>Hi my name is Karina and I am looking for a career change. I
>run a real estate title company. In the past two years I have
>decided to change my path and do something different. I have
>started taking Pilates certification programs and I would like
>to open up my own business. I guess I need some guidance. I
>have some people who will help me with my idea, but I just
>don't want to jump into something with taking the right steps
>first. I read an old topic where someone was looking to open a
>fitness center for people and dogs. I love the idea and have
>never seen anything like this where I live. I live in northern
>NJ and I can just imagine that something like this would be
>great. If anyone has ideas, critiques, suggestions and,biz
>plan samples to share I am open for anything. Like I said I am
>blind to this industry.
>
>I can also be e-mailed at brzl1979@aim.com

Well to help decrease the fear it would be a good idea for you to make a business plan. One of the first questions that will need to be answered is WHERE your business will be. Will you start small in your home - using a room - or are you talking about using/renting/buying space? If it is the latter then you will have to consider your overhead. Your financing - do you have money saved that you will want to use or are you going to seek financing? You can start looking around for investors, grants, loans, etc., but you will still need to know how much your costs are going to be. You need to actually know that cost so you can compare it to what you have now (or what financing you are seeking). You will need to know how much in profit you will have to make. Decide where your income will be coming from - memberships - how much will you charge for memberships, classes, etc., You should also look into ways of increasing your income/visibility/reputation. The best form of advertising is "word of mouth" - which means when you do a great job the word will spread which simply means that you should do a great job for your customers. And your customer base can include more besides the "basic" fitness clients. What about providing health-related exercise classes? What about providing rehabilitation classes?

My point here is that if this is something that you truly enjoy doing other related opportunities will come along. How about providing your customer base with literature, answering questions - sort of like a Q & A column where they can write/email and ask questions.....

I think that every business idea has merit but I think it would be a very good idea if you had some sort of plan in order - if for no other reason just to see it down on paper.