business – Tony Gentilcore

5 Things Fitness Professionals Need to Consider When It Comes to Taxes

There was time in my blogging career where I’d be more apt to dedicate writing energy toward topics like “Top 5 Carrie Bradshaw Breakups” than anything related to business, let alone taxes.

However, a major mishap I made back in 2007 when I transitioned to being self-employed made me change my tune quickly.

Let’s just say I needed a new pair of pants when I realized I owed the IRS a lot of money because I didn’t properly prepare for things beforehand.

I get it. It’s not lost on me that most fitness pros reading would rather me write about assessment or how to turn people into deadlifting T-1000’s. I do plenty of that. Today’s post, though – courtesy of fitness business expert Billy Hofacker – is what most fitness professionals NEED to be ingesting.

I hope it helps (it totally will).

5 Things Fitness Professionals Need to Consider When It Comes to Taxes

Most fit pros are afraid of taxes. They can be scary, especially if you don’t understand some basics. Not keeping up with and paying your taxes can get you into trouble.

Here is some good news.

With some basic information and planning, you can avoid some pretty unpleasant traps. Also, while nobody likes paying them, owing for taxes means you are making money! Besides, if you work independently as a coach, you get to dress more comfortably for work than many of your peers!

If you have employees, you need to deposit a certain amount withheld from them for taxes or you could be in trouble. If you have products you sell and use the sales tax money for other things, you won’t make it.

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As a general rule, you’ll want to set aside a percentage of your profit into a separate savings account so you can pay quarterly estimates to the IRS. Without getting too sophisticated and if you don’t have historical data from your business to look at, 25% is a good place to start.

For example, if you are going to pay yourself $1,000 from your business, take $250 and deposit it into your tax savings account and the remaining $750 would go to you.

In my early days as an independent trainer I neglected to do this. I accumulated a six thousand dollar liability with the IRS and had to pay it off over the following 2 years while building my career. That was over a decade ago. Since then, by incorporating this strategy of withholding taxes on myself, I have not had the tax man after me since!

*To Discover the Tool I Used to Pay Down That Debt and Much More, Download the Debt Destroyer Tool.

Note From TG: I’m a huge proponent of the Profit First approach to running your business. When I left Cressey Sports Performance in 2015 to begin my own venture in Boston I immediately adopted this system and have been thriving off it since. Having a set plan to know where your money is going at the end of each month to plan for things like taxes, business expenses, and PAYING YOURSELF is crucial. I can’t recommend the book enough. I’m also way more jacked now than I was then. Coincidence?

The above scenario applies to you if you are taxed as a Schedule C or partnership. You will have to pay quarterly estimates to the IRS for income tax. If you are taxed as an S-corp, you pay payroll taxes on any salaries paid to employees, including you.

As an S-corp, you can pay the amount of taxes needed through the payroll taxes in order to cover any tax liability. This helps ensure you are always up to speed with your tax payments and hopefully it’s an example of “out of sight, out of mind.”

I personally use that method and it has taken away my tax stress.

Finally, when you have some actual historical data, like previous personal and business tax returns, you can work with your accountant to determine the percentage of revenue that goes to taxes. You can also determine, with your accountant¹, what the estimated tax responsibility for your business will be and turn that into a percentage of revenue.

You can then transfer that amount into a tax savings account every two weeks or so and use those funds to either pay your estimates (e.g. Schedule C) or reimburse yourself for the taxes the business paid (e.g. S-Corp).

The important thing to remember is that regardless of how your business is structured, you pay taxes on profit and not profit distributions.

For that reason, you will want to be sure to…

1. Keep Good Records

Hopefully, you’re not just handing your accountant a shoe box full of receipts at the end of the year. I used to know someone who did that.:)

In all seriousness, paper receipts for deductible items are fine but you may want to keep digital copies as well just to be safe. Taking pictures, scanning them, or using one of the many receipt/expense apps works. Other than that you’ll want to keep good records of what’s coming in (income) and what’s going out (expenses).

Other than staying organized for taxes, this will help you stay focused on how much you’re making.

2. Bookkeeping

Do you know the difference between credits and debits? Assets vs. liabilities? While it’s probably not why you got into a fitness career, some bookkeeping basics will serve you well.

Even if you’re not ready to take a college level accounting course, you might want to look into accounting software. Besides helping you prepare for taxes, you can keep track of invoices and billing, as well as run financial reports to help guide you.

Then when tax time comes, you’ll have things organized and an efficient way to access your income and expense history.

Finally, as you grow in your career, it’s wise to evaluate the best uses of your time. While in the beginning, it may make sense to do everything yourself, at some point it may make more sense to hire a professional bookkeeper so you know things are done correctly and you can focus on your highest value priorities.

Just like any area, there are good bookkeepers and not so good ones. I know from experience. If you go that route, be sure to hire someone who understands at least basic accounting and how financial statements flow together.

3. Know What You Can Deduct

A smart and wealthy client advised me early on to take any ethical deduction possible. Some of the bigger potential items to look at are travel, home office (Schedule C and Partnerships), and health insurance. Self-employed individuals can take some deductions “above the line.”

This means they can still take the standard deduction while also writing off some more items.

It’s important to know here that you can take a standard (flat) deduction or itemize all your deductions based on your expenses. Most Fit Pros will take the standard deduction route since it’s easiest but if you have a lot of expenses it may make more sense to itemize.

Do your homework and know what’s best for you.

4. Take Care of Your Future Self

People who work for big companies generally have an employer who sets up a retirement plan for them. Oftentimes, they get a company match. Since you may not have either of these luxuries, you’ll need to develop the discipline to take a portion of your income and set it aside for your big, beautiful future.

With that said, there are some benefits here when it comes to tax season.

A self-employed individual can contribute up to 25 percent of net earnings, to a max of $61,000 in 2022, to a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA. Additionally, up to $14,000 can be contributed to a SIMPLE IRA. Those IRA contributions, which are above the line, may be tax deductable.

