We Want to Answer Your Most Pressing Fitness Business Questions
This may be the most important post I’ve ever made. It’s going to help me – and the other folks that contribute here – give you the knowledge and the tools you need to reach your personal and professional goals.
That’s the purpose of this blog.
The fitness industry has been good to me. Very good.
I’m sure it can be just as good to you…but I need you to tell me what areas you want help with in the comments section below.
See, what you may not realize is that it doesn’t take considerably more work to run a $250,000 business than it does a $25,000 business.
It just takes making the work you do smarter.
Currently, we are Owners or Co-Owners of over a dozen businesses in the fitness industry that generate a multiple seven-figure income – businesses in every area you can imagine:
- Certifications
- Franchising
- Area Exclusive Licensing
- Supplements
- Health Club
- Training / Sports Performance
- Infoproducts
- Coaching Programs
- Membership Sites / Programs
- Corporate Fitness
- Custom Music for Fitness
- Marketing
- Several others that are combinations or variations of these…
There is no one in the industry that has real world experience in so many different areas. And that isn’t even counting the business we’ve run, sold or consulted with;)
So we know what it takes to build a business. Doesn’t matter if it’s a small in-home training business or a big company with dozens of employees.
We’ve been through it and want to make sure you are successful when you’re going through it.
Bottom line: We want to answer your questions and make sure you’re reaching your goals.
So…
What are your biggest questions when it comes to launching, growing and managing a profitable fitness business?
Anything you want.
Marketing. Sales. Business Systems. Developing Multiple Streams of Income…
…You name it.
Just post your questions in the comments section below.
And Thank You for helping us serve you better!
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.
“See, what you may not realize is that it doesn’t take considerably more work to run a $250,000 business than it does a $25,000 business.”
That’s such a true statement. It’s just a matter of staying focused on the highest return activities.
I am having difficulty getting people to try out our bootcamps
I’m averaging 5 but I need to be getting 25.
Thanks for all your help
Romen
So true. I guess my biggest issue is accountability. My wife and I own a private training studio, and while we are certainly accountable to one another, it can be difficult sometimes to stay on track and work towards our goals.
I was thinking over the last week or so that perhaps some of the BCBP members can have weekly call in’s with other members to discuss their goals and the tasks they have taken over the last 7 days to work towards them. Since we all get pulled in so many different directions, it is easy to get distracted and try to put out fires rather than working on the business. Something like what the SBA does with SCORE, but it would be all of the members holding other members accountable.
I appreciate the forums and the advice we get from other business owners, perhaps those that are willing could get together with other members and do a quick phone call each week to motivate and keep each other honest and working towards those goals.
Mark Mogavero
Pine Brook Boot Camps
Hey fellas,
Let’s talk about marketing. I’m constantly learning like a lot of other Fitness Pros that read this blog.
What is the number greatest marketing “strategy” that you have ever used in your businesses?
I know what’s worked for me so far but what has been the crux for you guys?
I would like to transition to collecting payments from my boot clients using EFT. What system/program is best and why (VOLO, PaySimple, Quickbooks etc)?
Also, how do I approach my clients with this?
Hey Mark – Accountability is vital.
That’s why we started Bootcamp Dynasty – but even that is only monthly accountability.
We’ll look at weekly accountability systems for BCBP.
Thanks -
Pat
What Is the first step in franchising?
Hey Guys,
I think my question is the same as Donovan’s. I always like to hear other people’s success stories when it comes to the marketing techniques that have worked best for them. I would definitely appeciate learning from everyone here. I look forward to the posts!
I am looking to open my own facility in the next 3-6months and I am in the middle of my business plan and having trouble figuring out what to charge. I am currently working foranother company and there pricing is allover the map and very disorganized so I donot want to follow that. I would also be a different facility catering towords athletes, teams and group training(bootcamps) as well as personnell training. I deal with a lot of professional hockey players as well as every day athletes. Any help or guidence would be great.
thanks
I agree with Donovan,
If I could add, Marketing from the eyes and ears of a novice. For instance, press releases; is there one standard format? how much content? Include it in the text or send an attachment? How and when do you follow up with out being an annoyance? How to exactly implement some of the great ideas from y’all is where I get stuck. Hopefully I am not alone in my thoughts.
