If you’ve been going solo, the idea of hiring someone to work for you may seem daunting. There are so many considerations. Should you hire employees on a contractual or payroll basis? What should you pay? Should you offer benefits? How do you find the right person for the job?

Reservations aside, if you’ve reached your capacity as a business, meaning that you simply can’t take on any new clients because your schedule is cram-packed already, then it might be time to consider hiring. Let’s answer some of the questions above to get you started thinking about your business expansion.

Contract versus Payroll

Contracting your employees is much simpler than putting them on the payroll. For starters, you don’t have to worry about social security, Medicare, or income tax withholding. Your employees are strictly self-employed contractors who invoice you for services rendered, and you pay them like any vendor. Contracting also offers the employee the benefits of self-employment, such as deducting mileage to and from work.

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You’ve tried everything. You’ve bent over backwards to keep this client happy, from taking calls at two in the morning to rescheduling appointments to letting him delay his payment just one more week – over and over and over again. You’ve tried writing a policy document, which the client was willing to sign, but he’s still not complying with your rules. He’s taking all your time and energy, and you’ve had enough.

It’s time to let go. What are your next steps? How to go about terminating the relationship with this client depends on your personality.

The Direct Approach

If you’re the direct type, you might just tell it to him straight. You’ve got your list of complaints, so just lay it out there. Tell him that he’s taking all of your time, that he’s not paying on time, and that you’re losing money on his business. If you haven’t had the conversation before, he might try convince you that he’ll pay tomorrow. It’s up to you whether you’ll give him that one more chance, based on your history. When and if you decide that he’s out of chances, you might want to tell him that he’ll be receiving a final invoice or statement in the mail. If he still owes you money, you want to track that down.

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I know what you’re thinking. This sounds like the most boring topic you can fathom, and you’d rather jump off a cliff than read about policies.

Looking Out for Number One

Okay, maybe you’d rather jump off a cliff than do just about anything else, and I don’t blame you. Base jumping in Zimbabwe is on my personal bucket list. But paying for plane tickets and parachutes costs money. When you’re self employed, nobody pays for your vacation time – when you’re not working, you don’t get paid, period. Thats why I always recommend building a passive income stream. And if that weren’t bad enough, you take a risk every day that you perform services for clients, a risk that you won’t get paid even when you *are* working. Somebody is always out to get you. That’s not paranoia; it’s fact. Everyone is looking out for number one.

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Got Gear? Home Office Write-Offs for Your Personal Trainer Business

If you are self-employed as a personal trainer, congrats! You answer to your clients, not some boss who wants to tell you what to do. But the bummer about your business is that you have to do all the work to run the business in addition to doing the thing you love, which is helping clients meet their fitness goals. It’s hard work, and you deserve the kudos that goes along with it.

But you deserve more than kudos. You deserve to keep more of those earnings in your own pocket, and stop giving it all to the government. Unless your client base is made up of celebrities, you’re probably not some multi-millionaire fitness expert, so why should you have to give away half of your money in taxes? Read more…

Everyone needs to stay fit. The cubicle does not put proper strain on muscles. The fifteen steps it takes to get to the water cooler do not classify as a cardiovascular routine. This is the sedentary lifestyle of our modern society. While these people might have great skills to use behind a monitor and keyboard, they lack motivation to address serious matters of the physical body.

You have the energy, drive, and determination to move others towards good health. However, this isn’t charity work for you; everyone has to make a living. Rather than resigning to the idea that you must work for the company of another, you should consider starting your own personal trainer business. Slide down a slippery slope that ends with you working little and making a lot.

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Recession-Proof Your Personal Trainer Business with Smart Pricing

The boom-and-bust nature of the business cycle is a roller coaster that makes many entrepreneurs very sick. It’s difficult to build a business that can weather massive changes in the prices consumers are willing to spend. However, if you are sensitive to these issues, your personal trainer business will actually benefit from economic bad news. While talking about market downturns can be a real downer, it is a reality in which we live. This is actually one of the best things about your personal trainer business; it is a true recession buster.

A Low Cost of Doing Business Makes Your Business Model Maneuverable.

A personal trainer business is not saddled with the up-front costs with which other industries struggle. This means that a change in consumer spending habits simply represents a short term shift in the level of profits you will be receiving. For other companies, these changes can mean losses. However, if you want to keep a strong client base, it is wise to use flexible pricing during different monetary conditions.

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No business can succeed without quality employees. This especially holds true for fitness centers, where customer service is of the highest priority. Simply put, if your fitness center doesn’t feature knowledgeable, skilled employees, you’ll have a difficult time drawing customers. That’s why it’s crucial for you to learn how to manage and retain fitness employees.

The first step to retaining top workers is to hire only skilled, talented employees for your fitness center. Your customers will know quickly whether you’ve hired top fitness professionals or lesser talents. Your employees’ talents will show as they work one-on-one with your fitness center’s customers. Unfortunately, unskilled employees will demonstrate their lack of professionalism just as quickly.

Communication is Key

Once you’ve filled your staff with top-level workers, it’s time to concentrate on managing and retaining them. This starts with communication.

You must show your employees that you are always willing to listen to their suggestions, recommendations and complaints. This tells your workers that you respect them and their opinions. Fitness center employees who feel respected are more likely to work hard and treat your customers well.
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It’s never easy to think about the future. That’s especially so today. The recession means that we’re all focusing on getting through the next month or week. But business owners need to think about where the fitness industry is heading, and the changes that they’ll have to make to attract clients and make money.

I know that no one likes the word “change.” It’s an especially scary word for business owners. But I have some good news for you: Many of the changes coming to the fitness industry will actually benefit you and your business.

Let’s start with online marketing. You may have gotten by so far with traditional advertising. Maybe you take out an ad in the local newspaper. You might rely on placing flyers in local coffee shops, restaurants and bookstores. That’s not going to be good enough for long. In fact, it might not even be good enough right now.
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So you’re ready to start your own personal training business. You’ve got realistic goals set up, loyal clients that’ll follow you anywhere, and a killer vision of where your business needs to go. It seems like you’ve got all of the bases covered…but have you considered using other businesses as a method of increasing your clientele base – and ultimately, your profits?

Just as referrals from other clients generate more clients, networking with other businesses is a powerful secret to getting you name out there, with less sweat involved.
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You’ve done everything right, the clients are in the house, the bills are being paid, it’s time to sit back and watch the money roll in. Right? Wrong. There are hundreds of ways to lose your clients. Yes, you got ‘em, but now you gotta keep ‘em. Here are 10 Super Client Retention Strategies that will ensure the health of your client base. Health and fitness is the business you’re in, your business’s health and fitness is the top priority.

How do you keep ‘em? Let me count the ways.

1. Acknowledge their importance
Learn and use their names. Nothing keeps them coming back like feeling they’re important to you.

2. Create a community of learners
Good clients attract each other. Use the web, use a bulletin board, engage with other local businesses.
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