Protecting Yourself Online Passwords AntiVirus + Wireless MESH Routers. What are they and why do you need them

 As a PT much of your business will be done online nowadays.  Good online habits are the first and foremost defence against online viruses and other threats. Avoid sites that are well known to host viruses ( mainly porn sites). Don’t click on links in emails unless you have verified they are from official companies that you have an ongoing relationship with or that you recognise as you have had dealings with them before. Never give out details or sign up to something that is too good to be true. And be careful downloading things online that may carry viruses.

Back Up

Back up all your important files to a separate drive, then back up your operating system to a different drive. You can use USB thumb drives for this purpose, an external HD or for files you can use a cloud service.

Use secure Password services built into Web browsers.

All web browsers now suggest strong passwords for your online accounts and allow you to store them encrypted in the cloud. This stops you from using the same password for multiple sites and the passwords are very secure with a random mix of numbers and letters. 

Google Wifi Pro

There are multiple virus protection services available, and its worth looking for services that include security software or looking for discounts at reputable online stores. Many security software companies also offer free basic protection which may be fine for many people who generally keep their internet usage to emails and social media.

 So, your broadband provider gave you a wireless modem as part of your package - why would you pay good many for something that you already have?

Well, the router provided by your broadband company is not the best. That is putting it lightly, in fact, its pretty terrible. You may have noticed the drops, the slowdowns when there are many devices connected and the poor reception is some places. Buying a decent wireless router gives you the most out of the money you are paying monthly for broadband with faster more stable connections. 

Many wireless routers also come with good parental controls that can block access to adult websites, block certain apps access to the internet and set times that your kids devices are allowed to access the network. This is a great boon for parents that need to set specific bedtime routines but who also may use it as a discipline/ reward mechanism. 

A good wireless router is also the first line in defence from viruses, scams and attacks that lurk in the World Wide Web. 

A MESH router is a system that helps eliminate dead spots in large houses. They provide one stable connection throughout the house - but they are only feasible for very big houses or homes with lots of interference with the signal. 

 

How to create and remember good passwords

A good password should be easy for you to remember but hard for anyone else to figure out, and it is important to secure your online accounts with a safe and effective password.

It sounds simple, but is often a pain and somewhat difficult to implement properly, but there is a way. And it involves including Mnemonics. Mnemonics is a system used to aid information retention. It is very powerful and can be used to create great passwords only you can remember easily. So lets start with some general tips on creating a strong password:

General tips for creating a good password

• Avoid using information that many people know about you, like your birthday, where you always go on holiday, the names of your pet/children etc.
• Avoid using actual words. Yep, don't use words. If someone is serious about getting into your account they will be able to run programs like a dictionary to try to get access.
• Always use upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters such as % or *
• Now use the journey method below in Mnemonics with Acronyms to create a great password!

Using the Journey method to create your password 

Lets create an over simplified password for an example. 

Os@Mm1fs 

This was done in a few seconds, and uses the Journey method to help you to remember it. 

So this simply means Online shopping @ M(GVT) my number 1 favourite store 

- Now you can read this out to yourself, and as you create it. It's a password for a shopping account so I used that for the first 2 characters, then the name of the store where I am shopping. Then something about the store I like. Using the letters of each word, plus a special character and number and you have an easy to remember password. Associate images and sounds to each character, even move along a path in your mind if it helps, and see the different characters, you should be able to say your password and type it as it appears above, second nature after a few attempts.    

If you really struggle you can always use a Letts Password Book

Social media has made keeping in contact with friends and family so much easier and has made the spread of information far quicker than at any other point in human history. But this does not mean that it is always positive. Its has also contributed to the spread of misinformation, lies (now called fake news), cyber bullying, depression and anxiety among a whole group of negative things.  Like with all things it should be used in moderation with strict time limits and periods in place especially for kids. The best way is to have a certain time of day to check so ial media and reply to messages., and to choose friends carefully. 

Each site is has different aspects and you may find one suits you better than others, below is a quick overview of some of the most popular sites. 

Social media sites

Facebook

One of the original sites,  with tons of features for keeping in touch,  sharing content selling items etc.  It's free but does track everything you (including outside Facebook) do to sell your info to advertisers. 

Instagram 

Owned by Facebook with similar features but focused more on sharing images and now videos. Uses the same process as Facebook for selling your behaviour to other companies. 

Snapchat

Great for keeping in touch and giving little updates to your friends and family. Is rather fun with great filters for sharing funny moments. Messages disappear once read unless you decide to keep them. 

Twitter

Bite sized updates you can send to everyone who follows you.  Use dmostly for sharing opinions and news. 

LinkedIn 

More career focused site used for job hunting and career progression. Has since expanded into a learning platform.

Starting an Online Fitness Store

 A good option for a diversified revenue stream for personal trainers is to give your clients a bespoke fitness store experience. Give them exclusive rates and free delivery with their next session. Below lets brake down some essential ideas for setting up an online fitness store.

Setting up your online fitness store : choosing an e-commerce platform 

 There are many free platforms that might tempt you into choosing them. This is what I originally went for as I was looking for minimal start up cost. This was probably my first mistake. You end up with very little support, and a basic website that ultimately costs more. I went with woocommerce due to it being free, then the upsells of various plug-ins soon mounted up, costing more than I originally planned. Those plugins soon went out of date needing a new purchase. I’m not saying these are not good platforms, but I would say they are more suited for those with teams that have web building experience or if you are prepared to invest in a complete unique storefront.

This has lead me to ekm. First of its not the perfect platform. None are. But I think it does strike the balance between features, price and support. For the reasonable monthly cost you get a website that is kept up-to-date, and a decent level of support from an account manager, who may be able to give appropriate  advice and experience right at the time when it is most needed.

They also have a high tier that helps you create a completely unique website based on your ideal.

A website will be the best option one day, and for that I recommend ekm, but if you are just starting out the best e-commerce platforms are probably eBay and Amazon, and Onbuy. Not only do they have a low cost of entry, but they attract millions of views organically or from their adverts. Something that is impossible for you to do at this point. 

Choosing a Platform - Start up in eCommerce - eBay 

eBay can be a good place to start of your online store as long as you know the audience that eBay attracts, plus you do not give your PT customers a bespoke experienced . For this reason however I cannot recommend eBay as a long term solution if you are looking to build a strong high profit margin brand. You may create a successful business selling low margin products in high volume. This is ultimately the eBay customer - Consumers who want to buy things on the cheap. The second main product category for eBay is higher margin, and that is rare items. In fact if you have a good source of rare items you may do rather well selling on eBay. 

For most people it’s best to use ebay to get started selling cheaply and get the revenue coming in. Many companies started off selling cheap products then gradually investing in building their brand into powerful high value brands. HTC did this to great effect at the beginning of the company - mainly selling oem products until they could invest in marketing their own brand. 

Bit of you have PT customers I would target them with a great experience rather than get caught in the rase to the bottom low margin products with eBay.

 Bonus tip: If selling fitness gadgets then remember: Base models sell better - no upgrades so don't include extras.

When selling on eBay it’s pertinent to know what will sell quicker and for as much margin as possible. EBay will provide different results compared to your own website. This post deals exclusively with tech and gadgets with the aim to furnish you with the right information for you to get the most out of your listings. This is great when you have to sell old laptops etc but invaluable if you are going to make selling tech your market segment. 

Base configurations only. 

It important to understand the type of person who will be buying your product. If it’s second hand then it’s someone who doesn’t want to pay full retail price, he wants a deal to buy in the cheap. This is why keeping products at base configuration is the best way to sell especially pcs and even more so Apple Macs. There is only a marginal return for upgraded versions - they just don’t hold there value in the same way a base configuration will. Remember the typical person buying second hand or refurbished is looking to save money and so will be more served by buying the base configuration pc. This should be kept in mind if looking to sell upgraded hardware too. 

