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Online Personal Training: Learn How to Build Your Business

Online personal training is now more relevant than ever. With the vast array of technological options and virtual training applications available, you can pivot to an online personal training business in a few relatively easy steps.

This guide will function as your cheat sheet for a (hopefully) pain-free process towards transitioning to a virtual training dynamic for your business.

If you are interested in becoming a professional virtual coach, look no further than the NASM specialization course on virtual training . Follow the link to earn some CEUs and get some great content! If you are interested in becoming a personal trainer, learn how here !

With that said, let’s jump right in! To navigate to each section, follow the jump links below:

• My Introduction to Virtually Training Clients

How to Start Your Online Personal Training Business

• Virtual Training Versus Prewritten Programs

Benefits and Drawbacks of Online Personal Training

• Billing Considerations for Your Business
• Preparing Client Documentation
• Concluding Thoughts + Additional Resources

My Introduction to the World of Virtual Training

I became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer in 2001. While in college, I worked at the on-campus gym, followed by an internship at a local gym in Houston. I continued training there after graduation.

With seven years of experience under my belt, I left the gym and started training clients in-home. As we all know, it’s tragic to lose clients to a move or an inevitable change of availability.

When one of my clients was relocating in 2014, we took our training sessions online to continue all of the hard work we’d done together. This marked the inception of my online training business.

Now, six years later, I’ve streamlined the process, and I’m ready to share my knowledge with others. Like any professional transition, there have been growing pains and many unforeseen obstacles. Still, overall this has been an incredible career move for me and a valuable service for my clients.

To start your online personal training business, you first need to pick out the right technology, device, and fitness applications to drive your training sessions. Next you should map out your virtual workspace. Lastly, you need to make sure you have the needed fitness equipment to train your clients effectively.

Let's break down each facet of starting your business below - starting with technology, moving through your work space dimensions, the equipment you'll need, and ending with lighting and workout environment factors!

Technology you will need for your online training business

The thought of taking your business online to offer virtual training services may be incredibly overwhelming at first. However, don’t let the fear of the unknown stop you from making a positive step forward into the game-changing world of online personal training.

I’ve spent many years refining the process to make virtual services seamless and valuable for my clients as well as lucrative and efficient for myself. I’ve taken the time to break down my best practices in a way that will show you this can be a smooth and very profitable business move for you. First things first, I’m going to teach you how to set-up your virtual training space with confidence.

To set-up your virtual training space, you'll need two devices:

• One device will be used as a camera, such as a tablet, laptop, or smartphone, and will be used as you demonstrate exercises and observe your client during the session.
• The other device will be used to type in the client's workout details, including completed reps and other relevant data. You don't need to make a sizable financial investment when it comes to these items. One device with a camera and one that's capable of running a word processing application (such as Google Docs) will do.

Setting up your virtual training space 

While you can train your clients virtually from anywhere (I’ve even done this while out of town), it’s nice to have a dedicated home-base that allows you to be as organized and efficient as possible.

Before selecting a training space in your home, ask yourself the following questions:

• Will I have enough room to demonstrate exercises for my clients?
• Does this space have enough room for all of my equipment?
• Is the environment professional, clean, and free from distractions (e.g., you don’t want to train from your kitchen counter while your family comes in and out of view)?
• Will I have a place to sit and observe my client while also documenting their workout details?
• Does this space have ample light to train clients virtually any time of day? Natural light is excellent, but if you don’t have it, I’ll explain the workaround in the next section.

Make sure to have plenty of space between your camera and the demo area. In my virtual training space, I have both devices on my desk with six feet of open floor behind me. Make sure all equipment is off to the side, so you don't have to leave the room to retrieve it. Your client's time is precious (and paid for).

With that in mind, your preparedness is critical. If you wouldn't walk out of the gym during a session, don't do it at home either. Professionalism is key.

fitness equipment considerations for online personal training

As a fitness professional, you know that great workouts are possible with little to no equipment. Ideally, your client has at least a set of dumbbells.

I typically recommend that each client has three sets of dumbbells. Wei ght requirements will vary from client to client, but I follow this general guideline.

One set should be light (3-5lbs), one medium (8-10lbs), and one heavy (15-20lbs).The weight selection will depend on many factors, including budget, current strength, and future goals.

If a client has more equipment (and most eventually choose to purchase more), you need to have a comparable item to demonstrate proper usage.

I recommend investing in the following items for your virtual training space:

• Medicine Ball
• Kettlebells

Anything that fits in your space and is within your budget is a good call!

Chances are you already have a wide range of dumbbells for your personal use, but if not, don't worry about matching your client's exact weight. I use bright orange 5-pound weights to demonstrate for my clients; bright colors make it easier for clients to see the movements.

Depending on your background, a black or gray weight could get lost on the camera. Maximizing visibility will allow you to train as seamlessly as possible. This brings us to our next point, lighting.

Lighting for Your Training Space

Ample lighting (either natural or artificial) is crucial when working with clients online. Have you ever taken a photo in dim light and noticed that it’s grainy and pixelated? Web cameras work the same way. You want your clients to have as much clarity as possible during their session, making the experience as close to in-person as you can.

If windows are behind you while you work, you will appear dark and shadowy on camera. Your client won't be able to see you very well, and you may come across as unprofessional or unprepared. Based on where my desk has to be in my space, the windows are behind me.

To overcome this problem, I purchased decorative blackout shades and made sure to close them before each session begins. Also, I bought an inexpensive ring light that illuminates my face (much like window light) so clients can see every move I make.

The ring light is optional, so if you're unable to purchase one right now, don't worry. Just consider picking one up when you can. Also, based on your lighting situation, you may not need one at all.

Environment is Key for your workout space!

Remember, your client’s time is precious and paid for. It’s essential to provide the most professional service possible for your client - making their investment with you well worth the spend. Consider all of the ways you can make your personal training space as distraction-free as possible.

A noisy background is a distracting one. Barking dogs, crying babies, oven timers going off, and notifications from your phone can all take away from the value of a client’s time with you. While some of these things are bound to happen, minimize the possibility where you can.

I’ve often hired a babysitter to come over and attend to the children while I work with a client online. If that’s not possible, I’ve reserved my kids’ screen time to coincide with my client appointments for the day. I know that I need as little background noise as possible.

Because my dogs love to greet delivery drivers at the door (only a few steps from my training room), they spend their time in another room when I’m training a client. I’ve also recently added curtains to the doorway of my training room and keep them closed during online training sessions. Closed curtains are a visual indicator to my family that I’m not available and can’t be interrupted.

Virtual Training vs. Pre-Written Programs

Many personal trainers (including myself) have capitalized on pre-written, packaged, and branded workout programs. These programs may be general or geared toward a specific demographic (new moms, senior citizens, or those who want to workout at home with a little guidance).

Often, these programs are available on DVD or via an online download for one price. These products are a great option to help your business generate passive income; however, pre-written programs are vastly different from the virtual training experience.

As a virtual trainer, you get to work with clients from a very specific vantage point. You will get to know your client, learn about his or her individual goals, and develop a program that is strategic. Virtual training is less of a one-size-fits-all approach, and more of a tailored service meant to add value and strengthen relationships.

See also : This Mini Course on How to Build the Best At-Home Workout

Balancing both virtual training and prewritten programs!

A great approach is to utilize both pre-written programs and virtual training. This can be done pretty easily with the NASM edge app .

Because you can utilize sample programs and exercises that come freely with the app, you can provide tried-and-tested programs for clients on days you don’t provide a 100% live, virtual training session.

This means you balance out training sessions with a mixture of live workouts and routines that clients can do whenever they are ready. You can then measure their fitness results through the EDGE dashboard. A pretty useful tool!

Listen to some additional tips on how I implement online training programming in the following video:

Much like any service you offer, online training isn’t without some challenges. I want to share some benefits and drawbacks to think about as you consider adding virtual training to your scope of service.

• Online training allows you to reach a broader audience.
• Online training can be more affordable than in-person training (especially without a gym membership).
• For someone who is immunocompromised, it will be a much safer option.
• Online training means your client can still workout with you no matter your location or theirs. (Pro-tip: if your client is traveling, make sure he or she takes exercise bands along). Between bands, bodyweight exercises, and a little creativity, this business model works anywhere and everywhere!
• Certain people don’t like to workout outside of the gym.
• Some people need very heavy and large weights or machines to reach their goals, and that’s not something you can provide with live virtual training.
• Unpredictable WiFi may pose challenges as you train online. Both the trainer and client need a good connection to ensure a productive experience. I have a WiFi booster in my home office to ensure optimal connectivity on my end. For the client, any high-speed internet connection should be fine. 
• Space could also be an issue in some cases. I've found that every client has an area that will work for a home workout. Many clients train in their living rooms. Some position themselves in wide hallways, and others take their laptop or tablet into the back yard. 

How much should you charge as an online personal trainer?

Now for the part that makes everyone cringe, money! I think every entrepreneur on earth has questioned their value at one time or another. Am I worth that much? Yes, yes, you are! You are providing a valuable professional service that is designed to change lives. Be confident in your pricing, and stick to it! You aren't a discount store, so don't even think about running blue light specials.

To determine your pricing for virtual sessions, I recommend charging 20-25% LESS than you would charge the same client for a similar in-person training session.

Example: If you charge Sam $100 for an in-person training session, you will charge him $75-$80 for a virtual session.

No matter your actual rate, just be consistent. Don't undervalue yourself, and be sure to charge everyone the same

Billing Tips for online Personal trainers

• Charge everyone the same across the board.
• As a general rule, don't offer bulk pricing or discounts to keep your value consistent.
• Require the client to pay ahead of time by at least one session (this keeps the client accountable and prevents same-day cancellations).
• Stick to your contract and cancelation policy (with rare exceptions). Forfeit prepaid sessions when the cancelation policy is not met (e.g., someone who cancels two hours before the scheduled session).

Billing Methods and payment systems

Virtual training is all about being hands-off, right? For the sake of automation and efficiency, I have an e-commerce system in place that allows clients to purchase online training sessions via my website. Some clients aren’t comfortable with making web purchases, and that’s ok.

For those clients, I provide other payment options, such as a branded Paypal invoice. I like to streamline as much as possible for the client. Many of my clients prefer to receive an invoice in their inbox rather than purchasing via the web. I keep both options available to accommodate my clients.

I limit payment methods for the sake of keeping things streamlined and organized. Therefore, I prefer not to use external apps such as Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, etc. Consistent and trackable accounting is vital to run an efficient online business; and, it's especially important at tax time !

If your client does not budge on payment methods (some people have had a bad experience and may refuse particular payment processors), you may consider making an exception. In that rare circumstance, it's better to collect payment by other means than no payment at all.

Here's a great resource for collecting online payments, if you wanted some additional info!

Things to keep in mind about payment:

• Each app and e-commerce provider has their own fee structure.
• Do your homework and adjust your session fees accordingly. You don’t want to lose valuable income because online payment fees haven't been factored in.
• Keep exemplary bookkeeping records.
• Track your write-offs
• Enlist the help of a trusted bookkeeper or tax professional to help you navigate the financial aspect of running your online business.

How to Prepare Client Documentation

Virtual client files.

Just as you'd keep a file for each client at the gym, you need to do that for your virtual clients as well. While software specific to personal trainers does exist, it's not at all necessary to run your virtual training business. You can very easily run your business using free Google Drive apps (such as docs and sheets) or using Microsoft office (such as Word and Excel).

The beautiful thing about Google Drive is, it syncs across all of your devices, and files can be shared with your clients. If you're not familiar with Google drive, don't worry, you can learn it quickly. If you've ever used Microsoft Office, this will be no sweat for you. Google Drive is a fantastic cloud-based solution that adds to the seamlessness of running a business online.

Each client has his or her own Google document within my Google Drive account. That individual document contains the following client-specific information:

• Client contact information, including address (if you have to call 911 on behalf of your client, you’ll need that information).
• Emergency contact information for that client (such as a spouse; partner; parent; neighbor or close friend). This is a point of contact if your client experiences an emergency during his or her session. Be prepared for the worst-case scenario, and then hope you'll never have to use it.
• Fitness equipment owned by that client. An equipment list keeps you informed as you plan workouts and helps you lead with efficiency and confidence during each session. If you have to stop between exercises and ask, "do you have XYZ weight or equipment?" you’ll be wasting precious time.

Legal and Supporting Documents for virtual training

Even though your client will be working with you remotely, obtaining the correct forms and signatures is of utmost importance. These documents will protect you and your client should anything go awry during your virtual sessions.

I have both required and optional forms, and I’ll break those down for you below.

Required legal Forms for online personal training

• Liability Release - As you know, physical activity of any kind comes with the risk of injury. Your client must acknowledge this and release you, as their personal trainer, of any liability. --> See the NASM guide to liability insurance .
• Safety Waiver
• Contractual Agreement - This document is where I state my 24-hour cancelation policy. It also allows me to charge the client’s session if they don’t provide 24-hours notice. I do make exceptions to this policy as necessary (family emergency, etc.), but it’s entirely at your discretion. This keeps my clients accountable and demonstrates the value of your time and service.
• Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (Par-Q) with Health History Questionnaire - A Par-Q is a simple self-screening tool that can and should be used by anyone who is planning to start an exercise program. It is typically used by fitness trainers or coaches to determine the safety or possible risk of exercising for an individual based on their health history, and current symptoms and risk factors.

These forms can be emailed to your client. Instruct them to send the completed forms back and then file away either hard copies or online. Even if you keep paper copies, it’s a good idea to add scanned copies to each client’s personal (e.g., Google) folder as well. Make sure all forms are complete before their first training session with you. No matter how good a friend the client may be, always complete the forms.

To streamline this process for my business, I host all forms on my website. When I receive a new client, I simply forward them one URL, and they have access to printable versions of each form.

Optional documents for online personal training

Measurements .

Most clients are willing to take circumference measurements, but not all. For this reason, I also list measurements as optional. I have a video on my website that demonstrates how to take proper measurements.

These numbers are super helpful as you move forward with this client. They can be used as positive reinforcement to show a client how far he or she has come. I also add "bodyweight" to this section, though less emphasis is placed on weight.

Before Photos 

I’m a firm believer that evidence of visual progress makes one more likely to reach his or her goals. For this reason, I strongly encourage clients to take before photos.

On my website, I show examples of how pictures are to be taken. I also provide a way to submit the photos. I don’t require these photos, but strongly encourage each client to take this step in the process.

DOn't reinvent the wheel!

Finally, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel on all of these items mentioned above. A quick internet search will lead you to many templates and examples of forms that you can use to create something for your clients. You can also hire an attorney to create these forms for you.

Our very own NASM has many of these resources available already to their Certified Personal Trainers.

Also, be sure to add your logo to the top of all documentation for professionalism and brand awareness.

concluding thoughts + Additional resources

If you’re still on the fence about how virtual training may work in your business , I encourage you to implement virtual services while continuing to see in-person clients as well. This way, you can see if it’s something that will work for you and your clients without giving up all of your in-person work.

If you are interested, the UK branch of NASM ( Premier Global NASM ) offers great resources and courses that you can take 100% online to help you transition to online personal training as well. 

For another great resource from NASM - that's free by the way! - check out the NASM virtual coaching mini-course for additional content. 

If you need additional help getting started, please visit the “fitness business coaching” page on my website at keridonfitness.com for more information. 

For more personal training tips, check out PTPioneer.

Ready and Able: How Military Training Has Helped Me Be Up to Any Task

The physical and happiness-boosting benefits of working out, keridon mcmahon.

Keridon McMahon is an NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and Weight Loss Specialist with 18 years of industry experience. Keridon has been training in-home clients since 2008. In 2014, she realized a need for a virtual training experience that would go beyond what fitness DVDs and pre-written programs could provide. Since that time, she’s pioneered a program that allows clients to maximize results with an efficient and effective online training experience; virtual training has been an efficient and lucrative business move for her as well. In addition to her virtual training service, Keridon also trains clients in-home, offers group bootcamps, nutritional counseling, and is frequently booked for motivational speaking engagements. She also created the DVD series, “Keridon’s Fat Krusher™” In addition, Keridon extends her passion for health and wellness as a Children’s Heart Foundation board member and Texas Children’s Hospital Ambassador member. Outside of her professional life, Keridon is a wife and mom of three.

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Personal Trainer Business Plan

If you are a personal trainer or want to become one, chances are that you’d want to start your own business at some point in your career.

Having your business gives you autonomy and lets you work with clients you’d want to work with. It also helps your day become more flexible.

A personal trainer business plan can help you work through every aspect of your business.

If you are planning to be a personal trainer, the first thing you will need is a business plan. Use our sample personal trainer business plan created using Upmetrics business plan software to start writing your business plan in no time.

Before you start writing your business plan, spend as much time as you can reading through some examples of the gym and fitness-related business plans .

Industry Overview

The personal trainer industry stood at a market size of 12.9 billion dollars in 2021 and isn’t about to slow down any time soon.

The increase in demand for personal trainers is due to the increasing number of people who prefer to work out at home.

Also, with the pandemic and social distancing norms, people working out at home with personal trainers has only increased.

And although it might seem relatively simple to start working as a trainer, you need to keep multiple things in mind to have a stable source of income.

Say goodbye to boring templates

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Plans starting from $7/month

Things to Consider Before Writing a Personal Trainer Business Plan

Do your research.

Research is an extremely important aspect of starting any business. It helps you understand what you are getting yourself into. It helps you understand every aspect of your data better and make better strategic decisions as per the same.

Hence, conducting market research before getting started is important.

Know your target market

Knowing what your customers want , who they are, what influences their decision, how they do they avail services, and even what social media sites they use the most is important to serve your target audience better.

Hence, try to know as much as possible before getting started. It helps you have an edge over everyone else.

Decide upon a business structure

You could either set up a facility or start providing services at your client’s home, but having a business structure is essential. Your business structure would decide the amount you pay in taxes, the paperwork you’ll have to do, as well as the liability on your personal assets.

Look into all options you have and pick the structure that fits your business needs the best.

Pick the type of services you’ll provide

You can either provide services from a facility, at home, or even through online mediums now. Consider what fits your client’s and business needs the best before picking the type of your services.

Each type of service has its pros and cons. Hence, it is important to consider what type of services you should go for before getting started.

Write Your Business Plan

Having a business is in no way a cakewalk. From managing your finances to promoting your services you’ll need a plan for everything.

Reading some sample business plans will give you a good idea of what you’re aiming for and also it will show you the different sections that different entrepreneurs include and the language they use to write about themselves and their business plans.

We have created this personal trainer business plan example for you to get a good idea about how a perfect personal trainer business should look like and what details you will need to include in your stunning business plan.

Personal Trainer Business Plan Outline

This is the standard personal trainer business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

• Market Validation
• Short-Term (1 -3 Years)
• Long Term (3-5 years)
• Mission statement
• Keys to success
• Fitjets – 3-Year Financial Highlights
• Company Ownership/Legal Entity
• Interior Operating Facilities
• Hours of Operation
• Startup summary
• Exercise Instruction and Demonstration
• Fitness Consultation
• Planning & Monitoring Exercise Programs
• Planning & Monitoring Nutrition Programs
• Customer Service
• US Fitness Market Size
• Market Trends
• Online Fitness Market Trends
• Fitjets Market Distribution
• Comparison Table
• Competitive Advantage
• SWOT analysis
• Marketing and Promotion Programs
• Positioning Statement
• Marketing Channels
• Pricing strategy
• Organization chart
• Management Team
• Hiring plan
• Important Assumptions
• Brake-even Analysis
• Profit Yearly
• Gross Margin Yearly
• Projected Cash Flow
• Projected Balance Sheet
• Business Ratios

After getting started with Upmetrics , you can copy this personal trainer business plan example into your business plan and modify the required information and download your personal trainer business plan pdf or doc file. It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

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Download a sample personal trainer business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go;  download our free personal trainer business plan pdf  to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your personal trainer business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

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Personal Training Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Personal Training Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their personal training companies. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a personal training business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Personal Training Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your personal training business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Personal Training Business

If you’re looking to start a personal training business or grow your existing personal training company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your personal training business to improve your chances of success. Your personal trainer business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Personal Training Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a personal training business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for personal training companies.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a personal training business.

If you want to start a personal training business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The business plan outline below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your personal training business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of personal training business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a personal training business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of personal training businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

• Give a brief overview of the personal training industry.
• Discuss the type of personal training business you are operating.
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of personal training business you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of personal training businesses:

• Mobile personal trainer: This type of business involves traveling to the client’s home, a park, or another location that is convenient for the client to provide personal training sessions.
• In-home personal trainer: This type of business is operated out of the trainer’s own home. This type of business may be great for trainers that have their own equipment.
• Online personal trainer: This type of business involves providing training one-on-one or group sessions online live or via pre-recorded webinars.
• Gym trainer: This type of personal training business operates out of a gym that allows the trainer to work with their own clients at the gym.

In addition to explaining the type of personal training business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of clients served, the number of sessions provided with positive outcomes, reaching $X amount in revenue, etc.
• Your legal business Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the personal training industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the personal training industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your personal trainer business plan:

• How big is the personal training industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your personal training business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your personal trainer business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, schools, families, and corporations.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of personal training business you operate. Clearly, individuals would respond to different marketing promotions than corporations, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other personal training businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes other types of trainers, coaches, gyms, and fitness programs. You need to mention such competition as well.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What type of personal training business are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you make it easier for clients to acquire your services?
• Will you offer products or services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a personal training business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of personal training company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide lifestyle training, boot camps, or performance training services?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the products and/or services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your personal training company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your personal training business located in a busy retail district, a business district, a standalone gym, or purely online? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your personal training marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in local papers, radio stations and/or magazines
• Reach out to websites
• Distribute flyers
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your personal training business, including answering calls, planning and providing training sessions, billing customers and collecting payments, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to book your Xth session, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your personal training business to a new city.

