Posted by on May 23, 2013 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Midwest Training Seminar 2013

The Midwest Training Seminar was held on May 17th-18th, and it was a really great event.  Thank you to all gyms that participated.  We loved your incredible passion for My Gym and the children.  We also want to send a special thanks to Lisa Miroballi and the Wheaton staff for hosting this year. We held part of the 2013 awards ceremony during the event.  Each one of you is very deserving of an award for the remarkable work you do with children every day.  Thank you for all that you do in your gyms day in and day out. We want to congratulate and recognize again the 2013 award winners: Achievement Award (not pictured) – Lindley – Skokie, IL Franchisee of the Year – Midwest – Lisa and Mike Beasley – Chesterfield, MO Director of the Year – Midwest – Jim Macur – Highlands Ranch, CO More info to come soon on the Northeast Training Seminar June 7th– 8th!  Stay...

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Posted by on May 22, 2013 in Products | 0 comments

New Interior Signs Available on ShopMyGym.com

Due to popular demand, ShopMyGym will now be carrying two new additional adhesive decal signs! Information Center Adhesive Decal (37”x 14”) This sign is made of PhotoTex Repositionable Vinyl and is used to highlight all your class, party, and program information your gym would like to share with parents and prospective clients. Click here to order this sign today! Sibling Rules Adhesive Decal (30” x 26”) This sign is made of PhotoTex Repositionable Vinyl and shares the following rules with parents: Parents must supervise their children at play. Children need to share toys. Parents, please make sure the area is clean after use. Children, please play with toys quietly, and use inside voices. Everyone, HAVE FUN! Click here to order this sign...

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Posted by on May 21, 2013 in Technology | 0 comments

MGM 2.0 Update

As a follow up to the announcement sent on 5/14/13, MGM 2.0 is here and we are ready to transition the remaining gyms from the original MGM.  If your gym would like to go through the transition process sooner rather than later, please contact Natalie Wise at nwise@mygym.com to coordinate.  Otherwise, we will be contacting gyms to schedule your transfer date. A few reminders: 2.0’s functionality is basically identical to the current system with improved speed and compatibility for future upgrades. There will be fee changes associated with the transition: Transition fee: $200.00 New monthly fee: $34.99 New gym setup: $499.00 It will be necessary for you to be without your current version of MGM for a period of approximately 24...

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Posted by on May 20, 2013 in Products | 0 comments

Introducing the “I Love My Gym” and “My Gym My World” T-Shirts!

As you may know, My Gym is about to roll out a retail program with products for you to sell to consumers in your gyms.  These products include apparel, manips, puppets, and more.  We’re so excited about two of the apparel items that we can’t wait to release them, so we’re making them available now.  Both of these new shirts were shown at the seminar last October, so you might already be familiar with them.  Here are the details . . .   “I Love My Gym” T-Shirt Show your love of My Gym with the “I Love My Gym” T-Shirt.  This soft, lightweight American Apparel “baseball shirt” will quickly become everyone’s favorite. American Apparel raglan “baseball” style T-Shirt 3.7 oz. , 50% cotton / 50% polyester 3/4 raglan sleeves Printed with “I ♥ MG” on the front and the My Gym logo on the back Available in infant, toddler, youth, and adult sizes   My Gym My World T-Shirt My Gym is a special and unique place for kids...

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Posted by on May 17, 2013 in Products | 0 comments

Themed parties are a hit! Starter pack discount ends next Monday 5/20.

    Wow!  What a great response to the new themed birthday party program!  We’re excited to see so many gyms quickly jumping on board and ordering the theme party products since they were introduced just 10 days ago.  It’s no doubt that gyms are eager to satisfy their customers’ huge demand for themed parties and the convenience of the My Gym product offerings. Gyms are also taking advantage of the 25% off starter pack discount, which is ending next Monday, 5/20 at 6:00 PM PST.  There is no limit on the number of starter packs you can buy at the discounted price, so stock up now and save almost $70 per starter pack! Remember to also order these additional great party products:    Themed Party Accessories Kit – Essential for creating the ultimate themed party experience Table cover rolls – Easy to use and economical; use for themed and non-themed parties Birthday party favor bags – Convenient, branded, strong value; save 15% on favor bags purchased by Friday...

