What will you do differently in your personal training business in 2010?

November is approaching fast which means the holidays are just around the corner. It’s the time of year when people start to slow down in preparation for the seasons’ festivities. It’s also a good time to start thinking about planning for 2010 and what you intend to do differently in your business.

It’s around November that I start thinking about the direction for my business in the year to come. I set my budget and overall goals for the next twelve months. I reflect on the previous year and the things I could have done better and the things that worked out well. It’s a time for planning and setting the course for how I want my business to move and grow.

I learned how to plan from my years working as a Personal Training Director and then as a Weight Room Program Coordinator for the District of West Vancouver. It was around this time of year when we had to plan for the leisure guide and review our budgets.  It was a great skill to learn and one I wish to pass along to you.

To begin planning for 2010 think about what goals you want to achieve. Do you want to attract more clients, increase revenue, hire trainers, open a studio, plan a vacation, pay- down some debt and so on. How about your educational goals? Instead of panicking when your certification comes due and taking any ol’ course, structure your education throughout the year by focussing on an area you would like to learn more about. This could be anything from learning more on internet marketing, using the TRX suspension unit, working with special populations or creating advanced programs. Whatever the topic, become more informed and make it your focus for the year. At the beginning of 2009 I decided that this year would be my year of performance. I’m taking acting classes and workshops all with the theme of performance. I’m doing this because I want to become a better speaker and story teller. It was an effective strategy because I knew where to spend my money and because I focussed I learned a lot and developed better skills.

To start planning ask yourself the following questions;

1)      What do I want to achieve in my business for 2010?

2)      What goals do I want to meet?

3)      What areas of strengths do I wish to continue to develop?

4)      What areas do I find challenging and what do I need to do in order to turn them into a strength?

5)      By the end of 2010 what do I hope to have accomplished?

6)      How much money do I need and want to make for 2010?

7)      What services or products do I need to offer to make this revenue?

8)      What will my marketing look like throughout the year?

There are many more questions to ask yourself before you start the planning process but these will get you started. All good plans start with good questions as any great trainer knows. You can’t just jump into program design without understand the direction the client wishes to take and the results they want to achieve.

Once you answer these questions, preferably on paper you can start to plan for the next year and how you intend on achieving your goals. If you have very lofty goals you may not know where to begin. That’s okay. For now you don’t have to figure out every detail. You can ask more questions later and then start to slowly find the answers. Once you are armed with more information you can set the plan.

Now if you are a Type A personality, and I’ve said this before, you are going to try and create the perfect plan. Well, the perfect plan doesn’t exist, so let it go. You would be better off creating an imperfect plan but taking action on it and tweaking it as you go. You see, many people create plans or lists and then never take action. A plan without action is just a waste of time.

To assist you in the planning process I’ve put together a little soiree. The soiree takes place November 12^th, 2009 from 6:00-8:45pm at the Lynn Valley Library at 1277 Lynn Valley Road in North Vancouver. There is no charge and we will be focussing on creating a plan for your business for 2010. You can decide which aspect of your plan you wish to work on. Perhaps you just need help with marketing or budgeting or just setting the direction for your business. Whatever area of planning for 2010 you want to work on we will do this during this workshop. BCRPA is providing 2.5 credits for the soiree.

If you are interested in attending the 2010 planning session, RSVP your attendance by November 6^th to edgefit@shaw.ca . Take the time and invest in a plan because it’s your future you are looking to build and there’s nothing more important then that.  If you do make the commitment to attend then please do so as space is limited.