10 ways to thrive in your personal training business - Business Tips from Debra Atkinson
The option of sleeping in late or working early. Two hour lunches. A mid-afternoon workout. Never having to miss a fieldtrip. Being an independent contractor or operating a personal training business from your home office sounds like a dream. In reality, trainers tend to glamorize the idea of working for themselves. The obvious perks don't always outweigh the challenges that accompany being your own boss. In fact, many home-based trainers and independent contractors share similar complaints: no time, disorganization, an unbalance between business and personal life or not enough income, to name a few. None of these are insurmountable. Following are some tips to get your personal training business on track.
1. CREATE A WORK PLACE
You need a designated work space. Having a space with at least a phone, filing cabinet and, ideally, computer says you take your profession seriously. When the time comes, you can take your deductions seriously, too.
2. STICK TO A SCHEDULE
While enjoying flexible hours is certainly OK, it is important to set and follow a schedule. Use a business plan to determine your schedule. Start by calculating how much you need to earn. Based on that and your fees, how many clients do you need to see on a weekly/daily basis? Then, decide when you work best--are you a morning person or one who prefers to sleep in? By establishing a schedule, you set some boundaries and will be more focused.
3. ASK OTHERS TO RESPECT YOUR SCHEDULE
If you work from a home office, you may have more interruptions and demands on your time. When friends, family or pets see you at home, they assume your time is theirs. Therefore, set boundaries within this arena as well as with current and potential clients.
While not working enough can be a problem, for many trainers the opposite is true. Simultaneously building a business and balanced personal life is easier than letting your business determine your schedule first and trying to reclaim personal time later.
4. DIVERSITY IS KEY
No matter how much you love training, build a business that stimulates other interests. Feed your creative child, so to speak. Write an article, develop an educational product for a separate revenue stream, market a concept for group training according to seasonal needs or special populations, speak at meetings and create a business of presenting. As a result, you will retain your passion much longer and find yourself more stimulated in each endeavor. If you create some passive source of income (e.g., book, video, newsletter) that works while you play, so much the better.
5. NETWORK.
Although personal training involves working with people, it can be an isolating business. Your conversations with clients may be friendly and enjoyable, but should be about them on a professional level, even when sharing things about yourself. These relationships should not substitute friendships or interpersonal relationships in your life. Join the Chamber of Commerce, attend social functions in the community and volunteer. When interacting with other professionals who work independently and share similar challenges, you are also marketing yourself and meeting prospective clients or referral engines.
6. BREAKS.
While you may not have the staff meeting or morning coffee break, you still need to plan a break every few hours. If you usually schedule appointments back to back, take 15 to 20 minutes after the third to let your mind and body get the change of focus they need. Maybe you need to walk, stretch, drink or eat. Call your significant other or check on a child. Connect with who you are so you don't mistake it for what you do.
7 FLEX YOUR CREATIVE MUSCLE.
Play a brainstorming game. For instance, write down all the marketing ideas and programs you can in five minutes or devise a new ab workout that doesn't involve supine floor work. Using new areas of your brain by making a game out of work freshens your outlook.
8. ROLE MODEL.
Make time to exercise and eat properly. If you do not take care of yourself, it will show. By taking care of yourself, you will attract clients who want what you embody. In addition, good health is critical to creativity. If you want to stand out from the crowd, be creative with your programming for clients' success!
9. CELEBRATE SUCCESS.
Although they may thank you, clients don't always praise you. If you're your own boss, you may not get an annual review. Take time every month to reflect on specific successes, such as gaining x amount of new clients or bringing in x amount of revenue. Also, appreciate immeasurable successes--the smile on your client's face, the postcard from her trip to Hawaii telling you how great she feels and looks or the feeling that you truly connected with someone and made a difference.
10. HAVE A LIFE.
Having a home office means your phone can ring at any time. Return phone calls and e-mails according to a responsible policy--say, within 24 hours. Just as you need policies for conducting business, you also need boundaries for conducting your life. If you don't role model a life full of things other than work, what are you saying to clients? Work to live and your work will stay flesh. Live to work and life pales. Live in full color.
