Fitness Training : Forming a Business Partnership

In a previous blog I stated that a Fitness Trainer who wants to operate their own business can do it 3 ways:

1. Be a Sole Proprietor
2. Form a business partnership
3. Get incorporated

If you choose option number 2 you will no longer be working on your own. However you will probably be working with other fitness aficionados which can make for a positive work environment.  Forming a business partnership can have certain advantages:

• As in being a sole proprietor, the start up costs can be low
• It is a simple business to initiate
• The partners share the expenses
• You have a greater potential to attract more clients
•  Different Fitness Trainer personalities can appeal to a broader base
•  A Fitness Trainer partnering with a Group Exercise Specialist can cover a wider spectrum of needs of the fitness demographic

   According to Greg Harvey, owner of Fit 'N'Well Personal Training Inc. in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada  "If you form a business partnership you will need to be either an incorporated partnership or a limited partnership. A partnership can't operate as a sole proprietor. Once in a business partnership you will need an accountant to take care of taxes and a lawyer to file the minutes each year. " 

The fact that it will not just be about you and your clients can also raise some issues. You will now be legally bonded to another person. You likely know couples living common law that decided to make it legal and tie the knot in marriage. Many will concede that the moment they signed the documents their relationship changed. It was no longer just for fun - it was now a serious relationship. Think of a business partnership in a similar vein. The parameters can change significantly. Business Partnerships can run into potential problematic scenarios:

• Fitness Trainers who socialize in and out of the fitness center may find that their interpersonal relationship changes when money becomes a variable
• One party may feel that the other party is not pulling their share of the work load 
• A client complaint against one Fitness Trainer may reflect badly on the others
• Issues of dishonesty or fraud by a partner can be disastrous to the business relationship 
• Someone you once got along with may turn out to be difficult to deal with in a work setting
• Your goals for the business may start to differ from those of you partner
• Your partner's financial problems could become your problems

   Should you decide that a business partnership is the correct route, do it wisely.

1. Ensure that you and your partner(s) share common goals 
2. Draw up agreed upon rules and guidelines. Consult with your lawyer
3. Document all financial transactions.
4. Use a competent professional accountant 
5. Be prepared for reasonable compromises.
6. Don't let divisive situations fester. Clear the air with discussion and diplomacy

Dishonesty or fraud within a Business Partnership can be disastrous!

  Operate your business as a professional operation and not like some back alley chop shop and success may follow.

Until next time,...keep fit

Little Bobby Strong

       schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

References
1. Greg Harvey    Fit 'N'Well Personal Training Inc.  Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
greg@fitnwell.com 

2. The Business of Personal Training  Scott O. Roberts, Human Kinetics Publishers Inc. 1996

Fitness Training -Being a Sole Proprietor

   Anyone contemplating a move into a career as a Fitness Trainer would be prudent to research the business aspect of this field of occupation.
Basically, aspiring Fitness Trainers have two usual choices if they want to be legitimate.

1. Work as an employee for a Fitness Center or a recreation complex.
2. Work on your own with your own clientele or for a Fitness Complex as an independent contractor. 

If you decide on option number 2, then you will have to decide:

1. Should you be a sole proprietor?
2. Should you form a business partnership?
3. Should you incorporate?

 Do your research! I looked through an old college manual about the business of Fitness Training.
There were 2 paragraphs on each of these topics; sole proprietorship, business partnership and incorporation. Obviously you must go beyond the offered fare of the fitness courses to get fundamental knowledge. Business books and the internet should help you educate yourself. If you feel that you need to consult a business expert - do it! It may be well worth any fee.
   Your decision on how to operate may depend upon how far advanced you are in your Fitness Training business. During the early process of building your business, cash flow may be meager. Incorporation fees can be costly. Sole proprietorship may be the initial route to take.
  A proprietor is someone who runs a business that they legally own. A sole proprietorship business is owned and operated by one individual. Anyone that sells a service or product with the hope of some profit is a sole proprietor by default. They need not fill out any official forms to attain this status. They will be expected to pay taxes on the income but they can also claim business expenses against such income. It is a great option for newcomers!
 There are some advantages to sole proprietorship such as:

• Less hassle or cost in starting the business.
• The sole proprietor makes the business decisions.
• The sole proprietor gets the sole profits.
• The sole proprietor only has to answer to his clients - not to a fitness center manager.

