jesus your posts are offensive and generalizing. I understand you're not talking about everyone but the way you say it is still offensive because you act like you are so far above the fray.
I think it's AWESOME that you're going to offer training for free. However, in my experience people simply don't take free stuff seriously... if you have non-monetary conditions that they need to meet then that seems to work (for instance, I am running a 6 week bootcamp for free in a new location for 20 folks right now, with no monetary commitment required whatsoever, all that i ask is that they attend every class, follow my nutritional guidelines and tell all their friends about it. I have a 0 tolerance policy for flaking and have already permanently booted 2 participants for not showing up. The members take it seriously even though it's free because there are still expectations and they feel like they are part of an exclusive opportunity, which they are.
In the past I tried absolutely non-committal, free training and had a 0 percent loyalty or committal rate. The bottom line was i wasn't helping anyone because . You need to help encourage motivation for your clients, that's why you're seen as the expert. Personal training SHOULD be a combination of personal coaching and fitness instruction, if you don't agree then you don't have what it takes to truly make a difference (regardless of what you supposedly do currently which I will have to take your word for).
Here's my philosophy. I want to be paid $150 an hour. I feel that's what my time is worth in my ideal situation. Rather than scamming folks and charging them $150 an hour for nothing more than a personal training session which I wouldn't personally pay more than $40 an hour for, and thus wouldn't charge more than that for, I increase the value of my service to the client so it BECOMES worth $150. This means adding small things... my clients contact me 24/7 via text message, phone, email and I ALWAYS respond and answer any questions they have within an hour or two. When clients can't come to a session, I take 30 minutes to write them up a workout to perform on their own so that they don't skip a beat and can maintain their momentum. I write free articles twice a week that are NOT sales pitches, they are legitimate information that folks can use to make their lives healthier and happier. I add nutritional counseling to my services to ensure that clients are actually getting to their goals, as fitness alone will not accomplish this. I partner with other companies who cater to my demographic and get them to offer complimentary trials of their service, which I package together for my clients and can be upwards of $800 worth of free products and services, for being my client. I reward referrals with deep discounts. I have a reward system in place for when clients reach specific benchmarks, so that I can show that I truly value their progress. I give gifts on my client's birthdays.
All this stuff costs me time, money or both and I make nothing off these extras, directly. However, since I am increasing the value of my service significantly, I am justified in increasing my price. This is the ethical and logical way to do business. I don't try to make my clients stay with me because they CAN'T workout on their own... I make them stay with me because they enjoy the premium, luxurious service and experience that I provide for them so much that they have no desire to workout on their own. That's the whole purpose of this industry. I think it's critical for trainers to go the independent route because the bottom line is if you're making $15/hour, you're not going to put your all into the service and truthfully, I can't blame you, I wouldn't be able to either. You just get burned out.
If you think I'm scammy because I decided I want to retire at 30 and have created a service that I feel I can justify getting paid $150/hour for, then you are simply anti-capitalism and this argument is moot. I think you should charge people what your product or service is worth... what you would pay for it. Not a penny more or a penny less. If you want to do pro bono work (or donate to charity, or whatever, all of which are things I think everyone in this country should do out of a spirit of community anyway) then that is good but you need to figure out a way to make sure it's doing some actual good for people, not just wasting your time. I'd rather make a lot of money and donate a good portion to a favorite charity which I know will be used effectively than to try to train people for free when I know they won't take the training seriously. IMO, I'm doing a load more good that way.
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Thread: Protecting my business model?
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09-20-2010, 10:41 AM #31
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09-20-2010, 10:52 AM #32
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Since the beginning of law in this country? Please show me the law that states it is illegal to use someone else's un-patented business model to start your own business.
I know for a fact you will not be getting a patent because in order to do so your model has to be completely unique and unused (which there is no chance your "compilation of materials" is... I guarantee thousands of trainers have done this before, countless times) and because getting a patent can cost like $15,000.
As long as there is no copyright infringement (again, without a patent/copyright/trademark fully registered there is no way to enforce this in court), which simply involves not copying content word-for-word which is simple to change, then you would have 0 credibility in court.
Your whole attitude towards business is IMO atrocious and I sincerely doubt you will see any success till you get your head out of your arse. "Help yourself and your family first, and strangers second" is exactly the thing that is wrong with businesses in this country. Clients are strangers, but your #1 priority should be to provide a worthy service to them. Look, if you provide a quality service, the money will come, guaranteed. Focusing on the money is a fear-based business approach and prospects will run from you like the plague because you will clearly be motivated by the money and care less about their experience. Nobody owes you squat dude, you don't get to expect money for nothing. You're not going to have people throwing money at you just because you have some fancy handout you made, or because you half-assedly provide training services.