Management Team

To demonstrate your personal training business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing personal training businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a personal training business or successfully running a small fitness class.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you see 5 clients per day, and/or offer group training sessions? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your personal training business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a personal training business:

• Cost of equipment and supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your gym location lease or testimonials from happy customers.

  Summary Writing a business plan for your personal training business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the personal training industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful personal training business.  

Personal Training Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my personal training business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily write your personal training business plan.

Where Can I Download a Personal Trainer Business Plan PDF?

You can download our Personal Trainer business plan PDF  here. This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

How Do You Start a Personal Training Business?

Starting a personal training business is easy with these 14 steps:

• Choose the Name for Your Personal Training Business
• Create Your Personal Training Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your Personal Training Business
• Secure Startup Funding for Your Personal Training Business (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your Personal Training Business with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your Personal Training Business
• Buy or Lease the Right Personal Training Business Equipment
• Develop Your Personal Training Business Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Personal Training Business
• Open for Business

  OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how a Growthink business planning advisor can create your business plan for you.   Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

How to Start an Online Personal Trainer Business: A Complete Guide

• Written by Philip Stefanov

With the rapid digitalization of our world, we can do almost everything online. Even personal training has taken up a virtual form, with countless fitness professionals offering online coaching. 

While online personal training services might seem like a gimmick that can’t possibly replace in-person coaching, the approach offers unique advantages:

• The ability to work with clients from all over the world
• Teaching clients to be more independent in their training
• Having virtually unlimited room to expand your client roster
• Being able to provide the exact service your clients need

Plus, given how popular online personal training is, you can establish a successful online business, work fewer hours, and earn more. 

However, doing so can be challenging, especially if you’re unsure where to start. To that end, we’ve put together this guide to teach you everything there is to know about building a personal training business online.

Determine Your Niche

What it means and why having a niche is important.

It’s infinitely better to be the right person for a small group of people than to be just another online personal trainer for everyone, which is why you need a niche.

Picking a niche simply means deciding who your ideal client is. Doing so would allow you to focus your marketing efforts and specialize in a particular fitness field to serve your clients better than anyone else. 

Think of it like this:

A car mechanic who works on all types of vehicles might do well and have a decent understanding of many car models. However, a mechanic specializing in just one brand like Subaru will be far better equipped to diagnose and fix all the problems that type of car can have.

The same goes for specializing as a personal trainer , in-person or online.

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Examples of Niches for Online Personal Trainers

There are countless niches to pick from. The most popular ones include the following:

• Weight loss
• Bodybuilding (hypertrophy, fat loss, posing, contest preparation, and similar)
• Powerlifting
• Bodyweight training (such as when coaching people who exercise at home)

You can also specialize for people with unique needs:

• Elderly and de-trained individuals
• The previously injured
• Those with health issues or physical limitations (e.g., hip replacement surgery patients)

Here are a couple of examples:

• Jessi McAllister coaches women primarily to get them ready for pregnancy
• Steve Kamb targets nerds , helping them lead healthier lives and get superhero physiques
• Redline Conditioning offers coaching for people wanting to pass physical tests (PARE, POPAT, SOPAT, and COPAT)

Niches will often overlap, at least to some degree, but that doesn’t mean you can’t specialize in a specific field. For example, a hypertrophy coach can work with elderly individuals because they often suffer from sarcopenia and need to build muscle mass ( 1 ).

How to Pick Your Niche

As a personal trainer, you’ve hopefully had the opportunity to work with people with unique backgrounds, interests, and fitness goals. These experiences should have given you some idea of who you would like to work with and who might not be a good fit for you. 

Picking your niche likely won’t happen overnight. The process takes a while because you must think about your ideal client. More importantly, you must consider who you can help with your online training services. 

Every successful online personal trainer understands that they can’t help everyone. So instead, they specialize by asking themselves questions like:

• Who do I want to work with?
• Who can I help?
• Who would benefit most from my help?
• What type of service can I provide online?

As someone starting with online training, it’s best to focus on a single niche. Of course, you can always broaden your scope later, but start small.

Develop Your Service (and Figure Out the Details)

1. decide what service you will offer.

Once you have a clear idea of your ideal client, decide what kind of service you want to offer and what would make the most sense. 

For example, if you decide to work with overweight adults, providing training guidance and a nutrition plan would be best ( 2 ). However, offering just one of these would prevent you from delivering the best possible coaching experience that gets people results.

Similarly, if you want to work with newbies who exercise at home, perhaps you should consider 1-on-1 training over video calls . While it would take more time, it would allow you to observe your clients as they train and provide valuable real-time guidance. 

Most online personal trainers provide training and nutrition plans to their clients in combination with the following:

• A weekly check-in to track their progress and keep clients accountable
• Communication through chat or email to answer client questions
• Helpful bonus material to teach clients sound fitness fundamentals (typically as PDFs or pre-recorded videos)

As a side note, writing every client’s training program from scratch is time-consuming and inefficient. Instead, use workout templates to speed up and streamline the process.

2. Determine Your Rates

Determining your online personal training rates isn’t as challenging as deciding how much to charge for in-person training. However, there are still a few things to consider, including your reach, reputation, and the services you offer. 

A typical online personal trainer charges clients every month and requests a 3-month commitment minimum because that’s the average amount of time it takes to make noticeable progress. 

Depending on your service and extras, you can charge anywhere from $100 to $500+ for your monthly services. New online trainers with little reach and no positive reviews should charge less to get started and build their reputation. 

In contrast, an established online training business with multiple respected trainers on its payroll and a refined onboarding and coaching system can charge more. Offering extras (consultation calls, additional helpful material, 1-on-1 workout sessions, and technique critique) allows online personal trainers to charge even more.

Charging clients per session is an option that makes it easier for people to commit and try your services before deciding if you’re the right fit. Your rates should be 20 to 40 percent lower than in-person personal training rates because you can’t support your clients as much on video calls. 

For example, according to recent data , the average hourly cost for personal training is $55, with high-end services costing as much as $120. You can offer 1-on-1 video calls for 20 percent below the average cost and charge around $45 if you’re new or up to $95 if you’re running an established online fitness business.

Related article: How Much to Charge for a Workout Plan? Here’s How to Decide

3. Take Inspiration From Your Competitors

There is nothing wrong with taking a peek at your competition to see what services they offer, how much they charge, and how they market their online personal training businesses.

Doing so is not just beneficial but mandatory because:

• It gives you good marketing ideas
• You learn how much other coaches charge on average
• You can come up with ways to improve your service and stand out

More importantly, looking at your competition can be a great way to spot opportunities and offer a superior service. 

For example, if most coaches only communicate through email, you can offer chatting options to clients. That way, people can reach you more quickly with questions or concerns and have their issues resolved. Hevy Coach is an all-in-one platform that lets you keep track of your entire roster and organize your chats in one place.

4. Figure Out the Details

There are several things you should figure out to be a successful online personal trainer:

• What business structure will you use? It’s best to set up a limited liability company (LLC) or similar to separate yourself from your online business, protect your assets in case of a lawsuit, and be legitimate in case of an IRS audit. Doing so is also beneficial for tracking incomes and expenses to ensure your online business is profitable.
• How will you accept payments? Setting up a Stripe business account is ideal because the platform is easy to use, offers protection, and allows coaches to issue refunds if necessary.
• How will you provide guidance? Communicating with clients through email is a practical solution because you can keep track of everything and send all the necessary files (spreadsheets, PDFs, word files, pre-recorded videos, etc.).
• How will you track client progress? As an experienced coach, you understand how crucial it is to track your clients and ensure they are getting closer to their goals. Using online personal training software such as the Hevy Coach platform is great because you can keep everything in one place: the training plan, progress (body weight, circumference measurements, etc.), chat history, and more.
• How and when will you communicate with clients? Some coaches strictly limit communication to once per week to teach independence and reduce workload. Others offer chat options and encourage clients to ask questions and voice their concerns. You should think about your service and how you would like to deliver your online training service. Clear things up with clients before starting to work together to avoid issues.
• How exactly will you help clients, and what can they expect from you? The final big thing to think about is the essence of your online services. Think about the scope of your service, set clear expectations, and create some boundaries. Discuss these details with your clients early on to be on the same page and avoid confusion.

Running a personal training business will inevitably lead to other questions you must figure out as you go. Of course, it’s impossible to think of everything beforehand, but you should try clarifying as many details as possible, especially those directly related to the coaching process.

Build Your Online Presence

Running a successful business online comes down to two simple but fundamental things:

• Reaching enough people
• Converting a percentage of them into paying clients

Both are simple to understand but quite difficult to pull off, often taking months or years of dedicated effort. 

Building an online presence is necessary for reaching enough people and getting your name out there. Without exposure, you would struggle to grow your client roster even with a good marketing message. 

Look at it like this:

According to data from MailChimp, a reasonable website conversion rate is between 2 and 5 percent ( 3 ). In other words, 2 to 5 percent of visitors will join your email list (more on that in a moment) or make a purchase. So, for every 100 people who visit your website, 2 to 5 will take the action you desire, so long as your marketing message is good.

E-commerce data suggests a good conversion rate to aim for is 2.5 to 3 percent, but that number is likely lower for an online personal training business. The primary reason is that it takes more effort: applying, talking to the prospective coach, deciding if you’re a good fit, etc. 

Each hurdle a prospective client needs to jump through makes them more likely to give up and seek a more straightforward solution, such as purchasing an online course.

Put simply, converting people (especially cold leads) to paying clients is difficult. You need exposure to thousands to sign a handful and earn decent money. To that end, here are the three things you should focus on from the start:

1. Build Your Website

Every good online training business needs a website prospective clients can visit to learn more about the services offered, what is required from clients, what they can expect to get, and more. 

A website can also be a platform for you (the coach) to share helpful information with visitors and build an audience. You can share information through short blog posts, articles, complete guides, research breakdowns, or whatever else you feel would be helpful. 

Regardless of how you decide to approach your website, make sure it has three crucial pages:

• An about page where you include a personal trainer bio and other relevant information
• A contact page where you clearly and specifically outline how visitors can get in touch with you
• A landing page where you describe the service you offer, what clients can expect from working with you, what’s required of them, FAQs, etc.

You should also have some quality photos of yourself, preferably in the gym coaching others, to add to your about and landing pages.

2. Create an Email List

An email list is simply a collection of emails a business can gather to share updates, bonuses, helpful information, and discount offers with people. 

It’s best to sign up for a tool like Aweber or MailChimp. These platforms store your subscribers and allow you to send emails to hundreds or thousands of people with just one click.

Growing an email list is valuable because you’re collecting contact information from people interested in what you have to say. For example, if someone finds your article on Google and signs up for your email list through an opt-in form, they are essentially telling you, “I like your stuff. I want to see what else you have.” 

Email subscribers are more engaged and far likelier to become paying clients at some point, if not right away. 

The best way to grow your email list is to ask people to subscribe in exchange for a free bonus: eBook, content upgrade (bonus material related to a specific article or video topic), email course on a particular subject, discount code, or something else. 

Place several opt-in forms on your website (pop-up form, sidebar form, at the bottom of articles, or on your landing page) and state clearly what visitors would get if they subscribed. Once people are on your list, continue to provide value to keep them engaged. 

One way to do that is to set up a weekly email newsletter. It could be as simple as writing a quick email where you break down a topic, answer a reader’s question, share tips, and more. 

Doing so would allow you to build a relationship with people. Once you have a list of at least 100 subscribers, pitch your online coaching service and encourage those interested to reach out. These emails should still provide value and explain how your service would help the person reach their goals.

3. Establish Social Media Profiles

Regardless of how you see social media, platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and even X (Twitter) provide opportunities to market your services, reach more people, and expand your client roster. 

Plus, unlike building a website from scratch, doing search engine optimization, and trying to rank on Google, social media offers an element of virality. In other words, you could reach far more people in less time if you share helpful and engaging content.

For example, many people these days find great success on TikTok and YouTube, where they release short and informative or humorous videos. Reaching thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people would make it far easier to sign enough clients to earn good money. 

One prominent example of someone who’s achieved great success with that content format is Noel Deyzel. His videos blend motivation, modesty, humor, and helpful information, typically wrapped in 30 to 60 seconds. 

Because of his unique style and likable personality, Noel has amassed an impressive following across social media.

Related article: How to Become a Fitness Influencer: 8 Key Areas to Focus On

Market Your Online Personal Training Business

Content & email marketing.

As discussed previously, sharing helpful information is an effective way to build an email list and get your name out there. Providing valuable content for free makes you the ‘go-to’ person for folks who need fitness guidance. 

Most people who enjoy your content will never purchase anything from you, but that doesn’t mean content and email marketing are obsolete. 

Even if one percent of your active email subscribers convert into paying clients, you can still build a large roster, so long as the list is large enough and growing every month. 

For example, getting your first 100 email subscribers might result in one to two new clients if you market yourself well. However, that number is bound to increase as your email list grows:

• 500 subscribers = 4-5 clients
• 1,000 subscribers = 8-10 clients
• 10,000 subscribers = more coaching requests than you can handle

Getting to that point is easier said than done, but an engaged and steadily growing list will be your best asset.

Social Media

There are a couple of ways to expand your personal training business through social media, both of which are based on regularly sharing helpful and engaging content:

• Direct people to your coaching services (landing page) from your social media posts. For example, if you’re creating short-form helpful videos, dedicate the last ten seconds to pitching your services with a link for people to learn more.
• Direct people to your website or dedicated opt-in page, where they can sign up for your email list. 

For most people, a combination of the two tactics would work best. While you should leverage social media to grow your list, it also doesn’t hurt to try to convert some people straight from Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. 

For instance, let’s say you share a short video explaining the benefits of online personal training. In that case, pitching your service would make a lot of sense because you know that people who see the video are at least somewhat interested in getting coached. 

However, if the topic you cover isn’t directly related to coaching, perhaps a better tactic would be to try and convert people from social media to your email list. From there, you can introduce yourself, share some bonuses, and provide value consistently, turning cold leads into raving fans.

Then, when you decide to pitch your online training services to your email list, you’re more likely to sign new clients.

Click here to get fitness content ideas.

Paid Advertisement

Paid ads are another venue worth exploring, especially if you’re just starting and don’t have an audience. The right ads can get the ball rolling, providing much-needed exposure and income. 

One option is to run some Google ads. These appear on top of the search results, which means they are the first thing people see when they type a keyword related to online personal training. 

Facebook ads are another option, though it takes longer to fully understand how they work. The advantage is that you can target specific people based on age, gender, and interests. Here is an in-depth guide on Facebook advertising.

YouTube ads are the third good option, especially if you’re good in front of the camera and can create engaging videos.

Overall, a paid advertisement can work but expect to make some mistakes. It takes time to hone your message and learn how to create enticing ads that grab people’s attention.

Client Testimonials

Testimonials from happy clients are a powerful form of free advertisement. Even a handful of positive reviews sets you apart from most of your competition. 

It all has to do with social proof , a concept in psychology that suggests that other people influence our decision-making. 

For example, how do you go about purchasing something online? You probably look at customer ratings and reviews to determine if the item is worth buying. You’re more likely to get the product with hundreds or thousands of positive reviews.

The same goes when looking to hire a person for their service. We value other people’s opinions and are likelier to work with someone if others vouch for that person.

Unfortunately, getting your first client testimonials is difficult. One option is to reach out to people you’ve coached in person and ask them to write a few lines or record a video, preferably with before and after photographs showcasing their transformation.

Include testimonials on your landing page to boost your credibility and conversion rate.

Final Words

Becoming an online personal trainer is a fantastic way to reach more people, earn more money, and spend less time working. However, gaining momentum is often difficult, time-consuming, and frustrating.

It takes time to build an audience, develop a good marketing message, and figure out all the business-related details (your business model, how to accept payments, track clients’ progress, etc.). 

The three steps you should take right away are:

• Build a professional-looking website with three core pages: about, contact, and landing pages
• Create an email list and use your website to convert people
• Set up social media profiles and begin sharing helpful and engaging content to build a following

Despite the challenges, online training is a fantastic way to expand your practice because you don’t have to invest much money upfront. You can continue coaching people in person while growing your online influence. 

If you’re looking for a coaching platform, check out Hevy Coach . The all-in-one tool keeps all of your clients in one place, makes communication and progress-tracking easy, and allows you to provide the necessary guidance (training program, diet plan, tips, etc.).

Philip Stefanov

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Personal Training Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Personal Training Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Personal Training business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Personal Training businesses.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Personal Training business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Empowered Fitness is a new personal training business located in Atlanta, Georgia. We are committed to helping the residents of Atlanta achieve their fitness goals by providing them personalized one-on-one and group training sessions. All workout plans designed by our trainers are personalized to each client, and utilize their strengths to help them achieve their goals. Whether our clients want to lose weight or get stronger, we will be there to help them every step of the way.

Empowered Fitness is founded and run by Joanna Teller. Joanna has been a personal trainer for several years, but is now eager to expand her business to include a larger clientele and a full staff of personal trainers. Her passion for fitness and experience in the industry will be the company’s most valuable assets.

Product Offering

Empowered Fitness helps its clients achieve their fitness goals. Clients primarily come to us when they need help with losing weight, increasing their stamina, or improving their muscle mass. We serve anyone 18 or older and provide one-on-one training as well as group sessions for groups of up to ten people.

Customer Focus

Empowered Fitness will target all men and women ages 18 – 99 who are interested in achieving and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. Atlanta is a very diverse city that includes people from all walks of life. This diverse demographic has numerous fitness and health goals that can be helped by hiring a personal trainer. Therefore, we expect to have a very diverse clientele that includes people from multiple demographics.

Management Team

Empowered Fitness is run by Joanna Teller. Joanna is an experienced personal trainer who has helped hundreds of clients over the past five years. Though she has had a rewarding career as a solo personal trainer, her passion for helping people inspired her to start a larger company where she can hire other personal trainers and expand her clientbase. Her experience in the industry will be a solid foundation for the company to grow and thrive on.

Success Factors

Empowered Fitness will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Staff of friendly, passionate, and knowledgeable personal trainers that can help clients achieve a multitude of health and fitness goals.
• Moderate pricing for our excellent personal training services.
• Services at our clients’ convenience. We will meet our clients anywhere they want to work out, including their gym, the park, or their home.

Financial Highlights

Empowered Fitness is seeking $250,000 in debt financing to begin operations of the business. The funding will be dedicated towards building out the office space and purchasing equipment. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and working capital. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Leasing and building out the office space: $100,000
• Equipment purchase: $50,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $50,000
• Marketing & advertising: $25,000
• Working capital: $25,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Empowered Fitness.

Company Overview

Who is empowered fitness.

Empowered Fitness is a new personal training business that serves the residents of Atlanta, Georgia. We are committed to helping locals reach their fitness goals, whether that be to lose weight or increase their strength. We serve anyone ages 18 -99 and offer both one-on-one and group sessions. No matter what health goals our clients want to achieve, we will be there supporting them every step of the way.

  Empowered Fitness helps its clients by providing personalized training sessions. Clients can hire our trainers for hour-long sessions up to multiple times per week. While most clients opt for one-on-one training sessions, we also offer group sessions for up to ten people. All sessions are conducted at the client’s choice of location. We can meet our clients at their favorite gym, park, home, or other convenient location.

Empowered Fitness is run by Joanna Teller, who has considerable experience as a personal trainer. Her prior experience, expertise, and clientbase will provide the solid foundation our company needs to be successful.

Empowered Fitness’ History

After surveying the local customer base, and finding a potential office location, Joanna Teller incorporated Empowered Fitness as an S-Corporation on July 1st, 2023.

Currently, the business is being run out of Joanna’s home office, but once the lease on Empowered Fitness’ location is finalized, all operations will be run from there.

Since incorporation, the company has achieved the following milestones:

• Found a commercial space and signed Letter of Intent to lease it
• Developed the company’s name, logo, social media accounts, and website
• Determined equipment and fixture requirements
• Began recruiting key employees with previous fitness and personal training experience

Empowered Fitness’ Services

Empowered Fitness provides personal training services to the residents of Atlanta, Georgia. These sessions are primarily one-on-one, but we also provide group personal training for groups of up to ten people. We can help our clients with a variety of fitness goals including:

• Weight loss
• Increasing stamina
• Increase strength

Industry Analysis

The Personal Training industry is expected to grow to an annual revenue of $41 billion in 2023 and will grow at a CAGR of 4.6% from now until 2033. This growth is due to several factors. First, the pandemic years encouraged many people to focus on their health, with many people taking up online fitness courses and virtual personal training. Second, the industry is positively affected by the increase in per capita disposable income. Consumers with more disposable income are more likely to spend it on services that improve their health and well-being, such as personal training services. Finally, the overall trend towards health consciousness will indirectly benefit the Personal Training industry as more people will invest in services that improve their health.

During this period, demographic changes are expected to drive revenue growth for operators. Additional revenue streams are also expected to play an integral part in industry growth. In particular, as healthcare costs continue to escalate, health insurance providers may implement incentives to promote preventive health practices, such as partnering with gyms and personal training businesses. Furthermore, the number of obese individuals in the United States has increased in recent years. Consequently, to cut healthcare costs, many health insurance providers will likely attempt to lower an individual’s risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, among other ailments. Additionally, initiatives that promote the health benefits of exercise will likely increase over the next five years, stimulating industry revenue.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market, customer segmentation.

