Write the gym down before you look at anything

You cannot assess a building, a budget or a market until you know what you are testing them against. Most people skip this step because they feel like they already know their gym. Write it down anyway, in numbers, because vague specifics produce vague answers at every stage that follows.

The brief, in numbers:

• Total floor area, and how it splits: strength floor, cardio, functional, group rooms, changerooms, reception, offices, creche, wellness. If you do not know yet, write a range. “Somewhere between 600 and 900 square metres” is workable. A number you have not thought about is not.
• Every powered system you intend to run. Not “some recovery stuff”, the actual list. Saunas, and how many. Ice baths, and whether they are chilled. Red light. Air conditioning, and across what area. This list is the single most important input in the whole journey, because it is what stage 2 tests the building's electrical supply against, and a blank here becomes an expensive surprise there.
• Target membership and weekly price. Both will be argued with later, by the competition work in stage 2 and by the break-even arithmetic below. Write them down anyway so there is something to argue with.
• Opening date and runway. How long can you fund the project before it must earn?
• Stage two. What you would add in year three if it works. Buildings get screened against this, not against opening day, because upgrading later costs multiples of specifying it now.

Then write down what you will not compromise on. If the recovery room is the reason your gym is different from the one down the road, a building that cannot carry it is not a cheaper version of your gym. It is a different business.

The feasibility screen

Before any building exists, two pieces of arithmetic tell you whether the concept can ever work.

The cost side. Australian gym fit-outs are running roughly $1,500 to $3,000 per square metre. Vendor-published Compound Fitness fit-out guide 2026, cross-checked against JLL's ANZ all-sector average, rates as at 25 July 2026. A seller's figure, directional only. Multiply by your floor area range and you have a first, rough build number before equipment, rent or working capital. The cost to open calculator builds the full stack with every rate sourced and dated.

The revenue side. One line of arithmetic, done before anyone falls in love:

Monthly operating cost ÷ (weekly price × 4.33) = the members you need to break even. Modelled

Then ask whether that member count is plausible for the kind of area you are considering, and how many months of losses you can fund while you get there. Budget for six to twelve months before profitability, longer for a large site. Operator experience our experience across real openings, as at August 2026.

Where the professionals come in

Nothing at this stage needs a professional yet, which is the point: this is the free stage. But note who is coming. Your accountant or advisor should see the feasibility model before money moves, and every stage after this one names the professional who verifies it. If you want their input cheap, bring them a written brief, not a conversation.