You need to give your career your full commitment and try to make your clients have the best experiences of their lives. If you can't have the discipline to approach your business that way, you have no place in this industry and need to go get a desk job and spend the rest of your life pushing paper to collect your biweekly paycheck.
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09-20-2010, 11:09 AM #33
How do you know what I have? You dont, you assume to know. Like I said numerous times before, the use of the information is fine, profiting from it is not. I have certifications, like I said, you dont know me or my situation yet you feel the need to assume you do and give unrelated, unwanted advice. I just completed 6 months of schooling to become a certified smog mechanic, I did so on the promise of running a smog shop as I also know the business side. The shop is pulling 150K a year on smog tests alone. The promise was broken due to financial difficulties of the owner and smog jobs are scarce, paying $500/wk for 10hr days Mon-Sat. I work security part time at a night club 2 nights a week getting $90 a day plus tips and that money goes to my mom and business aspirations. I would love to coach but I have no desire to be an academic teacher, that would truly be a scam. I've been fascinated with exercise and nutrition since I was 16, it's what I know and love doing. Further, I was planning on charging $20 per session not including packaged discounts to establish a client base. With my knowledge, I'm only scamming myself with those prices but like I said, what do you know about me? *******.
Tovlakas - You're telling me you would not be pissed off someone is copying your "$150/hr" business model that you put time and efforting into making successful for their own personal gain? You'd be ridiculous or a liar to say you wouldnt be. I just moved from Huntington Beach to Corona, you hiring? PM me.
Lock this **** please.Last edited by DoubleJointed; 09-20-2010 at 11:36 AM.
Don't compete with me unless you like losing.
“I train every day of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs”
"Suffering exists because weakness exists"
"I have a dream"
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09-20-2010, 04:03 PM #34
Another reason why I believe there should be an age minimum for this industry. All these 18-22 year olds not only give bad advice but lack the experience to even think for a second what they are writing.
OP People copy business models all the time, what they cant copy if how you run the business and your relationship with the community. You think just because someone copies a million dollar business model they will all of a sudden be successful and produce tons of money?
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09-21-2010, 09:12 AM #35
"With my knowledge" hahahaha!!!! THAT is your problem. You have convinced yourself you possess some time of other-wordly fitness knowledge that you are about to bestow upon the world. YOU DON'T!!!! Whatever it is you think you know is either B.S., or it's common knowledge that folks in the olympic training center and any reputable college athletics program have known for decades.
So you think becoming a teacher and coach at a school would be a scam..............but marketing some "groundbreaking" knowledge you think you have, which is likely stuff you googled or got taught that the industry has known for decades, then suing people for using your info that you handed out for free on fliers is NOT a scam?
Dude, you got mental issues. And you're soon to be carrying the job label of "Bouncer/personal trainer". YEAH.......like we don't have enough 20-something year olds carrying the title "bouncer/personal trainer" in the country!!!!!
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09-21-2010, 09:17 AM #36
YES^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That statement alone can make up for my rants against personal trainers. I'll say, my opinions are almost surely not directed at all you 30+ year old PT's out there. Most of you probably train based off knowledge AND experience. And from what I've seen, most PT's in gyms that are more mature are NOT the ones causing the issues I rant about.
It's the countless hordes of 18-24 year olds wearing overly tight t-shirts, bragging about their "MMA training" (which doesn't usually actually exist) and preaching to people about BS just to keep them coming back. And it seems most gyms are more than happy to have them working pro bono and just wondering around the gym looking for more clients, because the gym gets the image of having so many available personal trainers.
For every smart, experienced 35 year old PT who does a great job, it seems there are 10 more 20-somethings that carry the title "Bouncer/MMA fighter/Personal Trainer" around with their skin tight t-shirt and tiny legs hawking around the gym looking like tools.
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09-21-2010, 09:22 AM #37
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09-21-2010, 12:37 PM #38
Are you stupid? If McDonlds started selling Baconators, Burger King wouldnt be pissed? Burger King didnt invent the concept of the burger but they did make it unique. Sure I didnt discover 100% of the concepts in the packet but some points in the packet are from my own original ideas, you're teling me I have no right to protect those ideas? Like BK, I want to run a business, not a charity. Sure when my business is up and running I will educate new personal trainers looking to be employed by me, I'll run free camps, continue to train highschool wrestlers for free but thats not the point. The point of this thread was finding a way to protect my business model, which is original and unique and is therefor my intellectual property. I'm not trying to protect common information that does not belong to me.
