The Grass is Greener on the Other Side – Part 1

The Grass Always Seems Greener on the Other Side

How much money does a personal trainer make? This is a common question, in fact how much money does a personal trainer make is one of the most popular internet search terms for our profession. I think many people finish their education and certification with the idea of earning immediate substantial income from the hobby that they have become so passionate about, often to be disappointed. Usually this disappointment can be validated with assumptions like, “if I worked in a gym I could easily get lots of clients and make more money.” Or, “if I owned my own studio I would make more money by employing other trainers.” This three part post is dedicated to helping you understand the differences between these scenarios and what it might mean for your personal training income.

The Solo Personal Trainer

Ok one of the biggest downfalls of being a personal trainer is the hours. The peak times are 5:00 AM – 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM. So be prepared to work a lot of split shifts early in your career. In my opinion if you are personal trainer in Canada you should never charge much less than $1/minute as your base session price. Sure you can offer promotions, packages and discounts but if your rate is much less than $1/min you are likely undervaluing yourself, are undereducated, and hurting the overall market for your services in your area. As a solo trainer you have the lowest amount of additional business expense but most trainers at this point also don’t realize the cost and need for business expenses such as marketing, materials, equipment, insurance, etc. It doesn’t take long to eat up a chunk of that base session rate, but the good news is compared to a trainer working for a gym or studio, or owning a bigger business of your own you should be able to place a much higher percentage of that hourly rate right into your pocket. The solo trainer hands down has the highest per hour earning potential for individual sessions, but of course that comes with a price.

As a solo trainer be prepared to wear a number of hats; you now have to be the chief marketer, salesman, administrator and heaven forbid, debt collector.  You trade your higher wage for the support of a team which of course means your ability to attract and train clients may be lessened as you are tied up with other business duties. However if I have made this sound bleak it is my opinion that if you master all the strategies of Profitable Personal Training you can easily earn a six figure income as a solo personal trainer. Does that sound reasonable to you? You will be busy, a high income solo trainer will undoubtedly work 40-60 hours a week, you will maintain a strong point of independence and truly be your own boss. There is only one real drawback of this scenario if you ask me, you will not have the freedom to leave the business the same way if you could simply delegate tasks to others. Your ability to grow will be limited to the time and attention you can dedicate to your business day in and day out for as long as you can avoid burnout. Each time you take an extended absence you will have to come back and work that much harder to make up ground as no one is there to stoke the fire when you are away. For solo trainers with families, I highly recommend disability insurance. This is where most of you will start; the question is where will you go? I think it’s really important to understand the dynamics of all scenarios for proper business/career planning. Next week we’ll discuss what business inside of another business may look like.