Do This, Not That – Part 2

In Part 1 we covered offering 3, 6 and 12 Month Programs, using EFT Billing and having Multiple Streams Of Income…now for the encore!

Do This: Target a Niche (or Two)

Not That: Try To Be All Things To All People

Specialists are more financially successful that generalists.  Let me give you an example – in medicine a Family Practitioner earns on average about $145,000 per year while a Cardiologist earns $342,000 per year on average (According to the American Academy of Family Physicians).

That’s over twice as much for those of you match challenged folks

Identify a target market and become the local expert for it.  It will make marketing easier, referrals more common and you’ll be able to charge a premium fee. My *favorite* niche to target is youth fitness – if you’re interested in learning more about that, check out http://YouthFitnessOpportunity.com for some great free information on it.

Do This: Build a ‘Real Business’

Not That: Treat Your Business Like a Hobby

After all the great changes we’ve seen so many fitness professionals make over the last few years, the truth is there are still many (most) trainers that run their businesses with less structure and planning than the neighborhood kid that mows lawns in the summer.

If you’re not using systems or in the process of creating systems to run your business – then you probably are a candidate for the ‘hobby’ category.

If you’re waking up and hoping new clients miraculously walk in the door instead of having a plan for lead generation, retention and referrals – then you probably are a candidate for the ‘hobby’ category.

(At this point I’m starting to sound like those old Jeff Foxworthy ‘You might be a redneck jokes…’)

A ‘real business’ is systems driven and has a plan for everything from client generation to service delivery.  A solid business owner has a handle on his / her numbers and doesn’t just fly by the seat of their pants.

Do This: Invest in Your Business Education

Not That: Consider Education an Expense

Education is an expense only if you’re going to do nothing with it.  If you’re going to use what you learn then education is better than any investment you can make on Wall Street.

I personally buy at least two books per week, belong to at least a dozen membership programs or newsletters, have an easy six-figures worth of information products and invested $18,000 in Mastermind Groups last year alone.

That doesn’t even touch on the live events I attend and the travel expenses that go with them.

I do it because they all make our businesses and the businesses of the people we work with more money – plain and simple.

If you invested $1000 in the stock market and turned it into $2000 over the next 12 months, you’d be considered a huge success.

If you invest $1000 in your education and apply what you learn you might make back $10,000, $20,000 or more.

I’ve bought a book for $12 on Amazon and turned something I learned into six-figures – and you can too.

Just invest in your education and promise yourself that you will use what you learn from each investment to more than make back your initial investment.

Spend $100 – make back $101 or more.

Simple but effective.

If you have any ‘Do This, Not That’ examples, share them below. We’ll be back Monday with a guest post from Zach Even-Esh telling you how he outfitted a new facility with no money out of pocket. Enjoy the weekend!

Dedicated to your success,

Pat Rigsby

Pat Rigsby is a Co-Owner of the International Youth Conditioning Association & the youth fitness franchise Athletic Revolution as well as a fitness industry consultant serving thousands of personal trainers and fitness entrepreneurs. Sign up for his fitness business free newsletter to discover proven marketing, sales and business strategies, along with blog updates, news, and more! While you’re at it, follow him on Twitter.