Personal Training Business Fundamentals
As you start to make personal fitness training a career, we encourage you to explore the benefits of setting a strong foundation. This will help by preparing you to make sound decisions about your career, based on having a clear sense of who you are, what your strengths are, and what you hope to accomplish.
Building a Strong Foundation with Business Skills
Specifically, for personal fitness trainers, ways to increase your self-awareness and your knowledge of yourself are good ways to begin the process of building strong business foundations. Many times, people who choose a career as a personal fitness trainer don’t enjoy the business aspects and therefore don’t take the time to learn what is needed to be successful. Unfortunately, this sort of attitude rarely will lead to career growth for the trainer. On the other hand, trainers who take the time to master basic business knowledge and skills will build solid careers while enjoying a smooth road to success.
In order to apply the skills that you learn with clients, it is crucial to develop the business skills that give you the knowledge, tools, and insights that are needed to make informed career choices. It is always best when we make choices that support both financial and professional growth goals. With this in mind, it is important to remember why you chose personal fitness training as a profession and to stay grounded in the experience as you transform people and improve their health.
Your Personal Assessment
It is essential for a trainer to assess his or her current state. One of the most important traits that successful trainers have in common is the dedication to knowledge. Self-awareness, part of this knowledge, is the foundation and the beginning point for all trainers. This type of personal assessment should include a list of your personal major accomplishments. To also highlight your strengths, list your talents and abilities, as well as the three things that you do best. After completing this exercise, make a list of your major challenges, and any obstacles or barriers that you have overcome. This part of the personal assessment may be more reflective in nature. Try to list three things that you do the least well and three things for which you want to be remembered. Finish your personal assessment by writing or listing how you would like others to describe you, and three things that you want to accomplish in your life.
Personal Trainer Career Goals
Think now about your career goals. Making a separate list, include the three attributes of your service that you are the proudest of, and be sure to also include a list of items that work well n your service or business; and then be sure to include items that do not work as well in your business or service (if applicable). If you could change anything in your career right now, what would be? How would you want others to speak of your business? If you are new to the trade, construct your answers as if they were active goals and elements of your business vision.
Most personal fitness trainers love what they do. One fact that is not mentioned as often or known about personal fitness trainers is the high percentage of trainers who have failed to become successful in their careers. Although the reasons vary, most failures are rooted in a lack of business knowledge. At first, you might think that acquiring technical skills and a high degree of expertise will ensure your success, but this is only one part of the whole situation. Other key factors include strong interpersonal communication skills, paired with business and marketing skills or strategies.
For personal fitness trainers, interpersonal skills include creating rapport, building relationships with prospective clients, developing an inspirational manner within your client setting and operating with appropriate personal and professional boundaries and creating a safe space for clients. It is important to develop an awareness of empathy to complement high standards of professionalism. These skills will help you great- ly, whether you run your own business as a contractor or if you work for someone else.
Career Tracks for Personal Trainers
The two primary career tracks for personal fitness trainers are to work for a company or to be self-employed. Within those two paths are a number of possibilities. Some trainers kickstart their careers by working at a fitness club, while others take part-time jobs to train as a way to augment an existing private practice. Some trainers choose a private business model right from the start, and then there are those who prefer to only work as an employee for someone else. You will need to consider the amount of time that you want to work. Some people want to work full time as a trainer while others will choose to permanently stay within a particular field or specialty and then to use personal fitness training as a means of enhancing their business model.
Starting Your Personal Training Career
Now it’s your turn to take action. Did you know that most fitness careers don’t require formal education or a degree?
Learn more about the variety of fitness industry careers. There is always something exciting about earning a new training or coaching certification and applying that new knowledge of how you train your clients. This also helps you hit the reset button.
Check out what it takes to start a career in personal fitness training. This is your most affordable and fastest way to become a highly qualified personal trainer.
Is your recertification coming up? Learn more about earning your CEU credits. You can find the full list of CEU courses here.
If you are ready to start your online personal training or coaching business, don’t forget to learn more about our online coaching course. You will also really enjoy this very comprehensive training course called Online Expert Empire.
There is always something exciting about earning a new training or coaching certification and applying that new knowledge of how you train your clients. This also helps you hit the reset button.
NESTA and Spencer Institute coaching programs are open to anyone with a desire to learn and help others. There are no prerequisites.
Thanks for reading!
The NESTA/Spencer Institute Team
PS: Click here to see many helpful business/career resources
