5 Simple Ways to Boost Your Income as a Personal Trainer

Hi! I’m Lauren Phelps.
I’ve been a Certified Personal Trainer through NASM for 4 years. After 9 months as a trainer, I was able to replace my income and quit my day job! Yay!

Over time, I realized that I needed to do more than trade my hours for money. I had to earn more in my hour, or setup a way to earn outside of strictly trading hours for money. Why? So I could go on a vacation!!!

My dream job was quickly becoming something I could never leave {or take a break} for fear that I’d lose my income.

My goal is to help people continue to help others and obtain more time flexibility and financial freedom.

Here are my Top 5 tips for boosting your income:

1. Create a Group Fitness Series

Usually group fitness instructors make about $25 a class. I’m NOT suggesting that you do that to boost your income. I’m suggesting a different way – a pay per class series. Depending on your area, you can charge $10-15 per person, so do the math – you can make a nice increase in your hourly rate if you have 10 people come to class.

Location and timing are KEY – choosing an affordable or free space as well as packaging a series of classes make this a fun and profitable venture.

2. Align with Nutrition

When I found an easy way to give my clients a simple nutrition plan, I saw a shift in my clients’ results. You know your clients will get better results if they master nutrition. Stop sending clients to the grocery store for bottom-of-the-line supplements, and start sending them to one you love that also earns you a commission.

Since we cannot provide meal plans as trainers, I have found a great resource to help my clients master nutrition with ease AND to provide me confidence in what they are doing and an ability to track their activity. No more vague nutrition suggestions! Do your own research, or I’d be happy to share my exact blueprint.

3. Teach Couples Sessions

Some of my favorite sessions have been with “couples” – friends, spouses, and mom-daughter. Training more than one person at a time gives you a boost in income per hour, and allows your clients to pay a little less per person. I have found that my “couples clients” have stayed on track outside of our sessions because they have built in accountability.

Accountability in pairs or in groups will keep people motivated to not only show up for themselves but to show up for others. Magic happens in these sessions, trust me!

4. Join a Network Marketing Team

If you’re like me, you became a trainer to help people improve their health and fitness {their life!} while building financial freedom and flexibility in your own life. I was tired of working to build someone else’s dream on their schedule. I wanted to build my dream on my schedule! Personal training allowed me to do that, and network marketing allowed me to take it to the next level and fill some gaps.

After a few months of working alone or with one client at a time, I really started to miss the community of like-minded people. I wanted to have that connection to something bigger than myself and my small circle of local clients. I wanted to help even more people.

5. Master Amazon Associates

Imagine earning a small bonus anytime someone asks for your valued input on the things we need to make our healthy lifestyle easier and more fun! People are going to ask for your advice! Anticipate their needs and share information that includes product links through your Amazon affiliate account.

These affiliate commissions are super small, but they can add up as your following grows. It’s easy to start compiling things – just make notes anytime someone asks for your advice. Like – what heart rate monitor should I use?, what at home workout equipment should I buy for my homework?, where’d you get those cute shoes?, how can I get portal containers for my meal prep? – all this stuff is on Amazon! If you do a little upfront work, you can help your clients even more and earn affiliate bonuses too.

Pro Tip: Pick one and start implementing. Don’t try to do them all at once.

Want more details or advice specific to your situation?

I’d love to chat with you one-on-one. I’m offering complimentary consultations to pay it forward to my fellow entrepreneurs.

Many people helped me in the beginning, and I would love to encourage and support others who are getting started or revamping their personal training businesses.

We live a different lifestyle, and I never want to go back to the way things were before.