Why did I feel the need to create a Business Mentorship Program for Personal Trainers and Coaches? Well, the stats say it all.

We know business is challenging at the best of times and depending on what article or study you read you’ll find that the success rate of making a business work is extremely low. Most state that around 90% of small businesses don’t make it 3 years.
Insane right?! So why would someone go into business?

I can only speak for myself, but my first initial thought was when I was just 18.
I was young, naïve, and working as an apprentice butcher. I started as a 16-year-old and initially I was quite slow compared to the other guys in the shop. I had a 4^th year apprentice showing me the ropes however, I quickly worked out he wasn’t the most highly skilled and efficient worker and didn’t possess a high work ethic. So, I continued to learn methods from him, but I’d also go in early and stay back late to learn of the others.

The butchers all had the special skill sets, so rather than just learning off the 4^th year apprentice and building an average skillset, I spent my time working on my craft, building my skillset, and watching the guys who specialised in certain areas and tried to develop skill sets in those areas.

After a couple of years, I felt as though I was as good as those guys and now faster than some of the qualified guys in certain areas and was getting through more work. Add in the 5-minute cigarette breaks every hour which I wasn’t taking not being a smoker, and I was getting through an extra hour per day. That adds up through the weeks, months, and year. An hour a day is 5 hours per week, 20 hours a month so 5 weeks per year.

I’m sure most of us have been in jobs where we get through way more work, give better customer service or are way better at what we do, yet still get paid the same as others.
We feel unappreciated for the time and effort we put in and that creates a thought of “maybe I could do this myself” or “what if I got paid for all the work I actually do”

Sound familiar? Well, this was my initial thought – I thought of working for myself or being self-employed.

However, I fell into the trap of just looking for higher paying jobs in different industries. Many people that join our PT courses have done the same or have been busy climbing the corporate ladder to then later work out that the ladder was not leading them to where they really wanted to go.

Fast forward to where I was considering becoming a Personal Trainer and starting in the fitness industry. The predominant model in health clubs is where you become an IBO or independent business owner running your own small PT business within the gym or health club. This model was a little daunting, knowing that I had to develop business skills that I knew I didn’t possess but also really exciting knowing that I was prepared to work hard, had great work ethic and that if I put it altogether, I would be able to create an income that I deserved – just like my initial thoughts when I was 18, of getting paid for what I actually did.