The Dos and dont’s of Starting Your Own Personal Trainer Business

Congratulations on taking the plunge and deciding to start your own personal trainer business! This is a hugely rewarding career, both financially and emotionally. Personal trainers are more in demand than ever. With the health and fitness industry booming, there has never been a better time to start your own personal trainer business. However, it’s important to go into this venture with your eyes wide open. In this blog post, we’ll go over some of the things you should do—and things you definitely shouldn’t do—as you start your own PT business.

Do: Choose a niche

The first step to starting any business is choosing your niche. What kind of personal trainer do you want to be? There are all kinds of personal trainers out there, from those who specialize in weight loss to those who focus on athletic performance. Think about what kind of training you are most passionate about and choose your niche accordingly. Once you have chosen your niche, it is time to start thinking about how you can set yourself apart from the competition. What unique selling proposition can you offer potential clients?

Do: Get Certified

In order to be a successful personal trainer, you need to be certified. Fortunately, there are plenty of certification programs out there that can help you get the education and training you need. Once you have completed a certification program, make sure to add your credentials to your website and marketing materials. This will show potential clients that you are serious about your craft and that you have the skills and knowledge necessary to help them meet their fitness goals.

Do: Choose Your Pricing Structure

Another important aspect of starting a personal trainer business is choosing your pricing structure. There are a few different ways that personal trainers typically charge for their services. Some charge per session, while others charge by the month or even by the year. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to pricing; it really just depends on what makes the most sense for your business model. Just make sure that your prices are competitive and that they align with the value you are offering potential clients.

Do: Make a detailed business plan.

Personal training is a business, first and foremost, so you need to treat it as such. This means sitting down and creating a detailed business plan. What are your goals for the next six months? The next year? Five years down the line? How are you going to achieve these goals? Who is your target market? What kind of personal trainer do they want to work with? How much are they willing to pay? Answering all of these questions (and more!) in your business plan will give you a solid foundation to work from as you start building your PT business.

Don’t: Quit your day job…just yet.

Starting your own business is a huge commitment, so make sure you’re ready to take the leap before quitting your day job. It can take months—or even years—to build up a client base that’s large enough to support you financially, so unless you have another source of income, don’t quit your day job just yet. Once your PT business is up and running smoothly, then you can consider making the switch to being a full-time personal trainer.

Do: Invest in quality marketing materials.

There’s a great saying, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. If you are just starting a business, you need to save money to invest in what’s vital. As a personal trainer, part of your job will be marketing yourself to potential clients. These days, potential clients will almost certainly look you up online before they ever step foot in your gym or studio, so it’s important to make sure that your online presence is polished and professional.

Our recommendation for saving money is to keep your logo simple and design it on Canva. To save on a great website, use a website template for personal trainers that you customize yourself. That way you will still get a great website at a fraction of the cost. Use free stock images or get a friend to take photos of you for the website and create a referral program so people want to recommend you.

Don’t: Try to do everything yourself.

When you’re first starting out, it’s easy to try to do everything yourself—after all, every penny counts when you’re just getting started in business! However, this is not sustainable in the long run, nor is it necessary. As your client base grows, delegate tasks like bookkeeping and social media management to freelancers. We recommend checking out UpWork for some great talent.

Do: Make sure you get started

Most people fail at business because they never get started. Start with a detailed business plan and realistic expectations for how long it will take to grow your client base. Invest in quality marketing materials and don’t try to do everything yourself; delegate tasks like bookkeeping and social media management so that you can focus on being an amazing personal trainer!