early signings

Early on your gym is like a garage in your house. It is very likely a garage in your house. It is also obscure and no one knows about it. Good thing about it is that you hardly have any maintenance costs. No rent to pay, no fancy equipment to buy.
The bad thing is do not expect Mike Tyson to agree to sign for your gym. New pro who is an Olympian will not go train in your garage either. These guys sign for big gyms. So in the beginning you are going to be stuck training bums. Sometimes you may be able to land a talented new amateur who never achieved much as amateur but could be a great pro.
So you get these guys and you should get satisfaction at turning their career around. How about making them get the first winning streak they ever had? Through careful match making you can even get them to the title shot and maybe even winning a title. You should be able to make some money along the way. More money will eventually allow you to upgrade your gym out of your garage. Winning titles and promotions will make your fame grow so that you can start signing the Big boys.