Is your business recession proof? Let’s face it, the herd (the general public) will accept whatever the media says. If they say “recession” we panic and we end up causing the very recession they were projecting in the first place.

Personal trainers are very vulnerable to the back lashes of a recession or down economy. People freak out and think “where can I cut back”, and gym memberships and personal training sessions are let go.

So how can you make sure your business is recession proof? Here are a few tips..

Consider offering a lower priced service like a group bootcamp. Bootcamps are hot right now anyway, plus the profit margins are high and you are growing your customer base. Bigger customer base = more potential referrals.

Step Up Your Marketing - most of your competitors will cut back on advertising in a poor economy. Remember, not everybody is effected by a recession. If you think about it, most people that can afford $75 per hr perceive money differently than most people. Their health, self esteem and self image are important to them. Remember that.

Seek Free Publicity - Be creative and try press releases. If one gets picked up you could get a bunch of free publicity that will more business Diversify Your Leads - I don’t want to beat a dead horse but this is a big one. The economy is cyclical, if you can weather the storm you will be fine.

Bottom line, don’t listen to the media. Shut the TV off and work on your business. I’m not going to lie I watch a little TV, but the only reason I watch the news at all is too see if there are any media stories I can write about.

Plus, I watch Return to Chimp Eden, which is a great show about rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing chimps. Some of these chimps could work for our government, but that’s another story:)

Keith

Tags: advice for fitness trainers, personal training businesses

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 4:59 am and is filed under Latest Trainer News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.