Philadelphia, PA

Here is a brief picture of my business and me at the moment.

 

I live and work in Philadelphia, PA.  I am an independent contractor at 12th Street Gym.  I pay them $350/month in rent for use of the facility.  I am torn between continuing to train here and opening up my own place.  I also train clients in their homes.  I am trying to cut this part down, as TONS of time gets used up with driving.

 

I have been training for about 5 years now.  I had the good fortune to begin training at Gainesville Health and Fitness Center in Gainesville, FL (my hometown).  Working at GHFC allowed me to witness a health club running at optimal efficiency, and I learned a ton.  My wife and I moved to Philadelphia about 3 years ago and I went to work for another club here.  That gym was a model of inefficiency.  I did well there, but as a trainer I reached the highest level that I could very quickly and felt held back.  Thats what prompted me to go out on my own.

 

On the business end of things, I feel very confident with the sales end of the process.  Marketing is a different story though.  Its a really big challenge at the moment, but thats one of the reasons Im here! 

 

Personally, Im married, have a dog and two cats, and I belong to Malta Boat Club on Boathouse Row. 

 

I will conduct a fat loss seminar on January 3rd, will have at least 20 attendees, and will walk away with at least 4 new clients.

 

I will go on a 7 night European Cruise between London and Spain in May of 2007 and I'll stay in London for 2-3 days after the cruise.  Going on this cruise will be extremely exciting.  I will be able to totally relax and travel to Europe for the first time.  I will save $4000 in order to cover the cost of the cruise, airfare, and bills for during the trip.

I am dead set on growth and I don't settle for mediocrity.

Everybody else can help me by being open with their ideas and criticisms.  The other big area in which people can help me is with the process of opening a successful studio.

One year ago I was just starting to go  out on my own.  I was still working for a gym and beginning to attract outside clients.  Now, I am an independent contractor at a different gym that I pay rent to.  I split my time between the gym and training clients in their homes. The biggest thing that brought me from where I was a year ago to where I am now is very simply not giving up.  In December of 2005 I was worried that I would not be able to make the mortgage payment on my house.  I decided then and there that it was do or die.  I put everything I had into my business and it's been a steady climb since.  Now I want to take that quantum leap into studio ownership and having a trainer work for me.