulletin - Posted - Friday, May 16, 2008

2008 CONVENTION AWARD SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MONDAY MAY 19!

NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED PAST 5/19!!

Remember…
This year’s Annual Convention Awards will be handled unlike ever before! For the first time, YOU will vote on the award nominees!

All entries will be posted on the Gold’s Gym Intranet for Franchisees to vote on.
Please visit the 2008 Convention Page on the Gold’s Gym website for further information.
The process for submission will be different so please follow the instructions closely.

REQUIRED (NO EXCEPTIONS):

* 1-2 page Microsoft Word document explaining why you feel you deserve
    to be selected for the Award you are submitting for.
* Please highlight any procedural, image or program changes that add to the overall story.
* Please include, where possible, hard facts/numbers for sales or
    membership increases as well as costs.
* Provide information on before and after the program if applicable
* Pictures no larger than 500KB in size
* Jpeg or Gif is preferred
* Please limit your submission to 20 photos or less
* Use the pictures, if applicable, to add to your story
* Additional submission requirements as noted in the award criteria document
* Award Registration Form (click here)

OPTIONAL SUBMISSION

* Windows Media or QuickTime video file
* File size should be no larger than 10 mgs

ITEMS NOT ACCEPTED

* Binders
* Power point presentations
* DVD’s
* PDF documents
* Flyers and marketing materials that are not scanned in to jpeg format
*  Click here for a list of Award Categories.
   Please note that some categories will require additional submission information.

ALL SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE BY MAY 19, 2008!

How to Submit:

Via E-mail: dbarrack@goldsgym.com

By Mail, on disk:
Attn: David Barrack - Awards Submissions
Gold’s Gym International, Inc.
125 E. John Carpenter Fwy.
Suite 1300
Irving, TX 75062

FOR QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT DAVID BARRACK AT 214-296-5867 or at dbarrack@goldsgym.com

Music Licensing Agreement Reminder - Posted - Saturday, May 10, 2008

Fellow Franchisees,

Do not gloss over the need to get your Gold’s Gym music licensing agreements done as soon as possible. This single program is going to save many gyms thousands of dollars each year. For most Gold’s Gyms, the new ASCAP fee system would put you at $2,538 per year. On our program, that fee will be about $300 per year. If you have been paying them in the past, don’t be fooled by your old rates, get on this group program today. These fees are for real and they will eventually catch up with you. We are proud of the team effort from Keith Albright and Joel Tallman along with GGFA Advisory Board member Jerry McCall and the GGFA Board of Directors to get this deal done.

PLEASE execute the agreement ASAP!

Respectfully,

Blair C. McHaney
CEO of Confluence Fitness Partners, Inc.
Gold’s Gyms of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee, WA
President of The Gold’s Gym Franchisee Association

2008 Gold's Gym Convention Annual Awards - Posted - Thursday, April 24, 2008

2008 Gold’s Gym Convention Awards

Franchisees – Get Ready To Nominate Your Club!

This year’s annual awards will be handled just like last year, and you will have an opportunity to vote on the award nominees!

Click on Award Categories to view a list of the 14 categories and the requirements for qualifications for this year's awards.

Click on Submission Procedures for important information to nominate your club by the May 16, 2008 deadline!

Click on Submission Form to view and print the form for entering the competition.

2008 Gold’s Gym Registration

The early registration fee of $150 ends May 8th!

Be sure to complete your online registration to attend the 2008 Gold's Gym Convention, to be held at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas! You can register for your convention badge, place your hotel reservation and sign up for the golf tournament from the Gold's Gym website.

Click on the link below to the login page to the Gold’s Gym website. Once you are logged in, click on the link to the Convention Registration Page – then click the Registration button.

http://www.goldsgym.com/my/login.php

Watch for more news and information about the convention!

URGENT MUSIC LICENSING BULLETIN - Posted - Thursday, April 17, 2008

ATTENTION ALL FRANCHISEES –

This urgent bulletin is GOOD NEWS! The music licensing piece that was done jointly with GGI is ready to roll! All of those wonderful cards and letters you have been getting from BMI, ASCAP and SESAC will come to a screeching halt and you will be getting a HUGE savings over the new rates that have been accepted by the Department of Justice for music licensing. Without going through the LONG explanation of why you need to do this, WHEN THE AGREEMENT ARRIVES VIA E-MAIL read it carefully and understand that this allows you to play music as you wish without the threat of repercussion and to do so at tremendous savings!

Click here to view a sample of the music licensing agreement.

This is a real no-brainer. If you have already paid this year for these fees, pay again – you will get a pro-rated refund for your old rate and this rate will cover you thoroughly for all your TVs, ambient music and your Group Exercise. If you are not currently paying these agencies DIRECTLY, you are not covered for all of the above. If you ARE paying these agencies DIRECTLY, sign-up and pay this anyway! You will be saving money and you will receive a rebate for the overlapping fees!

Blair McHaney
President of the GGFA