Ask a "successful" personal trainer/small business owner anything

[BodyQuest1]

It actually starts going out today I believe. Either that or tomorrow. So i'll keep you all updated with a count and how many leads turn into clients over time. Good little research project for everyone.

Any feedback yet that you've gotten from your ad so far?

[SageFit]

Did you bargain for free rent or reduced rent at the beginning of your lease? Or did the owner give you any kind of deal like that without even asking? I've been hearing that I should ask for 6 months free rent and settle for 3 months when I'm looking for the location for my gym.

In my first facility I got 2 months free. In my second facility I got one month free. This really has more to do with the real estate in your area. NYC is never really in too much of a real estate rut so landlords are less likely to bargain. The 2 months free sure does give you a head start though and allows you to make sure you can pay your rent first chance you get. We never had to put more money into the accounts as we were always able to pay rent from the getgo.

[SageFit]

Any feedback yet that you've gotten from your ad so far?

1 new client in the new location but that's it so far. It's $3000 for 2 months of ads so if I pick up 5 clients by the time im done i'll be quite happy. (5 clients pay around 200-300 a month, just need to hold them a few months or make them into permanent clients)

[SageFit]

Just got another hit on facility #1. An inquiry on age requirments, which I assume is for a teen participant.

We train a lot of athletes aged 9-27. Mostly soccer.

[BodyQuest1]

Just got another hit on facility #1. An inquiry on age requirments, which I assume is for a teen participant.

We train a lot of athletes aged 9-27. Mostly soccer.

Cool!
As for me it's been slow these past couple of weeks. My busiest is Sept-November and starts to slow down 2nd wk of Dec...and for some reason, I never get the "New Year's Resolutioners", even last yr's

[SageFit]

Cool!
As for me it's been slow these past couple of weeks. My busiest is Sept-November and starts to slow down 2nd wk of Dec...and for some reason, I never get the "New Year's Resolutioners", even last yr's

Traditionally our busiest times are January and February but only if there's no snow. This year we've actually had our biggest influx ever, since opening. I'm getting ready to start looking for a 7th trainer due to it. We pick up more pace around summer but then slow down July-Aug. July is vacation time for us as it's our slowest month by far.

But yah, so far this month has blown any other month i've had out of the water. We took in our monthly revenue in 2 weeks so far, it's the reason I was able to jump on more marketing material.

[BodyQuest1]

But yah, so far this month has blown any other month i've had out of the water. We took in our monthly revenue in 2 weeks so far, it's the reason I was able to jump on more marketing material.

Ok you're getting me all curious now :P what is your gross vs net revenue monthly on average?

[ElSexisimo]

Are you not worried that any PT that works for you will learn your systems and processes and compete with you/steal some of your clients?

[Scruffy77]

Recently I have to train an 11 year old and 13 year old on cybex machines. A lady bystander said isnt it bad for kids that young to be doing exercise and I said "no". She then continues to tell me that shes asked several other trainers and they said its bad for kids. How the hell do you respond to people like these?

[PerFit]

Recently I have to train an 11 year old and 13 year old on cybex machines. A lady bystander said isnt it bad for kids that young to be doing exercise and I said "no". She then continues to tell me that shes asked several other trainers and they said its bad for kids. How the hell do you respond to people like these?

Present proof of your stance, and ask for hers

[transformerchad]

hey man , i recently got my degree in marketing and have a desk job 5 days a week ... i HATE it , my passion is nutrition and training , i really want to consider following the same approach as u did ( new school business thinking) .. im 21 and dont want to live the rest of my life dreading each day, i feel i need to set my life on the path of health and fitness. My biggest concern is not being able to make it big , im very driven and passionate about anything that truelly makes me happy . id like to start something similar here in my country

[SageFit]

Ok you're getting me all curious now :P what is your gross vs net revenue monthly on average?

I think you're asking more about my net profit vs. revenue, not net revenue. Either way, we revenue around 35k a month in training + water/protein shakes in my first facility. So far we did 27k this month and it's only half way done. It's shaping up to be the best month since opening, which to this date was 42k.

[SageFit]

Are you not worried that any PT that works for you will learn your systems and processes and compete with you/steal some of your clients?

No. My employees have the best job in the world. They are some of the highest paid trainers with a very easy going and friendly atmosphere. My head trainer has a piece of my new business which locked him in the first one and no one else has an interest in doing so as much as he would. I always take precautions to make sure this never happens. So far so good.

[SageFit]

Recently I have to train an 11 year old and 13 year old on cybex machines. A lady bystander said isnt it bad for kids that young to be doing exercise and I said "no". She then continues to tell me that shes asked several other trainers and they said its bad for kids. How the hell do you respond to people like these?

