Interview with First Gymnastics Founder Ruth Rose
Ruth Rose, Founder of First Gymnastics had been a gymnast as a youngster and after seeing a real opportunity to create a gymnastics programme which could enable more children to participate, she set up First Gymnastics. Find out more about how and why Ruth realised there was a gap in the market for a Gymnastics franchise business in the UK and decided to expand her successful proven model via franchising. Understand what a First Gymnastics franchise involves and how you don’t need Gymnastics experience to run one…
Tell us a bit about yourself
I live in Chester with my husband and 2 sons. Most of my career was spent in marketing and commercial roles in retail in London for around 10 years and then in the North West. My pathway moved towards gymnastics after having the children when I decided to set up my own business. I had been a gymnast as a youngster and saw a real opportunity to create a gymnastics programme which could enable more children to participate.
Outside of building my business I am a busy Mum who luckily enjoys watching football as both boys are keen footballers. I occasionally do the odd cartwheel but you are more likely to find me swimming lengths of front crawl these days. I love an evening at the cinema or theatre and can always be persuaded to go to see live music.
Tell us about First Gymnastics
First Gymnastics classes are for girls and boys aged 4-12. Our classes are recreational which means primarily for fun. This makes our target market very broad as we appeal to any children of primary school age wanting to have a go at gymnastics… which is a lot of children…
Demand for classes is consistently high with gymnastics having such wide appeal, meaning we have waiting lists for most established classes. Each year a new cohort of gymnasts come to join us as they start school and also start their journey with First Gymnastics
Why is First Gymnastics a great investment for potential franchisees?
First Gymnastics has a proven, consistent track record. We have launched classes in different types of areas, always with similar results. Our model delivers guaranteed recurring monthly revenue via subscription payments providing consistency for franchise partners. You can break even relatively quickly knowing that further growth will deliver more profit. This is a management franchise enabling a franchise partner to achieve a work/life balance whilst running a profitable business. As well as all of this you can also know that you are helping to keep children active and build confidence by participation in the First Gymnastics events that you organise in your area.
What differentiates First Gymnastics from the competition?
There are lots of children’s activities franchises out there but very few deliver Gymnastics classes. Demand for this sport continues to outstrip available places. First Gymnastics focus is purely on recreational activity. This means we have been able to develop a very specific programme with the recreational gymnast at its heart. We put our SMILE MOVE GROW ethos at the heart of everything we do to ensure ALL our gymnasts have the best time at our classes and keep coming back.
What is the role of a First Gymnastics franchisees?
We will help and support our franchise partners to set up and manage First Gymnastics Events. This doesn’t mean doing any Gymnastics coaching unless of course they happened to be a qualified coach or decided to gain their qualifications. Rather the role of the franchise partner will be to find suitable venues, recruit and manage coaches, ensure events adhere to safeguarding standards, deliver marketing to advertise classes and communicate with parents and guardians. Essentially to follow the proven First Gymnastics steps to fill classes and then grow their business by launching new ones.
What makes a successful First Gymnastics franchisee?
Our franchise partners don’t need a background in Gymnastics. We are more interested in skills that have been developed over time in a career or in life. They need to be personable and be able to communicate confidently with coaches, parents and guardians and venue managers. Whilst they are unlikely to be coaching, they would still need to be happy and at ease working with children. They need to have attention to detail and be organised to ensure the smooth running of their events and business in general. We are looking for people who buy into our SMILE MOVE GROW ethos and believe they could encompass this in their own First Gymnastics business.
What challenges have you had to overcome?
One of the biggest challenges was how to adapt to a growing business. Over time it became clear that a move to a more automated payment and customer management system was required. Having this in place enables admin to be completed efficiently and allows focus on business development
What have been First Gymnastics biggest successes to date?
- Taking First Gymnastics classes to completely new locations and seeing them fill up quickly with happy gymnasts.
- Bringing on our first franchise in Hertfordshire and seeing them grow to 4 events within the first 8 months.
- Consistently managing over 750 gymnasts in our North West classes each week.
What does the future hold for the business?
Initially we want to bring on board 10 great First Gymnastics franchise partners, helping them to build successful businesses in their areas… enabling 1000’s of children to take part in First Gymnastics classes each week.
Ultimately we see the potential for 50 franchise partners across the UK.
What advice would you give to someone considering franchising their business?
Spend time consolidating your business, making your processes as robust as possible and ensure your concept works in multiple locations before you start to franchise.
If you had to do it all again, what would you do differently?
I would make the decision to franchise sooner...
Interested and want to know more about First Gymnastics ?
The First Gymnastics profile outlines all aspects of their franchise opportunity and allows you to contact them for further information or to ask a question.
