Building an Online Fitness Business

[dwill094]

I figured I'd make a thread for those of you fit pros out there trying to leverage themselves on social media and get started in the online fitness realm.

"Online personal training" is something that has grown over the past few years and is in the early stages of development, but I believe it will become a big part of the industry.

I don't see a lot of threads here on the forums talking about it--but definitely believe that there should be more out there as far as resources go.

Maybe we can add to this over time.

But, first off--for you guys/gals out there doing online fitness. What has your experience been like? What are your tips for others getting into online?

[kitpapa]

I do a decent part of my new business online. Company has only been going since June.
I find personalization is huge...and accessibility. I have a feeling that ppl who are not careful Will try to take on too many clients, stop personalizing things, and get a bad rap bc of it.
KNOW how much you can handle and do not go over that.

[CSCSKidd]

I do a decent part of my new business online. Company has only been going since June.
I find personalization is huge...and accessibility. I have a feeling that ppl who are not careful Will try to take on too many clients, stop personalizing things, and get a bad rap bc of it.
KNOW how much you can handle and do not go over that.

I'm really interested in learning about online personal training. Not even sure I know where to begin.

[kitpapa]

I'm really interested in learning about online personal training. Not even sure I know where to begin.

What do you want to learn??

[Ronin4help]

I figured I'd make a thread for those of you fit pros out there trying to leverage themselves on social media and get started in the online fitness realm.

"Online personal training" is something that has grown over the past few years and is in the early stages of development, but I believe it will become a big part of the industry.

I don't see a lot of threads here on the forums talking about it--but definitely believe that there should be more out there as far as resources go.

Maybe we can add to this over time.

But, first off--for you guys/gals out there doing online fitness. What has your experience been like? What are your tips for others getting into online?

It would be very unwise for any successful online coach/trainer to share what works for him/her. Unlike traditional personal training, sharing your successful business strategies/concepts with trainers OUTSIDE your market zone is both generous and safe. A successful trainer living in Miami is no threat to a successful trainer living in Salt Lake City. However, online is...well...online. There are no barriers, no jurisdictions and no market zones. If you broadcast your successful business ideas online, those ideas will be absorbed and quickly adapted by an untold number of trainers and before too long you have unwelcomed competition.

This would be like Coca Cola posting their recipe on their website. Smart business people only share that which can not threaten their business.

It's the ol'... "If their is a book on it, the idea has already died'.

[dwill094]

It would be very unwise for any successful online coach/trainer to share what works for him/her. Unlike traditional personal training, sharing your successful business strategies/concepts with trainers OUTSIDE your market zone is both generous and safe. A successful trainer living in Miami is no threat to a successful trainer living in Salt Lake City. However, online is...well...online. There are no barriers, no jurisdictions and no market zones. If you broadcast your successful business ideas online, those ideas will be absorbed and uickly adapted and before too long you have unwelcomed competition.

This would be like Coca Cola posting their recipe on their website. Smart business people only share that which can not threaten their business.

Completely disagree.

In fact, I'm a part of a large community of online trainers with different niches that come together and are very supportive and helpful of one another. There is more than enough room in the industry for people to help one another.

[Ronin4help]

Completely disagree.

In fact, I'm a part of a large community of online trainers with different niches that come together and are very supportive and helpful of one another. There is more than enough room in the industry for people to help one another.

Yet, you still came here for advice. If this large community of online trainers with different niches came together to support you and help you, why aren't you successful at it by now? The reason is because none of their ideas are actually successful, hence the reason your search for knowledge continues.

Isn't the idea to do it for a few decades? This is not a new phenomenon. The primary reason industries die is the influx of competition. Really good ideas are going to spread like wildfire. Example: Your ******** page. Imagine how much business you could get if only you and a few other people had a ******** page. You would be rich. The reason you are not is because there are thousands of online trainers doing the exact same thing.

[dwill094]

Yet, you still came here for advice. If this large community of online trainers with different niches came together to support you and help you, why aren't you successful at it by now? The reason is because none of their ideas are actually successful, hence the reason your search for knowledge continues.

Isn't the idea to do it for a few decades? This is not a new phenomenon. The primary reason industries die is the influx of competition. Really good ideas are going to spread like wildfire. Example: Your ******** page. Imagine how much business you could get if only you and a few other people had a ******** page. You would be rich. The reason you are not is because there are thousands of online trainers doing the exact same thing.

I made the thread for online trainers to discuss.

If you have nothing constructive to say, don't reply pal.

[dwill094]

I do a decent part of my new business online. Company has only been going since June.
I find personalization is huge...and accessibility. I have a feeling that ppl who are not careful Will try to take on too many clients, stop personalizing things, and get a bad rap bc of it.
KNOW how much you can handle and do not go over that.

I see this a lot, too. People spreading themselves too thin... I believe that systems are important. But, I never want to compromise the 1-on-1 connection with the client.

