Advantages and pitfalls of in home personal training
Hi Shane,
In my opinion if you are going to have an in-home PT business then you should have experience in the following:
In the business part (unless you hire people to do these for you):
-Marketing/advertising
-Networking
-multitasking
-Administration (taxes, licensing, hiring/firing employees, computer skills, proper forms, etc.)
-Adaptable
-Manage your travelling costs and time in order to be efficient
-Become a leader and a team player especially if you are going to have others working for you
In the fitness/training part:
-Know how to utilize your environment
-Be able to adapt
-Stay on top of every new trend that pops up in the industry
-Keep up with your continuing education
-Have the ability and knowledge to train multiple clients and with multiple medical conditions, limitations and goals
-Develop your skills as a group instructor as well (this is important if you want to expose yourself to a large number of people so you can grow your clientele base)
-Have the ability to transport equipment needed for the training
I might be forgetting a couple but all of these above are very important to have some kind of experience if you are going to start or have a in-home PT business. Now some of the advantages and pitfalls of in-home training:
Advantages:
-You are the master of your own schedule
-You don’t have to spend all at the same location
-You can make more money
-You meet many interesting people
-Flexibility (in many areas)
-You can help people who do not feel comfortable going to the gym
-You can train people who don’t have much time in their hands
-You can reach clients in many areas around your town
-You can market your services to larger area and amount of people than if you were working out of one location
-You can have a positive impact on a larger number of people
Pitfalls:
-There is no one to blame other than yourself if you don’t succeed
-Time costly because of travel time between clients
-Wear and tear on your car (if you are using one)
-If you don’t like to network you will have hard time to make it
-If you are not flexible you will not make it
-Sometimes going to other peoples’ houses might not always be the best experience for you (for various reasons). Always be prepared for the unexpected
-Finding parking can be frustrating and expensive
-If you don’t like to work alone this is not for you
-You might have a large competition in your area
I hope this helps.
Best,
Harris