The H Standard

Frank Sinatra once sang, “If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere,” in a reference to his fame in New York City. The phrase has become a benchmark by any successful businessman or woman that has made it in the big apple. Craig Laskow, the managing partner of Club H Fitness in New York City and New Jersey, feels he is no exception to the ardent lyrics. In fact, he said it has been the influence of New York that has driven him to be successful.

The ‘H’ in Club H

Club H Fitness was launched in 2003 after a year worth of planning and development. The name had been selected to express all the positive “H” words associated with the fitness industry, such as health, happy, holistic, harmony, etc.

In the past seven years, Club H has grown from one club in northern New Jersey to four beautiful clubs that have broken into NYC. “What sets us a part is every club is a little different,” Laskow said. “Even though each club is designed differently, they are each incredibly beautiful and have astonishing attention to detail. We look at trying to be different.”

Laskow feels the biggest challenge for Club H over its successful seven years has been the building of a culture. He said that it has been that culture that has helped construct the brand. “That really was the challenge and once we created that internally, it could be duplicated,” Laskow explained.

The challenge was overcome by putting certain consistencies into place. For example, Laskow and his team won’t let any staff member onto the gym floor in any club until they have completed a two-week training session. The class instructs employees on everything from answering a phone to greeting a member face-to-face. It’s those details that have made the Club H brand so positive for its members.

Employees and Such

According to many club owners, the biggest issue that members have experienced within clubs during the recession has been a lack of customer service. Laskow and Club H have refused to be put into that category. They emphasize member service more than anything else, and every employee in the club, including Laskow, is expected to greet members and build relationships.

Each day, the staff at Club H has a meeting where new individual goals are set. Each staff member sets their own goals based on where they think they need improvement. Considering the emphasis on member service, Laskow said the majority of his employees look to meet more and more members during each shift.

The staff is instructed to constantly listen to members. “I discover more about our clubs from our members,” Laskow said. “Many of the best ideas we’ve implemented have come from our members. If your employees take ownership of the company, they will treat the members right. I believe how you treat your staff will reflect how your staff treats your members.”

Club H uses a system they’ve called “lightening strikes” to empower managers at all levels. “I don’t believe that good ideas should go without notice,” Laskow said. “I’ve been a believer in what gets recognized gets repeated.” Mangers at the club have the power to go ahead and reward staff members that they see perform a task properly or at a higher level.

While Laskow and company are like gentle giants that take great care of their staff, they also have a tougher side. “I always say, hire slow and fire fast,” Laskow explained. The two-week class, although thorough, still hasn’t been the place where the most knowledge about Club H or the fitness industry has been learned, and Laskow has known this. He said that employees, just like students, would learn more in the work place, performing tasks over and over, than they ever would studying in a classroom. “Most the things you learn in a classroom you will eventually forget,” he said. “It’s really the daily interaction that reinforces the knowledge from the class.” Immediately following the class, employees are encouraged to take their personalities into the club and get to know as many people as possible.

It’s the Business

Throughout the majority of his adult life, Laskow was successful within the fashion industry, either through design and implementation or by owning retail stores. He’s seen a lot of similarities in the fitness industry that he did in fashion, but it wasn’t those similarities that gave him his knack for success.

“I’ve always been a curious person,” Laskow explained. “I’ve always asked questions and been a real quick study. I find business interesting and I think I’m successful because of my love of the business.” Constantly having fun and enjoying work has been Laskow’s underlying belief. He said if a person doesn’t enjoy their work, they would never be able to succeed – they couldn’t have developed the passion to push them to reach higher levels and their full potential. “I don’t think you can be successful at something you don’t love or you’re not passionate about,” Laskow said.

Laskow has been passionate about business all of his life. Nine years ago, after Laskow had pulled away from the fashion world, his wife told him to find something new – something that would keep him out of the house. “The fitness industry was perfect,” he said. “It’s 365 days a year and 18 hour days. It does exactly what she wanted.”

Although, it has been seven years since the Club H concept was written into a business plan, it hasn’t seemed as long for the managing partner. “It’s been nine years, but it’s been a fast nine years,” he said. “I still enjoy it every single day. I like the fact that it’s an evolving business. I like the day-to-day challenges, but most of all, I like the future of the industry. Every morning I still wake up and jump out of bed, ready to get to work.”

Laskow said over the last several years he has seen some real growth opportunities within the industry. Even though the recession has been hard on most businesses, he said it has led to many opportunities. “People are more willing to look at us now,” he explained. “Landlords are calling and wanting to negotiate extra space and contractors aren’t charging as much. It’s a great time for expansion if you have the money.”

Getting the Word Out

Club H still attacks many of the same marketing schemes as clubs throughout the U.S. Laskow said that they send out direct mail ads and advertise in local newspapers and magazines; however, referrals have been the greatest single bit of advertising for the four clubs.

New York City has given Club H the opportunity to utilize referral programs that are greater than any other club location. The truth, there aren’t many other places on the planet that can harness the buying power of about 50,000 people in a five-block radius. “It really keeps us on our toes,” Laskow laughed.

When Club H makes members happy with programs and spa services, the word gets out to more people faster than an ad in any newspaper ever could. Also, the monetary incentive to the members to get their friends enrolled has pushed more people into the high-end club. “We do e-mail blasts and local magazine and newspaper ads, but at the end of the day 80 percent of our new business comes from referrals,” Laskow said. “I’d rather spend that money rewarding the member that brought their friend than place an ad on a billboard.”

Getting members to reach out to their friends stems from the level of care that Club H has for its members. “Clubs need to care,” Laskow explained. “If you don’t have a relationship with your members, you’re out of business. I love my members.”

Club H has built a culture that launched a brand for its members. Sure, it is a beautiful high-end club, but at the end of the day, it’s a member friendly environment before anything else. Laskow has spent nine years creating a place of refuge for members in the massively daunting city of New York, and has excelled every step of the way. -CS

By Tyler Montgomery