Gadget bundles

This principle also applies to tech with accessories like cameras games consoles etc. it is tempting to put stuff all in and this can be a great way to clear stock quickly but it doesnt get you the same value as splitting things and selling individually. Again most people won’t be looking for a camera with a spare battery most people are happy enough paying less and having one battery. Same with lenses, the pre owned shopper is more interested in paying less rather than getting more.  

High Volume Low Profit Margin Items

having studied the typical eBay customer, they are generally after second hand products or low cost new items, this should also be evident from the marketing communications from eBay itself. 

Pre-owned, Refurbished or Returned Items

Using eBay can be an effective way of selling pre-owned & returned items without sacrificing space on your main platform brand. 

Outlet / Sale Items

One way Apple builds strong high value consumer trust is by not putting their products on sale. If you need to clear old / out of fashion stock using eBay as a separate entity outlet store can be a good avenue. This will help clear stock out but will protect your main brand. 

eBay Alternatives

Shpock

Facebook Marketplace

Village

Paperclip

Onbuy 

Once you get enough revenue to build and invest in your business it it always the best idea to move to your own platform. If you have a good business model selling on eBay then it may be worth while staying with them, however if you are looking to make more profit per item, looking to build your brand and can invest in the advertising required to get people to your site then using eBay until your no longer need them is a good way to go forward

eBay as a way to diversify income

If you have access to cheap high volume items.  This is a good way to diversify your revenue stream if maintaining your own website is not commercially viable. 

Considerations: fees and postage 

When using sites like eBay you will need to factor in all postage costs (including tape, labels, boxes etc) plus all associated ebay fees. Note ebay takes 10% of any postage charged to the customer by you. It's up to you if you want to absorb this cost or pass it on to the customer. 

 Finding Products to start your online store

This can be the trickiest part especially if you have a low budget. The best start you can give yourself is to learn how to make products yourself. This can give you a unique selling point and complete control over product creation, stock and prices. Try to find what is missing in the market or at least not as well catered for. 

If you find product creation almost impossible or don't have the time, you can get products for your online store from sites like AliExpress. The products are cheap enough to provide a modest margin of profit and you provide a service of having products in stock near to the buyers location thus providing faster shipping times.

SEO basics for new online stores

My advice would be to target your current customers, those who you have an established relationship with, then expand to those in your local area (10 miles). 
Improving your SEO is a fine experimental art. As with anything there is no right answer, 
but there are good practices. So how do you improve your local SEO? 
The first step is to get a well designed website for your business. 
Then use the below steps to improve your websites Local SEO

List yourself in directories

The main areas are Google & Bing, then you should look to local directories in your area. 


After getting a website , this is the second best thing you can do, not only will it improve your SEO but give you a communication line to your clients and enable them to share news about you to their own followers. Makes sure to link your website and include your contact information. This will help the search engines to place you in local searches and the more links you have to your site the better for your SEO in general.

This is the third best thing you can do. But also the first! After you have taken care of the above, this will be your main tool for SEO. Reach out tow blogs and websites and get articles written about your service with links in the blog post! Links outside the post count for less with search engines. The more of these the better, on more sites the better. Nothing else from this point will beat links inside of posts and articles. So get a press release sorted, anything. Remember - there's no such thing as bad press.

Old fashioned trick

Either find an online printer or take a look at buying your own, but a tried and true tool for increasing SEO indirectly is to go door 2 door posting leaflets through. 

Instead of putting your number or web address on the leaflet your call to action should be ‘search for Daniel Craig personal trainer’ or whatever your pt service is called. This way google will find that many people searching for a pt in your area are searching for you and clicking on your website. 

Local billboards, screens, newsagents and adverts in public spaces should fallow the same principle. People don’t always have time to stop and write down your number or website address so having a call to action as search [this] is a great way to mitigate any obstacle to people finding your pt business. 

Find local business or events 

Back up your files plus Collaborate & host files to achieve continued growth & success

 Boost your chances of success with mega.nz

As someone who used to work in it I have seen how much new online companies neglect to keep a decent back up of their important files and more important product images sure you have images on your website and possibly keep them on your computer but to be sure and safe you should keep them on a cloud hosting platform such as mega.nz  This way you have piece of mind in case anything goes wrong with your site or computer  it also gives you the added benefit of accessing images anytime anywhere a huge plus if you are printing your store on social media  

Using cloud hosting for collaboration 

Most successful business start ups are created by partners. Whether they are brothers, friends or just share the same business interests. This is because starting a business is incredibly hard work and often takes a good investment of time and certainly money. This means that effective communication and collaboration is very important to a successful start up. A sound investment is an online service that combines large space for file uploads including video, a chat function and video calls or meetings. 

Best eCommerce Business Purchases: Mailing Scales

The very first business purchase I made after I set up my online store was Mailing Scales. Before this I was either quing for a long time at the post office, guessing the weight or trying to use kitchen scales and even the Wii U balance board. It naturally became apparent that I needed the right tool for the job!

If you feel that you can get by without this essential purchase, I urge you to reconsider. Mailing Scales have saved me enough money on mailing costs and time that I know it has paid back its original cost many times over. I have used it on every sale, and sometimes it has been the difference between paying 99p or £1.50 for Royal Mail postage. This may not seem like much, but once you are sending out many of these parcels the savings or costs add up very quickly. If you are to be successful in ecommerce, saving money and maximising profits is going to be key.

Best Business Purchases : Label Printers

One of the first good items to invest in for your online e-commerce store is a label printer.  In fact, I would prioritise a label printer over a regular inkjet or toner printer if you don't already have one. So first ask yourself if you need an all in one printer, will you be scanning, copying or printing invoices, letters etc. Most things are electronic now with an emphasis on using less of the worlds resources including ink and paper but many businesses still rely or want printed copies so spend some time to see what your business needs

Either way a label printer or inkjet will provide the more professional look a proper label gives you over paper and tape. Here are the two main reasons to consider a label printer, please take a look.

Time Saving

Label printers generally print within seconds while many inkjet printers can take a while especially when they decide to clean the print heads before a print. I have often waited up to 5 minutes before my canon printer  managed to start printing. There's no messing around with inks or tape and you can even use them for the packing list ( just tear off instead of peeling). 

Cost Saving

As noted above there are no costly inks to buy with label printers, and with inks being one of the most expensive parts of owning and running a regular printer this could potentially save you a great sum of money in the long run. 

Ease of use

Generally with a good label printer you select your label size and print. It can be that easy. Whereas there are extra steps to take with a regular inkjet printer including sizing and placing the shipping labels for the Correct label sheet such as Shipping Labels

If you already have an inkjet printer then at least at first it may be financially prudent to stick with it. 

Please take a look at the following recommendations for printers:

All in one:

Label Printers:

Zebra 4" Thermal Label Printer, Wireless

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Protecting Your Passion: Why Personal Trainers Should Get Insured

Personal training is a fulfilling and rewarding career that allows you to help individuals achieve their fitness goals and lead healthier lives. As a personal trainer, you invest significant time, effort, and expertise in designing personalized workout routines and providing guidance to your clients. However, regardless of how careful and professional you are, accidents can happen. That's why it's crucial for personal trainers to prioritize the protection of both their clients and themselves by obtaining insurance coverage. In this blog post, we will delve into the reasons why personal trainers should consider getting insured against client injuries.

As a personal trainer, investing in insurance coverage against client injuries is a wise decision that safeguards your professional and financial well-being. It provides legal protection, instills trust and confidence in your clients, and ensures that you can handle unexpected events without compromising your financial stability. By prioritizing insurance, you demonstrate your commitment to professionalism and responsible training practices, allowing you to focus on what you do best—helping your clients achieve their fitness goals while maintaining a secure and successful career.

