Over the last few months, you have probably seen the pivot and boom from in-person training to online training with strength coaches and personal trainers more than ever before. Well, of course you have. However, when things get back to “normal,” whatever that really means, there may be a high percentage of coaches who drop the online coaching completely, and go back to the way it was. Don’t do that. Continue to hone in on the feeling you had when your in-person training business was completely shot due to this pandemic because at any moment, it can happen again. Most of the coaches that will drop the online coaching and go right back to how they were before will do it purely out of comfort, OR, they thought online training was going to be easier than it was.
The number one mistake coaches and personal trainers make when they begin online training is that they automatically think they will have the immediate success or transfer of success from in person coaching to remote. It most often does not work that way. I know you see ads of these online fitness gurus taking photos in front of Lamborghinis or with their laptops in front of a beach and telling you how easy it is to build an online business, but it could not be further from the truth. Had to post one as the featured image just so you know what I am talking about. (The irony is that I have literally programmed for clients while on the beach but I won’t tell you it is easy.)
It is difficult. It takes time. It takes systems. It takes consistency. Wait a minute, this sounds like your in-person training business when it first got off the ground. That is the point. Your online business needs to be fed consistently and daily for it grow. It is not something you leave alone and expect it to exponentially return high dividends. Oh how nice that would be right? The amount of coaches and personal trainers who announce they are going online or offering it will then get butt hurt when no one responds to their posts or engages with them at all. They will get gut punched right in the ego, and most will stop after that point. The excuse will be, “oh I did not have enough time” but it was more like “I have the time, I put myself out there twice on Instagram and did not get 10 dms on people wanting to train.” Sound familiar?
I will tell you, however, that it is worth it. Have you heard of anyone who has a successful online coaching business say they regret starting it? (I’ll wait) No, they do not say that. If you talk to them individually, they would all tell you their stories and the ups and downs it will have, just like any other business but you must be willing to:
- Put yourself out there!
- Reach out to potential leads and prospects (You are a salesman, own it!)
- Create and Build Systems
- Create Lead Magnets/Trackers
- Create valuable content based around your online business
- Find an online platform that is easy to use so you do not have to worry about managing the easier things (programming)
- Follow through and be consistent (It may take a few years to build a business, you already know this, but somehow for online, people do not look at it that way).
Nothing I wrote in this article is rocket science. The take home message of it is that you take starting an online coaching business as serious as you would opening a gym, marketing your in-person coaching program or whatever you else you want to succeed in. If you are half way in, you will get half way results. If you do not start, you won’t see any results. It is plain and simple. If you appropriately plan, develop, implement and manage, you can add revenue streams and impact more people therefore creating more freedom in your career. Who does not want that?
For those of you who are REALLY ready to begin your online training business but you do not know where to start yet understand the benefits of what online coaching can do for you, do not hesitate to reach out! Be sure to follow us on our social media feeds @athletereadyglobal and better yet, go subscribe to our podcast, The Athlete Ready Global Podcast. We have some amazing interviews with professionals in our industry who really think outside the gym. (See what I did there?)
Abraços Amigos,
Jared Saavedra, MS, CSCS, PES, CPT
Founder, ARG