People are misinformed on children working out. For some reason they think athletics are safer. Yes, you're right, the really high intensity, full contact, uncontrolled movement activity is safer then a monitored exercise program which is molded to each person.

When you explain things scientifically then people start to be more open. I always use the bench press example. Generally speaking bench press is a LOT more safe then a pushup, especially under supervision, as children tend to not be able to control their cores for a good straight back. When you get people realizing that mechically there's not much different from a pushup to a bench press for a child then they'll start to listen. Heck, a heavy child would have a much easier time bench pressing then doing a pushup.

[SageFit]

hey man , i recently got my degree in marketing and have a desk job 5 days a week ... i HATE it , my passion is nutrition and training , i really want to consider following the same approach as u did ( new school business thinking) .. im 21 and dont want to live the rest of my life dreading each day, i feel i need to set my life on the path of health and fitness. My biggest concern is not being able to make it big , im very driven and passionate about anything that truelly makes me happy . id like to start something similar here in my country

Well look man, my situation is not the norm and I recognize that. I can only gives you all tips and help with setting up your own business. I don't know anything about the area you live in and whether this would be a good business decision. Not to mention I don't know you and how personable you are. That said a degree in marketing will help a training business a LOT more then a degree in fitness or nutrition. You're already one step ahead of the game. If you ever need help let me know.

[arian11]

Do you track your member retention rate from month to month or year to year? Do you know what percentage you are averaging? I hear average, commercial gyms are around 30% but a good gym should strive for 65%. But I feel like it is hard to retain members without a yearly contract. Seems like you would have to be improving the quality of your gym and programming every month to make sure people want to stay there.

[SFT]

Recently I have to train an 11 year old and 13 year old on cybex machines. A lady bystander said isnt it bad for kids that young to be doing exercise and I said "no". She then continues to tell me that shes asked several other trainers and they said its bad for kids. How the hell do you respond to people like these?

Just mention something about the incredibly high forces that are imposed upon a youth athlete's body during sports including: football, gymnastics, hockey, soccer, wrestling, baseball, basketball, etc... Then, provide her with statistics regarding the injury rates of all of these activities, in comparison to a supervised strength training program. I did a couple presentations on this topic and training is considerably safer than competition of almost any sport. I would get them the hell away from Cybex machines however.

[SageFit]

A new award to add to our Whitestone facility. We were named top personal training in Queens, New York.

[zumbawjade]

I'm new to the industry. I am currently Zumba instructor and when I graduate college in May, I'm planning on getting certified. I have many MANY questions but I will start with just my two biggest questions.
(1) You said that it cost you about 100K to start your business but that it could cost as "low" as 60K.... do you think it's possible to start up a successful PT business without the major cost? I'm thinking of renting a space from someone else and just running sessions and what not from there.... then someday hopefully opening up a studio maybe after I get my masters, not sure on that one. And...
(2) If you do think that it's possible to just rent a space and use that, where should I look to rent? At like a dance or yoga studio or at a gym or what?

As I said, I'm very new to the industry so sorry if these are dumb questions, just trying to figure all this out :-)

[SageFit]

Do you track your member retention rate from month to month or year to year? Do you know what percentage you are averaging? I hear average, commercial gyms are around 30% but a good gym should strive for 65%. But I feel like it is hard to retain members without a yearly contract. Seems like you would have to be improving the quality of your gym and programming every month to make sure people want to stay there.

We have a retention rate of 45% or so. I don't have exact numbers but i'm basing this off of 300 or so active clients out of 900 leads that we've seen over the course of 3 years, keeping in mind that about 200 of them are come and go class/groupon clients and some of them never really made it into what we would consider an active client. What I do know is that no one has ever left my gym unhappy. People generally left because they either got what they wanted, moved, or could not afford it any longer, the last one being the most common. Without a yearly contract you're sort of up in the air as far as what the future brings but you're also a lot more attractive to prospective clients. It's really a mixed bag there. I always make sure to bring in new equipment and new ideas in the facility as we progress. I open my own eyes into gymnastics and some odd movements which I can transfer to my clients, just to keep things interesting.

Anyways, moral of the story here, I think the goal is to build up a consistent base clientele each year that should keep growing. The stragglers will come and go but there's always going to be that core group of people that never leave. As long as that core group is growing, indefinitely, you're doing very well.

[KyleAaron]

We have to distinguish between general gym member retention and retention of PT clients; PT retention will always be higher if only because the person has paid for and set an appointment, so they show up or lose their money, once they've done that for a while it becomes a habit and part of their life, as opposed to just "doing a workout" which they can do (or not!) at any time.

In Australia, commercial gyms keep 20-30% of the members they sign up today for at least 12 months. Community gyms will get up to 65% or so.

