Start Out Personal Trainer

[worldofragnar]

Hey guys, just started my own personal training business and wondering if anybody has been in this position before and could give me some advice on getting the first few clients.

Thanks

 

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[Longinus]

Yeah, don't be like most PTs who do it just for egotistical reasons.

 

[worldofragnar]

Yeah, don't be like most PTs who do it just for egotistical reasons.

Thanks for the response. Yeah seen a lot of people like that

 

[InformationH]

Advice: Don't start a business when you don't know how to reach your customers.

More advice: Search the forums. There are personal trainers that have threads that may answer your questions

 

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[AustinS28]

Where are you starting this business?

 

[Scot]

Have you read the book?

Something to think about with PT, how will you scale?

 

[CycleGuy]

PT is not a fastlane path if you are planning on being the only PT in this business.
You are basically a brick layer getting paid only per your own job you are doing.

Except in this economy I would rather be an actual brick layer than a personal trainer.
The market is saturated and filled with dirty trainers who push placebo products to make extra cash off the unknowing.


BUT

If your business it to start and manage a group of PTs who are scheduled by an application anyone can use to get a PT on demand then go for it.
Uber for Personal Trainers. I'm sure it already exists somewhere but it still would make a fun business with near fastlane potential.

 

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[AustinS28]

I'll just give you my thoughts on personal training from my own experiences.

Benefits --

- Awesome way to develop sales experience.
- Awesome way to learn customer service (the majority of your money will come from repeat business).
- Awesome way to build trust in yourself. If you don't perform, hustle whatever you want to call it, you don't make any money.
- Most overlooked benefit, networking (speaking in terms of your clients). Wall street and lawyers are the bulk of my clientele. I train at a hedge fund that has a fully equipped gym. Other clients are high net worth individuals or at least people who are financially successful especially relative to the gen pop. You have to be doing pretty well to spend upwards of 10k/year on a trainer. I have clients who drop more than that. My oldest clients have been with me for 3 years. At $90-$110/session, seeing someone every week often several times turns into some great business from just a few customers.

Downsides --

- Hard to scale. I have too much business. I also don't have anyone I trust enough to take customers on for me. My hours are spread thin.
- Large sum of capital needed to actually open a gym/pt studio and manage trainers.
- Trading your time for money.

Has it been worth it? Yes.

Besides the benefits I listed above I was also able to enter into an industry that I truly think I can improve with my ideas and have those ideas currently being created.

I have also met the most successful people i've ever gotten the chance to meet. It's like I have 20 mentors and they're all my clients because our relationships have grown into more than just trainer/client. I have become friends with everyone I worked with for a long time.

I have several clients that are self made millionaires. Another who is young 30s who went from building and online business in his apartment at 26 to now being the second biggest publication in his niche.

Needless to say the wisdom I have been able to gain from these people and the potential to do other business with them down the line or have help getting investments in future ventures from them or their friends...It's been worth it.

Why am I looking to move on soon?

My quality of life needs improvement.

I want to do everything in my power, even if I come up short, to qualify for Crossfit regionals and then the games. My body is tired and my schedule leaves little time for rest.

I want to pursue software development and spend my free time self teaching myself ruby on rails with intentions of going to code school and then getting into tech for my own business ventures.

PT is cutting into my time and energy. My first clients are at 6 am and the last finish either 830 or 930pm. My afternoons are free, but that doesn't mean I'm not drained.

--

If you're in NYC and want to work for someone on a per need basis that gets referral requests every few weeks for training. Let me know, we can maybe work out an arrangement.

 

[devine]

First, work with dozens of people at the same time, pitch them your products, other services, come up with a rational price policy.
You don't need to do it in fitness club and your training session doesn't have to start with warming up and end with shower.
Give your clients more. Start with meditation, do a workout and take pictures of your clients to send them later, take your whole group to local restaurant to make sure they eat properly after the training session.
Make it an experience.
Competing in this industry by price, achievements or physique results is a minimum-wage destiny.

Since I don't see the quality of your physique, face, haircut, style and don't know about your verbal skillset - I cannot advice anything else.
Quality of these things determine your success in the industry as a fastlane business.