Maureen Corristan
What are the biggest ROI activities? I know certain marketing strategies work better for some and not for others..what would be the top 3 marketing strategies for best ROI…Is it networking? Direct Mail? Online stuff? JV? Public speaking? Also, what systems are used to measure the effectiveness of these marketing stratigies?
Thanks,
Amir
Rock Body Boot Camp
Hey Pat & Jim,
My partner and I are beginning work on a membership site. Any advice on how to get it started in the most cost efficient and smartest way, would be appreciated. Also, I am looking for a program to use with online clients that demonstrates the exercises used in their workouts. I have seen some in the past but cannot remember the names. What would you recommend and how do I obtain them?
Thanks,
Scott Hubbard
Being new to the fitness training business, I’m having
a difficult time choosing an area to specialize. So much
infoRmation out there.
Thanks
Hey guys,
Awesome job guys, always look forward to reading your posts every week for some new ideas. My biggest question is do you have ready to go plug in business systems which fitness business owners can use to systemize their business and use straight away?
Joe
Hi,
I would like more information on sales letter and sales closing techniques.
I am starting up my training business again in January and would like to have all in place for the New Year….but I can’t find all my stuff from you, ryan lee or eric ruth….somehow I think my wife depoisted in somewhere I do not know…..I do not want to be large and work mainly with over weight women of good $$$$ background and athletes
HELP
david grisaffi
Hey Pat, what’s up my friend? Hey…I’m in the process of switching from just doing training camps to opening my own gym. I guess the biggest question I have before I actually do this is “How do you write out a proper Business Plan” and are there steps I should take before I actually lease a place? Thanks Pat.
Kevin
I’m trying to start a group-training business. Where should I rent space? How should I recruit my first clients? Which marketing strategies will be the most cost-effective?
I run a few boot camps but I’m making a transition from one-on-one to more boot camps. How do I persuade my one-on-one clients, who are in peak times for my new boot camps, to basically give up their private session and join the camp? One of these clients has been with me for a few years. She has recently been to one of my boot camps and loved it. Do I just need to pull the trigger?
hello jim,
i dont know if you have been to the uk (london) but i want to ask you for an advice about getting clients without having to ask for them.
i eally work hard with my clients they are getting results but i dont why they are not refering any of their friends. the culture is very different than in america. people are too lazy here, the weather is crap and too cinical!
thanks
Hi fellas,
Everytime I have success it seems a large pile of paperwork or detail work follows it. It takes a lot of effort to get going from a stop, but once I’m moving, I’m clicking on all cylinders. I have the persona, knowledge, experience and energy that is magnetic to others, but not the experience to handle the loose ends that keep a ship tight and maneuvering around icebergs.
So how do I work towards getting an assistant. Keeping assistant focused on tasks that keep my game tight and how do I go about finding, interviewing, paying, this assistant.
Mike
Hey there,
Thanks for taking a look at my questions of areas of concern. As far a my boot camp goes. I have an excellent program that shows results quicker then I ever hoped for. I also have a good location that is perfect for nearly all different exercises I uses. I think I just need a little more help with the marketing. I am doing ok so far but I think I may need a little help crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s. The other part I am very interested in the the area exclusive licensing. Anything you can give me would be forever appreciated.
Great questions folks! Keep them coming and we’ll start putting together some posts;)
hi jim, i am looking to build a website!
what would you suggest?
Price Point. It seems that you can market your ass off, sell your ass off, and if yor price is not right, you won’t close the sale. In this economy, we are struggling with this BIG TIME. First question out of everyones mouth is, “what is your price”. And if it is higher than the local YMCA, they are not interesetd, even with offering them FREE 2 Week Trials.
You could consider this weeding out the “FREELOADERS” and the “ENERGY VAMPIRES”. Or you could look at it as missing out on revenue.
I am moving to another state where I have zero clients and knowone knows me. What advice would you give me to get my name out to get clients and a place to train them?
