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Can I pick your brain?
I have a friend who is a personal trainer and she's looking to expand what she does a little more and we were doing some brainstorming. She mentioned customizing workouts and providing feedback to people through e-mail on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis (or whatever the need was).
I think I'm in her target audience for this situation because I would never pay for a trainer because I don't like working out with people. I'm also always looking for guidance and I notice I'm spending my money on something to follow every time I'm finished with my newest conquest that I've purchased like 30 day Shred, New Rules of Lifting, Couch to 5k, P90X, etc.
I'm assuming you would originally discuss your goals with this person and fill out a fairly large questionaire and they would continue to provide you with exercises, stretches, and nutrition information to get to your goal. If you wanted extra involvement you could send in your food tracking for nutrition advice. I'm kind of throwing this off the top of my head.
Would you be interested in a service like this?
If so, how much would you pay for it?
If so, how much involvement would you want from someone who was providing you this service?
Re: Can I pick your brain?
I would. I can't afford a trainer and my schedule is tough. I am good on classes but I would like to do some different stuff. I also would like feedback and the ability to ask questions when they come up.
I would pay like 20 a month
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Hmm..
The first thing that came to my mind is that there are already services like this. There's Livestrong's daily plate and myfitnesspal, etc. These services are free. There are also magazines you can subscribe to. So what would she offer to put her above and beyond these services?
Anytime I've used a trainer or otherwise worked out with people, the purposes have been two-fold: encouragement and correcting my form. I am more motivated to work harder when other people are watching, and I also find it beneficial to have someone there to help me prevent injuring my fatass. If I wanted a workout but I wanted to be alone, I would (like you) buy a dvd or netflix one, or do the ones everyone knows like go for a walk or a jog.
If she wants to expand personal training, one good thought is doing a class. This is what my bootcamp instructor did. He moved from personal to class, but the class is broken up into a circuit of smaller groups. He moves around the room, encouraging everyone individually and correcting form as he sees fit and as time allows. This still gives me the feeling of a personal trainer, really, just on a much more economical scale. I would imagine what keeps most people from hiring a personal trainer is cost. That's just my two cents and food for thought.
I guess what I'm saying is, no, I wouldn't pay for a service like that, unless there was something there that is beyond what I'm getting for free.
One more thought: I think putting in a Groupon or LivingSocial deal would be a great way to expand her business. Not only would it get her name out there, people may be more inclined to stay once they've had a discounted sampling.
Even though I could definitely benefit from a service like this, I don't know if I'd ever use it. Like dehko said, if I'm going to pay a trainer, I want them to be there to correct my form, etc.
The thing I might use this for would be the nutrition analysis. This is something I definitely want when I can afford it - someone to look over what I'm eating, and help me put together a realistic nutrition plan. But I definitely want that person to be a Registered Dietician, or at the very least a licensed sports nutritionist. Is your friend certified in an area like that? (I don't think it's too hard to become a licensed sports nutritionist if you're already a certified personal trainer - it's just another seminar and an exam).
I think the difference would be the customizing part. I buy magazines, google, buy DVDs, etc. as it is to find workouts for myself. Most of the time I run these things by her and sometimes I'm on track and sometimes I'm doing the wrong thing to achieve what my ultimate goal is. I like to think that I'm pretty knowledgable about these things since I've had to exercise/watch my weight my entire life and yet I still struggle.
I guess I'm saying I could buy a magazine or DVD with the newest generic routine or I could contact her with my goals and any other caveats that may not fit into a cookie cutter box (injuries, nutritional hurdles, age, other illnesses).
She does train clients that need the motivation and form correction. She works a full 40 hours a week (with me) and trains one on one after work. She probably couldn't start squeezing in classes as well but she could maybe do something a little less involved. I orginally thought of people who pay for mood boards from decorators through blogs and other outlets and we started brainstorming down this road.
I'm glad to hear your responses though. The devil's advocate stuff helps get my mind working
At the end of the day I'm only one person so even though this suits me great (except for the fact she already does this for me for free) if it's not a common need then it's pointless.
Assuming a trainer charges $50 a session and you go 2 days a week for 4 weeks a month you would be paying $400 a month. She generally suggests two days a week but at least one so at a minimum $200.