In general, members are retained through social contact. Obviously those doing PT will be retained better, but only around 3% do PT. For the rest, in a typical gym members will be offered an initial consult session followed by a programme showthrough, then every couple of months afterwards a followup and new programme, but most people reject these "free" sessions (they're not actually free, but factored into the gym membership fees). Of every 100 who start today, about 35 will take an appointment, and 25-30 of those will be retained. Of the 65 who do it alone, about 25-35 of those will be retained. Thus, knowing and having talked to at least one trainer a few times doubles the chances of the person sticking around.

Members who go regularly to group classes are also much more likely to be retained, though exact figures are hard to get since it's rare to take names when people go to them and see who went just once, who went ten times in a month, etc. As well, members who join up with a friend or family member are more likely to be retained, this is why some gyms offer a discounted family membership.

In our cluster of gyms, the one with the best retention rates attributes this to their excellent cafe, of all things. That's because after chatting to someone at their group class, or seeing someone at the same time in the gym or pool all the time, people will go and have a coffee together. This makes going next time pretty attractive.

PT retention is another matter. Since starting in FY2010-11 I have done PT sessions with 44 different people. 12 continued PT for at least 12 months. However, it's worth mentioning that in the FY2010-11 I started up with 27 people and 11 were kept 12+ months, while in FY2011-12 I started with 10 and 5 were either kept 12+ months or (it not having been 12 months since they started) are still with me. Of the 7 who've signed up since the start of FY2012-13, 6 are still with me. I think 1 or 2 of the current 7 while saying they're dedicated and keen may not last, we'll assume I lose one of them. Thus while the third year is incomplete, we can say it's something like 26 for 40%, 10 for 50% and 7 for 70% retention.

My figures will be influenced by the fact of my gym closing down in the middle of FY2011-12 which was also Christmas/NY (the time when everyone, having spent big on presents and holidays, reassesses their finances and maybe quits PT) so that some of those I might have retained had the gym stayed open, left when they had to go 2km up the road.

Nonetheless we can say that when I was new I signed up lots of people and only some of them stayed, as I became more experienced I signed up fewer people but more of them stayed. Or as PerFit likes to put it, when you get better at prequalifying people then you get better clients. When I started I had no clue who would be likely to stick around, I just signed up whoever showed an interest. Nowadays I have a better instinct for it, so if I think they'd sign up but would be flakey, I don't sign them up, if they insist then I just refer them to the PT team leader to get them a trainer.

So this is general gym member and PT client retention in a community gym. Things will be different in a PT studio - which is pure PT - or a place like SageFit's joint, which is midway between a PT studio and a mainstream gym. But it gives you an idea.

[SageFit]

Great post Kyle. Our retention rate is high but I think our situation is also very unique based on my location. Let mg give you an example. I have a client who has 6 kids. Her and all of her six kids do personal training. I give her a deal on the price but she also trains a Lot. She does pt 3 times a week and does 3 kettlebell classes and 1 boot camp. That's a total of 145 a week. Her kids all train 3 times a week for 15 each session. They train together. That's 15 x 6 x 3. That's 270. So she spends 415 a week for her family to train. That's over 20k a year from just one family unit. I think the uniqueness of my area changes the game. The clients here, the ones who stick with it, they spend money on it and its very family oriented. We actually have tons of families here who train together which I never saw at any other gym I worked at.

[SageFit]

A little update.

My new facility has now been open for about a month and here's what I found so far. Pamphlets and the paper advertisement got the name out there and people started seeing our name in many different places. That said there were no direct leads from those sources. However, people who saw the ads ended up finding us on facebook and became more interested. So far facebook advertising has BY FAR been our best source of new leads at the new facility. Word of mouth remains first for the old facility and second for the new facility. Facebook has been key in the new facility and got us over 3 new trial clients just for next week alone. I have to say i'm quite shocked at this turn out because I figured facebook would simply expand our name, not necessarily get real clients.

Some details on our facebook ad. I have a budget of $20 a day and the ad is set to get new "likes". It runs only locally in a few zip codes. It reaches out to about 20k people and so far I would rate it as extremely successful. Just to reiterate, for my new facility no other single source has gotten us more clients. This is the first time an advertisement has gotten more people then word of mouth. It shows the power of social media. Use it to your advantage. You can check out the facebook page here http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/SageAstoria to get help in how I run the page and information we list.

Hopefully this helps some of you starting out and maybe shines a light on a good way to approach finding your first group of clients.

[arian11]

As far as recurring expenses, how would you rank them from most expensive to least expensive? I've been looking online for open commercial buildings and how much they charge per month and per sq footage. But it is hard to find estimates for utilities, insurance, and other expenses. I've heard utilities can get quite expensive, especially for a 24 hour gym. So how you would rank rent, utilities, insurance, advertising, EFT charges, and whatever else you can think of?

[MARCMANtheDUDE]

LOVE this thread!!!!!!

