Photo by Crosby Hinze on Unsplash

You’ve made the decision to become a personal trainer, you’ve taken all of the courses and now you’re ready to get yourself out there as a business. But you have no idea where to start. 

Research the market thoroughly

The most successful businesses know what their customers want and how to provide it for them. Don’t launch your business based on assumptions, or it could be an expensive mistake. Use questionnaires, surveys, and desk-based research to get the answers you need. From there you can start creating your business plan and brand. 

Define your brand

This might sound like pretentious marketing speech but it’s really important you develop an appealing and consistent brand in order to attract clients. For example, will you be focusing on providing services to women, men, or older people? Do you want to target those who are overweight and want to get in shape or are you specializing in working with elite athletes? While it’s tempting to try and be all things to all people, it leads to a garbled brand that doesn’t really appeal to anyone. 

Invest in your online presence

It’s important that you establish yourself where your target audience will be looking. For example, you should have a professional-looking website with all relevant information on it. You could even add a blog or videos on there too. Spend some time on your Google My Business listing too, as this will improve your search results. If you aren’t very technical, you might want to invest some money in having a professional set all of this up for you. There are sometimes grants or loans available to help you get started when launching a business. Check with sites like compare credit to make sure you’re getting the best deal on any borrowing. 

Get on social media

Health and fitness are big businesses in today’s world. Social media channels are filled with content surrounding it. That’s because this is where your target audience is. Research the market and your competitors and concentrate on one or two platforms. This could be Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, or Twitter. The sheer number can feel overwhelming so learn one at a time and focus your energies on this one to build engagement. 

Set up a referral scheme

When choosing personal trainers, people will often ask for recommendations from friends, family, or colleagues. Incentivize your clients to refer you to people they know. This can be in the form of free training sessions, money off, gifts, etc. If people are happy with your service, they’ll be happy to recommend you and a good referral scheme will give them that extra reason to do so. 

Takeaways

Running a successful personal training business rests on both being a competent professional and marketing your business well. No matter how good you are at your job, it will be very difficult to build up a client base if you are promoting yourself and getting your name out there for people to find.