Empowered Fitness will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Individuals who want to lose weight and improve their fitness
• Physical therapy patients

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Empowered Fitness will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Sunshine Personal Training

Sunshine Personal Training is a personal training studio that offers personalized one-on-one training sessions. The trainers work with each client to customize a fitness and nutritional program that is designed to reach their goals. Though Sunshine’s trainers can help clients with a variety of goals, the studio primarily promotes its services to people who want to lose weight. Therefore, we expect that Sunshine Personal Training will only be a major competitor for this particular customer segment.

Atlanta Fitness

Atlanta Fitness is a multi-location personal training business that offers personalized training to athletes and fitness junkies. Each location is a fully equipped gym along with dozens of personal trainers that help each client reach their fitness goals. They primarily market to clients who are already working out regularly but just need extra help to reach their peak performance. Therefore, they will only be a competitor for a fraction of our target market, as we are willing to help anyone who has fitness goals, not just athletes.

Steve’s Personal Training Services

Established in 2018, Steve’s Personal Training Services is a small personal training operation run by Steve Miller. Steve worked as a personal trainer for several gym chains but broke off as his own separate business in 2018. Since then, he has helped hundreds of clients get in better shape and achieve their fitness goals. Steve is a popular trainer in the area and markets to the same geographic area as Empowered Fitness. However, Steve’s company is a small operation, so we expect that it will only be a minor competitor.

Competitive Advantage

Empowered Fitness will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

• Affordable pricing : Empowered Fitness will offer its services for a more affordable rate than the competition.
• Friendly staff : Empowered Fitness will only hire trainers that are friendly and compassionate. All of our trainers will positively encourage our clients to achieve their goals.
• Convenient services : We will meet our clients wherever they want to work out, whether that be the gym, a park, or at our client’s home.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Empowered Fitness will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Dedicated team of trainers.
• Affordable fees.
• Convenient hours of operation.
• Ability to meet clients wherever they want to work out.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Empowered Fitness is as follows:

Social Media Marketing Strategy

Empowered Fitness will invest in advertising its services on social media platforms Facebook and Instagram. By using targeted social media marketing, Empowered Fitness will be able to reach the appropriate target audience of Atlanta.

Joanna will invest in two billboards strategically located at busy intersections that receive thousands of traffic daily. She will hire an advertising agency to develop the print for the billboard design.

Website/SEO Marketing Strategy

Empowered Fitness will invest in a strong SEO presence so that when someone enters “Atlanta personal trainers” or “personal trainer near me” in their Google or Bing search bar, Empowered Fitness is at the top of the list. Their website will list all of Empowered Fitness’ services, location, pricing, and contact information.

Word of Mouth

Word quickly spreads around town and once a few people work with our amazing trainers at Empowered Fitness, more and more people will want to hire our personal training services.

The pricing of Empowered Fitness will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive value when purchasing our services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Empowered Fitness. Operation Functions:

• Joanna Teller will be the Owner of Empowered Fitness. She will handle the general operations of the company as well as provide personal training services to her clients. Joanna will spend the next several months hiring the following staff:
• An Administrative Assistant who will oversee all administrative aspects of running the business. This will include bookkeeping, tax payments, and payroll of the staff. They will also help with scheduling appointments and answering client questions.
• Several trainers who will provide training personal services to clients.

Milestones:

Empowered Fitness will have the following milestones completed in the next six months.

• 8/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease office space.
• 8/15/202X – Begin build-out and design of office space
• 9/1/202X – Hire advertising company to begin developing the company’s branding, logo, social media accounts, website, and billboard design.
• 9/15/202X – Order all equipment.
• 9/30/202X – Launch social media campaign and website. Billboards go up.
• 10/1/202X – Hire and train several personal trainers.
• 11/1/202X – Grand Opening of Empowered Fitness.

Empowered Fitness is run by Joanna Teller. Joanna is an experienced personal trainer who has helped hundreds of clients over the past five years. Though she has had a rewarding career as a solo personal trainer, her passion for helping people inspired her to start a larger company where she can hire more personal trainers and expand her clientbase. Her experience in the industry and expertise will be a solid foundation for the company to grow and thrive on.

Though Joanna has never run a company of her own, she has considerable experience in the industry and knows how to run the general operations of a personal training company. As the company grows, she will hire other staff to help her run aspects of the business that she is unfamiliar with.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Empowered Fitness are the fees we will charge each client that hires our services.

The cost drivers will be the payroll for the staff, rent, utilities, cleaning supplies, and equipment. In the initial years, the company’s marketing spending will be high, as it establishes itself in the market.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and pay off the startup business loan.

• Initial number of clients per month: 20
• Average personal training fees per session: $80
• Office lease per year: $20,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, personal training business plan faqs, what is a personal training business plan.

A personal training business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your personal training business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your Personal Training business plan using our Personal Training Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Personal Training Businesses? 

There are a number of different kinds of personal training businesses , some examples include: Mobile personal trainer, In-home personal trainer, Online personal trainer, and Gym trainer.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Personal Training Business Plan?

Personal Training businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Personal Training Business?

Starting a personal training business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Personal Training Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed personal training business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast. 

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your personal training business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your personal training business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Personal Training Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your personal training business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your personal training business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.

7. Acquire Necessary Personal Training Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your personal training business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your personal training business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Personal Training Business Plan With Examples & Templates

Published by caroline @ wellness creative co on 14 june 2023 14 june 2023.

Writing a personal training business plan can seem a bit daunting. Most PTs love fitness and programming but aren’t so keen on the admin side. The good news is it doesn’t have to be difficult – with the right guidance and some practical examples to follow, it’s actually pretty easy.

In this article – learn how to write a personal training business plan in 7 simple steps (with samples, templates, and a downloadable checklist).

• Why write a business plan?
• 7 key elements
• Templates & examples
• Downloadable PDF checklist

We’re a team of qualified personal trainers and fitness coaches with 15+ years of industry experience , so we know first-hand what works (and what doesn’t!). We’ve trained other fitness professionals in sales, marketing, and business growth, so our strategies are tried and tested.

Why Write a Business Plan?

If you want your personal training business to be successful , then it’s vital to have a plan. It’ll help you secure investor funding or a business loan , which many PTs require in order to get off the ground.

But even if you don’t need the start-up finances, writing a plan makes you more likely to succeed. In fact, research shows that business plans double your chance of success . So, it’s really a no-brainer if you’re serious about being successful.

Here are a few of the reasons why creating a business plan is important…

• It crystallizes abstract thoughts and ideas into something tangible
• Helps you communicate your business concept in a way others will understand easily
• Required to secure funding from investors and banks
• Provides a structured plan to work through
• Helps you decide which areas to spend money on and where not to invest
• Ensures you understand what you’re letting yourself in for in terms of money, time, and effort

Whether you want to go freelance, become a mobile PT, start a personal training studio, or your own gym , you’ll definitely need a plan.

What To Include In a Personal Training Business Plan

Writing a personal training business proposal might sound daunting but this 7-step guide makes it easy . It’ll walk you through the exact process to follow so you’ll have your plan completed in no time. Here’s an overview of what you need to include…

• Executive summary
• Industry and market analysis
• Business overview
• Services offered
• Sales and marketing strategy
• Financial details
• Implementation plan

Now let’s look at each of these sections in more detail…

1. Executive Summary

Get straight to the point – why should the bank or investors lend your business money? Include your mission, key financial info, and unique selling points. Although it goes at the beginning of your plan, you should prepare this section last.

2. Industry & Local Market Analysis

Demonstrate potential – show that the fitness market and personal training industry are growing and there’ll be a strong demand for your services. Include research statistics, competitor info, and relevant government initiatives.

3. Business Overview

Summarise the business – objectives, location, ownership, legal status, personnel structure, and operations.

4. Services

The fun part – describe the different services you plan to sell including the packages and pricing structure . This could be in-person PT sessions, online programs , specialist workshops, fitness products, etc.

5. Sales & Marketing Strategy

How you’ll attract clients – explain your brand positioning and outline your personal training marketing plan by listing the activities you’ll do to generate revenue , attract clients , and promote your PT business .

6. Financial Information

Time to open a spreadsheet – potential investors and banks aren’t just interested in your figures. They’ll want to know how you arrived at those figures so show your calculations. Include breakdowns of profit and loss, cash-flow, breakeven figures, and the capital expenditure needed for start-up. Project 12, 36, and 60 months ahead.

7. Implementation Plan

How you’ll make it happen – provide a step-by-step list of actions you’ll take, including milestone dates.

You might also like… 50 Catchy Personal Training Business Name Ideas or How To Promote a Fitness Business .

Fitness Marketing Ideas Mini-Guide

25 fitness marketing ideas for your gym, studio, or online business. Attract new members, get more PT clients & boost your fitness blog.

Personal Trainer Business Plan Examples & Templates

Looking at a personal training business plan sample can be really helpful as it puts these sections into context. Reviewing examples will give you ideas for how to create and present your own plan.

You obviously don’t want to copy another plan since the details will be unique to your business. But the following example plans can be a useful reference for personal trainers…

• Dragon Fitness Training  produced this interesting personal trainer business plan as an academic exercise.
• Catalyst Fitness  created this CrossFit business plan with a detailed risk assessment.
• Launceston City Council created this aquatic center and health club business plan.
• The Yoga Lunch Box  offers a comprehensive yet easy-to-read fitness business template.

Creating a business plan is 100% worth the time and effort . It helps you validate demand, maximise profitability, and identify any potential pitfalls early.

This plan will be your playbook for the next 3-5 years so don’t rush the process. It’ll help you secure investor funding or a bank loan if you want to go down this route. Considering how you’ll acquire paying clients and manage cash flow now will ensure you’re well-prepared for life as a fitness business owner.

You might also like… How To Grow a Personal Training Business or The Ultimate Yoga Business Planning Guide & Template .

Downloadable Checklist & More Templates

The best way to write a business plan is to work on it in bite-size chunks . Trying to get the whole thing done in one go is the quickest route to overwhelm.

So, we recommend working on one section each day. This will enable you to complete the whole thing within a week, with zero stress or hassle . To make things easy, we created a handy PDF checklist that walks you through the 7 sections.

You can download it as part of our Personal Training Business Bundle . It includes marketing plan templates, business name ideas, sales scripts, and loads more resources.

Caroline @ Wellness Creative Co

Qualified personal trainer (BSc Sports Science) & nutritionist (MSc Human Nutrition) with 15+ years of fitness & wellness marketing experience working with global brands.

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How to Create an Online Personal Training Business Plan

Personal Trainer Software

Online personal training is soaring at the moment. People love the ease and convenience that comes with using online training services. But, simultaneously, it enables them to choose the best professional for them rather than the most convenient.

For personal trainers, offering an online service in their personal training business means reaching a much broader group of people. The possibilities are endless, yet the competition is fierce. Because of this, you need to have a solid business plan in place.

Below, we will take you through the steps to follow to create an effective online personal training business plan:

Step 1. Start with a brief introduction and executive summary.

When putting together a business plan for your online training business, start with a brief introduction to your business.

Once you have done this, you can create an executive summary, a synopsis of your entire business plan.

In the executive summary, you need to give a brief overview of everything you will include in the business plan.

Address how you will set your online fitness venture apart from the competition. Make sure you reveal how you will run your online training business, as only some people reading the document may understand the ins and outs of being an online personal trainer.

Step 2. Put together a mission statement.

Next, you need to create your mission statement . Why is your online fitness company going to exist in the first place?

Here, you must define your target audience, explain your core business values, and reveal how you will serve your client base.

For your mission statement to have the desired impact, you must remember that readers have probably read many mission statements before. Many of them can be repetitive, so you need to do something different. Break the common mold.

Step 3. Include a section that analyses the current state of the fitness industry.

The next part of your business plan is a brief industry analysis . This is where you share knowledge relating to the online fitness industry specifically.

• What is online personal training?

• What is the market for online personal training expected to be like over the coming years?

• How has online personal training evolved?

• What are some of the most significant online personal training trends?

When answering these questions, you can tie it back to how you will operate your online training business.

Step 4. Share information on your target audience.

Now that you understand the market space you are operating in and what you wish to achieve from your business, you can share details on your ideal client and who will benefit from your online training services.

If you create one or more buyer personas , you will have a better understanding of who your ideal clients are, how they talk, what they're interested in and as a result how you can market to them.

Some of the things you can cover when creating your buyer persona are as follows:

• Personal info like demographics, location, income, hobbies, and interests

• The challenges they face regarding fitness and health, their problems, what is stopping them from solving them, and the specific pain points

• Their career goals, ambitions, and how they interpret success

• How can you help them? What does your service do for them to achieve their version of success with their fitness?

Step 5. What is the competition doing?

Competitor analysis is another essential element of your online personal training business plan. You will need to take a more detailed look at the competitors already operating in your niche and what they are doing.

You can also compare your online training model with in-person personal training so you can explain how you will compete with this type of service.

Spend time researching what the competition offers, what current and ex-customers are saying, and any gaps in the market.

Once you have presented your competitor's analysis, you'll need to give answers to the following questions in this section:

• What is your business going to do differently?

• How will you compete against these personal trainers?

• What are your strengths?

Be bold and acknowledge some weaknesses, too, and an action plan on how you intend to improve them.

Step 6. Online security and practicalities.

Running an online business in any field presents a unique set of challenges. It is essential to acknowledge these and prepare for them so that you can demonstrate to partners and investors that you have a solid plan. It's also crucial to understand the risks and your responsibilities towards clients to protect their information from 3rd parties and potential security threats. So including an IT security risk assessment in this section is a good idea.

Online security is one of the main issues you need to deal with. There are rules and regulations, such as PCI DSS , which must be adhered to when taking card payments online. You then have GDPR for EU clients and other data regulations across the globe you need to consider when setting up your online personal training systems.

If you adhere to this legislation, you can avoid a whole world of trouble. Not only will you face non-compliance fines, but your reputation will take a big hit should any failings in cyber security cause damage to your clients.

Many businesses have struggled to recover following data breaches, so you must inspire confidence by showing that you take this seriously and know what is necessary to run a legitimate and professional online business.

You can also address customer management issues. For example, how will you handle your ever-growing list of online personal training clients? How are you going to keep on top of billing and client check-ins? The vast majority of personal trainers will use a customer management tool, such as PT Distinction . Outline your choice and why it is the perfect fit.

Step 7. Detail your core online training services.

As you can see, it's pretty far down the line when you introduce your online training offers because all the information in the first 6 steps are crucial to creating your online training packages .

You can start by explaining your reasons for offering different packages or memberships. For example, are you going to include live sessions or on-demand workouts at all? Do you plan to sell any products, such as merchandise or home gym equipment? If yes, why and how will it help your online fitness business succeed?

To help you get some inspiration, let's take a look at some of the different services a lot of online personal trainers offer:

• Online consultations for new members

• On-demand libraries with workout content that users can enjoy on-the-go

• One-on-one virtual personal training

• Nutrition planning

• Group coaching services

When you outline the products and services you will provide, ensure you are clear about service provision. How will you deliver the services? What software will you use? How will you operate in a customer-friendly and professional manner?

Step 8. Your marketing strategy.

You may be the best personal trainer on the Internet, but if no one knows about your services, you will not get very far. This is why it is critical to put together an expert marketing strategy.

From social media to paid advertising , there are many different avenues for you to explore when it comes to online fitness marketing. However, since you'll be delivering your services online, you will only be able to grow if you invest some time, effort, and maybe even money into a solid digital fitness marketing strategy according to Smart Insights.

You will need to refer back to your ideal clients to determine the marketing approach that makes the most sense. You also need to factor in your budget. Then, when putting pen to paper, explain which strategies you will use, why you will use them, and how you will implement them.

It would be best to discuss what other businesses have done in the online personal training arena and how you will market your business differently. This can come from the competitor analysis you did for writing Step 5.

What techniques have been used well so far? What strategies have yet to work? You don't need years of marketing expertise to create a great marketing plan. Instead, outline the methods proving to be the most successful based on the research you have done into your competition.

Step 9. Address finances.

You will need to discuss your budget, income, and revenue in the

finances section so you and your potential investors can understand if your plan is viable.

Many personal trainers find that having a financial planner or accountant is beneficial here, as you will need to share future costs and projections, define early expenses, and determine the revenue you must earn for your business to be sustainable.

You can also discuss the following matters:

• How much of your budget will be allocated to development, operations, taxes, and marketing?

• How will you collect payments from customers?

• How will you pay suppliers?

• How will you pay yourself, and what do you hope to gain financially?

• How will you manage cash flow?

BONUS Step. Location and Logistics

Although you will run an online business, you still need to run it from somewhere. Therefore, you will need a space to house your computer and carry out live workout sessions and video consultations.

Will you do this from your own home? Are you going to rent a facility? Or are you going to purchase a dedicated space?

Your business must be registered at a specific address, so consider this carefully. A professional address will help to boost your brand image.

It is also vital to address this from a financial perspective. For example, how much of your budget will be dedicated to your office space? What level of revenue are you going to need to accumulate to fund these expenses comfortably?

Creating an online personal training business plan breeds success.

All in all, many components come together to build a successful online personal training business. A solid online training business plan will help you keep your head in the game and follow through with objectives. However, remember that those objectives might change over the years, so it's worth re-evaluating that plan regularly to ensure your personal and business goals are still aligned.

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Create a Personal Trainer Business Plan in Six Steps

My personal training career began, as so many do, at a big box gym.

I worked my way up to management, then regional management, and eventually struck out on my own. Soon I opened a small gym, which progressively grew into a bigger gym over the next six years.

A natural evolution maybe, but no accident. It happened because I had a plan.

A business plan helps you stay focused. It puts you in control, leading you where you want to go, so you’ll end up happier and wealthier.

Yet lots of trainers don’t think to make one, or assume they don’t need one. You do. Taking the time to carefully craft a business plan can give you an edge, regardless of where you are in your career.

To help you get started, I’ve outlined a personal trainer business plan template with six basic steps:

Step 1: Write your mission statement

Step 2: assess the fitness industry and your competition, step 3: map out your revenue streams, step 4: plan for operating costs, step 5: create your sales and marketing plan, step 6: honestly assess your risk.

We’ll hit each of those in a moment, and share a downloadable worksheet for you to craft your own business plan. But first, you probably have a few questions.

What is a personal trainer business plan?

A personal trainer business plan is a written description of your business’s future. Think of it as your North Star. It will help guide every aspect of your business: services, products, people, location, competition, costs, and income.

Who needs a personal trainer business plan?

Anyone who makes a living as a personal trainer. Don’t wait until you’re self-employed. It’s never too early to think about your future trajectory, even if you’re still a gym employee.

What is a personal trainer business plan used for?

A business plan articulates what you do and why you’re doing it. Having it in writing helps you stay focused.

But depending on your needs and goals, you might also use it to impress potential investors, attract employees or customers, or deal with suppliers.

How long should a personal trainer business plan be?

A typical plan is about 10 to 20 pages, but there’s a lot of room for variation. It can be as simple as a few notes on the back of an envelope, or as complex as 50 pages with detailed projections and analysis.

What’s the purpose of your plan? If you’re trying to score financing, err on the longer side. But if it’s just for you, make it as brief or detailed as you like.

How do you start?

Easy: Just write. Tailor the language to your prospective audience. If you’re writing the plan for yourself, make it as casual as a conversation with a friend. If you’re writing it for a bank or private investor, be more formal. If it’s for clients, be professional, avoiding jargon or slang.

I remember agonizing over my first business plan, making a million revisions. I felt stuck because, as hard as I tried, my plan wasn’t perfect yet.

Then I realized something: Perfection isn’t possible, and you can’t let the pursuit of it keep you from moving forward.

The goal is to think about your personal training business in a more mature way. As you move through your career, stretching your abilities and learning from mistakes, you’ll gain the perspective you need to refine it.

Put another way, as you get better, your plan will too.

Personal trainer business plan template

This is two or three sentences explaining what your company aims to do, and why: “I help THIS group of people do X, Y, and Z. And this is why I do it.”

Don’t skip the second part. Clarifying why you do what you do is essential for setting your business apart. It starts with two things:

• Your core values
• Your training philosophy

Core values are your personal beliefs: who you are, and what you stand for. Your training philosophy is what you believe about training.

Why is training people important to you? Why is the demographic you work with important? What are the two or three most important things you believe about training that are nonnegotiable?

If you can answer those questions, you’ll have a much easier time conveying your value to others, and creating a coaching avatar that helps people connect with you.

READ ALSO:   How to Get More Personal Training Clients

Before you can figure out where you fit in in the fitness industry, you first need to know what that industry looks like. That takes research into the two most relevant market tiers for fitness pros:

To understand what’s happening locally, hop online and look up all the gyms and fitness facilities in your area. Visit a few. Talk to the locals, and pick their brains about what they’re interested in and why they chose their current gym. Gauge sample size.

For a national perspective, you could turn to Google.

Now think about where you fit in, both locally and nationally. What gap do you fill? What do you offer that someone needs but no one else provides? An honest assessment of your strengths and weaknesses will help you find those answers.

Finally, determine your biggest threat. Think you don’t have competition? You do. Look at it this way: In the absence of your product or service, how do people fill that void? Where do they go? What do they buy? That’s your competition.

