5 Things I Wish I Did Differently When I Started My Fitness Coaching Business

I was certified as a Personal Trainer by ACE in 2019.  It wasn't until March 2020 that I started taking things more seriously.  When I was certified I lived in Shanghai, China and was working as a Kindergarten teacher.  I desperately wanted to get out but didn't see a way without having to give up my visa.  Long story short, we all know what happened in March 2020 in the US and this led me to start my business.

Initially I had no idea what I was doing.  I was literally making it up day by day, copying what I saw other coaches doing, feeling insecure with my expertise and what I offered, and essentially making little - no sales.  In May/June of that year I decided to work with a business coach.  She taught me SO much and since then I have worked with a variety of other coaches in many different types of containers: courses, programs, masterminds, and 1:1.  Every coach and container taught me different things and helped me to develop my own style in business.

EVERY journey is filled with trial and error and in this blog post I'm going to share with you five "errors" so that you can hopeful avoid them as you start you business whether that be in coaching or something else. If I could go back in time, here is what I would do differently:

1: I wish I had not followed others in the same or similar niche to myself.

When you follow others in the same or similar niche to you it makes you feel like you need to change something you're doing and breeds inauthenticity.  We compare ourselves to those we most identify with and with any comparison we will find something to be unhappy with.  I don't know what exactly you do, but I'm guessing you're not the only person in the world who does it.  So what is going to make someone pick YOU over someone else?  You.  They are going to pick you + your service, not just your service.  How can they pick you if you're not even showing them who you are and being real?  It is crucial to be authentic especially when it comes to selling services.

2: I wish I didn't obligate myself to know everything.

This is a common obligation given by ourselves to ourselves when we struggle with imposter syndrome.  We see everyone else as better than us so we need to make up for it.  But no one knows everything.  You will never know everything.  People with phDs don't know everything.  So why would you place that on yourself?  Focus on your niche, learn when you see it's needed, admit when you don't, and refer out when needed.  All you need to know is more than the person you're selling too.  If you come across as know WAY more you may even potentially scare off a client (depending on your field) because they may feel that you are too far above them and what you are offering is unattainable.

3: I wish I had focused on motivating people with desire and possibility.

You may have heard of "pain points" and "pleasure points" in marketing.  An example of "pain points" would be: You're tired of hating what you see in the mirror.  You're clothes don't fit.  Your hips hurt when you squat.  An example of "pleasure points" would be: You feel confident in your skin.  You don't ask to see the camera when your picture is taken.  Exercising feels GOOD.  Both work as marketing, but one works better and is a kinder form of motivation: pleasure and possibility.  Even thought fear and guilt can be motivating, it doesn't feel good.  Possibility is exciting, invigorating, and encouraging.

4: I wish I had spent more time learning about what I WANTED to learn about.

I every niche there are a million things you could learn about.  It's easy to be swayed by what others are doing/learning about and do the same thing because you fear you will fall behind.  But you can never fall behind because no one is on the same path as you.  When you learn about what you want to learn about, your passion grows, you're excited to create, your enthusiasm is contagious, you become magnetic, and people can't stop listening to you.  Which leads me to number five...

5: I wish I had only created things that I was passionate about/felt good.

You create content/offers based on what you know.  If you spent all your time learning about things that don't light you up, your offers won't either.  Content creation will be difficult and your offers will be difficult to talk about if you even talk about them.  This leads to little - no sales of your offers because people can sense that you don't believe in your product.

Your business is for you and should feel good every day.

I hope this article gave you new and contemplative business owners some food for thought and actionable advice you can apply when it comes to creating offers, your business, and promoting in on social media.  Even though I started in fitness, these concepts apply to every niche.

I have come to love running my business so much that I began business mentorship and have already worked with 4 incredible people (as of Aug 2023) to help them

+ establish an online presence

+ grow their business

+ gain clarity in content

+ get clients

+ make business feel good

+ have so much interest they have to turn down clients and hire on help

Interested in Business Mentorship? CLICK HERE TO APPLY and CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.

I know you have a gift that you deserve to be paid for.  Let's make it happen.