If you'renew to the fitness profession or a veteran seeking to reinvigorate your fitnessbusiness, there is one piece of advice to take seriously: find your niche.
Many fitnessprofessionals become misdirected because they are overly ambitious to take onany client that will offer to pay them for training. Though this may come froma place of altruism or an appetite to grow a business, there are severaldrawbacks to being "everyone's trainer."
- If you are training several specialties, you cannever focus your energy and resources on mastering one area of expertise.
- You are doing a disservice to your clients ifyou are not passionate about who you are training.
- Your business is at risk of stagnation.
The fitnessprofessionals who experience long-term success, have a steady and predictableclientele and who are less apt to be rattled by the ebb and flow of the fitnessindustry are those who find a niche and dominate it. Here is a quick checklistof how to find your niche to make your profession more fulfilling, grow yourbusiness and add more value to your clients.
1. Findyour niche
Finding aniche is not always as simple as it may seem at face value. Ask yourself the followingquestions to help determine what niche is right for you.
-Who do you most enjoy training and with whom doyou feel you best resonate and connect? (i.e. athletes, moms, pre-/post-natalwomen, kids, seniors, obese, menopausal women, post-rehabilitation, competitiveor aspiring runners, etc.)
-What types of training are you most passionateabout or feel you excel that could serve as a way to train you niche? (i.e.kettlebells, boot camps, functional training, rehabilitation, endurance oragility training, cycling, resistance, etc.)
-Is there a substantial enough population for youto serve in your community that will make this niche a viable option for yourbusiness?
-Can this population afford to pay you?
2. Createyour "avatar"
Before youcan market to your niche, you need to create your "avatar" todescribe your ideal client. This description should be as detailed as possibleso you can know exactly how and where to market to your ideal client andunderstand how to best serve them. You need to "get into the head" ofyour potential client.-
What gender and age is your niche client? Whatis his/her name? What do they look like?-
Where do they work? What is their salary?-
What do they do for fun? Where do they vacation?-
What books, magazines and websites they read?What TV shows do they watch?-
What are their biggest fears?-
What are their goals? Their values?
3. Dominate your niche and don't getdistracted
Ultimately,your goal is to become THE go-to expert in your community in your specific niche.All of your marketing, your branding and your communication should beconsistent and align with your niche. It will be easy at times to getdistracted by other "opportunities;" stay the course, master yourniche and your business will skyrocket!
