years. These experiences gave me lots of opportunities to make mistakes and learn firsthand about the challenges of run- ning a business. I think a lot of trainers assume that being an owner is all about working with clients. In reality, you need to be prepared for a lot of behind-the- scenes grunge work, like cleaning, repair- ing equipment, banking and marketing.
Give back Let your business be an opportunity
to serve your community. Support local events and let your involvement show people that you’re trustworthy, commit- ted, inspirational, compassionate and understanding. You want people in your area to be talking highly about you and your work ethic. Later, when they become interested in their health and fitness, they will already know you and trust you and this can be very beneficial to your business. For example, the manager of our local Starbucks approached us to help their young team of employees (and its clientele) become more health conscious. We created a “Find Your Sunshine” pro- gram (during gloomy January). Events like these bring in new members, are fun for our trainers and bring good energy into our facility.
Stay creative Successful fitness businesses have to
be innovative and constantly evolving. For example, I fought using Facebook for a long time thinking it was just for kids, but today Facebook, social market- ing, guerrilla videos and 14-day chal- lenges help us tap into what people need and want from our club. As a marketing tool, Facebook changed everything. It has been very effective for us at attracting and retaining members.
Hook up with healthcare Working with registered health care
professionals has been phenomenal for our credibility and business. We tried un- successfully for years to get connected with the doctors in our city. Years later the City distributed welcome baskets to several new doctors, and we contributed a kit with six free personal training ses- sions, exercise tubing and an exercise sheet. Several of the doctors used the ses- sions, and many of them are still with us today and continually refer their patients. We share our space with five physio-
therapists, an osteopath and a nutrition- ist. We constantly refer to each other, have a high level of respect for each oth- er, and we are very like minded: our goal
September/October 2012 Fitness Business Canada 25
for physio clients is to get them mov- ing and balanced, not to necessarily re- tain them as clients.
Add profit centres Group exercise classes have become
an excellent source of revenue for us and are great for retention. We origi- nally wanted to stick with personal training, but clients kept asking for classes. So now we have Pilates, yoga, spin classes, bootcamps, etc. Teaching classes gives our staff members the
opportunity to be creative. We pay them generously – they keep 50% of the registration fees. The revenue- sharing approach energizes them so it’s a win for everyone: they’re motivat- ed to fill the classes, we all make more money, and we service more people’s needs. FBC
Barb Gormley is the senior editor of Fitness Business Canada, a freelance writer and editor, and a certified personal trainer. Contact her at
www.barbgormley.com.
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