Why Planning Your Personal Training Business Pays

1: Personal Trainers who don't have a Personal Training Business Plan

These Personal Trainers end up in the 'oh, what is this all about' crap heap.  I'm not saying they don't make a living, or even a good living but they don't develop because there is no destination forcing them to.  There's no impetus for progressing their learning, no way to reflect on how they are going, no personal triumphs - it's just ground hog day or survival mode whichever their natural capabilities serves them up.

However, if I'm a Personal Trainer who's working from a Personal Training Business plan then I have some objectives, some pay-offs, and because I have this 'purpose' I work toward it learning as much as I can to get me there sooner, more sustainably, more easily.  When I get tired of Personal Training or want to take my business to the next level or in a new direction, I know exactly how - just complete a clear business plan, take the actions, do the learning and hey presto you're never bored at work, you can always provide everything you need in life and you're having fun developing better and better skills at the same time.

Without a business plan I have no business purpose, I may hap-hazzardly acquire some benefits from my business but I don't even fully enjoy them because I never defined what I was aiming for.  I am destined for the crap heap or I'm a 'rut trainer' someone who just goes through the motions uninspired and uninspiring for their clients.

2: Personal Trainers who do have a Personal Training Business Plan but don't do a damn thing with it

These Personal Trainers end up in the 'oh, I'm gonna do something even bigger one day' crap heap.  Yip, same place, different reason.  Again, these Personal Trainers might make a crust, look good in shorts, have some time and some money at some stage but I've never seen one of them (and I've seen 100's of Personal Trainers and the guts of their businesses by the way) make it beyond Personal Training and into what I call the 'leveraging stage' of your career.

The main reason for this all too depressing result is they complete a personal training business plan and then don't use it as a living, breathing, fire producing (yes, the flames of the business plan should be licking your behind creating progress everyday) corner stone.  They just file it! I guess the biggest pay-off of at least doing a business plan for these Personal Trainers is that they know how.  But what they don't realise is that their business plan can (and should) link directly to their day to day activities and eventually force them to progress to a point where developing new business ventures from their existing business isn't only possible, it's probable.

Without acting on their business plan these Personal Trainers miss out on the vital learning that will give them access to multiples.  You know, 30k becomes 300k becomes 3million. Where do you think 3million dollar businesses come from anyway - what do you think anchors them - how do you think their owners build them and create a collective purpose for the many employees - ummmmm 'business plan'!

3: Personal Trainers who do have a Personal Training Business Plan and willfully use it to inform ALL of their actions

These Personal Trainers give themselves a shot at the title.  They will, at the very least, end up with a sustainable, profitable (read six figures in time) and likable (yes they will love their work and their clients will love them) business because they are consistently taking aim, and knocking over the important pins.  My old man (Dad as he is known on formal occasions) described it to me like this;

Dad: If you go bowling, what are you trying to do - what's the ultimate goal

Me: Knock over all ten pins on your first bowl for all 10 frames

Dad: If you go to work today in your business what are you trying to do

Me: buggered if I know

Dad: you need a plan! That's the only way you'll know what you're aiming at and therefore if you're hitting it or missing it.

Me: okay

Dad: At the bowling alley, if you don't knock over 10 pins on your first bowl what do you do?

Me: Think about knocking over the pins still standing and then think about what to do differently to get all 10 pins at once next time

Dad: If you go to work today in your business what pins are still standing from yesterday and what did you learn from yesterday?

Me: Nothing because I didn't even know what I was aiming to do!

Dad: Take aim, have a plan, keep score, learn from your success/failure

Me: Could of told me this sooner...

So, courtesy of my old man, I'm telling any Personal Trainer to get a business plan together and then EVERYDAY don't do anything until you have looked at all the things you could do for the day and decided which is most likely going to get you closer to the 10 pin success that is defined in your plan.

If you do this for your Personal Training Business you will then learn how to do it for any business and combined with the Business Chassis (another thing you should get to know) you will have the tools you need to leverage your income to new heights with as little effort as possible (yes, one of the tricks is to be inherently lazy by doing only the necessary things and none of the noise - as this gives you both progress and time).

Personal Training Business Planning Tools on ptdirect.

For those of you who are ready to take aim here are just two of the tools you'll need to get a Personal Training Business Plan together quickly and effectively.

Once you've done it tune in for my next blog where I'm going to cover the Personal Training Business Chassis for you.

Business Planning Template

Happy planning

SG

ps - become a member of ptdirect.com and claim your of the Business Planning Template, as well as a selection of the best personal training business tools on the net, updates and much more.