Sole proprietorship may have some disadvantages such as:

• The sole proprietor has total responsibility (or blame) for the business.
• Business liability issues. The sole proprietor is personally liable for business debts.
• Legal liability issues. A sole proprietor can be sued for his own personal assets - not just for business assets. 

Those are some significant disadvantages. There is a certain amount of physical risk involved in this occupation. You want to protect yourself to the maximum in case of an injured client.

Look, I get it! Too many expenses in the beginning can handcuff you. If you are Fitness Training as a second job you also want to keep it simple.

If you are just a small dog in the fitness training kennel, you may want to
work as a sole proprietor. If you grow into a big wolf, you may be wise to
consider incorporating your business.

Sole proprietorship provides greater flexibility and easier decision making!

    Once you start to approach a time where you are making a decent living at it it might be the time to consider incorporating. This requires a level of commitment and administrative work beyond sole proprietorship.
 If you work with other Fitness Trainers you might also consider forming a partnership but then you have someone besides your clients to answer to.
   If you don't feel a need for these extra constraints then
staying lean and mean as a sole proprietor may be the right business model for you! 

(Read more on Fitness Training business options in my next two blogs.)
                                                           
Until next time,.......keep fit!  

Little Bobby Strong                          
                                               
                                                              schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

References
1. The Business of Personal Training    Scott O. Roberts
Human Kinetics 1996

2. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting Your Own Business- Third Edition
Edward Paulson  Alpha books - MacMillan USA Inc. 2000
(Publisher's Note: You expected me to read an MBA level book on Economic Capitalism....
Forget That!)

The Poor Unwanted Musclehead

   There is a troubling trend in the world of fitness these days. Some of the newer big box fitness  center chains started it. Now a business marketing itself as the small neighborhood workout club has jumped on the bandwagon. This trend is a fore handed slap at the plate-pumping, pectoral-protruding,  personal pride possessed pioneers of pulchritude. These swollen-armed, sinewy-veined, thick necked demigods that strut chest first across weight room floors are under attack.
   The trend that I refer to is a policy to refuse memberships to the extremely muscular bodybuilding or powerlifting types. The neighborhood workout club that I referred to discourages any muscular males weighing over 200 pounds from joining up.
This almost verges on being a human rights violation!
   Many fitness centers seem hell-bent on making muscleheads obsolete by getting rid of their favorite equipment. Platforms for powerlifting and Olympic style weightlifting are scarce or non-existent in many new facilities. State-of-the-art machines are replacing traditional benches for free weights. Squat racks are scarce and futuristic hybrids of leg machines are the new normal. Olympic bars are hard to find..
   Sure, some of these muscleheads can be boors! I've seen many examples of less than stellar weight room etiquette. Some of this behavior can border on the outright barbaric such as:

• Loud grunts while lifting
• Dropping weights that land heavily on the floor
• Giving off wicked gas emissions due to the fermenting pre-workout protein shake
• Great propensity for a crude oath starting the sixth letter of the alphabet 
• Hogging more than one machine or weight station while they do supersets
• Rich manly odor emanating from their favorite unwashed training wardrobe

   There's no question about it. Some of these muscular mammoths can be crude and intimidating. Many of them show the hyper-aggressive mood and  skin acne known to be symptomatic of steroid use. Psychologists might analyse them as insecure guys hiding behind false egos of bravado - little men playing at big men!  However, that doesn't mean that we should paint all serious 'big boys' with the same brush.
   On the plus side, these guys can be faithful members. Many of their former haunts, the hard core gyms, have given up the ghost.  These jacked-up gym giants need some joint in which to joust.
  They can also be a source of inspiration. I can remember many times being in the weight room and feeling apathetic and lazy about my workout. Watching a Musclehead hit the iron with a manic zeal would brush off and get me enthused again. Muscleheads love their weights and their passion can be contagious.
   My plea to these exclusive fitness centers is "cut the muscleheads some slack!  Give them their own side room with heavy plates and Olympic bars where they can be away from the general population.  Don't shut them out! Stick up for the muscular minority. They represent an old tradition of muscle beach, bulging biceps and dungeon-like gyms. Just don't stand downwind of them when they're refueling with liquid protein.

