Personal Training Business In A Box » PT Business Builder Interviews

Sex, Drugs and Personal Training – The Craig Harper Interview

rick — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:48:41 +0000

A personal training interview with industry legend – Craig Harper

Let me level with you.

In this interview, there is no mention of sex or drugs (unfortunately) – I just always wanted to use that headline. But there is one hell of a personal training story that will make you laugh out loud several times over and leave you inspired to go out and do great things in your business.

If you have never heard of Craig Harper – he is one of the pioneers of personal training in Australia. Back when I was drinking my way through my Human Movement degree in 1995, Craig Harper was a name that used to pop up quite a lot with our little “fitness” crew.

He put together Melbourne’s first serious personal training studio back in 1987 and by the time I heard about him at Uni, he had a team of 17 trainers all training a heap of clients. Back then, to a bunch of starry-eyed 18 year old HM students, he was a bit of enigma.

So we all gave him the name “The Godfather of Personal Training” based purely on reputation alone.

Since those days, Craig has evolved from personal training mack-daddy to now being a motivational speaker, author, regular on TV and radio and pretty much the go-to guy if you are serious about changing something in your life.

The other day I jumped on the phone with Craig and after sheepishly admitting to him that we gave him the title The God Father Of Personal Training, we actually got stuck into some serious discussion about his perspective on personal training and what it takes to succeed in this game.

The result is one funny interview that has a bunch of awesome lessons in it that can be applied to trainers at every stage of their career.

Click here to listen to the Craig Harper interview

A quick heads up – the phone connection dropped out in middle of call, so there is about 20 seconds of silence in there while we got re-connected.

If you haven’t already, make sure you head over to Craig’s website (www.craigharper.com) and subscribe to his blog. He writes in a straight up style, never spams you with lame promotions and will make you see the your business (and life in general) in a whole new perspective.

Enjoy the interview,

Rick

P.S: If you haven’t already, come and join the 1400 other trainers and business owners hanging out on our Facebook page. Sometimes we get serious, sometimes we just mess around but there is always plenty of action (and a bunch of other cool trainers to meet and learn from).

PT Business Builder Interview #12: Andrew Zagami

rick — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:45:24 +0000

For the final PT business builder interview of 2010, I wanted to bring you a story of one trainer who I have personally seen transform in front of my own eyes.

His name is Andrew Zagami and he owns and operates A2Z Personal Training in the leafy South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

About 18 months ago I crossed paths with Andrew and (to call a spade a spade) he was a reasonably quiet, reserved kinda guy who was just in the process of re-building his business.

But the 2010 model is quite a different story (as the picture shows).

Through hard work and consistent action, that quiet guy has gradually evolved into a fearless, well-measured business owner who now has that vital ingredient when running your own show – mental toughness.

This is a classic story of life is what you make it, so you may as well make it great.

Enjoy the interview…

Andrew, tell me how you and why you first got into personal training?

I was a gymnast my whole life so as a kid and throughout my teens sport was my life. Once I finished school I did a double diploma in Sport and Recreation and Event Management, which while useful I knew I needed more. Throughout the course I found myself helping a lot of people with various projects and the occasional gym program so soon realized Personal Training was for me!

So second year of the course I did my Cert 3 as well then Cert 4 the following year.

Then from there, why did you want to go into business for yourself and what did your business look like when you first started?

I had been working for people since the age of 11, working when I was given shifts, satisfied with what I was being paid until I realized there was so much more I could offer if I was on my own. During my course I very quickly realized there was no chance I was going to work for a corporate gym let alone in a gym so promptly got on with things and opened the doors to A2Z (my current business).

When I first started it was amazing, within a few short weeks I had 5 clients all training 2-3 days a week and a corporate morning stretch class twice a week, I was on a roll. Then out of nowhere I was diagnosed with Cancer so had to shut up shop to look after myself for a while.

That’s pretty heavy. You obviously overcame that challenge, so when you returned to your business what was your biggest hurdle?

Doing it on my own. I had a heap of support from family getting the business set up but once that was sorted I didn’t really have any direction or know what to do next other than the usual give out business cards and letter box drops. I picked up a website soon after returning to work (lol what a shocking site it was!) which seemed to do pretty well so all in all I was doing ok on my own, but knew there was more out there…just had to find it!

It probably wouldn’t be going too far to call you a professional development junkie, why do you place so much importance on this aspect of your business?

I was just cruising through the motions, training clients, getting paid, offering a reasonable service and surviving. I knew in order to grow the business I had to expand my mind so began the search for awesomeness! (yes, it’s a word – just check out Barney Stinson) This year I would have spent at least 20%, if not more of my income on events such as Tony Robbins and Richard Branson in Sydney as well as getting my NLP practitioners license along with a few others.

There are too many trainers out there today, so I needed to make a point of difference, not just by giving them a water bottle or a massage at the end of training but by blowing their minds with something so out of the box that they are never going to leave because my service is just that damn good.

That’s a great attitude. Towards the end of this year you teamed up with another PT business owner to launch a joint venture, can you tell me a little about that and why you made that move?

I had heard a little about a local PT called Eve Gillard from a few people and always wanted to introduce myself, so finally I sent her a message and we had a coffee. I never imagined I would be able to work so easily with another trainer, clearly I was so wrong! Within a couple of days Eve spilled her idea of running weekend retreats so we got to work and 10 days later we had a fully functioning business ready to rock and roll.

It was such an exciting opportunity not only to be able to offer my clients something completely different to the usual training, but to also reach out to the other % of people that aren’t ready to train but have an interest in health and fitness – I couldn’t say no to the partnership.

In your spare time you have also developed an online training program for the % of clients who have not started training with you yet, why is this is an important element in your business?

It has been important because too many times I have seen clients be so dedicated to their training and pretty good with their nutrition but there was always something holding them back – all the negative self talk going on in their heads. My online program was designed around setting the mind right first before anything else gets taken care of.

It takes them through creating a clear vision of what they want and then removing any obstacles and limiting beliefs/factors they may have by using some of my NLP techniques. Once these are sorted they are set to get their training and nutrition on board to achieve the best result possible.

It’s an unbeatable combination.

So as someone who has overcome a bunch of obstacles to get where you are, what is your secret to achieving so much?

My motto has always been ‘Bring It On’ (yes the movie stole it from me.) I should be dead, blind or paralysed, yet I’m still standing so my secret is simple – push when necessary, ask for help when needed and enjoy life. That second part took me way too long to do and only learnt recently after having surgery that I needed to stop trying to do everything myself and ask for help.

Another huge driving force for me has always been failing. I like failing, it means I learn the lesson and make it even better the next time!

Right now there’s nothing that scares me – give me a challenge and I’ll tackle it and smash through it! Life’s too short to have fear. ‘Hello fear, I see you over there, now I’m going to raise you with this kick ass action to get XY result’
Fear is just one of those barriers your brain doesn’t like because it’s outside your comfort zone – it’s an imaginary barrier which can be broken through anytime, anywhere.

