What would you do?

[doc holliday]

Ok, ive been posting alot over here because im working my butt off to start making money as a personal trainer. I have a great physique by most peoples standards. I have lots of experience working with clients and am knowledgable in fitness and conversing with people. I have read quite a bit on marketing, but that has maybe confused me more than helped because i dont know what to do first.

I think i have a job at a local YMCA which will keep me from starving and pay the rent, however, i would like to have input from all of you successful trainers. Basically my question is this, what would you do if you were me? What is the first thing to do to start an independant training company? Obviously first you need a gym to train in. I KNOW i wont be able to train people at the Y and charge the full fee, so im thinking of working there to pay the bills and focusing my marketing elsewhere. What is the smart thing to do when trying to find a gym to train clientele at? Call them? Im sure alot of gyms wont let you because they have their own trainers and want to make money off of them.

Next question is what have you found to be the best and least expensive way to market for clients? Is it flyers? Seminars?

Lastly do you think its a good idea to work at a YMCA while i try to create my own biz on the side? Pretty much id be VERY HAPPY making 500 a week at this point. Less would be fine for a while. Thanks for reading this and i truly appreciate all the responses. Im trying to learn here, i have the brains and brawn but not the knowhow. Thanks! -DOC

 

[J_Merkm]

First, these days, most big name gyms WILL NOT permit outside trainers, for many reasons including the trouble of jealousness/ envy of gym trainers (they know you making banin bucks...thats not fair) out sourceing to another trainer not affiliated with the gym itslef creates issues with member retention, if you fnd a better gym, less fees, or start your own, there goes that client base you built, down goes their numbers. just a few of many. i have had great success coming to others, meet them in parks, recreation centers, their home, you can work out anywhere with medicne balls 50 lb adjustable dumbells exerbands/ tubing, step boxes, bosu's, ect. ect. plus the fluid workout gives the client somthing completely new and interesting, and it really shows your level of knowledge versus just walking from machine to machine and showing them a routine that they could make up on their own just by looking at the pics on the equipment.

next, marketing i love club flyers, and free seminars and talks. somtimes i throw free class's for my athletes (i am a PES so i donot work with regular clients anymore, but i have other trainers that do so) i drop flyers on cars at gyms, post yard signs all over, advertise things like "save your gas let the gym come to you" "tired of the same old routine?" "blah blah blah" engage the consumer in your material, ask questions, be blunt... "are you fat?" "tired of cellulite?" ask questions that people cant lie to themsleves about, then offer the answer.

pricing is important, but you have to realize your not going to be able to serve poor people, dont market to people who drive old toyotas and make 25,000 a year, your return is going to be very low. i hit the rich areas, its rather stereo typical but it is very true. answer? find the highest price service of your kind in the region, drop yours by 5 bucks. never ever compete for price you'll get killed and when people realize youve established yourself as "the cheap guy" the percieved quality of your services goes down, and so does your ability to raise prices later on.

Incorporate or form an LLC. donot start Billy Bobs personal trainin' service. form a real company easy to do (amerilawyer.com) (legalzoom.com) give it a catchy jazzy name somthing flashy but not too huge to make you seem somthing your not. this also protects you legally and shows your clients and potential consumers you are professional, and a legally functioning entity other than dan the man fitness or bob the trainer. sole poprietorships are very easy to form, but again all the liability is on you...betty sue breaks her ankle, betty sue's lawyer takes your house car and breaks your bank. lol funny but extremly true.

Professional liability insurance. absolutly a must, company or sole proprietorship, for the reasons above plus i flash mine around letting my clients know just how safe they are. i have 3million dollars in coverage, lus another 10 on my company it self. in todays sue-happy society dont ever over look liability.

