Many personal trainers struggle with transitioning from 'trainer' to 'business owner.' Yes, you have the skills and experience required to train clients, but have you considered your roles as a business owner?

In our experience, a personal training business consists of eight critical ingredients; Mindset, Branding, Finances, Sales, Business Systems, Marketing, Business Management, and Skills Development.

It would be best if you had all of these components to achieve success, whether you decide to outsource them or learn new skills.

So, let's dig a little bit deeper.

#1. Mindset

Firstly, you must get your mindset right. It's time to start thinking like a business owner! A successful business owner has a growth mindset.

Here are some of the things you need to do to achieve such a mindset:

• Be 100% accountable.

• Refrain from focusing on your failures - Yes, work on your weaknesses, but don't hold onto the mistakes you make.

• Avoid being too concerned with what other people have.

• Discover your purpose - This will drive everything you do.

• Do the work and put in the time - You cannot cheat your way to the top.

• Become more self-aware - The best business leaders are very self-aware, which helps them to understand where their expertise lies and how to delegate effectively.

#2. Branding

Next, you need to build a strong brand. Think of some of the most famous brands, such as Apple or Nike. Nike has a powerful yet straightforward brand with consistency at the core.

Your personal training business needs an excellent logo, a clean website, and a good social media presence.

Once you have gotten the ball rolling, ensure you're focusing your efforts on building social proof. Social proof means that other people are giving your business the thumbs up rather than you simply waxing lyrical about your own business.

Good examples of social proof include testimonial videos and online reviews. After all, most people will read reviews and find out what others have to say before choosing a product or service.

#3. Finances

It does not matter what business you run. You need to get your finances right. After all, cash flow kills 2 in 5 small businesses within their first five years.

Here are some of the biggest money mistakes personal trainers make:

• Failing to create a budget.

• Not planning for tax requirements.

• Not having an emergency fund.

• Mixing personal and business banking accounts.

• Neglecting business insurance.

• Making unnecessary and large purchases.

You must refrain from trying to fly before you can walk when running a new personal training business.

#4. Sales

Many personal trainers hate selling their services. They feel awkward and pushy. However, you will soon perfect this area of your company, which will come naturally to you.

The art of becoming a successful salesperson is to get to know your prospective clients. Once you know them, you will be best placed to understand what they need from personal training and, therefore, to pitch to them effectively. In addition, creating an emotional bond is a significant part of the sales process.

You should also focus on results and address prospective clients' potential concerns.

#5. Business Systems

The next area of your business to consider is the systems you use. Business systems help you to run your ship smoothly with fewer manual interactions from you.

Sound systems increase efficiency, reduce time spent on monotonous and meaningless tasks, and ultimately boost client retention.

For example, using an online personal trainer software, like PT Distinction, will save you time with the onboarding process. In addition, the ability to quickly deliver onboarding materials to new clients will not only save you time, but it will also help with client retention.

#6. Marketing

You may be the best personal trainer in your local area, but what's the point if no one knows about you or your services?

Knowing how to advertise and market your fitness services successfully is vital. When putting together a marketing plan, you need to begin by defining your ideal client. This helps you to understand whom you are marketing to so you can tailor your efforts accordingly.

There are many different types of marketing you can leverage. Here are some of the best ways of getting more personal training clients today:

• Encourage referrals.

• Embrace email marketing.

• Optimize your online visibility.

• Harness the power of social media.

• Write guest posts for high-authority fitness and nutrition websites.

• Dedicate time to your website content.

• Develop your personal trainer brand.

It takes time to move up the search engine result pages, so patience and commitment are imperative here. After all, visibility is essential to attract more clients to your personal training business.

#7. Business Management

It would be best to consider how you manage your business. Simplification is imperative. There is no need to overcomplicate things.

Start by setting goals for your business. Figure out what success looks like for you and your fitness business. Can you put it into numbers? How many clients, how many members, and within what timeframe?

Aside from this, you can do other things to make business management more effortless. This includes delegating tasks efficiently, keeping up to date with the latest trends, embracing cutting-edge technology, and automating monotonous tasks.

Remember, successful businesses are those that work smarter, not harder!

#8. Skills Development

Last but not least, skills development is another 'department' that you cannot ignore. The personal training market is very competitive at the moment. You cannot afford to remain stagnant.

The best personal trainers continue to work on their skills. This is both from a training perspective and a business perspective.

Think about different areas that you could specialize in to improve your service offering and attract more clients, and check out the best courses and qualifications to help you with that.

It would be best if you also committed to enhancing your business skills. Some great online training courses can assist with this, enabling you to learn at your own pace.

Mastering the 8 'departments' of personal training.

If you can master the key elements discussed above, you will have an excellent chance of running a successful and profitable personal training business.