Don't compete with me unless you like losing.
“I train every day of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs”
"Suffering exists because weakness exists"
"I have a dream"
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09-21-2010, 04:54 PM #39
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09-21-2010, 05:07 PM #40
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09-21-2010, 05:08 PM #41
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09-21-2010, 05:35 PM #42
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09-21-2010, 05:37 PM #43
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09-21-2010, 05:38 PM #44
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09-21-2010, 05:39 PM #45
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09-21-2010, 05:41 PM #46
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09-21-2010, 05:42 PM #47
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09-21-2010, 05:45 PM #48
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09-21-2010, 05:49 PM #49
Unless its info that only YOU posses (no one else in the world knows it) that you have possibly gathered and documented from some formal study/research. it is not classed as unique. Anyone can use it. Sure you may have spent hours compiling but im sure there are many out there who have done the same.
In some instances, it is legal to copy something from someone else as long as its 10% different from the original..
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09-21-2010, 05:50 PM #50
That's what I'm talking about, original ideas, regardless if it's burger or fitness related. I dont care if someone uses the common info just like BK(Wendy's) doesnt care if McDonalds makes a bacon burger but I do care if my original ideas are used just as BK(Wendy's) would. Thats the issue at hand.
Don't compete with me unless you like losing.
“I train every day of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs”
"Suffering exists because weakness exists"
"I have a dream"
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09-21-2010, 05:52 PM #51
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09-21-2010, 05:56 PM #52
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09-21-2010, 06:01 PM #53
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09-21-2010, 06:35 PM #54
Hmmm are you sure about that?! Check out this video and then come back and argue how it can't be done! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lag2v...layer_embedded
Video is of course work and family safe!
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09-21-2010, 09:14 PM #55
You are missing the point:
1- YOUR IDEAS ARE NOT ORIGINAL
OR
2- YOUR IDEAS ARE BAD IDEAS
Get it? There are people, EXPERTS, in the fitness field who have been training, studying, testing for decades. People in their 40's, 50's, brilliant minds, experts on the human body and how it works.
You're 22. It is physically impossible for you to have put in the research, development, testing and training time necessary to come up with any groundbreaking idea related to human exercise that someone else hasn't already thought of.
Or, your ideas are just stupid, bad ideas that are NOT better than what is already out there.
Sadly, you're just too young and inexperienced to know better. Your ideas for how to run a business might be different, but the fitness training material won't be. It'll either be stuff that the world already knows, or it'll be bad, wrong ideas.
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09-21-2010, 10:35 PM #56
So you have compiled your knowledge from your own scientific studies, where you had a control group and your ground breaking plan in place?
Where did you learn all this unique information for your packet of exercise and nutrition information? From other people no doubt... Surely your not trying to claim everything you know on exercise and nutrition from discovering it yourself in your super lab.
Just suck it up, release a fantastic product but I can almost guarantee 100% that the nutrition side is going to be no simpler or effective as something like Precision Nutrition, and whatever exercise programs you have in mind will be no better than your run of the mill strength training or metabolic circuits or HIIT type training that can be found all over the internet
I could be wrong but I very much doubt it.
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09-21-2010, 10:44 PM #57
The funny part is he now says he has simplified the packet he's gonna handout for free and put on people's car windows. He's only gonna include stuff in the packet that is very basic common knowledge.
So I'm gonna come out of Wal-Mart or Max Muscle, have a flier on my window from a 22 year old kid who is trying to be a PT, boasting information that is common knowledge that I could read in the same Wal-Mart in a magazine. And he expects customers to flock.
I wish him well, but it ain't gonna work.
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09-21-2010, 10:47 PM #58
Kind of generalized like how you referred to police officers????????
The business model you describe is dandy and all. But it leads to one thing. You're a workout partner for hire. Lots of people know a lot about fitness and exercise. Lots of people are willing to be workout partners. Some are both. And even more are willing to charge $$$ for it. Thats PT's. No more, no less. I personally don't see much value in a PT after about the 6th lesson. After that, if a client comes back, it's to have a workout partner that they can pay.
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09-21-2010, 11:11 PM #59
A bit off topic but would you prefer PT's to be called personal fitness coaches then? A lot of professional sports people have personal trainers but according to your logic they don't need them because everything they need to know should be covered by the 6th lesson, and then the program can forever stay the same without any modification???
Depending on your goals, you may only need 4-5 sessions and then can go off and do your own thing, but clearly not everyone in this world is like you.
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09-22-2010, 12:00 AM #60
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