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Starting a Personal Trainer Business: A Financial Guide

28/02/2020
Starting a Personal Trainer Business: A Financial Guide

If you have a passion for fitness and helping people reach their full potential, you may enjoy being a personal trainer. Before starting your own business, there are various financial considerations that you will need to make. Here is what you need to know. 

Obtaining funding 

Just like when starting any other type of business, you will need to obtain a certain amount of funding to kick-start your personal trainer business. You will have several different options to consider in this regard. For example, you may want to get another job for the time being and work hard to put a certain portion of your income away each month. Over time, your funds will grow, and you will eventually have enough to get started. This, however, is not a quick-fix solution and will require patience, discipline, and dedication. 

If you are keen to hit the ground running and start your business immediately, you may want to think about applying for a loan. Worried that your credit history will not be working in your favour when it comes to this? Fear not. It is easier than ever before to find bad credit loans with impressive interest rates. The important thing is to ensure that you can keep up with your stipulated repayments. If not, your credit record is sure to continue declining, which may end up costing you in the future. 

Costs to consider 

There will be several costs involved in starting your personal trainer business. You will need to ensure that you have access to your transport so that you can get to and from your clients timeously. While you could always continue using public transport, this is often not very reliable and if you are carrying bulky items around, it is not ideal –the related costs can often exceed what you would pay for a car, especially if you purchase one second-hand. 

You will also need to obtain fitness-related certifications to qualify as a personal trainer legally. Luckily, there are several different options in this regard. According to the National Register of Personal Trainers (NRPT), to become a personal trainer in the UK, you will need:

  • Level 2 Gym Instructor Qualification
  • Level 3 Personal Trainer Qualification
  • First Aid Certificate

All these certifications and certificates will cost money.

Furthermore, you will need to acquire personal trainer insurance if you want to safeguard yourself from a legal perspective. In the event that one of your clients injures themselves while training under your watchful eye, your personal trainer insurance will protect you from the consequences of a costly lawsuit. It is not a legal requirement in the UK; however, you can be sure that it will definitely be worth the price tag in the long run!

The best approach to starting your personal trainer business is to sit down and put a comprehensive budget together right from the start. Strive to adhere to it and work hard on building up that client base. In time, your profit should begin to exceed your expenses.

Added Extras

In the digital era we live in, businesses need to offer so much more to the clients to secure their loyalty. While they are expensive to build and create, fitness apps are an incredible way to do this. What’s more, these types of apps are on-trend, especially the free apps stated on the Cash Lady blog. Why not enlist the help of a software engineer who can design and build an app specifically for your personal trainer business? It is a great way to keep in touch with clients and a fun way to keep their workouts individual and exciting. 

However, you can also offer less expensive extras such as printed t-shirts and hoodies for your clients to use, which will also work as additional marketing should they wear it outside of the gym. Merchandise to offer could also include water bottles and towels they can keep in their bag for their time training with you.