 

[doc holliday]

First, these days, most big name gyms WILL NOT permit outside trainers, for many reasons including the trouble of jealousness/ envy of gym trainers (they know you making banin bucks...thats not fair) out sourceing to another trainer not affiliated with the gym itslef creates issues with member retention, if you fnd a better gym, less fees, or start your own, there goes that client base you built, down goes their numbers. just a few of many. i have had great success coming to others, meet them in parks, recreation centers, their home, you can work out anywhere with medicne balls 50 lb adjustable dumbells exerbands/ tubing, step boxes, bosu's, ect. ect. plus the fluid workout gives the client somthing completely new and interesting, and it really shows your level of knowledge versus just walking from machine to machine and showing them a routine that they could make up on their own just by looking at the pics on the equipment.

next, marketing i love club flyers, and free seminars and talks. somtimes i throw free class's for my athletes (i am a PES so i donot work with regular clients anymore, but i have other trainers that do so) i drop flyers on cars at gyms, post yard signs all over, advertise things like "save your gas let the gym come to you" "tired of the same old routine?" "blah blah blah" engage the consumer in your material, ask questions, be blunt... "are you fat?" "tired of cellulite?" ask questions that people cant lie to themsleves about, then offer the answer.

pricing is important, but you have to realize your not going to be able to serve poor people, dont market to people who drive old toyotas and make 25,000 a year, your return is going to be very low. i hit the rich areas, its rather stereo typical but it is very true. answer? find the highest price service of your kind in the region, drop yours by 5 bucks. never ever compete for price you'll get killed and when people realize youve established yourself as "the cheap guy" the percieved quality of your services goes down, and so does your ability to raise prices later on.

Incorporate or form an LLC. donot start Billy Bobs personal trainin' service. form a real company easy to do (amerilawyer.com) (legalzoom.com) give it a catchy jazzy name somthing flashy but not too huge to make you seem somthing your not. this also protects you legally and shows your clients and potential consumers you are professional, and a legally functioning entity other than dan the man fitness or bob the trainer. sole poprietorships are very easy to form, but again all the liability is on you...betty sue breaks her ankle, betty sue's lawyer takes your house car and breaks your bank. lol funny but extremly true.

Professional liability insurance. absolutly a must, company or sole proprietorship, for the reasons above plus i flash mine around letting my clients know just how safe they are. i have 3million dollars in coverage, lus another 10 on my company it self. in todays sue-happy society dont ever over look liability.

Thanks VERY much for the response. I appreciate it! Thats some good info. So you dont really use newspaper ads ect? Ive heard thats alot of wasted $$ for the return.

Also i can see the big gym thing. It sucks. I mean id love to work out with clients at these places but everyone is so money hungry they can share even a small portion of the pie so others dont starve and die. Lol.

Any other info welcome, but this was a great start. -DOC

 

[shrknafshbowl]

Ok, ive been posting alot over here because im working my butt off to start making money as a personal trainer. I have a great physique by most peoples standards. I have lots of experience working with clients and am knowledgable in fitness and conversing with people. I have read quite a bit on marketing, but that has maybe confused me more than helped because i dont know what to do first.

I think i have a job at a local YMCA which will keep me from starving and pay the rent, however, i would like to have input from all of you successful trainers. Basically my question is this, what would you do if you were me? What is the first thing to do to start an independant training company? Obviously first you need a gym to train in. I KNOW i wont be able to train people at the Y and charge the full fee, so im thinking of working there to pay the bills and focusing my marketing elsewhere. What is the smart thing to do when trying to find a gym to train clientele at? Call them? Im sure alot of gyms wont let you because they have their own trainers and want to make money off of them.

Next question is what have you found to be the best and least expensive way to market for clients? Is it flyers? Seminars?

Lastly do you think its a good idea to work at a YMCA while i try to create my own biz on the side? Pretty much id be VERY HAPPY making 500 a week at this point. Less would be fine for a while. Thanks for reading this and i truly appreciate all the responses. Im trying to learn here, i have the brains and brawn but not the knowhow. Thanks! -DOC

