Interview with CrossFit Park Ave

ZP: Joining us today is Dario Delkic, owner of CrossFit Park Ave located in Rochester, New York. Dario, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Tell us about your business and how you got it all started.

Dario: For me, it all started back when I was trying to strengthen my knee after ACL surgery. A friend of mine convinced me to try CrossFit™ as a way to get my agility, strength and conditioning back to its usual level. After I completed the physical therapy my knee tested to 108% compared to my other. At that point, I knew I wanted to get into the CrossFit™ industry but just wasn’t sure how to do it.

ZP: Is that when your business started?

Dario: Close. I talked to a lot of people in the industry, including other CrossFit™ owners, to see how it needed to be done. They helped guide me in the right direction to make sure I had a business plan that would lead to the highest probability of success. I heard about Zen Planner for the first time during this time as well.

ZP: What did these business owners say about Zen Planner’s box management software?

Dario: All of them said that I needed fitness management software. They also highly recommended Zen Planner.

ZP: Did you take their advice?

Dario: Definitely. There were too many peole saying the same thing to ignore their advice.

ZP: When did CrossFit Park Ave open for business?

Dario: We opened in mid 2013.

ZP: Did you open the business with Zen Planner?

Dario: Yes. The implementation of Zen Planner and training for my staff and I was very simple and quick.

ZP: Your business has now been open for a year, what would you say about Zen Planner now?

Dario: I try and utilize each of the features that are offered through Zen Planner. It helps me with invoices, member payments, alerts, data capture, member attendance and workout tracking. It’s definitely saved me money from having to hire someone full time to track all of this manually.

ZP: Out of all of these features, can you tell me what you like best about Zen Planner?

Dario: Well, what I like best is the ease of use. We have members that vary widely in age. We have some members who are 60+, some who are young students and all age groups in between. Almost all of them have commented on how easy it is to use the system. Anything I can do to help my members have a better experience is a good thing.

ZP: Has Zen Planner helped your business in other ways?

Dario: It’s definitely helped grow my base business. Zen Planner has helped add new members each month on top of saving me in administrative overhead cost. At the end of the year, it adds up to over $50,000 in net value to the company. That’s a big deal.

ZP: Glad to hear Zen Planner has had such a positive impact on your business.

Dario: Anytime I speak to other owners or new owners, I’ll let them know about the success we have had with Zen Planner.

ZP: We appreciate that and thanks for your time today. As always, we’ll keep in touch. We always want to hear how we can improve.

Dario: Absolutely, my pleasure.

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