This article was written by one of our integration partners, NetGym. Mariana Tek has a wide ecosystem of partners in a range of categories, all with capabilities that augment our software and help your studio run as smoothly as possible. We post content authored by our partners to help you grow your business and streamline your operations! 

As Q4 begins, studio leaders are looking for ways to finish the year strong. But the real opportunity isn’t just about pushing through to close out 2025, it’s about assessing and reflecting to set your business up for a successful 2026.

By taking stock of where your studio stands, identifying a few strategic “quick wins” to energize the last months of the year, and laying the groundwork for smarter planning, you’ll not only enter 2026 with momentum, you’ll also keep winning the hearts and minds of your clients and team.

The 2026 Readiness Check

The 2026 Readiness Check isn’t about scrambling to fix everything before year-end, it’s about gaining clarity now so you can enter the new year with focus and momentum. Consider these key areas now so you enter 2026 prepared, not playing catch-up:

1. How Your Team Is Spending Their Time

Are staff and managers focused on member engagement and growth or are they bogged down in scheduling, admin, and putting out daily fires? A common frustration across studio owners and leaders is teams not hitting expectations, but it’s important to ask: do they have the tools and time capacity to succeed? Mapping how time is spent highlights where you can simplify processes and redirect focus toward the business’s bottom line.

Audit Tool

PRO TIP

Try NetGym’s Staff Time Audit Tool to spot where hours are really going.

🤔 2026 Strategy Consideration: How will a better use of staff time change your 2026 growth potential?

2. Where Your Clients Are Spending Their Time

Look at class attendance and engagement trends. Which formats and class times are most popular? Where is there untapped demand or wasted effort? Start assessing now so you have time for instructor and client conversations, feedback loops, and multiple schedule adjustments before 2026. Understanding these patterns now lets you double down on what members value most as you shape next year’s schedule.

Instead of guessing where demand is shifting, Mariana Tek’s Insights gives you real-time clarity on class utilization, client attendance, and schedule trends. With a few clicks, you can spot which formats are thriving, which time slots need attention, and where you have opportunities to add capacity.

By bringing this data into your planning now, you’ll not only make smarter schedule tweaks before year-end, you’ll also enter 2026 with a schedule that aligns perfectly with client behavior and demand.

🤔  2026 Strategy Consideration: What schedule adjustments can you test now to set 2026 up for stronger demand?

3. Your Team’s Happiness and Engagement

Team burnout quickly affects the member experience so being proactive rather than reactive is the name of the game. Take the pulse of your staff’s morale through surveys, huddles, or one-on-one conversations. Are they energized and supported or stretched thin? To increase engagement, lean on tech your team already uses daily (like NetGym) to send quick, low-effort surveys. A few one- or two-question check-ins between now and year-end can surface meaningful feedback without overwhelming staff and give you time to act before 2026. 

🤔 2026 Strategy Consideration: What changes could you make now to give your team the capacity to thrive in 2026?

4. Your Clients’ Happiness and Loyalty

Retention is one of the strongest drivers of profitability, but it’s also one of the easiest areas to overlook when chasing growth. Take time now to gather member feedback, review churn data, and assess whether your community feels connected. Look beyond attendance alone! Are clients engaging with challenges, events, and your studio’s broader culture, or are they drifting to competitors?

Loyalty is driven by more than attendance—it’s about how connected members feel to your community. That’s where Mariana Tek’s member engagement tools come into play. Goals, streaks, milestones, and challenges all help clients celebrate progress, stay motivated, and feel part of something bigger than just a class. Studios using gamification have seen higher retention and stronger engagement, because members aren’t just working out—they’re building a habit anchored to your brand. By layering in these kinds of engagement tools now, you’ll deepen loyalty in Q4 and create lasting bonds that carry into 2026.

Investing in client loyalty now not only strengthens your Q4 finish, it creates a more stable foundation to grow on in 2026.

🤔 2026 Strategy Consideration: How will you turn today’s client insights into the loyalty that drives next year’s growth?

5. Where Your Money Is Going (Including Your Tech Stack)

For most studios, rent, utilities, and equipment are relatively fixed costs. The real levers you can pull are team and tech expenses because that’s where your dollars are both most flexible and most impactful.

  • Budget Review: Look beyond revenue and expenses at how staff dollars are actually being used. Are you funding high-value work that drives sales and community, or is too much time (and pay) being consumed by repetitive admin? (go back to the Staff Time Audit Tool to check this!)
  • Tech Stack Audit: List every platform you’re paying for. Are there redundancies? Are you underutilizing systems you already have? As part of this audit, check for new features released in your existing tools, many roll out capabilities that can replace point solutions, consolidate vendors, and simplify workflows while cutting costs. Both Mariana Tek and NetGym are always evolving, so take a look at our roadmaps to see what’s coming next and how those updates could streamline your operations heading into 2026.

🤔 2026 Strategy Consideration: Where can a smarter use of team and tech dollars give you the biggest ROI in 2026?

Find Your “One More” Quick Wins

While you’re laying the groundwork for 2026, Q4 is still your window to capture meaningful quick wins. Challenge your team to deliver just one more in each area to finish 2025 strong and push past your goals:

  • One More New Client Campaign: A holiday promo, referral push, or free class to attract new leads. What tried-and-true campaign could you give a seasonal spin to capture fresh attention?
  • One More Member Engagement Initiative: A challenge, event, or seasonal series that re-engages members and ensures your studio stays front and center as they shape their 2026 routines.
  • One More Staff Development Opportunity: A training or mentorship experience that not only makes your team feel supported now but also equips them for bigger contributions in 2026
  • One More Resource for Your Team: A tech or equipment upgrade that streamlines everyday tasks so your staff can focus on what matters most.

Finish 2025 Strong, Launch 2026 Stronger

Your pre-Q4 check-in is a chance to do more than wrap up the year. By taking stock (including a fresh review of your tech stack), finding your “one more” quick wins, and leveraging tools like Mariana Tek’s Insights Dashboard and NetGym’s staff operations platform, you’re setting your studio up not just to finish 2025 strong, but to hit the ground running in 2026.

Now’s the time to pause, reflect, and act, so your next year is built on momentum, not catch-up.

About NetGym

NetGym is the first staff operations platform purpose-built for fitness studios and gyms. We replace chaos with confidence by uniting scheduling, subbing, communication, compliance, and training in one streamlined system. Instead of losing hours to manual tasks or disconnected tools, managers and teams can focus on growth, community, and retention. With NetGym, every class is covered, every team aligned, and every member experience consistent, turning staff operations into a hidden growth driver for fitness businesses.

Xplor Mariana Tek Profile Picture

by NetGym

  • First published: September 17 2025

    Written by: Xplor Mariana Tek