[Christina]

Warning: This is a "I'm feeling sorry for myself" post.

Well, my husband is on his way to San Francisco for a final round of interviews for a job. I am still holding out hope that something will come up in Texas but we will probably end up back in the San Franciso bay area. I wish I was not just starting out training. I wish I had a few years under my belt and I could just say, "We're going back to Texas because I KNOW I could get a successful business up and running." I have a lot of contacts back in Texas where we used to live and I also have an awesome internet domain that could get me a number one ranking in Google and Yahoo for key words people would use in that area when searching for a personal trainer. (Plus this is a wealthy community where people have money coming out the wazoo.) And to make matters worse, I have about 9 thousand dollars worth of workout equipment in storage that I could use in a small studio. The only thing I am lacking is EXPERIENCE. I hate this. I am confident in my ability to train but I am not confident in my ability to market my business. Does anyone have any words of wisdom or advice? Anyone with experience want to move to Texas with me?

Christina

[muscletrainerdh-NSCA CPT]

Your lack of experience in what? Training people or running a business?

you do a great job running this forum. You've got the charisma, warmth, and smarts to be a great trainer and business person.

In either city, San Fran or Houston, you will be a success, regardless of where you begin. (Although it seems Houston would be the easier start for you).

You've got a lot of contacts through this forum and I'm pretty sure we'd all be willing to help you out no matter where you end up.

If it's any comfort, I go through cycles like this as well.

[Christina]

Thanks for your words of encouragement, Dave! I think it boils down to my ability to sell my services. I've got the training part down, no prob. I know I could be successful in Texas but the question is, how long will it take me to build a client base? That's the thing that is frustrating -- not knowing. Are you starting to get a lot of clients?

Christina

[muscletrainerdh-NSCA CPT]

Just prepare yourself. My main "Business goal" was to increase my "brand awareness" in my area. Make my companies name recognizable and well known, not necessarily get clients. I have 2 "couple" clients that I am training which is 4 people. Not a huge amount, but it's larger than zero! But it's slow going.

Get those business goals down, be realistic. How much time will you have to research, prepare, and execute training. How many can you see a day without burning out? etc. etc. How many clients will you have to train for you and your husband to maintain the posh lifestyle that you lead? (Hee hee!)

I have a feeling though both Houston and the Bay Area are a little more "Fitness Focused" than the part of the country that I live in now. (And that you are currently lviing in). Could you imagine trying to start in the west virginia town where you are currently stationed? YIKES!!!!

Was an offer made yesterday?

Wishing you the best,

Dave

[C Lenart]

Christina:

Nice to read your material again. Seems like just yesterday when you moved back to Texas during June of last year.

To answer your question, the FIRST thing you should do to market your business is to decide what type of clients you wish to market to. (Market segmentation). For example, I would like to market my services to people who have recently gone through heart or spinal surgery and/or have known cardiac, pulmonary, and spinal conditions. Simply put, I like taking on risk. It's what drives me.

Once you decide who you would like to market to, you should decide how you will market your training services to your target group of clients. (A Business Plan).

I can e-mail you a Sample Business Plan if you would like which contains all the details of how to market your training business. Got it from the class I took at UCLA a few months ago.

Let me know if you're interested.

Curt

[Christina]

Hey Curt! Nice hearing from you! Yes, definitely send me the business plan! (Click the email button at the end of this message or if you have my Yahoo address send it there.) I wish I didn't miss the PT business class. It sounds like it was really helpful.

Hope things are going well for you!

Christina

[C Lenart]

Christina:

No problem. I'll bundle the Business Plan into a Word File and send it over.

On another topic, I was reading your blog on your running and hip problem. When I last read about your running schedule a few weeks ago, you were doing about five miles. Now it seems like your distances and times are moving up rapidly. Unfortunately, my experience as a long distance runner for over 17 years tells me that you have to push the body up slowly as far as progression goes. In other words, you can't move from running five miles a day to over ten too quickly or you will irritate/damage the connective fibers, like the tendons and ligaments. You might even irritate the bursa lining around the hip from too much friction being placed on the tendon/ joint structure.

I ran six days a week and 16 miles a day but I only added four tenths of a mile to my program every two weeks to allow my connective fibers to strengthen as I moved up the mileage. Enough said. I do like to go on and on.

