How To Start A Personal Training Business

If you love fitness and want to turn your passion into a business, you might be thinking about entering the world of personal training.

As people become more conscious of their health and well-being, the demand for personal trainers is rising.

According to HFE, personal trainers in London can charge up to £60 per hour for their services, with the rest of the UK seeing average hourly rates of around £30-£40. This makes personal training a rewarding and lucrative career choice.

So, if you are thinking about starting a personal training business, look no further. Here, we take you through everything you need to know.

Step 1: Get The Right Qualifications

Whilst you don’t need to do a degree to become a personal trainer, according to USAS you will need some form of qualification.

Not only will this help you do your job more safely, it will add credibility to your services. You should explore:

• A level 2 certificate in Gym Instructing
• A level 3 diploma in Personal Training

When exploring these courses, make sure they are certified by professional organisations like the CIMSPA (Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity).

This will help make sure you can position yourself as an authority, with the level of certification needed to back it up.

You are also able to register with CIMSPA, which will allow you to stay up to date with the latest courses and receive professional insurance.

Bonus tip: If you want to expand your services, explore other courses in areas like nutrition, body building, and pre/post natal fitness to help you appeal to a wider audience.

Step 2: Come Up With A Business Plan

Once you’ve got the qualifications down, it’s time to sit down and pull together a business plan.

Start by thinking about how you want to operate your business. Options include:

• Become a freelancer at an established gym, who will feed you clients in exchange for commissions
• Buy your own gym and grow your clientele from there
• Online personal training, where you find and train people virtually
• Mobile personal training, where you go to people’s homes and train them
• Personal training at your own home, which includes setting up a specific space for your services.

Once you have worked out your business model, it’s time to turn your attention to pricing. Think about what your expenses are and how to offset them.

For example, if you are buying your own equipment for clients to use, you might want to factor this in. Likewise, if you are driving to clients, think about the cost of a car and petrol.

It’s also worth looking at other personal trainers in your area so you price yourself accordingly. Make sure you also give new customers incentives like bundle deals or a free session to help build your client base.

Oh…and don’t forget to come up with a company name!

Once you have worked this out, you can officially start to put the wheels in motion!

Step 3: Register Your Business

Next, you’ll want to register your business with HMRC.

You can either:

• Set up as a sole trader, which requires you to do one tax return a year detailing your costs and expenses
• Register as a limited company, which comes with better protection but more in-depth accounting. Registering costs just £50 with Companies House, but you will probably need to employ an accountant to do the finances for you

It’s also worth setting up a business bank account so you can keep your finances separate. This will come in handy when doing your tax returns at the end of the financial year.

Step 4: Get The Right Level Of Insurance

When working with clients, it’s always a good idea to have some level of insurance, especially if the work you are doing might

Depending on the professional body you register with, the insurance might be included. However, it’s worth looking into this regardless to make sure you are protected.

Step 5: Get Marketing

So you have your business set up, now it’s time to let people know about it! The easiest place to start is probably online, as it’s free to start.

Think about your branding, logo and style of content. If you decide to use Instagram or Tiktok, think about posting things like online workouts, ways to get fitter, meal ideas or client transformations.

If you decide to have a website, make sure you include some client testimonies as well as a way for people to contact you.

Think about ways to make your content stand out, including your USPs and your personality, helping people get drawn in to your services!

Oh, and it’s worth including some introductory offers to incentivise them to book.

Step 6: Keep Growing and Adapting

One of the best things about starting a business is the ability to constantly evolve. Talk to your clients to understand what people are looking for from their personal trainers.

For example, if nutrition keeps coming up, explore a certification in nutrition. If people are finding the price too high, think about running group sessions to help combat this.

You can also expand to sell courses, meal plans or even merchandise online. The best businesses see a gap in the market and fill it quickly, helping to develop into a full-blown brand.

Starting a personal training business in the UK can be a very rewarding experience. So, what are you waiting for?