1. Personal Training Business Fundamentals
From ACEfitness.org
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2. Business Fundamentals
Fundamental purpose of a business is to generate profit by delivering a product or service to customers
A successful personal-training business plan involves:
Creating a budget
Establish revenue goals and expense targets
Develop a marketing plan
Having the ability to sell training sessions (asking people for $)
A thriving business is based on delivering a product or service with honesty and integrity

3. Identify what type of business that would suit your needs:
Direct employee
Independent contractor
before-opening-your

4. Direct Employee Model
A trainer is usually paid one rate when working a scheduled shift on the fitness floor and a higher fee when working with a client as a personal trainer
Pay rate can range anywhere from 40-70% of what the client pays the club or training studio

5. Factors to consider for Direct employee Model:
Does the facility attract the type of clientele you are interested in
Is it conveniently located for commuting
Research the reputation of the facility
Determine the requirements for employment:
Require specific education for certification
Do they provide education or training to be successful
Would you have to follow a standardized method or protocol for program design
Will you have to meet sales quota
Is there alternative ways to make more money ie: leading group classes
ACE certified need to ask if they will require its employees to sell dietary supplements

6. Advantages of Direct employee model
Employer pays the cost of marketing to new facility member, pays for equipment and repair fees
Employers provide benefits
Uniforms
Employer is required to submit taxes, W2
Clients travel to you
If you have group fitness instructor (GFI) cert and get to lead a group class this leads to more potential clients for you

7. Disadvantages of Direct Employee Model:
May have to conform to their uniform, program design
Fees may be lower than independent
May have a requirements for minimum number of hours to work
They may set sales goals for you that you will have to meet

8. **”Under the Table”
Some fitness facilities will prosecute trainers for shoplifting or trespassing if they are caught training under the table (taking money directly from a client without properly paying the facility)
This is illegal and unethical
Could lose ACE credential

9. The Independent-contractor Model
The personal trainer contracts his or her services to a health club or training studio
A trainer will pay either a per-client or monthly fee to a health club or training studio
Trainer is responsible for paying all of their own operational costs, fees, repairs, clothing
Trainer will need make decisions about how much money to charge for their service
Start a little bit lower than the norm then you can raise
Do the research to determine if the rate can cover all of your expenses

10. Factors To consider for Independent-contractor Model
What facility will you use
Research the facility, make sure they follow your moral ethical code
Research the local market to see if it has the demographic to support the fees for a private trainer
Marketing expenses

11. Advantages of the Independent-contractor
Disadvantage of the Independent-contractor
Maintain their own business records and pay quarterly taxes.
Do not just take cash and not declare any income
IRS has financial penalties and possible jail time
If you are renting a space you don’t have control over protocols, hours of operation, equipment
You will need to travel between different locations throughout the day
Advantages of the Independent-contractor
Establish fees for training services based on experience
Appreciate the opportunity to move around and work out different places
Develop their own financial goals

12. Business Planning Then use this info to build a program
Take the time to conduct an assessment to evaluate the client’s health risk factor and have them perform standardized test to determine current level of fitness.
Then use this info to build a program
Take the time to create a detailed business plan that establishes definitive goals
Executing Summary
A brief outline of the business and an overview of how the business fills a need within the marketplace
Business Description
Includes the mission statement, business model, current status of the market, how the business fills a need within the market, management team

13. Business Planning: con’t
Marketing plan
Specifies how prospective clients become paying clients
Promoting a service by communicating the features, advantages, and benefits to potential clients
Should tell a story about how that service can enhance a person’s life
Benefits of working with an ACE certified personal trainer
Operational Plan
Describes the structure for how a business will operate, including responsibilities of employees
Risk analysis
Use SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
Decision-making criteria
Demonstrates that the expenses for operating the business are worth the financial risks involved

14. Bell Ringer
personal-trainer-and/

15. Creating a Brand Examples: New members to a health club Brides to be
It will help prepare the client for what to expect during the personal training experience
Examples:
New members to a health club
Brides to be
Over 50 adults
New mothers
People preparing for an adventure
Competitive amateur athletes looking for sport specific training
High school athletes seeking performance enhancement for sport
Small Group

16. Ask yourself:
What can be done to create and communicate a unique brand identity that will attract the target demographic
Who is the ideal target customer
Where is this target customer located
What time of day will this customer be interested in working with a trainer
What marketing efforts can be used to reach the potential customer to convert him or her into an actual paying client

17. Communicating the Benefits
Next step is to create a strategy to communicate the benefits of using your brand of training
Give a complimentary fitness assessment to facility members
Make business cards
Name, title, contact info including #, , website, one line describing your brand
Create a testimonial book/blog (get clients permission)
Work with client in a visible area of the facility so other members can see the personal training experience
Create signage for your car (independent contractor)
T-shirts for clients
Create a website
Start writing a fitness blog
Maintain a social networking account
Become group instructor
Adherence program: ex: if client doesn’t miss a session they can earn a free one or get a free t-shirt…
Educational seminar
Create a hashtag for your brand

18. http://www. acefitness

19. Marketing for Client Retention
Try to develop a long-term exercise plan for the client based on the concept of periodization
Encourages client to work with personal trainer for a long period time
Use the technique of periodization/ACE IFT
Identify when the clients wants to “peak” in terms of physical fitness
Break down program into phases of varying intensity
The client benefits because they receive a structured long term program based on the understanding of how the body adapts to the physical stresses of exercise
The trainer benefits because it creates a scientifically based method of client retention
The workout plan should then be broken into phases of varying intensity so that the client is progressing to the next level of intensity as their existing series of training session is getting ready to expire

20. Marketing for Client Retention

21. Marketing Through General Communication
Most common form of communication on the gym floor occurs through visual means as they work with other clients
They will base perceptions of trainer’s skills on:
What they see
Neat appearance
Professional but fun manner
Do you use time wisely
Every interaction should leave a positive impression
It will take about 3-6 months of work to develop a full client schedule

22. Financial Plan
Establish a budget and revenue goals for themselves (especially if you are starting your own business)
Set a monthly revenue budget based on your minimum expenses
Earning potential is limited only by the amount of time a trainer wants to work

23. SMART goals
SMART acronym is helpful for working with clients to establish their fitness goal but is also useful when applied to establishing financial goals for operating your personal training business
Specific: once a trainer determines how many sessions are needed per week to make a specific income, they can determine how many prospective clients they need to successfully market the service.
Ex: how many sessions are needed to meet an annual income goal of $50,000, assuming the personal trainer earns a net of $40 per session?
Yearly income goal: %50,000
Weekly income: $50,000/50 weeks = $1,000
Weekly training session goal: $1000/$40 net per session = 25 sessions/week

24. SMART goals
Measurable: keeping track of number of sessions rendered per month, week or day or the amount of income earned per week, month or quarterly
Attainable: establish realistic goals for income and number of sessions.
If you work to many days there is a high likelihood that they will not make time for their own exercise programs or experience burnout
Relevant: are your goals relevant to the wok environment
It takes time to establish business and develop a steady client base
Example: a trainer has a pay rate of $45/session, they would need to conduct 35 training sessions per week, 50 weeks per year to make $78, 750
Time-bound: how many sessions will you need to have per day or week