What is a Personal Training Business Plan?
A personal training business plan is a document that outlines your venture’s purpose (what it aims to be), goals (growth, operations, and revenue), financial projections (an estimate of financial outcomes), marketing strategies (how you plan to attract new clients), and logistics (what services you plan to offer and where you plan to work).
Why is a Personal Trainer Business Plan Important?
Creating a personal training business plan may feel unnecessary, but taking the time to craft one offers several benefits. Most notably, it serves as a roadmap for your business, helping clarify your vision, aspirations, and goals.
A plan lets you strategize about the venture’s growth, makes pricing your products and services easier, helps you identify potential challenges before they arise, and may even lead to better decision-making and more intelligent investments.
As a result, you gain a deeper understanding of the market, how to position yourself for success, and how to tackle challenges proactively.
7 Steps to Writing an Effective Personal Training Business Plan
Step 1. Understand the Market’s Needs
Understanding market needs and where you fit in is essential to deciding what services to offer, what type of client to target, and how to market yourself more effectively. In today’s saturated industry, not standing out is a surefire way to fade into obscurity.
Here are some steps you can take to gain a better understanding:
- Competitor analysis: Use Google personal training services locally and nationwide to see what people offer, what type of clients they target, and what language they use in their marketing. Look for trends and gaps to see how to position your brand.
- Surveys: You can use social media polls and email list surveys (using Google Forms) to gather valuable insight from people open to personal training. Existing clients can also be a useful source of information. Give them surveys to fill out or have casual conversations about their goals, challenges, and what coaching services they want.
- Forum discussions: Online communities like Reddit, Quora, and the Bodybuilding.com forum can be sources of information. Browse threads to learn about people’s frustrations, what they’ve liked about trainers they’ve worked with, and the language they use (how they phrase their frustrations).
- Research local demographics: Use government websites (e.g., Census.gov) to understand better the age distribution and income levels of the local population.
- Look at local businesses: Further your insight by observing local businesses to see which ones do well. This will provide insight into what people may be looking for and how your services can be the solution. You can again turn to Google to read online reviews and local discussion boards.
- Offer trial services: Experiment with different services and marketing tactics to see what works and what doesn’t. Examples of trial services include a free training session (or fitness assessment), fitness challenges, online classes, and referral programs (where one client brings someone else in exchange for perks––for example, to get a free workout session).
There is no single best formula for going about it, so feel free to use the above and other tactics that provide valuable insight. Remember that the goal is to understand the fitness landscape (especially locally) and put yourself in a better position for success.
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Step 2. Determine Who Your Ideal Client Is
What is the purpose of a business? To serve people and solve a specific problem. So, it only makes sense to think about your ideal client to understand who they are, where they come from, their struggles, and how you can help.
Completing the first step above will provide some insight. But here are a few questions to consider:
- What type of coaching am I best at?
- What problems can I solve for my clients?
- What specific things do I have the most experience with?
- What brand do I want to build? How do I want to be known?
- Is there a demand for the service I want to offer? (Circling back to step number one.)
- Am I more comfortable with a hands-on approach or more of a consultation role?
Choosing a niche can set you apart from the competition, help you make a name for yourself, and make it easier to market your services.
Step 3. Determine Your Business Model
Now is the time to decide how to offer your personal training services, which will depend on your experience, unique strengths, and market demand. Options include:
- One-on-one: This is the most popular option that’s best suited for less experienced personal trainers. You dedicate each session (typically 45-60 minutes) to one client.
- Semi-private: This more advanced option can work for more experienced and established trainers with larger rosters. The goal is to work with more clients simultaneously (typically two to four people).
- Hybrid: This approach has been gaining popularity in the last few years as a middle ground between in-person and online coaching. The goal is to primarily coach people online and meet up once in a while (say, once every two weeks) to see how things are going, review their technique, and answer questions.
- At-home training: This unique approach is about having clients come to you or visiting them at their homes.
- Group training: This is an alternative to personal training, as the coaching style is quite different. Rather than working one-on-one with people, you stand before a class and walk them through a workout. The earnings potential can be better, but it’s not as personalized and is less suited for beginners who need help with technique.
You can use Hevy Coach, our personal trainer software, to create workout plans, assign them to clients, and track their progress through the dashboard. It works particularly well for large client rosters when the organization gets challenging and if you work with clients online.
The next step is to decide where you will work. Will you rent a space (e.g., a small studio), strike a deal with a local gym as an independent contractor, or host clients at your home? Consider possible locations and see if there are other training facilities nearby for potential competition.
If you are interested in at-home training, read up on laws, regulations, and possible homeowner association rules to ensure your business practice is allowed and not frowned upon.
Alternatively, get clear on transportation and what training equipment you will bring when visiting clients at their homes.
