Starting your own PT business is always a daunting but exciting task. Many questions float through the minds of prospective business builders as they think about running their own PT business.
- What service to provide?
- Who to provide it to?
- How to package it?
- What makes you different?
- How to market it?
- How to run your service so you get great results?
These are all some basic business questions that need to be answered before you launch your business and enjoy the spoils of your hard work.
BUT WHAT THE HELL DO I KNOW?
Only what my personal experience, my education and my coaching clients expose me to. Yes, it is probably more than your average bear but one of my major goals with this site is to create an environment where trainers learn from other trainers – not just from me.
So today I am going to share the floor, let’s call it my “open mic” post, where I am asking you to give a little bit of your experience as a contribution. I know what I know (a very small amount in the grand scheme of things), but every one of you out there has walked a different path and has a collection of unique experiences when it comes to starting your PT business.
So my question to you is this:
What was you number one obstacle when you first started running your PT business and what did you do (or are currently doing) to overcome it?
Now your answer can be business related, it can be an emotional issue or anything in between. There are definitely no right or wrong answers here. If you don’t want to put your name to this, simply provide an anonymous comment but the more we all contribute to this post the more we all get out of it.
I thank you in advance for your contribution and I can’t wait to see all of the answers unfold.
See you in the comments section….
Cheers
Rick :-)
P.S: To really get the most from this post, click on the sharing buttons below and let your fellow PT business owners have their say as well.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Ok, well I better be the first cab off the rank and practise what I preach right?
My biggest obstacle when starting my PT business was that fact that I was delusional. Not in a “I need my medication” sort of way, more in the way that I thought I knew (at age 21 mind you) exactly what everybody wanted in a service.
I overcame this obstacle (eventually) by being the poster-boy for market research and client feedback. Lots of surveys, interviews, feedback forms with my clients telling me that THEY wanted, rather than want I thought they wanted. I was always learning (books, coaches, workshops) about business but for a long time I ignored my greatest teachers – my clients (both current and in-active). Now I build businesses around what people want, not what I think they want.
What is your biggest obstacle and how did you overcome it……
Rick
Personal credibility. “Am I experienced/qualified/skilled/fit/good enough to be a successful personal trainer?”
There were two areas I needed to work on to overcome my issues around this: one was practical experience – I attached myself to the two most experienced trainers in the gym, modelled what they did well, and then trained as many people as I possibly could to build my confidence and abilities.
Secondly, I had to address what this was REALLY about, which was self-confidence. In part of course this is cured by taking action, but I also needed to ask some curly questions around beliefs I had about myself. I got some awesome coaching, got my game on, and got over myself :-)
For me it was thinking that I was the only studio going through the problems of getting new leads, improving cash flow, converting more leads into full paying clients and at the end of the day make more money! So I like most other personal training studio’s struggled for a while then realized I needed help! Ended up getting a coach to point me in the right direction and also joined a business mastermind group to bounce ideas off also be around with people in business going through similar challenges, that helped heaps!
We faced bankruptcy in only 4 short months and realised very quickly we had NO IDEA what we were doing, other than we knew how to train people!
Lessons…..HEAPS and they still continue today, BUT the few underlying factors to still operating today is:
1. Start a Business because it’s your PASSION first and the $$$ will always follow
2. Cashflow – if you don’t understand this then don’t start your business YET….chat to someone – mentor/coach SOMEONE that has experienced this and understands it so you can learn from their expensive mistakes!
3. Get a Coach – you don’t know what you don’t know and we’ve always had Coach’s through out our journey….just like we believe that everyone should have a Trainer, I believe every Business Owner that wants serious results need a Coach.
4. DON’T GIVE UP! – period.
Nice one Rick – I look forward to meeting you one day! You are doing great things for the Industry!
Jods.
Hey Jodie
Thanks for taking the time to contribute and welcome to the site. Friggin awesome advice from someone who has really walked the walk from adversity to where you are today. Thanks for dropping by and we will definately cross paths soon.
Rick
Where do I start?
My fiance only took over our studio in Jan this year and it was a very quick process from putting in an interest to buy and actually signing the papers.
Fortunately for us, we have taken over a very established business with a solid client base and reputation and on our worse days all we’d need to do is to maintain that level but we have obviously taken on this challenge to grow the business even further.
We’ve already had a few roadblocks from buying the studio in the middle of wedding preparations, had our car written off, employed a new staff member (with another on on the way) and also had a bunch of clients be away on extended holidays, some of which are only filtering back now even.
What we have come to realise, is that although you want new clients to come in daily, if you’re not servicing your existing client base, what’s the point?
With the changing of ownership we believe our customer service fell away at the end of last year and the start of this year of which we are now getting back on track and thus referrals, a personal trainers dream, follow.
Look after your own backyard above all, and control what you can control (your current clients) and avoid worrying about what you can’t control (waiting for new clients to just appear).
Oh that is so nice of you Rick to write a post just for me! And its not even our coaching session!
OMG where do I start! I’m still in the start up phase but things are rapidly picking up momentum. THAT’S terrifying and very overwhelming. Each day I have to very consciously MAKE myself do things to keep things moving. I always thought I was pro-active – but this experience is showing me that I will run a mile if I honestly could. But I can’t and I won’t. So my biggest and probably most cliched obstacle is plain old confidence – in all facets of this business thing. Running a close second is time management and prioritisation. People bang on about it but putting it into practise is proving alot harder than when I was ‘employed’.
So how am I overcoming it? Bloody mindedness………..Oh, that and some dude up north who likes surfing and swearing who holds me accountable and makes me actually do stuff….annoying, but he makes me laugh so I keep him around.
Ah Prue
I love your work, you know that. By the way, I dont swear that much…..do I? (You wait til you find out the name of my new project, it will have you laughing in the aisles).
Rick
Hi Rick,
Nice idea on the post!
My biggest problem with business initially was not getting clients strangely enough, we were blessed in this regard and had a solid platform to kickstart from. My problem was systems and structure in my business, this is an area which i really had no idea on, systems what are they? how are they going to help me make money i remember telling myself?
Flash forward a few years and i can look back and laugh now, realising of course they are crucial to a successful businesses performance.
Luckily for me i was able to overcome this problem early by taking a leap of faith on a person who wanted to by into my company. This person was a ninja with systems and structures and he revolutionised my business (and he also introduced me to a little book called the E myth – Michael Gerber…if you don’t have it get it, and if you have read it read it again!). Once we implemented these systems our business skyrocketed.
So i guess the take home message here is, if there is something you don’t get/understand properly…. find someone who does (you don’t always have to give away company ownership to acheive this). If you leave it untouched if may have some disastorous effects on your business.
Good luck everyone! :)
Not being able to ask someone for the sale: You’re probably a GREAT personal trainer and know your muscles inside out, but after every complimentary session, you are scared to ask for the sale. Sales. Sales. Sales. And did I mention sales? Seek advice from a grown up like PTBusinessinabox.com.au if you’re not quite sure on how to be a salesman without being too “salesy”. I’m out.