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Posted by on May 16, 2013 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Curriculum Reminder

Reminder:  If you have not yet bought the golf equipment we previously sent out, please do so as soon as possible.  Golf will be in the curriculum for the week of 5/27. Mini Golf Putters and Target Set S&S Worldwide Contact Terri Mohrline tmohrlein@ssww.com (860) 537-3451 x 2238 Call in order to receive the My Gym Discount. Listed Price = $54.99 Item #:  W10225 Recommended Quantity = 1 A customer-favorite game that improves putting skills!  Set includes six 24″L right-handed putters, 18 targets, and 18 foam balls – 3 each of 6 bright Spectrum™ colors (red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and...

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Posted by on May 14, 2013 in Technology | 0 comments

MGM 2.0 Update

MGM 2.0 is here!  Early adopters have been using the new program for several weeks, helping us with the final debugging process.  Thank you to everybody who has been involved in helping us get MGM 2.0 to this point. There are still minor changes currently being made to the program in order to provide My Gym franchisees with the best possible functionality.  Please keep in mind that the two main reasons we made this upgrade was to fix the speed issue and to have an appropriate environment to create the user interface that will allow your customers and new clients to book birthday parties, schedule guest classes, etc., etc.  We are now hard at work developing the user interface, which will be rolled out in the summer. MGM 2.0 functionality is basically identical to the current system, and it functions much more quickly as well.  We are now in the process of moving all franchisees over to 2.0.  The protocol will be the following: We will be reaching out...

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Posted by on May 13, 2013 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Regional Training Seminar 2013

Midwest Regional Training Seminar is this week! General Information Regional Training Seminar will begin at 1:30pm on Friday afternoon, May 17th.  Please be on time.  The meetings will end around 6:30pm, and we will gather for a mixer at 7:30pm. Saturday morning there will be an owners only meeting from 7:30-8:30am.  All owners will need to be there at 7:30am, and the rest of the staff will start at 8:30am.  Last meeting will end at approximately 5:00pm on Saturday.  Please plan to attend the entire seminar. Things to Bring We would like you to bring a hard copy of your class schedule that will be shared with other gyms at your seminar. PREPARE AND BRING YOUR IDEAS FOR THE IDEA SHARES.  We are excited about all of our meetings, but this year we want you and your staff to come prepared specifically for our Idea Shares.  Please inform your staff to plan and prepare ideas ahead of time and bring them to the seminar.  Every year, we have gotten...

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Posted by on May 13, 2013 in General | 0 comments

Music Licensing Update

We were able to negotiate an extended deadline to May 30th. Many gyms have not sent in their checks, and we know these companies are getting more aggressive. Please re-read the Music Licensing Update below. We will not receive additional extensions. +++ Yes, unfortunately it is that time of year again. We have the same arrangement this year as we had last year with the three music licensing companies: BMI, ASCAP and SESAC. The arrangement is as follows: We have negotiated the best deal possible with each of the three companies. We collect from all franchisees and purchase a master deal for all participating My Gyms. We won’t bore you with all the details because we know you have heard it too many times. Just remember the most important part – You are not legally allowed to play music in your business unless you have the proper license. Simply purchasing the music does not give you the right to play it in the gym. You will soon receive an...

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Posted by on May 8, 2013 in Products | 0 comments

Registration Style Onesies, Building Blocks T-shirts and Blue & Pink Registration T-shirts – Now Available!

“Registration Style” Onesies are Here! Now our youngest members can sport a onesie with the My Gym logo!  The super soft and lightweight cotton-poly jersey makes this the perfect no-fuss onesie.  Parents and kids are sure to love this item.  It’s available in colors of red and heather navy and in sizes 6M, 12M, and 18M.  This item is in stock and available immediately.  We are not pre-building registration packs with this onesie; but, if you want a portion of your registration packs made with these onesies instead of shirts, you may put in a special order request through ShopMyGym.com.  Click here to order now.   Building Blocks T-Shirts are Now Available! Kids love My Gym T-shirts, and they love getting awards; so we’ve added a T-shirt to the Building Blocks product line.  As you know, the ribbons, medals, and stickers are all part of the standard Building Blocks program, while the trophies and, now, the shirts are available as optional rewards.  The shirt can be given to kids...