Who does your website? How much should you spend on your first website? What format should it follow? (content driven or informational)
Who writes all the long sales copy for your information products on your landing pages? If it’s you guys do you have a template or something because they all seem to follow a certain format.
Hi
I am wanting to set up EFT for my personal training and outdoor training business. My question is in Australia over christmas/summer holidays we have quite a long holiday (5-6 weeks). What happens with the eft payments is there a way I can like freeze the debits so they are not charged when we are not training. Are EFT flexible? Thanks
How do i transition my personal/group training clients onto a monthly EFT? Do i have them sign a 3-6-12 month agreement? I want to get away from being paid session by session and in package format.
I’ve got a few months before I kick off my business when I get off military orders. What are the most important admin things to have ready that may cause headaches when business starts getting busy? Legal documents? Payment system(many have already asked about EFT)? Where to work out of(sales, paperwork, client assessments) if you don’t have your own gym and are training outdoors or at someone else’s facility that you are not always around? Any other ‘starter’ needs?
Thanks,
Nathan
Hi I started my boot camp in april and have over 40 clients.
I am wondering how you then expand to open another location? And what is the best way to find a trainer to do this? How do you pay them, how do you structure the whole thing so they dont just want to copy exactly what your doing and start their own bootcamp?
I need to learn to be more productive with my time.
How do you choose the highest return ctivities?
How do you keep focused and productive, in order to complete these tasks?
When you are creating a website for a fitness business, say, on a wordpress blog, should you have the MAIN website URL (www.paradigmfitnesstraining.com) be your sales page or your blog page where you can get people to know you, like you, and trust you?
Should you then have your blog constantly “linking back” to the sales page to get people to start seeing the sales side of things more?
Please lemme know!!! Thanks guys, keep up the good work!!
All the questions are so good. I think what Dovovan mentioned would benefit everyone as everyone has a trick, tip or strategy that has helped them generate clients or campers. I also like hearing what works and if I think it could work for me and is a good time investment for me then I implement. Those are my two cents.
Thx for the GREAT posts Pat Nick and Jim and others who have contributed.
In order to get members of public walking into your brand new facility offering personal training and bootcamps – What is the single best thing to do to attract new customers?
I am fairly new to the industry and your services. I love the information that you all provide and am excited about getting started towards my dreams. Though I have learned a lot, I am still having a hard time centering myself and really getting focused. Does they site offer any type of mentor or coaching for newbies like me?
As my boot camps grow up around 50 memebers now and gettingready for a bi new years push i am still a bit sketchy on how to hire other trainers to work my camps!
Best places to find them as well as how to intergrate them into camps as i have bulit a great bond with my clients and i dont want them to feel some type of way like i am abandonding them as i grow and hope to open other locations!
thanks for this, the most pressing qestion for me right now is to get a good mentor for my buisness. i lived in the uk we dont have so much great coaches aruond apart from the one that want to sell certificate
How long or how many offers should you keep a prospect on a call list before taking them off. If they are not respondent.
How do you go about finding a dicated business partner? and one that would help you achieve your goals? i’m insearch of one!
Thanks
Inga
hi victoria,
let me know if you want learn from each other!
@victoria boer -
hi victoria, hope you doing well.
i want to find how is business is going where you are.
so if you want to exhange some of the staff that has worked for you i suppose i ll be happy to share mine with you.
thanks
Hi Pat,
I hope you’re doing well.
My questions focus mainly around public speaking. You guys always talk about focusing on something that you’re good at and really nailing it down as a client generating source.
I really like the idea of going deep with public speaking and using it as my primary client generation strategy. So most of my questions focus on that:
1) What are the best ways to find associations, organizations and groups that are actively looking for public speakers?
2) Tips on structuring speaking engagements for maximum audience interest and for maximum conversion of listeners into qualified leads or clilents.
3) How to get paid speaking gigs once you have a reputation built.
4) What kind of toipcs work best for speaking gigs and how to organize your speeches for different lengths of time e.g. what to focus on if you have 5 minutes to speak vs 50 minutes to speak.
5) Different angles for speeches depending on the type of audience you’re talking to, e.g. a swing dancing society will have a very different type of person in attendance compared to a business networking meeting. What kind of speeches would work best in each of these (and other settings)?
