There are many hard working, talented, and dedicated trainers who are quite happy clocking in and working for someone else every day of their lives. I’m sure a large number of them have at one time or another considered starting a fitness boot camp business.  For the majority the biggest problem is raising the capital, but one of the biggest advantages of starting a Boot Camp Business is you don’t need an enormous amount of money to get started.

You can treat the fitness industry like a normal J.O.B., or secure your financial future by looking beyond the one-on-one training sessions by starting your own boot camp business in just a matter of weeks.  No more working long hours, six days a week and taking only a small percentage of the profits – you can have it all!

Be honest and ask yourself what are your goals are in life.  Some will say they just want to be able to pay their bills each month. Fine - there are plenty of jobs in the fitness industry for those people, but if you’re ambitious, have the tenacity and will to succeed, and want to pay off your mortgage in five years rather than dragging it out for 30, then starting your own Boot Camp Business will be the ideal solution.

Working six days a week also means you have very little time for your family and/or loved ones. I don’t know too many spouses/lovers/girlfriends that will put up without ever seeing you in daylight, or those who wouldn’t love some weekends away and at least one good vacation each year. Living with someone who falls asleep exhausted as soon as their buns touch the couch is another reason why relationships fall apart. You’ll be starting your own Boot Camp Business for those you love as much as you, so get them involved.

What do you really want?  The only way you can figure that out is by getting a good old-fashioned pencil and paper and writing it all down.  It’s called planning my friend, and it’s the first step to starting your own business.

How much do you earn now? How many hours does it take you to earn that? How much are clients paying and what percentage are you getting for all your hard work? How much would you like to earn?  How much debt do you have and how long will it take to pay it off if you keep doing what you’re doing now? Do you have kids? Do you want them to go to college without having to worry about paying back student loans for years after they start working?  At what age do you want to retire?

These are all questions you must ask. Everyone is different, but most fitness trainers I know all say they want to make more money and work fewer hours.

So how can owning a Boot Camp Business change your life?

One-on-one sessions are for the birds – or for trainers who are perfectly happy working a few hours a week for a bit of extra cash. You’ll never become wealthy, unless you’re in Beverley Hills and earning massive hourly fees.

Times what you earn by 5, 10, 15, 20 or more for every hour you want to work. Now that’s more like it.  You’re probably already seeing your 50-hour workweek shrink to half or even less, with earnings many times more than what you’re making now.  More time for the kids.  More time for vacations. More time to relax and enjoy life and build a financial future you and your family can enjoy, with nobody telling you what to do, how and when.

Here’s another thing.  How many of those one-on-one sessions do you actually enjoy?  There’s nothing worse than spending your life doing a job you hate, so that’s another question you should ask yourself: If you start a fitness bootcamp, who will you want to work with? Who do you enjoy helping the most? What should you specialize in?

With your own fitness boot camp you can work with the people you want to work with. If you specialize in weight loss, working with athletes or old people, or if cardio fitness training is your bag – you can specialize and build your business in such a way as to be the Go to Guy in your area.  When word gets around, you’ll knock your competition out of the ballpark and people will pay whatever you ask – because they’ll know you’re the best – and you get results.

Always be realistic in the beginning. A careful and rational business plan will mean you’re not disappointed after a couple of months. Part of your planning must take into account how many hours a week you’re working at present.  If you have adequate capital set aside, there’s no reason why you can’t have a profitable fitness boot camp up and running in only 3 months. If you’re working full time, then it’s going to take longer, but it won’t be impossible if you start planning today and set your priorities.

If you’ve never run your own business before, seek out people who are in the business or in a similar business and seek advice.  You’ll find lots of information online, posted by those who run their own successful Boot Camp businesses. Follow the ones you like and you’ll find sound advice without having to pay for it.

Plan, research, and start thinking like a business owner. Learn how to market effectively. Set goals.  When anyone asks you what you do, you’ll no longer have to say “I’m a trainer”, you’ll be able to hold your head up and say, “I’m an entrepreneur and have my own successful boot camp business.”

All you have to do is get your plan rolling, set a date, and work tirelessly towards it.

You will have setbacks and you will have periods when you feel like you’re not getting anywhere, but all you have to do is remember when you were making squat working for someone else, tied to their clients and their facility, promoting products you had no confidence in, or worse, didn’t work.

With your own Fitness Boot Camp business, you’ll be in charge. You’ll be able to adapt, create, and innovate, all while earning a lot more money in far fewer hours.

I guarantee you’ll never look back.

This entry was posted on June 17, 2013 at 9:39 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Boot Camp Business, Boot Camp Marketing, Boot Camp Strategies, Fitness Marketing, How To Start a Fitness Boot Camp Business by Steve Hochman | No Comments Yet