5. Where’s All My Money?

Fit pros are often confused when the end of the year comes and they owe taxes but don’t have the money to show for it. I hear comments like, “How can I be taxed?” I don’t have any money.

They simply don’t know what they don’t know.

There is a major difference between profit and net cash. I highly encourage you to track your profit but be equally diligent about tracking your “net cash.”

Net cash is used to see how much cash is left after expenses and owner’s distributions. Since owner’s distributions don’t count as “expenses,” they can cause a Fit pro to think they are doing better than they are. This is one of the biggest misunderstood things for fitness business owners

The #1 rule in business is not to run out of cash! With a plan for preparing for taxes and an understanding of cash flow, you’ll be on your way to making a massive impact AND creating a career you love.

About the Author

Billy Hofacker has been a personal trainer for over 20 years and is owner and CEO of Total Body Boot Camp and Performance Center in the hyper competitive market of Long Island, NY.

Billy is now passionate about helping fitness professionals become financially fit.

He is the author of Fitness Profits as well the host of the leading financial podcast for fit pros, Your Fitness Money Coach Podcast.

You can book a free 15 minute Q&A call with him here. During that call, you can discuss and financial challenges to see if a personalized plan might be a good fit.

November 17, 2022 Tony

business

Get Rid of Money Stress For Good

Fitness professionals are notorious for myriad of things:

Wearing sweatpants to work everyday. It’s definitely one of the perks of the job.
Always forgetting about the protein shake shaker in their gym bag (or in their car) that invariably, three weeks later, ends up melting someone’s face off once it’s opened.
Their affinity for smedium t-shirts.
Never talking about financial literacy (I.e., planning for retirement, investing, and/or general business savviness).

The latter is just something we never discuss and is our version of an unspoken rule; kinda like talking to a pitcher during a no-hitter.

My friend and colleague, Billy Hofacker, is back with another fantastic post geared toward helping fitness professionals better wrap their brains around money. This time around, specifically, centered around the stress of seemingly never having any.

What’s more, he even includes a special (and FREE) “master class” video for my readers that I feel everyone should check out.

Enjoy!

Get Rid of Money Stress For Good

Note From Author: Since finance can be an overwhelming topic, I also recorded a video diving deeper and providing more support with these topics.

You can access the video HERE.

I remember starting out in business. I was fortunate enough to have a free session with a guy named John, a CFO of a huge company. I’m talking about a company that was doing hundreds of million in revenue.

You see, I have my own personal journey with money that included being suffocated by 130K in non-mortgage debt and working my way out.

Now I was going to use some of the principles I was learning from my personal journey and apply them to business.

Needless to say I was excited for my free session. I remember standing behind him as he was showing me how a business budget worked. He would mention “budgeting” certain amounts for certain categories. The curious person that I am, I asked him where that money actually was. I said something like, “If I have $500 allocated towards equipment, where does that money actually go? It seems to me like it’s just sitting in the account like all the other money. What’s to stop it from being spent?”

His response didn’t make sense to me.

He said, “You just know.”

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One of the most common reasons Fit Pros hire me as their financial coach is because they want a plan for their money.

Not having a plan is painful.

It results in a lack of confidence and results. Many people think that businesses fail due to a lack of profit but are surprised to learn that in fact, 82% of businesses fail because they lack an understanding of cash flow.

The good news is that there is hope. A solid cash flow system can do a lot for your business. Clients who have developed a system report that:

Decisions Become Much Easier – They know when and how much to invest in marketing, hiring, and marketing
The Path Becomes Clear – They are able to focus like a laser as they know what the next step towards their goal is
Confidence Increases – Sure, Fit Pros want to do better financially. They want to earn more but what’s perhaps more important is the person they become in the process

There are a few common mistakes or myths when it comes to cash flow plans.

I will relate all three to fitness.

The First Mistake: People Don’t Stick With It Long Enough

Just like some fitness clients, if they aren’t completely transformed after a couple of months, they throw in the towel.

Just like fitness, financial improvement takes time. You don’t erase 20 years of poor financial habits in five minutes with a spreadsheet. This boils down to behavior change which we know takes time.

The work precedes the results.

The Second Mistake: Thinking There Is a One Size Fits All Program

Should everyone become a competitive endurance athlete? Not necessarily. Some people have other interests within fitness and/or aren’t suited for it. Some trainers (e.g. the kettlebell guy or gal) make the mistake of forcing the program they like on the client when the modality might not be most effective for the client.

They neglect the concept of bio-individuality.

Some financial coaches do the same thing while they would be better off working with the client to develop the best plan for them.

While certain principles may apply, the exact how-to’s may differ from person to person.

The Final Mistake: Thinking That the Cash Flow System Will Be Boring Or Restricting

Author and leadership consultant Jocko Willink says that discipline equals freedom. When you are disciplined with your fitness or your finances, the result is more freedom, not less. If you aren’t fit, you’ll have less options in what you can do physically.

If you aren’t financially fit, you will also be restricted in what you can do.

Click HERE To Get Access to the full video training.

The Problem

One of the reasons it’s hard for people to create and stay on a financial plan is the chaotic nature of how money comes in and goes out.

Depending on your situation, you may:

Not pay yourself at all
Not pay yourself consistently
Be on salary
Pay yourself monthly
Pay yourself bi-weekly
Pay yourself bonuses
Have a side hustle
Have recurring revenue
Have various programs

There are so many situations people find themselves in and that’s just the income.

Let’s talk about expenses.

You most likely have automatic monthly expenses. These would occur the same day every month and for the same amount. A prime example would be your rent or mortgage.

You most likely have daily expenses. These are things like food, coffee, toiletries, etc.²

We all have random expenses. These are the ones that really throw people off. An example is that car insurance payment that’s due every six months. You can have a plan for everything else but if you don’t have a plan for these, your budget could be busted.

The good news is that we have a plan to account for all of these and then some. While it’s beyond the scope of this post to cover every detail, I’ll provide an overview as well as a next step.

Of course, I’m a huge proponent of “paying yourself first” so if you’re not doing that, I’d make that a priority.

