Problem
Blocks away from me, there's a CrossFit gym I use to attend. The gym is ran by newly weds but owned by the husband making the gym a sole-proprietorship.
As a CrossFit gym, the owners must protect themselves by having all members and walkins sign waivers prior to starting any classes, they set their own prices (which can be very pricey) as fitting as they see, it's very community based, they are very accessible even after business hours, they accept all ages, modify the workouts and set their own business hours to name a few. That's an advantages of being a sole-proprietorship- you get overall control of the/ your business.
Of course every upside has a downside. I stopped going to this gym because I kept feeling pain of some sort. A slight shoulder pain, knee ache or a tingling sensation in my hands assuming from lifting a constant heavy barbell. I see how sole-proprietorships are subject to lawsuits. With my gym being the only gym in the community- raising capital must've been challenging for them. Retaining gym members (especially after injury) must be the hardest task. The lack of liability protection must not help either.
The discipline in CrossFit makes for a great overall athlete but at what cost?