Small business – hourly rate for Personal Trainers?
I own a small business and I will hire personal trainers, paying them with a W2. Trying to find out what is the hourly rate to pay Personal Trainers to provide 50 minutes Bootcamp class to a group of 5 people. The bootcamp will be conducted outdoors. Also, what personal trainers prefer?, W2 or 1099?
If you are paying them with a W2, it makes them your employee,if you are paying them as Independent Contractors you need to provide a 1099: Consult your tax person first.
The pay for the bootcamp depends on what you will be charging for the bootcamp.
Factor in all costs for the program, figure out how much you need to make, find out what other bootcamp instructors make and also be sure all of your instructors have their own liability insurance, are certified by a nationally recognized organization and are CPR/AED certified as well.
Always ask and check for references and of course everyone fills out a ‘release’ form.
Keep in mind that if you are hiring personal trainers to lead a bootcamp, you may want to take a class first, not all personal trainers are naturally good bootcamp instructors and visa versa. This is not a one size fits all industry although at times, I wonder….
Look for proper experience and credentials.
This was a relatively straightforward question – how much are people paying a trainer to deliver a 50 minute class to five people? I would be curious some specific pay rates for that work and in what part of the country.
For example, in the SF Bay area – $75 to a trainer working as part-time W-2 employee. Charge for the class is $125.
A second question was asked – Do trainers prefer W-2 or 1099? What the trainer prefers is not likely relevant. The answer depends on your business model and the strict guidelines set by the IRS. It’s unlikely that you can hire a trainer to deliver your products and services and then pay them via 1099. This is a payment structure for businesses providing a service to you vs. for you. The common term is subcontractor. If you hired a janitorial service or an accountant or some other service provider you could then pay them via 1099.
Businesses that you would pay via 1099 would have their own business license, could be licensed by the state, would bill you for services, would not be managed by you, would likely have their own business name and/or DBA, would determine their own rates, etc. If you are determining the rate of their pay, which was your original question, then that alone likely eliminates the possisbility you can pay via 1099. Subcontractors compete one against another in the market place for your business. Part of that competition is the fee they charge you. You can choose amongst the offers submitted to you but you can not dictate what the offer is.
If you want to hire a trainer to deliver your product or service for you or in place of you then you likely must use W-2. You would determine the rate of pay, you would determine the quality of service, where the service is delivered, how much is charged, etc.
You should be very clear the difference between employee and subcontractor. Misunderstanding can become very expensive if you are audited. Ask a professional such as a tax attorney or human resource manager. Don’t be confused by this. If you pay inappropriately by 1099 you could feasibly incur large penalties, late fees and accumulated interest on those penalties and fees. The best advice is to obtain professional advice.