Ideas for pricing on specialty classes; Boot Camps/Specialty-Tabata Training/High Intervals“
I’m adding additional classes to my studio; I’ve done specialty boot camps/high intensity interval training/Tabata training, some where I’ve handed out workouts to take home, others not“I have charged different prices in the past, but wondering what others charge for such classes. Lots of time and programming goes into each of these types of classes, so I feel they should be charged more, but I don’t want to turn clients away from taking them because of the prices. Any suggestions on what others are doing within their studios/gyms/facilities?
I would compare prices in your area and research exactly what the programs offer. I would write everything out for your potential client so they can see exactly what they are paying for with your program and then I would encourage you to think about your worth and value!
If you feel justified and confident about your program others will too !
Monica, I owned a small studio for 10 years, first you will have to compare the going price of the area you are located, your ability, experience and reputation also play a big part in your pricing. When I offered classes the formula that I used was based on these factors.
How many people max per class. How much was the instructor costing per class. Studio’s cut should equal to instructor at a minimum. If instructor is $30.00 and Studio is $30.00 the class costs the studio $60.00 to run per class. So you need 6 students at $ 10.00 per class break even but at this rate you will lose money unless the classes are much larger and full. Every person over the 6 students starts showing a profit to the studio which gives the studio the ability to give the instructor and the students an incentive to promote the class. ie; instructor gets bonus if class is full Students get free class for every two new friends that they bring
If you are the instructor what is your time worth that is your starting number if your get $75.00 per hour and the class is one hour plus you have half an hour to set up and half an hour to clean up your cost for the class is $150.00. this would change your break even point to $25.00 per your 6 students.
I hope I helped good luck
Anthony Brizendine NSCA-CPT
Hi Monica. To be honest, I think that no matter what class we are teaching (or for individual clients as well) most of us are spending “extra time” outside of the actual training time, with planning and programming. How this is handled varies, and really depends on your philosophy on your time, and what’s covered under your fee. To my mind, I would NEVER train or conduct a small group session without planning it out. So since this is “the norm,” I don’t really think of charging EXTRA for that part of what I do, instead when I’m figuring my fees, I take into account my expertise etc., but not necessarily the programming time separately.
I think that the only time that I would consider charging an extra fee for programming would be if I were specifically designing a program at the client’s request for them to use on their own.
I hope that this helps.
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
[email protected]
You said it yourself. “Lots of time and programming goes into each of these types of classes, so I feel they should be charged more”, so charge what you feel these classes are worth. As Susan pointed out, you need to be compensated for your time as well as your effort. Make sure that it IS worth it to you financially and personally. I have carged mostly packaged prices for these types of classes as the progress in a structured fashion and aren’t so easy to just jump in anywhere. I have charged between $50-$250 for a four week class depending on how the class it constructed. (If I’m lugging 500 lbs worth of equipment out… I’m charging for it!)
Definitely analyze your competitors as you consider your pricing.
At one place where I teach group tabata / HIIT, I’m paid my regular hourly instructor rate. On the other end of the spectrum, my semi-private CrossCore and ViPR classes are $15 to $25 each, per attendee, per class. So it really depends on the location, the competitors, what you are offering versus your competitors, and how you can justify your pricing.
Sadly, the amount of time we spend prepping for our classes isn’t always billable to the client. Sometimes, yes, but you have to have to have a reason that’s palatable to the member. For example, I can point to the amount of CECs I have in my specialties. Very few people are even certified in ViPR in the US yet and I’ve been teaching with them for almost a year and a half, so I charge based on (a) I’m certified and (b) my higher experience with the product.