We met Dave back in 2018 when he was working as a PT in a low budget gym in Edinburgh. He was pretty busy, but he was also exhausted and manic.
It turned out he was always trying to manage his business on the fly. He was always trying to do the best for his clients, but really struggling with balancing session allocation, text contact, email comms, invoices, Finances, earnings, cancelations etc – all of which were causing him a nightmare. It’s an obvious statement but to truly grow a personal training business, you will need great organisation, strong management skills and great administrative and marketing processes in place.
With this in mind, we introduced Dave to Hapori PT, we trained him up, automated his processes and showed him how to build and retain clients by using simple but effective systems.
Today Dave saves around 10 hours each week in admin alone and has better client engagement. His business is thriving, and his customers are happier too.
In year one on Hapori PT he is on track to hit 80K in earnings. Hapori has more than doubled his salary by giving him the ability to do more sessions, charge more, implement better tracking systems and ultimately grow his business through data.
Today Dave has 2 Personal trainers working for him (he’s signed an exclusive contract with a small gym group to run the PT operation through his business). He’s now looking to employ a further 8 Personal Trainers as we write this.
It makes Dave smile these days, to think he used to communicate and track in each client individually using multiple and time-consuming methods. Managing spreadsheets, multi texting and WhatsApp groups, and still using paper for T&Cs and PARQs – all of which would take hours.
He has now stopped working Mondays as he’s so efficient and organised that he can see that he can afford to take the time back (how cool is that!)
Dave – Future Fitness Group – Owner and Personal Trainer
Hi Dave, How is business today?
Business is good thank you, I’m steadily growing my Brand in Edinburgh and I have big plans for 2020. I never thought I’d have a business with employees but I’ve managed to save the money, evidence my revenue and with that in hand secure a private deal in a local Gym in Edinburgh. The next step is to own my own gym.
What’s the model of your business current venture?
FFG is the onsite Personal Training business for the members of our Gym, the gym is a low budget facility with great equipment. My business supports that by offering the customers the opportunity to work with a Fitness Professional to assist them in getting where they need to be. We’ve just signed a deal with a large coffee chain (Edinburgh only) and will be providing them with Personal Training and also health and wellness advice on their sites. I’m looking to grow this year and have advertised for 8 roles in Edinburgh – I need good, committed PT’s.
How is the recruitment going?
It’s tough as we have high standards and want the right mindset for our business model. I put my Trainers onto the Hapori Platform from day one and I actively encourage touch points and prospect interaction daily. We also track the Data through hapori analytics to establish who’s doing well and who needs help. If you want to build a client base and grow, then you have to work hard and make things happen – unfortunately some trainers don’t get that.
How have you grown your business so rapidly this year?
As you say, when we met, I wasted lots of hours managing diaries, creating packages, counting sessions etc. I even ran a spreadsheet of client stats that took hours to maintain. Today I do none of that as Hapori does it for me. I also have templated marketing and promotional campaigns that I use on my current clients for retention and then specific prospect mailings to draw in new customers. I’m at full capacity now, so have been handing customers to my PT’s. I have grown my business by just being visible to all in the gym, communicating with them in all mediums and keeping them engaged and interested in what FFG offers. Being organised and getting the most out of your days to create the outcomes you want.
Would you recommend Hapori to other Personal Trainers?
Absolutely, the tool is great and the support it gives my business is essential to its success. It’s a great tool and importantly it’s easy to use too. I’m not the most tech savvy yet I’ve learned to get the most out of it. Today I can email all of my clients in five seconds or I can select those interested in just fat loss or strength for example and share content through the Hapori messenger. I love that I can track my P&L and the cancellation policy manager means I now get paid for every session cancelled within 24hrs (unless I choose to let them off). My clients are happier also with the interactive bookings and auto reminders – life is easier and business is good.
From your experience, what advice would you give to anyone thinking about becoming a Personal Trainer?
If you are thinking of becoming a personal trainer and love fitness – just go for it – it’s a great life and job! But do not underestimate the importance of being organised and having systems in place to manage your business efficiently. I would happily recommend Hapori PT as a great assistant when starting out on your personal training journey. The business side has to be successful and work or you will fail as a self-employed trainer. What I tell all my PTs is – “If you are not profitable, then it’s a hobby not a business”. So, get all parts of the business firing! Good luck and go smash it.
