Starting A Personal Training Business
There are over 9.7 million fitness members in the UK meaning that 1 in 7 people is a member of one of the UK’s 7,038 gyms. The fitness industry now has an estimated total market value of £4.9billion. With these figures, it’s no surprise that working in the industry has become more popular. However, with these figures, why is it that most PT’s quit within the first 3 years and leave the industry all together?
1. Ensure that your qualification and the company you choose to do it through offer recognised qualifications. On top of this, ask them what else they provide, the basic qualifications are only that and will give you the qualification you need but many do not offer on going support, career advice and practical application knowledge and what to do now you’re qualified.
2. Do some research in your local area, who are the other trainers, what do they charge, what areas do they specialise in (you may already have a particular background, or this may help you decide), what gyms are available and what do you know about them.
3. Identify your Unique Selling Point (USP), your mission statement, aims as well as putting together a business plan and goals for yourself and your PT career moving forward.
4. Create your consultation forms, know your prices and offerings so it becomes natural when you sit down with a client, be confident about your prices instead of “I’m £40 an hour, is that ok?”.
5. Spend time on the gym floor interacting with members, use any shift time to be visible on the floor. Members would rather choose a trainer that they recognise than the one who permanently hides in the staff room. Teaching classes are also another great way for people to get to know you (bootcamps, HIIT Training, Circuits etc, this doesn’t have to be a “recognised” class.
6. Upskill, the industry is forever changing, enrol on additional courses, attend seminars etc. On top of the knowledge, you will be able to interact with other trainers and fitness professionals, share knowledge, concerns and ideas. As an industry we should work together more, each one of us has different strengths and weaknesses.
7. Review. Look back at your sessions, your year, your prices. This will help you understand where to go next, how to progress. Working with a more experienced PT or a Mentor can be massively beneficial
Working as a Personal Trainer initially is not easy, it is hard work, especially in your first year. Many education companies advertise salaries of upwards of £30k, this is definitely realistic and easy to progress onto double this but realise that this will not happen overnight, and it will take hard work to get there. It is a massively rewarding industry, you are working with people to change their lives, no exaggeration there.
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