Legal Protection: Even the most experienced and diligent personal trainers can face lawsuits due to client injuries. Whether it's a simple sprain or a more serious medical condition, clients can hold you responsible for their injuries and seek compensation. The legal expenses associated with defending yourself against such claims can be overwhelming, potentially jeopardizing your professional reputation and financial stability. Having liability insurance safeguards your interests by providing legal protection and covering legal costs, giving you peace of mind while you focus on delivering exceptional training.


Client Trust and Confidence: Obtaining insurance demonstrates professionalism, responsibility, and commitment to your clients' well-being. It shows that you take their safety seriously and are prepared to handle unforeseen circumstances. By having insurance, you establish trust and confidence in your clients, reassuring them that they are in safe hands. This can lead to stronger client relationships, positive word-of-mouth referrals, and a solid reputation in the fitness industry.


Financial Protection: When accidents occur, the costs associated with medical bills, potential rehabilitation, and lost wages can be substantial. If you are held liable for a client's injury, the financial burden could be devastating, potentially putting your personal assets at risk. Insurance coverage for personal trainers helps mitigate the financial impact by providing compensation for medical expenses and legal fees. It ensures that you are not personally responsible for covering these costs, safeguarding your financial stability and protecting your future.

• MGVT - Linux PC’s

Coverage for Various Situations: Personal trainers work in diverse environments, including gyms, private studios, and clients' homes. Each setting presents unique risks and potential for accidents. A comprehensive insurance policy tailored to personal trainers typically offers coverage for various situations, including injury or property damage caused by equipment failure, accidents during group classes, slips and falls, and negligent advice or instruction. Understanding the risks associated with your specific work environment and choosing appropriate coverage ensures that you are protected in all scenarios.


Compliance with Gym or Studio Requirements: If you work at a gym or fitness studio, it is highly likely that they will require you to have liability insurance. Many fitness facilities demand that personal trainers provide proof of insurance before allowing them to work with clients on their premises. Complying with these requirements not only allows you to continue working at these establishments but also indicates your commitment to professionalism and accountability.

Public Speaking: Health Fitness & Wellbeing

 

Did you know that the ancient Greeks believed public speaking was one of a few skills that every person should acquire if they were to become a useful citizen? The rather rare talent of being able to speak publicly and with skill - Will no furnish you with an essential PT skill that will have a direct impact on your success in the fitness industry.

Please take a look at some of the suggestions below to improve your skills at public speaking. This will help you attract more people through duping public talks on health and fitness, to improving your classes to improving your one on one personal training sessions. 

 

1. SET SMALL GOALS

Studies show that smaller goals that lead to the same outcome as opposed to one big goal have a much higher chance of success, so break your goal down into smaller goals that can be easily achieved by doing just a few minutes a day. Buy some pre-paid vouchers and assign each to one of your goals. When you achieve each small goal, you could allow yourself to spend one of the vouchers, in this way you have double the incentive and reward! Make sure to give yourself good time, it’s best to start now, even if you have no plans to ever speak publicly – you never know what the future holds.

 

2. PRACTICE SPEAKING

Train your lips, voice and elocution, from having to think consciously on pronunciation, projection and presence until it they all become second nature. An ancient technique by one of mankind’s best orators was to have a small pebble in your mouth as you speak to train your lips, tongue and pallet until you are clearly understood. This really will train your speaking apparatus and soon you will be delivering worthy performances! Another technique based on ancient wisdom is speaking aloud while music is playing until your friends and family can clearly hear you over the music. Amiel’s Journal is a fantastic book for this! Lastly you may try speaking while you exercise, as loudly as you can. Do this until you can complete your speech and not be out of breath. This is going to really develop your apparatus and the power of your lungs! Take a look at are great fitness products here.

 

3. PREPARE WELL

Write what you are going to say down several times, eliminating anything that is not essential to your core message – always think of the end first, or the ‘effect first’ – what you want them to understand and do. Now practice delivering it, a thousand times will not be enough unless you have completely memorised it, until you no longer need your script (although do take it with you). In fact did you know that if you delivered a speech from paper in ancient Athens, nobody would have respected you? You would have been expected to be capable enough to say what you needed without notes! We do not have such a high standard, so you can relax. Arrive early and have a look at where you will be delivering your speech.  How we dress affects our mood and confidence. So make sure you not only dress appropriately for your audience, but you also dress for confidence – we have prepared a collection of clothing for this purpose here.

 

4. BE HUMBLE

Speaking about yourself and how you know your field or the wedding couple will mean you are taken more seriously, it will also humanise you. Though you should probably not give too much away, less is more as they say. Respect your audience and try to eliminate any accent - they are endearing to some, but are either offensive to the ears of others or at the very least very difficult to understand – you want to be understood don’t you? Why bother otherwise! Also, DON'T IMAGINE ANYONE NAKED! Imagining them naked shows a lack of humility and respect. Concentrate on your message, your voice and style. Correct preparation for delivering your speech will be rather more rewarding and beneficial than imagining anyone naked.

 

5. HAVE FAITH

No one gets it right all the time. Give yourself a break, just doing this is a fantastic achievement. No matter how it goes, learn and improve all the time. So relax and enjoy the moment. People will want you to be good and will remember the good parts better than the worst bits. If you make a mistake don't hide it, use it, it will even help you by making you more relatable.

To be a great Public Speaker, is something that everyone should know how to be. And its a crime that this is neglected at many if not most schools. If you are looking to influence, if you are interested in changing minds to your cause, learning public speaking is of upmost importance. Below are a few extra suggestions

 Bind yourself to a self  contract

Whether it a reward for completing your goal, or you hide money away with someone you trust, or you bind it to your future success. Find some way to commit to learning the art of public speaking. It is a skill that has built the Roman Empire, persuaded nations to go to war and placed people in our senate or parliament. Realise its importance and bind yourself to learning how to master public speaking.

 Prepare

Practice, practice practice. Watch videos on YouTube of great speeches, Practice in front of a mirror, in front of people, anywhere & everywhere. Have an engagement to speak at an event? Write your speech or whatever it is you want to say, down on paper or 'Tablet'. Practice delivering it, memorise it. Did you know that if you delivered a speech from paper in ancient Athens, no body would have respected you? Arrive an hour early, or at least get to know your 'stage' somehow. See yourself there. Visualise.

Speak about yourself

Why are you the expert on this? Speaking about yourself and how you know your field  will mean you are taken more seriously. It will bring people onside and they will be more eager to learn from you and take on your opinions.

Don't expect to win

No one gets it right all the time. No on is funny all the time - even comedians. Give yourself a break, just doing it is a fantastic achievement. No matter how it goes, learn and improve all the time. So relax and enjoy the moment. People will want you to be good and will remember the good parts better than the worst bits. It takes experience to become a true great at public speaking. 

Put a pebble in your mouth

To train your lips, tongue and pallet until you are clearly understood even with a small stone in your mouth.  This really will train your speaking apparatus and soon you will be delivering great public speeches worthy of any great public speaker.

 Go for a Run

Not just any run. You are going to sing while you run. As loudly as you can. Do this until you can complete your song and not be out of breath. This is going to develop your apparatus and the power of your lungs.

 You vs. Anything loud

Put music on loud, or the TV or if there happens to be a tornado near you go out and deliver your speech until you can be clearly heard above all other noise. This is another effective way to train your voice and make yourself heard - the keystone to success for any great public speaker.

  

   Improving the power of your lungs is essential to a strong convincing voice. If you want to win the argument, a soft, stuttering voice won't convince many people. That doesn't mean shouting, but it does mean speaking with clarity, firmness and authority. How powerful your lungs are make all the difference, no matter what side of the argument you are on. 