Where do you and your business want to be in 5 years from now?

(Let’s go 2 years hey?)

I have 5 trainers working for me all doing between 10-20 hours a week each.
Move into my new office as of Jan 1^st 2011
My membership program is in full swing and fully automated.
Unleashed Retreats is running every month in Melbourne, Tasmania and Queensland with 9 trainers working for Eve and I.
My charity has taken off and I’m campaigning around Australia to help ex-Cancer patients get back on their feet working alongside Lance Armstrong to spread the word and give back to Peter McCallum Cancer Centre.
I’ve moved out of home! (lol had to put that in)
Ok there’s another massive business opportunity happening next year which unfortunately I have to keep quiet about for a while, once it happens I’ll spread the word and get as many of you involved as I can as I want to send it interstate

That sounds pretty bloody exciting man – I look forward to watching it all unfold.

So as you can see, Andrew has had some real battles to overcome in his business but these battles have been far outweighed by his commitment, determination and kick-arse attitude to create the business and the life that HE wants.

Not the life that he is dished out…

On a daily basis, Andrew does personal training in Balwyn, Camberwell and Doncaster and his newest project Unleashed Retreats is now taking bookings for their first retreat in February next year. It has been a pleasure to have a front row seat to witness Andrew develop as a business owner and it actually scares me a little what he is capable of achieving in 2011.

If there was a Facebook page for that, I would LIKE it!

Cheers

Rick :-)

About the author: Rick Watson is the surfing, smiling personal training business guy who tells it like it is. He blogs, coaches and writes books for personal trainers but most of all he is a father and husband (with a healthy respect for road trips). If you like what you read and would be up for some daily banter, you can follow him on Twitter @ptbusiness or check out his Facebook page.

PT Business Builder Interview #11: Emily Boylin

rick — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:27:27 +0000

This month for our business builder interview I am talking to someone who has a very special attribute when it comes to personal training – she cares. Her name is Emily Boylin and she runs an outdoor group training business called Bondi Bum.

She doesn’t care about money, she doesn’t even care too much about how big her business gets but what she does care about deeply is that every one of her clients gets a great workout in an awesome setting while having a good time in the process.

A few months ago I got an email from Emily asking for a bit of assistance with the “what next” phase of her business as she needed to expand her systems, services and staff.

It quickly became very clear to me what type of business owner Emily was after we introduced a direct debiting system AND put her prices up at once. A sometimes prickly process, the changes that were made were greeted with this response from her clients… “Oh, no worries anything for Em’s, she does such a great job it is the least we can do.”

That’s awesome :-)

Emily creates loyalty through genuinely caring for every one of her clients and the result is now a rapidly growing business that has taken on two more staff, expanding into other suburbs and further developed her already successful corporate training program.

This is a cool story of someone who has turned their fitness passion into a serious business….

Rick: Hey Em, can you tell me how and why you got into personal training?

Em: I’d just moved back to Sydney from Perth and a trip around Australia and decided to have a long hard think about what I was doing career wise. After spending nine years in the corporate world of design and advertising I wasn’t feeling very inspired/excited/motivated to take the next logical steps up in my career and dreaded the idea of getting sucked back into that world once I was back to Sydney.

One thing I was enjoying was getting together with 2-3 friends a few mornings a week to exercise together. We had a few boxing pads and gloves between us and took turns to make up a training session! I loved it…and after a few weeks the task of coming up with new sessions was handed to me because I was the one who got excited about it!

I have always loved training and setting fitness goals for myself to achieve and so, rather than get sucked back into the world of design and advertising, I headed back to a classroom (it had been a while!) and completed my Cert III and IV to be a Personal Trainer.

R: Then from there, why did you want to go into business for yourself and how did you do it?

E: I had in my head the whole time I was studying that I wanted to be my own boss and have my own outdoor personal training business. With such stunning training grounds on my doorstep (beaches and coast of the Eastern suburbs of Sydney), I wanted to share my passion of training with those around me.

When I finished my course I began charging the friends I’d been training with on a Tuesday and Thursday morning and they became (quite willingly) my first paying clients. Word soon spread and the group of 2-3 friends became a group of 7-8 paying clients. This was a great start, but I knew it wouldn’t pay the bills alone, so I took a contracting role at the advertising company I used to work for (303 Advertising) a few days a week.

I made a promise to myself that it wouldn’t be forever and I would focus the days I wasn’t there on growing my personal training business…which had a name at this point too – Bondi Bum. My next big break was to start training my colleagues at 303 Advertising – they made up x2 corporate groups per week for me and are still clients to this day!

That was officially my ball rolling and with a little marketing and the perfect timing of summer coming around the corner I secured a number of new clients and was able to make the move from part time personal trainer and part time corporate world, to full time personal trainer and goodbye corporate world :-)

R: That’s a nice transition between careers. Looking back, what was your biggest business challenge between then and now?

E: Getting to where I am now has been one big challenge!

But one that I’ve enjoyed. I have never been my own boss before, I have never owned a business before and to a certain extent I was making it up as I went along!Growing the business and finding new clients was something I knew I had to get a grip of if I was going to make it, so, with an honest, friendly and fun approach I made alliances in the industry and I marketed to new clients.

One lead would work out, then another, then another…and the more leads that became clients, the more motivated and excited I would be to find more.

R: And you biggest success?

E: I have just taken on a part time trainer and full time trainer…I’m pretty stoked with that!

R: Yeah, that always a satisfying feeling. Last month you decided to run a charity event, can you tell me about that experience?

E: PT’s Turn Bondi PINK! was so much fun! It was a fundraiser for the Mc Grath Foundation and breast cancer awareness and we pulled off a giant training session on Bondi Beach, with everyone wearing pink for the occasion.

We only had two weeks to turn it around from an idea – sparked by a client of mine who is going through chemotherapy for breast cancer for the second time in five years and is probably the most amazing person I know – into the actual event.

So we rounded up as many personal trainers as we could to take part and help out on the day, set up a Facebook page to spread the word, get people registered and down there…and planned a giant circuit for everyone to take part in, with everything from commando crawls in the sand to a tug of war!

The support we received from local businesses, Bondi Lifeguards, friends, and friends of friends was amazing. Everyone rallied around and did what they could to spread the word, volunteered at the event, donated prizes, etc…it was great.

Oooo and the Channel 7 Sunrise weather team came along and had fun with us for the morning, with live crosses to the show and Shannon Ponton from the Biggest Loser came along to show his support and be a personal trainer on the day too. We raised just under $4000 from the event and a corporate alliance is going to match it dollar for dollar!

R: That’s very cool. It’s really obvious that you love what you do so why is running your business so much fun for you?

E: I get to spend my day outdoors with an array of different people, each with a different motivation to be training, each getting closer and closer to making big differences in their life.

Whether it be a weight loss or strength goal, to take part in a triathlon or just run up the stairs in their house, to be able to do even one push up on toes, to help people get there and see them buzzing from their own success is fantastic!

