Such an unusual question caught Guo Licheng off guard.

Pei Qian continued, “What’s your current base salary?”

Guo Licheng answered honestly, “1,500.”

Pei Qian asked again, “How is the commission calculated?”

Guo Licheng: “Different levels of coaches get different commission rates, averaging around 30%, with personal training sessions at 200 yuan each.”

The price of personal training sessions matched what Pei Qian remembered; he paid the same for his employees’ training sessions.

Of course, from the perspective of ten years later, it was indeed quite cheap, even dirt cheap.

Pei Qian quickly calculated, “If you average three personal training sessions a day, working every day of the month, the commission would be 5,400 yuan, plus the 1,500 base salary, totaling 6,900 yuan.”

In current Jingzhou, this income was quite decent.

Guo Licheng hesitated for a moment and said, “Actually, it’s not that much. Many of the personal training sessions I conduct are transferred to me by other coaches, and I have to share the commission with them. My actual monthly take-home pay is about five to six thousand yuan.”

Pei Qian nodded, thinking that this fellow truly lived up to his name—quite honest, telling everything.

For personal trainers, selling courses was their core competitiveness. The more courses they sold, the higher their commission. In many major cities, personal trainers could earn thirty to forty thousand a month just by selling courses, though such marketing talents were rare.

Coaches like Guo Licheng, who were more reserved, less talkative, and always straightforward, naturally couldn’t persuade many students to buy personal training sessions.

Meanwhile, those coaches who could persuade many students to buy personal training sessions but couldn’t teach all of them would transfer some to coaches like Guo Licheng, who had more available time.

But unless the two had an extremely good relationship, this transfer would never be free.

Pei Qian nodded, “I’ll offer you an 8,000 yuan base salary, no commission, but with meal allowances, housing subsidies, regular physical examinations, and other benefits.”

Guo Licheng was taken aback. “Uh, Mr. Pei, I’m not talking about the salary issue. I want to leave this industry mainly because…”

Pei Qian: “Then 10,000 yuan base salary, plus various benefits, no commission.”

Guo Licheng: “…”

His heart was moved.

A 10,000 yuan base salary—where else could he get such a base salary if he left the fitness industry?

Moreover, Guo Licheng actually loved the fitness industry; he wanted to leave only because he was disappointed with the current state of the industry.

Now, this 10,000 yuan base salary was already ridiculously high, and the four words “no commission” surprised him even more.

This sincerity touched him.

But it also made Guo Licheng worry for Mr. Pei.

He didn’t want such a sincere Mr. Pei to become a sucker, taking over the gym only to lose everything.

Guo Licheng hesitated for a moment and asked, “Mr. Pei, you haven’t delved into the fitness industry before, have you?”

Pei Qian told the truth, “No.”

Guo Licheng showed an “I thought as much” expression. “To be honest with you, you’re thinking too simply.”

“Although this offer is very attractive to me, and ‘no commission’ is also a good thing, it’s not beneficial for the gym!”

“With commission, coaches will work hard to sell cards and courses, allowing the gym to have enough profit to continue. If there’s no commission, coaches won’t actively promote, and who will buy courses?”

Pei Qian smiled slightly, “No need to buy courses. From now on, our gym won’t have personal training sessions.”

Guo Licheng: “Huh?”

Seeing Guo Licheng’s bewildered expression, Pei Qian found it quite interesting and briefly explained the various rules of “Managed Fitness.”

Guo Licheng’s expression changed from confusion to shock, to hesitation, to puzzlement, and finally to pity.

After Pei Qian finished his brief explanation, Guo Licheng sighed softly, “Mr. Pei, now I’m certain you don’t understand the fitness industry! To be honest, in this business, gyms with a conscience don’t last long.”

“If you operate like this, you’ll be pleasing neither side.”

“I’m afraid you’ll neither gain reputation nor make money.”

Oh?

Pei Qian was delighted. It seemed his plan had received recognition from a veteran in the fitness industry!

This was a good sign.

But he buried this joy deep in his heart and asked, “How so?”

Guo Licheng coughed lightly, glanced at Manager Wei, who was discussing the contract with Assistant Xin, then lowered his voice and said, “To be honest, Mr. Pei, the current fitness industry is a gamble.”

“People who work out bet that they’ll go every day after buying a card, while gyms bet they won’t.”

“The result is often that the gym wins.”

“But even so, gyms in China still close down and run away in batches. It’s not uncommon for people to go back a few months after buying a card only to find the gym empty and abandoned.”

“So, this is an industry where bad money drives out good. It’s similar to… certain other industries that are keen on selling cards and then running away.”

“Only the heartless can make money. Those who rely on conscience and long-term goals to survive are extremely rare.”

Guo Licheng’s tone grew increasingly heavy, while Pei Qian became increasingly pleased.

So, according to what you’re saying, the situation is even more optimistic than I imagined?

Pei Qian secretly expressed his delight at hearing this!

“Tell me more in detail,” Pei Qian maintained his composure.

It seemed Guo Licheng also had a strong desire to vent about this. He lowered his voice and said, “Mr. Pei, this 50 yuan per day rate you’ve set, honestly, it pleases neither side.”

“Most consumers will calculate that coming four times a week would cost nearly 10,000 yuan a year, which is five times more expensive than ordinary gym annual cards! They’ll think it’s very expensive.”

“But in reality, these gyms selling 2,000 yuan annual cards sustain their profits through a large number of unused cards and personal training courses.”