Also being able to focus more on each individual you'll be able to get better results for your client, leading to better testimonials and referrals that way.

I'm really interested in learning about online personal training. Not even sure I know where to begin.

I'm not an ambassador or anything, but the group I was talking about above ^ (before I was meaninglessly trolled) ... is very helpful.

Look up OnlineTrainer.com or the Personal Training Development Center (PTDC) websites. They have so much good information.

The FB group I was mentioning is called Online Trainers Unite.

[Ronin4help]

I made the thread for online trainers to discuss.

If you have nothing constructive to say, don't reply pal.

My reply was for kitpapa and anyone else thinking of broadcasting their ideas. Sometimes the heart steps in front of the brain and we share things we really should not be sharing.

You starting a thread to steal (you call it 'share') other's people's bright ideas is lazy. Stop asking for ideas and come up with your own. Then, come here and ask us what we think of it. That's 'constructive' feedback. This is not what you have done. You have no ideas to share with us, you are only asking us to share ours with you. Not the same thing.

[dwill094]

My reply was for kitpapa and anyone else thinking of broadcasting their ideas. Sometimes the heart steps in front of the brain and we share things we really should not be sharing.

You starting a thread to steal (you call it 'share') other's people's bright ideas is lazy. Stop asking for ideas and come up with your own. Then, come here and ask us what we think of it. That's 'constructive' feedback. This is not what you have done. You have no ideas to share with us, you are only asking us to share ours with you. Not the same thing.

I'm here to converse and share ideas, absolutely!

Maybe you'd like to stick around and get the conversation rolling?

Do you have experience training?

[Ronin4help]

Ok, then share. Tell us a good idea.

[dwill094]

I'm really interested in learning about online personal training. Not even sure I know where to begin.

The best thing that you can do is not overthink it.

Sure--there is A LOT that goes into it...

But you only need the basics to begin. First you need to build out your client forms, assessment process, all of the groundwork.

Invest some time into it. But, the key is not to have paralysis by analysis.

Doing is always better than sitting back and just thinking about it.

[Ronin4help]

The best thing that you can do is not overthink it. Doing is always better than sitting back and just thinking about it.

I could not disagree more. Thus, the reason over 80 percent of start ups fail. Overthinking essentially means excessive time thinking and thinking. The best ideas come at the 500th hour, not the third. Think, think and think some more...or end up a statistic.

[dwill094]

I could not disagree more. Thus, the reason over 80 percent of start ups fail. Overthinking essentially means excessive time thinking and thinking. The best ideas come at the 500th hour, not the third. Think, think and think some more...or end up a statistic.

There is no better way to learn than from having mini-failures!

[Ronin4help]

You do not go into business to learn. You go into business to earn money.

You learn before you go into business (e.g. college, internship, research, employee).

Lastly, a business venture failure is not a 'mini-failure'. It is probably the second most painful failure a person can endure, second to a divorce.

[dwill094]

For the person whose sole livelihood is their online training business, that might be true.

[Ronin4help]

The only people who should even consider online coaching/training as a profession (supplemental or otherwise) are fitness professionals with hundreds of hours of hands on expertise. Such a person would know better than to expect his/her online business to represent the entirety of his/her revenue stream. The only person who would commit to something so foolish (in terms of doing online training full time with no other jobs to support it) would be a person with no real perspective as to the reality (and difficulty) of client acquisition and retention. Essentially a dreamer.

[KyleAaron]

Thus, the reason over 80 percent of start ups fail. Overthinking essentially means excessive time thinking and thinking. The best ideas come at the 500th hour, not the third. Think, think and think some more...or end up a statistic.

Unfortunately, this seems to be true. I shared this just last week, but this guy won't have seen it - a crossfit gym opened in a small resort town, ready for closing within 6 months of opening.

I don't know if we'd call it a mini-failure or a major one; probably the trainers think it's mini, but the guy who invested in the place thinks it's major.

If you want to start a business, overthink it. I took six months to start up my gym, but it's just a double garage and I only wanted it to be part-time. The bigger the place, the more members you want to have, the more income you hope for, the more you have to plan.

Now, I don't know how to get an online training business going. But what I will say is that I have seen a lot of newbie trainers who can't get a job, or get enough clients in person, and they think, "well I'll just do online training!" and so the instagram account is started and... well, they don't know how to get online clients, either.

So my instinct is that Ronin's comment, that you need a lot of in-person experience first, is right.

[dwill094]

Starting an entire business, I'm going to agree with you guys as far as overthinking it and doing research into your target market.

But, simply put... what I meant was that many overthink transitioning to online and can simply begin to build a foundation by starting immediately with simple tasks like building out an email list and working to establish themselves on social media.

And yea, one year in-person minimum training before going online--i'd say.

[Ronin4help]

Starting an entire business, I'm going to agree with you guys as far as overthinking it and doing research into your target market.