This one is simple. Just answer one question: How are you going to deliver your service? Will you train clients one-on-one, and also lead a group class a couple times a week? Or will you do small-group training at your gym, and supplement your income with online training ?

Start with only one or two income sources, and see how they work (or don’t work). Maybe you’ll find that one (like online training) generates enough revenue for you to focus on it exclusively. Maybe you’ll find that another (like teaching group classes at 6 a.m.) doesn’t pay well enough for you to continue. Maybe you’ll have so much success with one demographic or style of training that you’ll decide to create and sell a product related to it.

But don’t feel you have  to add revenue streams. Some of the most successful businesses in the world offer only one or two products. A sharp focus lets you excel at one thing. Sometimes that’s better than being kinda good at several.

READ ALSO:   Avoid These Mistakes When Building an Online Training Business

Jot down all the expenses you need to run your business: rent, equipment, insurance, software, business license, and any administrative fees. Add it all up, and you get your operating costs, the minimum income you need to exist. Keep in mind that some percentage of that income will go to taxes .

Now tackle revenue projections. Make a high-low chart, with one column for worst-case scenario, and another for best-case.

Your best-case scenario is what would happen if you absolutely crushed it, and kept a full book of paying clients all year. Your worst-case is the opposite, the least amount you would make if things don’t go according to plan.

Comfortable with those numbers? If not, rejigger the plan until you are.

READ ALSO:   How Your “Freedom Number” Can Give You the Opportunity to Fail

At Fitness Revolution  (where I work), we have something called the Triple-A Marketing Method : Assets, Arsenal, Action plan. Here’s how it works.

• Start with your assets—your skills, talents, and strengths. Maybe you’re really good at videos, or you’re great face to face.
• Now determine your arsenal, the tools you’ll use to deploy those skills. If videos are your thing, social media might be the way you share them. If talking to people is your strength, focus on networking.
• Finally, create an action plan, taking care to define exactly how often you’ll deploy those resources. Maybe you’ll post a new video every week, or attend a networking event once a month.

Over time, you’ll refine this section as you figure out what works and what doesn’t. But this is a good start.

There’s a reason why, in Step 4, I had you draw up a worst-case scenario alongside your sunniest projection. Too many personal trainers are overly optimistic, and write up business plans that assume things will always be awesome.

The problem with projecting 365 days of sunshine is that you’ll be blinded by the imagined glare. You won’t be ready for the bootcamps that get rained out, the clients who move on, the rent that goes up, or the car that breaks down.

Try pretending it’s your friend’s business plan. What would you say to that friend? Even better: Seek feedback from a fitness industry mentor or someone whose business advice you value. A neutral expert can give you much-needed perspective on the realities of running a business in an often-unpredictable world.

That brings us to risk. How much risk is written into your plan, and how much can you tolerate?

If you’re just starting out, your risk tolerance is probably pretty high, simply because you have less to lose. You could also pivot and try something else if your plan doesn’t work out.

But as your business grows, and you have more people who depend on you, the decisions will be harder, and your appetite for risk will probably drop.

Ready to get started? Click here to download our free Personal Trainer Business Plan worksheet.

What happens now?

A business plan is never complete. Even if you never need a detailed, professional version for investors, and you’re the only one who ever sees it, it’s still something you revisit as needed.

Every time your business shifts direction, your financial outlook changes, or you launch a new product, you’ll need to revisit your business plan.

But you don’t have to wait for a major change. Even a successful plan will eventually run its course, and need to be updated. If you think it’s time to revisit your plan, you’re probably right.

David Crump

David Crump is a personal trainer, industry-recognized speaker, and fitness business consultant who helps other fitness professionals grow their business. He is the training and content manager for Fitness Revolution, where he oversees continuing education and all things start-up related. He has helped open at least seven independent fitness facilities in addition to his own, which he ran for six years. You can keep up with him at his website or on Facebook .

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Personal trainer business plan template

After deciding to launch your personal training business, your next step is to begin writing your business plan. A business plan is an excellent tool to ke

After deciding to launch your personal training business, your next step is to begin writing your business plan. A business plan is an excellent tool to keep you organised, help you avoid mistakes both in the present and down the line, and brings together all the parts of your business to make it succeed. While you will likely make several amendments to your business plan as your business grows, having a solid document with all of your goals and the strategies you want to execute will help you successfully get your personal training business up and running.

To assist you in creating your business plan we have provided you with a template and business plan examples of everything your document should include, what information to cover in each section, and what your business plan can help you achieve. Let's get started.

What is a business plan?

First things first, a business plan is a written document, typically 10-20 pages (depending on your business and how in-depth you go) that details everything one needs to know about your business. It should define your objectives, your business goals, and how you plan to achieve them - meaning how you will grow your business and in what ways.

Essentially it is the roadmap of your business and should clearly detail and state logistics as well as marketing, financial, and operational strategies and forecasts. Although business plans are unique to every business, there is a set structure you can follow to create your own and make it understandable to anyone reading your document.

Why is a business plan important for my personal training business?

Aside from being the document that you will follow to stay on track to achieve your goals, business plans also serve several other important purposes. A well-written business plan can help you attract investments and build your credibility.

When applying for a grant or loan or any type of financial support, often time the body providing you with the funds will ask for a business plan to verify your legitimacy. Business plans can also help you analyse gaps in your business, where you need to improve, and what things you may need to revisit as your business grows.

It's not only good practice to write a business plan, but it also serves as a way to set yourself apart from your competition and show your audience and potential clients how professional you are.

If you have already launched your business without a business plan, don't worry, there is still time to make one. Using our template you can create a strong plan that will establish your business and set you up for success.

The fine details: what to include in your business plan

Although you might be thinking right now, that writing a business plan will be boring, challenging, and that other PT businesses in your area probably already cover a lot of what you will include in your plan, you'd find it interesting to know that business plans are usually never identical because no two businesses are exactly the same, even if it might seem that way. This is why being as specific as possible and clearly detailing what your business is, what it offers, and to who is extremely important. In your business plan you must include the following topics:

• Executive summary

Mission statement

Industry analysis, competitor analysis, customer analysis.

• Marketing plan and analysis

Products and services

Financial plan, facility and location, management team.

These fundamental elements will help shape your plan and provide the exact details and strategies to start your personal training business off on the right track. While you might not have certain elements yet or are still considering whether or not to include certain elements in your personal training business for example a management team or purchase of your own facility, that's no problem. Including details such as your hopes and ideas for your business in the future or why your business will not cover certain areas should still be mentioned in your business plan. This will help give readers a big picture idea of your business and the possibilities for future growth and expansion.

Executive Summary

The first section of your business plan is your executive summary, or a synopsis of your business plan and what the reader of your plan can expect to learn from reading it. Your executive summary should have at least two to three sentences on each of the topics in your business plan, with a clear statement about your financial projections, who your ideal client is, and what you plan to achieve.

A great executive summary will hook your readers and motivate them to continue reading. A poorly executed executive summary will discourage the reader from reading more and leave a poor first impression of your business. Your executive summary should tie together all the following points you will cover in your entire plan and it must be concise and straightforward.

One of the first things an investor or reader of your business plan will look for in your executive summary is your mission statement. The purpose of a mission statement is to state your business's values, what you will achieve, and how you will achieve it. No matter whether you are launching your fitness business as a sole owner or plan to grow an entire company, having a mission statement that is very clear and sharp will let your audience know exactly what your business is all about.

For example, TeamUp's mission statement is:

We empower fitness businesses and their customers by providing the best management software for fitness studios, boxes, and gyms.

Don't worry too much about having the perfect language. The important part is to make sure your reader understands exactly who you serve and how you intend to meet their needs.

The industry analysis section of your business plan explains the positive relativity your new business has to other similar products and services in your industry. In this section, you will give a brief overview of the fitness industry, specifically the personal training industry with a brief history and why this industry exists. You can expand this section with popular trends, common needs in this industry, and how your personal training business would stand out. Use factual data and industry research to support your position and take this opportunity to show you really know what you're talking about as a new business owner entering a very popular sector.

In the competitor analysis, you will provide a more concrete explanation of how your business will differ from other competitors in your marketplace. You should use data and research you have done on your competitors to make factual statements, rather than assumptions, even though you might not know exactly what your competitors are doing differently. You should list out some immediate competitors in your area, their strengths and weaknesses and how you compare, what your business's role will be in the immediate marketplace, and give concrete examples of what you will do differently.

The customer analysis section of your business plan covers who your ideal client is and why your services cover their needs. Being specific in their identification, their demographic, where they are located, and how they spend their disposable income, will help you learn who your ideal client is and how you can attract their business. You should use similar traits and behaviours to describe why that type of person is your ideal client and why your type of service is the best fit for their needs. You can use your details to create realistic profiles for various ideal clients so that investors and your readers can get a great sense of who the exact person you will target is.  

Marketing strategy and sales forecast

In the marketing plan and sales forecast section, you will address how you will attract clients and clients to your personal training business. You will detail your strategies to enter the market and how you intend to grow and target clients to join your business. Your marketing strategy and plan will evolve over time and you will need to update them whenever you are emerging or entering into new markets. But in your initial plan, you should describe what you will do to earn your first clients, how you will communicate, market, and advertise your services, and who your clients would be.

In this section you should also use market trends and data to support how doing those strategies and methods will earn your clients and what your forecasted earnings will be once you have these clients, going as far as to forecast the next five to ten years.

The products and services section of your business plan is where you will describe what you are offering as a personal trainer and personal training business and why. Are you providing small group training , private one to one appointments , plan on teaching group classes, or a combination of all the above? When you know what services you intend to offer you need to clearly explain what they entail and how they are a benefit to your clients.

If you sell any additional merchandise or programming, you need to be specific as to why that is important to your business and offering. If are interested in offering products or services for example online classes and online one-on-one personal training services, nutrition programs, or on-demand content , you should make mention of these in this section and your plan for including these services and products in your offering.

In this section, you should also discuss how you plan to deliver these services to your clients. Will you focus primarily in-person, online, or both? Will you invest in personal training software to provide your clients with an easy to use booking and membership experience? These details help your reader and potential investors understand the customer experience you plan to execute beyond the product or service itself.

Your financial plan is one of the most important parts of your business plan. It is in this section that you will detail how much you expect to both charge and earn for your services as a business and personal trainer. You will also identify how much you intend to spend, if you receive funding what you intend to spend it on for example coaching salaries and perhaps, personal training software , how much you expect to make, and why potential investors should invest in your business. Your financial plan will give both you and the readers of your business plan an expectation and forecast of your profitability both in the present and in the future. Include your budget and what additional costs related to marketing, operations, development and expenditures you foresee your business having.

The facility and location section of your business plan is where you will state where your business will operate. Do you want to open your own gym or studio or rent space from an existing facility or run your training outdoors? Knowing the exact location or type of location where you will run your business is a very important part of 1, assessing your risk and how much insurance you will need and 2, assessing the cost you will incur from rent or a mortgage.

Being as specific in this as possible for the first and second-year stages of your business will help you readers and potential investors understand how you will grow in a specific area or region. Even if you plan to run your business online, taking into account where you will run your online training from and the very specific locations where your clients will be able to train with you is necessary information to include in this section.

The management team section of your business plan is where you will discuss any team members or staff you plan to have when starting a personal training business. Even if you plan to start your business as the only management team member, you can include any plans you have to grow your team in the future or plans to remain a sole trader. You should include fine details such as salary amount, how you will pay and train staff, and how each member of your team or staff will operate, meaning what role they would fulfil, for example, three coaches, one finance manager, one receptionist.

If you are running your personal training business online, you could also include where your management team members might be located or where you plan to have them located if you plan to recruit from a specific area or region.

Start your personal training business plan

While starting your personal training business and writing your business plan might seem like a challenge now, you have all the tools and resources you need to be successful. The rewards for your professionalism, preparedness, and entry into the fitness market will be much greater when you have taken the proper steps to launch your business the right way with a detailed, informed, and solid plan to guide you.

How profitable is a personal training business?

The average amount an entry-level PT can expect to make is $16.70 per hour which equates to about $34,000 per year. But the average income for trainers as a whole is closer to $42,000 per year, with the top 10 percent making in excess of $76,000.

How much do you need to start up a personal training business?

Start-up costs for personal training businesses vary from business to business, but they don't have to start off steep. Getting certified can cost anywhere between $500—$2000. Investing in liability insurance should cost between $200—$300 per year, and factoring in about $1,000 for an initial marketing strategy is also sensible. Should you decide to invest in your own space, rented or owned, that depends entirely on your location and the size of the space you want. If you need assistance earning funds to start your personal training business, check out our guide on applying for business grants for personal trainers .

Once your business plan is written and you're ready to take the next steps towards launching your personal training business, start by signing up for our free trial .

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Starting a Business | How To

How to Start a Personal Training Business [With Plan]

Published November 7, 2019

Published Nov 7, 2019

WRITTEN BY: Blake Stockton

This article is part of a larger series on Starting a Business .

A personal training business helps clients improve their fitness level. Learning how to start a personal training business is simple when you follow a step-by-step process beginning with research and a business plan. To help secure clients, build a personal brand. A full-time personal trainer can earn between $30,000 to $150,000 a year.

Before starting a personal training business, you should create a website to promote your business. When someone searches your name in Google, your website should show. A business without a website appears less credible. Dreamhost is an all-in-one website building platform. It can help you secure your domain name, obtain hosting, and create a website theme. Get started with Dreamhost today.

Visit Dreamhost

Here is a personal training business plan template you can use to keep your business on the right track:

Click a link to download the template; if possible, we recommend using Word because the Table of Contents update automatically as you as fill out the template Word / Google Doc / PDF

Here’s how to start a personal training business in six steps.

1. Research Personal Training Business Ideas & Options

Before diving into your personal training business plan , it’s important to do research and think about your personal training business: What type of services will you provide? Who will you market these services to? What type of certifications will you obtain, and how much do they cost? What type of location do you want to work at? What equipment do you need to purchase to make that location effective?

What Kind of Personal Training Will You Provide?

There are several choices you will need to make about the personal training you provide. Will you specialize in a particular training, such as bodybuilding, high intensity, martial arts-related, or rehabbing injuries? Additionally, what demographics would you like to train? There are women, men, young athletes, seniors, and physically impaired individuals. Will nutritional guidance be part of your business? Is it going to be a full-time or part-time operation?

Becoming clear on the type of personal training you want to provide will guide the marketing, branding, and certification training you pursue. Generally, you shouldn’t want your training to be for everyone. Classic marketing advice is that if a product is for everyone, it’s for no one because the messaging doesn’t connect with anyone specifically.

“I consistently find that the busiest trainers are the ones who picked niches that were goal-oriented and/or problem-related. In Boston, the busiest trainers specialize in running coaching (solves the problem of bad running form), yoga training for runners (recovery training from running), cycling coaching (fixes slow speed due to strength imbalances), swim coaching (poor stroke form slows me down), and so on. Focusing on a niche not only makes a trainer stand out against the generalists but also helps build a referral network from other trainers who work with your ideal customer.” ―Giuseppe Frustaci, Founder, Stick Shift Driving Academy

Personal Training Certification

Certifications are important for personal trainers because they help build your knowledge base and add to your credibility. A popular certification is the National Academy of Sports Medicine’s (NASM) personal training certification (NASM-CPT) , which costs anywhere from $524 to $1,499.

Additionally, there are several other certifications, like the American Fitness Professionals Association’s (AFPA) Senior Fitness Specialist Certification and Youth Fitness Specialist Certification. The AFPA’s certifications generally cost between $349 to $599.

All personal trainers should get certified in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and automatic defibrillation (AED). You can find this training locally at health training companies, college recreation centers, the American Red Cross, and the American Heart Association. First aid, CPR, and AED training costs around $100.

Choose a Location

A positive of owning a personal training business is the ability to work at many different locations. You’re not restricted to working in a building that has a high overhead cost. As a personal trainer, you can train people in public areas, such as at a park or the beach. Additionally, you can meet clients in their own home gym or have them come to your house to workout.

Many personal trainers are independent contractors and rent out space in a local gym. Training online is also growing in popularity. Apps like Trainiac help people looking for online training. Marketing your services over the internet expands your potential customer base from local to worldwide.

Research Equipment

Once you know the type of training you plan to offer, and where it will take place, you can look into purchasing equipment. We recommend you purchase used equipment, which can cost about 40% to 60% less than new equipment. If meeting clients in their home for a training session, you may want to purchase basic equipment that can provide a quality workout, regardless of the equipment they have.

2. Write Your Personal Training Business Plan

Every personal training business, both full-time and part-time, need a business plan . A business plan is a strategic plan that helps you think through everything needed to make the business a success. Most importantly, it includes a section for financial projections, where you will use data to predict how much money the business will earn and expense over the next 3 years in business.

We created a personal training business plan template for you to use and customize. If possible, we recommend downloading the template in Microsoft Word format. We included a Table Of Contents to help you easily follow along with each section, but the actual page numbers change as you add more information to the template. To save the Microsoft Word document, open the document, click File and then Save As. Rename the document, and finish by clicking save.

The Google Doc is accessible but isn’t editable. To make the Google Doc editable, click on the Google Doc link to open the template, open your own Google Doc, and paste our version. The PDF is read-only and is a great way to get an overview of the business plan template.

Traditional vs Modern Business Plan

A traditional business plan is similar to an in-depth business report. If you’re seeking financing from a bank for a personal training gym, we recommend using a traditional business plan. The business plan template we created for you is designed for a traditional plan. Alternatively, a modern business plan is a leaner model that you can finish in less than an hour. Additionally, it tends to be more visual than a traditional plan.

A business model canvas (BMC), another name for modern business plan, is best for the average personal training business because it can be completed quickly. Compared to the traditional business plan, there are new sections, such as the Value Proposition (that tells what you provide clients) and the Customer Relationships (detailing how you maintain contact with clients outside of the training session).

The business model canvas features the Channels section, which is about where and how you reach your customers

Competitor Analysis

In a business plan, you need to include information about your competitors. For the competitor analysis, list your top five competitors that are located within a five-mile radius―expand if needed―of your business. For each of the five competitors, list how far they are from your location. Include each competitor’s advantages over your business, and the advantages your business has over them.

Financial Projections

The financial projections section is the most difficult yet most important section of a business plan. This section is where you show how much money your business will earn and spend over the next 3 years. If you’re looking for an investor, they will want to see the financial projections section first to learn how they will make their money back. The Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE), provides a free customizable financial projection template .

Business Plan Software

Business plan software walks users step by step through the writing process. Many business owners use software to help write their business plans because it tells them exactly what to do, often with video instruction. Most business plan software also takes the financial projection numbers and creates easy-to-read-charts. LivePlan is one of the most popular and affordable business plan software available at $11.66 per month.

“I highly recommend that all entrepreneurs take the time to write a business plan. This exercise prompts you to think through all aspects of the new business—marketing, managing, financing, and more. The act of writing a business plan will highlight your strengths and identify your weaknesses, giving you motivation to fill any gaps before you build upon the foundation of your business.” ―Chris Beer, Owner, B.Well Consulting

3. Finalize Your Business’ Administrative & Legal Paperwork

Now that you know the type of personal training business you’re going to open and have a solid plan in place, it’s time to make legal arrangements before accepting clients. Personal training is full of risks and potential liability because a client can be injured seriously. It’s important to register your business as a legal entity with the state and have personal liability insurance to avoid any financial disasters that could ruin the business’ or your personal finances.

Obtain Your Employment Identification Number

The employment identification number (EIN) is a number the federal government gives businesses for federal tax purposes. Additionally, many banks will require an EIN before you open a business checking account. If you go directly to the IRS , the EIN is free. If you’d like to avoid the paperwork, you can use an online legal service, like Rocket Lawyer, to obtain the EIN for you.

Personal Training Business Registration

Every personal training business needs to register as a legal entity within the state in which they’re operating. Creating a legal business entity, also called business structure, protects the personal trainer from personal financial liability if a lawsuit were to occur against the business. The most common legal entity is a limited liability company (LLC) . State fees to register an LLC vary from $40 in Kentucky to $500 in Massachusetts. Start your business registration today with Rocket Lawyer for $99 plus state fees.

“Incorporate or form an LLC for the company. This will provide your personal training business with liability protection that creates a separation between personal and professional assets. It will also help you establish credibility a bit faster than if you had not incorporated the business.” ―Deborah Sweeney, CEO, MyCorporation.com

General Liability Insurance for Your Personal Training Business

Liability insurance for a personal trainer protects their business assets from customer injury, property damage, and reputational harm. For example, the insurance would cover if a client trips, breaks a toe, and claims your business is liable for their injury. Typically, general liability insurance costs between $150 and $300 a year.

You can obtain general liability insurance from a local insurance broker or online. Embroker is an online insurance broker that provides on-demand expertise and technology to make getting insurance for your business simple. Start searching for your ideal insurance coverage today with Embroker.

Visit Embroker

Business & Tax Licenses

Depending on your city and state, you may need a business license. If you’re seeing clients at your home, you may need a work-at-home license. Getting caught without this license may result in a fine. Businesses typically get caught when a neighbor reports it to the county.

Additionally, if your business operates in a state with a sales tax, you may need to register for a sales tax ID number. Go to your state’s official tax website for additional information.

Open a Business Bank Account

It’s important to have a business bank account so that personal and business finances are not mixed. In the event of a tax audit from the IRS, you want to have all income and expenses from the training business in one account. Mixing income and expenses into a personal account can complicate the audit. Most business bank accounts, such as Chase, require a minimum $1,500 balance, or a monthly fee is charged.