Finally, consider the scope of your business from the start. Will you solely focus on training clients? Or perhaps you plan on selling extra things like protein shakes at the reception, digital goods to educate your clients, and merchandise to build your brand?
Remember that more is not necessarily better, especially when starting. It will take time to figure everything out, and it will likely be better to focus on fewer things and do them well instead of spreading yourself too thin and being mediocre. You can always add things to your business later.
Related article: 11 Profitable Fitness Business Ideas
Step 4. Decide How to Market Your Services
Marketing can feel scary and difficult, and nobody has the perfect winning formula. But you must make an effort despite that because “Build it and they will come” is a long shot.
You may be a good trainer capable of motivating people, keeping them accountable, and helping them get results, but that won’t matter if potential clients don’t know you exist.
So, the next step in your business plan is to put together a marketing strategy. Some ways to advertise your fitness business include:
- Use Google, Instagram, and Facebook ads: It takes time to get it right, but you can run cheap experiments and tweak various ad elements (e.g., the headline, image, or description) to see what converts better.
- Organic social media growth: This is a long-term tactic that’s part of the whole ‘build an online presence thing.’ But, even if it doesn’t bring much business right from the start, it can be a good source of organic growth in the long run.
- Referral program: Personal trainers need all the help they can get to build momentum. One tactic that works well is to offer referral bonuses to existing clients. For example, an existing client gets a bonus (e.g., discounted or free workout, a digital goodie, or a branded T-shirt or shaker bottle) when they bring in a friend or family member.
- Business cards: While this tactic may seem outdated, giving out business cards can be an excellent way to grow your practice in the long run. You can give out many of these when attending seminars and other events.
Remember that no single tactic will work perfectly for everyone, and that luck also plays a role.
The best thing you can do is provide a fantastic service to your existing clients, encourage them to bring in more people and have them write testimonials.
You can display these on your social media accounts along with transformation photos to build credibility and grow your online presence.
Related article: How to Advertise Myself as a Personal Trainer? (4 Key Areas to Focus On)
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Step 5. Calculate Your Operating Expenses
Along with creating a marketing plan, this is usually one of the more complex and frustrating steps when creating your personal training business plan.
That’s mainly because you can’t foresee all the expenses and know how much everything will cost. Plus, there will always be unexpected spending.
Some of the expenses for a new business owner include:
- Registering a firm, such as an LLC: The cost here largely depends on your chosen business structure and location, as each jurisdiction has unique filing fees.
- Covering administrative expenses: These include all day-to-day costs you need to cover to keep your business running: utilities (electricity, internet, water, heating, cooling, and others), software subscriptions (such as for Hevy Coach), fees for professional services (e.g., accounting and legal), transportation (especially if you visit clients at their homes), and bank fees (e.g., account and transfer fees and interest on a business loan).
- Personal training insurance: Liability insurance is the minimum you need to protect your assets if a client takes legal action because of an injury or general dissatisfaction with your services. Other forms of insurance you may need for your own personal training business include property and workers’ compensation insurance.
- Recertification: Assuming you’ve already gotten your certification, you will have to spend extra money to get the necessary continuing education units (CEUs) to be eligible for a certification renewal every two to three years. I’ve broken the whole process down in our guide on becoming a personal trainer.
- Rent: This will arguably be your biggest ongoing expense, so choose carefully and read the lease agreement before signing.
- Equipment purchase: This is another relatively large expense, so consider what setup you’d like to have and how much it will cost.
The good news is that gym equipment generally doesn’t need much maintenance besides occasionally tightening a bolt or lubricating pulleys, so the ongoing expenses should be low. Plus, you can purchase used equipment in good condition, and the resale value is good. - Flooring, mirrors, and lighting: These generally go hand-in-hand with equipment expenses but are worth mentioning because they can cost you a pretty penny.
- Marketing: Circling back to the previous step, deciding what advertising tactics you will use and how much you would be willing to spend each month is important. The fitness industry is incredibly competitive, so don’t leave it to chance.
The above is not a complete list, but it should give you some idea of what to expect. It’s much better to spend time researching and estimating the expenses instead of jumping in blindly and hoping for the best.
Doing so will help you tie a bow on your business plan, appear more professional and prepared if applying for a business loan, and calculate the minimum revenue needed to break even.
Step 6. Create a Financial Projection
A financial projection is a detailed estimation of the financial health of a business. It prepares aspiring business owners and provides an estimate of their future expenses and earnings.
Quick tip: I recommend making a financial projection for one year because it’s generally more practical and accurate. Accurately accounting for rising expenses, market demand, and other factors that influence the financial health of your business can be tricky, especially if you’re a new business owner.