Aim to build a powerful voice

 

 

 

First Exercise

Get a Ping-Pong ball or something similar. Put it on a table or other flat surface, at best on a slight lean towards you. Then keep blowing the ball up against the wall. Let it come down and blow it back up again. Do ten of these to begin with, then, once you are used to the exercise keep adding ten more. Reversal: Try sucking it towards you, when the table leans away from you.

 

Second Exercise

Keep your hands by your side, take in a deep breath, all the air that you can. Then, force the air out, pushing until your lungs are empty. You should feel the system of core muscles tighten with this exercise, if not, try harder. Do ten of these to begin with, or if your lungs are week, just as many as you can. Then start adding ten more to your exercise.

Third Exercise

Go for a run with a difference. If you struggle to run at this stage, walk. Then jog. Build your fitness up until you can run for a sustained period of time. During each stage, instead of listening to your iPod, you are going to sing or deliver a speech, at the top of your voice. By doing exercise and physical activity you are improving the strength of your lungs by a huge margin. You should see massive gains in the power of your voice and breath. If you are worried about singing aloud in the open, start by going up and down the stairs at home, or jogging on the spot in-front of the TV on loud. Or take your iPod and sing along to the music. Whatever you have to do to get there, it doesn't matter. Victory buys glory, not the method.

 

By doing the above exercises regularly you should start to see improvements in your internal fitness, and your ability to keep from becoming breathless after exercise.  The most important aspects of this are keeping alive longer than you would have done, plus, if you are ever trapped in a burning building, your strong lungs could be the difference to survival and death. But, more important than that, you will win more arguments and be able to beat Beyonce on karaoke.

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10 Ways to the Perfect Gym Personal Training Job Interview

 First make sure you have understood that in order to work in a gym as a Personal Trainer you will need to invest in a course or multiple courses. Those are Gym instructor Level 2 & Personal Training. You will also need First Aid, Exercise to music and another class based qualification such as Spin in order to get many of the top positions. The Interview is the final test, before landing your dream job.  So having a good interview with the correct answers is the most important part of finding work. Follow the 11 ways to the perfect job interview:

1. Do your research for the Job Interview

If you want to prove you're the best, you've got to do your homework. Know your industry! Check out their website to find out what they do, where the company is headed and who's who.
You also need to have a good idea of the interview process you're about to experience: will it be a face- to-face meeting with one person or a panel interview? Imagine how you'd feel if you prepared for a straightforward one-on-one meeting, only to find you were in for a 'fun' day of team exercises and video presentations?

Ask the personnel department for more information rather than approaching your interviewer directly. What's the procedure? Who will you meet and when? What's the objective of each meeting or assessment you will undertake? Find out the names and titles of your interviewers and memorize them.

Next, make sure you're up-to-date with the latest fitness news and developments  - especially if you've been out of the job market for a while. Check out the latest trends and buzz words, find out who's up, who's down, what's in and what's out. Look in recent issues of industry magazines and journals. Go along to networking groups or join relevant online newsgroups.

From the moment you get that confirmation letter or call, you need to start thinking also about what you want to say at interview. Interviewers want to know three things: Can this person do the job? Will this person do the job? Will they fit in? Put together a list of questions you might be asked, and include those that you might stumble over if asked on the spot. Jot down some appropriate answers and rehearse
these until you sound convincing.

It might sound artificial if you reproduce these absolutely word for word on the day, but the process will build confidence. And if you're prone to interview stage fright, you'll have something solid to fall back on.

2. Think positively about the Interview

Revisit your CV and take a long, hard look at your mission statement. If you've never written your own profile, however, begin by writing down what you do well and where you want to go in the future. Then in no more than 30 words sum up why you think you should get the job. Be proud of your achievements and ambitions - interviews are not the time for shyness!

Remembering this statement will help you walk into the interview thinking - and believing - 'I'm going to get this job'. You've got to this key stage because the recruiters believe that you've got the skills they want. Now you need to convince them that you're the best person for the job.

3. Look and play the part for the Interview

Arrive early. Some experts suggest checking out the location of the building, before finding a cafe for a pre-interview drink. Use the time to have one last flick through your notes.

Get to the building early, too. Check the noticeboard and read company press releases and brochures - this is a good idea if you're looking to ask up-to-the-minute questions. Go to the loo and draw breath. Don't ever be late - if there are leaves or cattle on the line, call as soon as possible. Take a mobile just in case.

Take the minimum hand luggage so that you look professional - clear out your briefcase and your handbag before you go. Aim to look like a stereotypical employee for the job you want, so don't go for a youth TV job in a pinstripe suit. But if in doubt, dress up, not down. Dark colours tend to look more powerful, and remember to keep jewellery to a minimum. 

Emanate energy: employers want fit, healthy workers who can work hard. Start with a firm handshake and look interviewers in the eye. Don't cross your legs, except at the ankles, and keep your hands away from your face. 

4. Control the interview

Your interviewer won't know how good you are or why you should get the job unless you tell them. Don't boast or keep saying 'I'm brilliant', but stress your strengths by using anecdotes and examples of your achievements.
Use examples to illustrate how you can help make the company more productive and profitable. Talk in terms of 'results' and 'benefits'. Use positive language - 'I can', 'I will', 'I know' rather than tentative words like 'I think I might' or 'I probably would'.
Keep your responses short and to the point. If the interviewer is talking, listen carefully and respond when they've finished. If you don't understand a question, ask for an explanation rather than blunder out an inappropriate answer.

5. Turn your weaknesses into strengths

It's the interviewer's job to probe and ask difficult questions. They need to be able to trust you and be 100 per cent certain that you're the best candidate. If you've prepared properly, you won't be daunted by enquiries about gaps in your CV, problems you encountered in your last job or your reasons for wanting to move on.

Successful candidates are able to turn negatives into positives. If you were unemployed for a short period, tell your interviewer how you used that time productively and what you learned about yourself. Perhaps you used the time to re-evaluate what you wanted out of your career, and the break put you on the path you're on today.

If asked 'What are your main weaknesses?' saying something along the lines of, 'I can be over-committed and tend to push myself too hard', ought to win brownie points rather than do you a disservice. Make sure that all the personality traits you mention are accurate but you don't have to go into details.

• Rehearse your answers to tough interview questions

6. Be enthusiastic

Companies hire people who want to work for them. Tell your interviewers how much you enjoy your work and how wonderful you think their company is. Say you know that it's the right job for you and that you could do it really well. But always make sure that you explain and back up your assertions or your enthusiasm could sound false.

7. Ask intelligent questions

Show you care about your career and that you've taken the time to research the company and its recent successes. Memorise a few key questions before you go into the interview, but use your conversation to generate more.

Ask questions based on the assumption that the company wants you for the job. Say 'What would you expect me to achieve in the first six months after the appointment?' rather than 'What would you expect the appointed candidate to achieve?'

8. Send a short thank-you note

Send a letter to your interviewer/s within 24 hours of your meeting. Some interviewers prefer an email, so check out what form of communication they prefer at the end of the interview.

Keep your note brief and simple, and sound keen and interested. Thank them for taking the time to see you, say how much you enjoyed the meeting, how interested you are in the position and reiterate how your experience matches their requirements. Even if it's not your ideal job, you never know how your interviewer may help you in the future.

'If a candidate is clever, they'll add something that they've found out about the job or company that makes them keener,' advises one employer in the media. Make sure your tone isn't obsequious or schmaltzy. If the job relies on client communication, remember that you're demonstrating your communication skills every time you write, phone or email.

If you secured the interview through a recruitment agency, then contact them immediately and give them some honest feedback.