Alright, I think I’ve given you enough food for thought for a while
Thanks for your help!
Our biggest questions would be on what created the biggest buzz for your business. What are some marketing systems that have proved to be great. What network connections made the biggest difference in accelerating the growth of your companies. Thanks.
Any answers or suggestions yet?
thanks
They’re being organized and will be answered soon, Mark!
I worked for the larger gym(s) starting out then went out on my own. Recently my clients went from 3 to 1 to none. I need ideas/advice on how to promote myself. I am a Full-time Police Officer during the day and was training clients at night typically at their residence. Any and all advice would be appreciated. (On a side note in the Police world I can retire in exactly 13 months at the age of 46.)
Hi! Definately about marketing strategies – how to bring more people to the boot camp. Many answeres to this state to contact previous clients, but what if you’re new to the area? I moved to TN about 3 months ago, and it’s so hard getting people to my boot camp! Seems that even local boot camps are struggling, but i KNOW i’m better than them!
Thanks!
Hi guys, I don’t even know where to begin my questions.. just like an internet site! I have a very basic website and want to add content, say from articles or information I learn from mentors of mine. My goal is to have a site where my clients can go and access all the great information and articles I research for their benefit. Eventually charging for access to the meat of the site,even exercises & training programs. Are there wesite formats to follow or a website building company you might recommend? Like everyone else, I’m on a low budget… but not for long
THANKS for sharing your knowledge!!!
hey guys,
i want to build a website and optimise it so it at the top of google and other web engines search so it attracts as many people to my fitness bootcamp and one on one personal training business.
i have been trying since last year but i feel i cant trust anyone in these financial crisis we are living in as it appears to me that everyone is out to get your money!
money is tight at the moment and business isnt as good as before!
who do you trust and know can build a great website that i can use and manage myself thereafter (edit content, videos and audios) either for free or for a reasonable fee, do you know what i mean?
i look forward to hearing from you.
thanks guys
Hi guys,
I have neem reading your posts for a couple months now, and its just awesome! So informative and great techniques.
I am a personal trainer now, I work at a gym in Nyc, I have a 300 ft studio, I go to clients homes, I go to my clients gym, I do online training, now I’m thinking of doing bootcamps, however to be honest I’m not sure if I’m the right guy to lead such camps since I’m not that creative nor can make classes like that interesting. and more into 1 on 1 focusing on my clients goals and following a program.
My questions are
1) How do I get into the bootcamp market ? As in how do I know whome to hire?
2) How much sqft do I need to run a basic facility?
3) How do I pick the right location?
Does it really need to be in the heart of the city?
4)What are the starting expenses that I should expect before I get hooked on the. Bootcamp idea ?
5) My lists of questions go on and on, but basicially to sum it all up, I am simply looking to expand to bootcamps without me teaching the classes, and I have no idea where to start since I don’t want to teach. Or is that a must to teach in order to start off?
Please help me so I can pay back in kind.
I know I have a great market to tap into,
Thanks in advance guys
Hi guys,
I have neem reading your posts for a couple months now, and its just awesome! So informative and great techniques.
I am a personal trainer now, I work at a gym in Nyc, I have a 300 ft studio, I go to clients homes, I go to my clients gym, I do online training, now I’m thinking of doing bootcamps, however to be honest I’m not sure if I’m the right guy to lead such camps since I’m not that creative nor can make classes like that interesting. and more into 1 on 1 focusing on my clients goals and following a program.
My questions are
1) How do I get into the bootcamp market ? As in how do I know whome to hire?
2) How much sqft do I need to run a basic facility?
3) How do I pick the right location?
Does it really need to be in the heart of the city?
4)What are the starting expenses that I should expect before I get hooked on the. Bootcamp idea ?
5) My lists of questions go on and on, but basically to sum it all up, I am simply looking to expand to bootcamps without me teaching the classes, and I have no idea where to start since I don’t want to teach. Or is that a must to teach in order to start off?
Please help me so I can pay back in kind.
I know I have a great market to tap into,
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