Personal Trainer of the month – May 2022
Ian, 41, has been announced as YOUR Personal Training’s PT of the month for May 2022. Ian, who is a married father of three, is based out of Better’s Morden Leisure Centre. Ian shares with us how he has successfully built his PT and Nutrition coaching business from scratch after COVID forced him into a career change.
Ian says: “I’m incredibly humbled to be recognised by the YOUR PT team. It’s been a difficult few years for everyone, including myself, and this award reinforces my belief that by becoming a PT, I am absolutely doing the right thing for me and my family.”
Ian qualified as a PT in 2021; he did this after the pandemic hit his career in retail and hospitality management. He explains: “I’ve been really successful in my working life, but the lockdowns literally brought my career to a grinding halt. Everything closed, sites and venues were shut, I was furloughed for eight months and then subsequently made redundant.
“Not knowing how I was going to provide for my family put a level of stress and anxiety on me that hit really hard. I sent countless job applications and received rejection after rejection. My confidence was smashed to bits and I hit rock bottom. I knew I had to make changes and do something different.
“Working in the fitness industry had been a pipe dream of mine and after 23 years in retail / hospitality management, I honestly thought that ship had well and truly sailed. But with the support of my family and especially my amazing wife, I’ve been able to focus time and energy into a career change and chase that dream.
“So I got my head down and went to work. I created a development plan and focused heavily on my education. I gained my Level Three PT Qualification in 2021 – but also took on further training, including pre/post-natal and GP referral. I wanted to be fully equipped; to provide the highest level of coaching, attention and support possible, so that every person I would have the privilege to work with could achieve their goals.
“I firmly believe the PT qualification only gets you a ‘ticket to the game’, therefore it was vital that I continued investing in my education so I can provide my clients with the very best coaching experience. I’ve always valued my personal development and as such I’m currently studying to become an EXOS Performance Speciaist, focusing on mindset, nutrition, movement, and recovery in coaching.
Ian saw the YOUR Personal Training’s job advert, decided to apply, was interviewed and went on to join the YOUR PT team in February 2022. In just 12 weeks he has exceeded his business projections and is about to open a waiting list as demand is so high.
“I’m passionate about putting the ‘personal’ back into personal training. It’s so important to myself, my clients and my business that I am seen as being more than ‘just an hour’s workout in the gym’. I take the time from the first complimentary session to build rapport, to truly understand the client and to be clear on what it is they want to achieve and why.
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Prospective clients want to know you care about them, that they can trust you, that you show empathy and demonstrate that you genuinely want to help them. I believe this is why I have such a high conversion rate from the free taster sessions, with 75% of my clients signing up for two PT sessions a week.
Ian currently spends 30 hours a week with clients, including 1:2:1 and in small groups. On top of this he spends time refining his business, reviewing client performance and completing general administration.
Ian says: “I want my business to be as automated as possible in terms of ‘admin’ – tasks such as booking appointments and chasing payments can be time draining and take you away from the gym floor. Therefore I have online systems in place for clients to book their own sessions and make payments.
“I’m ahead of my business targets, which is fantastic, however I’m not letting myself get carried away. Combining my broad range of transferrable skills with the YOUR PT resources really helped me to set targets and objectives for my business whilst also embedding my daily routines. I intend to upscale my business in the near future, but this will only be achievable with detailed planning, setting clear objectives and the further automation of my business.
“Becoming a PT was a huge leap of faith – but I’m so glad I did it and it’s now such a joy to go to work each day. I love the freedom of running my own business and being able to have the flexibility to spend quality time with my family. Being a PT is incredibly rewarding - enabling people to become the healthiest, strongest, fittest versions of themselves is so satisfying; I just wish I leapt into the industry sooner!”