Now let’s cover a plan for the three types of expenses I mentioned.

Check out my video HERE where I explain everything.

Monthly Automatic – These are probably the easiest since you know the dates and amounts. You would just coordinate the dates they are due with when your income comes in.

These are automatically paid from your main checking account.

Daily – Call me old school but I like to use cash for daily expenses. If I can’t use cash, I’ll set up a separate debit account at my main bank so I can at least keep things separate. I recommend people do the same for daily expenses, at least for a period of time so they can really see what’s going on.

Random – As I mentioned, these are the ones that throw people off the most. For that reason, it’s essential to have a plan for these infrequent expenses. You’ll want to open up a bank account at a separate bank (an online account is perfect) and save the breakdown that you will need each month. For example, if you’ll need $1200 to buy Christmas gifts, set up an auto transfer for $100 each month to that account.

In a Nutshell

That’s the simple plan you can follow to get rid of money stress for good. I realize this can be overwhelming if it’s new to you and that you also may have unique circumstances.

For that reason, I recorded an exclusive video for TG’s list (i.e. YOU) which dives more into the details and should help more with the how.

Of course, I’m available if you have any questions.

Watch the full video HERE

About the Author

Many fitness professionals get stuck in the day to day and have little to show for their hard work. Billy Hofacker helps them get on a plan to achieve financial freedom. You can learn more by listening to the Your Fitness Money Coach podcast or visiting www.yourfitnessmoneycoach.com.

You can also opt in to get a digital copy of his book Fitness Profits HERE.

June 21, 2022 Tony

business coaching

The 4 Steps to Never Ending Growth

My good friend and colleague, Gavin McHale, is back with another excellent guest post today. He’s been on a tear of late writing some stellar content for this site.

We’re all our own worst enemy, and for many, stepping outside our comfort zones and taking risks (calculated or not) in an attempt to grow our fitness business can be a daunting (if not sphincter clenching) task.

Gavin provides some sage advice how how to NOT let this happen moving forward.

Enjoy!

The 4 Steps to Never Ending Growth

It was the summer of 2014 when I first read a blog article alluding to the “laptop lifestyle.”

I was immediately hooked.

Not because I was hoping to sip mai tai’s on the beach while my clients worked their asses off to a shitty, templated training program like the article seemed to suggest would be the case, though.

While I had some thoughts of grandeur that my life would drastically change, I was mostly aware that this lifestyle the blogger spoke of wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies.

So I did what any 27-year-old personal trainer with zero business or marketing experience would do. I paid someone too much money to build me a (shitty) website and started an Instagram page for my business. I had no plan or idea what I was doing, but I knew this was part of the path to laptop lifestyle freedom.

It had to be, right?

I’ll throw a few blogs up on the website and make some educational posts on Instagram and they’ll be flinging their credit cards my way, salivating to buy my yet-to-be-figured-out online training programs.

I’m sure you already know that didn’t happen.

For the weeks and months following, I got crickets.

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So, like any savvy business person would do when no one is buying the high-priced 1-on-1 online training option, I lowered my prices. In fact, I went all the way from offering $1000 training services to $29 e-books.

Guess how many of those I sold.

And even though this little story is quite fun in hindsight, neither of those decisions were where I truly went wrong, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

As my online business continued to flounder and take up more and more of my time and energy, I began to become soured to the whole process.

My in-person training business was still ticking along as it had been for several years now.

6:30AM-12:30PM – chalk full semi-private sessions
3:30PM-6:30PM – mostly full private and semi-private sessions

Evening hockey practice to make some extra cash, toiling away in a freezing cold rink once a week all winter.

Rinse, repeat.

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The issue wasn’t even really the money at the time.

I was making enough to pay the bills and live comfortably.

I could pay the mortgage and put food on the table, but it was the way in which I was making it that wasn’t working for me.

I now realized my potential income was choked out by the amount of hours and energy I had, and that if I ever wanted a different lifestyle that included things like seeing my spouse or having a family, things would need to be different.

And as I continued to grind for 60 hours a week, while trying unsuccessfully to build a more sustainable business online during every single non-gym-floor hour, my ego led me to believe this wasn’t for me anymore.

What had started off as such a promising option 18 months before had become a stupid idea that “wasn’t for me.”

I told myself I was an in-person coach (and I was a good one) and that online coaching was stupid and only for those who couldn’t make it in person.

I thought I was taking the righteous road.

I told myself this was the path and stood strong in that belief.

Except I kept seeing other good coaches, whom I respected, rapidly building online businesses. They were leveraging their skills into something that kept the quality while also being scalable. Some got to the point they were so busy they had to give up their in-person clients so they could focus on working from anywhere, at any time while raking in the cash.

Seriously… what the actual fuck?

Let’s get back to what went wrong here. I was caught in the Vicious Cycle of Imposter Syndrome.

Let me explain the steps of this cycle.

1. Feel Fear

Evil forest: Fear from the dark — Hey, Tony here. I attempted to look for an “inspirational” fear image to put here, but opted for this one instead. Excuse me while I go destroy the back of my pants.

It was scary to do something I wasn’t good at.

I had always been good at everything I tried – school, hockey, in-person training – and when I wasn’t very good at marketing or using social media, I quit (because I was scared).

2. Make Excuses

The excuses comin’ out of me were so fast and believable, that I became an expert in them.

I was too good in-person.
I wasn’t built to work with people online; I’d rather be in person.
The market was saturated.
No one knew the guy from little old Winnipeg, Canada (as if location had anything to do with working online…).

I made such compelling arguments that even I started to believe them.

I see this in the trainers I speak to regularly. They have become so entrenched in this set of false truths that it’s hard to pull them out of it.

3. Don’t Take Action

Like I said earlier, I did take action originally. I started a social media page and made a website. I tried to sell training and e-books.

When none of it worked the way I expected it should, I stopped taking the actions required to build an online business.

At the very least, I half-assed them, telling myself they wouldn’t work before I even hit publish or post.

I stonewalled my success before it even had a chance.

