By Mandy Miller
Published: December 26, 2025

I played tennis my entire life and I was a gymnast, neither of which introduced me to barbell lifting before I turned 30. I can run suicides along tennis court lines until I puke, I can throw a 20lb medicine ball over my shoulder to mimic a backhand, I can still do a backhandspring, and I recently learned I can flip over racked barbell…. but at 32 I couldn’t squat more than 60 lbs. Now that didn’t surprise me, I had a natural birth 16 weeks before attempting my first squat. Eight months into this journey of working through my NLP, I’ll be damned if I ever can’t walk into the gym and knock out 3×3 for 200 again. That means it’s also been nine months of learning about the Starting Strength franchise model. Using what I know now of this concept, along with 10 years of previous franchising experience, and if had break down my evaluation of Starting Strength Gyms into 10 points, this would be it:

Initial Investment and Total Capital Requirements

Most new interested investors are surprised by how expensive it is. In the grand scheme of franchising, it’s not expensive at all. I had a prospect ask me recently why he shouldn’t just open a Gold’s Gym for a quarter of the price. I told him if that idea sounded attractive to him then Starting Strength wasn’t going to be the right brand for him regardless. Opening a new business like this isn’t expensive because we are marking up the equipment 200% or spending superfluous money. It’s because we have done this 28 times and seen all the possible expenses that you might incur play out, and we’ve uncovered every rock that could leave a financial surprise. So yes, there is a chance you can open a Starting Strength Gym on the low end of the provided ranges, but we want you to be aware of all the possible scenarios to help you mitigate your risk. If you like other concepts like doggy daycares, you could be spending triple the amount a Starting Strength would cost you.

Ongoing Fees and Royalty Structure

An 8-12% combined royalty and national advertising fee is a very average fee structure for a retail membership model like Starting Strength. One of the unique things about Starting Strength that other concepts don’t offer is a high level of concierge service, for both the Starting Strength members and the franchisees. That approach to customer service is rare, and in this franchisee relationship it’s also optional! We provide many opportunities to help direct new clients to the front doors of the gyms, and to help manage, train, and retain members, but not all of those tools are required. So don’t be afraid as you read through the fee chart. Think of it as a library to refer back to. As a business owner you will need help at times, and we are here and ready to support you as needed. 90% of that support comes along with the royalty at no additional cost, but a handful of items like in person operations training for a week at a time, or successfully converted online training clients, comes with a small fee.

Franchisor’s History

Starting Strength’s history is very unique compared to other franchises. Most other brands would tout the success of a single location that launched their franchise model, but Starting Strength had over 10 years of operational and coaching excellence before SS franchising was born.

Unit Economics and Item 19 Performance

TRANSPARENCY. Hallelujah. An Item 19 in a Franchise Disclosure Document is meant to give you insight into how you could possibly perform financially at a single unit level. Some brands provide projections. Some brands provide corporate run locations only. Starting Strength provides not only all gross revenue numbers, platform counts, years in business, square footage, and more. But they also aren’t anonymous! As a prospective franchisee you can look through for similar demographic cities and make some assumptions for yourself.

Territory Rights and Market Saturation

Starting Strength is a destination location brand. People are seeking out our brand, signing up for designated times, and staying for an hour. This will not be Starbucks with locations on every corner. If a Starting Strength gym doesn’t succeed, that is bad for the franchisee and for corporate. It’s in the brands best interest to create designated territories that can sustain themselves. In this model that usually looks like 100k-150k in population, and a minimum of $100k medium household income. That is a much higher standard than most other franchise concepts which also eliminates a number of cities across America, and we will tell you that right off the bat.

Training and Ongoing Support Quality

The Starting Strength certification makes this a really interesting conversation. There are two training tracks here to consider, the SSC and operations/management support. A SSC is NOT required by a franchisee to open a gym. Thorough documentation and processes are available to help an avid fan of Starting Strength open a gym, without getting the certification. We can help you hire and train the right person for that certified head coach position. If a franchisee does want to get certified we fully support and love that model too.

Supply Chain and Vendor Requirements

Have you ever tried to work out with bad equipment? I have. Traveling and using uncalibrated plates. Cracks in the mats that make footing unstable. Racks that feel impossible to rack. The Starting Strength supply chain and vendor requirements here are a must for very obvious reasons. However, it all comes from America, yay! The amount of delays that the franchise industry incurred during COVID due to international manufacturing slowed down the pace of business for years. You won’t find much leeway on this one.

Corporate Team

Evaluate everyone on the Starting Strength franchise team. This is a 10 year relationship, hopefully longer! Before being offered a franchise agreement you will have to meet some team members in person to make sure you will be a good brand representative, and this is also your chance to make sure you feel comfortable working alongside this team, because we collaborate with you a lot! Look at values, look at history, look at brand passion, and make sure your motivation aligns with those you will be working closely with.

Franchisee Satisfaction and Turnover

Now that I have been to an Owner’s Meeting and met many franchisees, I know they all feel equally as strong about bringing in the right people to this “franchise family.” Speak directly with current franchisees. You can find that information in the Franchise Disclosure Document. Ask about their biggest challenges, biggest wins, what they wish they had known when they got started, how they structured their coaching, etc. At a bare minimum you will be set up with at least 1 franchisee to talk to, but we encourage you to reach more on your own.

Exit Strategy and Transferability

Don’t start a franchise unless you have an end goal in mind. That can change the way you build your team, structure your legal entity, and how you view your business over time. Is this to replace your existing income? Is this a retirement strategy for when you’re able to retire and give you another passion project in life? Is this a legacy project you hope to hand down to your children? I have personally bought, run, and sold 6 different local franchises over the last 10 years. I love the “flip,” and proving that a validated model only fails when the people fail, and if you follow the validated system it works! One concept I held onto, because it’s my baby, I built it before I had any real babies of my own, and I hope one day my girls love it too so they can decide if they want to participate in it with me. I have never hesitated to sign that next 5 year lease because I know we have at least a decade left before I am having those conversations. Know your goals and know your exit strategy if you need one.