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Posted by on May 6, 2013 in General | 0 comments

Updates

As you all have probably seen by now, the new My Gym Extranet has been launched, which now contains our Updates in a much easier way to search. Below is some information to understand about the protocol change: MGE will now be giving you updates throughout the week; the Weekly Update does not exist anymore. A new update will be delivered to you in the following ways: You will receive an email containing the update. Email mperez@mygym.com if you wish to add additional email addresses to the database. The update will be placed on Facebook, and you will probably receive a notification from them as well. The update will be posted on the extranet. Weekly Curriculum: We will always have two weeks of curriculum up on the homepage of the extranet at all times. Each Thursday, we will post a new curriculum and remove the older of the two previously posted. You will receive an email that the new curriculum is now available on the extranet. A few key...

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Posted by on May 6, 2013 in Products | 0 comments

Themed Birthday Parties Are Here!

My Gym is proud to announce that Themed Birthday Parties are now available for your gyms. Months of successful testing have revealed that themed parties enhance a child’s experience and that parents want the option of providing popular themes for their children’s parties.  In fact, parents often have such parties anyway . . . at no profit to you! Now you can offer a selection of 6 themed parties, which includes themed party goods and specially developed theme-specific programming (music, games, relays, special rides, dances, and more) designed to provide unique and all-encompassing experiences more memorable than the typical last-minute responses to customer requests for themed programming. This product represents a powerful income opportunity for your gym.  Together, Themed Parties and My Gym Party Favors can earn you $5,000 to $10,000 in additional annual profit – and possibly more. Additional benefits include: Happy clients Additional marketing opportunities (for your gym) Increased customer service (no need for parents to shop) Self-contained in 1 box (easy shipping/storage/setup) Enhanced value of birthday...

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Posted by on May 6, 2013 in Marketing | 0 comments

30 Year Anniversary Campaign Update

This week alone we have received over 50 contest entries, and we are now up to 367 as of this writing.  Additionally, the corporate Facebook page has been growing at a steady clip of 125 new likes per week since the campaign’s inception. Nice surge, FB growth, impressions, and “action”/entries in the first month of the campaign across the board!  More gyms are posting the campaign info to their FB pages; we continue to post it to the top of the MGE FB page/wall; Bloggers are blogging; and April Parenting Magazine (10 million circulation) are all likely helping with impressions and “action” as well as the US Family Guide ads/posts (see report below).  We believe that, at least in some part, this is translating at the gym level.  Please be sure to file hard copy coupons that come in and track enrollments with the MGM “how did you hear about us” function, selecting the “30 Year” option. Relating to the contest, here is a recent entry by a family. ...

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Posted by on May 6, 2013 in Products | 0 comments

My Gym Staff Uniform Protocol

All staff members working in a My Gym on any given day must wear the same style shirt in the same color with an appropriate black garment on the bottom (sweatpants, shorts, etc.). For example, you may choose to have your staff wear the following: the blue logo T-shirt on Mondays and Wednesdays, the red logo shirt on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the green logo shirt on Fridays, and a specialty shirt such as “My Gym Rocks” or “Property of My Gym” on Saturdays and Sundays. This is just one example of a uniform protocol you might institute in your gym. You may decide to always have your staff wear only the blue T-shirt or only the yellow T-shirt, etc. Have fun picking your color scheme. The rationale and research: Many gym owners were asked for their opinions, as were numerous key gym employees. MGE considered all opinions, took a hard look at other companies operating in the world today, and also considered My Gym’s long history and tradition. At...

