Building a Solid Foundation for Your Personal Training Business

So, you have a passion for helping others get into shape – and you think you’re ready to try your hand at making it into a full-time career. The personal training industry is ideal for self-starters like you, people who are passionate about physical health and cultivating unique customer relationships. However, as anyone currently working in personal training will tell you, the incoming cash flow isn’t always consistent. 

Client cancellations, off-seasons, and recession-level economic events can stagger the momentum of even the brightest rising stars, making it difficult to get income reliably. Add the fact that you’re competing for clientele in a saturated market, and you may have too many blank slates on your client roster for a while. To weather these off-seasons and launch a successful personal training business, you’ll need to construct a solid financial foundation with built-in resilience – and you’ll need to start long before you find your first clients. 

If this is your first time launching a bona fide business, don’t fear: we’re about to break down the best ways to set yourself up for success, empowering you to do what you love and help others get in shape while remaining financially comfortable. 

Avoiding Setup Mistakes

Success starts with the understanding that as soon as you begin creating your own business, you’re no longer just a personal trainer – you’re an entrepreneur. First-time entrepreneurs might not have the know-how to navigate the market effectively and set themselves up for success, accidentally mislaying their foundation and causing problems for themselves down the line. Fortunately, we can learn from those who have gone before us, as their examples show us the fundamentals of building a personal training business without having to pay for a degree.

Here’s a short checklist of the most common mistakes personal trainers make:

• Neglecting to build out a business budget and track expenses
• Forgetting to get adequate insurance coverage
• Ignoring the pivotal role of marketing in building a brand identity
• Setting prices that aren’t competitive in the marketplace
• Failing to get their personal training accreditation

Failing to get liability insurance puts you at risk should an injury occur while training, while a haphazard approach to marketing or pricing will chase off potential clients. Always make sure to get your personal training accreditation to prove to prospective clients that you can offer excellent service. Checking off these prerequisites will architect a foundation for how your business runs, its ethos, and a plan for possible future scaling. 

Getting Finances in Order

Of course, once you’ve got the fundamentals sorted out, you’ll need capital to get your business off the ground. Finances are a common roadblock for entrepreneurs, as no matter which industry you’re breaking into or how large your operation is, it costs a pretty penny to start up a successful business. From the jump, you’ll need to have money on hand to cover certification, regulatory expenses, rent, gym equipment, and business software.

Chances are that you don’t have that kind of capital on hand – who does, really? Fortunately, alternative financing options can provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to cover necessary expenses without breaking the bank.

• Crowdfunding: Start a crowdfund for your business, offering one-on-one classes, group workshops, and merch as perks for different tiers.
• Angel investing: Ever seen Shark Tank? Angel investment is about selling a stake in your company for a significant amount of capital.
• Revenue-based financing: This model allows you to receive capital up-front in exchange for a percentage of your income down the line. The flexibility of revenue-based financing is often ideal for personal trainers whose income week-to-week may waver.
• Peer-to-peer lending: Lending without a financial intermediary, often accessible through online platforms. This is a great opportunity to connect with investors locally, as well as others in the personal training industry.
• Incubators and accelerators: Businesses will often expend a part of their resources to empower start-ups in their area, investing capital and connecting entrepreneurs to communities and resources.

Knowing which of these alternative financing strategies fits your business model is helpful even if you have capital up-front, as you can leverage them to provide additional financial cushioning when the market grows unstable.

Managing Sudden Downturns

However, when downturns occur suddenly, you may need a backup plan to keep your business afloat. Sudden, unexpected expenses can sink a business, leading many business owners to panic and open a line of credit; however, this can be just as bad for your business’s health, especially if the downturn continues and your income grows less reliable.

Shoring up a percentage of your income into an emergency fund can be a great way to prepare for the unexpected, allowing you extra breathing room to decide if or when you need a line of credit. However, emergency funds tend to take time to build up, necessitating ongoing preparation and free capital – a luxury that beginning start-ups often feel they can’t afford. Consider securing an emergency fund or a line of credit so you have a contingency plan.

Setting up your business correctly, leveraging alternative financing options, and preparing an emergency plan are crucial for finding success in the personal training industry. These measures establish a foundation for your business’s finances, providing a measure of comfort and empowering you to do what you do best: help others stay healthy.