Vehicle Question - Personal Trainer Community - Forum

[Aurelian]

My business is going to provide on site training to clients. I am filling out my list of equipment that I want to carry with me (tubing, adjustable weight dumbbells, mats, etc.). I would like to carry a fairly extensive amount of equipment just to give me some options when training clients and just to keep things interesting. My question is for those that do on-site how much do you carry? Right now I just have a sedan style car so the amount of equipment I can carry would be somewhat limited but I am going to get an SUV in the near future. Maybe a trailer? Any and all responses are welcome!

[Christina]

Hi Aurelian and welcome to the site. If you are just starting out a stability ball, portable bench, and adjustable dumbbells will be plenty. Heck, you could really start out with a stability ball and nothing else. There are a ton of challenging exercises you can do with a stability ball alone. Combine that with plain old body weight exercises and you could stay busy for weeks or months.

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT overspend on a bunch of equipment initially. Trust me, I have been down this road and I spent a lot of unnecessary money when I first went into business. If you are in a financial situation where your family has some discretionary income (perhaps your spouse or significant other is the breadwinner), great. But if you need to pinch pennies don't waste your initial earnings on equipment.

Feel free to ask additional questions!

Christina

[Aurelian]

Just to tell you I am the late ejcoorf with a new username and the problem login has been corrected. Thanks Christina for the answer. I really just want to concentrate on building business and if I can use my car to take equipment to clients it's a real plus. Money I thought I may have had to spend on a SUV I can spend on other things including making my current car more reliable, marketing, contacts, etc.

[Christina]

Glad the login issue has been resolved. Weren't you working for a gym? What made you decide to go out on your own?

Ask as many questions as you like because this is what I do and I've learned quite a bit over the past few years. Would love to help any way I can.

Christina

[Aurelian]

Tomorrow I will have the questions. In short to answer the why going out on my own:

1) I am just sick unto death of working for someone else
2) I want total control
3) It's my passion and I don't think I am fully able to serve clients in my present capacity.

[Christina]

... and those are the EXACT reasons I started my own business...

[Aurelian]

What were some things you learned from when starting your own business? What mistakes did you make?

[Christina]

I have made a ton of mistakes!

#1: MAKE YOUR CLIENTS BUY PACKAGES UP FRONT. If they don't, they won't take training seriously. Also, if they cannot afford to pay up front then don't count on them being a long term client. You want clients to stick with you a long time.

#2: EXPECT PEOPLE TO CANCEL. Figure out your cancellation policy and stick to it. Tell anyone who calls you that you stand firm behind your cancellation policy. If they don't like it, they don't have to sign up. (Again, this process weeds out the kind of clients you don't want.)

#3: EXPIRATION DATE FOR SESSIONS. Figure out how long you are going to give the client to complete their sessions. If they buy 12 sessions and they train 2 times a week they SHOULD be done in 6 weeks (depending on your cancellation policy).

Figure out how you want to handle #1-#3, type it up, explain it to the client when they initially call you, and give them a copy (have them sign it) when you begin training. I sometimes lose sight of the fact that I run a business and not a charity. Don't make the same mistake!

#4: DO NOT OVERSPEND ON UNNECESSARY ITEMS. You don't need to buy a bunch of stuff to get your business up and running. Before you buy something ask yourself, do I really need this right now? You can buy the toys and fancy marketing materials once your business is established.

Hope this gets you started. Ask more questions. I want to help you.

Christina

[Aurelian]

I am considering stepping out sooner than I anticipated. Right now I am writing web copy, investigating lawyers for the legal sign and looking at buying equipment. For the equipment I am considering: tubing, jump ropes, steps, a medicine ball and a stability ball. Do you have any suggestions on how adequate this list is for starting out. I also may just have business card done up before the web site is done and also want to advertize on Craigslist. Designing some flyers too to distribute. The other exposure route is talking before chambers of commerce and professional organizations. Or even just talking to individual businesses or business groups. I am more of the mind that I just have to leap out there and do. Any suggestions or criticism you have is, of course, appreciated.

[Joe Cannon MS CSCS]

I agree with Christina dont over spend on stuff right now. hopefully the gym you work at will be reimbursing you for the mileage you will put on your car going to clients. Also yoiu should be getting a higher rate because you are going of site too
joe