I m trying to chose my URL. How much does it matter that you have key words in your URL like for example: "fitness", "training" or does it not matter at all?

[BodyQuest1]

A little update.

My new facility has now been open for about a month and here's what I found so far. Pamphlets and the paper advertisement got the name out there and people started seeing our name in many different places. That said there were no direct leads from those sources. However, people who saw the ads ended up finding us on facebook and became more interested. So far facebook advertising has BY FAR been our best source of new leads at the new facility. Word of mouth remains first for the old facility and second for the new facility. Facebook has been key in the new facility and got us over 3 new trial clients just for next week alone. I have to say i'm quite shocked at this turn out because I figured facebook would simply expand our name, not necessarily get real clients.

Some details on our facebook ad. I have a budget of $20 a day and the ad is set to get new "likes". It runs only locally in a few zip codes. It reaches out to about 20k people and so far I would rate it as extremely successful. Just to reiterate, for my new facility no other single source has gotten us more clients. This is the first time an advertisement has gotten more people then word of mouth. It shows the power of social media. Use it to your advantage. You can check out the facebook page here http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/SageAstoria to get help in how I run the page and information we list.

Hopefully this helps some of you starting out and maybe shines a light on a good way to approach finding your first group of clients.

Do you use Craigslist at all?

[SageFit]

LOVE this thread!!!!!!

I m trying to chose my URL. How much does it matter that you have key words in your URL like for example: "fitness", "training" or does it not matter at all?

I've found it matters a little bit in your google results. I'd highly recommend having some keyword in your title page/url.

[CharlottePT]

As far as recurring expenses, how would you rank them from most expensive to least expensive? I've been looking online for open commercial buildings and how much they charge per month and per sq footage. But it is hard to find estimates for utilities, insurance, and other expenses. I've heard utilities can get quite expensive, especially for a 24 hour gym. So how you would rank rent, utilities, insurance, advertising, EFT charges, and whatever else you can think of?

How much you spend per month is due in large part to the size of your place....

I have my own 1250 sq ft personal training studio and the past few months my energy bill has been $60-$80.....when i rented space at a nearby anytime fitness which is 24 hours I think the guys energy bill was like 3000! I have 3 pieces of cardio equipment and the elliptical doesn't even require energy.

Anytime had like 5 tv's, A/C or heat on at 70 year around, bright halogen lights probably 25 of them on 24/7, security cameras 24/7, outdoor signage 24/7 lit up, fans running 24/7, he had those hydro massage beds, a running water fountain up front (decoration), all the treadmills/cardio had tv's on them and were plugged in 24/7.

I turn EVERYTHING off when i leave my studio plus i'm in a business park so some of my neighbors insulate me to a degree.

The property in my place is insured by the landlord....EFT charges are pretty cheap (i use intuit). Advertising should be based on the amount of money you have to work with.

I actually joined a barter network where I get discounted advertising and I train people through this network to generate money used only within the network. I'm currently having professional SEO work done and not spending a real cash money dime. It's all money i've generated from training within this network.

If you live in a major city, you branch to the outskirts a little bit and you'll be able to find way way way more square footage than right in the middle of a high income area. If I went out like 30 mins away I could probably get 5,000 to 6000 sq ft for the same price I pay now for 1250 right in the middle of a high income area. I just felt I wouldn't have enough clients follow me 30 extra mins.

[LouisJoeCalvert]

Later this year I will be leaving college as a certified personal trainer. With me being 17 what would you recommend I do now to help myself and once I finish college? Also what did you do as soon as you were certified and how old were you when you were certified?
(I've already started training people, mostly my friends, for just £10 a session mostly for experience.)

[PeteratCastle]

A little update.

My new facility has now been open for about a month and here's what I found so far. Pamphlets and the paper advertisement got the name out there and people started seeing our name in many different places. That said there were no direct leads from those sources. However, people who saw the ads ended up finding us on facebook and became more interested. So far facebook advertising has BY FAR been our best source of new leads at the new facility. Word of mouth remains first for the old facility and second for the new facility. Facebook has been key in the new facility and got us over 3 new trial clients just for next week alone. I have to say i'm quite shocked at this turn out because I figured facebook would simply expand our name, not necessarily get real clients.

Some details on our facebook ad. I have a budget of $20 a day and the ad is set to get new "likes". It runs only locally in a few zip codes. It reaches out to about 20k people and so far I would rate it as extremely successful. Just to reiterate, for my new facility no other single source has gotten us more clients. This is the first time an advertisement has gotten more people then word of mouth. It shows the power of social media. Use it to your advantage. You can check out the facebook page here http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/SageAstoria to get help in how I run the page and information we list.

Hopefully this helps some of you starting out and maybe shines a light on a good way to approach finding your first group of clients.

This is amazing info. I have been considering FB adds for a while and think this just made my mind up.