Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
“I want to transform the fitness industry. It’s so polluted,” says Steve Ritz, owner of Fitness First.
He holds a master’s degree in exercise physiology, and used to train professional and college athletes, including the Minnesota Vikings.
He’s operated Fitness First in Chaska since 1998. Clients are seen only by appointment, just like other health care operations, and they pay in advance. “We formulate an exercise prescription” for clients, as Ritz puts it.
The emphasis on quality seems to be working. Ritz says he achieved 18 percent growth in sales last year. He has five or six subcontractors working as trainers.
He disdains personal trainers who have what he calls light credentials. “That’s quite insulting to me,” he says, that people can get certification in a short period of time.
He says with unlimited capital, he’d want to expand. “Someone asked me if I won the lottery, what would I do,” Ritz says. “So if money was not an issue, I’d start 10 places around town” with the same high-quality focus.
Steve Ritz, Fitness First: 952.448.4322