When that action proved to be more trouble than it was worth (fulfilling my prophecy), I gave up on it before it had a chance to succeed.

And as you’ll see in the virtuous cycle of growth below, I missed one crucial step on the path to success, bringing it all crumbling down.

4. Expect Different Results

Through all of this, even though I was quickly spiraling and not seeing any results with the actions I was taking, I continued to hope for someone to fall through the cracks.

I continued to make the same type of boring, educational, poorly written posts, expecting for more likes or thinking “this one will go viral”.

And what’s worse than going all in on something and failing is half-assing it, hoping it will work out but deep down knowing what you’re doing is not working and will never work.

Because I didn’t look for another way, I just kept ramming a square peg into a round hole, while it kept trying to tell me to do something different.

I allowed a lack of results to strengthen the resolve that I wasn’t good enough.

Does that pattern sound vaguely familiar?

I know this pattern too well, not only because I repeated it over and over for 18 months (and still fall into it sometimes), but because I see and hear trainers – really good trainers – saying the exact same things to me on a weekly basis.

So the goal of my program is now to flip the script from the vicious cycle of imposter syndrome to the virtuous cycle of growth.

Virtuous Cycle of Growth

1. Feel Fear

Notice how this step is the same in both the vicious and virtuous cycle?

You’re never going to outrun fear. Fear will always be present. Your job is to feel it, harness it, and act anyway.

Fear and the parts of you that bring it to the surface are just doing their job. They’re just trying to keep you safe.

It’s an evolutionary trait that has kept humans alive and evolving for thousands of years.

But being afraid of getting attacked by a lion in the desert is a lot different than being scared to ask someone if they need help with their training.

One results in possible (probable) death.

The other results in a hit to the fragile ego.

Very different.

2. Take Messy Action (Knowing It Will Be Incomplete Or Wrong)

Action is a funny thing, because it’s often the thing that’s scariest, but also the thing that will help you see that it’s not as scary as you think.

I’ve noticed that we’re all very good fiction writers in our own brains. We pen tragic and imaginative stories about what will happen when we ask the person out, how our clients will react to a price increase and what all our friends will say behind our backs when we make that vulnerable post.

And the only way to know that’s not the case, is to take the fucking action.

Ask them out.
Raise your prices (more than you think).
Make the post.

The messier, the better.

Because I never learned anything from an A+ on a test. But, if you handed me back a D, I’d sure as shit study harder next time.

3. Seek Feedback

Here’s the super important step I missed in my first attempt at building an online business.

I felt the fear and took action anyway. Maybe I was so naive that the fear didn’t even register, but I can give myself that.

What I missed was asking for feedback, or even looking for feedback. The pure lack of engagement on my social media content was trying to give me feedback. The lack of clicks and website visits after the initial surge from family and friends was trying to give me feedback.

The overall lack of any measurable results was trying to give me feedback.

But I was too proud to see it.

See, I always thought the only feedback came from parents or coaches or people who otherwise knew better than me.

I thought I had to ask, but in this case I had no one to ask.

And while a coach or mentor is absolutely valuable as an outside observer, feedback can be found after every single intentional action you take.

Did it produce the results I hoped for? Why or why not?

Keep asking questions and you’ll get the feedback you need to either change course or double down on what you’re doing.

I look at feedback as the final number in those annoying high school combination locks. You can do everything else – take messy action in the face of fear, but without feedback, you’re left running around like an idiot doing everything for everyone and never knowing what’s worked.

4. Recalibrate and Take More Messy Action

Here’s where the virtuous cycle really takes off.

Once you take an action (any action, really) and seek feedback, your next action is even more calibrated. The more you can repeat this process, the more calibrated and purpose-driven your actions will become.

In this scenario, there is no way you can lose.

You will either hit it out of the park, or you’ll learn, tinker and keep iterating until you hit it out of the park.

Closing Thoughts

So, if you’re anything like I was back in my laptop lifestyle chasing days, things are probably going pretty well for you.

I will leave you with one final piece of advice before signing off, because the drive to take action on a blog post can be low when things are going pretty well.

The question you must ask is, “Is this what I want to be doing in 10 years?”

Is this my version of my “best life”?

If it is, GREAT!

Use that as feedback and double the fuck down.

If it’s not, then it’s time you take some action, no matter how scared you are, towards the lifestyle and business you truly want.

And believe me, it is possible.

After several coaches and tens of thousands of dollars invested, I built a hybrid business that paid me 6-figures a year and allowed me to travel for 3 weeks at a time while my clients still got great results and were waiting for me when I came back.

If I can do this, so can you.

About the Author

As a Kinesiology graduate, Gavin McHale quickly realized that following the traditional business model would lead to trading more time for more money.

Over the course of 8 years, Gavin built a 6-figure hybrid training business before founding the Maverick Coaching Academy in 2019.

Since then, Gavin has left the gym and gone all in helping other strength coaches build their businesses. He has made it his mission to fix the broken fitness industry and connect other amazing humans to the highest version of themselves.

Check out his FREE course for trainers, coaches and therapists that will kickstart your path to a more sustainable business.

The Coach’s Playground Podcast

MaverickCoachingAcademy.ca

IG – @gavinmchale1

May 4, 2022 Tony

fitness business personal training

The Hybrid Training Model For Personal Trainers

My man Gavin McHale is back with another excellent guest post this month. If you missed his last article on lead generation you can check that out HERE.

This month, as the title implies, is all about how personal trainers can (and should) lean into more of a “hybrid” training model that doesn’t rely on IN-PERSON training only and allows you to better leverage your time in order to 1) make more money and 2) resist the urge to throw your face into an ax from work overload.

Give it a read. It will make a lot of sense and I hope afterward it’ll provide some inspiration to you to make some subtle changes in your approach to the services you provide.

The Hybrid Training Model For Personal Trainers

I climbed into my truck and sat back with a huge exhale. I had just finished another ‘day at the office’ and, as usual, I was absolutely exhausted.