“My advice is to get your business ducks in a row before you ever start taking clients! Set up your business entity, get a business bank account, have a website and business cards. Training people is the fun part but keep it professional too.” ―Kourtney Thomas, Owner & Coach, Kourtney Thomas Fitness

4. Raise Funds for Your Personal Training Business

Unless you’re opening a physical location, a personal training business is a fairly low-cost business. Many trainers tap into their personal savings to open the business. However, if you don’t have that option, there are other ways you can access additional funds. One option is to take a personal unsecured loan. Another is to start a crowdfunding campaign and sell your services in advance.

Apply for a Personal Microloan

A microloan is typically below $50,000, which we consider pretty low compared to a traditional bank loan that usually starts at a minimum of $100,000. A microloan is easier to obtain than a traditional loan. However, the interest rate is higher. A microloan is similar to a personal unsecured loan from a lending institution. Depending on your personal credit, you should expect to pay up a 20% interest rate on a microloan.

Find an Investor

An investor is someone who invests money into your business in exchange for a percentage of ownership, also called equity. Most business owners choose to work with an investor instead of a bank because of the investor’s business expertise. In addition, new business owners aren’t usually eager about taking on new debt.

It can be challenging to find investors. One of the best places to run across them is at local business networking events. Keep in mind, however, that before you begin actively seeking investors, you need to have a well thought out business plan with solid financial projections.

Start a Crowdfunding Campaign

A crowdfunding campaign is a strategy businesses use to raise money by preselling products and services as “rewards” for their business. Typically, on a website like Kickstarter, you’ll see people raising money for a product before it’s created. A crowdfunding platform will deduct around 5% of the total money raised. Plus, there is usually a payment processing fee of around 3%.

If you’re trying to raise money for equipment or gym space, you can presell memberships or workout packages. For example, you could presell a single workout, five workouts, and 10 workouts, all at varying reward levels.

Also, consider selling swag items like branded T-shirts for a smaller reward amount. For a personal training crowdfunding campaign to be successful, the owner needs to be well-connected with those interested in the services.

5. Purchase Software for Your Personal Training Business

Software helps automate your personal training business and saves you time. Client scheduling software makes it easy for clients to schedule appointments with you. Accounting software helps you track your income and expenses. Client billing software allows clients to pay online easily and set up a recurring billing process.

Client Scheduling Software

Scheduling software allows clients to go online or through an app and make an appointment. This software saves you time and headache from having to deal with phone calls and making training appointments. 10to8 is a free scheduling software used by more than 50,000 businesses. The first 100 scheduled appointments in a month are free.

Accounting Software

Accounting software keeps track of business income and expenses. A small personal training business may not need accounting software because there is only one type of income―hourly training―and expenses are minimal. However, as you grow your business and potentially open a physical location, you may want to look into accounting software like QuickBooks to keep track of multiple income streams and expenses.

Client Billing Software

When you’re just starting out, you may use cash or a simple system like Venmo―a one-time online payment platform―for clients to pay per session. As your business grows, members may begin to owe larger payments, especially if you start offering annual prepaid contracts. You may also want to give clients the ability to set up a recurring payment system . Use software like Square to set up recurring payments. Clients can enter their payment information once and never have to do it again.

Email Marketing Software

Email marketing software is a convenient way to stay in touch with current, former, and potential clients. Personal training is a great industry for email marketing because there are many opportunities to provide valuable information to clients. Consider emailing current and former clients at least once a month with exercise and health tips. Mailchimp is an email marketing software that is free for the first 2,000 email addresses.

6. Market Your Personal Training Business

Marketing is everything for a personal training business. You’re a new trainer, and you’ll have to separate yourself from the dozens of other personal trainers through your marketing strategies. Tangible marketing tools like business cards and brochures are ideal for ensuring potential clients can contact you. Online marketing tools like websites and social media pages are important when someone searches for your name using Google.

“It’s important to remember that you are operating in a sea of sameness. Differentiation is the key to survival. You have to offer something unique and different. A simple positioning exercise can help: “Joe Trainer is the ONLY personal trainer that does/provides (unique benefit) that’s because (support point 1), (support point 2). If you can’t think of an ONLY, then you’ll be facing a long uphill battle.” ―Brian Cairns, CEO, ProStrategix Consulting

Traditional Marketing Materials

Generally, traditional marketing materials are considered physical materials like business cards, brochures, and flyers with contact information. Additionally, it can include your biography, case studies, before and after photos, and testimonials from happy clients. Branding training items is common. Consider making water bottles, towels, and stickers with your business name and logo.

Online Marketing

Online marketing is using internet-based tools and platforms to reach customers. Some online platforms are standard, like websites, Facebook pages, and Google My Business (GMB) listings. Other tools, such as those that help with video marketing and email marketing can be used to keep your clients engaged.

Here are online marketing platforms that all personal trainers should consider:

• Website: A website is similar to your online billboard. On your website, include several large, high-resolution photos to explain the type of services you provide. Also, include testimonials of happy customers.
• Social media: You need to create a Facebook page. However, Instagram will likely be the platform you have the most success with because your business is visual. Consider trying out Instagram Stories to connect with your audience frequently.
• Video marketing: Video can communicate your training workouts better than photos. Facebook and Instagram Stories are a terrific way to post short, authentic videos about your training.
• Email marketing: As you grow your lead and customer base, it’s important to keep in touch with them. Email marketing is a free way to do that. Send informative emails once a month about training and nutrition.
• GMB: Every business that has local customers gets a free GMB listing, which is a directory listing on Google. If you work from home, you can hide your home address and set GMB to display a service area radius around where you live.

Upload photos and videos to your GMB listing that represent your personal training

Online marketing is always changing, which presents an opportunity for trainers who stay up to date with the latest changes. Social media and GMB will have feature updates most frequently. It’s important to keep up with their changes.

Personal Training Marketing Package

As a personal trainer, you will be meeting potential clients in person and online. It’s important to look organized and have a marketing package that summarizes your services and background. The package can consist of a folder with several pieces of paper, or it can be a digital PDF. Inside, include your bio, a description of the business, client testimonials, client results, several photos, and possibly a video.

Branded Clothing

You may want to brand yourself by wearing a uniform that represents your business. Many personal trainers wear shirts with their main business colors and logo. If you’re opening a business with several trainers, you can have all of them wear your branded T-shirts or collared shirts to look professional. Additionally, you should consider selling branded shirts, tanks, hoodies, and shorts for customers to purchase and wear.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for How to Start a Personal Training Business

This section includes the most frequently asked questions about how to start a personal training business.

Do personal trainers get paid well?

Personal trainers can get paid well. The typical personal trainer makes between $50 and $60 per hour. That price can increase as the demand for your services increases. If you help people lose weight and gain muscle, word will spread about your success. Additionally, you will need to be well-organized to turn the $60 an hour you earn into 25 sessions per week, which would earn $1,500 in weekly revenue.

Can I personal train without a certification?

Yes, you can train without certifications. However, before starting a personal training business, it’s a good idea to get first aid, CPR, and AED training in the event of a client’s health issue. This training is given locally at first aid training companies, local colleges, and the American Red Cross. They cost around $100.

Is personal training a good career?

Personal training can be a great career. You make your own hours. You get to dress casual. You can work in a variety of locations. You get to see physical improvement in others as well as yourself. Additionally, as you grow your client base and demand for your services increases, you can increase your hourly rate.

Are personal trainers in demand?

According to industry research company IBIS World, the number of personal trainers has been growing in demand during the past 5 years. People interested in weight loss and customized workout plans have fueled this growth in demand.

Bottom Line

Personal training can be a very rewarding and lucrative business. You get to help others physically transform their bodies and improve their health. As your client base grows and demand for your services increase, so does your hourly rate. Initially, it can be challenging getting new clients and developing a brand for yourself. However, once you do, you can earn between $50 and $60 per hour easily.

Every personal trainer, whether full-time or part-time, needs to have a website. When a potential client types your name into Google, your website should show. If it doesn’t, you lose credibility automatically. Dreamhost is an all-in-one website company that will help you purchase a domain name, get hosting, and design your website. Get started with Dreamhost today.

About the Author

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Blake Stockton

Blake Stockton is a staff writer at Fit Small Business focusing on how to start brick-and-mortar and online businesses. He is a frequent guest lecturer at several undergraduate business and MBA classes at University of North Florida . Prior to joining Fit Small Business, Blake consulted with over 700 small biz owners and assisted with starting and growing their businesses.

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Personal Training Business Plan: Example & Template

Written by Megan Williams

What is a personal training business plan?

A personal training business plan is useful for any personal trainers wanting to go solo and set up their own personal training business. Putting together a personal training business plan will ensure you cover all the key events and information you need to successfully launch your personal training business. 

In this handy article, we have outlined detail of the different elements within a personal training business plan along with a downloadable template that you can start building on straight away. Our aim is to provide you with all the elements you need to be successful in kick-starting your personal training business and service.

Why do you need a personal training business plan?

Having a personal training business plan will make the process of starting any personal training business smoother. This may include opening your own personal training studio , becoming a self-employed personal trainer or freelancing for a gym. It can become very easy to quickly start working with clients and avoid planning out the bigger picture.  

Banks or Investors

If you need additional funding to get started with your personal training business , being prepared to showcase your full personal training business plan to potential investors or banks will put you in a better position. In both cases, you are looking to persuade these people to invest in your fitness business, if they can’t see a clear plan mapped out on why you are worth the investment you may be unsuccessful in achieving the investor or funding. This provides potential investors with the step by step process on how you are planning to get your personal trainer services running.

Approaching this situation with a fully mapped out personal trainer business plan shows that you have thought through all possible elements of the business strategically with evidence on how you have got to this stage to be successful in the fitness industry.

Self Motivation

If you are looking to become self-employed and go out in the fitness world as an independent personal training business has a well thought out plan in place that will keep you on track with your own personal business goals. Spending some valuable time putting together a personal training business plan will be beneficial in the long run to keeping yourself on track, this can be a document you constantly refer back to. A personal training business plan will be what continues to drive you to achieve your ultimate business goals.

Summary & Pitching

The first section will be a summary of your overall business plan which will include business goals/aims, what the business does and any financial projections. The best way to approach this section is to complete it last once you have completed all the research for you to summarise. The purpose of this summary is to outline your business at a quick glance for somebody to understand your main goal and outcome.

Pitching your personal training business plan

A personal training business plan pitch will include a brief summary of what you do and what you are aiming to achieve. In your pitch, you should include your aims and objectives as a business, an overview of financial forecasts, business plan ideas and identify your USP.

The pitch should only be a few sentences long and ensure it is all relevant material avoiding any repetition or filler. The idea of the pitch is to attract your listener, an indicator of a successful pitch is your listen asking questions or wanting to know more about your pt business plan.

Personal background

This section is to outline your own personal background this section will help you outline your strengths and potential weaknesses for listeners to understand. 

Use your experience and expertise to boost credentials

Your qualification and experience will have high value in this section with the opportunity to showcase how you have educated yourself and the route you have followed. If you have undertaken additional studies including continuous professional development courses, this is a good place to showcase this.

This is also a good opportunity to identify any training you may need to still undertake to work on yourself, this demonstrates that you have a focus on personal growth and are planned for this. This is a beneficial section to understand for personal growth, working on identifying your own strengths and weaknesses will highlight any sections of the business you may need additional support or training in prior to starting.

Product or service

Personal training is positioned as a service business as you do not sell a physical product, you offer time and experience to your client’s fitness journey. In this section, you will highlight your core service, will you just be offering personal training sessions or is there an option to build out nutrition meal plans? Use this opportunity to explain your service in detail including what you offer the client, how you plan to deliver the service and any resources needed for this.

Outline your USP

In this section, it is also important that you highlight what makes you different and how your knowledge, experience and background has created a USP for your personal training service.

In order to be successful in launching your personal training business, you would need to have an in-depth understanding of the market you are entering. This includes carrying out market research within the potential clients operate in. After this point you will be able to build out a marketing strategy based on your understanding of the client market, this will ensure you are marketing your business in the most effective way.

Target Market research

Gathering marketing research is the process that helps determine the success of your new service which is conducted in line with your potential clients. Market research is carried out by companies to discover their target market in more detail by gathering opinions and feedback on particular interests.

To carry out successful market research you should gather information which providers you insights on the following:

• Current behavioural habits of your clients?
• How big is the personal training market?
• How much competition is there?
• What are the buying habits of your potential clients?
• Current market trends for pt businesses?

Create a marketing strategy

Once you have completed your market research you will be in a good position to map out your marketing plan strategically. Your marketing plan is a huge contributing factor to running a successful business, without this potential clients will not come across your business which impacts revenue and profit. 

When creating a marketing strategy you may find the cost can be daunting, however, you should consider marketing as a personal business investment for which you calculate the return on investment as this is essential to your business success. Whilst you are going to have to invest money into marketing, there are also options that aren’t as costly to include within your strategy such as word of mouth, attending networking events and running social media accounts. Marketing has a direct impact on your business which is why it is essential to ensure you cover everything you can to benefit from the market share. For this reason, we have covered everything you need to know to build out a marketing plan with our beginner’s guide to personal trainer marketing and advertising.

Competitor analysis

Competitor analysis is a good exercise to complete to ensure you are entering the market in a strong position. To complete a detailed competitor analysis you should carry out thorough research into who your competitors are, their service, their location, their pricing and their strengths and weaknesses. 

Once you have completed this, you should complete a swot analysis on your own personal training business compared to competitors within the market. Doing this will help you identify any pain points you may have as well as a USP which will prove to be a strength within the fitness training business.

Operations & logistics

Operation and logistics are a fundamental part of the business particularly for those setting up their own personal training studio or personal trainer freelancing . This includes evaluating elements of the business operations such as training space and location, suppliers of gym equipment, how to sustain your equipment and any additional products you may need to operate successfully as a business.

Understanding inventory & logistics

This section applies to individuals who are looking to set up their own personal training studio , you should use this area to cover details on where you will be delivering your personal training service, what locations, the facilities you will be using and how you regular sustain any equipment or software.

If you are planning on becoming a freelance personal trainer who is working within different gyms, this section may not be applicable to you as it focuses on how your service will be sourced and delivered.

Pricing strategy

A pricing strategy will help you work out what profit margins you are working towards and understand at what point you will break even and start making money once you have factored in the costs and investment.

When figuring out your price point you need to consider the business needs and client needs, if you are just starting out as a personal training business performing at a higher-end price point is likely to penalise the business success. You need to choose a price which is going to accommodate the business operations as well as appeal to potential clients.

Cost & expenditure planning

As the final part of your personal training plan, you will need to calculate the cost and expenditure involved in how you are planning to operate. This will include calculating gym rent, advertising and marketing, legal costs, personal training equipment, personal training studio rent or gym rent.

Pt business plan: Template

To make the process easier we have put together a personal training business plan template for you to download and use. This template provides the all-important sections needed to create a detailed pt business plan to help you set up your fitness business for success.

Personal Training Business Template – Download Now

Personal trainer business plan conclusion

Writing a pt business plan may seem like a long and daunting task when first faced with it, however completing this is a valuable exercise for your success as a personal training business. As business owners, it is important that this plan is revisited and revised when applicable to ensure your business path and goals are continuously on track and up to date. 

Cash flow may seem slow when getting started but with a plan as detailed as this in place, you will be prepared which will motivate and push you into improving your revenue streams. It is important to remember you are a new business and you are likely to face challenges but just take them head-on and create a learning hurdle from them knowing you have a strong business plan in place. Spend hours completing a personal training business plan to make a worthwhile investment in your personal time and energy later on down the line.

Personal Training Business Plan Template & Guidebook

Are you looking to start your own personal training business but feel overwhelmed by the amount of information you need to get started? With The #1 Personal Training Business Plan Template & Guidebook, you can rest assured that you have everything you need in one place. This comprehensive guidebook provides a detailed step-by-step template that explains exactly what is required to create an effective business plan and helps you to develop a successful personal training business. Read on to find out how this template and guidebook can give you a head start in your entrepreneurial journey.

Get worry-free services and support to launch your business starting at $0 plus state fees.

• How to Start a Profitable Personal Training Business [11 Steps]
• 10+ Best & Profitable Personal Training Business Ideas [2023]

How to Write a Personal Training Business Plan in 7 Steps:

1. describe the purpose of your personal training business..

The first step to writing your business plan is to describe the purpose of your personal training business. This includes describing why you are starting this type of business, and what problems it will solve for customers. This is a quick way to get your mind thinking about the customers’ problems. It also helps you identify what makes your business different from others in its industry.

It also helps to include a vision statement so that readers can understand what type of company you want to build.

Here is an example of a purpose mission statement for a personal training business:

Our mission at [Name of Personal Training Business] is to empower individuals to reach their health and fitness goals through tailored personal training sessions designed to provide an effective, safe, and holistic approach to physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.

2. Products & Services Offered by Your Personal Training Business.

The next step is to outline your products and services for your personal training business. 

When you think about the products and services that you offer, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my business?
• What are the products and/or services that I offer?
• Why am I offering these particular products and/or services?
• How do I differentiate myself from competitors with similar offerings?
• How will I market my products and services?

You may want to do a comparison of your business plan against those of other competitors in the area, or even with online reviews. This way, you can find out what people like about them and what they don’t like, so that you can either improve upon their offerings or avoid doing so altogether.

3. Build a Creative Marketing Stratgey.

If you don't have a marketing plan for your personal training business, it's time to write one. Your marketing plan should be part of your business plan and be a roadmap to your goals. 

A good marketing plan for your personal training business includes the following elements:

Target market

• Who is your target market?
• What do these customers have in common?
• How many of them are there?
• How can you best reach them with your message or product?

Customer base 

• Who are your current customers? 
• Where did they come from (i.e., referrals)?
• How can their experience with your personal training business help make them repeat customers, consumers, visitors, subscribers, or advocates for other people in their network or industry who might also benefit from using this service, product, or brand?

Product or service description

• How does it work, what features does it have, and what are its benefits?
• Can anyone use this product or service regardless of age or gender?
• Can anyone visually see themselves using this product or service?
• How will they feel when they do so? If so, how long will the feeling last after purchasing (or trying) the product/service for the first time?

Competitive analysis

• Which companies are competing with yours today (and why)? 
• Which ones may enter into competition with yours tomorrow if they find out about it now through word-of-mouth advertising; social media networks; friends' recommendations; etc.)
• What specific advantages does each competitor offer over yours currently?

Marketing channels

• Which marketing channel do you intend to leverage to attract new customers?
• What is your estimated marketing budget needed?
• What is the projected cost to acquire a new customer?
• How many of your customers do you instead will return?

Form an LLC in your state!

4. Write Your Operational Plan.

Next, you'll need to build your operational plan. This section describes the type of business you'll be running, and includes the steps involved in your operations. 

In it, you should list:

• The equipment and facilities needed
• Who will be involved in the business (employees, contractors)
• Financial requirements for each step
• Milestones & KPIs
• Location of your business
• Zoning & permits required for the business

What equipment, supplies, or permits are needed to run a personal training business?

• A valid personal training certification
• Fitness Equipment (free weights, benches, resistance bands, exercise balls, etc.)
• Access to a gym or an area suitable for exercising
• Business License or Permit (if required by local authorities)
• Accounting and Financial Software
• Marketing Materials (business cards, flyers, website)

5. Management & Organization of Your Personal Training Business.

The second part of your personal training business plan is to develop a management and organization section.

This section will cover all of the following:

• How many employees you need in order to run your personal training business. This should include the roles they will play (for example, one person may be responsible for managing administrative duties while another might be in charge of customer service).
• The structure of your management team. The higher-ups like yourself should be able to delegate tasks through lower-level managers who are directly responsible for their given department (inventory and sales, etc.).
• How you’re going to make sure that everyone on board is doing their job well. You’ll want check-ins with employees regularly so they have time to ask questions or voice concerns if needed; this also gives you time to offer support where necessary while staying informed on how things are going within individual departments too!

6. Personal Training Business Startup Expenses & Captial Needed.

This section should be broken down by month and year. If you are still in the planning stage of your business, it may be helpful to estimate how much money will be needed each month until you reach profitability.

Typically, expenses for your business can be broken into a few basic categories:

Startup Costs

Startup costs are typically the first expenses you will incur when beginning an enterprise. These include legal fees, accounting expenses, and other costs associated with getting your business off the ground. The amount of money needed to start a personal training business varies based on many different variables, but below are a few different types of startup costs for a personal training business.

Running & Operating Costs

Running costs refer to ongoing expenses related directly with operating your business over time like electricity bills or salaries paid out each month. These types of expenses will vary greatly depending on multiple variables such as location, team size, utility costs, etc.

Marketing & Sales Expenses

You should include any costs associated with marketing and sales, such as advertising and promotions, website design or maintenance. Also, consider any additional expenses that may be incurred if you decide to launch a new product or service line. For example, if your personal training business has an existing website that needs an upgrade in order to sell more products or services, then this should be listed here.

7. Financial Plan & Projections

A financial plan is an important part of any business plan, as it outlines how the business will generate revenue and profit, and how it will use that profit to grow and sustain itself. To devise a financial plan for your personal training business, you will need to consider a number of factors, including your start-up costs, operating costs, projected revenue, and expenses. 

