The PT Roadmap

The weekly newsletter for personal trainers who want to build and run a great business.

Hey!

Thanks for opening up today's newsletter. I appreciate you being here.

Let's get into it!

Have you increased your prices in the last 12 months?

I asked this question in a recent PT business assessment survey, and as you can see above, 52% of trainers ticked no.

There are two big reasons this might be an issue:

1. Inflation - Every year, everything you buy gets a bit more expensive. On average 5% more expensive. If you don’t increase your prices, you earn less simply because you pay more.

2. You’re a better PT - Better, more skilled PTs deserve to be paid more. You’ve read this newsletter most weeks, listened to podcasts, attended seminars, paid for courses and gained more experience. You’re more valuable now than you were this time last year.

If this is you or you’re unsure how to increase your prices, I’ve put together a 5-step download. You can grab it for free HERE.

Full transparency: I want to move as many of you from here to my general email list, where I send 2 to 4 weekly emails. These emails are shorter and contain more insights from my own life about my experiences as a PT. This is my way of incentivising you to come on over :-)

Business

My 2014 vs My 2024 PT Business: Big Changes I’ve Made

My 2014 PT business was a shambles.

No systems.

Payments a huge mess.

No idea who my target client was.

But it’s not anymore. I’m proud of what it has become.

Here are a few of the biggest changes I’ve made:

1. Onboarding System

When new clients sign up, I follow a simple system to get them confident and settled.

I send out a thank you card, check in regularly, do a 14-day review, and follow a few more key actions to help in their first 30 days.

2. Base Programme

I used to complicate programming by creating new ones every time a new client signed up.

Nowadays, I’ve got a bunch of templates I start new clients on. This template changes very quickly when I discover what they like, what feels good and what they want/ need to work on, but to begin with, every client starts from a similar canvas.

3. Better Payment Management

Every client pays me monthly using Stripe now. It’s easy to use and the charges are nominal (3%)

I used to have some clients pay me in blocks, some session by session, some monthly, and everyone was on a different rate. It made financial planning a teensy bit challenging.

4. Yearly Price Increases

I didn’t increase my prices for the first three years. I don’t necessarily regret this, as I was learning my craft and building my client base, but I do think I should’ve done it around year two.

Since then, I’ve done it most years.

Now, I make it clear to new clients that I do my yearly price increase on the 1st of Feb each year. It goes up a small amount for them, and a larger amount for new clients (e.g. from £35 to £38 for current clients and from £35 to £41 for new)

More on how to do this without annoying or losing clients in this free playbook.

5. Tax, Pension & Savings Automated

I pay myself a monthly salary from the money that comes into my business. The rest goes to a separate account for tax, savings, and a rainy day pot (I’ve got a few more accounts dedicated to things like Christmas and my wife’s birthday). This is all automated.

An amount is automatically taken off for a pension, too.

All of this used to be left to chance, which meant it usually didn’t get done.

I still don’t love tax time, but I don’t dread it as much as I used to because of systems like this.

6. Task Management & Prioritisation

I used to become involved in way too many different projects. I’d start new ones every few weeks and never finish ones I’d started months before.

Nowadays, I use Trello to keep track of my projects. I only add new items when something becomes completed.

Every morning, I check this and plan my day accordingly.

My overarching mentality nowadays is to take on less and complete what tasks and projects I am involved in to a higher quality.

7. Ideal Client/s Nailed Down

I used to try and target everyone. This was perfectly acceptable for where I was in my career. New PTs do not need a niche because they haven’t trained enough people.

However, I now know who I work well with. I target dads with young kids who used to be active but have lost their way. And my secondary market is 60-70-year-old retirees who want to remain independent.

This has changed plenty in my 10+ years, but it has become far easier to market my services now that I know who I’m trying to attract.

8. Lead Gen Systems

I’m far more confident in the systems I now have to bring clients when needed.

Referrals, reactivations, Facebook groups and ads, local area activities—I know what works, how to make them work, and what isn’t worth my time.

This is a big change from where I was 5-10 years ago. I was throwing stuff at the wall and hoping it stuck.

It was unpredictable and disheartening. Knowing where my next client is coming from is a huge stress relief.

Social Post

Nice post from the guys over at Two Brain Business on what a PT or gym owner should post.

It’s not a dancing Reel.

But a simple piece of content showing off or highlighting your clients.

This is an excellent reminder to keep your content simple and focused on what really matters to prospective customers: seeing people who look like them making progress and enjoying exercise!

Thanks so much for reading.

— Stuart.

Whenever you’re ready, here are two ways I can help you:

1. One-to-One Mentoring. Do you wish you had someone to talk to every week to direct, guide and keep you accountable? It might be time to consider reaching out for some help. I’ve helped 100s of PTs grow their client base, professionalize their business and build a career they are proud of. Just hit reply if you’re interested, and we’ll set up a time to talk.

2. The Lead Gen Roadmap. If you need clients or want to develop a systemised approach to lead generation, this course is for you. As a newsletter subscriber, use this link for 10% off.