It’s hard to think of anyone that doesn’t want to start a small business – and the ones that say they don’t are just lying or are too scared. I think it’s a secret desire of every man, woman, and child in America (and these days pretty much any country out there).
The appeal is undeniable; to control your own destiny; to write your own checks; to throw your hat in the ring and see what you’re made of. For the ones that don’t want to do it, they’ll tell you the reasons why – the risks, the downside, the lack of security – there are plenty of excuses.
The reason why starting a business is so difficult is because there are no places to really learn how to do it. Business schools are anything but – they teach you the skills to be a role player in a company, not necessarily start your own business. There’s no school that teaches you the ropes of how to be an entrepreneur and to start your own business – you have to learn on the job.
And there are a plenty of things to learn:
– Products choice – what to sell
– Business organization and management skills
– Customers relations
– Advertising – Negotiating rates, picking the right type
– Marketing – getting prospects.
– Selling – turning prospects into leads
And for anyone that’s been through this process, you know this is a very small list and doesn’t even begin to explain everything that goes into it.
But fitness enthusiasts have an answer – they have their way in – it’s Personal Training.
It’s the perfect entry into the world of small business, and a way to learn the ropes of everything that comes with it. It’s with a group of clients, learning to give personal service, serving a starving market, and doing something that comes easy to you, that you’ll learn everything you need to start your own business success story, and not end up one of the endless casualties in the business landscape.
Here’s what you learn:
– To create and sell a product, which happens to be your own personal services
– To master selling – it’s essential to converting the leads that come in your pipeline
– Client retention – you should only sell each client once
– Market segmentation – figuring out who the best people are for your services
– Marketing – figuring out how to reach them
– Duplicate yourself, ie. hiring and leading employees
– Business growth – a studio? A bootcamp? Going online?
With everything involved, what you’re seeing take shape here is a full curriculum. Most people are looking to gain experience through a school, but once YOU have you certification, you’ve graduated, and you can view everything after that as an internship.
And you thought Personal Training was just sweat and barbells?
Hope that put things in perspective for you … what did you think? Leave your comments below:
Want some more articles on the business of Personal Training? Here are a few:
https://super-trainer.com/types-of-personal-training-businesses/
https://super-trainer.com/become-a-personal-trainer/
https://super-trainer.com/personal-training-business-with-saman-bakhtiar/
Let’s see, I spent seven years in college, learning everything I could about exercise science. I got my undergraduate degree and my masters degree before I was comfortable starting my own personal training business…and you know what? I still made every mistake a business owner could possibly make. Some of those mistakes cost me lots of $$$ and other cost me time.
The bottom line is that all of the resources you’re talking about, all of the fitness business and marketing gurus like Pat, Jim, Nick, Bedros and you, weren’t around when personal training was cutting its teeth in the early days.
For those of you looking for guidance, please take the time to listen to the guys I listed above and learn from their experience.
Couldn’t agree with you more Greg – nothing is the same as actually getting out there and doing it – it’s then you find that everything you thought you knew was dead wrong.
And yes, I forgot to mention the most important part – that you need to get help! And today, there are plenty of people and resources to get it from.