"Step aside little man. Treadmill aerobic training is for girly geeks! True warriors hoist heavy iron!"
No doubt that Muscleheads can be brutes and boors.
On the plus side, their passion and intensity for lifting weights can be an inspiration.
Cut them some slack!

Until next time,..........keep fit!

Little Bobby Strong                          schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

Bruce Jenner - The World's Greatest Athlete!

   You have probably heard the news that we long suspected was coming! Bruce and Kris Jenner, Step- Dad, and Mother to the Kardashian clan, have boarded separate trains to Splitsville.
I am no fan of reality television. (I am especially annoyed by weight loss reality T.V. shows. More on that in a future blog) Sometimes a few moments of "Keeping up with the Kardashians" may have appeared on my screen before I could flip the switch to something substantial like 'Breaking Bad". Before my fingers could reach the remote, I did notice a bored looking guy being ignored in the background. He couldn't show embarrassment on his face since it was frozen by bad plastic surgery.
    What you might not know was that Bruce Jenner had a title long before his bit part in this three ring circus of unearned fame, decadence and disastrous relationship choices.
Bruce Jenner was once known as the world's greatest athlete! Yes, it's true! He was not just famous for being famous. He had to earn his fame in the biggest sports stage in the world!
   The time was the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The event was the decathlon in track and field.
In the decathlon competitors ply their trade over 10 running, hurdling, throwing, vaulting or jumping disciplines. Each event is worth points based on performance. After 10 events the compilation of points determines the placings. The Olympic Decathlon winner is unofficially lauded as 'The World's Greatest Athlete"!
   Most decathletes are fast twitch muscle fiber beasts. Success in the decathlon depends upon:

1. Technique
2. Power
3. Strength
4. Speed

 There is one exception. The final event is the 1500 meter run, also known as the metric mile.
This is a nightmare scenario for most of these muscular titans. They are built for speed and power - not for a middle distance race requiring endurance that favors a 50% or more proportion of slow twitch muscle fibers. Film footage of tongue-dragging power athletes slogging like sloths through this race are vintage viewing.
  Not so for Bruce Jenner. He used to run 5 miles in the morning and five miles in the evening after a full day of training for other events. He could smoke a fast 1500 meters. Bruce Jenner set a world record at the Olympics and won the gold medal. He then became the first track and field athlete to attain anything resembling celebrity status.
   Jenner was on the cover of the Wheaties cereal box. He scored endorsement deals. He became a
motivational speaker. He was primed to become the NBC color commentator for track and field at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Then the boycott struck. The Soviet Union was mired in a war of occupation in Afghanistan. The American president Jimmy Carter initiated an Olympic boycott by many western nations. So much for Jenner's sportscasting career. By the 1984 Olympics Bruce Jenner was no longer the flavor of the month. His commentating gig was turned over to a former NFL football player and collegiate track sprinter named O.J. Simpson. (Yes - that O.J. Simpson!)
   Bruce Jenner still did well financially. He was on Hollywood game shows and was a successful businessman. He divorced his college sweetheart. He married and divorced one of Elvis Presley's ex-girlfriends.Then he married into the Kardashian family.

Found my old track shoes in storage. No discus -this dinner
plate will have to suffice.
Mount my successful Olympic decathlon challenge.
Marry a divorced celebrity with 3 diva daughters.
Get a reality television show. Watch the dollars roll in.
It's a foolproof plan! 

The rest is reality television history!

   Meanwhile, track and field is fighting to stay in the mainstream of the sports consciousness. Sure we have Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive.
Otherwise track and field has trouble staying ahead of Tractor Pulling in the fan and spectator department. The sport needs people with charisma and drawing power.

Bruce, come back to the oval track, either as a commentator or a coach. You've been away too long.
We need you man!

