How To Start A Personal Training Business ? My Business Is Fitness

Thalia Cosmidis, proud owner/operator of Box It Out Personal Training is absolutely killing it!

Running packed group classes, juggling a busy one on one bookings roster and running multiple marketing promotions that are EXPLODING her business; it?s hard to imagine that just 4 weeks ago Thalia was working FULL-TIME as an Account Manager for an IT company!

That?s why I?ve asked Thalia to write this article about her transition strategy that has allowed her to confidently follow her dream of operating her very own fitness business.

Over to Thalia to explain her transition and how to start a personal training business:

Let?s start with brief introduction.

I?ve always had a passion for Health and Fitness, and it wasn?t until I completed my Cert III and IV that I absolutely realised that this was the industry that I wanted to be in.

I have a background in Education (was a Primary School Teacher for about 5 years) and then moved into an Account Management role for an IT company for 5 years. With these previous two roles in particular, what I did know is that I enjoyed being around people (whether it be children or adults) and helping/teaching/training them but I always felt like there was a missing piece in the puzzle.

The Journey Begins

I?d been attending the local gym for many years and regularly attended fitness classes, boxing in particular. I liked what I saw with the main reason being that I started to see and feel the benefits of boxing after a few sessions!

I had (and still do!) so much energy and felt the fittest I?d ever felt in my life! I started to attend boxing classes at the gym around 3 times per week and found that I was living a happier, healthier and fitter lifestyle.

A couple of things I did find myself questioning was whether my technique was correct ? ?am I doing this right??, which in theory are normal questions with any new exercise you?re introduced to. I decided that I wanted to take it that bit further and started Muay Thai Boxing which was a whole new world and still helps me to this very day on so many different levels ? mentally, physically and emotionally.

I?ve learnt so much about not only myself as a person, but also correct boxing and kickboxing technique and even self defence (great for the women out there!). Anyway, to cut a long story short, I decided to merge the two together (Boxing for Fitness and Muay Thai) and launched my own business (Box it Out). I wanted to share ALL these amazing benefits with others.

Starting Small

The following list is a brief explanation of what I was able to attain and accomplish whilst still being employed full-time, utilising my regualr income to budget and adequately prepare myself for the transition to becoming self employed:

• Operating a boxing type business does involve some equipment; like gloves, pads, skipping ropes, mats etc. so with some research I was able to get all the initial equipment needed for less than $500.
• I created and printed up some basic posters just using publisher on my computer and gave them to friends and local businesses, where there is a lot of foot traffic and in stores that I had relationships with.
• I also uploaded my business information into free online portals like the white Pages, Google Places, Hot Frog and Gumtree. While some of these have been more successful than others; they?re free and it only take a few minutes to do.
• Utilising people I already new, I was able to negotiate contra-deals on a few expenses that could normally cost quite a lot of money; such as my website and logo in return for free training sessions.
• I surveyed my clients to establish the best times to suit them and of course myself as I was still full time employed. I didn?t charge for my first few classes as I had to test my programs, times etc. and it was a way to thank my friends for supporting me by coming along to try my classes.

I started running Box it Out Boxing and Kickboxing classes outdoors in the beautiful North Adelaide parklands after work a couple of nights a week and offered mobile PT on weekends.

With no marketing budget to speak of; I started spreading the word just using Facebook, telling family members (and even forced my mum to come out to a few sessions who now attends once a week!), friends and work colleagues. Sure enough, word of mouth kicked in and my classes started to grow in numbers quite quickly. The feedback I was receiving was really positive so I asked my clients to write testimonials for me which are obviously helpful for any business.

Building Up My Client Base

Working as an Account Manager for an IT company was a massive bonus for me, as I had not only gained experience in the sales and marketing world, but I learnt a lot about creating an online presence e.g. Social Media Marketing.

I set up a Facebook Fan Page immediately and started to invite my Facebook friends to ?like? my page. I took photos (and still do!) of almost each class and tag my clients in the photos so that their friends can see. I also encouraged my clients to ?Like? my Box it Out Fan Page as I often post nutritional facts, tips and tricks and photos of them in action.

As mentioned; one of my awesome work colleagues also helped me set up my own website which I?ve found useful for directing clients to when they have questions about timetable, location etc. I don?t tend to use Twitter as much but have linked my Facebook page to my Twitter account (so any posts I make on Facebook are automatically tweeted) and have also set up a YouTube channel where I?ve uploaded a couple of videos.

During this early stage, I was obviously getting a regular income each week and took advantage of this by trying to complete as many Professional Development courses as possible (Punchfit and Metabolic Balance to name a couple). This was not only to develop my own personal/professional development and share and help my clients, but also due to the Continuing Education Credits (CEC) registration requirement as an exercise professional with Fitness Australia.

Taking the plunge!

So after procrastinating for over 6 months, (which also gave me the opportunity to set up most of my processes), I resigned from my full time job as Account Manager and was finally ready to make a few sacrifices (with the obvious being a pay cut) to do what I loved and enjoyed.

I knew it was time to take the plunge, as it got to the point where I didn?t have the time to market my Box it Out business as effectively and wanted to put all my energy into pursing my dream of starting my own business.

I was struggling with the pressures of juggling two jobs and knew that I needed to let one go to make it work. Leading up to my resignation, I definitely needed some professional advice, so spoke to my accountant, bank and financial planner and hit the road running!

What I found extremely beneficial the business coaching I had with Ben London (My Business Is Fitness) which not only helped me with forecasting, marketing ideas, but gave me the push in the right direction with the analysing where I was at (what was important now) and where I was heading. It?s only my second week of being self employed and I can honestly say I won?t be looking back. My advice to you is that if you?re passionate enough about something in life, you can make it work.

I highly recommend starting off small to get a client base before making any drastic moves like quitting your full time job (unless of course you?re one of the lucky ones who happens to have a load of spare cash lying around). Even if you run a regular Saturday morning session with family and a couple of friends, or one night a week after work to slowly start building your client base, word will eventually get around.

Persistence and patience have now become my two best friends.

About Thalia

Thalia Cosmidis is the owner of Box it Out and has a passion for health, fitness and FUN!

Thalia is a Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor and is based in the North Adelaide region as well as the western suburbs in Adelaide. Thalia is extremely passionate about the benefits of boxing and kickboxing and is determined to help people see and feel the benefits for themselves (after only a few sessions!). She is also a qualified metabolic balance coach in Australia and provides nutritional advice to ultimately help people live a happier and healthier lifestyle.

Tagged as: branding, facebook, FEAR, marketing

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