I also get to be my own boss…which yes, is tough at times because its up to me to make big decisions and put the hard work in (with some help from a pretty damn good business coach)…but its also really rewarding to be setting up my own future!

R: As someone who is now a couple of years into running their own business, what advice would you give new trainers?

E: If you really want it, put your heart and sole into it and chase it. That might sound a little scary, but trying anything half-heartedly won’t get you to where you want to be. Also, seek advice. If you don’t know something, ask.

We aren’t experts at everything, but if you can recognise your weaknesses as well as your strengths you’re half way there to doing a better job. I got to a cross roads of “I can either stay as I am and sit comfortably like this forever or I can find someone to help me action all the plans, goals and ideas I have flying around in my head and absolutely rock it”…I chose that latter and I haven’t looked back :-)

R: Yeah nice, rock it or go home right?

Exactly – life is too short for regrets.

R: And my final question…where do you and your business want to be in 5 years time?

E: Hmmmm, there is so much I want to do!

Top three…in five years time I’d like to grow my base of trainers to 5+ trainers and give them the opportunity to come on board and enjoy something as much as I do. I’d like to set up “Bondi Bum and the surrounding curves”…it’s a (cheesy) strapline I’ve had from the beginning to spread Bondi Bum into other suburbs too…don’t worry, I don’t think the strapline will make it into any live copy.

Lastly, I’d like my clients in five years time to continue loving training with Bondi Bum as much as they do now!

R: The way your business is currently moving, they look more like 6 month goals then 5 year goals. Thanks for taking some time out of your week to hang with me and I look forward to seeing the Bondi Bum brand for many years to come…

As you can see by the interview, Ems is one straight up, dedicated personal trainer who has made the decision to commit to her business and make it happen. If you want to add a little bit of Bondi Bum to your day, join up to the Facebook page and check out how Em rolls…. she is handing out personal training business Master-Classes daily without even knowing it :-)

As always, your questions and comments are welcome and appreciated.

Cheers,

Rick :-)

PT Business Builder Interview #10: Richard Marc

rick — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 01:40:52 +0000

For this month’s PT Business Builder interview, I am stoked to be able to chat with one of our industries main men – Richard Marc. Many of you have heard of Richard or maybe even seen him present at one of the national fitness conventions on his specialist topic; Social Networking for Personal Trainers.

But what you may not know is that Richard was the youngest qualified and registered personal trainer in Australia and he has an amazing story to tell. I wanted to bring you his story because, like you and I, he started out getting his PT qualification and working his way up through his fitness business ventures to now being one of the leaders in the industry.

His story is proof that with strong passion, a commitment to always learning and a heavy dose of hard work, you can achieve anything. If you currently use or are thinking of using social media, you will definitely want to hear what Richard has to say.

Check it out…

Hey Richard, can you begin by explaining how you started in the fitness industry and why you chose this profession?

No problem Rick. My first taste of a career in the fitness industry started back when I was still at school in year 9, I had an elective subject at school which allowed me to go to TAFE one afternoon a week and study the ‘basics of Fitness Industry’.

I left school in year 10 and then went on to complete a 12 month TAFE course. I knew what I wanted to do so I went ahead and did it even through I remember back in the day I had a school teacher say to me ‘if I left early I would be sweeping the floors of a supermarket late at night’ I guess those moments in life really shape you, when you decide and just do it. As Tony Robbins says – “It is in the moments of your decision that your destiny is truly shaped”.

I thrive on being the first and setting the standard in anything I decide to do. I mean I loved sports like many people do who get into PT I would do anything long distance, half marathons etc. At school I would write programs for other school friends and even back then when I was writing Fitness Programs for my mates, it would seemed something more exciting than being at school.

What I also LOVED was business, at an early age I had a few little business adventures on the go and with Personal Training I was excited to one day have a business doing sports.

Back in 1999 you ran a successful private training studio. Can you paint of picture of what it was like to run that business?

Being just 17 years old trying to find a job as a trainer was nearly impossible at that time. I did eventually hook my dream job being a mobile outdoor Personal Trainer, I built up a great little cliental base in the west of Sydney. My boss at the time had an opportunity come up to purchase a PT studio in Neutral bay (at the time I had never been to Neutral Bay before in my life) and we went in as business partners.

Being 17 at the time and taking over a team of 6 Personal Trainers most of them 10 years my senior, I guess really taught me to get on with the task at hand and fast… but I think when you have passion for what you do you get supernatural abilities, things that seem impossible just become possible. I learnt on the job and taught myself business and the importance of being a good manager of a team. There was no business coaches or support back then, like there is today.

I think it is good sometimes to just take the leap because if you have the passion you can do some amazing things and being so young and probably naive I had no fear at all! Looking back the challenges of dealing with a business partner, then deciding to own the entire business myself and then eventually deciding to sell and finding a buyer for the business all before I was 20 years old was probably the best lesson in business and life.

My biggest challenge as a new business owner was having to prove myself to the cliental that I deserved to be training. I remember at times having to try and avoid telling my age. I mean being 17 training high class business executives, taking over the business from fitness experts such as Matt Church and Tony Findlay was a hard task. So, it was easier at times to keep my age a quieter matter.

You are now heading up Meet Your Personal Trainer – how does this service work and why is it so successful?

www.MeetYourPersonalTrainer.com.au was an idea I developed whilst I had my Corporate Wellness company (which I sold last year www.corporatewellness.com.au). Based on where technology was heading at that time and the influx of more Personal Trainers that were coming out of institutes I knew that clients needed to know the difference between someone in the industry 10 years and 10 days.

Personal Trainers are so good at training their own clients and their own clients know how good they are but they needed to be seen on a broader range. And this was the solution for a Personal Trainer to show off how good they are to potential clients using the power of videos. Something I believe is not taught to trainers well enough in business marketing or perhaps trainers may not understand how important it is until it is too late.

The whole system is based on that fact that trainers can upload a 30 second video and the best part about it is they can upload unlimited “How To Videos’, creating a profile page that converts into red hot leads!!

People buy from people they trust, that is why the How to Library was included in and what makes our website so unique. It builds trust with consumers as they need to know more about you. They need to understand that you know what you doing and most importantly they need to believe that they are making a great choice in one of the most important decisions for their health.

When a consumer can look at a heap of free videos, read articles that the trainer has uploaded that’s when the phone call they make should be very easy to convert, into a client. That’s why with Meet Your Personal Trainer consumers know that they can view their local trainer without having to feel intimidate when they go for that initial consultation.

That sounds like an awesome service. What are the three biggest mistakes you see personal trainers making while using social media?

1) Telling themselves that they don’t need social media.

2) Posting advertising on social media – pushing instead or caring.

3) Not going out and finding new clients or JV partners from it, so, staying in their comfort zones and just talking to their old school pals.

What is the most effective way to turn social media buzz into cold, hard leads for your business?

I think start to use it and most importantly connect with the friends and followers. Offer them great free info and advice that will help them out with their personal goals. Once you build up trust then you can direct them to your website for an easy sale. There has to be something in it for them!!

Where do see social media in fitness industry heading over the next five years?

