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can buy and listen to at their conve- nience. “I make fi ve to 74 tele-class sales per month from instructors across Canada and the U.S.,” says Sawler, who has had as many as 62 instructors and 72 condo exercisers on the line at once. Sawler works full-time as the di-

rector of corporate health at The Cambridge Group of Clubs in Toronto, so the relatively hands-off aspect of the profi t centre – “The courses sit on the website and work for me” – is ideal. But she cautions that people consid-

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ering entering the market understand the administration time and expenses involved. “There’s no cost to use www. freeconferencecall.com to record the classes, but www.audioconference. com costs $25 to $40 a month to have each class sit on its server,” she says. “I also pay presenters a 20% to 40% affi liation fee for each sale, and a cut goes to Canadian Aquafi tness Leaders Alliance (CALA) for promoting the courses and providing CECs.” There are also costs associated with respond- ing to orders, sending downloads, compiling registrant data and corre- sponding with CALA.

“The courses sit on the website and work for me.” — Nancy Sawler

44 Fitness Business Canada March/April 2009

3. Create and sell an online product

When Hamilton, Ont.-based Vince Delmonte landed his fi rst personal training job, he quickly realized he wasn’t going to get rich working for someone else at $10 an hour. Instead of changing careers, he wrote an e-book,

No Nonsense Muscle Building, which

has sold 25,000 copies in over 120 dif- ferent countries since it launched in 2006. He has since written a second book and also writes a free newsletter with a readership of 60,000.

“I wanted to create a lifestyle that

didn’t revolve around an alarm clock and that allowed me to work and live wherever I wished,” says Delmonte, ex- plaining his motivation. “Today, I can disappear for three to four weeks with- out seeing my sales drop.” The original book took him six

months to write, working four hours every evening and eight to 10 hours a day on weekends. Sales of the $39.95 book started slowly with one sale ev- ery few days. Two-and-a-half years later, the book goes for $77, and he sells 50 to 70 copies a day. He employs a full-time webmaster, three email as- sistants and a videographer to keep the business running smoothly. Interested in selling your own prod-

ucts online? Delmonte recommends starting by reading everything you can on direct response marketing, web- site traffi c generation and writing sales copy. “If you can, hire a mentor or join a coaching group to get professional help to guide you,” says Delmonte, who studied with Craig Ballantyne. “There’s a lot to learn, and it’s easy to get over- whelmed if you don’t have someone to keep you focused. Pete Estabrooks, a Calgary-based per-

And there are no production, printing, storage or shipping costs.” Unlike many entrepreneurs,

Estabrooks isn’t motivated by the mon- ey he makes from his products. “I do it for fun and to reach a whole new group of fi tness folk,” he says. “All the funds I earn are dedicated to annual surf trips. This year, my family spent three weeks in Kauai and one week in Costa Rica.”

“If you can, hire a mentor or join a coaching group to get professional help to guide you.” — Vince Delmonte

sonal trainer with 30 years experience,

wrote his book 6 Weeks to Start Your 6

Pack about fi ve years ago by compil- ing and adding to a series of his articles originally published in The Calgary Herald. After selling 1,000 paperback copies, he moved to a PDF version and cut his production costs by 99%. He spends absolutely no time man- aging or promoting the book (and a series of DVDs he also sells). Instead, a shopping cart set-up on his website and PayPal manage the sales. He promotes the book solely via his website and the bio that accompanies his newspaper columns and magazine articles. “It’s brilliant,” he says. “I do virtually noth- ing for the book now that it’s written.

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4. Rejuvenate your website with video

Though business is strong at Fitness Essentials personal training studio in Vancouver, manager Dan Poenaru says the club is always interested in differentiating itself from its many competitors. “Not many others in the business have video on their websites,” says Poenaru, noting that it is a simple and inexpensive way to make a club website stand out.

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