Whether you are just starting out on your career path as a young adult or are dissatisfied with your current role and hoping to start doing something you love, becoming a personal trainer could be the ideal solution.
If you have a passion for health and fitness and enjoy working with people and helping them achieve their goals, personal training allows you to combine those two interests in one fulfilling role.
However, as with any new career, starting out can sometimes be an intimidating task, particularly if you have no prior experience in the world of health and fitness. That being said, with the right fitness education and a healthy dose of commitment, hard work, and determination – not to mention some savvy business strategies – there is no reason why your new personal training business shouldn’t take off.
Intrigued? Read on to find out more about how to become a personal trainer and kickstart a successful career helping people to achieve their personal health and fitness goals.
Is Personal Training A Feasible Choice?
First things first, you may be wondering if becoming a personal trainer is even a viable career choice from a financial perspective. After all, there is no point in doing something you enjoy if it means you won’t have enough money to pay the bills. The cost of living crisis has taught us all a hard lesson about the importance of having enough funds on standby to get us through a difficult economic period.
Fortunately, it seems like personal training is one of those roles that allow people to do what they enjoy on a daily basis and still make a decent living. With an average base salary of over £45,000 – there is no reason why becoming a personal trainer shouldn’t bring you financial security.
Of course, the exact amount you earn per year will depend on several factors, such as your location, experience, and whether you are employed or working freelance. But, despite this variability, personal training certainly seems like a viable career choice.
Getting Your Qualifications
Even if you are a keen gym-goer with plenty of workouts under your belt, the knowledge you have already acquired won’t be enough to set you up as a personal trainer. You need to sign up for accredited personal training courses, such as those provided by The Fitness Group, in order to gain the knowledge and experience necessary to start your career on a firm footing.
Not only will these courses teach you how to train both groups and individuals, they can also provide you with essential business expertise and help you to secure a job placement as soon as you’ve completed your accreditation.
This kind of training and support will allow you to hit the ground running as a freshly qualified personal trainer, and start acquiring your first clients and earning your first wages as quickly as possible.
Insurance Is A Must
When you work as a personal trainer, taking charge of people’s fitness levels and well-being, it is vital that you organise adequate insurance coverage to help you in case anything goes wrong. In fact, if you are planning to offer your services at a local gym, then they probably will not even allow you to do so unless you can prove that you are insured.
Personal trainer insurance policies should not only cover any accidents or injuries to your clients and yourself but should also include business equipment insurance, professional indemnity insurance (a legal requirement), and loss of earnings insurance. The more coverage you have, the more secure you will be should any mishap occur.
Solidify Your Business Model
As a personal trainer, you have plenty of flexibility when it comes to your method of working. For example, you can opt to work as an employee for a gym or health centre, or you can choose to be self-employed.
If you decide to be a freelance trainer, you can either work in a local gym, or, if you have the funds, you can acquire and equip your own business premises and hold all of your training sessions there. Alternatively, you may wish to travel to your client’s homes to train them, or make the most of public spaces.
The business model you choose will, of course, depend on your personal preference and circumstances. Being employed or self-employed has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it depends on what your priorities are. If you prefer flexibility and freedom, then becoming a self-employed personal trainer is probably the best solution. However, if you are keen to acquire job security and a reliable income – without having to sort out your own taxes – then it’s best to seek employed roles.
Spread The Word
When you are first starting out as a personal trainer, your biggest challenge will be building up your client base, particularly if you have decided to be self-employed. Acquiring your first clients may take some time in the beginning – perhaps even several months – so don’t get discouraged. A certain amount of hustling is always required when you work as a freelancer, whatever industry you are in; the key is to be proactive and consistent, and, in time, you will reap the rewards of your efforts with your first customers.
In order to help you find them, there are a number of techniques you can use as a freelancer. If you are using a local gym as your base, you can advertise your services directly at the gym. However, you can also use social media to your advantage. Join local Facebook groups, advertise your services on Twitter and Instagram, and consider including pictures and videos of your training routines, so your clients will know exactly what to expect.
Having a strong online presence can not only help you find clients but can also help you develop your rapport with your customer base and keep them engaged so they will come back for more sessions. You may also find that your existing clients help you to attract new ones, by sharing your social media posts with their friends and providing positive word of mouth.
In future, you may even decide you want to conduct online training sessions, which will give you added flexibility and could even help you acquire clients from overseas, opening up a vast new potential customer base.
Take A Personal Approach
When you work as a personal trainer, you must always bear in mind that your role is not purely fitness-based. As such, you need to hone your customer service skills in order to both find and keep clients.
While some of your customers may sign up for your sessions in order to shed a few pounds or simply tone up a little, others may be embarking on a very personal journey linked to a decline in their mental and physical health. It’s important that you have the expertise and people skills on hand to support them on their journey and handle any issues that may arise along the way.
By taking a personal approach with each of your clients and developing a thorough understanding of their current status and the fitness goals they want to achieve, you will give them the best chance of succeeding. You will also be doing the same for your new career.
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