Well the fitness industry is an industry where you have to be very approachable. It’s the same if you are working at a large gym like Fitness First or doing outdoor personal training by yourself. To build trust and relationships will never change but what will change will be the amount of smart trainers using social media to reach people that could never reach before.

With the use of technology such as Google TV just around the corner, this means that trainers can own real estate in a strangers lounge room, so the industry will shift and those ‘backyard’ part time trainers will find it much harder to go up against business and trainers that have videos online and a social media platform and following going into this new technology

One final question, if you could recommend one thing for a personal trainer to do with social media, what would it be?

Google yourself and see what your online profile looks like. Can you be found and do you have a good online presence? Are you providing some really great content for potential clients to take note or are you just another advertisement brochure with the about us, contact us tabs? If you are, you need to take action to change your online presence and do so now. Get yourself in front of a camera and share the information it is the fastest way to be recognized!

That is great advice, thanks Richard.

So as you can see, Richard is the kind of guy that is always ahead of the curve and someone that every trainer could really benefit from having in their corner.

To find out how you can build online relationships (not in a weird way) with your local target market using Meet Your Personal Trainer, click on the link and get more clients using social media and video marketing.

I also really recommend connecting with Richard through his Facebook page – he is always putting out loads of great info and details about upcoming events.

Got a question?

Rick :-)

PT Business Builder Interview #9: Matt Collins

rick — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 03:02:39 +0000

This month for our PT Business Builder interview, I am speaking with a trainer who is committed to putting a serious dent into the fitness industry (just my kind of guy). His name is Matt Collins and he has built his Sunshine Coast fitness business, Fatburners Personal Training, up from a small studio to now being the industry leader up his way.

He is hell-bent on breaking the traditional mold of a personal training business and if his business is the result then smash away I say. Identifying your target market, listening intently to their needs and then massively over-delivering is something we all go on about but with Matt it is something that he lives, breathes and profits from.

Check out what this guy has to say, I think you are really going to dig it…..

Matt, tell me how you first got into personal training?

I was always a fit kid at school, in fact I was athletics age champion in year 12. I hated the idea of being stuck behind a desk for 8 hours a day, so being paid to get fit was the perfect job for me! Personal training seemed liked the best avenue to go down to pursue this.

Then from there, why did you want to go into business for yourself and how did you do it?

I have had several awesome JOBs in my 12 years of the fitness industry (fitness trainer with the NSW Police, shit kicker for an NRL A grade team, gym manager in a small mining town) but I was always putting in 110% for somebody else! I realised that I had to take the risk, jump off the edge of ‘safe’ and go into business for myself.

Who were your target market, what service did you provide and how did you market your business when you first started?

Like a lot of new PT’s, I got into the industry thinking that as soon as I was qualified everyone would want to train with me! Ha! How wrong I was! Marketing consisted of me training anyone…for FREE! Or apporaching the local gyms and saying “Hear I am, I am a PT, give me a job! Ha Ha, I can’t believe how naive I was!

My target market was ANYONE and my services were ANYTHING! (You can see why I was so SUPER SUCCESSFUL -Not) Unfortunately, this situation is not uncommon to a lot of new trainers and this is why the average life span of a personal trainer is less than 2 years!

What was your biggest business challenge back then?

Biggest challenge was having no clients. However because I knew absolutely nothing about anything I wasn’t all that concerned. I didn’t have a business coach suggesting how I could head in the right direction, I just guessed my way along – this was a HUGE mistake! This cost me thousands of dollars and literally years of wasted time! Looking back now if I would’ve had somebody looking over my shoulder to help me make the right decisions would have been a god send!

What are your most successful marketing strategies for your business now?

I have been very successful with some unique lead generation ideas (120 leads in 6 hours, for less than $100!) But what has been the biggest plus was when I really started networking properly. Getting out in front of other business owners and potential clients and just saying g’day and letting them know who I was and how I could help. Being clear on who our ‘perfect client’ is has also helped us stay focused.

What is your biggest business challenge now?

For me personally, i am stepping away from the ‘hands on’ pt stuff and leaving it to my 8 trainers. So my biggest challenge is keeping a well oiled, motivated, productive team. You have to remember, no one cares about your business (except for you) so you have to give them a reason to care (and believe me, money isn’t always the reason they are there!)

Where do you and your business want to be in 5 years from now?

In 5 years I will have sold one of my studios and I will be using the other one as my ‘guinea pig’ of ideas to compliment my PT business coaching company…”Doing the reps”. I am extremely passionate about “Doing the reps” because I know I can make a difference to the new PT’s out there and I can really help them to make a success of their business. I am currently working with a new PT and in the 12 months we have been working together she has employed 3 trainers and she has cut her ‘hands on’ working hours by half. Kick Arse!

Awesome stuff Matt, thanks for sharing a little bit about how you got where you are today and what you are looking to do in the future. If you have any questions for Matt, just throw them in the comments box or you can check out what he has coming up by joining his Doing The Reps Facebook page.

Cheers

Rick :-)

PT Business Builder Interview #8: Rachel Dickman

rick — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:01:35 +0000

For this months business builder interview, I am going to introduce you to a trainer who is relativity new to the fitness industry but what she lacks in experience she makes up in passion and enthusiasm. I am talking about Sydney trainer, Rachel Dickman and her mobile business, Real Life Fitness. So lets find out how this career-changer has adapted to the world of personal training…

Rach, tell me how you first got into personal training?

I had an amazing personal trainer myself a few years back now. He got me out of my “diet” mentality and taught me so much about fitness and nutrition. I loved it so much I ended up entering a Fitness Model competition – this is when everything just clicked for me. I learnt so much about my body, exercise and nutrition it just became a no-brainer. I would find myself at the gym watching the other trainers thinking, “I could do that”. That combined with my quest for natural health (which is really another story), I think I kinda just morphed into a personal trainer from there.

Then from there, why did you want to go into business for yourself and how did you do it?

Well, I knew before I even got my PT qualifications that I wanted to have my own business I just hadn’t expected it to happen all so quickly. Before going out on my own, I really wanted to get 6-12 months of experience so I could learn and absorb as much as possible. While I was waiting for my certificates to come through I started approaching gyms to find out what they were all about and if I wanted to work for them.

Having come from the corporate world and completely changing my career I didn’t want just any job, I wanted to work for someone who had similar beliefs and values to me, I wanted to learn and I wanted the ability to earn decent money. After some very strange conversations and even after getting a job, I couldn’t find anyone who ticked all of my boxes. After talking things over with my business coach (actually I think I was crying things over), I decided to walk away from the job I landed after 2 days and go out on my own. To this day I’ve never looked back.

Who were your target market, what service did you provide and how did you market your business when you first started?

I really wanted to reach people who weren’t interested in going to the gym – I wanted the every day person who has tried all the diets and fads but have never had long lasting results. Enter the mobile personal trainer.

What was your biggest business challenge back then?