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Posted by on Apr 25, 2013 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Staff Scheduling and Time Off Requests

We have updated the Scheduling and Time Off Request Protocol document to include updated MGE recommendations as well as recent franchisee ideas. If you find yourself covering for your staff on a regular basis or dealing with staff squabbles about covering shifts, we advise that you review and implement this policy. Click Here for the “Scheduling and Time Off Request...

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Posted by on Apr 25, 2013 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Teacher Appreciation Week is just around the corner!

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6th – 10th. This gives you the perfect opportunity to honor your My Gym teachers as well as market your classes to school teachers with some great summer deals. With all the focus on marketing, don’t forget about your My Gym teachers: Post a status on your Facebook board with pictures and something nice about each teacher. A simple handwritten thank you note goes a long way. Plan a staff lunch at the weekly meeting. If you are crafty, Click Here for ideas. Check out the Print System to begin creating your flier, and the Exact Target template can be found in Global Emails (1. 30 Year Teacher Appreciation Week). Ideas for Teacher Appreciation Specials: 30th Anniversary Special Teachers enroll their children and receive UNLIMITED CLASSES for ________! (A month or all summer) Teachers enroll their children and receive a FREE Lifetime Membership! Teachers enroll their children for 2 months and get the 3rd month FREE! Teachers enroll their children and receive ½ OFF...

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Posted by on Apr 25, 2013 in Technology | 0 comments

Extranet Upgrade

The extranet upgrade will take place late this Sunday night. We chose that time because the extranet will probably be down for a few hours while the upgrade is happening. If you need to use the extranet this weekend, please plan around this time frame. By the time you get on it Monday morning, we should be up and running with the upgraded extranet. Keep in mind that, from that point forward, you will not be receiving weekly updates from MGE. As mentioned in our previous update about the extranet, MGE updates will be hosted on the homepage of the new extranet. You will be receiving an email notifying you that a new update was placed on the extranet. IMPORTANT: IF YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE HAS AN EMAIL ADDRESS THAT IS NOT RECEIVING THE WEEKLY UPDATES AND WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE THE NOTIFICATIONS (EMAILS THAT WILL BE SENT OUT EVERY TIME A NEW UPDATE IS POSTED ON THE EXTRANET), PLEASE SEND INFORMAITON TO MPEREZ@MYGYM.COM. We have done an immense...

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Posted by on Apr 25, 2013 in Products | 0 comments

Spend $500 and get $75 back! …and more!

Spend $500 and get $75 back from ShopMyGym! Have you been thinking about placing a big order for My Gym merchandise? Well, now is the time to do it! If you spend $500 or more on ShopMyGym between now and next Tuesday, April 30th, you will receive a $75 gift certificate to use on a future purchase. After your qualifying purchase, you will receive an email with your coupon code. For those of you who have already placed an order of $500 or more during the month of April, we will send you a coupon code good for $25 toward a future purchase. These coupons apply to future purchases of $250 or more made by July 31, 2013. Click here to take advantage of this offer. Birthday Party Theme Marketing Posters are Shipping Now. My Gym is launching its Birthday Party Theme program, which will include themed party goods and programming based on kids’ favorite characters. This exciting program is launching at the beginning of May, and you will...

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Posted by on Apr 25, 2013 in My Gym Foundation | 0 comments

MGCA: Nearly Impossible Decisions…

This week the Challenged America Gift Appropriations Committee must choose a small number of gift recipients from a large and deserving group of children. Which of this tiny sample of applicants would you award? Girl, age 3, who has never spoken a word because of developmental delays; unable to chew solid foods; poor balance – Needs $500 for speech, physical, and occupational therapy Autistic boy, age 3, cannot communicate and is unresponsive. Needs $500 to join the Early Autism Project for therapy Boy, age 13, suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and is losing the use of his hands and cannot use the mouse on his computer to learn, read, and research life skills. Needs a special laptop w/Dragon program to continue schooling Girl, age 5, with several disorders including Cerebral Palsy needs $511 for a “Tomato Chair” that would allow her to sit with family at the dinner table and play on the floor without falling over. Girl, age 7, has inability to produce perspiration, inhibiting her from playing...

