You're passionate about exercise, nutrition, and well-being. You have achieved personal training qualifications. You have everything needed to run an outstanding personal training business, right?

Well, not quite! You then have to meld in some business acumen. Transitioning from a personal trainer to a business owner is not always easy. However, we have some great tips to help you do this successfully.

Repeat: you are not a personal trainer.

We're sure many of you are saying, "huh, but that's exactly what I am?" - Wrong. You are a business owner. There is a big difference.

Your chief role is to manage your personal training business. Personal training is the service you provide rather than your identity.

The sooner you recognize this, the sooner you can fix issues from the correct perspective, ensuring your choices are for the greater good of the business.

A business owner wears more than one hat. From dealing with clients to advertising, there are many more roles and responsibilities you must take on as a business owner.

Profitability needs to be at the core of everything you do.

Successful businesses make money. It is as simple as that. While working as a personal trainer for a fitness company, you may have had the luxury of leaving profitability to those in charge. However, if you decide to go freelance, that now falls on your shoulders as a business owner.

Determining how much to charge for your services needs to balance your costs and ensure you make good money while offering the client a good deal.

It would be best if you also considered how you would be paid. A personal trainer software can automate payments and ensure clients pay before any sessions take place, eliminating awkward payment conversations.

You need to wear your marketing hat to bring in new clients.

To be a successful business owner, you must think outside your personal trainer role. As mentioned, a business owner wears many different hats, and a marketer is one of them.

You will not find new clients if you do not know how to market your personal training business effectively.

From social media marketing to newspaper adverts, you will need to consider all of the marketing channels available to you and determine which one is going to be suitable for your business.

You must strategize effectively, plan your marketing spend, and ensure a consistent brand voice across all platforms.

Determine your business vision.

A business vision that aligns with your Value Statement is vital in forging a pathway to success.

Determining your business vision does not need to be complicated. You probably already understand what you want your business to become. However, interpreting can be more challenging.

Here are some tips to help you do so:

• Know your goals

• Consider values in your business vision

• A simple company vision is key

• Establish time frames

• Be forward-thinking

• Don't be ambiguous

Become proactive at identifying business bottlenecks and fixing them.

As a business owner, it is vital to understand business bottlenecks and know how to fix them.

Some examples include:

• Clients have to wait for a long time before getting a personal training appointment

• High levels of stress

• Having a lack of process in place

• Issues with finances and preparing your tax returns

These are just a handful of examples. Having a checklist of all the different things that matter to your business, such as happiness, low-stress levels, good cash flow, happy clients, and so on, is a good idea. You can then give all of these elements a score out of 10 regularly.

This simple exercise will alert you to any areas of your business that need some attention at the moment so that you can address them and move forward effectively.

Determine your specialty.

Many personal trainers have a general approach when just starting their journey, and that's okay. However, you won't know what kind of people you enjoy training the most or what results you are best skilled to get until you have plenty of experience.

However, the key to growing and scaling your business, especially if you're considering launching online personal training services, is to identify your specialized skill set and consistently promote it. This helps to establish you as an expert in your field, which will set you apart from other personal trainers.

Considering how many personal training businesses you will compete against, having a specialist discipline will undoubtedly give you an edge. It is better to be known for something specific, whether powerlifting, fat loss, or another niche, instead of simply being a jack-of-all-trades.

Focus on results for both you and your clients.

The final piece of the puzzle is concentrating on results for you and your clients. Your business is all about being unique. Focus on supplying an honest and successful service. Promote the results you can get for clients and then use those success stories to demonstrate competence through your website, social media marketing, and SEO.

Operate with a long-term mindset. Personal training is a service where some clients might want immediate results, but results do not happen overnight, so managing expectations is critical. So is delivering what you promised in your marketing.

There will be clients that will challenge your knowledge, expertise, and skills more than others. When you get stuck, consider that a way of getting a direction for your continued professional development. If you want to work with a particular type of client, it's worth checking what more you can learn so you can help them better.

The are many CPD and other skill-development courses available for personal trainers. Ensure you choose one from a reputable provider.

Changing your mindset from personal trainer to business owner.

So there you have it: some critical steps to change your mindset from being a personal trainer to a business owner. We know it is not always easy, but if you follow the tips above, you can give yourself the best chance of becoming a highly successful fitness business owner.