Do Personal Trainers have a Consistent Income?

Initially a concern that people have about the fitness industry is the earning potential or the consistency of the income – I had the same concern myself. I think most people realise that there are many qualified PT’s and Coaches out there making big money, but there are also others out there not doing so well.

There are many reasons for why that is, including their attitude and desire. Often it wouldn’t matter which industry they were in, they still wouldn’t do well because of there attitude of only just doing enough to get by. It also could be because of their knowledge, skill set and who they’ve been educated by. If you have a shitty coach, the chance of you be amazing is pretty slim which is why your education and who you’re being taught by matters!

It’s certainly not just about gaining a piece of paper, and many have fallen into that trap with a cheap online course and realised that they didn’t have the knowledge skills and the ability to perform at a high level like a lot of the other PT’s out there.

It’s also not just about being the best Personal Trainer or best gym Coach, it’s about what you’re not doing when you’re not training or programming for clients; how you organise and manage your day. More often than not, trainers in gyms operate as IBO’s; meaning they operate their own small business within the larger gym or health club – they pay weekly rent and then whatever they make from clients is theirs.

It is super important that Trainers learn how to run a small business, and those that do are the Trainers we hear about that go on to deliver amazing services to their clients and earn $150,000 plus doing what they love. The ones we hear struggling normally do not develop those skills, and therefore always struggle with managing the different systems of their small business; they are also the ones who deliver below average services to clients and therefore have a high turnover of clients and an inconsistent income.

I watched this for so many years, which is why we created our Rapid Growth Business Program, which is a specialised fitness business program where we help Trainers create and grow 6 figure businesses. We help our Trainers and Coaches with setting up the business and developing straight forward business plans with targets and strategies. We develop marketing materials for lead generation including social media, as well as both online and face-to-face products services, packages, and systems that allow our Trainers and Coaches the freedom to concentrate on being great Coaches. They are then earning an income from delivering a face-to-face services and online clients as well, with some of our superstars earning an astonishing income!

NHFA Founder & Director, Dave Burgis goes through a Personal Trainers salary in Australia.

The key to having a great income in the fitness industry is to have great systems in place. These are all systems that I’ve learned from my million-dollar Mentors and Coaches and now pass on to our entrepreneurial Trainers, and they are kicking goals all over the place.

If the thought of having your own fitness business puts you off, there are other options. The money won’t be as good, but if you’re more worried about a guaranteed income, you could choose to be an employee Trainer in many of the gyms that offer this. They will require you to have your Cert 4 in Fitness and you can expect to conduct 30-40 personal training sessions and be paid a weekly wage – which will depend on the gym, it’s location and the type of services offered.

Or there is another popular option for those that really love being in a group environment. If you have your Cert 3 in Fitness, you can conduct group training sessions. Running your own bootcamps in parks/on the beach or become an instructor in the ever-popular group exercise studios like F45, Bodyfit or 9 Rounds just to name a few. Here you’ll get paid per class and for a lot of trainers that do 30+ classes a week you’re now earning great money without the stress of running your own fitness business.

There are so many options out there for qualified trainers and coaches. So, the real question is who can help teach, coach and mentor me to have the type of income I want and in what structure?  Once you work this out, you start to develop the knowledge, skills and implement the systems to make it happen.

“Some people want it to happen, others make it happen” – Michael Jordan