9. Don't...

There are three key things to avoid during an interview - you might have done brilliantly, but commit one of these sins and you could jeopardise your chances.

So don't:

• Badmouth your last employer. It's a small world and it reflects badly on you
• Pressurise your interviewer for a decision
• Discuss salary or terms of employment - wait until the job's in the bag before the word 'perks' passes your lips

10. Write it down

How you feel as you walk away from your interview is often a good sign of how well you've performed. But we all have off-days, or make mistakes. 'I once kicked an interviewer, who was sitting about three inches away, in the shins,' recalls one embarrassed candidate, who decided to change her posture mid- interview.

Writing down your impressions of the company, the types of questions asked, and how you coped, could reap dividends. Write down what you did well and what you did badly. Did your experience match your expectations? If not, why not?
If you're then invited for a second interview, you'll be able to refresh your memory and use the information to devise more questions. If you're rejected, use it to prepare better next time - no interview experience is ever wasted.

Creating Classes : Fail to Plan Plan To Fail So Prepare!

 You would be surprised by how many professional personal trainers who teach regular classes only organise their class the night before or even worse within hours or minutes of the class happening. While it is entirely possible for you to get away with this for the best result for your clients and for your class numbers and therefore revenue you should plan ahead. There is nothing wrong with writing out classes for the next week, month or even year. 

One of the benefits for doing so is the ability on your part to practice your class, get everything down from the movements, to what you will say and when. 

If you work in a gym the chances are you will have some quiet periods, use this time wisely by planning your classes as far ahead as possible, then use any other quiet periods to practice your routines. Members of a gym feel more comfortable and encouraged when they see Gym Instructors/ PT's doing exercises as opposed to cleaning or just hanging around talking. 

Write your classes on cards or have a separate notebook on your phone / iPad, soon you will have a small library of exercise classes that you can shuffle and re-use. There is nothing wrong with doing the same class a month or two after but you can always adjust the timings if you feel like changing it up a little. 

As a Personal Trainer one of the best ways to earn extra money and build a pipeline of clients is to offer yourself as a freelance class instructor. In fact many PTs prefer this to one on one sessions! And if you have a library of exercise classes that you know like the back of your hand then there is every chance that you can provide fantastic classes that people enjoy, providing you with a good extra income!

The Door to Door principle | Getting Clients

Approaching people can be the most daunting - push yourself and reap the rewards 

Firstly don’t judge people by their autopilot responses. Some people are just silent until they discover that you are ok to talk to. Others a just shy and more still have a million and one things going on that means they just get on with it. Still more are just going on with their day and they just don’t expect someone to talk to them. These people are just waiting for some one like you to make their day more interesting & fun. 

While online advertising is a good way of getting clients many PTs forget that their main selling point is themselves; and their is still no better sales channel that suits PTs than the personal introduction. 

Get to know people in your area, Talk to them about their lives and interests - be interested and interesting. 

Aim for 1 out of 100 successful approaches. Not that you won’t get lots of interest straight away so look to make your first goals about getting it right through practice and failure. When the number of people you have approached reaches the thousands you should have a good idea on what you are saying and how you say it. You should notice an overall improvement in your delivery and success rate, and you should also be able to spot potential clients more easily - and to avoid those who are unlikely to be interested in changing their lives for the better. 

 

guide to Starting an online fitness store

PT Resources: Personal Training Gym Workout Induction/ Orientation Programme

This is a post for you to develop your own exercise routine. First, choose your set type from the selection below and then the exercises to create your own custom routine.

Single Set

Choose 4 routines 2 upper body and 2 lower body, with a moderate to heavy weight. Perform one set of 15 reps with one minute rest at the end. Now move on to the second routine.

Circuit

Choose 6 routines, 3 upper body and 3 lower. Perform 2 circuits of sets of 6-14 reps of moderate to heavy weight, no rest between sets.

Basic

3 sets of 8-14 reps with 40 seconds rest between each set. use moderate to heavy weights.

Alpha Reps

work out your 4 rep maximum. now perform 4 sets with 4 reps in each. take 4 minutes rest between sets.

Pyramids

With an exercise of your choice, perform a set of 12 reps with a weight close to your 12 rep maximum. Rest for a few minutes then increase the weight, and perform 10 reps. rest for 2 then increase the weight and perform 8 reps. continue in this form until you reach your AlphaCaveman 4 Rep Max.

Now work your way back up. Start with your alpha 4 reps and continue until you reach your 12 reps.

Drop sets

Perform a set of reps until failure then decrease the weight and do another set of reps until failure. Continue until failure.

Perform these exercises as one set with no rest between each exercise. Have a brief rest (no longer than one minute) and start again. You may continue for as long as you feel necessary, but do not over extend yourself. Aquire patience in your exercise, if you cannot last the full exercise do what you can.

1 The Cat-Camel Position yourself on your hands and knees and very slowly lower your head a little between your arms as you raise your upper back, rounding your back bone. Briefly hold. Now, Return to your starting position and extend your neck a little while arching your lower back.

2 The Bird-Dog Remaining on your hands and knees, keep your back straight this time, while straightening your right arm and left leg. Hold for 10 seconds, then slowly lower to the original position. Now, repeat with your left arm and right leg. That is one rep done, birdie.

3 The Curl-Up Lay on the floor, with your right leg laying straight, and your left knee bent. Now, place your hands under the arch of your lower back. Can you raise now, your head and shoulders without bending your back? Hold this position for 10 seconds. Now switch legs and that is one rep.

4 The Side Bridge Lay on your left side with your legs straight, propping yourself up with your forearm. Your body should form a curve, with your forearm across the floor. You may support your shoulder with your free arm. Now, tense your core muscles and raise your hips until your body forms a straight line. Hold for 10 seconds, breathing deeply, now switch side. A rep is now done.

Seated Row

Choose your preferred Rowing machine (You can use a stationary rower if desired). Hold the bar with your arms almost straight, and lean very slightly backwards, while keeping your back straight and your legs slightly bent.

First draw your shoulder blades back, then, bend your arms and row. Keep the bar at waist level do not raise. Perform this exercise for a few minutes or perform the movement 8-15 times with a comfortable weight. You can always add extra resistance if needed.

Javorek Complex

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart with some light dumbbells. Arms down by your side. Raise your arms forward until they are in a straight line in front of you, gripping the weights vertically. Perform this movement 5 times.

Now raise your arms out to your sides until parallel with the floor. The dumbbells should be horizontal. Perform this movement 5 times.

With a bend in your knee, bend forwards keeping your back straight, and raise your arms out to your sides as in the last movement. Squeeze your shoulder blades. Perform this movement 5 times.

With your hands in front of your thighs, pull your dumbbells up until they are just below your chin. Keeping the weights close to your body at all times. Perform this movement 5 times.

1. Standing scaption

Stand with your legs shoulder width apart, with light dumbbells by your thighs with an overhand grip. Keep your arms straight but don't lock them out. Then slowly raise them infront of you up to eye level and point them at the 10 oclock and 2 oclock position. slowly lower back down. perform this movement 5 times.

2. Cross shoulder extension

Lie back on an incline bench at about 30 degrees and hold a weight over your head in your left hand, palms facing in. Support your elbow with your right hand. bend you left arm to lower the dumbell to your right shoulder. don't bend your wrists. now raise it back up. perform this 5 times and then swap to your right arm.

3. Hammer curl

perform standing or sat on a bench. hold a weight in each hand and let your arms hang by your sides. keep your back supported and your core strong. Now curl the weights up until your thumbs are near your  shoulders. Now slowly lower. curl again do 5 of these

4. wrist curl

Sit or stand in your preferred position. hold a weight in each hand arms bent, with palms facing up If sat down, alow your forearms to rest on your knees. Now curl the weights using your wrists only. Lower, rotate to a palms down position and bend your wrists up. perform 5.

