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FITNESS BUSINESS ARTICLES

Narrow Your Focus to Expand Your Business
Jan 2, 2006
Author: Tom Perkins - Business Solutions Coach and Certified Personal Trainer

   

You've made countless cold-calls, posted flyers in every health food store, on bulletin boards, gyms around town, and passed out business cards to every person you've met. You've signed a few new clients, some who train hard and some who hardly train. You spend morning, noon, and night in the gym putting everything you've got into becoming a great personal trainer. 

Everything would be great, if you weren't so burnt out.  This is a common problem in the fitness industry. We try to help everyone in everyway possible and eventually become overwhelmed. Researching training programs, writing exercise and nutrition plans, and keeping updated on the ever-changing fitness information is a huge time commitment.

By taking on a wide range of clients, all of whom have different desires and motivations, we spread ourselves too thin.  Burnout stems from being passionate about one's self and one's goals, but not having enough time, money, or business training that is necessary for achieving them. 

So how do we stay passionate about our work, make a profit, and have time for our own workouts and relaxation?  We find our niche and develop a marketing plan with measurable and attainable goals.

Take a moment to focus on what you love best about being a fitness professional.  Perhaps you enjoy helping women get back to their pre-baby fitness level. Specialize in post-natal training.  Maybe you have a knack for teaching golfers the perfect swing. Specialize in golf instruction.  Is gaining mass and strength your specialty?  Focus on coaching bodybuilders and power lifters.

Once you've found your niche take action. If you decide your niche is in sports injury rehabilitation talk to sports teams in your area. Develop strategic relationships with sports clinics, batting cages, high schools, anywhere that attracts people that have an obvious need for your services. 

When you do this you attract a clientele with similar needs.  Thus, you can spend time absorbing every possible bit of information on your focus and apply it in multiple ways to multiple clients. 

When you become a specialist in your profession you become more marketable. If you help a client improve his running time he will tell his friends. His friends are then possible clients for you. They will have seen the improvements in your original clients and recognize what you could do for them. You will also be spending time at the track. Other runners will see you, your coaching skills, and the progress of your clients.  You become known for your specialty.

Once you have found your niche market you can better define your marketing plan and goals. You will no longer spend large amounts of time cold-calling and posting your flyers amongst the many others on the walls of the health food and fitness shops.  Instead you can call specialty stores and businesses. You will develop strategic partnerships with the managers and owners of the places that your typical client would frequent.  

By doing so you will market yourself more effectively.  Plus, you can spend all the time you were wasting on unproductive passive marketing doing things for yourself.  You will have time for your own training and relaxation. 

Finding your niche in the fitness industry is key.  Not only will you become a more successful and productive fitness professional, but your time will be better organized. Thus, allowing you to take time for yourself, prevent burnout, and keep your passion for your self and your goals alive.

 


Tom Perkins is eFitnessTracker's Business Coach, a business solutions coach and a certified personal trainer who leads fitness professionals to profitability.