Anyhow, here's a piece on exercise/running and hip ailments.

http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=20885&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm

I'll send over the the Business Plan.

Curt

[Christina]

Hey Curt,

What a fantastic link -- THANKS! My longest run to date is only 6 miles so do you think it is an overuse injury? I have my runs recorded on the Nike+ site so I will do a screen capture and post it on my blog when I get a chance. Perhaps you could look over it and give me your opinion. I thought I did a pretty good job at progressing slowly but maybe not. I think perhaps it is either sciatica or a strained hamstring b/c the pain begins at the bottom of my right glute and extends halfway down the back of the leg. (When it first happened the pain was so generalized that I couldn't pinpoint it.) I've noticed that inclines aggravate it as well as hip flexion and extension. It does not hurt at rest which makes me think that it is not sciatica. (Unfortunately I am not an expert in this area so I can only guess.) One thing that I have noticed is if I apply pressure where the pain originates it stops hurting.

Your opinion?

Christina

[C Lenart]

Christina:

Yesterday, I e-mailed the Business Plan to you with some samples included. It's a long document but I hope it gives you some ideas on how to center your focus on the customer segment you want to market to.

Now for your hip matter. You've almost got me stumped on this one. Almost.

Here's my take. I still think this is a repetitive motion injury to the bursa or cushioning material sorrounding the hip joint. You may have progressed slowly but maybe not slowly enough. As a bit of background, injuries to the hip bursa or cushioning material in the hip joint can be divided into two classes. The first is a specific trauma like a blow and the other is a progressive and cumulative problem caused by friction over time. In your case, I believe progressive friction over time between the hip bone and the overlying soft tissues such as the muscles and tendions have caused the hip bursa to become inflamed or irritated.

As a point of reference, hip bursa is located in two parts of the hip and is made up of small jelly-like sacs containing a small amount of fluid. The first bursa location for the hip is located in the greater trochanter region of the hip where the femur goes into the hip socket. It functions as an attachment point for several important muscles that move the hip joint. The trochanter has a fairly large bursa overlying it. The bursa measures about 3 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 1/4 inch thick. This bursa occasionally becomes irritated or inflamed. This is a common cause of hip pain. When this occurs, the condition is called "hip bursitis" or "trochanteric bursitis." Another bursa located on the inside (groin side) of the hip is called the "iliopsoas" bursa. When it becomes inflamed, the condition is also sometimes referred to as "ischial" bursitis, with the pain located in the groin area next to the ischium of the hip. It is treated in a similar manner as trochanteric bursitis, but is less common.

The location of the symptoms may one better understand the potential source of the complaints. For example, pain over the lateral hip area may be secondary to a trochanteric bursitis and pain posteriorly in the hip area can result from a piriformis syndrome or "ischial" bursitis.

NOTE: You should also check for any any leg length discrepancies between your two legs as this will also inflame the hip bursa due to excess friction. To check your leg lengths to see if they are the same, check the upper ridge of your illiac crests at your two hips to make sure that they are at the same level and one is not lower or higher than the other. You can use a mirror to observe this.

Treatment

To alleviate the problem of excess friction to the bursa areas of the hip, I would suggest that you try very slow jogging on a soft surface such as grass or lawn to see if you can jog "pain free." Forget about target heart rates and all that stuff for now. You're just looking to move pain free. You may also wish to ice down the affected area or try a small amount of over-the counter ibuprofen such as Advil or Motrin, to reduce the possible inflamation.

Hope this helps. If these small steps don't produce anything, suggest you try a Doctor who specializes in Physical Therapy.

Curt

[MedicineMan442]

A great way to gain business is to talk to doctors and get relationships with them. Refer clients to them, and they will in turn send them to you. You will also gain some contacts in the medical field for advice and support when needed. It will be slow at first, but things will really pick up. ok? Good luck in Texas!

[Christina]

Hi Lance!

That's a good idea. (And chiropractors, physical therapists, and dietitians too!) It also wouldn't hurt to get in good with the types of doctors that people go to when they are concerned about their looks such as plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists, and dermatologists.

I see in your signature that you're an EMT. A very admirable job!