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Posted by on Apr 25, 2013 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Building Blocks Webinar

We held a webinar this past week on Building Blocks. Thank you to everyone who participated. Your discussion, roleplays, and ideas were great and extremely helpful for many other gyms. We encourage all owners and staff to listen to the recorded webinars found on the extranet under the Webinars and Tutorials...

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Posted by on Apr 25, 2013 in Marketing | 0 comments

Ubbi Partnership

As per last week’s update, we have recently reached a marketing deal with a high-end diaper disposal pail company, Ubbi. Beginning this week, every operational gym in North America is receiving a FREE unit (normally $80 retail), literature, and a poster to be placed by the unit/diaper changing area. The unit will be white and come packaged with our logo to adhere to it. They have been tested and work great. Even better, there are no special bags to purchase. Going forward, Ubbi will be the preferred diaper pail company and marketing partner for My Gym, and Ubbi diaper pails will be made available to new gyms as part of their opening equipment package. Please be on the lookout for your Ubbi Diaper unit. Be sure to replace your current unit with it, and place the literature out according to the enclosed introduction letter. Please email Matt Hendison with any questions or comments at...

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Posted by on Apr 25, 2013 in Support & Programming | 0 comments

Regional Training Seminar

The West Regional Training Seminar is one week away……Get Pumped and Excited and bring your ideas to share. If you need hotel options, please click here. Things to Bring We would like you to bring a hard copy of your class schedule that will be shared with other gyms at your seminar. PREPARE AND BRING YOUR IDEAS FOR THE IDEA SHARES. We are excited about all of our meetings, but this year we want you and your staff to come prepared specifically for our Idea Shares. Please inform your staff to plan and prepare ideas ahead of time and bring them to the seminar. Every year, we have gotten fabulous ideas that we have incorporated into our current curriculum, and a lot of people have said they wished they had had more time to prepare. This year we want all gyms and staff members to bring ideas to show others. Do whatever works; bring pictures and/or written ingredients, or just be prepared to act them out. Get creative and...

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Posted by on Apr 25, 2013 in Marketing | 0 comments

2013 Marketing Campaign

My Gym is Celebrating 30 Years of Family Fitness Our 30 year anniversary marketing campaign is in full swing and going extremely well. After just the first 3 weeks, we have surpassed 300 contest submissions, achieved millions of impressions, and received reports from several gyms of very good activity and enrollments. Among our various methods of marketing and promoting the campaign, we have been appealing to bloggers throughout North America. IF YOU HAVE A POPULAR MOMS/PARENTING BLOG IN YOUR AREA, PLEASE SEND THE INFORMATION (WEBSITE, FACEBOOK PAGE, ETC.) TO MATT HENDISON AT MHENDISON@MYGYM.COM, AND WE WILL REACH OUT TO THEM. Congratulations to My Gym Austin, TX for winning our contest that randomly identified a gym that has incorporated the 30 Year Anniversary logo as their profile picture on their Facebook page and posted the campaign information/link to both their webpage and Facebook page. We know many more gyms have done this, and that is GREAT. If you have not done so, please DO! Plus, now is a good time...

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Posted by on Apr 25, 2013 in Marketing | 0 comments

Google AdWords, Facebook, and more!

As per last week’s update, in addition to being our consultants for Google AdWords (“GAW”), Back At You Media (“BAY”) has now partnered with My Gym Enterprises to provide expertise, training, and best practices to help each gym market more effectively and drive revenue using social media and online marketing. Initially, BAY will focus on the big social networks, the first one being Facebook, followed in the coming weeks and months with information and guidance for Google, Yelp, Pinterest, and Twitter. Whether you are a seasoned pro, novice, or not “in the game” at all, we are now going to provide franchisees with everything you need to “do it yourself” and be successful. The first E-Book, which focuses on Facebook, includes setting up and managing your own pages, best practices, posting relevant content, building your likes, and gaining access to MGE approved content on a regular basis. Everything you need to know is contained in the E-Book, although we know questions may still arise. Back At You is available...

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