Undoubtedly, taking the leap and starting your own personal training business is an experience that is both rewarding and daunting in equal measures. Whether you are a newly qualified personal trainer or have been working for an employer until now and have decided to start your own fitness business, taking the step into the world of self-employment is a big deal.
This is especially true when you consider that 20% of new businesses fail in their first year and a further 60% don’t survive the first three years. So, if you are just starting, it’s essential that you set yourself on the right track by understanding the most significant challenges all new personal training businesses face and how to give yourself the best start to get ahead and beat the odds.
In this article, we will look at seven challenges new personal trainers face when starting their businesses and our tips on how to get your business off to a flying start:
1. Getting Going and Building Momentum
No independent personal trainer starts with a diary full of bookings. That comes with time, once you have proven yourself to be a good trainer and built a reputation. It’s essential to accept this and have budgeted for a few low earning months while you build a client base, do some marketing and get your social channels up and running. Those early quiet days are the perfect time to brush up your business skills and knowledge, such as business management and accounting for personal trainers. This will ensure that you’ll be in a better place to keep on top of the business admin that comes with running your new venture when you do get busy.
2. Avoiding Burn Out
Personal trainers, especially new ones, tend to be people-pleasing. After all, it can be hard to say no to new clients when you are looking to build a customer base, but it’s critical that you don’t overdo it. There are trainers out there that work 5 am- 8 pm, including weekends regularly, making for a long working day. Add the other elements of running a business you need to fit into your schedule, for example, marketing, accounting, dealing with enquiries, making sure your training is up to date and meets all the industry standards. It’s easy to see why so many personal trainers suffer from burnout.
Making sure you have the tools available to manage your time better can help you avoid overdoing it. Create and work to a schedule where you can book in clients and allocate time to do everything else that comes with running a business. This will allow you to see the bigger picture of how much time you have available rather than keeping everything in your head. It will also allow you to schedule in time for yourself to grab a coffee, go for a walk or catch up with friends, so you don’t get consumed by your business. There are also several tools and apps now available to help small businesses manage their accounts, invoicing and costs, and time. Check out some recommendations in our blog covering the top online tools for personal trainers
3. Getting your marketing right
Your PT qualification didn’t come with a crash course in business management or a marketing masterclass. However, these skills are essential to allow any new business to thrive. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get bogged down in your PT business's day-to-day running that updating your social media channels or marketing your business either passively or proactively can sometimes fall by the wayside.
There are many free marketing and business management courses that can be taken online to help get you started. But, even if you think you don’t have time for marketing, there are some simple yet effective ways to get news of your business out there without losing too many hours:
Your training sessions are one of the biggest adverts for your business. Consider investing in Personalised PT Clothing and accessories that show case your business name and brand clearly so interested passers-by who see you in action know who to contact. It also shows you are a professional business, not just an enthusiastic training buddy.
4. Lack of business plan
While you may feel the structure of a fitness business is relatively straightforward, you should create a business plan to give yourself the best chance of success in this competitive market. Having a solid business plan can help you focus your efforts and means your business can operate to its full potential. You wouldn’t train a client without a programme, so you shouldn’t run a business without a good plan either. The UK government website has some useful templates to get you started.
5. Utilising Professional Networks
There are countless other personal trainers out there. Some of them are at the same stage as you are, some a little behind and some leagues ahead. Being part of a professional network is a great way to learn from others, talk through your business goals, learn about the upcoming trends and see how others manage their businesses. When you build relationships with other personal trainers, you can learn about their niches, recommend clients to them where you are either fully booked or don’t specialise in a particular niche, and they can do the same for you. There are various ways to network, in person at seminars and industry-relevant events or online through social media groups.
6. Keeping Clients Motivated
There's no better feeling than winning those first clients. Once you’ve got them and developed a training programme keeping them keen and motivated will become key to their success and yours as a personal trainer. After all, if your clients tend to drop off after a month or so, neither of you will ever see the results that could be achieved. There are some ways you can mix things up to make your clients motivated and drive engagement including:
7. Ability to adapt
If the last few years have taught us anything, businesses need to be able to adapt or pivot to meet a changing market. The pandemic affected businesses of all shapes and sizes and has seen many personal trainers taking their training sessions online. Whilst it looks like we have come through the other side of the lockdowns and in-person training is back on, it's clear that nothing is guaranteed and having a plan for how you could run your PT business should form part of the overall strategy for any emerging fitness enterprise. Taking your business online means you have the potential to reach more clients and benefit from lower overheads. However, online clients tend to be less loyal on the flip-side, and you will be entering an already very crowded online fitness market.
There’s a lot to consider and learn when starting a new personal training business and making sure you take your time to create a plan, grow your network and market yourself effectively whilst ensuring you take the time to manage your diary so you don’t overdo it are just some of the ways you can set yourself up to grow a successful personal training business in 2022.
