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About 6 years ago, San Diego–based personal trainer Kevin Root opted not to attend the IDEA World Convention. As a newly certified professional, he felt the event could overwhelm him with information. It’s a choice he regrets.
“Looking back, I robbed myself of valuable hands-on experience and knowledge,” he admits.
Root, who splits his time between boutique studio Bird Rock Fit and a big-box gym, the La Jolla Sports Club, eventually decided that IDEA World was a necessary investment to progress his career. He attended for the first time in 2015.
“There is no other experience like attending IDEA® World,” says Elizabeth Lenart. “I remember the first World I ever attended. It was like Christmas morning created just for fitness lovers! The presenters made us all feel special. They uplifted me at a time when I needed it most. That’s when I decided I needed to find a way to pay it forward.”
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A primary reason fitness professionals are drawn to IDEA is for our gold-standard educational content. IDEAfit.com is constantly abuzz with pros researching the latest evidence-based and most practical health, exercise, nutrition, behavior change and business information available in the trade. Members share their best practices and advice within IDEA Answers and strengthen their body of knowledge by accessing the dynamic news unfolding on the site daily.
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Whenever you complete the smooth process of taking an IDEA course for CECs, you’ll want to spare some credit for Linda Morreale. As IDEA’s educational products manager, Linda works with a long list of certifi cation agencies—each with different rules and procedures—to ensure that our content is CEC-approved and ready to enhance your profession. Linda…
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Jack Welch, American businessman and former CEO of General Electric, once said, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” This is the reason the IDEA World Convention exists—to bring together some of the brightest people in the fitness industry so they can grow into greatness and inspire that growth in clients, students, athletes, co-workers and staff.
Comprising more than 330 sessions led by top coaches, entrepreneurs, and fitness, nutrition and wellness professionals, IDEA World offers the full spectrum of education you are seeking for instant and ongoing career growth, regardless of your position in the industry.
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Automation is the key to efficiency and consistency—especially when it comes to marketing. Yes, you are better off sending some emails and texts as one-off campaigns (think monthly newsletters, event announcements, and schedule updates), but you can—and should—automate most of your day-to-day marketing communications. The good news is Mindbody Marketing Suite helps you do both; easily build customized campaigns and send targeted automations to prospective and existing clients.
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What is the role of a fitness professional? Is it to lead clients and class participants through a workout, or is it to teach and empower them so they are ultimately able to exercise without the direct supervision of a professional? Over the past few years, the fitness industry has experienced explosive growth in…
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If you’re a gym owner, the thought of opening a second facility may eventually float through your mind. After all, only so many clients can fit in a single space before it starts bursting at the seams. While it might be enticing to open another shop elsewhere, there’s no guarantee the new venture will be a success. Launching and growing a first gym is risky enough—in the United States, 50% of new businesses are likely to fail within the first 5 years, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics (SBA 2012). Success and survival rates for second locations are less clear, but many experts suggest that the risk of failure is even higher. However, if you do your research, understand the risks and make smart decisions, a second studio might be a viable option. Consider these important points before breaking new ground.
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To be “well” means seeking a state of physical, mental, and social well-being. Wellness is a lifelong effort, and fitness is a part of the quest. There are multiple dimensions of wellness—including physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, environmental, social, and occupational. It turns out that when you work out, you’re not only boosting your physical wellness but other dimensions as well. As part of the Mindbody Wellness Index, we asked more than 20,000 Americans from 50 major U.S. cities about their fitness habits. We learned which cities are most dedicated to fitness, how often they’re getting their sweat on, and what forms of exercise they want to try next.
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Has your business experienced faster staff turnover than you’d like? Are you about to hire new staff? Do you want your fitness pros to remain loyal to your facility? You can beat the high-turnover odds in the fitness industry. The key is to find qualified pros who fit your business and then set them up for success, giving them specific training for their positions and clearly communicating your expectations. Consider the hiring and onboarding system I’ve developed over the past 8 years of running my own business.
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Starting your first fitness business takes commitment, determination and the will to succeed. Scaling that business takes all of that AND the willingness to tackle challenges that don’t apply to a single location. Smart planning now makes the eventual transition (it will happen!) smoother. The following are four steps that fitness businesses take to successfully grow their operations.
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Nothing is more effective for bringing people together than hosting an interesting event to impart important, cutting-edge information. Not only is it a great way to create a more engaged community, but offering specialized education led by an outside expert could expand your offerings and perhaps provide an additional profit center.
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Health and wellness coaching has hit an important professional milestone. The AMA has officially recognized the role of health and wellness coaches as nonphysician healthcare professionals by approving procedural codes for tracking health and well-being coaching services. This means that health and wellness coaches who are certified by either the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) or by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing Inc. are recognized as Category III healthcare professionals.
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If you ever wander the halls of the IDEA office, you may have the good fortune to be greeted warmly with a bright smile from Calvin La, our affable senior inspired service specialist. Always one to approach his work and interactions with kindness and integrity, Calvin has a knack for making you feel at ease.
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Do you have a 2020 vision?
Do you have a clear view of what you’re going to do in the new year to grow your business even more?
As 2019 closes, it’s important to take stock. What can you improve to ensure a higher-quality customer experience and more revenue in 2020?
Let’s take a look at four areas that impact your business going ahead so you set yourself up to succeed.
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Content is king—from scrolling through the social media feeds of popular influencers to reading and watching fitness blogs, exercise tutorials and more; if you like to sweat or make a living by making others sweat, then you probably consume a wide variety of content, all of which attracts leads and serves as a retention…
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As the health and fitness industry continues to evolve and grow, staff diversity and inclusion efforts are becoming increasingly important. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mandates that job applicants and employees cannot be discriminated against “because of their race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information” (EEOC n.d.). However, making a conscious effort to diversify goes above and beyond following the law.
Discover what diversity means and what you should consider as you put together a diverse staff.
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There are several paths to becoming an entrepreneur in the fitness industry. While most discussion is centered around opening a studio and capitalizing on what your current clients believe to be your unique skills and talents, this represents only one path forward. You can choose to have a roof over your head, or you can go to your clients. You can stick with profiting from your intellectual property, or you can “borrow” an idea from someone else. Whatever you choose, owning your own business has never been easier. You just need to figure out which route makes the most sense for you!
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Love it or not, if you want your business to thrive, you need a social media presence. According to a report from We Are Social, a global marketing agency, 3 billion people around the world use social media each month (Kemp 2018). Instagram reports that 60% of its users say they’ve discovered new products on the and that social media helps make better connections between businesses and consumers (business.instagram.com). However, grabbing the attention you deserve is a challenge when you’re competing with thousands of other fitness pros and “fitfluencers”—especially if you’re not willing to show off your, ahem, assets.
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You know the work it takes to get a new customer in the door. You’re spending money on marketing, time making sure your website listings are right, and energy on promotions and intro offers to get the word out. It’s not easy. But remember—it costs less to keep an existing client than it does to acquire a new one. Getting them to return again and again will help you keep your lights on and your business bustling! With that in mind, let’s look at three actions you can take to retain your clients.
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IDEA Fitness Journal
Current Issue:
December 2019
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