5. Tricep extension

stand or sit up straight. and grab a dumbbell with both hands raise it above and over your head, it should now be inline with your spine. brace your core and lower your hands behind your head as far as you can while still being comfortable. bring back up and this is one movement. repeat at least five times.

Tips on being a mobile personal trainer

As a mobile PT you may very well find yourself driving to many destinations and therefore covering many miles, you want to limit your client base to within walking distance if you cannot afford a car at this point. But a car will help you cover a wider area and you will be able take with you any equipment that you may need. This may also form part of your specialisation by taking the equipment to your client.

Car Dash Cams on amazon

Dash Cams on Aliexpress

As you will be covering many miles you may find it appropriate to buy a dash cam to cover you in case of any accidents or false claims made against you. Many can also track your journeys via GPS which could help you to work out your mileage, your hotspot areas where most of your clients come from; so you can market to that area, and you will be surprised what your dash cam can capture!

A dedicated Sat Nav will also free up your phone and help you get the most economical routes to and from your clients. Again many will allow you to see where your hotspots are so you can build a client base in one particular area and save both money and time travelling - maximising your revenue.

Sat Navs on amazon

Sat Navs on Aliexpress

Having a decent Care will provide you with the opportunity to being equipment to your clients which may add extra value to your services depending on your chosen routines. Mobile Equipment to consider:

Kettlebells

Free weights

Resistance Bands

Massage Boards

Decks

Skipping ropes

You can shop a wide range of fitness equipment on amazon

Speakers

Unless you or your client require a music free environment a good speaker will help motivate your client and bring some fun to your sessions. I have worked in gyms where they thought they could just put the radio on and that will be fine. When we introduced a decent speaker and played good music the atmosphere in the gym lifted with clients much happier and more energetic.

Speakers on amazon

 

GUIDE TO STARTING AN ONLINE FITNESS STORE

Tips on Becoming a Indoor Cycling / Spin Instructor An An addition to your Personal Training Career

Adding classes to your repertoire may be a good source of extra income and may help build a pipeline of interested clients that you can upsell your personal training to, one of the most popular by far is indoor cycling otherwise popularly known as Spin Class. 

These classes can draw many people and if you get the mix of exercise and music right you I can build a very loyal following. Use this to upsell your personal training or you can freelance to multiple gyms and have an alternative fitness income to supplement your personal training.

A typical class can be from 30 minutes to 60 minutes long,  and is usually a mix of sprints, climbs and jumps while seated or standing.  You ride to 'inspirational' music over the equivalent of 20-25 kilometres of varied terrain, controlling the intensity of your workout with a resistance dial and pedal speed. Your RPM instructor will lead your ride through nine music tracks, using various riding positions and speeds to suit the terrain.


Warm-up: Increases core temperature. The pace is easy and with light resistance.

Sprints: Speed and intensity increases as riders work towards top personal pace. With little resistance you will need to push your class members to their limits.

Climbing / Hills: Adding high resistance to challenge their muscles ( exactly like hill climbs). Keeping them to a high pace will build power, ultra slow revolutions will build strength.
Standing: Used during climbs or sprints to offer a different challenge and build endurance. 


What will it do for your clients?


Increase your cardiovascular fitness.
Burn Fat
Tone and shape your legs and bum.
Gain strength and endurance

Please make sure if you are using music that you seek the appropriate  license to use the music for commercial reasons.

Tips to consider:

Know your playlist! It is important to really know and practice your playlist. You will want it to be almost second nature - every beat, when you will transition into sprints, climbs etc. You will want to be able to count people into the next sprint.

Know your script: You will be responsible for motivation and pushing your clients to their limits. It’s best to know your lines and also be aware during the class what works and what doesn’t so you can change and adapt accordingly.

Practice: You want as much to become second nature so you can be more aware of your members and consecrate on them. Know their names, what motivates them who they are etc.

Ignore the hecklers: You are not going to please everyone, so don’t take it personally especially if you are covering or taking over someone else’s class. It’s best to be yourself and really enjoy your classes. 

Adding Meditation to your PT Sessions Charge Extra or Provide Extra Value

  

Meditation may bring your clients huge benefits, from relieving stress, helping recovery, bringing forward lost memories, or helping them make important decisions. The act of meditation is not always about emptying your mind. But bringing all your focus to bear unto one subject. Thus if your clients goal is to lose weight, meditating on weight loss, and everything that will help in achieving this goal, is a powerful assistance and one that will cost you nothing but is something which can add extra value to your sessions or something for which you can charge extra for. It will be a worthwhile investment to study as much as you can all the aspects of meditation. For an introductory understanding follow this simple guide on how to meditate. Meditation should not be confused with relaxation. You will be relaxed, but it is deeper than that. Proper meditation is like an act of prayer that helps to realign your goals, and your values. Whenever your client needs answers, to overcome negative emotion, or just to discover new ideas  just give them the simple guide below to follow:

 

The 12 Steps to Meditation

1. Choose a location free from any distractions, including TV and the Internet
2. Either have some soothing music in the background or no music at all
3. Select a comfortable place to sit, a good option is putting a cushion on the floor and sitting against the wall
4. Close your eyes gently
5. Breathe in, slowly
6. Breathe out, slowly
7. Concentrate on your breathing, notice each breathe in and out
8. Be aware of feeling relaxed and the feelings of warmth spreading through your body
9. Be aware of what you want to meditate about, allow the subject to come forward
10. Allow any thoughts relating to your subject to come and focus on them, any other thoughts allow to simply pass through your mind
11. Open your eyes once you feel relaxed and you feel good that you have exhausted every thought about your subject
12. Take 5-10 minutes twice a day to meditate. You may meditate for as long as you can or need to, but 5-10 minutes is a good start

 

Meditate, Meditate, Meditate

If your clients can follow this simple guide on how to meditate they could find it helps improve many areas of their lives, if they have a lot of anxiety or stress simply meditating once in the morning and then not giving it another thought all day is not good enough, so it is important to teach them to give it a good effort, I would say at least 5 times a day, then instruct them to act on their meditations and not to simply think about them, this is the true power of meditation- when you act on it. The dictionary definition of Power is the ability to act or do. And where as you will receive great benefit from meditation, the true success that will come from meditation is your will and ability to act on the subject of your mind.

Simple Ideas for Meditation

Below are a collection of ideas that may help you instruct your client

• Try sitting in different positions; on your knees, cross-legged,  Seiza (Seiza (正座, literally "propersitting") is the Japanese term for one of the traditional formal ways of sitting in Japan.)
• If you have access to a park or the countryside sit and meditate near birdsong, or where you will be able to hear the wind through the trees
• If you live in the City, listen to the hustle and bustle. The sound of people and cars. Pick out certain sounds and hear new ones to help you focus
• Find a tape of running water to listen to
• Go to the sea or the local pool and let the water relax you and guid your meditation
• Hold an object that will help you direct you meditation to your chosen subject

Meditation takes concentration - and daily meditation will strengthen this valuable skill.

 

 

Motivating Your Personal Training Client - Understand them and Practice Your Routine

This is going to tie into whatever specialisation you have chosen and your target customer. If you Client base is children you will have to study what motivates them to exercise. You will have to be more fun and peppy, possibly turning most exercises and goals into games. There could be a huge reliance on visual aids such as reward charts. Now, this will be different if your client base is retired people. There would be less childlike visual aid in favour of more serious visual images. There goals would be different and ou would match their tempo. A body builder would no doubt love lots of data - how much he is lifting, the size of his various muscles and his goal and progression. An easy way to help him would be a spreadsheet easily showing graphs to make it simple for him to see and understand results. He may also appreciate a more brutal interaction compared to a woman who wants to lose weight who needs more support and encouragment. 