It was early afternoon, I had been up since 5AM and on the training floor since 6:30, eating and drinking coffee on the go. I was finishing up my 4th cup of coffee for the day, knowing it would affect my sleep but needing it to prop myself up for the evening full of clients that I had in about 4 hours.

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The ‘00’s Pop Punk’ playlist had played at least three times through on repeat that morning.

The plan was to whip home for some lunch and some work on the business before heading back to the gym – another few hours of client sessions on deck. In reality, I knew I’d get home, crush some food and pass out for the entirety of my time at home, barely dragging myself out of bed to get there on time.

I loved my training clients and I got to provide them with the best hour of their day on the training floor.

And, by this point, I got to do it a lot.

I had built my personal training business up to nearly 30 clients, with upwards of 25 semi-private and private training sessions a week.

Business was buzzing… but the thoughts started creeping in…

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My girlfriend of two years and I barely got to see one another. When we did, I couldn’t even keep my eyes open for a full movie and had to leave any social gatherings by 9PM thanks to my 5AM alarm the next day.

How long was she willing to put up with an absent partner?

I knew I wanted to have kids at some point in my life, and I wanted to be the dad who could do school drop-offs and pick-ups and coach the sports teams; not the one who always ‘had to work’.

We loved to travel, even just for extended weekends. But I couldn’t enjoy my time away, panicking about lost revenue and possibly unhappy clients.

But the worst part was that I wasn’t making the money I knew I could be. I wasn’t having the impact I knew I could.

I was making a decent paycheck every month, but it was just enough to pay my bills and allow me a bit of freedom. I was pinching pennies and living paycheck to paycheck while working a ton, with a university degree and numerous certifications behind my name.

And honestly? I was just fucking tired…. ALL. THE. TIME.

It didn’t add up.

Especially since the only solution I knew was to take on more clients and do more of the same… something I didn’t have the capacity for without sending myself down a spiral to burning out and being single well before my 30th birthday.

That’s when I was forced to get creative.

I began by asking myself the one question every single service provider should start with (I was just a little behind the curve): How can I best serve my clients?

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(GIF added by me, Tony, because if nothing else I keep thing professional.)

I knew they loved their workouts and I loved working with them, but the majority of them weren’t getting the results they wanted because that 1-3 hours a week they spent with me would never offset the poor lifestyle choices they were making during the other 165+ hours every week.

Let’s be real, even though I loved doing it, grinding it out on little sleep and caffeine was not the best service I could provide. The cup I was pouring from… was empty and I didn’t have the systems in place to help them change their lifestyle beyond a couple sweat sessions a week.

And since I had no more capacity for more training sessions and they didn’t have the time to come to the gym every day,

I had to find a better way.

Enter, the Hybrid Training Model

This model created a win-win for me and my clients.

The win for me is that I got to stabilize my monthly income by charging for an entire package instead of session by session and got some of my time back, all while providing a better service to my clients.

The win for them? Straight up better results without having to schlep to the gym and back every day or pay thousands a month for a trainer.

This model would allow me to continue doing what I did best, training clients on the gym floor, but not have to live there, eating every meal out of tupperware, trying not to spill it on the turf and taking bites between coaching cues.

The hybrid model I built and refined since includes 5 key areas:

In-person coaching
Regular activity programming
Nutritional guidance or intervention
Belief and habit building
Accountability

If you look at the traditional training model – the one that left me half sleeping in my truck at the end of the work day, I covered maybe 1 or 2 of those bases… at best.

And, in most cases, the trainer isn’t being paid for anything but their time spent in the gym with each client. You can say the pricing reflects programming time and nutritional information and accountability, but it really doesn’t.

When your clients are paying session by session, they see the value in having you in the room coaching them.

That’s it.

Your clients are also financially incentivized by this model to actually miss sessions. If they’re low on energy or just don’t feel like it, they’ll miss a session and either save money that month or stretch their current package out over a longer period.

Bottom line: your income is unstable and they don’t get the best service.

In order to build this model out and be able to market and sell it, you have to ask yourself a lot of questions and completely reshape the way you provide your service and charge for it.

1. In-Person Coaching

How often do they need instruction lifting weights?
How often do they want to come to the gym?
Do you have the space and ability to do semi-private training with them?

2. Regular Activity Programming

Basically, this includes any part of the programming that doesn’t require you to be there, coaching them.

Can you program some or most of their workouts to be done on their own?
Do they have a gym membership or access to equipment at home?
Are there parts of the program where they don’t need to be in the gym like walking, running or mobility work?

3. Nutritional Guidance or Intervention

Any type of transformational program is incomplete without some form of nutritional guidance. If they already trust you enough to train them, then you’re probably the best person to guide them through some basic nutrition principles.

For most general population clients and goals, this is simple habit building. No need to go too deep and risk moving outside your scope.

You can either build your own curriculum or outsource this completely. When I was coaching, I outsourced this to Precision Nutrition and set my clients up on their year-long ProCoach software.

4. Belief and Habit Building

My most successful clients were the ones who made massive mindset shifts throughout my program. Over the time we worked together, they became better versions of themselves, which provided the outcome they wanted.

In my opinion, this is a non-negotiable in any coaching program, especially if you want to stand out from the Pelotons and the Orange Theory’s.

What do they need to learn to be able to shed their old skin and step into a new, better version of themselves?
Can you create a simple weekly or bi-weekly curriculum over 2-3 months that will allow them to do that?

5. Accountability

Finally, accountability is what they’re actually paying for.

Let’s be real – everything you (and I) coach can be found with a quick Google search if they know where to look.

Information and even education is no longer valuable like it used to be. What is? Accountability and a safe space to fuck up and learn.

Plus, the more skin they have in the game (i.e. the more you charge for this full spectrum service), the more accountable they’ll be.

I’m not sure how many free downloads you have sitting on your laptop, but I have plenty that I haven’t even opened… no skin in the game.

In Its Simplest Form, This is the Hybrid Coaching Model

I won’t lie, this will be more work upfront for you. But, as I learned throughout this process, if you can “work hard once” setting everything up, you make your life a whole lot easier down the road.

