Mosman Personal Training: Personal Training Jobs – Should You Try to Get a Job Or Create Your Own Wealth Strategy?
Most trainers get their start in a gym, because it provides structure, clients, experience and job training. I get a lot of emails and questions from my private coaching clients about resumes! The resume is only important for getting you an interview, much more important is the interview itself.
Personality in the interview is critical, show that you are positive, energetic, and willing to learn and work hard. That is what the manager or fitness director cares about most, because personality equals sales. You can’t teach personality, but you can teach exercise science, and the directors and managers know that.
Solve this by finding out what the industry average is for your area by calling local gyms and health clubs and asking them for Mosman personal training. Next, simply set your own prices at 10% above the average, so positioning yourself in the higher quality zone from the start. Then every 6 months, or when you become busier by say, three new clients, review and increase your fees for all clients by 5%. For you personally to feel comfortable doing that is important, for this reason, spend some of the extra 5% on C.P.D. (Continued Professional Development) of some kind so you know you are up to date and worth what you charge. Problem number two: allowing last minute cancellations! This can lose you big amounts of revenue. It will depend on your particular clients, but I’ve seen trainers lose up to 35% of their entire income over a year to this scenario, and the clients aren’t doing it to mess up your business. They don’t think about it as a ‘whole business’, they think it’s just one little appointment cancellation. After all, “I’ve got a really important haircut”, “dentist appointment”, etc. The solution here is to educate the client at the start of the training relationship. Emphasize (nicely) that you require from them, and will yourself give, at least 24 hours notice of any cancellation or appointment changes. Yes, even late changes need to be charged (perhaps at your discretion) but you have got to make the point that you want the best for them and all your other clients.
If you know you want to work at a particular gym, and they don’t want to hire you, workout their a lot, keep getting in better shape, and make friends with as many employees, trainers, and members as possible. It is only a matter of time before they offer you a job. Be sure to find out what certifications the director thinks is best, then get that certification and let them know when you pass the exam!
For example, I sell someone a block of 40 sessions for 1200… I see an ‘extra’ 1200 in the business account and say, “lets take a holiday, or buy a new mountain bike”.
However, I have forgotten taxation and I have failed to note that cheques may come in at irregular intervals. The solution is to create for myself a basic structure where if tax is going to be say 20% approximately at the year end, I will put 35% of all income away in a savings account once a month. This means that I can pay my tax no problem and have the extra 15% put aside as a wealth creating surplus. References to read here would be ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’, by George S. Clason and ‘Rich Dad Poor dad’ by Robert Kiyosaki. In conclusion, just because as Personal Trainers we are often doing what we love to do, this doesn’t mean we can afford, or even should, do it for free. We have to educate our clients and ourselves to take our time seriously and charge for our services at above the average rate while giving above average service, knowledge and results. That’s what I call a win-win solution.
Learn more about Mosman Personal Training and about getting great fitness help.