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Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries • 17th July 2024

Why Should I Donate My Clothes to Goodwill? - Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries

The industry has exploded! There are thousands of Goodwill retail locations throughout the United States. And, as you know, our stores are just one avenue for donations. Thrifting has become a pastime, a hobby, a business, and for many, a necessity in today’s tight economic times. Through it all, Goodwill has provided gently used clothing and household items at reasonable prices for individuals and families, while staying true to our mission.
 
Giving to Goodwill is like reaching your hand out t...

Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries • 9th July 2024

Score Your Best Vacation Finds at Goodwill - Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries

Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries
Goodwill is a community-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to help individuals with barriers to self-sufficiency to achieve independence and dignity through work. It provides job training programs for individuals who are responding to challenges such as disabilities, domestic violence, low educational attainment and previous incarceration. Goodwill also operates MassHire Boston Career Center, a one-stop career center located in Boston that offers un...

| The business of fitness • 25th January 2022

Automated Membership Sign-Ups Made it Easy for Gym Members to Help Owners Thru Covid Crisis.

Ryan Celli founded Celli’s Fitness Center in 2007 catering to strength athletes and power lifters. Since then, his privately owned gym has relocated, expanded, and added automated membership sign-up.

Like many small gyms, he relies on technology to keep costs down.

As he grew, he added cameras, a door controller, programable music, and a self-serve drink station along with a better gym management system. The investments allowed him to scale back hours and employ a staff of only his wife and so

| The business of fitness • 21st December 2021

Give Yourself the Gift of Great Gym Software This Holiday!

Why Gym Insight is the right gym management software for your fitness center

Choosing the right gym management software for your fitness club is probably one of the hardest decisions you’ll make as an owner. Not only is it the track on which your gym runs, but if you need to switch software companies, transferring data can be brain-numbingly difficult. So you want to get it right, if not the first time, at least the second go-around.

We built the gym software that runs your business.

Our foun

| The business of fitness • 14th December 2021

How Gym Membership Pre-sales Create a Stress-Free Opening Day!

Opening a new gym can be really stressful. You’ve put a ton of money into this new business and now it’s time to switch on the lights and hope members sign up fast enough to cover mounting bills. But it does not have to be that way.

These are sold prior to your fitness center’s opening. Marketed through social media or an advertising campaign, this is a phased-in campaign, with each pitch increasing in urgency while decreasing in financial value. The pre-sales end when the health club is open f

| The business of fitness • 8th December 2021

Here’s Why Buying Used Gym Equipment will Make you a More Successful Business

Buying used gym equipment for your business can seem like a cop-out. Why would you invest in second-hand gear for an industry seeped in an Instagram culture? Don’t looks matter here?

Uh, no, actually. What matters is keeping your health club in the black so you can stay in business.

Last month, Gym Insight’s sales representative interviewed Steven Harvalias, owner of Superfitness New & Used Gym Equipment, based in Burlington, North Carolina, about starting a successful fitness business. In thi

| The business of fitness • 1st December 2021

The Gift Of Membership And Other Gift Card Things

There are lots of interesting ways to do promotions. Once again, with the holidays upon us, I think it’s time to take another look. One of the most accessible is selling gift cards as part of your retail operation. Even if it means just a desktop display at your reception you can boost your return on investment by offering this popular, high margin product to your membership and the general public.
• Distribute them through your trainers

There is a reason that you see so many different types of

The 100 Club of Massachusetts • 27th November 2021

Cocoanut Grove Fire: Made America Safer

The tragic story of the Cocoanut Grove Fire on Piedmont Street near downtown Boston is a telling reminder of how important progress is often etched from terrible beginnings. On Nov. 28, 1942, more than 492 people died from wounds sustained in the fast-moving gaseous inferno engulfing the small nightclub, marking it the second-worst fire in United States history. Frantic efforts by medical personnel to save lives, and the very public investigation which unfolded in the days following, led to unpr

| The business of fitness • 23rd November 2021

4 Mistakes I Wouldn’t Make Twice Opening a Gym

What could be better than exercising every day and hanging out in your own awesome health club? If owning a gym is your dream job — keep reading our blog. The truth is – opening a gym is a lot more than just buying gym equipment and unlocking doors. Succeeding at owning a gym takes planning, perseverance, moxie, and money. Today, we’ve spoken with experienced gym owners to learn four of the most common mistakes new gym owners make when getting started in the business.

