We all know the adage, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” We want to serve you in the best possible way so you can succeed in the personal training space, whatever that means to you. With that goal in mind, it would be remiss of us to neglect to walk you through the steps of planning your training business. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but every business needs a plan to succeed, so let’s get started.
About the business: Mission Statement, Vision, etc
As a trainer, you are your brand. You are your business.
In this section, talk about what is your reason for the business.
List your goals and objectives but keep this section concise.
Market Analysis: SWOT Analysis
Conduct market research.
Learn about your competitors and what they are doing in the industry
Define your ideal customer profile and buyers/target market.
Define your product or service. Evaluate what you bring to the table. You can do this using SWOT analysis, as it provides a useful framework. Learn how to conduct SWOT Analysis
Financial Plan
Revenue Streams
Describe your services. Will you do one on one? Partner training? Small Groups? Bootcamps?
Describe your products (if applicable): Do you offer training programs periodically throughout the year? Do you host challenges?
Operating Costs
Think about all your expenses.
If you have your studio: rent, equipment, insurance business license, administrative software
If you contract at a gym, what percentage does the gym get?
Other costs: website, email provider, professional email, marketing expenses, etc.
Don’t forget about taxes: how much will you owe? Will you hire an accountant?
Think about all these costs and add them to factor into your pricing and long-term projection goals
Projections and goals
Use the information from Operating costs to develop pricing, break-even, cash flow projections, etc.
What do you need to break even? What are the best and worst-case scenarios for cash flow? How much would you make if things went according to plan? What would you make if they didn’t?
Risk assessment
Prepare for the unexpected. How much risk is involved? If you are doing in-person training, what if you are not fully booked? If you do boot camps, what about the weather? What about low client retention?
If you do online training, what do you do if sales are low and you don’t make your target for the quarter?
Do you have a contingency plan?
You do not need to have it all figured out, but you should at least know what level of risk your business has to develop proper marketing and sales strategies to combat it as best as possible.
Marketing and Sales Plan
Identify the barriers to entering the market and your plan to overcome them.
Market in a way that feels natural to you. Use what you are good at (strengths and talents).
Use videos if you are creative and comfortable in front of a camera. Network and foster those relationships if you are good at speaking with people.
If you have a few clients already, ask if they would be willing to provide a video testimonial. In this way, potential clients can hear from someone in their position if you are uncomfortable in front of a camera.
You can use various methods to different degrees. Your marketing plan should outline how and when you’ll use your chosen strategies.
This plan will change as you develop more confidence in yourself as a personal trainer, but having a starting point is excellent! Find more ideas to build out your marketing plan with our ebook!
When you are getting started, your business plan doesn’t have to be fancy, but it should cover the topics listed above to assess where you are to plan for where you want to go. Revisit your business plan as often as needed if your goals shift or you have a new product or service idea, and refer to it often to ensure that you are on the right track to meet your business goals!
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