from Hacker News

Club Pilates, Pure Barre owners say Xponential left them bankrupt

by rayrrr on 12/30/23, 4:59 PM with 38 comments

  • by pinewurst on 12/30/23, 5:16 PM

  • by sema4hacker on 12/30/23, 7:12 PM

    The article is mostly about franchisees getting ripped off, but I think an important theme is that any business focused on physical fitness often is the fad of the moment, and can be difficult to sustain itself for long because of the need to have customers paying memberships forever. Customers start out thinking they'll always go to the gym or dance studio or whatever, but most inevitably drop out. My advice: stay away from fantasies of owning or investing in membership physical fitness businesses or venues.

  • by ryandrake on 12/30/23, 7:13 PM

    My parents got suckered into Amway back in the 80s and a lot of their generation repeatedly fell for other "run your own business" scams. I always hoped future generations would prove to be more cynical and less gullible and these kinds of things would die. But the next generations seem to be falling for them too, in even greater numbers, plus the modern versions like leadgen and dropshipping "businesses," NFTs, and other online scams. Not sure what can be done about it. It's not technically illegal for a fool to be parted from his money.

  • by scandox on 12/30/23, 7:31 PM

    Feeling fat, tired and flat! Milo Janus is where it's at. Keeping trim, healthy and slim, Milo Janus you're in the swim.

    Your new life is waiting to begin at Milo Janus, Get in shape will see you through thick and thin. Everybody! Start your day, shed pounds away.

    It's all for your common wealth.

    The only thing you have to gain is your health!

  • by hn_throwaway_99 on 12/30/23, 6:54 PM

    As sure as the sun rises in the East, "Suburban Moms (and Dads) Get Suckered By Over-Promised Sales Projections" is the headline that will never go away (see LulaRoe, MonaVie, just about any other MLM scam, not to mention other over-hyped franchises like Quiznos).

    At the same time, though, the franchisees had plenty of greed of their own. The article states "They also say it promised them the ability to run businesses as investors rather than as hands-on managers." If your only contribution to a business is giving it money, you are essentially always better sticking that money in the stock market. If you have some special talent, skill, connections, etc. that you can leverage, sure, go for it. But the idea that you can beat the market with no special benefit that you bring to the table is a fantasy as old as capitalism.