ME!!! I was definitely my biggest challenge. As I didn’t have any experience at all as a PT I really wasn’t sure I could pull it off. I thought I had to back myself up with testimonial after testimonial otherwise how would people know that I’m a good trainer. I mean there are so many other trainers out there why would they choose me when there are so many other experienced trainers out there. I now realize that people buy you, not your testimonials or your experience. They buy you as a person and what you can give them right now. I came to realize that I have got something that no other trainer has…. and that’s me!

What are your most successful marketing strategies for your business now?

It’s a bit of a mix really – the best offline strategies are networking, word of mouth and working with other local businesses. Also online is really starting to pick up for me now that I know what I’m doing thanks to you Rick. I’ve realized it’s all about finding your niche and just honing in on that. Saturate a particular market in a particular area and just go for it. I’ve learnt that you can’t be everything to everyone nor do you want to be.

What is your biggest business challenge now?

I would say that being the only person in my business is definitely the hardest thing. Being the CEO, the trainer, the admin person, the sales & marketing department and the finance and accounting team, can all get a little crazy at times. I must admit I really didn’t realize just how hard it would be but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m still finding my mojo with everything really.

Where do you and your business want to be in 5 years from now?

To be the most recognized & fun personal training and fitness business in Lane Cove, Sydney. I can’t wait to take on more personal trainers and have more fun exercise classes like our newly started Zumba classes. We are really just about having fun and making a difference to people’s lives. Exercise and fat loss is really not that hard – you don’t have to kill people to get results and I want to spread the word so that those who freak out at the thought of a personal trainer will realize that it really is easy to live a healthy lifestyle. It’s all about small steps taken consistently, like anything really.

As you can see, Rachel is really getting things moving for someone who hasn’t even been in business for a year at time of writing. It my opinion it all comes down t0 her simple attitude to be the best personal trainer in Lane Cove. Her dedication to continually learn new skills so that her clients can get the best possible results, while also still working fevorishly on the business-side of things has to be admired.

After reading Rachel’s interview, what aspect of her story do you relate to the most?

Cheers

Rick :-)

About the author: Rick Watson is the surfing, smiling personal training business guy who tells it like it is. He blogs, coaches, writes books and runs an online community for personal trainers but most of all he is a father and husband (with a healthy respect for road trips). If you like what you read, subscribe to the blog here or for more daily banter, you can follow him on Twitter here or Facebook here.

PT Business Builder Interview #7: Chris Bellette

rick — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 02:03:56 +0000

Every now again, I cross path’s with someone who reminds me of myself at the same period in my personal training career. Chris Bellette is not one of them – he is kicking my butt :-) He has been running his business for ONE YEAR and has put together a well-structured, lead generating, high converting, client retaining, tribe building machine of a business.

After my first year of running my personal training business (yes, way back in 1997), I think I was still trying to work out how to use skin-fold calipers. THIS GUY IS GOOD and seriously motivated, so settle in and enjoy the Chris Bellette story. I have a funny feeling it is not going to be the last time you see this face…..

Chris, tell me how you first got into personal training?

Well, I have always been an active guy. I have played representative basketball at a state and national level and I also spent time in the Army Reserves so staying in shape has been a massive part of my life. My first real job in the fitness industry came when I worked as a membership consultant at a few major gyms. Doing this taught me a great deal about sales, marketing and management.

I also made plenty of contacts with some great trainers and I suppose seeing what they did gave me a desire to get into personal training. I have a lot of buddies who were trainers too. My whole life kind of revolved around fitness and I guess starting out as a personal trainer was a way I could continue to do what I loved. So I did my Certificate 3 and 4 in Fitness, got insured, did my First Aid and then got registered with Fitness Australia.

Then from there, why did you want to go into business for yourself and how did you do it?

I actually decided that I wanted to have my own business before I got into the fitness industry. I knew I wanted to be a business owner, but I never really knew exactly what I wanted to do. I had read a stack of books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad from Robert Kiyosaki, Richest Man in Babylon from George S. Clason and The E-Myth from Michael E. Gerber. These books gave me a foundation in business thinking and I recommend them to anyone looking to start their own business. I discovered that it is impossible to become financially independent with a job. I learned that business is the only realistic way to wealth.

After I graduated from uni with a Bachelor of Human Movement Science I had lots of ideas, but I didn’t have a job lined up. It was smack bang in the middle of the Global Financial Crisis and there were no jobs available in my area. It was then that I then found out about the New Enterprise Initiative Scheme (NEIS). It basically trains up people just like me, who have a business idea but no job to go to and they help you to get it started. I got approved for the program and got some basic funding for the first 12 months. I also got a business mentor and small business management training too. It was the most awesome opportunity ever! With the help of NEIS, I was able to start my own business (Active Aussies) and I have never looked back!

That’s a great kick-start. From there, who were your target market, what service did you provide and how did you market your business?

When I launched Active Aussies I pretty much targeted everyone and I found myself signing up anyone who was interested. I thought it was better for me to target everyone and anyone at first. I did groups, 1-on-1’s, buddies and tried to get into older adults, kids and corporates too. I soon found out that by targeting everyone I was really targeting no-one at all. My approach was scattered and un-organised. I am still in the process of culling a few services and I really want to narrow down who our target market is. I think it’s definitely a work in progress at the moment, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I think a narrow and deep target market is key. I’m trying to steer Active Aussies towards a niche in the fitness industry and in the future our services should be refined and really reflect our niche position.

As for what we did for marketing Active Aussies. Well, I majored in marketing in uni so I knew that the best way was with an integrated marketing strategy. I aimed to create a marketing funnel from the earliest of stages so that I could maximise the chances of finding and bringing in new clients. Initially we did letter box drops, outreach at train stations and in the parks we train at, referral drives with members, we created a professionally designed website, worked on search engine optimisation, really tried to nail social media marketing and we worked with several local businesses.

I’ve never been afraid of talking to people and I love getting out and about chatting about my business – I’m my businesses biggest fan! I made sure I carried business cards and fliers everywhere I went and really worked hard trying to convert a high percentage of people I collected leads from. My efforts paid off. Active Aussies has been profitable ever since our launch and I think it all comes down to getting off my butt and doing something every day (AMEN – Rick).

As I get busier I don’t find the time to go street contacting as much anymore, but I love getting out when I can. I think it’s important to never rest on your laurels and to think that you’ve found enough clients. Because one day you are going to get hit with a bunch of clients who will leave you and to counter that you need a constant stream of incoming leads.

What were your biggest business challenge’s back then?

Finding finances to grow the business was probably my biggest challenge back then because I really didn’t have too much to put down on the table at first. I was after all a uni graduate. I was deep in debt and just got married so finances were pretty tight. NEIS helped a bit and got rid of the squeeze, but in the end I just used little tricks to save money in every situation I could. I became a barter-holic and fell in love with contra deals.

I designed my website, logo, got my bookkeeping done, flyers, business cards and had babysitters for clients kids all hooked up using bartering. I would train them for free in exchange for their services. I think I have saved somewhere between $4,000-5,000 by bartering. I also like to use guerrilla marketing strategies involving little or no money. I’m no expert by any means but I love learning from gurus like Jay Conrad Levinson, Brad Sugars and Seth Godin.