“In other words, with your pricing method, consumers will think it’s expensive, and you might not even be able to make much money. In my view, this is a conscientious approach, especially for novices without motivation, but novices themselves don’t see it that way!”

“They all think they’ll go to the gym every day after buying an annual card, so they’ll think your method isn’t cost-effective.”

“This is why I say bad money drives out good. There are too many such novices, making it hard to earn money with a conscience, while it’s too easy to earn money unscrupulously.”

“An annual card for 2,000 yuan, a two-year card for 3,000 yuan—looking at it this way, the two-year card is better value. Gyms bet you won’t come often, so the longer the membership, the cheaper it is. On the surface, it seems like the gym is losing money, but for gyms, they only care about the present! They’ll deal with the two-year situation later; first, they secure that 3,000 yuan.”

“As a result, when one gym does this, other gyms have to reluctantly follow suit, otherwise all their customers will be stolen.”

“These gyms try hard to sell annual cards and three-year cards. After making money in advance, they aggressively distribute flyers, pull in people, and sell personal training courses, completely disregarding the gym’s actual capacity, but they indeed overpower other gyms in terms of presence.”

“They exhaust the potential customers nearby, making it impossible for other gyms to continue operations.”

“If you open a conscientious gym and don’t aim for quick money, you won’t last long before being crushed by the promotional offensive of these gyms. What future would there be?”

“These gyms that have made quick money disrupt the market, exhausting future consumption potential. When they see trouble coming, they quickly run away, leaving behind a mess.”

“Another crucial point is that for beginners, fitness is a rather painful thing. Consumers in our country generally don’t have the right fitness concepts. The entry barrier for fitness is too high, the consumer experience is too poor, and there are too many novices, which is why gyms have evolved into this model.”

“To earn money with a conscience, you at least need to be prepared to lose money for several years. The resources and manpower required far exceed imagination. You not only have to create a good product but also cultivate the market and change people’s lifestyle habits. It’s too difficult!”

“So, if you’re thinking about making a quick buck and running, pretend I said nothing.”

“But I know Tenda is a conscientious enterprise, which is why I hope you’ll think carefully and not impulsively wade into these troubled waters.”

After hearing Guo Licheng’s speech, Pei Qian fell into silence.

He was overjoyed!

Listen, listen, my plan had received recognition from a professional!

And it was highly recognized at that!

So, according to what you’re saying, losing money would be easier for me?

Seeing Mr. Pei fall into silence, Guo Licheng quickly said, “Mr. Pei, it seems the contract hasn’t been signed yet. It’s not too late to change your mind.”

Pei Qian chuckled, “Change my mind? No, no, no, I’ve thought this through carefully.”

“Since you say this industry is one where bad money drives out good, and to earn money with a conscience, one must be prepared to lose money for many years… then let me change this industry!”

“From now on, you are the manager of ‘Managed Fitness’ Handu University Branch. You have three tasks for the next few days.”

“First, recruit a team of coaches with a base salary of 7,000 yuan, with benefits but no commission. All coaches must follow your model—hire the introverted ones, and reject any who are all talk.”

“Coaches will work in rotation, with two days off each week, alternating between morning and evening shifts. During regular hours, ensure there are enough coaches in the venue to guide students.”

“Calculate how many coaches to hire yourself, but try to hire more—I think about twenty should be enough. In case someone catches a cold or falls ill and needs to take leave, they should be able to adjust shifts promptly. Under no circumstances should there be unreasonable overtime.”

“Second, find a construction team to redecorate and repaint the storefront, making it more low-key.”

“Third, purchase fitness equipment directly according to the highest standards. Don’t worry about the cost, understand?”

Guo Licheng felt a bit confused. So all that he had just said was a waste of breath?

“But Mr. Pei…”

Pei Qian patted his thick shoulder, “No buts, go prepare.”

On the other side, Assistant Xin had also finished negotiating with Manager Wei.

“Mr. Pei, we’ve reached an agreement. The gym has an area of 1,800 square meters. The original investment in this store was around 1.7 million yuan. The main expenses are: the equipment here is mid-to-low-end, with some second-hand items, totaling 500,000 yuan; other supplies cost between 50,000 to 80,000 yuan, including various equipment and instruments for personal trainers, computers, office desks and chairs, etc.; renovation costs were around 900,000 yuan, plus staff salaries and advertising marketing expenses, etc.”

“If we were to take over everything, the transfer fee would be around 500,000 to 600,000 yuan, but since we’re essentially just taking the venue and renovations, not the fitness equipment, the final transfer fee negotiated is 300,000 yuan.”

“Manager Wei will remove all the equipment, and we’ll purchase all new fitness equipment, recruit coaches, and pay rent for the venue…”

Considering that we plan to use high-standard fitness equipment and that our staff salaries are higher than the industry average, the initial investment in equipment, transfer fees, and other miscellaneous items will be around 1.5 million yuan. Annual expenses, including rent, utilities, staff salaries, etc., will be nearly 3 million yuan… averaging about 250,000 yuan per month. This is already far higher than the expenses of an ordinary gym.”

Pei Qian nodded, thinking that the investment didn’t seem to be much.

Initial investment of 1.5 million yuan, with monthly expenses of only about 250,000 yuan—even without customers, it seemed like he couldn’t lose much money.

But then he thought, this was just one store.

If he opened ten stores, wouldn’t he comfortably lose ten million a year?

He would first open this store to see the situation. If no one showed interest, he would open several more.

After all, as long as he opened enough stores, he would lose more and more money!