Claude Mumpower owns Iron

| The business of fitness • 16th November 2021

How to List Your New Gym Business With Search Engines

Ensuring your fitness center appears in an internet search engine business listing feed is one of the most important marketing steps you can take as a new gym owner. Your health club needs to be on the list when a potential member types in “gyms near me.” Here’s how to make sure you’ve got a shot at the top spot.

Which are the top business citation sites?

There are literally hundreds national directories, but you need to make sure your gym is listed in the top sites. As well, your gym should b

| The business of fitness • 9th November 2021

Market Your Gym Locally To Reach the Best Prospects

As a gym owner, you’re constantly balancing spending money with losing money. One of the hardest decisions is always — where to invest your marketing dollars. Although that’s a complex question, it might be easier to start at a very basic idea. From how far away will someone drive to exercise at your gym? Most industry experts say about four miles. Gym goers will trek twice that distance, or between six and eight miles, if they can expect a high-end, exclusive club experience.

There are excepti

| The business of fitness • 2nd November 2021

What Are Successful Small Gyms Doing Right?

It takes passion to run a small gym. Not just an interest in hanging around weights, but a true desire to be in the industry, to pull it off when so many factors are pushing against you. We all want you to succeed, but what does it take to make it in today’s competitive fitness industry?

Who are the ones succeeding?

Most Americans are not gym members!

Fewer than 40% of people in the United States currently have gym memberships, according to Policy Advice’s research. That totals about 64 milli

| The business of fitness • 26th October 2021

Hashtags Confusing You? Here’s a Quick Guide!

Hashtags, those crazy little pound signs, are a big part of making social media work for your fitness studio. However, like every marketing tool, hashtags have their own list of do’s and don’ts. Read on to gain a better insight into the best practices of adding hashtags to your social media posts and how to make them work for your gym.

Hashtags direct your post to a community of like-minded people and magnifies your social voice. Additionally, they grow reach organically. That means individuals

The 100 Club of Massachusetts • 23rd October 2021

Massachusetts’ female police officers — a 138-year history

Across the State of Massachusetts, 122 agencies are supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month by wearing #pinkpatches and — in many eye-popping cases — driving police cars swathed in pink wraps.
• Women first entered law enforcement before the turn of the 20th century. “Police matrons,” as they were called, assisted in the care of women and girls held in custody. Boston appointed its first police matron in 1883.
• This year marks the 100th anniversary of the State of Massachusetts authorizing the

| The business of fitness • 19th October 2021

5 Biggest Questions about Playing Music in Class

Originally published on 4-6-21 by Cory Sterling, founder of Conscious Counsel, on the Conscious Counsel website. Republished with permission. Five minute read.

Music can increase motivation and add a spark of fun to anything. The music you play in your business is the soundtrack of your customers’ experience. In this blog post we explore the legalities of using music in wellness classes: what is a copyright, do I have the right to play music on my premises, how can I legally play music in my cl

| The business of fitness • 13th October 2021

How to Successfully Advertise Your Gym On The Web

Digital marketing is here to stay. And chances are you’ve already dipped into online advertising by promoting your fitness center on social media. However, when it comes to spending money on digital advertising, where should you start? We know the internet is immense and your budget limited. To understand the fundamentals of digital marketing we turned to Get Amplified Marketing Group owner Nick Sakkis for some answers.

First, what kind of budget do I need?

