Let’s face it, times are tough for everyone. Box owners are always looking for ways to make ends meet. Looking at an empty box from the end of your noon class until 4pm can get your mind wandering.
How can this joint make money when it’s empty…
Subleasing to other trainers, coaches and teams can be very sticky. Before you enter into any agreements for sharing space you have to immediately ask yourself two questions.
1: Is the hassle really worth it?
2: What time can I call Vaughn today?
Your box is your life’s work. It’s your ship. You need to say who is on your crew and who isn’t. When personal trainers or sporting teams come in the box to train you can’t be sure they know what they are doing. If there are reckless people in your boat, it could sink. The nominal fees you could make won’t compare to the liability.
Most importantly, your insurance policy is not a magical blanket for anything that happens in your space. If you are contemplating subleasing, please remember that any entity using your space independent of your instruction has to have their own insurance. You as the box owner have to be listed as a certificate holder in their policy and additional insured. If anyone sustains an injury or something inappropriate occurs, you will be liable without this in place.
We also urge you to consider the message subletting sends to your membership. Having personal trainers in the corner doing their own thing is awkward at best. Displacing members or class schedules to accommodate team training will make your members feel as if they are not the priority.
Lastly, you need to check the language in the your lease. Most have clauses that prohibit subletting of space. Many landlords don’t like noisy crowded CrossFits to begin with and are just looking for reasons to boot us. If you do something that’s illegal in terms of your lease, you will have no recourse.
Don’t forget about question #2. Give Vaughn a call to weigh the pros and cons of subletting before you begin. If you are in an existing shared space relationship, it’s not too late to protect yourself. Call today!