But, simply put... what I meant was that many overthink transitioning to online and can simply begin to build a foundation by starting immediately with simple tasks like building out an email list and working to establish themselves on social media.

And yea, one year in-person minimum training before going online--i'd say.

But that's all there is to think about... energy, time and research. There really are no significant capital investment concerns with online training, hence the reason people are flocking to it. The question every trainer considering an online training business wants to know is... 'Will all my energy and time building this thing be worth it?'

This is the same thing you are starting to wonder concerning your own business. You are telling people to dive right in and not overthink, but it seems that is precisely what you have done with your own business and now you are wondering 'Where's the money?' So much so that your entire focus here has been 'online training' be it trying to turn newbies onto your services or starting threads to generate ideas.

Simply put, you didn't have a good business model before you started and now you are left scratching your head. You should have thought about it much longer because had you, you might be spending your time and energy developing something completely different right now. But instead, you are all in and must try to now figure out how to make this thing work.

[dwill094]

You've ruined this thread, kudos dude.

[kitpapa]

My reply was for kitpapa and anyone else thinking of broadcasting their ideas. Sometimes the heart steps in front of the brain and we share things we really should not be sharing.

You starting a thread to steal (you call it 'share') other's people's bright ideas is lazy. Stop asking for ideas and come up with your own. Then, come here and ask us what we think of it. That's 'constructive' feedback. This is not what you have done. You have no ideas to share with us, you are only asking us to share ours with you. Not the same thing.

thanks for the protective thought, seriously

But I have no bright ideas to broadcast. In all honesty I use my knowledge and personality. That's all. Like me or leave me

[kitpapa]

Oh and I have a day job. The online coaching I do is part of business but I don't rely on it. I do in person one on one but also have a whole other job.
I do this bc I love it and it does bring in some money but I never expect to become a millionaire on it. I like helping ppl and educating them. Helping them reach the goals THEY want

[Ronin4help]

thanks for the protective thought, seriously

But I have no bright ideas to broadcast. In all honesty I use my knowledge and personality. That's all. Like me or leave me

If your online business is working, it may be because you are doing something that you just do not know you are doing only because it comes so natural to you. However, if you figure out what that thing is one day, never tell anyone.

[Ronin4help]

You've ruined this thread, kudos dude.

That was my intention. To expose the idiocy of starting a thread essentially asking people to disclose their trade secrets, and to prevent those who may have a competitive edge from losing it based on this ridiculous notion that the successful people should 'share' their ideas with the unsuccessful people because 'there is plenty of room out there for all of us to grow'.

Utter nonsense.

There is a reason they are successful, and others are not and it isn't because they knew which questions to ask. It is because they figured something out that others have not. Why the fuk would any intelligent person share that? Because of some nonexistent online brotherhood? Give me a break.

[Camms1234]

I see this a lot, too. People spreading themselves too thin... I believe that systems are important. But, I never want to compromise the 1-on-1 connection with the client.

Also being able to focus more on each individual you'll be able to get better results for your client, leading to better testimonials and referrals that way.



I'm not an ambassador or anything, but the group I was talking about above ^ (before I was meaninglessly trolled) ... is very helpful.

Look up OnlineTrainer.com or the Personal Training Development Center (PTDC) websites. They have so much good information.

The FB group I was mentioning is called Online Trainers Unite.

The only person who is making decent money in that group is Jon Goodman. The members are in one huge sales funnel for his "Online Personal Trainer" Certificate. Costs $1200ish at say 200 students twice a year, out of his 23000 members. That is $260000 every 6 months. Plus add in the other "mentors/experts" helping out in the group ie copywriters, web designers and FB ad experts also probably giving him a kickback while trying to make a sale for their own services.

You can also earn something like $200 referral to sign up new students to his course. So naturally everybody is saying how great the cert is. But how many are really making more than a couple of hundred dollars a month minus adverts, apps, website.
Probably 1 in a 100 at best!

[KyleAaron]

I knew Jon Goodman online when he still actually trained people in a gym. I told him not to stop training people, as - like a lot of PT school instructors - he'd get out of touch, and his advice would become less useful and relevant. He disagreed.

But he's a good example of what I always say: the real money isn't in training gym-goers, it's in seminars and certifications and so on for trainers. Trainers will spend any amount of money in the hopes of making more money later. Of course, most trainers don't have a lot of money to spend, but there are so many of them churned out of PT schools each year that the seminar guys can work on volume.

Note that none of this judges the value of these seminars. It's just a simple statement of fact: people go from training gym-goers to selling seminars to trainers because they feel they have something to offer AND because they make much, much more money that way.

[Ronin4help]

Prov. People who are able to do something well can do that thing for a living, while people who are not able to do anything that well make a living by teaching.

Better known as "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach and those who can't teach...teach gym."

[Athleteteen]

theres already alot of free information on the internet