This will allow you to charge a monthly price for the whole package and stabilize your pay while actually working less and giving your clients the best chance at seeing the results they’re looking for.

No more never-ending selling of 10 or 20-session packages and no more needing to send out the same resources over and over to every single client who asks about keto or intermittent fasting.

You run the show and make sure all the bases are covered. They get the best of what you can offer and you get the most out of your time, energy and expertise.

About the Author

As a Kinesiology graduate, Gavin McHale quickly realized that following the traditional business model would lead to trading more time for more money.

Over the course of 8 years, Gavin built a 6-figure hybrid training business before founding the Maverick Coaching Academy in 2019.

IG – @gavinmchale1

The Coach’s Playground Podcast

maverickcoachingacademy.ca

October 12, 2021 Tony

business coaching personal training

Success in the Fitness Industry: Reality vs. Expectations

Success in the Fitness Industry: Reality vs. Expectations

People who know me well know how much I’m obsessed with movies. I enjoy reading about them (what’s coming out or on the horizon of coming out), debating them (what’s the better 1997 release: Boogie Nights or Good Will Hunting?), and whenever possible…

…watching them.

I’ll watch pretty much any genre – drama, horror, comedy, thriller, documentary, John Wick, anything.

However, what may be unexpected is how much of a fan of romantic comedies I am.

Notting Hill
You’ve Got Mail
Love Jones
Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Put a girl in front of a boy (or boy in front of a girl; or boy in front of a boy; or girl in front of a girl), add some sexual tension, witty dialogue, & ensuing high jinks and I’m there.

(Added intrigue if somehow there’s ninjas and/or a threat of a nuclear holocaust involved).

NOTE TO SELF: Begin screenplay for When Harry Met Sally meets The Sum of All Fears (with a supporting comedic role provided by a Xenomorph XX121, you know, the alien from Alien).

That shit will just write itself.

One of my all-time favorites (and highly underrated) romantic comedies is (500) Days of Summer.

There’s much I love about the movie, but one thing that stands out is a scene right smack dab in the middle titled “expectations vs. reality.

In it, Tom (the protagonist) is meandering to a dinner party in the hopes of re-kindling a relationship with a recent ex (Summer).

The entire scene is shot as a split screen with one side of the television labeled expectations; or what Tom hopes to happen. A night where he & Summer flirt, are entrenched in captivating conversation, and, in fact, seemingly fall back into love.

Simultaneously, the other side of the screen showcases reality. A night where Tom and Summer exchange a few pleasantries, but in the end he’s off in the corner of the room sulking realizing Summer has moved on from their relationship, and he eventually walks home…

…alone.

GODDAMIT, who’s wearing the onion shirt around here?! I’M NOT CRYING, YOU’RE CRYING!

Anyway, I can’t help but notice a parallel theme in the fitness industry…

…an “Expectation vs. Reality” tug-of-war with regards to what REALLY yields success.

EXPECTATIONS: Many (not all) are intoxicated by the illusion that all you need to be “successful” is to have read a few books and to look the part.

REALITY: Success is an overlap of the x’s & o’s of program design, knowing your functional anatomy, and having general competency when it comes to exercise technique & execution, to name a few.

But too, a large, and necessary (and often eye rolled at) part of the cog is the soft skills of coaching:

✅ Developing Client Rapport

Getting results for the people who pay you to do so is an important component of this. I mean, if we’re looking to build trust & rapport with our clients this would seemingly be step #1. However, I’d make the case that before that can even happen it is important (nay, crucial) to go out of our way to plant the seeds of “CONNECTION” first.

Meaning, be more relatable, accessible, and approachable.

What does that even mean?

Seek out other avenues/interests that you have in common with your clients. I obviously use movies a fair bit to do this. But you can also bring music or television into the mix. Maybe you’re a dog lover or think turtle neck sweaters are cool?

Finding common likes/dislikes – outside of exercise – amongst your clients is a wonderful means of building rapport.

✅ Listening

Admittedly, this is a hard skill to learn; we all loving hearing the sound of our own voice. However, as a fitness professional having a keen sense of knowing when to shut the fuck up is imperative.

For example, whenever I have an initial assessment with a potential new client I go out of my way to have him/her do the bulk of the talking.

Early in my career I’d do the exact opposite and try to “win” conversations.

“Wait, wait, wait, hold on, wait. Did you just say you do a lot of cardio to flush out lactic acid from of your system? Well, actually, lactic acid isn’t an acid at all and is actually a beneficial source of energy for your muscles. It’s pretty common knowledge. Anyway, you were saying?”

In hindsight I can’t imagine how many clients I lost because I was trying to impress them with big words.

Today, I just keep (most) of my thoughts to myself and do a lot more listening than winning.

✅ Basic People Skills

Smile, say hello, look people in the eyes, show empathy, be punctual, write programs that actually cater to THEIR goals, check in with your clients during their session (how do they feel? do they feel the exercise where they’re supposed to be feeling it?), never undervalue the power of a non-obvious courtesy laugh (😉), and always provide a safe space and an overwhelming sense of unconditional positive regard.

Also, when in doubt…more Wu-Tang!

✅ Not Being an Uppity Douche

Self-explanatory.

And That’s That

I don’t care if you can deadlift a bulldozer or that you sleep with a copy of SuperTraining underneath your pillow. If you’re not taking the time to flex, hone, and enhance your soft skills as a coach you’ll never separate yourself from the masses.

August 17, 2021 Tony

Arrivals Fashion Lifestyle

Two young women doing abdominal

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

July 28, 2020 publisher

Arrivals Nutrition

Aerobic fitness Pilates classes combine

July 28, 2020 publisher

Arrivals Fashion Lifestyle Nutrition

Best Cardio Exercise

July 24, 2020 publisher

business fitness business

How Being Radically Candid Can Transform Your Fitness Business and Client Relationships

Wow – do I have a treat for everyone today.

Best selling author and Exercise.com founder & CEO, Joel Ohman, is in the house today with a stellar guest post on “radical candidness,” and how it can make you a better, more successful personal trainer and human.