I almost forgot. The Kardashian sisters all have celebrity Fitness Trainers.
That's the Fitness Training tie to my blog.
  
Until next time,....Keep Fit                 schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

Little Bobby Strong 

P.S. Bruce,  please put in a good word for me with Kourtney! 



   

Fitness Training and the Suburban Jungle

It appears that the rush to suburban living is far from over. In a previous blog I suggested that high gas prices would force people to move closer to the urban core. This could mean that city dwellers walk, run or bicycle to work more frequently rather than drive. There is also better access to mass transit with a more compact city.
   I may have been overly optimistic. Oil from Canada's oil sands, fracking, and offshore drilling has kept the supply of supply of gasoline rolling along.
   Suburban living has always been centered around the internal combustion driven automobile.
That's why there are no sidewalks. Everything revolves around driving. Buses and trains can be a sporadic entity in the furthest reaches of the suburban hinterland. This discourages most unorganized physical activity. Sure there are hockey arenas and soccer fields and baseball diamonds and occasionally even a skateboard park. They just seem to be unaesthetic and lacking of and soul.

   On the plus side, the suburbs are full of big box style fitness centers. There will likely be more of them being built as urban sprawl runs rampant. This should ensure a need for Fitness Trainers. Fitness Trainers that come to the place of residence to train clients will also be a potential growth business.
Fitness Trainer's will likely need to rely on the automobile to get get to their clients. I suppose they could become early pioneers of the electric automobile.

Maybe Fitness Trainers can't save the planet directly! 
However, each person that we convert to an active lifestyle may come to rely less on the automobile.
"One small step for man ,.....one giant step for Mankind! "
                                                             (Neil Armstrong - First man on the moon.)

Until next time,.........Keep Fit

Little Bobby Strong.                         schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net

Expand Your Fitness Horizon - Try Zumba

   I am skeptical of many fitness fads. The flavor of the month training breakthrough often has a brief shelf life. Take some of the following past trends:

• What happened to Tae Bo or Boxercise classes? I always feared that such class members would suddenly feel emboldened to try and clean out a biker bar. Good luck with that!   What scared me more was the imaginary reflection of ex-boyfriends in the eyes of the women participants. There just may have been a punching diva or two sporting the Little Bobby Strong image in their intense and vengeful pupils! Gadzooks!
• Step classes seem to have phased out of existence.
• Low impact aerobics is missing in action.
• In the 1980's you had to book days in advance to secure a racquetball or squash court. Such courts usually sit empty now. I went into an unused court at my fitness club to stretch only to find it filled with discard exercise bikes.

   I am not suggesting that these were not viable alternatives to traditional fitness paradigms. If people enjoyed themselves and were vigorously active, that's great. Whatever it takes to get them in motion can't be a bad thing. Many people want to get fit but dislike weight training or working out on stationary exercise equipment. There is also the group camaraderie factor. Why suffer alone in some dungeon of a weight room when you can shake it in unison in a social environment?

  I have also stated in previous blogs that Group Fitness Instructors have a leg up on attracting clients over those who specialize in one on one Personal Fitness Training. It is less expensive and the participants aren't required to sign a long term contract. 

   The MSN  internet service provider had a Canadian Press article written by LuAnn LaSalle. The article forecast that future fitness opportunities may be abundant for instructors in exercise offshoots such as Yoga and Zumba. Yoga is already an established branch of the fitness world and it is here to stay.

   Zumba piqued my interest so I Googled it. Zumba was described as a mix of Latin and international music used as a background for dancing. People can 'dance the pounds away'.

Zumba is a growing phenomenon with group dance classes. You don't need a partner to perform the movements like you would with a Tango or a Country Two Step. Nor do you need to be a Fred Astaire or a Ginger Rogers with magic footwork. Anyone can participate no matter what their fitness levels! It is also a relatively safe recreation with little wear and tear on the joints of the body.

   To become a Zumba instructor requires going through a certification process. I am all for that!

If you are going to teach something, learn to teach it right and in a safe manner! 