My next biggest challenge was trying to overcome the isolation I felt as an independent small business owner. Working outside of a big chain gym so I made a concerted effort to network with as many trainers and business owners that I could. I would carry business cards and swap ideas whenever I met another trainer or business owner. I hired a Personal Training Business Coach and I joined a networking group for Sydney Fitness Professionals. I also networked with other awesome and successful fitness business owners on Facebook and Twitter and have gotten to know a few really awesome people in my area. Doing this has helped me feel continued confidence in not only my personal training skills but also as a small business owner.

You have a great website, are an active blogger and have a great social media presence. Can you expand on this a little and how it has helped your business?

Thanks :o) Active Aussies has several connection points where clients and potential clients can interact with each other and with the business. We use Facebook a lot, a blog, YouTube and Twitter. I send out a weekly email newsletter to my clients and put updates on our Active Aussies Facebook page. I sync our Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts to each other, so when one is updated the other ones are too. That has helped us to increase our visibility across a number of different social media platforms.

Facebook allows us to put up photos, notes, articles, videos and links that our clients and potential clients might be interested in. Our clients really enjoy the links to articles and videos we put up on Facebook and Twitter. We get a lot of people commenting and viewing our page and it really builds a great community. I make sure to add every new client as a friend on Facebook and invite them to join our Active Aussies page. Our weekly blog articles focus on our core beliefs and every article relates to something we believe strongly in.

What is your biggest business challenge right now in your business?

Now that I am super busy with heaps of awesome clients, I think my biggest challenge is trying to systematise everything. I need to create systems so that as I expand I can get some other trainers on board who match the Active Aussies brand mentality. It’s just a matter of transferring everything that I do out of my head and onto paper in the form of an operations manual. It’s a work in progress and it’s pretty time consuming, but I know that if I stick with it then it will pay dividends for sure.

Where do you and your business want to be in 5 years from now and how do you plan on getting there?

I really see Active Aussies as a multi-site operation. I’d love to meet great trainers who are looking to create a passive income for themselves and who will like to work with me to help the Active Aussies brand grow. Personally, one of my goals is to own my own home. I am currently saving for my first home and my goal is to use Active Aussies as the vehicle to earn that much needed house deposit. I also want Active Aussies to be a stable business with a successful financial track record so that banks will love me enough to loan me some money!

So I have several reasons I want Active Aussies to succeed, but most of all, I really enjoy helping people make fitness a part of their life. I love my job and I really hope to continue helping people and no matter what happens to the business financially, I really want to help people. To me, that is the biggest measure of success – how many people have I helped. I like to ask myself the question, who have I helped today? It keeps me on track and I know that if I focus on that then success in other areas will follow.

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Great stuff Chris! As you can see, Chris is another example of action paying huge dividends. He had a goal and nothing was going to stand in his way. Not lack of education, not lack of finance, not lack of experience – he has overcome all of those hurdles and has now built up a massive reputation as the best personal trainer in Wahroonga and is rapidly expanding over the Upper North Shore of Sydney.

If you have a question for Chris about anything he has mentioned in his interview, post it up as a comment below.

Cheers

Rick :-)

About the author: Rick Watson is the surfing, swearing personal training business guy who tells it like it is. He blogs, coaches, writes books, runs an online community and holds live workshops for personal trainers but most of all he is a father and husband (with a healthy respect for road trips). If you like what you read, subscribe to blog here and get your weekly dose of goodness delivered straight to your inbox.

PT Business Builder Interview #6: Chris van Hoof

rick — Tue, 25 May 2010 01:00:39 +0000

It all started when I first saw his big 4WD ute cruise past with the words “Chisel Fitness” wrapped impressively along the side. That was a few years ago now. Following that, I heard an interview with a personal trainer on my local radio station where the guy not only knew his shit but obviously really cared about the people he trained.. “that was Chris van Hoof from Chisel Fitness” – the presenter announced. I must know more – so I checked out his website, read his blog and delved deep into his business history (nothing like a bit of virtual stalking ).

Now, this year when it came time to have some of MY personal training clients handed over to a new trainer so I could concentrate on PT Business In A Box – there was only one person for me to call; Chris van Hoof. Why? Because he is the best and he speaks the truth. Now I get the pleasure of interviewing him so you can all meet him as well.

Check it out…

Chris, tell me how you first got into personal training?

I completed a Human Movements degree at the University of QLD and gained an appreciation for the science behind training both elite athletes and the general population. Whilst studying this degree I also became aware of the mountain of ‘misinformation’ that people are exposed to in the fitness industry and realised that such a large amount of the hype was designed to just make money. My business partner, Aaron Zimmerle, and I then continued our education by completing our Cert 3 and 4 in fitness and gained experience working with various personal trainers, gyms, sporting clubs and athletes.

Then from there, why did you want to go into business for yourself and how did you do it?

We saw a need for fitness professionals who delivered quality information and safe, effective training practices. We also loved the idea of being able to educate our clients whilst we trained them. If we can educate and train someone to the point where they can take full control of living an active and healthy lifestyle, then we have done our job.

Chisel Fitness came about as a result of plenty of conversation. Although we both understood the human body, it was our first time trying to operate a business so we chatted to friends and family members and anyone who was willing to help. It was really interesting listening to people who had experience in many different industries and I think this really helped us set up a solid platform for our business.

Who were your target market, what service did you provide and how did you market your business when you first started?

Gyms seemed to be missing the wood through the trees and we believed there was, and still is, so many people having trouble finding quality information to help them with their training. We wanted to target people who were looking for a little more help with their training, often the type of people who had tried gyms before without success. We set up as a mobile PT company and did various Expo Days and demonstrations at locations we felt would give us maximum exposure. Friends and clients came along and participated in group sessions and pretty soon we were getting noticed. We invited members of the public to join in and generally had a lot of fun doing what we loved. From there it just started to roll…

What was your biggest business challenge back then?

The cliché of working ‘on’ your business as opposed to ‘in’ your business rings true. As a new company it was difficult to get this balance right, whilst at the same time trying to understand how the business would evolve. Our client base seemed to build quite fast and we learnt pretty quickly the importance of having various systems in place so that things would run smoothly.

What are your most successful marketing strategies for your business now?

Nothing can beat word of mouth. Above everything else personal training is a personal business. We are lucky to work with passionate trainers who not only understand physiology, but also understand people. This is absolutely paramount in our business.

I also strongly believe in the saying that “Good personal trainers know what they don’t know”. Setting up relationships with other health practitioners allows us to not only build a referral system, but also helps build our knowledge base and best understand the needs of our clients. The more we can integrate personal training as part of a health model, as opposed to what I call the ‘athletic and aesthetic’ model, the more we can become effective in delivering worthwhile health and fitness solutions.