Enjoy!

How Being Radically Candid Can Transform Your Fitness Business & Client Relationships

At Exercise.com, we work with fitness business owners of every type, niche, and specialty. From sports performance gym owners and celebrity fitness trainers to incredibly witty and intelligent cat lovers who can deadlift a Buick one-handed while wielding a lightsaber with the other hand.

Did I say that right, Tony?

Oh, wait, the image you made—um, right:

Anyway, all that is to say we work with all different types of fitness professionals, and it gives us a unique insight into the psyche of personal trainers and, specifically, how they communicate with us, their co-workers, and their clients.

Different trainers have different communication styles.

Like all business owners, and people in general, there are certain communication traps we can all fall into that can sabotage our client relationships and undermine the success we are all working so hard for in our fitness businesses.

Radical Candor is a book by former Google and Apple executive Kim Scott that outlines a framework to be a better boss, colleague, and human being.

The book outlines a quadrant representing four different very common styles of communication.

On the Y-axis is your level of demonstrated personal care for the person you are communicating with. On the X-axis is your level of willingness to challenge directly in your communication with others.

The ideal stated goal in communication with clients, colleagues, and partners is to land in that top right square titled “Radical Candor,” where you are simultaneously demonstrating that you personally care about the person you are talking to while also not being afraid to challenge them directly and give them the hard truths that they may need to hear.

Radical candor is what happens when you both Care Personally and you Challenge Directly at the same time.

What Radical Candor is Not

But first, it’s important to outline what Radical Candor is NOT.

It’s not a license to act like a jerk.
It’s not an invitation to get creepily personal.
It’s not just for managers, personal trainers, bosses, or those in a position of authority—we all want to succeed.

It’s also helpful to look at each of the four different possible communication approaches/attitudes in the grid and see if you can recognize some common trainer/coach personality types, and then, of course, do the introspective work of seeing which one you tend to land in.

It won’t be hard, you should recognize which one fits you right away (or, just ask one of your clients, your colleagues/partners, or even better: your spouse).

Radical Candor

Radical Candor happens at the intersection of Care Personally and Challenge Directly.

Care Personally means that you care about the other person, not about whether you are winning a popularity contest.

Challenge Directly means that you share your perspective and invite the other person to do the same.

This is the gold standard of where we all want to be.

This is the personal trainer who obviously cares about their clients and wants them to succeed, but is also willing to say the hard truth when it comes to encouraging healthy lifestyle choices, following medical advice when it comes to weight management, and other sensitive topics.

Obnoxious Aggression

Obnoxious Aggression is mean but may be helpful.

Obnoxious Aggression is also called “brutal honesty” or “front stabbing.” This is the classic Marine boot camp instructor or the raging high school football coach that breaks his clipboard

This is the personal trainer who screams at clients but is more invested in checking out their own biceps in the gym mirror than they are in seeing their clients succeed.

We recently created a comprehensive guide on how to become a successful online trainer packed with case studies, and surprise, surprise, yelling and screaming at clients, whether in-person or via video, was not a recipe for success.

In a weird way, we have experienced coaches, trainers, or bosses like this and they have actually made us better people though.

This is why this is the second best square in the quadrant.

Even though that screaming football coach might make you want to hang your head and quietly cry in the shower after a game, can you rely on that coach to ALWAYS tell you exactly where you stand with him?

Can you count on him to communicate directly with you, tell it to you like it is, and give you immediate and specific feedback on what you need to do to improve?

Umm, yes.

At least the communication is clear, direct, and immediate. But, as we probably all know, any success is usually short-term as athletes tend to underperform for coaches who motivate solely with fear.

Ruinous Empathy

Ruinous Empathy is “nice” but ultimately unhelpful or even damaging.

It’s seeing somebody with their fly down, but, not wanting to embarrass them, saying nothing, with the result that 15 more people see them with their fly down—more embarrassing for them.

It’s a personal trainer not wanting to tell their client the hard truth, that yes, their doctor is right, they do need to lose those 60 pounds. It’s a fitness business owner not wanting to confront their head personal trainer when they are not meeting expectations.

Manipulative Insincerity

Manipulative Insincerity is a stab in the back.

This is active sabotage, and the worst of what we all think of when we think of interpersonal relationships and communication, whether that’s office politics or gym politics.

What About You?

In our weekly team meetings we like to start off with a 10-15 minute segment we call “Weekly Wisdom” that has one member of the team sharing something they recently learned, whether business, personal, a book they read, etc. and then we discuss as a team.

We recently discussed, you guessed it, Radical Candor, and here are some of the questions we discussed:

Can you provide an example of someone who communicated something to you using Radical Candor? How did that make you feel?
Can you provide an example of someone who communicated something to you using Obnoxious Aggression, Ruinous Empathy, or Manipulative Insincerity? How did that make you feel?
When faced with difficult conversations, which of the four communication approaches do you find yourself gravitating towards? How might you intentionally become Radically Candid instead?
How might we encourage Radical Candor as a team?
How might you utilize Radical Candor in your personal life?

So, what about you? How might becoming Radically Candid transform your fitness business, your client relationships, and maybe even your personal life?

About the Author

Joel Ohman is a serial entrepreneur, author, and angel investor.

He is the founder and CEO of Exercise.com and a number of tech startups. He lives in Tampa, FL with his wife Angela and their three kids.

His writing companion is Caesar, a slightly overweight Bull Mastiff who loves to eat the tops off of strawberries. He lifts weights six days a week and does Krav Maga twice a week to try to ignore the fact he’s still just a washed up ex-college basketball player.

You can connect with Joel and send your own Radically Candid personal communication to him at JoelOhman.com.

SPECIAL DISCOUNT: If you want custom-branded iOS and Android apps for your fitness business, then check out Exercise.com’s fitness business management software to scale your business in-person and online using assessments, clients/class scheduling, gym check-ins, billing, workout software, and more then mention this article to get an extra month free.

