“WHATS & WHYS” of PT Businesses

  How to make it as a personal trainer by knowing WHAT you are in the business of, will sculpt WHY you’re in business, help you achieve your goals and become a successful personal trainer. Run through this scenario with me, you’re at a party where you barely know anyone, someone you’ve never met before walks up to you and starts a conversation with the question.

“Hi, what do you do for work?”

What would your response be? The most common responses I get from other professionals in the fitness industry are: “I’m a PT/fitness instructor/bootcamp co-ordinator/club manager/etc.” But just how many PTs are out there at the moment? Do you think that person who you have just told “I’m a PT” will remember you next time they need a PT. Do you think based off one sentence they'll remember you forever and tell their friends about you? I run through this scenario with all the PTs I mentor because I believe it to be the single most important thing. Defining and labeling yourself needs to be personalised, because If you don’t know what you are in the business of then are you really in business or do you just own a job?   The importance of your response should be influenced by the fact that this is the first point of contact, on how you personally represent your brand, and in turn your business. If you don’t differentiate your brand and business from every other PT out there then you won’t make that impactful first impression. Chances are you won't be remembered and will struggle to survive in the fitness industry. So let's try again...

“Hi, what do you do for work?”

“Hi, my names Jordan. I. Change. Lives.”

Now do you think that will be the end of that conversation or the beginning of a new relationship?

This task takes a bit of practice to make it seem more natural and this was just an example of one out of a hundred different ways the conversation could go. My goal, however, was to help you see the importance of representing your brand in a different way. By doing this amazing opportunities will find you because everyone will remember you and when they are in need of something that you’re in the business of, they will come to you. Now for the big why, based on your explanation of what you are in the business of you will have found the first part of your why. If you are in the business of “changing people's lives” by “changing the way they perceive themselves”. Then you can conclude that your why will be how you find the most happiness and satisfaction in your job when you positively impact on someone’s self-image. Both your what and why will play hand in hand, but I find it more practical to start with what as it will be presented as a question to you before why will.

As Simon Sinek says in his book Start with Why -

“Our visions are the world we imagine, the tangible results of what the world would look like if we spent every day in pursuit of our WHY.”

Another reason your why is so important is that without it you’ll start to give up. If you don’t have a clear focus on what your goal is for you, with your business, then your business won’t last. If I did not have a strong why then I would not get up at 5am every morning to go to work. If I did not have a strong why then I would not do 40hrs of unpaid work a week. If I did not have a strong why then I would not be in business, it’s that simple. You have to make sure you’re doing it for a good reason and make sure that reason is strong enough to stop you from quitting when you're sleep deprived, behind on rent and over eating tinned tuna and rice every night. I’ve been there so I know it takes the passion and dedication of my why to persevere. After that D&M you should have a solid why in your head. By refining that you can create a clear goal for what you want to achieve and have a laser focus that is unbreakable. There are three questions that are simple and easy to help hone that laser focus, no matter what stage you’re at with your PT business are; 1) What is your financial 3 month goal for your business (in a per week $ value)? 2) How many hours a week would you like to work? 3) When do you want to work those hours? For example: 1) What is your financial 3 month goal for your business per week? “In 3 months from now I want to be earning $2,500 a week.” 2) How many hours a week would you like to work? “I’d like to work 35hrs a week” 3) When do you want to work those hours? “I want to work Mon - Fri 5:30am - 12:30pm”   With these 3 basic questions you can create a clear financial goal for running your business. Such as: $2,500 / 35hrs = Need to be making $71.43p/hr I will be working between the hours of 5:30 - 12:30 Monday to Friday My EOFY goal is $130,000 Combining all three aspects of this blog will help you to differentiate your brand, understand the reason you do what you do by having a clear understanding of why you do what you do, which will help you to define those financial and business goals.   Let me leave you with one instruction: Decide WHAT you want to achieve then use your WHY to fuel the actions required to achieve your goals.