"This is a family business that started in 1972," said Rick Beusman, president of Saw Mill Club. "I grew up in the club." As a kid, Beusman watched his parents build a successful business before inheriting the health club himself at the age of 30.
"We started with an indoor tennis club and quickly surmised that trying to have a sustainable business with just a tennis court wasn't ideal," said Beusman. "It was a 6,000 sq. ft. facility and could only have four or five people on the court at once. Then we put in a fitness center and a racquetball court and over the years we kept adding activities and services because that's what our guests wanted."
From an indoor tennis court to a full-service, multi-sport facility, the Saw Mill Club now includes basketball courts, an indoor pool, a fitness center, restaurants and full locker rooms. "We have been ongoing in fitness since the early 80's," said Beusman. "We were definitely cutting edge in changes in the industry. If you're not moving forward, you're not going to survive."
Beusman believes the future of fitness clubs is integrating specific types of workouts such as CrossFit, boot camps, personal training studios and pilates with wearable technology to track calories burned and energy expended. "I think those things will potentially come together with the health care industry," said Beusman. "With the advantages that fitness clubs can have on health, it would be beneficial for companies to offer it as part of health care packages."
To foster the club's continual growth, Beusman has trusted The Westchester Bank to handle its finances and offer suggestions on how to maximize their potential.
"When we first started working with banks, they didn't know how to loan to health club operators," said Beusman. "They thought 'if this thing fails what would the second use for this space be.' Then, we brought on The Westchester Bank and they quickly understood the value that our business had."
Beusman quickly discovered that the bigger banks couldn't offer the personalized attention and care that The Westchester Bank could. "The Westchester Bank is very innovative and completely customer service oriented," said Beusman. "They're really concerned about our business and understand our business."
For more information about the Saw Mill Club, click here.
For more information about The Westchester Bank, click here.