Personal Trainers – What Type of Gym is Right For You …

Dear Friend,

OK …  you’ve got your certification and you’re ready to live your dream helping people and making good money… but there’s a problem…

Where do you start… Where do you go to give yourself the best chance of being successful?

I’m about to answer that question. And I’m going to give you some insights you haven’t even thought of yet.

The Right Gym for Personal Trainers

As a personal trainer, you can wipe out your chances to succeed if you try to start your business at the wrong gym.  Over the past 17 years, I’ve been in every type of gym you can think of and I’ve seen just how much the type of gym can impact you.

So what are the types of gyms?

Well, there are three main types:

1. Corporate Chains (i.e. 24-Hour Fitness)
2. Privately owned clubs (your local gyms)
3. Private studios (small spaces for personal training only… no memberships)

Depending on where you are in your career, each of these types of gyms has their pros and cons… so let’s take a look at each one.

Corporate Chains

Corporate chains are huge.  They are the “big-box” gyms that virtually everyone knows about… and that’s their main benefit – they get a lot of foot traffic.

However, they also treat new trainers like a piece of meat.  They don’t compensate you well, and they expect you to work your tail off.

In fact, many times, these gyms will take 60-80% of your income.  That means if you charge $50 per hour, you take home about $15 per hour (yikes!  That’s almost the new minimum wage).

Most newbie trainers will go this route because these gyms hire new trainers more often, and it allows a newbie to get some experience…

But unfortunately… most trainers end up quitting when they go this route.

If you’re hear reading this, then you will no doubt have heard (or will hear) about my special e-class where I teach trainers how to build a very successful career.  And I DON’T recommend going to Corporate Chains because it’s a waste of valuable time.

Rather, you need to build the skills to interview well so you can decide where to go and make sure you get any gym to hire you.  In my opinion privately owned clubs are the best starting route…

Privately Owned Clubs

Privately owned clubs are the normal gyms you’ll find around towns and neighborhoods.  Depending on the area, they can be really upscale, or they can be a basic $20/month gym.

The key here is getting plugged into a high end privately owned gym…

This offers a steady stream of foot traffic and potential clients with disposable income (which is ideal by the way).

Here’s the catch… most of these gyms will tell you that you need to have at lease 2 years of experience.  They do this to weed out the hundreds of wannabe trainers that come knocking on their door, then fizzle out after a few months when they can’t get any clients.

That’s why I teach you everything in my e-class… so you can hit the ground running and build a very solid income within 3-6 months and then build a sustainable career.

If you do land a job in a high end privately owned club, they’re going to expect you to know what your doing… both with training clients and building your business.  After all… they are in business to make money, not to help new trainers figure out how to build a business.

Expect these clubs to ask for 30-50% commission.

Now, if you’re already an established trainer with a solid client base and a knack for marketing, you could consider a private studio.

Private Studio

These are small (maybe less than 5,000 sq ft) and they aren’t gyms with memberships.  They are studios that your clients only come to when they’re working with you.

The benefit here is the cost.  You see, you’ll normally pay a small monthly fee to use a facility like this… maybe $500 per month.  It’s similar to a hair stylist renting their boot space.

And if you have a strong client base, you end up making a lot more money because you’re not paying out a huge commission to the gym.

The downside is there’s no foot traffic.  Any clients you get come directly from your marketing efforts, so you’d better be darn good and have a reputation with clients waiting to train with you.

The Path to Success

As I mentioned… I believe the privately owned club is the best route to a good career.  However, the key is knowing exactly how to brand yourself and build your business… and that what this site is all about.

You need to know how to attract new clients, how to build a reputation, and how to build hype and buzz so people will want to train with you.

Here are just a few factors in growing a successful personal training business:

1. How to pick the right gym
2. Building your brand
3. Building your website
4. How to design marketing materials that convert
5. Hosting events that will win over new clients
6. How to get members to come up to you and ask for advice
7. How to get on TV and radio all over the country
8. Lead generation
9. How to call leads and get them to become clients
10. How to sell without being pushy
11. Creating a high-end program that creates extra cash-flow
12. Mastering the art of training so clients will stay with you forever
13. Community events that will explode your business
14. How to price your services
15. And much more!

There may be a lot more than you’ve considered, but don’t let that discourage you.  If you really want to make personal training a career that pays well and allows you to change people’s lives… then you just have to take it one step at a time and be persistent.

I’m here to offer wisdom from my 17 years as a trainer.  I learned most things the hard way, but I still have a very successful business… and you can too!

Sincerely,
Stu

P.S. You can test drive my special e-class for free here.  When you do the e-class, I take you by the hand and show you, step-by-step, exactly what to do to become a world-class trainer making $4,000 a month or more in just 6 months!