Take the time to identify your client base and then take more time to understand what motivates them, this is where specialisation will really help you focus and come to understand your clients better than if you just choose to be a general personal trainer and will lead to more financial success. 

Look for patterns in your chosen group of people. Go on public forums where your target audience dicuss their success and problems. Areas where you will want to focus on when seeking to understand your client will be:

What is success for them? What is their goal.

What is their strength? 

What are their weeknessss - potentional problems?

What are the usual sticking points?

What are the usual platuas and how did they overcome them

Common injuries

Next write down key phrases and words that relate most to the profile of your target client. Write down a whole script and routine for the most common situations, questions, opinions, and problems. When you come a cross a situation that you don't have a routine for take the time to create one. Know your scripts off by heart. 

Taking the time now to build a profile of how to influence your personal training client will reap great rewards later and save you time. You will be propared for most eventualities and should have a response for most situations.

Have a script and routine and practinig it as often as possible will give you confidence when you speak it. And confidence is a huge part of the job to motivate your personal training client. It will make it easier for your client to belive in you and have confidence in what you say and why they chose you. 

Financials | Earning & Maximising Money

Set your prices to attract the right customer

Ebay attracts a thrifty cheap customer base. Those without allot of disposable you see this in the website and in commercials. But you can work this out by yourself - why does a person by second hand clothing, tech etc.

The same is true for Providing personal training services. Price yourself low and you will attract those that value only how cheap you are. Price yourself higher and its possible to attract people who value your expertise - but you have to communicate your value well enough for them to take you up.

Upsell

Understand your clients and you can upsell other people's services for a small kick back or sell products. People who workout tend to have muscle soreness this is an easy cross sell for massage guns or someone you know who does physiotherapy or sports massage. 

Classes

It's important to include group classes within your services as something you can cross sell and as a pipeline for clients who you may get from the classes you do. Contact your local school to see if you can rent the sports hall or find some other community centre where you can rate a decent space. 

Personal Trainer specialisation, Becoming an Expert & your unique selling point (usp)

 One of the most common mistakes for personal trainers just starting out is just being a personal trainer-no matter what your goal is I can help you achieve it. It sounds okay but what makes you different from any other pt in your area or online? Really nothing. Have you also noticed how many PT training services are out there right now, churning out an endless supply of PTs who will offer everything you can, with the promise of quick riches? This is why it may help to choose a specialised role, take some time to think about who you want to work with ie what type of client, what goal. This will help you gain more experience as you focus on one type of goal rather than try to be all things to all people. Become an expert in your area. 

Being Focused and Becoming an Expert in Personal Training

 Focusing on one specialisation helps you to become more than just a general personal trainer, but more of an expert in your chosen area. Almost every other industry does this, and many ecommerce stores thrive by being specialised stores rather than everyone trying to be just another Amazon. They can provide the extra detail and expertise that comes with specialisation. 

You may think that this will reduce your potential client reach, and you are right it will, but that is a good thing  - especially when you are just starting out. Lets say 1000 women are looking to lose weight in your area. and they view the profiles of 100 PTs all with the standard generic profile. Then, they see your profile someone who specialises in weight loss for women suddenly you are the forefront of all these people. You may lose out on 1000 Guys who are looking to be body builders, but that is ok. Better to be able to sell higher rates to more willing target audience than hopefully getting fewer numbers of just anyone.

Personal Training Specialisation benefits your time and resources. 

You work with the clients and goals that work for you - no more taking on clients that you are not keen with. You also get to dedicate your time to learning and improving your knowledge, routines and system with a laser like focus rather than just having the standard routines that almost all other PTs have.

 

Think about what type of customer will be looking for a pt over Apple fitness , peloton etc.

Personal Trainer Specialisations

Kids / teens

Sports - tennis football

Weight lifting

Influencers - body sculpting

Disabled

Book Recommendation: Golden Rules for Getting Money: The Art of Money Making, Investing & Creating Capital

Golden Rules for Getting Money: The Art of Money Making, Investing & Creating Capital

One aspect of managing your revenue is how you use your money. The book Golden Rules for Getting Money can give you practical ideas for maximising your revenue which could be the difference between success and failure.

Many good pts will put aside a portion of money from. Each client to cover holidays and sick days. In fact choosing a bank that allows you separate accounts to split your earnings in this manner will repay you exactly when you need it. Even better would be to choose a service that will let you put money aside in a stocks and shares isa with no more than a week withdrawal time frame. This money is not to be touched until you retire from personal training unless you need it to cover the afore mentioned times of need. If you can keep sick days to a minimum then you should end up with a nice pot of money at the end of your career.

Creating a Personal Trainer Website

Start by asking if you really need a website. Many Web hosting services will tell you that you do but they have a monetary interest in you creating a website with them. I do have a PT website but many of my clients have come from word of mouth and pay via PayPal, they have never seen my website. If you are very good at self promotion you will have to consider what the cost : benefit of a website will bring you.

For example if you specialise in older people will they be searching for a personal trainer online? From my time spent in community leisure centres my own experience is they don't tend to and are far more likely to seek information from local centres they go to. 

Next consider what your website will do for you. Will it help you provide online payments, act as a marketing funnel to get clients, help you and your clients keep track of online bookings or allow you to provide online content. What you require from your site will help you decide who to choose as your site provider. Many people are quite happy paying via PayPal or pay by card in person with a service like izettle or square or sum up. Many still prefer cash. So a page on Facebook twitter or Instagram or even a place on classifieds could be a cheaper and more effective option. 

What your site should really be for. The cost of acquiring customers via search advertising used to be very cheap but this is no longer the case. There are so many other pts bidding on those clicks, plus services like peleton and gyms. Then there are the countless fitness books, streaming services and products all pushing up the cost of customer aquastition. So use your site as social proof, to give customers confidence in choosing you and to provide addition information. This means focusing on doing the leg work in person network the right areas and people and  having a card with a qr code on or a service like slink. 

Ekm can be a good option to help collect payments for single and block bookings or to operate a fitness store. It requires little knowledge of Web design and can be set up in minutes, plus plans come with good support. 

First lets start with the domain. Unless your name is already well known in your area or within the circle of your chosen target market you are not going to benefit from using karis PT other than pride. In this instance consider pride a sin, and avoid it. a better option would be to include your specialisation like Karis weight loss, Karis spin or karis junior fitness. This tells customer straight away what they want to hear without needing to look for information. It will also give your site a boost in ranking for the keywords people are searching for. 

When creation a site a key aspect will be to give people reasons to resolve their cognitive dissonance and keep their pride such as images of success, ideas of social approval etc.

Tips on how to create a password for your sites

Advertising

Advertising should be a main focus for your personal training business, more so than doing extra fitness courses or learning more about fitness. You should learn marketing, you are going to have to learn to communicate your ability and give people the confidence to choose you over other pts and fitness services. This is because many of the most successful products and services were not actually the best, they just had the best marketing. 

Despite the rise of fitness platforms and gadgets many people still look to local personal trainers for help in reaching their fitness goals. 

The first step is to make sure you have chosen and are happy with your specialised fitness area. This will form the foundation for where you advertise, how you advertise and what your message is. 

Get comfortable with word of mouth or as I call it door to door sales. You are going to have to approach people wherever and whenever you can. Trust me a PT website is a hard sell without testimonials and images of results. The easiest way to get started is to approach people who are exercising and compliment them on their hard work or ask them how their training is going. Try some rejection therapy if you are scared of approaching people. Rejection therapy is where you ask for things that you are fully aware people will not agree to. This will help you get used to hearing people say no and may help to remove any anxiety associated with approaching people. 

