Managing Your Personal Training Business When Things Get Crazy Busy

About the Author: Jessica Thiefels has been writing for more than 10 years and is currently a content marketing consultant, ACE Certified Personal Trainer, NASM Certified Fitness Nutrition specialist, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Honest Body Fitness. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for health articles, new workouts and more.

You have new clients—that’s exciting. It’s also stressful, especially when they all come at once, which is always how it seems to happen, right? While this time may feel unmanageable, there are many ways to juggle it all while maintaining your sanity. Use these tips to bring on new clients while taking care of both yourself and your business.

Repurpose, Repurpose, Repurpose

Writing programs is the most time-consuming aspect of juggling new clients. Instead of creating each one from scratch, repurpose programs from previous clients. Everyone has different needs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t reuse similar formatting and exercises.

To do this effectively, it’s important that you get organized. If you keep your previous programs in Google Drive, for example, start splitting them up into folders that specify what kind of program it is, or what the client goal was. When a new client is onboarded, you can turn to your library of programs, quickly find what you need, make edits, and get started.

Many online software options make it easy to coordinate this as well. Reach out to support if needed to get your programs organized the way you want them.

Make Use of “Seasons”

You’re not always busy, but with an influx of new clients, it can feel like you’re never going to catch a breath. This is why it’s important to take advantage of every “season” as a personal trainer. You’ll inevitably come to a slow period, where you have few sessions and the day-to-day becomes manageable again.

When that slow season comes, take advantage so you can enjoy and make the most of your busy times. I shared a few ways to use this downtime to your benefit in a recent blog post:

• Write a lot of blog posts. This is great for your brand and your website’s SEO. Once written, simply schedule them and let each one publish over the next few weeks or months.
• Search for other income streams, like online training programs, which are less time-consuming.
• Find a hobby that helps you learn something new for your clients, like yoga or rock climbing.
• Test new marketing so you’ll have a good idea of what you need to do and feel less stressed when you’re busy but still need to be posting.
• Join a local sports league where you can make connections for another busy season to come.

Ask for Help Where It’s Most Valuable

As a personal trainer, your life and work can blend together. Sometimes, it’s regular life tasks that you need to make more efficient, or take off your plate altogether. Here are a few ways to alleviate some of the most time-consuming chores while you’re juggling an influx of new clients.

Meals: There are dozens of meal-delivery options now available, including clean and organic options, that make it easier to eat well. Consider getting a subscription for your busy season, so all you have to do is grab and go.

Laundry: This necessary evil is a time suck. It takes roughly 100 minutes to do one load of laundry (according to CD One Price Cleaners), and that adds up fast when you have a pile of unwashed clothes in the corner of your bedroom. Instead, take your clothes to a wash and fold service nearby. You can usually drop them off in the morning and pick them up at night, taking one more task off your to-do list.

Virtual Personal Assistant: A personal assistant can handle many tasks, ranging from scheduling clients to qualifying new leads and scheduling your social media. The best part is that you can easily find a virtual personal assistant on UpWork or TaskRabbit. Or you can reach out to a friend who needs extra cash.

Find Ways to Prioritize Yourself

It’s easier to manage hectic times when you feel good. That’s why it’s important to prioritize yourself as much as possible. You may be thinking, “That’s the problem, I don’t have time to do that.” The good news is, you don’t need a lot of time to enjoy self care.

• Enjoy your morning coffee or tea while gently stretching your body.
• Take a bath at the end of the day with epsom salts.
• Bring a sweet snack to have midday.
• Listen to your favorite music between clients.
• Indulge in your favorite movie as you fall asleep.
• Take three deep breaths before getting out of bed in the morning. Use this stress-relieving breathing pattern—in for five seconds, hold for two, out for six seconds.

Relish the Busyness

It can be easy to get stressed when taking on a handful of new clients all at once. The first step in making it more manageable is to remember that you’re in a seasonal profession. It will slow down again, and you can be a different kind of productive then. To make it feel less hectic in the moment, ask for help where you can, indulge in mini self-care moments, and repurpose programs whenever possible. In the end, you’ll run a successful business while also managing to keep your sanity.

_{By: Jessica Thiefels}