I've been in the same boat so maybe I can help. Most of what the last guy said is true. Very few gyms will want/allow you to come in and train people privately. There are too many liability issues and more importantly (to them) they are not making money from the service (unless of course you work something out with them, which is very hard to do unless you know a gym owner, etc.) The best way to get going is to start at a local place like the Y to get in the groove of things and make money so you won't starve. I have definitely been in this position before. After relocating I started working at a chain gym just to get a regular paycheck. This one happened to have a feeder system where they give you the clients so it was nice. The thing was, I had worked at this chain before I located and I had had by this point a decent amount of experience working as a personal trainer. So needless to say it was sometimes a little frustrating to work for a wage much lower than what you are worth. Here's the plus side though: while in the beginning it seems like the gym is making all of the money and you can't take the clients, in the end it all works out in your favor. You'll have a steady job and if you get a lot of clients there and/or are a halfway decent trainer you will be able to get these people (your clients) to spread the word about you. The other advantage is that if you form a tight bond with any of these clients, then when their package is finished at the local gym you can start training them privately. When I say privately I mean in their home, with minimal, portable equipment that you provide. That is the BEST way to make serious dough in this business. Private training without all of the overhead or loan concerns of starting your own studio. Maybe the studio thing is a solid idea, but only after you have so many clients that you are training that you have gotten to the point where you can charge whatever you want and have no room to take more. That's where the business model expands into you having your own gym, other trainers etc. What I would stick with is the local gym for now, get business cards, give them to the clients there, tell them that you also train privately. If you're lucky they'll want to train with you IN ADDITION to what they bought at the Y, and then when the gym package is done you can have them all to yourself. The gym is really the best place to network and be seen and train. The more people you train the better you will get at the business. Although you gotta know your stuff, half of being a trainer is being a people person. I wasn't a "people person" from the start, but the more you train people and joke with them and become confident in your abilities the more it shows and people want you to tell them what to do, eat, how to train, even how much to pay you! I would keep your options open, work another job if need be but just be consistent with the training. You will probably be a greater trainer in no time and the more exposure you get the people will see that. I'll make another post about marketing specifics but I'm getting longwinded with this one. For now just keep pluggin away. Check my website later www.MyLifeMyBody.com, I'm going to add a free download that I got from another one of the guys on this site about the five mistakes personal trainers make that prevent them from making money in the business. Best of luck for now,
ABT

 

[doc holliday]

I've been in the same boat so maybe I can help. Most of what the last guy said is true. Very few gyms will want/allow you to come in and train people privately. There are too many liability issues and more importantly (to them) they are not making money from the service (unless of course you work something out with them, which is very hard to do unless you know a gym owner, etc.) The best way to get going is to start at a local place like the Y to get in the groove of things and make money so you won't starve. I have definitely been in this position before. After relocating I started working at a chain gym just to get a regular paycheck. This one happened to have a feeder system where they give you the clients so it was nice. The thing was, I had worked at this chain before I located and I had had by this point a decent amount of experience working as a personal trainer. So needless to say it was sometimes a little frustrating to work for a wage much lower than what you are worth. Here's the plus side though: while in the beginning it seems like the gym is making all of the money and you can't take the clients, in the end it all works out in your favor. You'll have a steady job and if you get a lot of clients there and/or are a halfway decent trainer you will be able to get these people (your clients) to spread the word about you. The other advantage is that if you form a tight bond with any of these clients, then when their package is finished at the local gym you can start training them privately. When I say privately I mean in their home, with minimal, portable equipment that you provide. That is the BEST way to make serious dough in this business. Private training without all of the overhead or loan concerns of starting your own studio. Maybe the studio thing is a solid idea, but only after you have so many clients that you are training that you have gotten to the point where you can charge whatever you want and have no room to take more. That's where the business model expands into you having your own gym, other trainers etc. What I would stick with is the local gym for now, get business cards, give them to the clients there, tell them that you also train privately. If you're lucky they'll want to train with you IN ADDITION to what they bought at the Y, and then when the gym package is done you can have them all to yourself. The gym is really the best place to network and be seen and train. The more people you train the better you will get at the business. Although you gotta know your stuff, half of being a trainer is being a people person. I wasn't a "people person" from the start, but the more you train people and joke with them and become confident in your abilities the more it shows and people want you to tell them what to do, eat, how to train, even how much to pay you! I would keep your options open, work another job if need be but just be consistent with the training. You will probably be a greater trainer in no time and the more exposure you get the people will see that. I'll make another post about marketing specifics but I'm getting longwinded with this one. For now just keep pluggin away. Check my website later www.MyLifeMyBody.com, I'm going to add a free download that I got from another one of the guys on this site about the five mistakes personal trainers make that prevent them from making money in the business. Best of luck for now,
ABT

Thanks! You guys have really helped me out. I appreciate the advice from people who have been there. Thanks again and ill check out your site. -DOC