June 19, 2019 Tony

business

The Art of Getting Your Shit Together

Getting your shit together is a skill that escapes even the best intentioned and seemingly organized people. This is especially true in the fitness industry, where the expectation is we work while others don’t. All…the…time.

In today’s guest post by Chicago-based strength coach, Mike Connelly, owner of Rebell Strength & Conditioning, he shares some of his insights on how to balance the teeter-tottering of work/life balance.

The Art of Getting Your Shit Together

If you read Tony’s last blog, The Grind: Hashtags, BS, Truth, and a Little Too Much at Times, and found yourself questioning your value in “the grind” then I have some good news for you. You’re not alone. I hate “the grind”. Can’t stand it.

You know what I like? I like spending time with my wife and daughter. I like going out for some drinks with my friends on the weekends. I like reading books that have nothing to do with what I do for a living. I like watching documentaries. I just really, really, really like not working.

There, I said it and I meant it.

Don’t get me wrong. I do like coaching people. I like managing a team, setting goals, and accomplishing goals too. But, and I’m going to steal a gem of a thought from our industry, I want to use the minimum effective dose to get that shit done.

If we want to cut the fat off of our work load then we are going to have to first determine what is fat and what is essential to our success. It takes some effort and help to get your shit together but I can tell you, without hesitation, that it is well worth the trouble.

Here’s a couple of things that helped me get my shit together. I hope they help you too!

1) Make Sure You’re On the Right Path.

We spend a lot of time outside of ourselves these days. We are heavily influenced by the outside world, leaving little to nothing coming from within ourselves. That can be a huge detriment to our productivity. A lack of confidence in creating our own paths leads us to chasing someone else’s and we end up completely void of any idea of what WE want out of this.

When I first started coaching I had this idea that I wanted to be that guy that can rattle off a bunch of science terminology and statistics from studies and that would legitimize me as a coach. I was overcompensating for never having finished school and thought it was going to keep me from ever being successful.

I wanted to follow the path of the coaches I admired, which is logical. Here’s the thing though, I was chasing a ghost. I am not the coaches I admire. I am just me and that’s just fine. I don’t have a laundry list of pro athletes that I train. I do work with some, but the overwhelming majority of my business is with general population clients.

Do they need me to recite Anatomy Trains to them for them to achieve their goals? Nope. Do I need to revolutionize training to grow my business and make people happy? Nope.

Here’s what I need:

I need to create a community that provides comfort and motivation to those that choose to be a part of it.

I need to be competent in the basic training facets. In my book, that’s one form of an assessment, one method of movement preparation, a solid template to build my programs from and an understanding of what differentiates programs, and a reliable network that I can refer my clients to should a problem arise that is outside of my lane.

Believe me, if you find one of each of these facets, that is all you need. If it works, it works. No need to pile on.

The point here is that while it took a while, I have finally found MY path. In discovering that, I have been able to cut the fat off of my to do list and save myself a ton of time. If you want to know what will make you happy in your work, the answer lies within you and not on social media.

2) Huge Dumps Are Healthy.

For a very long time I lived under the lie that I didn’t need to write things down to be organized and productive. My thought was that my accomplishments to this point were proof that my “system” worked.

That’s special, isn’t it?

What I was disregarding is the fact that regardless of what my perception of my level of success and happiness to this point was (which were somewhat miraculous considering the dumpster fire that I have going on in my head sometimes), tightening the screws on your processes is never a bad idea.

Enter the brain dump.

Every Sunday I perform a ritual. I lather myself in shea butter, light my favorite candles, put on some Yanni and spend an hour inside my head. Some of that is true. Well, ok, it’s an hour that I spend inside my head.

It is somewhat of a ritual though.

I do get away from “the noise” to center myself and dig through the rocks inside my head. Not literal rocks, although if you have met me before you may wonder. I use “rocks” in the sense that it is used in Gino Wickman’s book, Traction. “Rocks” are the big things that I want to get done in the long term. They are my big goals that are comprised of a ton of smaller points to work through.

While a legit list of “rocks” is going to be relatively small, the action steps that get you to your “rocks” can be lengthy and hard to keep track of. Unless of course you take some time every week to check yo’self.

A good brain dump will clear your head, relieve you of stress, and leave you with a list of steps that will help you dominate your work week in a clean and efficient manner. Knock that shit out every Sunday afternoon and I will bet you dollars to donuts that you will sleep like a baby come Sunday night. That’s right! No more Sunday Scaries (that’s what my wife calls stressed induced insomnia)!

Brain dumps are not only good for clearing your head, but they will keep you laser focused throughout the week. Keep that list with you and use it as a guideline for what you need to get done. This will keep people like me that get distracted by shiny objects on task. It might take some practice and getting used to, but once you get it down you will not know how you survived without it!

3) Find Your Bible

Now that you’ve dumped your brain out what are you going to do with what you came up with?

Figuring this out wasn’t easy for me because even though I had started doing my brain dumps, I was still left with the task of organizing all of it’s products. It’s a legit obstacle that presents itself in different ways to everyone. The key is to find some sort of tool that works best with how your brain works.

My good friend, Todd Bumgardner, uses a notebook. He’s a hipster. If something like that works for you, go for it.

I need a little more structure and flow. Something that looks and performs cleaner. For me, the Action Day Planner works like a charm. It has a simple and manageable layout that does not confuse my apish mind.

Does it matter what you use?

No. Just use something that you can log all of your brain dumps and weekly notes in for easy reference. Anything above legal paper folded into your pocket should suffice but it’s going to depend on your style and what you need to keep up with the task. I suggest that you not just buy any old planner. Shop around and flip through them until you find one that makes sense to you.

And That’s That

There it is. Three things that will help you organize your grind and leave you with as much time as possible to do the things that we actually want to do. And let’s face it, if you are telling us that working more is something you actually want to do, you are full of it.

If you would like to gain a deeper understanding of how I have successfully organized my time and so much more, join us in Chicago on May 6^th and 7^th for the Spring Strength Faction Seminar. HERE is a link with more information

March 23, 2017 Tony