There are two models for becoming a personal trainer. One is to work for a gym or studio as an employee, the other is to be an independent business person. There are pros and cons to both, and often trainers start with the first, then go “indy” once they have experience and maybe steal clients from their old boss. But what if there were a third way? We’ll get to that.
When you work for a gym or studio, you hustle all day to land new members and sell training packages or sometimes supplements, then get paid a pittance of a wages in return. The boss keeps all the profits and tells you what you can and can’t do. You have have less say what would best benefit your client. It’s all about extracting money for the owner.
As an independent contractor, you spend all your time and money on marketing, equipment, scheduling, selling, dealing with budgets and taxes and, if there is any time left, training clients to help them reach their goals. You have complete control over what you offer. You start driving to parks and to clients’ homes, eventually gaining enough capital to have a studio. Maybe you have online coaching and training. As you take on more clients, running the business takes more time so you hire people to handle more of the business aspects and then you hire trainers. Your employees are where you were when you worked for someone else’s business. You’re the boss. Weary is the head that wears the crown.
I have a vision of a Personal Training Cooperative, where a group of trainers with different talents and focuses pool their resources to work for each other and the client members. They share the benefits and the burdens democratically, creating a training juggernaut.
As explained at the the California Center for Cooperative Development, a
A worker cooperative is a democratically managed business that is owned and controlled by the workers. The cooperative form of organization allows ordinary people to combine their energy, capital, and skills to gain steady employment and income, participate in the ownership and management of their business, and share the profits made from their investment and labor.
It is possible to not have choose between “taking it for the Man [sic]” or becoming the the Man. There are lots of details to setting-up this kind of organization, as much or more than any other kind. The difference is, you’re not alone, either as an employee or boss. “Team” is a term that this thrown around at work a lot, but what if it really was one? Democracy is a good thing.
So, that’s the dream. In the meantime, I’ll keep working my job and try to gather my own clients. Are you a trainer that’s interested? Read more at the link above and let’s talk. Solidarity!