On the Circuit
This couple exercises skill in owning a gym.
It had worked for Kim Gore, 36, but she wasn't sure if
Curves for Women was the right opportunity for herself and her
husband, Rick, 43. "Both of us have always enjoyed working
out," says Kim, 36. "I had worked in a health club
before, but I really had no interest in owning a gym. It hadn't
even crossed our minds."
But the more she discovered about the Curves program, which
includes 30 minutes of circuit training as well as an aerobic
workout, the more she became interested in the business's
potential. A trip to the franchise's Waco, Texas, headquarters
sold the couple, who had previously ran a home improvement and
landscaping business together.
The Gores opened their St. Augustine Beach, Florida, Curves in
April 2001. Within a year, they moved from their initial
1,000-square-foot center to a 2,400-square-foot center to
accommodate their growing client list. Now, the Gores have two
complete equipment circuits to serve their 800 members.
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In addition to workouts, the Gores teach diet and weight-loss
guidance classes. Through a program offered by Curves and Thomas
Edison State College in Trenton, New Jersey, Kim is considering a
degree in nutrition to further benefit her franchise's members,
who range in age from 11 to 86.
The Gores have also worked to tailor Curves' operating hours
to members' needs and habits. The St. Augustine Beach Curves is
open 10 hours a day, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
"[Curves] did studies and found that people typically
don't work out between 12 and 4," Kim explains, "so
we shut down in the middle of the day to do marketing, clean the
equipment and stuff like that without having to pay for electricity
and staff."