More Reader Q & A

It's been a couple of weeks since I first did a reader Q & A and I was pleasantly surprised to get quite a bit of feedback. Not only that - but I got more questions...So here's my second installment of reader Q & A:

Q: I'm considering launching my own business - either by opening my own studio or contracting with a health club. What are the advantages and disadvantages to each?

A: Well, first off - congrats on getting ready to start your own business. I consider it the best professional decision I've ever made. Off the top of my head, here are the advantages and disadvantages to each:

Advantages of a studio:

• You have the freedom and flexibility to manage your business independent of a club owners preferences.
• You aren't at the mercy of the club's success in generating members or their reputation.
• You have the opportunity to offer whatever "backend" products or services you see fit.
• You aren't contractually obligated to provide a floor staff, offer free orientations or any of the "baggage" that comes with some health club agreements.
• You potentially can own your building.
• You have greater opportunity to build a business for resale. (Though few trainers maximize this in either situation.)
• You can equip your location as you see fit.
• You can position yourself as "exclusive" or "elite" as well as "private."

Disadvantages of a studio:

• You have the a broader spectrum of costs (typically meaning more expensive) contributing to overhead.
• You have no flexibility as far as creating a lease based on % of revenue.
• You must do external marketing.
• You have no "automatic traffic."
• Managing a physical location involves more "day to day" stuff ranging from custodial tasks to security.

Advantages of a training business in a health club:

• You can start with virtually no investment. (My first locations start up costs were less than $600)
• No bank loans, credit, etc.
• A steady stream of pre-qualified prospects.
• Flexibility in lease negotiations with the possibility of paying a % of revenue.
• Limited external marketing costs.
• No concerns about facility or equipment maintainence.
• Getting "free orientations" as a sales opportunity.

Disadvantages of a training business in a health club:

• A landlord that may think they can "do it better."
• An unethical landlord that sees you making money and then screws you over so they can take the training department over.
• Being at the mercy of the club as far as driving traffic.
• Not having an exclusive environment.
• Being viewed as part of the club.

This is not a comprehensive list, but a good start. When I started my first business coming up with the means to open a studio was not an option. Now, being a club owner and an owner of training companies within health clubs - I can tell you it's a matter of preference and personal strengths. If external marketing or coming up with start-up capital in not your strong suit...go with the club option. If you have a niche you feel you can capitalize on and the means to take advantage of it, maybe a studio would be a better fit. Trust me, you can make money either way.

Q: I don't like sales but I want to make money as a trainer, what should I do?

A: I'll give you three choices:

1. Find a rich spouse.

2. Find a new profession.

3. Find a way to learn to like sales. A lot of times, not liking the sales process is just not being comfortable with it. We rarely like things we're unfamiliar with. As far as I'm concerned, Jim Labadie is the Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins and Brian Tracy all rolled into one for fitness professionals. If I were you, I'd check out Jim's Ultimate Sales Kit at:

http://www.fitnessconsultinggroup.com/Labadie.html

Q: I've read your stuff about building systems and working on my business, not in it. I'm ready - but where do I begin?

A: Good question. Since I don't really know much about you I'll assume that you have no employees and are starting from scratch. Here's a 3 step process to start with:

1. Start documenting everything you do. The training programs you use with clients, how you market, how you follow up , your approach to sales, your approach to retention...everything. Begin compiling it into a manual that others (your future staff) can utilize to know exactly how to replicate what you do to acquire and service clients.

2. Start delegating something. Put a value on your daily tasks at work. Entering data into the computer - $8 / hour, going to the post office - $8 / hour, supervising workouts - $16 / hour, writing sales copy - $100 / hour, etc. Start delegating the lowest "value" stuff and work your way up as you get more comfortable. As you see that others can be "good enough" you'll soon be more open to delegating more and more.

3. Set a timeline. Set a date which you'll have your operations manual complete, one when you'll start delegating tasks, one when you'll hire an trainer and one where you'll "take the leash off' and let another trainer provide everything to a client from the sales presentation and assessment to the program and supervision.

Q: I've read Fitness Riches and it was great. However, I don't know what direction to take my business. Do you offer any business coaching?

A: First off, thanks for the kind words about Fitness Riches - as far as I'm concerned, it's the best e-book even compiled about the business side of personal training. As for business coaching...yes, but because of a couple of projects that we're working on I only accept a limited number of coaching clients each month. For more information, go to:

http://www.fitnessconsultinggroup.com/coaching.html

Q: Will you be attending the Ryan Lee Bootcamp?

A: Yep. I'm going - along with my wife Holly (the VP of our company overseeing Weight Management and Retail Sales), Nick Berry and our training director, Randy Campbell. If your smart, you'll go to.

Q: I noticed that you're not speaking at Ryan Lee's Bootcamp. Why not?

A: Not good-looking enough I guess. Honestly, I'm honored that you think I should be speaking, but I couldn't care less. I'd sleep in my car to attend. I am certain that the knowledge we picked up last year made us ALOT of money in the 12 months since then. I expect more of the same this year.

Q: You talk alot about "back-end" revenue. What do you think is the best product or service to offer on the "back-end?"

A: It depends on your business. If you're talking about back-end offerings for personal training services then I think the best offerings are weight management / nutritional coach on the service side and autoship dietary supplements on the product side. They both go hand in hand with training...they are perfect complements. Autoship supplements may be slightly better because they require less effort on your part. I'll be talking more about the who autoship thing is a post soon.

That's all I'm answering for today. But before I sign off, I figured I'd tell you that there are several new articles in the fitness professional area on the FCG site. To check them out, go to:

http://www.fitnessconsultinggroup.com/fitness-pros-only.html

Later.