On top of that we work hard to break down the barriers that people have when committing to personal training. We like to think that our website is quite personal and gives prospective clients an accurate picture on the type of trainers and people that work at Chisel Fitness. Updating our blog regularly gives us great feedback, and adds a real personal touch. Social media profiles are an extension of this.

What is your biggest business challenge now?

Competing with the overwhelming amount of ‘misinformation’ that exists within and around the fitness industry continues to be a massive challenge for all personal trainers. It’s important to us that we continue to deliver a quality service that promotes a healthy lifestyle. Peoples bodies are designed to move and be healthy. Challenging peoples preconceived ideas on the scope that fitness and activity can provide for their quality of life is going to continue to be a large focus for our company.

Where do you and your business want to be in 5 years from now?

I’d like to think that we will be continuing to develop trainers who can deliver a quality and effective service. Personally I am currently working on a new business venture that will integrate with the service of Chisel Fitness, to help inspire, educate and lead people towards healthy lifestyle decisions. Watch this space…

Chris has some really exciting things happening in his business at the moment with his new venture (and I am bloody jealous) and the continued growth of brand Chisel Fitness. To check out how he goes about it and to see how you can successfully use a blog to help build your business – check out Chris’s handy work at www.chisel-fitness.com.au

If you have got any questions for Chris or would like to make a comment on any of the interview we would love to hear from you…..

See Ya Soon

Rick :-)

About the author: Rick Watson is the surfing, swearing personal training business guy who tells it like it is. He blogs, coaches, writes books and holds live workshops for personal trainers but most of all he is a father and husband (with a healthy respect for road trips). If you like what you read, subscribe to blog here and get your weekly dose of goodness delivered straight to your inbox.

PT Business Builder Interview #5: Pete Tansley

ptadmin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:06:23 +0000

Once again it is time for our PT business builder interview series. This month, I have had the pleasure of chatting to Pete Tansley from Priority One Fitness Solutions (a PT studio in Burleigh Heads on the sunny Gold Coast). Sometimes you come across a guy who just has the fire in his belly to make his business succeed – Pete is one of those guys.

When I rocked into his studio to meet him for the first time, Pete was looking his ethusiastic, fresh self. But after a little bit of digging, he told me that he had just pulled an all-nighter because he had a bunch of writing for his blog and website that he wanted to get finished as soon as possible. So right away I knew that Pete Tanlsey does what it takes to get shit done – my kind of guy :-)

Check out what he has to say….

Pete, tell me how you first got into personal training?

It’s funny, because I guess I never really woke up one morning and though, “I want to be a trainer.” I was a little lost after I finished school – I had no direction or motivation and didn’t know what path to choose. The only thing that got me excited was my own training, and the buzz of being in shape and competing in sport. A family friend, who at the time was travelling to the US back and forth to complete her CHEK qualifications, suggested I study fitness. So I hesitantly applied to the Cert III fitness course at my local TAFE…. And the rest, as they say, is history!

Then from there, why did you want to go into business for yourself and how did you do it?

I guess the study really snapped me out of my slump – for the first time in a long time I took passion in my work, and was excited to learn more about the human body. I had some great teachers who encouraged me to go and search for a good vocational placement provider (at the time we had to complete 100 hours).

So I started searching for a gym willing to take on a fresh-faced 17 year old with no experience. This was my first taste of sales – I faced rejection after rejection! I eventually landed my placement hours at the Bond Uni Sports Centre, who at that time were QLD Centre of The Year. Bond was a terrific starting point for me as I learnt the basics of programming and PT, and how to communicate with people. I ended up working there for almost 5 years, before working in a number of smaller businesses on the Gold Coast as a trainer, manager and sales person.

I always knew that I would work for myself – I loved the idea of steering my own ship and being in control. So after talking about it for long enough I found the backing and went for it! I was very lucky to have some good business advice from a family friend, who helped me negotiate things like the lease, fit-out and all the start-up planning. I had no idea on these things, so it was such an advantage having an experienced business mind on my side.

Who were your target market, what service did you provide and how did you market your business when you first started?

I knew from working in a previous business that it works best to have a well-defined niche. My theory is to go narrow and deep rather than wide and shallow. By that I mean find a small specific target and then really try to specialize in that market. For me my market is females aged 45 – 60 years with a household income over $70,000, who are looking to lose 5-20 kilo’s. So now all of my marketing speaks to that target and is very specific. If a male walks through the doors of course we will train him, but we don’t specifically target outside of that range. So our joint ventures and drop boxes are at the places that also target this market – high-end hair salons, restaurants and café’s, clothing stores etc.

Most trainers who I see try to be everything to every body. They try to market to body builders, athletes, grandmas, rehab clients, kids and everyone in between. With only a limited budget I knew it would be more effective to target only one segment.

In terms of initial marketing I tried just about everything – drop boxes, joint ventures, cold calls, referrals, past clients, letterbox drops, social media and email marketing. I even made sure I got “belly to belly” with at least 10 people each day. This meant I had to walk down Burleigh Beach, or a large shopping center, and approach strangers and simply chat to them about health and fitness. I wouldn’t go the hard sell, but rather try to help first, and sell second. I wouldn’t let myself go home until I spoke to at least ten people! This did work, but it might not be for everybody.

What was your biggest business challenge back then?

The hardest part personally was getting rid of my perfectionism. The studio, the marketing, the uniforms, the staff training, the systems – they were all only at 90%, but I had to ignore the things that weren’t finished and just go ahead regardless. I remember thinking “but my clients will notice that I only gave this wall 2 coats of paint and not the recommended 3!” Of course, they didn’t, and I came back to it when I had time!

What are your most successful marketing strategies for your business now?
Social media is a big one for me and still gets 10+ leads per week. I work on it daily, and re-post any blogs I do. I never try the hard sell via social media; I prefer to educate the reader first.

Blogging was also great my for list building. Months before the studio opened, I was building my list through fortnightly email newsletters and weekly blogs.

Other than that I have found that giving an irresistible offer when marketing to get new clients through the door – such as the 21-Day Rapid Fat Loss Boot Camp – is really effective. I first heard about this method from Bedros Keuillian, and one of his blogs actually gives you the email to send out to your list. This one works best when you release it 25-30 days out from Christmas / Easter… people will do just about anything to get in shape for the big holidays!

Another tactic I picked up from when I met with Scott Williams from Succeed is the VIP cards. Basically you hand all your boot camp members a “VIP Card” which entitles one of their friends to 30 days of free training. I’ve had a 100% conversion on all of these this year and they cost virtually nothing. Thanks Scotty!

But I think the two most powerful marketing tools are building a team of passionate trainers who give kick-arse workouts, and or course measuring / testing everything. As you’re well aware Rick, happy customers tell all of their friends and it will always be the best way!

What is your biggest business challenge now?

Only focusing on what matters and letting go of the trivial things. I now employ 5 trainers to do the training, plus an administration manager and bookkeeper, so I can focus on sales, marketing and team building. In terms of mindset the crucial step for me was changing from personal trainer to business owner. If I did all of the training, then when would I get time to grow the business? So my time is spent learning and practicing better business systems and methods.

