We Are Testing A Pay What You Can Business Model

[@Genesis_JG96]

Hey Nate! Cool idea. As a registered nurse I work alongside PT's/OT's. A couple of thoughts to consider.
1. As a kind individual, you seem to give those that do not exercise, too much benefit of the doubt. Almost all people that don't exercise, don't do so because of financial and time constraints. Who doesn't have 10 minutes to spare for a quick run? 5 minutes for some push-ups? Both are free? It's merely a lifelong behavioral pattern that's been programmed into their brains, nature and nurture. And the unfortunate fact is, you can teach an old dog new tricks.
2. "Pay what you can", is not a business, and will never be so. There is no incentive to pay, if you can get it for free. Your "business" will primarily cater to those that are low income, and their natural inclination will be to ride the free- gravy train. Swim in a swamp, and don't be surprised if you come out with leeches. That's human nature. In the current economic environment, no one, especially those that are lower income, is going to throw you money if they don't have to.
You mean well, your heart is in the right place, but I hope you take the words of an internet stranger into consideration, when I say this is a dead-end. Start a real money making business...future you will thank current you. Become profitable enough, and you can pass those profits along to those that cannot pay by offering discounted/pro bono services. Best of both worlds. Good luck. 👍🏼

[@strongsociety]

Thank you for your thoughtful response! I'm going to push-back a bit on these for some professional dialogue.
1. You are right, people FEEL they don't have the time or money to get healthier. They often assume that 5-10 minutes is not enough and "why bother." This is a perception issue, because, as you say, everyone has 5-10 minutes in the day. So -- I think it's our job as healthcare providers and fitness instructors to break that perception for people. Letting them know and showing them that 5 minutes is absolutely better than 0 minutes. It's not about the duration in the beginning, it's the sticking to a routine of movement versus not. Gotta build the habit before you can improve it.
2. Pay what you can will surely attract people who don't pay for it, that's true. However so far we've already gotten paid from several of our members. My background is also in private practice. I ran a business for 5 years and it was 75% cash-pay based. People would pay me thousands of dollars routinely to help solve their problem. So, i've done what you say already and yes, you can offer pro-bono services but the whole vibe is different when it's the normal fee for service business model. Again I have NO PROBLEM with that business model (fee for service), but we want try this as it changes how we think about growing and operating the business. Additionally, there are several businesses that are donation based, Wikipedia being one of them, which is a very successful donation based, grant based business.
3. Once again, I have already had a business that was profitable where my wife and I were able to survive for 5 years on that income. You are saying it's a dead-end but how do you know? Have you tried it in the real world?
This is the problem with these conversations is they start on assumptions. Assumptions on how we think the world is. The world MAY be as you perceive it however it could turn out to be completely different. And you could be right, it might not work out, however our perceptions are often incorrect about what will and what will not work. There are several successful pay what you can businesses that already exist and there are strategies to ensure that those that can are paying and those that can't are contributing in some other way.
Long story short -- in order to know if something will work you need to test your assumptions against real world data. Only then will you know.
Thanks again for your thoughts!