You have people who go to the gym regularly and have good form but get bored with workouts or aren't achieving their goals. I wouldn't spend $400 a month on a trainer, but I would spend $20 for the extra personal advice I guess. I think I'm the only one on this lol.
This is good though. Thanks for your comments guys.
You aren't the only one... a friend of mine and I have paid our old trainer $25 before to come up with a weight workout for us because we were bored and weren't feeling creative enough to do it on our own.
I think she may have a small niche of people who have had a personal trainer and are "over" paying them but don't have the opportunity to have that trainer in a more economical setting (i.e. group).
She should start with the people who she trains one on one and their contract is expiring - offer them this service for after they've met their goals or something.
I agree with MsAllie. For me, the nutrition analysis was the greatest thing for me when I began trying to lose weight. There is so much low fat, non fat, low carb, atkins mumbo jumbo that it was helpful to have someone give me the straight facts.
I also see your point (MrsJaay) about the trial and error part of doing it yourself but if I'm getting frustrated to that level, than I see myself doing something more drastic ( i.e. boot camp, sign up for personal training trial - basically someone to provide a swift kick in the arse. I'm not sure if I would get that online.
The idea of a groupon sounds good. The other way I could see it being useful for me, would be after I did a free trial with a trainer and I realized that I can't afford it. At that time she's providing a similar service, but cheaper. IMO at that time it would be the next best thing and I'm saving $$
I hope that makes sense. I've re- written it 4 different ways.
Her current clients have actually been clients for over 4 years (the geriatric group!). So it's nice that she has the steady extra income but I don't think they'll be leaving her anytime soon unless they like, you know, leave.
I think she may have trained a few brides or other short-termers in the past so that might not be a bad group to reconnect with if it's something she decides to do. Good idea!
Makes sense and I totally get what you're saying.
You guys have helped me figure out it's going to be a very specific market of people who either A) Can't do a trainer financially (like you said) or
as MrsB said, people who are just bored with coming up with stuff on their own or in a rut. I think anyone who is looking for motivation is going to be good a target for her to train one on one but not for this type of situation.
The good thing is that there's no overhead. If one person decides to do this instead of 100, it's not like there's a lot of risk in failing.
The largest portion of my current clients are people I train online. They choose workout, diet or both. There is a slight discount for both but not much because A) It doesn't take less time/effort and
Most understand you can't really do one without the other.
I charge more than $20 because the keyword here is CUSTOM! I don't write out plans and send you plan 1-A for 2 weeks and then plan 1-B and so on. No one has the same body. No one has the same goals. Everything has to be designed and then analyzed and then tweaked to work for that person. It takes time--and lots of it.
I do offer a free Bikini Body diet/workout that is as simple and basic as possible. It's a clean diet and simple circuit workout. People love it and I have tons of people who have began their custom program from this. I also get tons of traffic via facebook (ie. what do you do? etc) and i always respond and then attach my rates with no mention of "selling" them anything and I have had great success with that.
Many women are intimidated by a "trainer" and a gym. Many want the privacy of the internet. They never have to see me and it's easier to email and say "I ate mexican 5x this week" then say it to my face. Is online training more work? For some, yes and others no. But it's steady income as most are on 3 or 6 months pay in full.
For her comparison, My PT starts at $45/hour. Discounts for multiple sessions, etc. Diet consults are $99 and include the first plan and one check up. $50/month after. If you skip a month it's $99 again. I'm ACSM certified and a year away from my bachelors in Health and Wellness Mgmt. Depending on where I'm making the most money, I may get my masters in Dietetics.
Online my training is $99 for the first month and $55 after. Diet is $149 for the first 2 months and $55 month after. The first month is the most work and the more people pay, the more likely they are to actually stick to it. I started out much cheaper and found many people just stopped doing anything. Emails would taper off and then I felt like I'd done too much work for not enough money. I do 2-3 weekly emails (1 group and then 1-2 more individual) and after 2 no responses I quit writing.
Currently, I'm not taking any new clients - local or online. I have 5 local waitlisted and 10ish online waitlisted. It's working well for me and so far, I have done no advertising. HTH a bit. And sorry for writing a novel... haha