Where do you and your business want to be in 5 years from now?

I hope to duplicate the business over the next 5 years. By 2020 I plan to have 10 studios, which is one new site per year for the next ten years, and after that we will see how far Priority 1 Fitness can go! It’s going to be a huge challenge but I am super excited.

Awesome stuff. Three things really interested my with Pete’s interview: 1) how specific he was with his target market and how well he understood them, 2) his use of his social media and bloggin to build his network of potential clients looking forward and 3) how he has skillfully positioned himself to continue to learn and build the business not just run the day to day operations (systems = leverage).

Some really great lessons from a young guy who has some big goals and the way that he is going and the effort that he is prepared to put in, I can see absolutely no reason why he wont get there. To see how Pete links all of web pages together, check out his main site, his blog and his FB fan page (they all drive traffic beautifully to the right places).

What did you learn from Pete?

Cheers

Rick :-)

P.S: Dont forget that if your business has got your stressed, jump on board my new work/life balance email series. It’s free and I get to swear alot more via email (register in the big blue box at top of page).

PT Business Builder Interview #4: Luke Scott

ptadmin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:36:04 +0000

OK, make yourself a cuppa and settle in. It’s time for the next edition of our PT Business Builder interview series. This month I sat down and asked Luke Scott from Revolution Health and Lifestyle a few questions about how he got started and what has been the secret to his success.

Luke is a real student of the personal training industry and is one dude who (as you will see in the interview) is always committed to learning new ways to further develop his business. This continual self-motivated learning and his years of industry experience now find him in the well-earned position of running one of Melbourne’s premier personal training companies. Check out what he has to say…..

So Luke, tell me how you first got into personal training?

Whilst I was working my way through my degree at RMIT University we had a compulsory field work component that I decided to do at a local gym. The gym owner, Travis Fitzpatrick is a great role model of mine and he was always willing to throw me into new situations, because of this he got me into the personal training pretty quickly after my field work was finished. A visit from Travis Bell of New Level Personal Training to the gym to give all of us fresh personal trainers a rev up was another little push in the personal training direction. He came down and had a chat to all of the staff about what personal training should be and where is can take you.

To me it seemed like the ultimate job. Except for the whole up at 4:30am every morning and finishing at 9:00pm every night… But these are the things you don’t learn until you get started! I really enjoyed working as a personal trainer even though the mornings were early – its great being able to inspire people to get results and aim for a healthier lifestyle. Another thing I love is people, all sorts of people and dealing with different personalities.

So this is a great way just to interact with people all day whilst making a difference in their lives and getting paid for it!

Yeah, that is one of the great things about our work. Then from there, why did you want to go into business for yourself and how did you do it?

Whilst working at the gym full time, finishing my degree and playing a heap of sport, myself a very close friend of mine and I started Revolution Health and Lifestyle. First just as a hobby in the obvious ample spare time we had!

I think this was the best option for us, as it allowed us the get where we are today, by building on a hobby we both enjoyed. Doing it this way rather than throwing ourselves into it head over heels with very limited financial backing was crucial for us.

We invested very little into the business initially but took very little out as the business started making a little money. We were preferred to let the turn over grow the business. I think this was only achievable as we had full time jobs already to support ourselves. It gave us the option to build our business without too much of the initial financial burden most small businesses face at start up. Using the turn over to develop and grow the business is the key to our success today as we really appreciate how much hard work, time and money it takes to develop a business.

So who were your target market, what service did you provide and how did you market your business when you first started?

Our target market was and continues to be time poor professionals, both male and female from the ages of 30 to 50. However the biggest grow sector for us is in the retired sector of the market. They are great customers to work with, very reliable and keen to improve.

We stated out marketing through very time consuming but inexpensive campaigns. We received return for time we invested in the process but it enabled us to pay for a website and from there the majority of our advertising has been online.

Our focus has always been to continually improve our online presence. It is what provides us with probably 90% of our enquiries, so rather than spending money elsewhere trying to make other forms of advertising work for us, we have decided to invest into improving what we know works well. It seems that an online presence is essential these days for most business as everyone uses the net as first port of call when buying just about anything, so why no capture that as best as you can.

We have tried everything along the way but I think it is crucial that you track the progress of every campaign you run. It is always good to look back over your successful campaigns every now and then and use them to improve on what you are currently doing.

Thnking again back to those times, what was your biggest business challenge back then?

MARKETING. Knowing a lot about training clients but nothing about how to get them was a massive challenge! Also having the very limited budget made a lot of things out of our reach. Over time I have learnt what has and hasn’t worked. After all, it’s not worth being a fantastic trainer if you have nobody to train!

What does your business look like today?

The business looks very different from back then. I run the business with the help of my two very dedicated managers. We have 12 trainers operating through Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsular. We work predominately with private mobile clients but have a growing interest in small group training, bootcamps and corporate work, but one on one will always remain our focus.

I am always opened mined to new ideas as it is important to keep changing as the industry changes.

What are your most successful marketing strategies for your business now?

Letting people know as much as we can about who our trainers are and what they do well before a new customer starts with us is key. People want to be able to relate well to their trainer. So by using social media marketing, blogging, video and in depth profiles of our trainer’s potential customer get the feeling they know the trainer before getting started.

This has been a crucial thing for us as we need to create something real and tangible for our customer as we are a mobile service and many of our competitors struggle with this.

Yeah, you have a great web-presence. What is your biggest business challenge now?

Strategic direction. We have many varied options which we can head the business in and making sure we choose the best one is crucial to our continued success.

Finding trainers committed to want to grow our brand with us is also tough. We have a great team at the moment that we want to grow and keep. I try to keep my trainers motivated to grow our brand and themselves as trainers but it has shown to be a challenge at times.

So the million-dollar question: where do you and your business want to be in 5 years from now?

This is a tough one as it is highly reflective of which direction we choose to head in. Whether it is personal training studios, expand our mobile personal training business or move more into corporate health and wellness.

Not too sure just yet but I know mobile personal training will always remain our core business and focus as it has gotten us to where we are. I can only see mobile personal training growing as major sector of the fitness industry into the future as people see it as the most convenient solution to reaching their goals.

As you can see, Luke has developed and awesome web presence to the point where he predominately generate all his leads from the internet. He has just recently taken this to the next level by only last week launching his brand new website www.revolutionpersonaltraining.com.au that is a thing of beauty and something that every personal trainer should check out and learn from.

Luke and his team are also really good and devleoping relationships with the potential and active clients through social media, so to check out an example of using social media to build your business effectively, make sure you become a fan of their Facebook Fanpage and learn from one of the best.

You can see by Lukes example, if you put a little time and effort into developing your online presence that the rewards will definately follow. If you have any questions for Luke about his business, feel free to leave a comment and he will be happy to help you out.

Have a great week,

Rick :-)

P.S: The response to my work/life balance program for personal trainers has been bloody awesome. If your haven’t enrolled yet (yes, it’s free), check out the big blue box up in the corner of the page and leave your deets. I know you will enjoy it….