Debra Atkinson has been a group exercise instructor and personal trainer for 20 years. She holds an M.S. in sports and exercise physiology and teaches applied fitness courses at Iowa State University. Atkinson owns Life Too Good To Be True, specializing in helping personal training programs get off to a strong start and trainers maintain balance in their lifestyles. She has also co-produced How to Grow Your Personal Training Business Today for personal trainers and directors and can be reached at Life too Good to be True
The option of sleeping in late or working early. Two hour lunches. A mid-afternoon workout. Never having to miss a fieldtrip. Being an independent contractor or operating a personal training business from your home office sounds like a dream. In reality, trainers tend to glamorize the idea of working for themselves. The obvious perks don't always outweigh the challenges that accompany being your own boss. In fact, many home-based trainers and independent contractors share similar complaints: no time, disorganization, an unbalance between business and personal life or not enough income, to name a few. None of these are insurmountable. Following are some tips to get your personal training business on track.
1. CREATE A WORK PLACE
You need a designated work space. Having a space with at least a phone, filing cabinet and, ideally, computer says you take your profession seriously. When the time comes, you can take your deductions seriously, too.
2. STICK TO A SCHEDULE
While enjoying flexible hours is certainly OK, it is important to set and follow a schedule. Use a business plan to determine your schedule. Start by calculating how much you need to earn. Based on that and your fees, how many clients do you need to see on a weekly/daily basis? Then, decide when you work best--are you a morning person or one who prefers to sleep in? By establishing a schedule, you set some boundaries and will be more focused.
3. ASK OTHERS TO RESPECT YOUR SCHEDULE
If you work from a home office, you may have more interruptions and demands on your time. When friends, family or pets see you at home, they assume your time is theirs. Therefore, set boundaries within this arena as well as with current and potential clients.
While not working enough can be a problem, for many trainers the opposite is true. Simultaneously building a business and balanced personal life is easier than letting your business determine your schedule first and trying to reclaim personal time later.
4. DIVERSITY IS KEY
No matter how much you love training, build a business that stimulates other interests. Feed your creative child, so to speak. Write an article, develop an educational product for a separate revenue stream, market a concept for group training according to seasonal needs or special populations, speak at meetings and create a business of presenting. As a result, you will retain your passion much longer and find yourself more stimulated in each endeavor. If you create some passive source of income (e.g., book, video, newsletter) that works while you play, so much the better.
5. NETWORK.
Although personal training involves working with people, it can be an isolating business. Your conversations with clients may be friendly and enjoyable, but should be about them on a professional level, even when sharing things about yourself. These relationships should not substitute friendships or interpersonal relationships in your life. Join the Chamber of Commerce, attend social functions in the community and volunteer. When interacting with other professionals who work independently and share similar challenges, you are also marketing yourself and meeting prospective clients or referral engines.
6. BREAKS.
While you may not have the staff meeting or morning coffee break, you still need to plan a break every few hours. If you usually schedule appointments back to back, take 15 to 20 minutes after the third to let your mind and body get the change of focus they need. Maybe you need to walk, stretch, drink or eat. Call your significant other or check on a child. Connect with who you are so you don't mistake it for what you do.
7 FLEX YOUR CREATIVE MUSCLE.
Play a brainstorming game. For instance, write down all the marketing ideas and programs you can in five minutes or devise a new ab workout that doesn't involve supine floor work. Using new areas of your brain by making a game out of work freshens your outlook.
8. ROLE MODEL.
Make time to exercise and eat properly. If you do not take care of yourself, it will show. By taking care of yourself, you will attract clients who want what you embody. In addition, good health is critical to creativity. If you want to stand out from the crowd, be creative with your programming for clients' success!
9. CELEBRATE SUCCESS.
Although they may thank you, clients don't always praise you. If you're your own boss, you may not get an annual review. Take time every month to reflect on specific successes, such as gaining x amount of new clients or bringing in x amount of revenue. Also, appreciate immeasurable successes--the smile on your client's face, the postcard from her trip to Hawaii telling you how great she feels and looks or the feeling that you truly connected with someone and made a difference.
10. HAVE A LIFE.
Having a home office means your phone can ring at any time. Return phone calls and e-mails according to a responsible policy--say, within 24 hours. Just as you need policies for conducting business, you also need boundaries for conducting your life. If you don't role model a life full of things other than work, what are you saying to clients? Work to live and your work will stay flesh. Live to work and life pales. Live in full color.
Debra Atkinson has been a group exercise instructor and personal trainer for 20 years. She holds an M.S. in sports and exercise physiology and teaches applied fitness courses at Iowa State University. Atkinson owns Life Too Good To Be True, specializing in helping personal training programs get off to a strong start and trainers maintain balance in their lifestyles. She has also co-produced How to Grow Your Personal Training Business Today for personal trainers and directors and can be reached at Life too Good to be True
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Excerpted from BNET
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2 comments:
Those are great tips. I'm definitely gonna come back to this if I decide to start my own business.
Thanks Knikki!!!!!
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