Legal issues behind us

I'm glad to report that the legal issues are behind us. My attorney instructed me to create a new LLC and a new DBA, which I have done.

The LLC is a form of corporation that insulates this particular company from my other companies, as well as from me personally. Because this is mainly a legal formality, the name of the LLC isn't so important - just as long as it isn't already being used by someone else. I've chosen the name TRP Fitness, LLC. TRP stands for Three Rivers Plaza, the current location of the fitness center I'm converting.

Of more importance is my selection of the DBA (doing business as) name. You may somtimes hear the DBA referred to as a Trade Name. I've chosen World Gym of Phoenix as the DBA. This name basically allows us to accept checks payable to World Gym, and to refer to ourselves in general as a World Gym.

I apologize for the time gap in these posts, but in actuality we've had a quiet spell in which there was no new information to post. If you have dealt with corporate legal matters, or worked with attorneys, you know that haste is not the name of the game. At $245 / hour, I guess you'd take your time too! But I also take it as an assurance of thoroughness, which is important.

At any rate, it seems that the legal back-and-forth is completed. Karin in Franchise Relations at WG Corporate has made the appropriate changes to the Franchise Agreement. She's sent it to me for signatures, along with a Construction Binder. In fact, I received it today (Saturday) via FedEx - so it's a good thing I stopped in at the office for a little bit.

The construction binder is great. It details many items related to construction that a club owner must know - right down to the color numbers for paint to be used at the club. They've thought of just about everything. This book would have been very valuable when I opened my first club and had to figure things out on my own. I remember being asked by the landlord how many tons of HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) I would need. How could I have possibly have known the answer? This book spells all of that out for you.

This upcoming week should shape up like this:

• I'll sign the agreement in front of a Notary on Monday, and FedEx it to WG to arrive on Tuesday.

• WG and I have already been working up versions of the postcard we'll send to announce the details about World Gym of Phoenix. We'll probably just need a couple of tweaks and can then determine a mailing date. It will most likely be close to January 1, so we don't compete with (or get lost among) all the in-your-face Christmas advertising that's currently going on.

• I'd like to obtain some business cards for my newly-hired manager. He can use them to begin introducing himself to members and prospects, and establish himself with the business owners in the plaza.

• Also, with luck, we'll quickly become part of the World Gym website. One of the most exciting aspects of this relationship is our new ability to offer online membership purchase through the website. A 24/7 club is able to operate unstaffed for much of each day, which of course is a major cost-saving advantage. But limited staff hours also means limited time for membership sales. So getting on the website addresses a huge need we've had - that of providing unlimited and convenient times for buying and renewing memberships.

Watch for me to say we're official by the middle of this coming week.