Advice on starting my own business

[holabuster]

Hey guys, I'm a student at Duke University that needs a lot of advice. Currently, I'm trying to put together some kind of company that offers personal training to Duke students. As a very informed person who has been working out for years, I feel I can help students who are interested in working out meet their fitness goals; however, I have no certification, nor so I think I will be able to achieve one.

I do believe that in spite of not having official certification, students will be interested in having a personal trainer at a highly discounted price. Probably starting around $25 an hour. I would hire knowledgeable and experienced students to help be my trainers and charge a commission.

Some of my questions are:
- How should I handle liability? Possibly, I could hire out my trainers as independent contractors and have them settle their own liability issues.
- How should I negotiate with my university gym? Any student has free access to the equipment there, but would I be able to use their equipment as a personal trainer? How could I negotiate this? The gym offers professional personal trainers for $50/hour, which I doubt many would pay for.
- How should I arrange payment? What is a good way to set up schedules? I'm thinking $30 for a 75 min workout. That would leave room for a warmup, stretching, the actual workout, and post-stretching. I would charge a commission of $6, so the pay would be $19.20 for my trainers, an amount any student would jump at. I could also offer a 60 min workout for $25, this would encourage people to go for the 75 min workout but also leave an option for those that don't have the time. I would do one 75 min session every week for a 10 week package, for $250 ($25 per workout, $5 commission, that's $16 per hour for my trainers).
- I think my clients would need to workout ideally three times a week for maximum results. But I doubt anyone would pay for trainers 3 times a week. Should I provide instructions on what to do for days they don't have a trainer? Or how is this usually arranged?

My main problem is getting liability out of the way and getting clearance to work at my gym. After that, all the marketing should be a breeze.

Please give me any ANY advice!! I really need your help!

 

[parks56]

Check out http:www.hardearnedptsecrets.com sounds like it's what you're looking for - best of luck!

Andy
www.crossfitstamford.com
www.hardearnedptsecrets.com

Hey guys, I'm a student at Duke University that needs a lot of advice. Currently, I'm trying to put together some kind of company that offers personal training to Duke students. As a very informed person who has been working out for years, I feel I can help students who are interested in working out meet their fitness goals; however, I have no certification, nor so I think I will be able to achieve one.

I do believe that in spite of not having official certification, students will be interested in having a personal trainer at a highly discounted price. Probably starting around $25 an hour. I would hire knowledgeable and experienced students to help be my trainers and charge a commission.

Some of my questions are:
- How should I handle liability? Possibly, I could hire out my trainers as independent contractors and have them settle their own liability issues.
- How should I negotiate with my university gym? Any student has free access to the equipment there, but would I be able to use their equipment as a personal trainer? How could I negotiate this? The gym offers professional personal trainers for $50/hour, which I doubt many would pay for.
- How should I arrange payment? What is a good way to set up schedules? I'm thinking $30 for a 75 min workout. That would leave room for a warmup, stretching, the actual workout, and post-stretching. I would charge a commission of $6, so the pay would be $19.20 for my trainers, an amount any student would jump at. I could also offer a 60 min workout for $25, this would encourage people to go for the 75 min workout but also leave an option for those that don't have the time. I would do one 75 min session every week for a 10 week package, for $250 ($25 per workout, $5 commission, that's $16 per hour for my trainers).
- I think my clients would need to workout ideally three times a week for maximum results. But I doubt anyone would pay for trainers 3 times a week. Should I provide instructions on what to do for days they don't have a trainer? Or how is this usually arranged?

My main problem is getting liability out of the way and getting clearance to work at my gym. After that, all the marketing should be a breeze.

Please give me any ANY advice!! I really need your help!

 

[herselftheelf]

Hey guys, I'm a student at Duke University that needs a lot of advice. Currently, I'm trying to put together some kind of company that offers personal training to Duke students. As a very informed person who has been working out for years, I feel I can help students who are interested in working out meet their fitness goals; however, I have no certification, nor so I think I will be able to achieve one.

I do believe that in spite of not having official certification, students will be interested in having a personal trainer at a highly discounted price. Probably starting around $25 an hour. I would hire knowledgeable and experienced students to help be my trainers and charge a commission.

Some of my questions are:
- How should I handle liability? Possibly, I could hire out my trainers as independent contractors and have them settle their own liability issues.
- How should I negotiate with my university gym? Any student has free access to the equipment there, but would I be able to use their equipment as a personal trainer? How could I negotiate this? The gym offers professional personal trainers for $50/hour, which I doubt many would pay for.
- How should I arrange payment? What is a good way to set up schedules? I'm thinking $30 for a 75 min workout. That would leave room for a warmup, stretching, the actual workout, and post-stretching. I would charge a commission of $6, so the pay would be $19.20 for my trainers, an amount any student would jump at. I could also offer a 60 min workout for $25, this would encourage people to go for the 75 min workout but also leave an option for those that don't have the time. I would do one 75 min session every week for a 10 week package, for $250 ($25 per workout, $5 commission, that's $16 per hour for my trainers).
- I think my clients would need to workout ideally three times a week for maximum results. But I doubt anyone would pay for trainers 3 times a week. Should I provide instructions on what to do for days they don't have a trainer? Or how is this usually arranged?

My main problem is getting liability out of the way and getting clearance to work at my gym. After that, all the marketing should be a breeze.

Please give me any ANY advice!! I really need your help!

Oh man...

First, you have a great idea, and could potentially provide a well needed service to fellow students.

Having personal exercise experience isn't nearly enough to qualify you to train other students.
Certified personal trainers have a general grasp of human anatomy, biomechanics, bioenergetics, exercise application, and knowledge of efficient methods for assessing body composition, VO2 uptake, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and balance.

Every body type is different. Your body may be naturally lean, and have difficulty gaining muscle, where as someone else may naturally have more fat and muscle and need to focus on building muscle, but also burning fat.

Do you know how to identify whether someone is at risk for developing cardiac disease or a metabolic disorder?
If so, do you know how to train someone who is, say, hypertensive?
What about someone who is a smoker?

Do you have an understanding about how the body converts food sources to fuel, and how the body uses fuel?

Typically, if you are without certification, you will be unable to get liability insurance. (Check with IDEA about that.)

Also, your school may require you to hold CPT certification, CPR/First Aid/AED certification, and liability insurance to train clients in the gym.
(They may actually have insurance that covers you, but may not allow you to use it until you prove that you are qualified.)

Becoming a personal trainer is not as simple as learning how to lift weights.
It is a long, tedious and information intensive process. This is why personal trainers charge $40-$180 per hour. A personal trainer becomes very involved in the lives of their clients. It is exhausting and time intensive, and worth every penny charged. People are typically suspicious of trainers who under-charge for their services. (Would you want to go to a discount physician?)

I strongly suggest that you become certified before you take on any clients. You don't want any lawsuits while you're in school, and you don't want to risk hurting someone, especially when you are only trying to help.

Please don't take my comments as discouraging. I'm just trying to get you on the right track.

 

[willbl]

I am in complete agreement. There is definitely a process you should go through when launching a personal training business. http://www.starting-a-personal-training-business.com/ has a good guide.

You will have a tough time getting insurance without a certification plus you might really hurt somebody if you don't understand what you are doing. There are no shortcuts here.

But the process is not that hard, so if you are interested in becoming a personal trainer then you should invest in yourself and do it right. Those same students will be waiting for you when you are done.