Here are some steps you can follow to devise a financial plan for your personal training business plan:

• Determine your start-up costs: This will include the cost of purchasing or leasing the space where you will operate your business, as well as the cost of buying or leasing any equipment or supplies that you need to start the business.
• Estimate your operating costs: Operating costs will include utilities, such as electricity, gas, and water, as well as labor costs for employees, if any, and the cost of purchasing any materials or supplies that you will need to run your business.
• Project your revenue: To project your revenue, you will need to consider the number of customers you expect to have and the average amount they will spend on each visit. You can use this information to estimate how much money you will make from selling your products or services.
• Estimate your expenses: In addition to your operating costs, you will need to consider other expenses, such as insurance, marketing, and maintenance. You will also need to set aside money for taxes and other fees.
• Create a budget: Once you have estimated your start-up costs, operating costs, revenue, and expenses, you can use this information to create a budget for your business. This will help you to see how much money you will need to start the business, and how much profit you can expect to make.
• Develop a plan for using your profit: Finally, you will need to decide how you will use your profit to grow and sustain your business. This might include investing in new equipment, expanding the business, or saving for a rainy day.

Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Training Business Plans:

Why do you need a business plan for a personal training business.

A business plan is essential for any business as it helps to define the company’s goals, target markets, services, and expected growth. It also gives potential investors and partners an overview of how the business is structured, how it plans to make money, and how it will achieve its goals. For a personal training business, a business plan will outline the services offered, the target demographic, the financial plan and marketing strategies. It will also provide information on competitors in the area and ways to differentiate from them.

Who should you ask for help with your personal training business plan?

You should ask a business advisor, an accountant, and/or a mentor with experience in personal training for advice on how to create an effective business plan. Additionally, there are many online resources available that can help you develop your plan.

Can you write a personal training business plan yourself?

Yes, you can write a personal training business plan yourself. Writing a business plan is an important step in starting any type of business. It allows entrepreneurs to map out the process of setting up the business, establishing the goals and objectives, securing funding, and managing the day-to-day operations. The process will include researching and analyzing the local market and industry trends, outlining a marketing strategy, estimating startup costs and defining operational processes. A personal training business plan should include an executive summary, company overview, service offerings, target market analysis, competitive analysis, sales & marketing strategy, operations & management information, financial analysis & projections and conclusion & appendices.

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I'm Nick, co-founder of newfoundr.com, dedicated to helping aspiring entrepreneurs succeed. As a small business owner with over five years of experience, I have garnered valuable knowledge and insights across a diverse range of industries. My passion for entrepreneurship drives me to share my expertise with aspiring entrepreneurs, empowering them to turn their business dreams into reality.

Through meticulous research and firsthand experience, I uncover the essential steps, software, tools, and costs associated with launching and maintaining a successful business. By demystifying the complexities of entrepreneurship, I provide the guidance and support needed for others to embark on their journey with confidence.

From assessing market viability and formulating business plans to selecting the right technology and navigating the financial landscape, I am dedicated to helping fellow entrepreneurs overcome challenges and unlock their full potential. As a steadfast advocate for small business success, my mission is to pave the way for a new generation of innovative and driven entrepreneurs who are ready to make their mark on the world.

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How to Write a Business Plan for Personal Trainers

Reading Time: 5 minutes 57 seconds

DATE: 2020-11-04

Many fitness professionals operate without a business plan. This is partly because writing this type of plan takes time. And in the fitness industry, if you aren't in the gym training clients, you aren't getting paid. This may lead you to operate your personal training business without a plan as well. But is that really a good idea?

Do You Need a Business Plan as a Personal Trainer?

If you provide personal training services as a hobby, you can probably get by without a business plan. You're not reliant on the success of your side venture, so creating a detailed plan as to how it will operate isn't as necessary. Conversely, if you want to make a career out of personal training, there are many benefits to sitting down and writing out a business plan.

For instance, if you want to become a gym owner, it could cost you anywhere from $65,000 for a modest gym up to $1 million if you want a gym loaded with every amenity possible. Where will you get the capital to build your gym? If your answer is "from investors," you will need a business plan to convince them that your gym business is worth the investment.

Or maybe you want to build and grow an online personal training business. Creating a business plan helps you become crystal clear on what your virtual company needs in order to operate smoothly. It provides a detailed budget, marketing plan, and a thorough look at your competition. All of this will help you position your online personal training company for maximum success.

Other benefits of writing a personal training business plan include:

A clearer understanding of what the future looks like for your fitness business, and how to get there

A list of all the people needed to build and grow your training business, such as other trainers, legal counsel, business insurance providers, and other business partners

A plan for how you will monitor your business's success, ensuring that you continue to progress forward

Realizing how to stand out from your competition , making your training services more in demand

Understanding Your Business Plan Options

There are two basic business plan formats. They are a traditional business plan and a lean startup business plan .

What's the Difference?

A traditional business plan is more comprehensive. That makes this a good option for a personal trainer who thrives on detail. It's also helpful if you're a new business owner and want to ensure that you've addressed all issues when building and growing your company.

Traditional Business Plan

The nine sections in a traditional business plan are:

Executive summary . This is where you state your mission statement and provide basic information about your personal trainer business. It is essentially an overview of what your business looks like.

Business description . In this section, you'll give more detail about your training business. You will explain the problems you solve as a personal fitness trainer. Depending on your specialty, this could be helping clients with weight loss, improving senior fitness , or designing fitness programs for youth.

Market analysis . How does your personal training business compare to others in the field? What does it take to become a successful personal trainer? What must you do to appeal to a new client?

Business structure . This section explains both the legal structure of your training business and the structure of your company internally. You must decide whether you're going solo or if you want to hire employees.

Service and product offerings . Typically, a personal trainer business provides a service. But maybe you want to offer your clients products as well. In this section, you will share your plan for what these services and products look like.

Marketing strategy . Here you will explain how you plan to find and appeal to a potential client. Will you buy social media ads or send out mailers? You'll also include what you'll do to retain your clients long term.

Funding needs . If you need capital to start your personal training business, this is where you'll outline this information. Provide the costs related to building or growing your gym or fitness studio. Be specific about how much money you need, as well as where you plan to spend it.

Financial projections . What is your financial plan for the next five years? Don't forget to consider your reoccurring cash flow needs, such as utilities and gym equipment maintenance.

Appendix . This final section includes any supporting documentation for your personal trainer business plan. If you're seeking funding, you might include a credit report and project price quotes. Other items to consider include building permits, a copy of your personal trainer certification , and vendor contracts. If you've been acting as a personal trainer already, provide your past financial statements as proof of your business's financial health.

Lean Startup Business Plan

Because a traditional business plan is so lengthy, some fitness professionals opt for a shorter, less comprehensive plan. This is where the lean startup format comes into play. Creating a lean plan is often enough for someone who wants to provide personal training services solo. This type of plan also enables you to begin providing personal training services fairly quickly.

Like with a traditional plan, the lean format also has nine basic components. The difference is that they can be outlined more briefly. In some cases, you may be able to get by with a bullet list of that section's information. These nine components are:

Key partnerships. The suppliers or vendors you will be working with as you build and grow your fitness business.

Key activities. The actions you will take to bring in new clients; your personal trainer marketing plan.

Key resources. Your business assets, whether financial or people-related, like having staff.

Value proposition. The things that set your business part; how you are unique.

Customer relationships. How you plan to communicate with your clients. What your customer service looks like.

Your ideal client. Identify your target market. Do you want to provide fitness advice to people who've had a stroke ? Would you rather work with young athletes who play a particular sport?

Communication channels. What methods will you use to connect with your client base? Social media? Email marketing ? Some other method?

Costs. List the costs associated with creating a successful training business. When providing training services, will you offer any discounted pricing? Conversely, what are some ways you can increase your value to your target audience?

Revenue streams. How do you plan to make money? Solely by providing personal training services or by selling products too? You can also share your pricing strategy here.

Filling out these sections does require that you take some time, but it is often quicker than providing the detail necessary to complete a traditional business plan.

Creating a solid personal trainer business plan can help you build a strong, profitable business. To make this plan more effective, you must get crystal clear on what you want your training business to look like.

If you're unsure, take a few moments to close your eyes and imagine your business when it is up and running. How big is it? How many personal training clients does it have? How does it help them improve their fitness? What are you doing to run the business? Do you have staff? If so, how many? The more you can envision your goal business, the easier it is to create a personal training business plan that supports this vision.

Even though you now know all of the elements of a good gym business plan, it sometimes helps to work off an outline. Many online sites provide an easy-to-use business plan template. All you have to do is download it, input the requested information, and you're good to go.

Review Your Personal Training Business Plan Regularly

A fitness business plan isn't something you write up and file away never to look at again. Reviewing it regularly helps you identify if you need to strengthen certain aspects of your training business to reach higher levels of success.

Taking the time to write and review your business plan also helps you get and stay on your desired path. It provides guidance as you build and grow your personal training business.

Another way to take your business to the next level is to obtain additional certifications. For instance, the ISSA offers Certified Gute Specialist certification , Corrective Exercise certification , and Bodybuilding certification . Gaining more credentials tells potential customers that you have the education necessary to help them achieve their fitness goal!

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How To Write A Personal Training Business Plan (+Bonus Templates)

• March 3, 2023
• For Personal Trainers

Now that you’ve opened a personal training business, you have to run it. To ensure that your fitness business is a success, you need to create a personal training business plan .

Whether you are writing a business plan for a fitness business or any other type of start-up, a good business plan needs to comprise many different components. It is a good idea to use a template to ensure you include everything necessary.

A good business plan must include the following sections :

• Market analysis
• Competitors
• Marketing and sales plan
• Financial plan and future projections

The goal of creating a personal trainer business plan is to ensure that there is a niche in the market for your offering. Also that you will manage to generate enough revenue to continue operating after having made all the start-up investments.

Below is a more detailed breakdown of what you need to include in your business plan .

Summary and Pitch

The most basic thing you need to include at the beginning of your business plan is your pitch or summary . It serves as an overview of your personal trainer business and provides basic information about your business and your mission statement.

Make sure you include the following in your business plan:

• The what – what are your goals?
• The why – what is your mission?
• The how – what will you do to succeed?
• The big picture – what is your vision?

The summary, also called the pitch, needs to attract attention . It must be concise and clear . However, it should not feel rushed. Don’t skip important parts while avoiding excessive wordiness. Make it yours. Make it unique – just like your business.

The reader of your personal trainer business plan summary needs to have no doubts as regards what you do, what your goals are, and how you are going to reach them.

Background Information

In this part of your personal trainer business plan, you present the owner’s (or owners’) experience, qualifications, and goals . It gives the reader an overall idea of who is behind the business name . For you, it serves as a way to get a better picture of your strengths and weaknesses .

You will gain a clear view of your strengths, and where you need more experience . You may realize that some aspects of the business need to be outsourced so that you can spend your valuable time on something else.

This knowledge will be especially useful when your business grows and you will not be able to take care of everything yourself. Knowing yourself well will help you decide what you should still do yourself and what you should better delegate to someone else.

Market Analysis

Your personal trainer business plan needs to include market analysis. Consider your location, other gyms in the area, and your local demographic. The latter is very important. You have to gather as much information as you can about your target demographic . You need to know who they are, what their typical behaviors are, and their reasons for using your service.

Why is this detailed knowledge so important? Because the more you know your potential customers the better you will be able to attract the m. You will know in which areas you need to stand out and how to make your services more appealing to your audience.

You need to know exactly who you are targeting. Narrow down and define your target market . Is it students? Schools? Aspiring athletes? Working people? Executive women in their 30s and 40s wishing to improve or achieve their fitness? Or maybe people over 50 years old aiming to improve their health and prevent illnesses? Or could be even a narrower group, for example not athletes but specifically cyclists.

Once you have identified your target market, find out exactly what type of personal training type they are looking for and provide reasons for choosing your business.

Products and Services

Obviously a personal trainer offers a service . You may, however, also include certain products in your offering . In this part of your personal trainer business plan, you specify the services and products you offer.

Include the list of products and services together with the prices . You could offer many different things, such as in-person personal trainer sessions, online training programs, specialized workshops, as well as fitness-related products.

Apart from listing the products and services and the pricing, you need to specify who will purchase them, how they will be delivered, and how they will benefit the customers.

Consider including the following in your personal training business plan:

• Bio print analysis
• Individual personal training services
• Indoor and outdoor fitness sessions
• Nutrition consulting
• Nutritional products and diet supplements
• Online and in-person seminars
• Online personal training services
• Personal training tutoring
• Personal training for groups
• Public speaking
• Workout guides

This section of your personal trainer business plan is where you outline your funding needs . You should provide information about the costs of starting and growing your personal training business. You need to be exact about the amount of money you need and specific about where you are going to spend it .

Provide a detailed breakdown of profit, loss, cash flow, breakeven figures, and capital expenditure required for start-up. Plan for one, three, and 5 years in advance.

The initial investment needed to open a personal trainer business is quite low. You may need to obtain a certification which shouldn’t cost more than $2,000. You will also need to pay for liability insurance, which shouldn’t cost more than $200-$300 per year.

Additionally, remember the initial advertising cost. You should apportion about  $1,000 for it. You will most likely need some business cards , fitness flyers , or even a newspaper or radio ad. Also, pay attention to your online presence- factor in the costs of running a website and social media accounts and advertising.

Operating Costs and Pricing

In this section of your personal trainer business plan, you have to present the pricing, and justify it by taking into account your competition, the need in the market, and by proving that your pricing system is viable. You can achieve that by calculating your margins either per hour or (better) per month.

Think about the reasons for choosing a certain price and what that choice will mean for your business .

If you opt for a budget price , you need to remember that you have to be able to generate a large volume of sales and accommodate them. On the other hand, if you decide to go for a high-end price you need to make sure that you provide high-end quality of the location, the service, and the products you offer.

Some personal trainers go for a fixed price , say $85 per hour. They justify a high cost with their experience and a promise of providing whatever equipment is needed for each customer.

Other personal trainers suggest offering different services at different prices , depending on the expertise needed, the complexity of the program, and the equipment required.

Yet others prefer an open pricing model with individual prices provided via negotiation.

Marketing and Advertising

They may look and sound similar, but marketing and advertising are not the same things . You need to know the differences between them.

Advertising could be described as the placement of marketing. If giving someone a business card is an advertisement, then what is on the business card is marketing.

Building a marketing strategy requires creativity. It’s about exploring and analyzing different types of customers and generating ideas for making your business offering appealing to them.

However, your personal trainer business plan should only include your advertising strategy.

Always remember that one of the biggest factors making or breaking a business is not what it offers but how well the marketing and advertising strategies have been created and executed . You might be the best personal trainer out there with all the knowledge and skills one might ask for, but without a well-designed and implemented marketing and advertising strategy you won’t have anyone to train.

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Financial Projections

Lack of previous experience and supporting evidence, creating a financial forecast may seem impossible. You may feel like you have no clue where the numbers are supposed to come from. The best thing you can do is to try to be as level-headed and realistic as you can .

Start by listing all of your fixed and variable costs and personal living expenses to figure out how many clients you need to have to break even. If you are new in the financial field and lack information, consider practicing CFA study materials, as it will help to have the basics of financial analyses.

It may be difficult at the beginning, but try to incorporate different sources of income . Do not place all the eggs in one basket by, for example, relying on a one-on-one training service to provide the biggest part of your revenue. Be realistic and think of ways to make money on different services and products you offer .

When your business grows, don’t be afraid to raise prices . Even a slight increase in the hourly rate or the prices of products will surely add up throughout each month. Try to increase your revenue by offering additional products and services to your established customers, for example, supplements or specialized pieces of equipment. Help them see your business as a “one-stop-shop” for all their fitness needs.

Samples and Templates

Now that you know what to include in your personal trainer business plan, it is time to look at some examples . It will help you see not only what to write but also how to present it. Always remember that each business is unique (and you certainly want your business to stand out), so never copy someone else’s business plan. Use it as a guide to creating your very own personal trainer business plan .

Take a look at the examples and templates below and get inspired.

• Dragon Fitness Training was created as an academic exercise.

• Personal Trainer Business Plan Template is a downloadable Word document

• Personal Trainer Business Plan worksheet contains blank spaces that you need to fill out. The sections are Mission Statement, Market Analysis, Revenue Streams, Operating Plan, and Marketing Plan.

• Catalyst Fitness is a CrossFit business plan and includes a detailed risk assessment, too.

• The Yoga Lunch Box is a comprehensive yet straightforward template for a yoga studio business plan that can serve as a reference.

• Fitness Texter provides a guide with questions to ask yourself which will help you create a business plan.

FAQs about creating a personal training business plan

1. what are the key components of a personal training business plan.

An executive summary, a description of the company and its goals, a market study, sales and marketing plans, financial predictions, and a management and operations plan are often the main elements of a personal training business plan.

2. How do you identify and analyze your target market in a personal training business plan?

You must take into account variables like age, gender, economic level, geography, fitness goals, and favorite workout style when identifying and analyzing your target market.

Online research, focus groups, and questionnaires can be used to collect this data. You may develop powerful marketing strategies and offerings that satisfy the needs of your customers by researching and understanding your target market.

3. What strategies should be included in a marketing plan for a personal training business?

Social media marketing, content marketing, referral marketing, and community involvement are all important marketing tactics for a personal training firm .

A large audience can be reached through social media, and expertise and authority can be established through content marketing . Referral marketing can produce new clients, and community outreach can build partnerships with local businesses and groups.

4. How should financial projections be calculated in a personal training business plan?

A personal training business plan’s financial estimates should be supported by thorough market analysis and reasonable hypotheses.

Revenue, expenses, profit and loss, cash flow, and a break-even analysis should all be projected. Start-up expenses like those for rent, insurance, equipment, and marketing should also be taken into account.

5. What are the typical start-up costs associated with opening a personal training business?

Equipment, liability insurance, rent or lease, marketing charges, and legal fees are typical start-up costs for a personal training firm.

Free weights, resistance bands, cardio machines, and mats are examples of equipment costs. It’s critical to get liability insurance to defend against potential legal action. Rent or leasing will depend on the facility’s location and size.

6. How can a personal trainer differentiate their business from competitors in the market?

By emphasizing their unique selling proposition (USP), such as a particular training method or specialized services, a personal trainer can set themselves apart from rival businesses.

Additionally, they can provide each client with individualized attention and personalization while also fostering long-lasting connections with them through excellent customer service and effective communication.

7. What are the most effective pricing strategies for personal training services?

Hourly rates, package prices, and subscription models are all viable pricing options for personal training services .

While package pricing can provide reductions for numerous sessions, hourly rates can be advantageous for single sessions. For a recurrent cost, subscription models may provide continued access to personal training services.

8. What legal considerations should be addressed in a personal training business plan?

Liability insurance, client waivers, and the creation of company entities can all be considered legally in a personal training business plan. While client waivers can exempt the personal trainer from liability, liability insurance is necessary to defend against any litigation.

Liability protection can also be obtained by selecting the appropriate business structure, such as a sole proprietorship or LLC.

9. How can technology be utilized to enhance the services offered by a personal training business?

Via online scheduling software and apps , virtual training sessions, and fitness tracking apps, technology can be used to improve the services provided by a personal training firm.

Customers may find it simpler to set appointments using online scheduling, and virtual training sessions may enable a company to reach customers who are not close by. Clients who use fitness tracking applications can monitor their progress and maintain motivation.

10. How should a personal training business plan be revised and updated over time to stay relevant and effective?

A personal training business plan needs to be updated and amended on a regular basis to account for market and industry changes.

This can involve reviewing new services or technologies, revising marketing plans, and updating financial estimates. The business can respond to changes in the market and customer needs by routinely reviewing and updating its business plan, which can help it stay relevant and effective in a fast-paced and competitive industry.

To make sure that the company stays on track to fulfill its goals and objectives, it’s crucial to set aside time on a regular basis to evaluate the business plan and make any required modifications.

Also, getting input from customers and professionals in the field can offer insightful suggestions for revising and enhancing the business strategy over time.

Final thoughts on how to write a personal training business plan

Writing a business plan is a must for any start-up. Every business plan should be regularly revised and updated to make sure that it reflects the current state of the business and that it outlines realistic goals and ways to achieve them.

A well-written business plan will help you gain clarity, set realistic goals and objectives, and create realistic forecasts and strategies.

A business plan is an important step in turning your personal trainer business idea into an operating business . It allows you to think thighs through and ensure that your idea will work and succeed.

It doesn’t mean, though, that a good business plan needs to be long and complex. It does, however, need to outline and explain all the basic and most important information about what you want to achieve and how you are planning to get there .

• Ljubica Buha

Ljubica Buha is a versatile enthusiast and a Digital Marketing Manager specialized in IT industry. By day, she crafts digital stories; by night, she dives into literature. She's equally at home exploring beneath the waves, carving through snow on a snowboard, and embracing the outdoors through hiking.

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How to Start a Personal Training Business: The Ultimate Guide

The ultimate guide.

With over 330,000 personal training jobs forecasted in the US by 2026 and a growing body of fitness-conscious individuals, it seems now, more than ever, is the best time to start a personal training business.

However, without a strategy or a sound personal trainer business plan, you’ll make the process of becoming a self-employed personal trainer harder than it needs to be.

To help you start a personal training business that has the greatest chance of success, we’ve put together this ultimate guide so you can avoid common pitfalls, save money, and understand how to put a business plan together that works.

In this ultimate guide on how to start a personal training business, you’ll learn:

• First Steps for Personal Training Business Preparation
• How to Create a Personal Trainer Business Plan

Types of Personal Training Businesses You Can Start

How to become a successful personal trainer.

And if you want an even deeper dive into business structure, building your book of business, sales techniques, and more, check out the online masterclass, Business and Sales: The Guide to Success as a Personal Trainer .