 

[Nomadic]

Personal Training, along with being a server at a restaurant, can give someone some great experience as far as working with people, sales, and learning to put yourself out there. However, unfortunately neither one of these jobs are going to get you into the fastlane. Can you elaborate more on what you mean by "business?" Are we talking about you being a personal trainer? Or talking about you managing a bunch of other personal trainers?

Either way my advice would be to stand out from the crowd. Don't be like every other trainer who just has a little plan, works it for an hour, and then finishes. Put real effort into your clients. Actually put them first and know that you have the power to change their life for the better. Change their workout plans according to their goals, make up nutrition plans for their goals, and make sure that their confidence and motivation stays high.

This alone will make you stand out among most personal trainers who just lack the ability to create a full on plan for clients in order for them to get results. Most just want to train a client and make their money, but forget to tell the client what to do the other 98 percent of the time that they aren't at the gym.

 

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[worldofragnar]

I'll just give you my thoughts on personal training from my own experiences.

Benefits --

- Awesome way to develop sales experience.
- Awesome way to learn customer service (the majority of your money will come from repeat business).
- Awesome way to build trust in yourself. If you don't perform, hustle whatever you want to call it, you don't make any money.
- Most overlooked benefit, networking (speaking in terms of your clients). Wall street and lawyers are the bulk of my clientele. I train at a hedge fund that has a fully equipped gym. Other clients are high net worth individuals or at least people who are financially successful especially relative to the gen pop. You have to be doing pretty well to spend upwards of 10k/year on a trainer. I have clients who drop more than that. My oldest clients have been with me for 3 years. At $90-$110/session, seeing someone every week often several times turns into some great business from just a few customers.

Downsides --

- Hard to scale. I have too much business. I also don't have anyone I trust enough to take customers on for me. My hours are spread thin.
- Large sum of capital needed to actually open a gym/pt studio and manage trainers.
- Trading your time for money.

Has it been worth it? Yes.

Besides the benefits I listed above I was also able to enter into an industry that I truly think I can improve with my ideas and have those ideas currently being created.

I have also met the most successful people i've ever gotten the chance to meet. It's like I have 20 mentors and they're all my clients because our relationships have grown into more than just trainer/client. I have become friends with everyone I worked with for a long time.

I have several clients that are self made millionaires. Another who is young 30s who went from building and online business in his apartment at 26 to now being the second biggest publication in his niche.

Needless to say the wisdom I have been able to gain from these people and the potential to do other business with them down the line or have help getting investments in future ventures from them or their friends...It's been worth it.

Why am I looking to move on soon?

My quality of life needs improvement.

I want to do everything in my power, even if I come up short, to qualify for Crossfit regionals and then the games. My body is tired and my schedule leaves little time for rest.

I want to pursue software development and spend my free time self teaching myself ruby on rails with intentions of going to code school and then getting into tech for my own business ventures.

PT is cutting into my time and energy. My first clients are at 6 am and the last finish either 830 or 930pm. My afternoons are free, but that doesn't mean I'm not drained.

--

If you're in NYC and want to work for someone on a per need basis that gets referral requests every few weeks for training. Let me know, we can maybe work out an arrangement.

Thanks what a great insight much appreciated. Unfortunately I am in Barcelona and not NYC

 

[worldofragnar]

Basically, I have recently moved to Barcelona and started doing "boot camps" once a week just to raise a little cash. I have had 7 people ask me if I would do 1-1 trainings and so this is why I thought of starting personal training. At the moment I am only planning on it being me who is a trainer but in the future once I have more clients, will definitely be looking at hiring others

 

[Perrots]

Hey guys, just started my own personal training business and wondering if anybody has been in this position before and could give me some advice on getting the first few clients.

Thanks

Read the book first ! Good Luck !

 

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[JDx]

Advice: Don't start a business when you don't know how to reach your customers.

This x10

 

[Jon L]

I don't think you should become a personal trainer. Its too hard to scale. But that's just one guy's opinion on the internet.

I'd recommend you go talk to the most successful personal trainers you can find and ask them what their life is like. Also ask how they plan on scaling their business. Then, ask yourself if you want that kind of life for yourself.