15 Sep 10 Steps to a Successful Fitness Business
The key to building business success in your fitness business is all to do with planning, developing systems to achieve your goals and having the right mindset! To win you have to plan for it, work hard and expect it will happen otherwise, it never will
The most difficult obstacle you will need to get over are the two most limiting emotions that people have to overcome, and that’s fear and self-doubt. If you understand in your head how you are going to turn your business into a success and have removed of all the fear and self-doubt, then all you need to do is work your arse off to get there. So the sooner that you realise that you warrant success, and face up to work that you’re eventually going to have to put in, the better off your business will be.
Starting a fitness business is not necessarily the best thing for everyone, moving from your comfort zone of fitness into one of business is not for the faint hearted, if you are getting “average” results as a personal trainer, then you are only going to get “average” results from your business.
Starting a fitness business from the ground up is for those people who are strong enough, patient enough, and determined enough to overcome whatever life throws your way. You are going to need drive, and the ability to bounce back when the going gets tough.
So with all of that in mind, here are the ten steps that you need to work on the most to ensure your fitness business is a success.
1. Support from those around you
The company you keep around you is just as important as the mindset you have developed. If you are not entirely backed up by your friends and family, then you going to have a tough time and start to break those positive thoughts. You have to ask yourself the following questions:
- Do they agree that you should start a business?
- Are they fully supportive, both friends and family?
- Do they believe you can do it?
- Are they supporting you 100%?
Having people around you that are negative and not 100% behind then it may be best to limit your interactions with them. This sounds harsh, but this is not okay for your mindset, and that’s not right for your business. You need to let go of what’s not working and focus on what is, so any outside influence will confuse the matter and get you off track.
It is not just family support you need, it’s also the people around you, like your peers, other personal trainers and friends who are small business owners. Networking and meeting individuals who have a high level of success will be positive influences and act in a positive way to inspire you to do better and improve.
The best way to do this is to start going to fitness business events and investing in your fitness education. Putting yourself out there and joining a group of people that will help you build and be accountable is priceless. Finding a mentor or fitness business coach will help you learn, they will have made mistakes and can help you avoid them. This positive mindset is the kind of support you need and should be after.
2. Working out the cost
Have you sat down and work out how much it is going to cost to start your new business? This cost analysis is crucial in helping decide when the best time to go or not. Whether you are starting a personal training business or a boot camp, they both take some money to get started. It doesn’t have to be a huge some, but there will be some initial costs for a website and some advertising.
If you are thinking of starting a gym or having a private studio then you need to factor in things like rent, air conditioning or heating, an internet and phone connection, a computer to work on, any fitness equipment. The fit out process including fixtures and fittings, such as mirrors, paint and flooring to fix up the place, and whatever else might come up.
When you are starting out, start small and scale up. If you go overboard and spend too much, it will look nice, but you won’t have anything left to take care of getting the clients in through the door. One you grow and have a steady stream, then you can start to build out your dream gym.
3. Pick Your Location
When it comes down to choosing your location, you’ve got a few options here. Do your research, use Google to find out how many personal trainer or gyms are in your chosen or surrounding town – just type “Personal Trainer ” or “Gym and see who is already in that area. Use Google Adwords to find how many searches there are for the above terms on a monthly basis.
If you are thinking of renting, then set your budget and get an estate agent to show you around a few in that price range. Don’t think that you have to be in a highly visible place with footfall; you can use your marking to get clients through the door.
Ask your estate agent about up and coming areas and try to figure out where your potential customers live and work. This research is going to be especially important if you are trying to sell big ticket fitness programs. Don’t go for a place with loads of square feet unless you know you can afford it, remember to start small and scale up.
5. Focus Your Marketing
Find your target market and stay focused on that, think about your marketing message. What kind of personal training do you want to specialise in and what are the people that would benefit most from it. Who is your ideal client What are their deepest desires? What keeps them up at night? How does what you provide solve their personal issues?
If you can narrow down your training expertise, then you can tailor your marketing to that audience, as they will be looking specifically for that type of service when they are looking for a personal trainer or gym. Make sure you narrow down your niche as much as possible, do you do women only boot camps? That’s still too broad – thinks about things like rapid fat loss or new mums. These are the types of groups you can focus your marketing on and speak their language. New mums will be concerned with getting back to their pre-pregnancy body as quickly as possible. With that in mind, you can craft a marketing message to get their attention.
6. Make Sure You Brand Yourself
By Branding yourself, you can set yourself apart from everyone else and give you clients something to be proud of when they use your services. Don’t waste your time trying to come up with a fancy logo. It’s a good thing to think about as you are going to need one, but that’s not the most important aspect, and that will come in time.
Unless you have already built up a name for yourself or become an authority, online you don’t need to put your name all over it. It might be better to combine the name with your branding message. Start with picking your target market as that will help with your branding, but you also need to name your programs to make them more distinct and catchy for customers to identify with – I’m sure you’ve heard of the “14 Day Fat Furnace” or “21 Day Rapid Fat Loss.”
7. Web Presence
If you are not already online, you need to get your business online now. You need a website, Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram page and Google Places page. Your clients will be online, and if you want to market to them and keep in constant contact, then you need to be there also. Otherwise you a missing out.
You need to be posting helpful content that helps your clients reach their goals and make it easier for them when they go through your training. The best way to get customers is to share testimonials and case studies of previous clients who can show you are the best choice in your area when it comes to training.
Having a good looking website and a blog will keep up your web presence. If this is not your favourite task, you can hire someone to do it for you. Learn some of the terms and why you need them, such as SEO (search engine optimisation) to help get your website to the number one page on Google.
8. Make sure you have a Local Presence
Not only should you get your business online, but you also need to develop up your local presence and increase your authority. If you a known in the area as being the best, then clients and referrals will start to come your way automatically.
Get engaged with your community and the things that matter to you and your customers. Support local charities and encourage your clients to help them as well. Host fundraisers and charity events to show how much you care about the community around you.
9. Hire an Assistant
This may seem a little ambitious when you are first starting out, but having an assistant will help you focus on the things that grow your business the most, like marketing. An assistant will make your life easier and run as smooth as possible. If you can’t afford one yet, then you might be able to trade training for a few hours a week. Over time and once a few more clients sign on, you may be able to afford them full time. The other option is to outsource specific tasks that are either time-consuming or outside of your expertise. We can provide advice and guidance free of charge.
10. Get and Keep Clients
Marketing will get you leads and prospects, but you still need to sell to them to get the customers you need. So a little investment in learning how to close clients better will go a long way if selling isn’t your strong point.
Retaining client for extended periods of time is the best way to become more profitable and attract new customers. Make sure you start by selling them what they need. If you know they will need at least six months of training to lose 20 pounds and inches off their waist, then that’s what you need to sell. Its no good selling them single session packages because they will drop out, waste their money, not achieve their goals and you will keep having to attract more and more clients to profit. These customers will not give you referrals and will make you look bad as they have the option to drop out.
Make sure that you are good to your clients once they sign on and keep them happy. Send them little gifts here and there. Host parties and BBQ’s once in a while and you will create a community. They will love you, appreciate you, and be more likely to refer their friends and family.