Today’s personal trainers come from a mixed bag of backgrounds. Some work at gyms, others with colleges or sports teams, many work at community centers, and some create their own personal training businesses.

The businesses that personal trainers can start usually fall into the below categories:

Train at a Private a Gym that Allows You to Pay Per Session

• You Train at Clients’ Homes/Facilities
• You Train Clients at Your Own Home

Start a Personal Training Business Online

In a recent post on personal trainer salaries , we discussed a payment structure where the trainer could bring in their own clients to gyms that they had relationships with. In these relationships, the personal trainer and their clients are independent from the gym’s payroll or clientbase, respectively.

The gym allows trainers and their clients to utilize their facilities and the trainer is able to charge whatever they can negotiate with their clients. The catch is that the trainer will pay the gym a fee each time the facilities are used.

In-home Personal Training: You Train at Clients’ Homes/Facilities

An increasingly popular personal training business is taking your in-person personal training services to the homes or facilities of your clients. If you are interested in this route, there are a few things that you’ll have to keep in mind as you start an in-home personal personal trainer business.

The main question and concern you’ll have as an in-home personal trainer is the type of equipment the client has or that you need to bring. If a client lives within a gated community, condo, or other association with a community gym, then you may have access to some decent machines and/or equipment.

If the training setting is, for example, your client’s living room, you’ll have to get more creative. This may limit the exercises you are able to perform and may impact the results without proper planning.

Regardless, a good trainer can adjust to the equipment on hand and will figure out a way to make the training as effective as possible.

In-home Personal Training: You Train at Your Own Home

In-home personal training in your own homes is similar to training at your clients’ homes with the exception that the training is performed at your home and your clients come to you.

Most trainers I know who train at their own homes have fairly elaborate garages that are built out to accomodate a number of different machines and equipment. This too is a popular form of personal training and can be an ideal business model for trainers who have the space within their homes or who don’t mind clients coming to their personal residences.

Online personal training is by far the most exciting new personal training business model out there. Compared to the other personal training business models, this model varies in that the personal trainer does not have to meet in-person with a client to create a massive impact on their health. In fact, because of new technology, a trainer can work online from anywhere in the world and change the lives of tens, hundreds, thousands and even millions of people.

So, what is an online personal trainer?

An Online Personal Trainer is someone who enhances the health of others through  internet-based technological mediums.

The variety of online personal trainer businesses is broad, but here is a overview of they types of online personal training businesses you can start:

Private Personalized Online Training

Non-Personalized PDF Fitness Programs

Non-Personalized Video Fitness Programs

Hybrid Online and In-Person Personal Trainer

Live Video Chat Workouts Online

Online Group Personal Trainer

The private personal online model is most like traditional in-person training. The trainer performs all the tasks of a normal personal trainer but does not work with the client in-person. Through specific software, phone, email and text messaging, this trainer provides all the tools and programming needed to achieve a fitness goal, and the client follows along without the trainer being present.

Premade, downloadable programs are made by the trainer and published online. These non-personalized models involve zero client interaction and are generally pushed over to the client through automated software.

Video fitness programs have been around for a long time. However, the advantages for today’s  trainers are the ability to store their premade workout programs online and provide immediate access to a workout video library. Like the PDF programs, there is no client interaction.

The hybrid model utilizes the internet to deliver programs to local clients, but also involves in-person training 1-4 times per month. Using a “hybrid” model allows the client to

receive the hands-on training of a personal trainer at a lower cost, since most of

the program is performed on their own. This is a great starting point for trainers

looking to take their business online.

Video chats or calls allow the trainer to see, hear, and interact with a client live, but not actually in-person. This allows the trainer, and client, to benefit from immediate feedback on form, exercise demonstrations, and cueing.

The online group personal trainer performs live group fitness classes, records them, and delivers them to as many people as possible. Think of on-demand workout classes — Online Boot Camp, Yoga, Pilates, Etc.– that require membership to access the content. Companies like Peloton have cornered this niche exceptionally well and proven people will subscribe to workout in the comfort of their homes.

Now that you have gone through the foundational steps of getting certified, specializing, launching a brand, and choosing the type of personal training business you want to start, now you’ll need to move on to business development.

We do a deep dive on the below in our Business and Sales course, but here are some talking points you’ll want to include in your personal trainer business plan.

Setting Prices

Every successful personal trainer has to figure out how to price their services for maximum profit and value to the client. As your own boss, you are able to charge whatever you like. Here are some things you should consider:

• Location- Where are you training? A trainer in Malibu will justify charging more than a trainer in Compton.
• Economy- Personal training is a luxury item for most. When the economy turns, so does interest in luxury items. Be understanding of this when setting prices.
• Target Population- Set a price that is attainable for your target population by understanding what they might pay for your products/services.
• Cost to Train Client- Consider things like the travel expenses, the payments you have to make to use a private gym, tools and equipment such as machines and dumbbells, and other expenses like software. You should understand the difference between gross and net income .

Read more: How to Set a Pricing Structure for Your Personal Training Business

Addressing Buyer Hesitation

If every trainer pitched a potential client and got “Yes, I’m in” as an answer we’d all be rich. Thing is, people are not always convinced of your value and have what we call buyer hesitation.

Here are some areas that are common for buyer hesitation and how you can address them.

• Fear of failure- The thought of accomplishment can outweigh the fear of failure; attach a positive emotion toward your service and give them a little more inclination to buy.
• Perceived value is less than the cost- Your presentation for services must convince the buyer that the the money is worth the expense.
• Money- Quite simply, if you have approached a potential client and they truly do not have the means to purchase, then the sale will be impossible. It is important to find that out as soon as possible rather than spend a lot of time/effort only to find you are out of their league.
• Lack of proof- If a client does not believe what you are selling will work, they will be hesitant to buy. Combat this with examples of clients like them that have experienced the results you are selling.
• Selling Personal Training with a Sales Dialogue: a 4-Step Guide Client
• 5 Personal Trainer Selling Personalities (with Effective Sales Tips)

Personal training marketing… There can be entire books written on the topic and while related to starting a personal training business, it goes so far beyond those beginning stages.

One of our most popular articles is all about personal trainer marketing and has 19 personal training ideas catered at getting you more clients. Some of these ideas include:

• Getting featured on industry blogs
• How to use email marketing
• How to create effective referral documents
• How to do personal trainer search engine marketing

If you are planning on getting some help with your marketing and hiring a firm or doing some advertising, note that the Money Task Force recommends spending 12 to 20 percent of your gross revenue for marketing if you are a new company, and 6-12 percent if you are an established company.

Start Your Personal Training Business Today

This ultimate guide has nearly everything you need to begin the process of starting your very own personal training business. If you need extra guidance, or like the idea of a reputable personal training certification, check out the Fitness Mentors CPT . If you already are a trainer but want to further specialize and hone your knowledge, check out our CEU courses and blog . If you want a full course on the above with more details and step-by-step instruction, check out our Business and Sales course.

If you have any comments or questions, please post them below.

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Eddie Lester is a personal trainer from Los Angeles and the Founder and CEO of Fitness Mentors . With over 20 years experience and 10 different certifications and specializations, as well as multiple years teaching personal training at a vocational college, Lester loves sharing his knowledge of practical training experience as well as how to study for PT exams. Lester is the author of Business and Sales: The Guide to Success as a Personal Trainer .

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Personal trainer business plan

A personal trainer business plan is your opportunity to set your business goals and detail the operations of your business. It's a useful asset if you're looking to attract investment or plan for the future.

Sep 11, 2019

Anyone using our personal trainer software should consider creating a business plan. A business plan is a fantastic way to structure your goals as a personal trainer, and it helps you to outline the actions that you’ll need to take to reach those goals. For example, if you have a goal of making X amount of money, or to obtain X number of clients, as with many things in life, setting out a structure can be a great way to motivate you. It’s all about reaching your goals as a personal trainer, and ensuring you’re confident in how you’ll achieve it.

What is a personal trainer business plan

A business plan is a document that outlines your business, the key objectives and goals, the means to achieve said objectives and information such as your finances and company structure. Business plans are often used for attracting investment, but they’re also a great tool for personal trainers who want to plan the growth of their business, map out their approach, and to understand if their business is realistic.

For personal trainers, this means detailing information such as the kind of client you’re going to train, the type of training you offer, considerations for secondary sources of income such as sponsorship and ultimately, how you can scale your business to achieve what led you to become a personal trainer in the first place.

Benefits of a personal trainer business plan

If you’re not sure on whether it’s worth your time to complete a business plan, here are some of the key benefits you can expect to realise from the exercise:

• It will help you to understand your service and the market available for you to tap into.
• You’ll have a clear plan for your finances, and it’ll make financial goal-setting more realistic based on actual figures.
• You’ll have a sound strategy down on paper that you can refer to and follow. As you progress through this, you can make amendments to your goals and finances. A business plan shouldn’t be completed and then forgotten about; it’s a living document that needs updating to continue to bring you value.
• Prioritising specific strategies or ideas you have becomes easier as you can gauge the effect of them on your business.
• You can set your expectations for growth. It’s fantastic if you want to grow 200% in 3 months, but once you lay all of this out you may find it will take longer, or you’ll have to do more than you thought you would like to achieve this.

What information will be included in your personal trainer business plan

There are many variants of business plans, but we’ve pulled together the sections that we think are best suited to any personal trainer looking to plan and strategise their business. Here’s what you’ll be putting down on paper.

Executive summary

This is a summary of your entire business; keep it short, sweet and at a maximum of two pages. Anyone reading this should want to learn more about your business and be able to understand what you’re offering, the goals you wish to achieve, and how you’re going to make them happen. You may find it easier to complete this section last. You’ll likely have new ideas or change your mind about certain aspects of your business as you progress through the plan.

Business overview

This section is for generic information such as the name of your business, where you’ll be training, your target clients and any specialisms you plan to offer. For example, if you’re only offering online personal trainer services, this is where to reference that. If you’re only operating out of a single gym premise, list it here. Don’t go into too much detail about each point as you’ll explain them more in later sections.

Services and products

Your services and products section is where you’ll go into more detail about what you’re actually offering. By this, we mean what will be bringing revenue to your business. This could be solely through training clients, or you may have an interest in pursuing brand sponsorship or even selling branded products to your clients. 

Ultimately, it’s up to you and what you find works well with your style and client base. Will you be offering classes, 1-1 sessions, group training or is your focus on a single high-competing athlete? You can also use this area to detail future ideas you may have. For every product and service you list, include why this is a benefit to your business or your reason for offering it.

Market analysis

Market analysis is your way of understanding the market you’ll be operating in. It’s an important part of your personal trainer business plan as it may help you to uncover new ideas. Be realistic with your analysis. For example, if you offer highly specialised training, you’ll only have time for so many clients, and therefore you should be charging more.

Here’s what this section should achieve:

• Understand what it is you’ll be offering and how this relates to the other areas of your business.
• Try to gauge the size of your target clientele and how many you can reach in your area, or even online. 
• How you’re going to provide your services and reach your target clients.
• What operations are needed to support your business activities?
• Any pains or things people love about the type of service you offer.
• The gyms that are available for you to train at, and what your relationship with them would look like.
• What financial income/expenditure can you expect from your target market.
• Look for trends, such as online personal training, as they could open up additional streams of income.
• How much do people typically pay for your service?

Marketing strategy

If you have any plans for marketing, this is the place to detail them. If you’re not sure whether marketing is right for you, or you wouldn’t know where to start, we’ve written an entire guide on digital marketing for personal trainers which will give you all the information you need to promote your business online. Not all marketing efforts have to cost apart from the time needed from you to get them done. For example, you can create trial workout programme within the FITR Training platform and easily share it with a link, giving potential clients the chance to try before they buy, and helping you to get in front of people. Marketing can be the difference between attracting those few extra clients that help you achieve your goals. Make sure you include any marketing costs into your financial plan!

Competitor analysis

You may be friends with other personal trainers in your area, and while you may not see them as your competition, your business and theirs may overlap. You don’t need to conduct a rogue operation to learn about their pricing or try to poach their clients. You should take the time to understand what they’re doing and what works for them, or what they’re not doing that could work for you. Learning from your competition will help you to refine your business not only in a way that will help you to achieve your goals, but it’ll help you build something personal to how you think it should be done. Remember - if you’re good friends with your competition, you can always consider teaming up and launching a brand!

Your operations section should outline the things that define how and when your business runs. For example, your hours, the locations you’ll train at and the equipment you need to get the job done. 

Think about what you’ll do on a day to day basis and get this down on paper. If there are periods where you won’t train, or if you’re not available during seasonal periods such as Christmas, outline this here. Explain how you’ll keep track of who you train, any stock levels if you’re selling products, how long each day you expect to travel, how you’ll travel etc. Bear in mind also the technology you may need to use for part of your business, such as for processing payments or online personal training software.

Company structure

This section is one of the easiest; you need to define who is involved with your business and the role they have. If it’s only you, then you just include yourself. But, if you’re looking to launch a brand or representing a gym that’s involved in your business, this is the section where you mention everyone involved and the part they play.

If you have any future plans and you can envisage where you’d like to take your business in the future, then work this into your company structure section. It’s beneficial to show how your business will develop alongside your service offerings based on growth. Within this, include how your company structure may adapt to accommodate the change in business operations.

Financial plan

Your financial plan is where you get down to the nitty-gritty of the money side of your personal training business. Accuracy is essential here, and if you’re not realistic, your financial plan won’t be as useful for you. If you’re not able to confidently predict your finances, it can affect many other elements of your business, and even your personal life. Your financial plan will map out your income, outgoings and the difference between these figures on a monthly basis. If in doubt, use sensitised numbers as you’ll benefit from slightly overvaluing that expecting more income than is likely.

As you continue to build upon your financial plan, you’ll have an entire sheet of historical figures to reference which will make financial planning easier and easier as you move forward. You’ll also use this section to predict and set objectives for earnings at specific time periods. How you approach this is up to you; setting annual objectives are realistic, but you may wish to do them quarterly to allow you to adapt your operations if things aren’t going as planned.

For example, these are the type of elements you’ll build into and consider for your financial planning:

• Your incomes and their source, such as 1-1 training sessions, group sessions, wages from working at a gym etc.
• Your outgoings such as travel, gym membership and access to any business related equipment.
• Earnings for yourself.
• Your financial objectives over a set period.
• Marketing costs.
• Hardware, such as a phone you may use solely for your business.
• Any assets relating to your business.
• Costs such as rent or utilities etc.

When you create your financial plan, we recommend that you use a programme such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. They’ll make your life much easier, and you can keep them up-to-date. Make all of your updates within these programmes and copy and paste the information into your business plan.

Summary of a personal trainer business plan

To summarise, a personal trainer business plan is your chance to map out everything that makes up your business. We think it’s a valuable asset for anyone from personal trainers to gyms looking to reach objectives. If you’re considering implementing an online training element to your plan, you should check out the service we offer people in your position. Using our platform, you can handle every element that comes with online personal training in a single place. Check out the FITR Training features here if you’re interested.

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7 Simple Steps for Writing a Personal Trainer Business Plan (with Templates)

• Last Updated: 25th November 2022
• Personal Training Resources
• Editors: Harry Griffiths
• Verified By: Abbie Watkins

If you’re just starting on your own as a PT, writing a personal trainer business plan is one of the most important first steps you’ll have to take.

In this article we’ll cover:

Why Do I Need a Personal Training Business Plan?

Step 1: write your personal trainer business plan summary.

• Step 2: Detail Your Qualifications on Your PT Business Plan
• Step 3: Pinpoint What You Sell When Writing a Personal Trainer Business Plan

Step 4: Perform a SWOT Analysis as Part of Your Personal Training Business Plan

• Step 5: Outline Your Marketing Strategies in Your PT Business Plan
• Step 6: Include Your Financial Plans & Projections in a Personal Trainer Business Plan
• Step 7: Conclude Your Personal Training Business Plan with a Closing Statement

Before you start with your PT business plan, there’s one thing you should always factor in, and that’s professional development.

With  our Level 4 Sports Nutrition Course , you’re able to set yourself apart from the competition and ensure your business can thrive in a competitive industry.  Download our free course prospectus to find out more !

EXPERT ADVICE ON BOOSTING YOUR PT INCOME

12 ways you can boost your pt income.

Before we look in detail at the process of writing a personal trainer business plan, it’s vital to understand why you should produce one. 

In short, a personal trainer business plan acts as the guide for where your business currently is, where you aspire to be, and how you’ll get there.

As you can imagine, this is vital for establishing your business and plays an integral role in:

• How to make money as a personal trainer
• How many, and the kind of, clients you attract
• How you market yourself
• Who your competitors are, and how you’ll beat them

It’s easy to assume that you’ll be the only person who’ll see the business plan for your personal trainer business but it will play a vital role in securing external funding if that’s what you need.

You will have to show prospective investors what you plan to do with your business and outline every detail if you’re looking to secure money from a third party.

Ultimately your personal trainer business plan is an opportunity to showcase your brand and display what you’ll be contributing to the fitness industry. 

Every successful personal trainer business plan should start with a summary. This is an overview for readers and potential investors, covering:

• Who you are
• What your business offers, and your target market
• Your financial state, and projections for the future
• Your marketing strategy
• Plans for the future

Despite it seeming simple, this is one of the most crucial parts of any business plan for a personal trainer because it’s the first impression you’ll make. 

You’ll need to summarise for the reader what you’ll be covering so they’ve got a good snapshot of your business and the service you will provide.

This personal trainer business plan example from CIBT Visas, a global financial company, is a great illustration of how it should be done:

Just from this short section, we find out a few key points about CIBT, including:

• What they do
• Where they operate
• Their core values
• What they aim to achieve

This should essentially contain your personal trainer mission statement and what you intend your brand to achieve and fulfil!

Your next sections will expand on these key features, and offer a more in-depth look at what you do, and where you can take your business.

Step 2: Detail Your Qualifications on Your Personal Trainer Business Plan

Following your summary, your personal training business plan should lead into a comprehensive inventory of your qualifications and certifications.

This serves a few different purposes. For any potential investors or banks, you’re proving that you’re well-positioned to provide a service to your clients.

Each qualification is an indicator to those who want to put money into your business that you’re a professional able to bring return on their investment with trustworthy expertise.

Each one is also an example of the different areas your business could branch into in order to grow and develop. For example, any specialist Level 4 master personal trainer courses you’ve completed  show a potential for advancement .

You should include a list of qualifications as well as where they come from. This will show that you’ve completed a course with a reputable provider and allows potential investors to see your credentials.

You should list them simply, like in our own personal trainer business plan sample below:

Diploma in Personal Training - OriGym COE Level 3 Exercise Referral - OriGym COE Level 4 Advanced Sports Nutrition - OriGym COE First Aid for Sports - British Red Cross CPD in Strength and Conditioning - OriGym COE

This list offers a comprehensive overview of our example PT’s qualifications, as well as where they were achieved. 

CPD fitness courses will also help demonstrate a wide ranging skill set and areas that your business could potentially branch into! 

Step 3: Pinpoint What You Want to Sell When Writing a Personal Trainer Business Plan

Next up for your personal trainer business plan is detailing exactly what it is that you intend to sell and how you plan to cater to a particular audience and customer base.

This should be one of the most extensive sections of your business plan template. As a personal trainer you need to put trust in your services and your ability to meet other people’s fitness goals as well as those you have for your business.

This is your opportunity to detail all of your revenue streams and the different ways in which you intend to make money for your business.

This is also a way of illustrating why there’s room in the market for your business to cater to a particular demographic and offer a service that there’s a want or need for!

This may sound simple but plenty of trainers will miss out revenue streams from their personal training business plan, or don’t detail potential opportunities for expansion and selling other services or products.

Most PTs will have several revenue streams and you want to make sure you detail all of these without putting too much emphasis on the most lucrative ones.

For example, you don’t want to just detail your one-to-one training, despite it probably being your main source of income!

Some of the revenue streams you might want to include on top of this are:

• Online or face to face seminars
• Nutrition consultations
• Affiliate marketing with prominent brands such as sportswear and supplement brands
• Personal trainer tutor for a training provider
• Workout guides or ebooks
• Speaking at fitness or educational events

You also need to find your personal training target market . 

Something holistic like ‘gym goer’ is too broad and will hinder your ability to create marketing strategies and develop your business.

Expand The Services of Your PT Business!

Grow your business with our Level 4 Sports Nutrition Course, combining personal training with nutrition advice!

Your target market is the ideal customer and should be directly linked to the services you’re offering. 

You need to be able to show why you’ve chosen this demographic and how your product or service answers their specific needs.

Again, the more specific you can be the better. Some examples include:

• People with physical health conditions or impairments
• People with long term health conditions during rehabilitation 
• Women under 30 looking for postnatal classes
• Athletes looking for strength and conditioning training

We’ve written our own personal trainer business plan example for this particular section that you can use as a template:

My business offers one-to-one, bespoke, personal training sessions for women who are 40 years of age or older.  My services predominantly focus on helping women use exercise and nutrition to deal with the symptoms and stresses of menopause. My research suggests there is a huge need for a combination of services such as mine, offering nutrition and exercise programmes to help women with some of these issues. All of my qualifications uniquely equip me to work with this demographic to provide a much needed service. I offer nutrition sessions one-to-one, building recipes and selling them as a recipe guide, or working with individual clients to build bespoke nutrition plans. I also offer personal training sessions one-to-one or in groups with other women of the same age or same symptom experience.  Because of how common these issues are in this demographic there’s also a huge demand for seminars and educational sessions in partnership with women’s charities and other healthcare professionals. I provide consultancy on these issues as well as being available for talks and seminars online or in-person for various institutions.