   To a Fitness Trainer that decides to expand their boundaries and become a Zumba instructor

my advice is,.... Go for it!  This sort of thing may not be for a weight room dinosaur such as

"Underneath the mango tree
My baby and me" !!
A late night solitary aficionado perfects his Zumba technique!
Publishers note: Alcohol may have been a factor!

me. I am an iron hoisting fossil! 
However for the new younger breed of upcoming Fitness Trainers, approach this business with an open mind. Don't be afraid to step beyond the parameters of the fitness establishment! Even if it only turns out to be a short lived fad you have built a rapport with a core group of followers. If you move on to the next fitness revolution there is a strong possibility that they will move on with you. 
This type of following is priceless!  
 I tend to be a believer in the old ways. 
That does not mean that you shouldn't
 keep your mind open.
  Good opportunities 
can often  come in different packages!

   

Until next time,........keep fit! 
                                                                schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
Little Bobby Strong!

Beat the Clock. Fitness Training and Punctuality.

   I was a Johnny come lately!
In a previous life I was a civil servant. Of course, working an office job didn't fire up my passion neurons the same way as did being a Fitness Trainer. I didn't perceive of myself as a bad worker but I was saddled with a bad rap.
I was always late! It wasn't by much, maybe 5 or 10 minutes, but it was every day. My excuse was that I was still bagged in the morning from the previous evening's diet of activities such as track and field, hockey, weight training or amateur wrestling. It was a case of avocation at the expense of vocation.
   I often stayed late to make up for the time lost. I can remember many a Friday night before a long weekend where I stayed for hours after quitting time to empty my 'IN' basket. It didn't matter to the powers that be. I was not punctual! Therefore there was this assumption that I was also lazy, unreliable and unworthy of promotion. The same powers that be were not around to observe me making up the time.
They all left early on Fridays! Flex time was for managers only!
   Of course, it would have caused me less hassle to just crawl out of bed earlier each morning. However, being late is a bad habit to get into and for some can be a tough habit to break!
   When it came time for my career change I decided to eliminate any excuses to success.
I quit my late habit cold turkey. It meant disabling the 'doze' button on my alarm clock. Surprisingly, there were no severe withdrawal symptoms.There were no shaking fits, no spells of nausea, and no hallucinations of giant spider attacks. I am now the early bird!
    If you are late as a Fitness Trainer, then you risk losing the client! It is unprofessional to be consistently tardy in this business. Your clients are often pressed for time. Don't give them a reason to question the need for your services. Word travels fast in the fitness business.
Your reputation is your career!
   There are three peak times of availability for most Fitness Training customers.

1. Before work in the morning
2. Lunch time 
3. After work

      If you can't be relied upon to haul your carcass out of bed in time for morning clients, you will be making yourself unavailable to a large block of potential income. Trying to make it up later in the day the rarely pays off.
(For proof, reference my civil service career.)
    If you are tardy for an initial session or consultation, you are likely toast for trying to sign that prospect.

      Of course, life happens. Traffic, weather, family, car problems and other distractions can slow you down. Just in case, have a well defined contingency plan in place with your clients.

• Contact the client immediately if you are delayed. Having them on speed dial is a smart idea.
• Offer that session without charge if you are significantly late.
• If you miss a session completely, be prepared to offer make-up sessions.
• Ensure that the client is comfortable with doing the warm-up procedures on their own. That way if   you are held up they are doing something productive rather than wasting time waiting.

   Many Fitness Trainer's travel from location to location to work with their clients. Remember, that time and distance along with traffic issues will not always lead to an optimal commute time.There may also be issues with tardy clients that throw you off schedule. Plan for this when booking work-out times. Aim for an arrival time well before the actual appointment.
   If you are like me and not the brightest eyed person in the morning, don't rely on one alarm clock! 

Punctuality is crucial for a Fitness Trainer!
Have a back-up plan so you don't sleep away a fitness appointment.

Get a back-up clock or watch. Most importantly, never, ever, reach for the 'doze'
 button.
If you snooze, you lose!
Until next time,..........stay fit!

Little Bobby Strong

P.S. Comments are welcome.

schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net