Local ads and lealfets

Leaflets are still a great way to advertise your services, especially if you target your distribution so you catch the right people for your chosen specialality. So if you focus is on weight loss target your leaflets and ads at the doctors, slimming clubs, etc. 

Classifieds

Classifieds should be your next step, the reason why we don't focus on a website straight away is because building seo takes time and unless you have a high budget for advertising it will take time to get traffic to your site. Placing on a classified is one way of getting instant traffic to your service. 

Search engines 

The main two are Google search and bing, your main goal with this is to rank as high as you can in search rankings. The best way to do this is to continuously improve your seo (covered elsewhere). But the fastest route to success is to pay to be at the top. Think carefully about your chosen specialisation and take the time to research keywords and people related to it. 

Youtube

Next you need to start building a site to showcase your specialist knowledge and previous work. Make sure your site and adverts across Google bing and YouTube are consistent with lots of imagery and invest in video especially for YouTube. 

The Fastest way to earn Money as a Personal Trainer | Alternative Jobs

 Getting started as a Personal Trainer can be difficult, time consuming and require a large initial investment when you factor in the cost of training, setting up your website and your budget for advertising. (Daily posts on instagram doesn't count).

Below are some of the fastest ways to start earning money as a Personal Trainer

Personal Trainer / Fitness Instructor for Council or Corporate Gyms 

 many big corporations have their own gyms for their employees benefits  you can always apply for work there or if they don’t emploe people offer to apply your pt there in return for paying rent. Also, check council gym jobs frequently as they are usually secure jobs with good budgets for expanding your skills. 

A Fitness Columnist for Newspapers or Magazines

Many magazines newspapers and websites have an insatiable need for fresh new content  go find these places  cold call if necessary give them examples of what you are capable of writing

Other Health / Fitness Consultant Jobs within Government

Your pt qualification / experience can get your foot in the door of government jobs  usually as a health office or other roles this can be in the wider community or in schools and care homes etc

Teaching Physical Education in Schools

As above your pt qualification may help you get a teaching assistant job for physical education  this option also works as a way to diversify your income as they usually work during school times  giving you ample time to do personal training at a prime time when most people are usually finishing work and therefore needing a pt to help them workout in their free time  

Freelance classes

Many gyms are on the constant look out for class instructors so try to gain a course that includes some for of class qualification or module. One ever popular option is spin classes. Then it is just a matter of calling gyms in your area to offer your services. Classes are also a good way of upselling personal trainng.

Stock footage

Many studios and freelance photographers earn good income from selling stock footage for business to use on websites, corporate videos, advertising posters etc get in touch to see if they have a fitness shoot that you can work with them on. They will be glad of your pyshique but more importantly your knowledge of how na exercise should look. 

Becoming a Personal Trainer Gym V Home (Mobile)

One of the first key decisions you will likely make is whether to become a gym based personal trainer or a home based personal trainer. Each has their own pros and cons and we will take a look at these below. But as a quick take away if you can get into a gym it is usually easier to get clients, I have met PTs who would never get a client on their own be 'given' clients because they are in a gym. Home based PT offers more freedom and if successful more pay - but it is harder. 

Key Advice: Unless you already have a good and unique specialisation, with experience, then try to attain employment in a gym ( Government/ Council is usually better.) first.

While it can be beneficial to start off in a gym first, essentially to gain much needed experience being a personal trainer, I would still advise against a gym position if you can go mobile, here’s why

Pros

No Personal Trainer 'Gym' rent

Let’s start with the biggest reason to avoid gym based roles. Many will charge you the pleasure of being in their gym. The sell of this is that you are in the very place where people might want a personal trainer, and for use of their equipment etc. Now, wether you get clients or not you are still expected to pay the gym - a mobile home personal trainer doesn't have to pay this, and can easily use this money as their advertising budget.

Full Autonomy as a Personal Trainer

Despite being your own boss, you still have to answer to the gym manager and usually the team leaders. So you have all of the risks of the self employed but fewer of the pros like really being your own boss. You are also working for their brand, you wear their clothing, and have to abide by their standards. If a client switches to a new gym, thats a lost client for you, where as a home based pt will only face this problem if someone moves house to a different area. 

Specialise

While it is possible to specialise in a gym with things like GP referrals (highly recommended to earn extra money and make yourself valuable) etc. You have a much broader scope to work with when you are self employed. You can focus on areas and people that are underserved such as junior fitness, speciality sports, or a certain demographic (women, bodybuilding etc).

Benefits of gyms

Being where people want a Personal Trainer

This is easily the main reason why many personal trainers pay rent or get a job in a gym  being where your potential clients are  and should you make good personal approaches ie network properly you can earn a good income from it  

On going Training

Many gyms will either provide training or offer a discount on training courses in partnership with training providers. If not you should encourage this as this will be mutually beneficial, you receive added skills while the gym can provide extra services especially classes. 

Classes

Classes are a great way of earning some bonus income but they can also be a great way to get new personal training clients as you showcase your fitness knowledge and your personality. Don't forget to give a call to action at the end of your sessions informing people of your rates and availability - you may also include any offers you may do or free sessions.

The old practice for gyms used to be that you'd pay rent each month and then be told that you are your own boss / self employed yet still have to answer to middle management, do cleaning jobs etc. Nowadays this is becoming increasingly rarer in favour of working part time in the gym as an instructor then doing PT outside of those hours. While this is much better you still should be looking to cut the 25 hours you would be working out as as possible in favour of working less hours but more money as your own PT. Just be sure to use your time in the gym correctly. Focus more on engaging and upselling your brand rather than meeting the gyms requirements for your part time role.

As a rule if you can it is much better to get a paid PT job if you have no clients or experience. 

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How do I improve my Personal Training Website's local SEO (UK)

Improving your SEO is a fine experimental art. As with anything there is no right answer, but there are good practices. So how do you improve your local SEO?

 
The first step is to get a well designed website for your business. Then use the below steps to improve your websites Local SEO

List yourself in directories as a Personal Trainer

The main areas are Google & Bing, then you should look to local directories in your area. 


After getting a website , this is the second best thing you can do, not only will it improve your SEO but give you a communication line to your clients. Makes sure to link your website and include your contact information. This will help the search engines to place you in local searches and the more links you have to your site the better for your SEO in general.

Sow Personal Trainer Keyword Links on blogs and Websites

This is the third best thing you can do. But also the first! After you have taken care of the above, this will be your main tool for SEO. Reach out to blogs and websites and get articles written about your service with links in the blog post! Links outside the post count for less with search engines. The more of these the better, on more sites the better. Nothing else from this point will beat links inside of posts and articles. So get a press release sorted, anything. Remember - there's no such thing as bad press.

Distribute Leaflets offering Personal Trainer

Either find an online printer or take a look at buying your own, but a tried and true tool for increasing SEO indirectly is to go door 2 door posting leaflets through. 

Instead of putting your number or web address on the leaflet your call to action should be ‘search for Daniel Craig personal trainer’ or whatever your pt service is called. This way google will find that many people searching for a pt in your area are searching for you and clicking on your website. 

Local Advertisements 

Local billboards, screens, newsagents and adverts in public spaces should fallow the same principle. People don’t always have time to stop and write down your number or website address so having a call to action as search [this] is a great way to mitigate any obstacle to people finding your pt business. 

Encourage people to share

Another great way to boost your seo is to encourage people to share your site on social Media. So, remember to put a call to action on your site asking people to share with their friends and family. Help hem. Do this by giving them something to share. Either get them to express an opinion, have fun fitness challenges, or publish content that makes people share it, with information that helps them or perhaps just validates thief fitness journey or universal experiences. Build a movement around something like toxic gym behaviour in an effort to build a positive gym culture. 

GUIDE TO STARTING AN ONLINE FITNESS STORE