For many, starting a new endeavor can be scary or complicated; for others, not knowing where to start can keep them from starting at all. If you’ve thought about becoming a personal trainer but don’t have much capital or want to create flexibility in your professional schedule, becoming an online fitness coach may be for you. The average personal training session costs between $40 and $70 per hour, with the high range being $120/hr.1 But your earnings are capped at how many clients you can physically see daily. With online training, you can be in multiple places at once and exponentially increase your client base.
6 Steps to Get Your Training Business Off the Ground
- Pick Your Focus. Pick the type of training you want to focus on. If you choose something you’re interested in, work won’t feel like a chore. Are you a weightlifting and conditioning enthusiast wanting to train athletes? From yoga to HIIT and everything in between, the choice is yours. If you’re not sure, try watching videos or taking different types of classes for yourself to see which resonates with you. Do you feel like there’s a gap in the market or a niche you can fill? Now is the time to tap into your talents. Are you already a certified trainer? You can take this time to pick up new skills, such as sharpening your knowledge of nutrition or injury recovery.
- Build Credibility Through Certification. Now that you’ve picked your poison, it’s time to get certified. If school isn’t your strong suit, then you’re in luck! Becoming a certified personal trainer takes six months on average to complete the coursework and the test. Remember, this is not true for every type of training; specific specializations may require work hours to become certified.
- Create Content. When we say create content, we mean go very heavy on creating content. Whether your goal is to eventually have brick-and-mortar locations or keep it all virtual, you need tons of content to post to your social channels. If you are building brand awareness, ideally, you should post every day. Check out our guide here on steps to building your social media presence. Virtual training can come in the form of meeting with clients online, sending out weekly, biweekly, or monthly video workouts, sharing exercise videos through an app, training materials, and more.
- Decide the Clientele You Want. If you are looking to free up your schedule, then you may be looking for clients who are independent and ok with sharing their progress via apps and messages. Do you like constant interaction? Then training individuals or groups virtually can give you a more concrete schedule with clients who want a more hands-on experience. Think wisely about your intake forms and the questions you ask. You need to know a client’s overall goals, how much time they’re willing to dedicate to training, and how comfortable they are with technology and virtual training.
- Market Yourself. Becoming an online trainer requires less money than starting a gym, but marketing may be a little more complicated. Just because you’re certified does not mean you can make an Instagram, set it, and forget it. The internet is a vast place! Start a website, different social media accounts, and a YouTube channel if you can. Do you know anyone else in fitness who can vouch for you or plug your business? We’re not saying “fake it ‘til you make it,” but we are saying to look the part. Even if you start slowly with one loyal client, their testimonials and positive reviews will be priceless to your cause. If you have any budget, putting it towards marketing is a smart choice.
- Take Advantage of TrueCoach. Whether you have one or many clients, using TrueCoach can help you efficiently manage your budding business. With several subscriptions to fit your budget and goals, you can take the hard work out of scheduling clients, creating and sharing workouts, taking payments, and communicating with trainees. You can share those exercise videos you made right inside the app in just a few clicks. As a new coach, staying organized and a step ahead is imperative to your success.
Don’t wait! Take the steps today to become an online fitness coach. TrueCoach is here to help you with the best workout builder on the market and tips for delivering killer virtual workouts. Once you get started, you can take advantage of our monthly webinars and wealth of educational knowledge to keep your business going strong. There’s nothing to it but to do it!
Utilizing Personal Trainer Software can significantly streamline your coaching business, making it easier to manage multiple clients, deliver customized workout plans, and track progress efficiently—all in one place.
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First published: September 20 2022
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