Can You Afford To Get Sick?

I want you to take a step back for a minute and think about how you are running your fitness business. Now what would happen if you were not able to work on a given day, for example a day that you typically have the most clients. What would that do to your business?

What if you were to come down with a severe illness? Have a personal or family situation to attend to? Really think about it, how dependent is your fitness business on you being there day in and day out? If your reading this and thinking that your business is nearly 100% dependent on you, then it may be time to start considering plugging in some other income streams into your fitness business to cover yourself when life throws us those challenges that we all have to face sometime or another.

Let's face it, if your business is 100% dependent on you, I'm sorry but its no longer a business. Now you have a job. Unless that is what you want, its best to think of some ways to leverage your time and give yourself a little room to breathe when you need to have it.

Here are three ideas you can incorporate into your fitness business to help leverage your efforts when the unfortunate situations arise.

Income Stream Idea #1: Have other fitness professionals working alongside or under you. From a client service aspect, this would be one of the better choices. It can also be a challenge if you are an independent trainer for example who delivers workouts to clients in their homes. Having someone else to delegate a client to in times of need is a big stress relief but can also come up with its own challenges. Ideally you would want any other trainers you work alongside of or that work under you to have the approach, both philosophy and training wise that you have. However since we are all individuals that can be easier said than done. Also it would be a good idea to get other clients familiar with the other trainers, since this is a very personal business it is always best that the trainer and client are familiar with one another.

Income Stream Idea #2: Develop information products that can be automated on your website. This is one of the best ways to replicate yourself possible. It is also a great way to leverage your time and income. You could develop such things as books, ebooks, DVD's and teleseminars. Sure, this won't replace an actual training session, but financially its easier to sell a few information products that are already automated (transactions and delivery are all handled automatically and electronically and do not need your constant daily presence in order to operate) on your own website for you than it is to train a client for an entire hour, especially when emergencies occur.

Income Stream Idea #3: Add in fitness coaching and workout programs by phone and/or by internet that can be delivered at an affordable rate for your clients. This is quickly becoming one of the top ways that fitness professionals leverage their time. At the same time, having a client be able to download a home workout from their email or your website, or receive a thirty minute coaching session on the phone from you can be extremely valuable and makes you stand out among the crowd. You could price these services lower than your training fees and still be able to pull in an income even when you are under the weather.

There is a very popular question from Michael Gerber, author of the "E-Myth".

"Are you working IN your business or ON your business?"

Really take that into consideration. Next time life passes you lemon, do your best to make lemonade. Develop some secondary income streams for your business and take some steps to really make what you do for a living a business, not a job.

http://www.evolvingfitnesspro.com/

You Set Goals For Your Clients... What About You?

One of the biggest tasks facing fitness professionals is setting proper goals for their clients. You know the deal, your client comes to you and they have a goal in mind, they flat out tell you their goals and want your help in achieving them. The thing is, are also setting goals for yourself?

There are so many trainers that let their businesses and skills get stale and outdated. Where do you think they end up in a few years? I'm willing to bet for the most part they definitely are not where they want to be. What about you? Where do you want to be?

Are you setting challenging, worthwhile goals for yourself and your own business?

The power of goal setting is incredible. The process of crafting a goal along with an action plan and following the steps to achieving it are greatly rewarding and cause us to feel tremendously good about ourselves and our new found progress. Why don't we live our lives like this everyday?

One thing I've found to be very helpful for not only myself but for other fitness professionals is the same exact formula for setting goals that we are taught to teach to our clients. It's the SMART goal setting formula, and you know something? It works when you actually use it.

If your not familiar with SMART goal setting or need a refesher since everyone seems to teach it a little bit differently, here is what it stands for:

The SMART Goal Setting Formula

Specific: a number, habit or action as a goal.
What exactly do I want to achieve?

Measureable: a set amount, process or steps to accomplish.
How am I going to measure my success?

Action: actions you will take.
What actions am I going to take to achieve this goal?

Realistic: you know it can be accomplished.
Is my goal reasonable for me to achieve?

Time-Bound: by a certain date, even time.
When do I want to achieve this by?

In order to use this information, remember something very critical. Always use a present tense when setting your SMART goals. For instance use "I am", "I enjoy", "I have", etc. Don't try to make it something past or future tense, make it in the now.

When you start setting SMART goals for yourself and your business, you start seeing what I like to call "intelligent reactions" happening around you. Things start to flow. Clients start to come to you almost effortlessly. People start talking about the results you are getting for them. You bring about more confidence in yourself and into your business. You begin to start looking at bigger and better things that you are capable of.

Don't sell yourself short. Really push yourself to make a challenging goal for yourself that you know you can do. If you are still having trouble figuring out how to set a SMART goal for yourself, check out the following example:

I am steadily attracting five new qualified personal training clients using my integrated marketing approaches of direct mailings, networking and referrals into my business by May 15th, 2006.

Let's break that down so it makes some more sense...

Specific: "qualified personal training clients"
Measureable: "five"
Action: "using my integrated marketing approaches of direct mailings, networking and referrals"
Realistic: (signing up five personal training clients is fairly realistic for most fitness professionals)
Time-Bound: "May 15th, 2006"

Now go ahead and make up some of your own SMART goals to follow. Don't limit them to just your business, expand them for yourself. Think about your own personal goals, educational goals, relationship goals, community goals, financial goals and health goals. You should be setting goals in those areas as well.

I'll leave you with three favorite quotes of mine about today's lesson on goals...

"A properly set goal is halfway reached." - Zig Ziglar

"Your ability to set and achieve goals is perhaps the most important skill you can ever develop." - Brian Tracy

"Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination." - Fitzhugh Dodson

http://www.evolvingfitnesspro.com/

It's Not Just About Pumping Weights Anymore

Personal trainers are becoming outdated. You heard me right.

The industry has changed and there are new challenges ahead. The world needs a new breed of personal trainer in order to confront the present array of clients that we face. Obesity is an epidemic, worse than ever before in history. Fad diets and gizmos clutter the marketplace, leaving our potential prospects confused, information overloaded and frustrated.

Athletes are reaching greater levels of performance all the time. They need trainers who constantly upgrade their skills to meet the demands of the sport. Athletes especially always seek that next level and need the guidance and tools in order to reach their potential.

Clients as a whole are demanding more comprehensive solutions to their needs. Clients want coaching and consulting, online training, assessments and integrated fitness solutions for health and fitness reasons. More and more clients also demand service in the nutrition aspect in the form of nutritional programs, nutritional coaching and consulting as well as supplementation.

Personal trainers need to start becoming fitness professionals in order to meet these demands. It makes much more sense for your clients, as well as your business. Typical personal trainers sell their packages, reduce their value and struggle to make a living. Fitness professionals integrate smart marketing and business skills as well as delivering cutting edge results and are able to make a much better profit, and living, than that of a typical personal trainer.

Are you continuing your education with cutting edge resources, or using books and manuals that became outdated years ago?

Are you constantly developing your business and marketing skills or letting them collect dust?

Remember, if you are not learning, you are not growing!

Are you ready to upgrade to the next level?

http://www.evolvingfitnesspro.com/