First, we have the fun part: estimating revenue numbers for the next one to five years. This will include the money your business brings from personal training sessions, product sales, and other activities.
Second, the not-so-fun part: estimating your expenses for that same period. Here, you must pool all the costs––the ones discussed in the previous point and others you think of.
Once you have a rough estimate of income and expenses, do a break-even analysis to see how much revenue your business will need to generate a profit and how long it might take.
How to Gather the Data
The more up-to-date data you can gather, the more accurate your financial projections. Here are some things you can do:
- Market research: Understand market demands by conducting surveys, talking with existing clients, and reading recent forum discussions. Re-use some of the data you gather in Step 1.
- Competitor analysis: Look at other local personal training businesses and see what services they offer and how much they charge for sessions and memberships.
- Rent quotes: Reach out to lenders and get quotes for potential spaces. Focus on rent prices for spaces that fit your needs and are located in your preferred area.
- Equipment quotes: Make a list of what you want and research prices for new and used equipment online. Include related expenses for shipping and delivery.
- Insurance quotes: Contact insurance providers and ask for liability and property insurance quotes.
- Utilities: Estimating these expenses can be challenging, but you can reach out to a smaller business and ask for a rough estimate on monthly spending for utilities.
- Certification expenses: Decide which certification you’d like to pursue if you don’t have one yet, and research the cost, requirements, and frequency of getting recertified. I’ve broken it down for you in our guide on becoming a personal trainer.
- Salaries: Consider what positions you want to fill in your business and outsource the rest. Review online job listings, statistics, and industry salary guides to determine fair compensation for future employees.
- Marketing costs: Make a list of the advertising tactics you plan to use and research their cost––examples include designing and printing business cards, paying for social media ads, and creating a website.
- Income taxes: Once your business is profitable, you must pay taxes, which largely depend on location. You can find this information on official websites, such as the Internal Revenue Service.
- Accounting: Contact accounting firms in your area and get quotes on their services.
Don’t worry if that feels overwhelming because it is a difficult task. You may want to consult a financial or business advisor if you’re unsure about doing the whole thing yourself.
Before We Move On
Creating a financial projection is difficult and often serves as a rough estimate rather than a precise prediction.
Trends in the personal training industry, market shifts, economic conditions, and many other unknowns can influence your business. Plus, your initial assumptions about client acquisition, earnings, and operating costs might be inaccurate.
The point is that a financial projection can be helpful and prepare you for the ups and downs of owning a business. But you can’t truly know how things will turn out before you get started.
Step 7. Craft the Executive Summary
An executive summary is a concise overview of your business plan that outlines key points and makes it easier to determine what you want to achieve.
There is a debate on whether you should write the executive summary first or last. I suggest completing your business plan with a summary once you’ve done most of the thinking, planning, and research.
That way, you have as much information as possible for an accurate executive summary. Key things to include in your executive summary include:
- Business idea: A brief description of your business and what it will offer (services and products) in free text.
- Target market: Briefly explain who your ideal client is.
- Unique selling proposition (USP): Explain what differentiates you from other personal training businesses.
- Marketing strategy: Briefly outline the marketing tactics you plan on using with a one or two-sentence description for each.
- Financial projection: A summary of your calculations and how much revenue you would need to generate to turn a profit.
- The team: Briefly explain who you and other business employees are, including roles and responsibilities.
Don’t get too carried away. The goal is to essentially summarize the plan you’ve put together without including non-essential information. For most businesses, the executive summary should not be longer than one to two pages.
Conclusion
Creating a personal training business plan may sound exciting, and you may end up spending countless hours on it, tweaking the most minor details to perfection.
However, remember that the purpose of a business plan is to provide a roadmap (goals, strategies, financial projections, and operating guidelines) and help you better understand and assess the risk before you start.
So, rather than obsessing over the plan, create it by going through the above steps (and any other mini-steps that may pop up along the way) and get started.
Once you’re done with that, the actual work can begin, and what better way to organize your personal training practice than with Hevy Coach? The personal training platform allows you to easily create workout plans for clients, assign them with the click of a button, and track how each client is doing from one dashboard.
Try Hevy Coach
Intuitive personal trainer software, with a world class experience for your clients.
30 day free trial, no credit card required
FAQs
1. What is a personal training business plan?
A personal training business plan outlines your venture’s market analysis, business model, financial projection, and goals.
2. Do you need a personal training business plan?
A personal trainer business plan is not mandatory but beneficial because it prepares you for business ownership, helps you set realistic goals, and gives you a rough estimate of what you need to do and how long you need to stay consistent to turn a profit.
3. How long should your personal training business plan be?
It should be as long as necessary to include all the relevant information without fluff. For most businesses, that’s usually 15 to 25 pages, but slightly more or less is okay.