There are two main players in the di

City of Charlotte Government • 8th October 2021

How to become a police officer in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County

Decide how to apply. Are you a…?
• Traditional recruit — Individuals who have no prior law enforcement background.
• Intermediate entry — Process for those with a North Carolina Law Enforcement Certification or those who are completing, or have completed, the North Carolina Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) course within the last 12 months.
• Military entry — Designed for military personnel ready to start a new, service-based career. Our program makes it easy to apply as a trainee before lea

| The business of fitness • 5th October 2021

Haven’t Figured Out How to Market Your Gym This Fall?

Here’s a Great Checklist to you get started!

We know designing a seasonal marketing plan can be daunting. It may seem easier to wait until after the holidays to encourage new sales. Don’t think like that. Promoting your gym business is like exercise – consistency creates results that lead to great success. The challenge is in overcoming the negative self talk.

To help you get started on this onerous task, we’ve prepared a simple overview of the primary ingredients you’ll need to promote your h

| The business of fitness • 28th September 2021

Here’s a Great Way to Stop Gym Membership Freezes!

After students leave for college and the costly fall shopping season starts, many health clubs experience a surge in gym membership freezes. But these short-term fixes can be costly to a gym owner. With a little planning, though, your fitness center can avoid this seasonal ritual and come out ahead — with happier customers and, maybe, even more personal training clients.

Why do members freeze their gym membership?

Often, freezing a membership is just a polite way of saying “cancel my membershi

| The business of fitness • 14th September 2021

How a Creative Gym Referral Promo Boosts New Business

The fitness industry is always in competition with itself. Although we would love to think everyone wants to join a gym, in reality, we are all fighting for the same people, many of whom already belong to another health club or fitness center. That’s why your health club needs a gym referral program. Tapping loyal members for friends and family referrals is one of the most effective methods of luring new customers.

This is a specific marketing effort created to encourage existing members to ref

| The business of fitness • 8th September 2021

How to Sell Gym Memberships: Part V

Asking for (More) Business

After the gym membership sale, what comes next? A fist bump and a calendar check? Excited smiles and vow to “see you tomorrow!” Or, perhaps, just one more ask? Leaping past the traditional goodbyes after a sale and staying in place to ask for referral business is the difference between a good close and a great one.

According to consumer research group Nielsen, 92% of people trust referrals from people they know.

So why would you not use this moment to secure a name

The 100 Club of Massachusetts • 6th September 2021

Labor Day— A Hard Fought Day Off

Throughout Massachusetts this Labor Day weekend, family and friends will celebrate the extended holiday weekend together. From magnificent fireworks over Boston Harbor to art festivals and sporting events, the day marks the end of summer and the start of a new season for many of us.

However, it is also a time to give thanks to you, the American worker. Labor Day reflects your willingness to dig in and toil to improve our country through effort, ingenuity, and hard work. It is on this day we pay

| The business of fitness • 1st September 2021

How to Sell Gym Memberships: Part IV

Thus far in our five-part series “How to Sell Gym Memberships,” we’ve shown how refining and polishing your customer interaction can build value in your health club and steer clients away from focusing on price alone. In Part IV, we discuss the most critical step – closing the sale. This is where your newly gained client knowledge really pays off.

By now in the sales process with Joe New Prospect, you’ve:
• Established a strong rapport by using his name frequently
• Exhibited product knowledge

The 100 Club of Massachusetts • 24th August 2021

NEW: How to Teach Your Teens to Save Themselves

How to Teach Your Teens to Save Themselves

It’s not an overstatement to say kids are distracted by their phones. We all are. But what does this do to their ability to take care of themselves? In terms of personal safety, it creates a perfect opportunity for them to stumble into very dangerous situations.

Why? Because they’re not paying attention to their immediate surroundings. Teaching your teens the fundamentals of situational awareness can undisputedly save their lives.

It is a tactic used