This business plan template for a personal trainer company can be used as a jumping off point and fleshed out for your own brand!

The next thing you will need to perform for your personal trainer business plan is SWOT analysis.

Personal trainer SWOT analysis is vital for determining what you’re doing well and if there’s any sticking points, preventing your business from growing and developing as it should. 

SWOT stands for:

• Strengths - these are the elements you think makes you stand out as a PT making your business unique 
• Weaknesses - this is where you’ll reflect on any areas for improvement or development 
• Opportunities - building on the above, decide on actions that can be taken to improve your business and develop your brand
• Threats - this last step is to assess whether there’s anything stopping these actions from being taken or potential disruptions to how you might want to grow and develop your business

By performing these steps you’ll have an idea of how you can promote your USP and reinforce the other sections of your business plan, realising what gap you’re filling in the market.

You’ll also be able to identify any room for improvement and things that you can do to allow your business to grow.

This will help you by identifying exactly what your next moves are and how you can grow your business moving forward.

This will also help to show potential investors that you’re aware of the challenges your business might face and how you’re prepared to meet them and adapt your business accordingly.

This makes you seem like a more trustworthy investment and somebody who’s aware of how best to return on that investment and grow your business and income!

Step 5: Outline Your Marketing Strategies in Your Personal Trainer Business Plan

Another vital part of a business plan for any personal trainer is outlining your marketing strategies. 

This is vital for both you and any potential investors or collaborators. Here, you’ll outline the specific techniques and campaigns you will use to grow your business and gain new clients!

Showing your marketing plan will also reinforce your understanding of your target market because the particular strategies you use should be dictated by who you’re marketing to.

Identifying Your Target Market

If you’re writing a business plan to open a personal training studio , what’s the age range of your prospective clientele?

As we mentioned earlier, you need to make sure you’re as specific as possible with your target market.

The more specific you can be about the demographic the more specific you can be in targeting them, based on their behaviour and interaction with different platforms.

Using Social Media Platforms Relevant to Your Target Market

You need to make sure you’re aware of which platform is most used by your target age range. 

This is so that you can demonstrate that you understand the best way to target this specific audience with your marketing. 

If you're looking to target an older age range, you may want to get clients from Facebook , as the social media site  tends to be used by an older generation of users.

If you’re targeting young women, for example, you should target platforms such as TikTok and Instagram that are dominated by this younger demographic.

However, some platforms such as Google are frequented by everyone and are a worthy investment no matter your target market.

Using Ads on Social Media

You should also include information about any existing personal trainer marketing strategies you’ve implemented. 

This will show your progress and illustrate your understanding of including this in your SWOT analysis and your awareness of how best to reach your target market.

You can include a screenshot of any existing ads you have on social media but you also need to ensure you include details of any spending and your projected spends on future strategies.

You should also detail any spending you’ve already done for advertising and marketing efforts.

This should include the costs for the maintenance of your existing marketing strategies, as well as any projections for future ones such as getting PT referrals or affiliate marketing.

Showing the Impact of Your Marketing Strategies

You should also make sure you include figures you have about the impact of any existing strategies you have in place.

For example, you might show the reach and engagement of certain ads you’ve had on social media platforms.

This will show what’s worked already and support any request for funds if you can show how and to what end your budget for marketing has worked.

In terms of showing what you’ve already done, this might be simply including a screenshot of what you’ve already spent on your advertising and any leads or impressions generated as a result.

For example, here’s an image of the leads generated by our own Facebook ads within a month:

And here’s what it might look like to show what you’ve spent in order to generate those leads:

This will show a potential investor that your existing spends have been successful and will be considered in terms of how much you can borrow or get.

This way you’re showing that what you’ve spent already has been successful and what you need to continue to spend in order to maintain that success.

However, you may not have already done any marketing in this way. If you’ve worked in a gym chances are you have to promote your own services but you might not have been solely responsible for things like ads and email marketing. 

If you’re just starting out, and this is the case, you should just include projections based on your market research.

Make sure to focus on the aforementioned factors, including any financial projections you can make. 

This way you’re still showing you’re aware of exactly what you need to do and what you need to monitor to have a successful marketing campaign!

If you found this section helpful, you can find out more about marketing your personal trainer business with some of our other articles below:

• Strategies for Personal Trainer Lead Generation
• How to Use Google My Business as a Personal Trainer
• Personal Trainer Social Media: Ideas, Examples & Schedule

Step 6: Include Your Financial Plan and Projections in a Personal Trainer Business Plan

If you’re trying to secure money from a third party for your business, probably the most important sample of your personal trainer business plan is your financial projections.

The level of detail you include will depend on where you’re trying to secure funding from and how far into your business you are.

For example, this will look different for a personal training studio business plan than if your services are online or from home. 

It will also depend on some of the other features from our personal trainer business plan examples, such as marketing.

If you’ve only just started then your marketing costs will be projections rather than the screenshots we included in our own personal trainer business plan sample. 

You’ll need to detail not only what your expenses are or will be, but exactly how you see your business making and maintaining a steady financial flow.

No matter what your brand is, when you’re writing a personal trainer business plan you need to make sure you include the following crucial elements:

• An income statement
• A balance sheet
• A cash-flow statement

We’ll run through each of these now so you know exactly what they entail and why they’re important for any successful personal trainer business plan.

An Income Statement 

An income statement is a crucial part of any business plan template and a personal trainer business is no exception.

This is a statement that shows how much money you’ve made after your expenses and taxes are deducted from your income. 

Any business will keep this anyway for tax purposes and it can be helpful to have those numbers in front of you when you’re looking at ways to grow or streamline your business.

This is especially useful for anybody looking to invest or support your business financially because it shows your business’s profit and success.

It will also show any losses made and where they’ve come from so you can make any alterations.

This will inform and reinforce other parts of your personal trainer business plan. For example, having these figures ready will help you with your SWOT analysis.

Throughout your career you will have to complete an income statement for your business every fiscal quarter.

However, when you’re starting out, and for the purposes of the personal training business plan, you should do one every month for a year where possible.

This will also depend on your personal trainer business registration because your taxes will depend on whether you’re a sole trader or a limited company.

You should check this or use a business plan template for your personal trainer income statement.

A Balance Sheet

Your balance sheet is a calculation of what you have versus what you owe, giving a sum that shows the equity of your business. 

On one side it will list your business assets, which are things you own and could be liquidated and turned into cash. On the other side it will show liabilities, which are what you owe.

Most people will have a mixture of short and long term assets, called ‘current’ and ‘noncurrent’. 

Current assets are those which you could turn into cash within the year so either cash you currently have or accounts receivable (invoices from clients who are yet to pay).

Noncurrent assets are those which you don’t expect to liquidate in the near future.

This includes things like equipment or, if you’re writing a personal training studio business plan, you’d include property on this list too.

This is only in the list of assets if you own the property, though. If you’re renting a space or you’re paying off a mortgage, this would be in the liabilities section.

Liabilities will mostly be related to starting your business and any loans or any costs you got on finance.

Being able to show a healthy balance of these two things is a vital part of your business plan as a personal trainer because it shows the financial health of your company.

Showing that these things are well balanced will demonstrate to a bank or any potential investors that you’re a trustworthy business and will be financially stable enough to repay any money lent.

You should subtract the amount of liabilities from your assets to show the equity of your company.

A Cash Flow Statement 

Any business plan template for a personal trainer business should also include a cash flow statement. 

This is similar to an income statement but instead of just showing how much money you have after your outgoings this calculates the ‘flow’, i.e how much you have consistently coming in and out of your business.

Ideally, you want to be able to show that the flow of money is always positive, meaning you take in more money than you’re spending on expenses. 

Including this in your business plan serves a similar purpose to an income statement in regards to the SWOT analysis too.

Having these figures showing the cash flow will help you identify what’s working best to make money as a personal trainer , and where you could improve or cut back on expenses. 

The cash flow statement should show where your money is low and where there may be a surplus, meaning you have some opportunity to spend or redistribute some funds.

Having these figures will not only help you adjust your business but will also give a good indicator to investors or potential lenders of your financial stability as a business.

Step 7: Conclude Your Personal Trainer Business Plan with a Closing Statement

Last but not least, you should end your personal trainer business plan with a closing statement.

This will serve a similar purpose to your summary from step one but you can now summarise based on everything from the other sections.

This will act as a conclusion and an indication of where your business is up to and what you see as the next important steps.

This will help you to decide what you want to do with your business and the most immediate concerns and actions you need to take.

This will also act as an indicator to investors and lenders that you understand and know what to do with the data from previous sections.

If you can assess your business and read through your PT business plan to make some decisions, this reinforces your understanding of your business and your trustworthiness as a business owner!

After all, in any sample personal trainer business plan this is your opportunity to summarise your successes and illustrate that you understand how to fix any issues, and adjust accordingly.

Before You Go!

Hopefully now you’ve seen our personal trainer business plan examples, you feel ready to start writing your own!

Don’t forget you can grow your business by learning new expertise and skills and offering new services. You can do this with our  Level 4 Sports Nutrition qualification .

Find out more by getting in touch with our team today and download our course prospectus to see how else you can continue to grow your business.

Written by Jessie Florence Jones

Jessie has a 1st class honours degree in English Literature from University of Leeds and an MA in English Literature from Durham University. Naturally Jessie has a real passion for writing especially about film, culture and wellbeing. Outside of writing she loves hiking, country walks and yoga, which she has been doing religiously over lockdown.

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Starting a Personal Training Business From Scratch: How to Do It

• by Two-Brain Business
• November 10, 2021

Whether you are a fitness expert, an exercise buff or an exercise entrepreneur, starting a personal training business is possible with the proper approach and planning.

When you finish this article, you should have a sound understanding of what it takes to:

• Establish a personal training business.
• Avoid the pitfalls you might encounter.
• Make your personal training business sustainable.

Why Do You Need a Business Plan?

Owning a successful personal training business can be an enriching experience. By helping your clients reach their fitness goals or overcome their physical weaknesses, you can develop strong bonds that could last a lifetime.

However, the business part of the venture will make or break your personal training career. It’s a sobering fact that 90 percent of all startup businesses fail, and personal training businesses are no exception. No matter how much your clients love you, your business practices will determine the fate of your enterprise.

Having formal business training is excellent, but you can learn as you go if you have a good business plan. For this reason, we will continue as if we were putting together your personal training business plan.

Planning Your Personal Training Business

Before you start planning, you should determine what your vision is for your personal training business. Do you see it as a resource for the community or an industry disruptor? And who is your ideal client? College-age athletes, busy professionals, seniors or some other group? The answer will have a significant effect on how you set up your business.

Also, it is essential to decide what outcome you want for your business. For instance, you might want to develop it into an expandable model that leads to employees, franchises or satellites. On the other hand, you might want to keep it a one-person operation. Creating a clear definition of your vision and mission for your business will help shape the planning and operation.

Because you will be the founder of this personal training business, its success relies on you. These are some questions you can ask yourself before moving forward:

• Am I comfortable in a leadership role?
• Am I a teacher and mentor?
• Do I consider myself a problem solver?
• Am I a good salesperson? 
• Am I hard to discourage?

If you can affirmatively answer these questions, you are ready to plot out the process of starting your personal training business.

Choosing Your Personal Training Business Model

The first task in starting your business is deciding what business model is best for delivering your service. This decision will dictate your initial and ongoing costs, operational planning, marketing, and revenue potential. With this in mind, here are some major personal training business models that may suit your background, training and ambitions.

Operating in a Private Gym That Charges You a Per Session Rate

Operating in a private gym is a low-cost way to start your personal training business. In this set-up, you train clients using the gym’s equipment and facilities just as the staff personal trainers do. Some gyms allow you to solicit their members and others don’t. Either way, you are responsible for your clients’ safety and liable for any damages attributed to you or them. Most private gyms require you to carry liability insurance.

Typically, your only daily cash outlay would be a per session fee. These fees are usually reasonable unless you’re working in a popular gym. Many small gym owners like this arrangement because they can offer personal training services without incurring salary, liability and tax expenses. Plus, they usually require that you become a paying member—or that your clients become members if you bring them in from outside the gym.

Pros and Cons

Private gym arrangements have the following pros:

• Low entry cost and no maintenance cost—equipment is provided and cared for by the gym.
• No lease, managerial or operational expenses.
• Convenient.
• Flexible: You can switch gyms at any time with no transition costs.

Here are the cons of private gym arrangements.

• It’s challenging to build a brand or create a unique gym experience.
• Sometimes you will face stiff competition. On occasion, other trainers might try to steal your clients.
• You are bound to the gym’s operating days and hours.
• During peak hours, you might have to wait for specific pieces of equipment to become available.
• It’s challenging to develop a client list that you can sell to someone else.

This business model works best when you are a regular gym member and have a friendly rapport with the staff and owner.

Training Clients in Their Homes or On-Site Facilities

Training clients in their homes or condo gyms would be the cheapest way to conduct a personal training business—except for the travel expenses. There are no per-session fees or maintenance costs. But you must account for gas prices, parking fees, car maintenance and down time due to travel.

You can offset the travel cost by charging in-home clients more or securing other clients who live in the same neighborhood or building. For this reason, some personal trainers work as on-site trainers for large condo complexes or resorts. A contract or monthly fee might be part of these types of arrangements. But ongoing fees are rarely involved.

If you decide to train clients directly in their homes, you will initially pay a few hundred dollars for the exercise equipment. Inexpensive resistance bands work well for this purpose. In some cases, some of your clients may have well-equipped home gyms. 

Starting a Personal Training Business in Your Home

Without travel-related expenses, in-home training is arguably the least expensive way to deliver your service. Some trainers use their garages, backyards, condo gyms or ad hoc gyms to train their clients. This business model gives you more control of equipment choices, your business environment and operating hours.

You will need to acquire and maintain your own equipment, and you’ll have to give up part of your home to the business. If that’s the case, your business should pay you for the use of your home. That might not be possible when you start out, but keep it in mind for the future. An accountant can help you figure out what exact options are available to you.

You must also have insurance, and it’s worth checking into local zoning to make sure your neighbors don’t call in the bylaw officers because your clients are taking up all the parking spaces.

If you don’t have a problem separating work from private time, training clients at your home might appeal to you. It is low cost and low risk. However, it has unique challenges to growth.

Starting an Online Personal Training Business

The advances in internet-based technology have introduced an exciting new personal training business model. Live video chat programs allow you to deliver your training online from anywhere in the world to almost anyone in the world with compatible technology.

Although this venue is still in the early stages, there are many ways you can use online platforms to enhance your business with:

• Non-personalized video fitness programs. You can record a series of exercise instruction sessions and market subscriptions to them.
• Hybrid online and in-person training. This is an excellent benefit for clients who don’t like missing personal training appointments because of vacations, deployments or quarantines.
• Online group personal training. Live online chat services like Zoom, Skype and Google Meets allow you to train clients in separate locations simultaneously.
• Customized programming.

Get the Two-Brain ebook “How to Add Online Training in 24 Hours”

Entry costs for this online personal training business model are low. The initial cost generally ranges from $300 to $500 for a webcam with a tripod, a microphone, lights and a reflector, exercise equipment and props. If you are short on cash, you can use the built-in equipment on your laptop or desk computer until you can upgrade.

More info on media equipment: “Best Gear for Online Classes”

When it comes to software, Zoom , Skype , Google Meet and other cloud-based chat platforms will do if you’re leading sessions. With some variations, free versions of communications software usually offer hosting of unlimited one-on-one or group sessions (sometimes with time limits).

For example, Zoom is very popular in the fitness world, and the free version will serve you well for one-on-one sessions. If you have groups, you’ll hit a 40-minute time limit with the free version. If you want to go longer with groups, add about 1 GB of recording and enable social media streaming, the upgrade to the pro subscription is only about $14 per month. Otherwise, your only monthly cost would be the internet connection.

Other platforms exist and have features specifically for fitness trainers. The cost for coaching software varies widely—click here to see our 2020 review of the top platforms.

Remember: Online coaches don’t always lead workouts live. Many provide programming and accountability instead. For more info, listen to this podcast: “Online Coaching: Pro Tips for Excellence and Efficiency.”

Things You Will Need to Start a Personal Training Business

Allocate most of the initial cost for starting a personal training enterprise to business essentials. Here is a rundown of the main requirements.

Personal Training Certification

Along with providing knowledge and coaching skills, a credential in personal training gives you a professional advantage in dealing with clients and the public. Plus, this accomplishment qualifies you for insurance.

The initial cost of a personal training certificate ranges between $500 and $2,000. Some credential institutions require maintenance and renewal costs along with continuing education requirements. Some of the best personal training certifiers are listed in the table below.

More info: “The Best Certifications for Personal Trainers”

Business Bank Account, Business License and Insurance

Commingling your business funds with your private funds is a recipe for a tax-time nightmare. At the very least, it can lead to money mismanagement, and confusion as to whether you’re making a profit or taking a heavy loss can lead to disaster. For these reasons, a business bank account is a valuable tool.

Before you open your business bank account, register for a business name. This move helps you distinguish your personal life from your business activities even more. For example, when you open your business bank account under your business name, it will appear on all the payments, bills and statements. As a result, your business record keeping will be much easier.

For added protection, you should register your personal training business as a limited liability company (LLC). This simple and relatively inexpensive step separates your business liability and finances from your personal affairs: A client or any other party cannot go after your personal assets in a lawsuit against your business.

Another essential form of protection is personal training insurance. It helps cover the cost of client injuries or other mishaps. For $200 to $300 per year, you can get up to $2 million in general liability insurance. Many credential issuers are connected to insurers; for example, NASM partners with Next Insurance Inc. to offer trainers professional and general liability insurance for as little as $11 a month.

How Much Should You Charge?

On average, personal trainers charge between $35 to $100 per hour—a very wide range.

To find your starting point, figure out what you need to charge to earn the income you need. Then ensure your services provide the value that justifies your rate. If you can add more value for your clients, you may be able to enter the market at a higher price point. Examples of adding value include perks like exercise/nutrition packages or off-hour sessions.

If your expenses demand you set a higher price than the standard rate, you can focus your marketing on couples, pairs or threesomes.

For more info on personal trainer wages, read “How Much Does a Personal Trainer Make?”

How Do You Get Personal Training Clients?

As you start your personal training business, the most important and challenging business task is getting clients. But new technology has made this an exciting time to start a personal training business. There are many ways to channel your efforts and money to reach potential clients.

Identifying your target market is a crucial task in marketing your personal training business. Essentially, your target market is a segment of people who are most likely to become your clients. You can group them by age, gender, occupation and many other categories. Generally, it is easier to truly define your target market after operating your business for a while. In the meantime, you can consider who you like working with and do some online research to find out which market segments are attracted to your personal training business model.

Once you have reasonably identified a target market, you can attract clients with old and new marketing techniques.

Old-School Marketing and Advertising Techniques for Trainers

Although there are many new options available to promote your business, here are some long-standing techniques that still work.

• Telling everyone you know that you’re starting a personal training business.
• Circulating business cards, brochures, free consultation coupons.
• Joining networking groups, giving free seminars, organizing free walk groups and exercise sessions.
• Wearing T-shirts and hats with your business name on it.
• Starting by recruiting potential clients from your inner circle of family and friends.

Read: “Personal Trainer Business Cards: Everything Coaches Need to Know”

New-School Marketing and Advertising Techniques for Coaches

Your first online marketing move should be to build a website for your personal training business. For a very low setup cost and monthly expense, website builders such as Wix, Squarespace and Monster provide easy-to-use tools and templates to make very professional-looking websites. They also offer domain names, business email addresses and traffic analytics.

After you build the website, you can try these options to fill up your client schedule.

• Fill your website with helpful content that appeals to your target market.
• Create exercise instructional videos on YouTube and Instagram.
• Develop a social-media presence by posting exercise-related content and joining fitness groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest (be sure to make impressive profiles).
• Create a profile on Yelp and get clients to write positive reviews on your business.
• Create a Google Business account and get clients to write good reviews.
• Use digital marketing.

Consumer service websites like Yelp and Thumbtack provide free listings for service providers. With their per-click advertising, you only pay for the potential customers who visit your website or call you. Plus, their filtering tools allow you to focus on your target market. Facebook is another platform that offers many tools to a marketer. Remember this: If you choose to spend money on ads, track your metrics so you know if you’re getting a return on your investment.

For our “Affinity Marketing Guide” and “Free Digital Marketing Course,” click here .

Making Your Personal Training Business Profitable

When you consider all factors, your net profit potential depends on how well you balance your total monthly revenue and your ongoing expenses. This fact highlights the importance of maintaining good accounting practices.

Fortunately, you can invest in inexpensive accounting or bookkeeping software to help you keep track and record your transactions and balances. Also, payment apps like PayPal, Venmo and Zelle do an excellent job collecting, processing and recording your transactions.

The Road to Success in Personal Training

With a thoughtful plan, starting a personal training business isn’t that hard.

Due diligence before you take the plunge can help you profit in a lucrative market by avoiding the pitfalls that sink most startups. Being prepared and staying informed of developments in this industry can give you an advantage.

Two-Brain Business can help you along the way. For a detailed done-for-you business plan for personal trainers, click here .

About the Author—John Burson successfully ran a personal training business for over 20 years, and he has written volumes of published articles on business entrepreneurship, finance and the fitness industry.

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