Case Study: Scaling a Personal Training Business

Meet Rachel!

She's a personal trainer who specializes in helping women in their 40s and 50s lose weight and create sustainable changes towards better health. 

Rachel knew she could be extremely successful in her business. She had drive, a love of her work and a genuine desire to help people through teaching them to take care of their health.

But she struggled with which direction to go next to maximize both the number of people she could help and the amount of money she could make.

"What I find most helpful about coaching is having someone to help me lay out a game-plan. I have lots of ideas, but struggle with execution because I get overwhelmed not knowing what my next step needs to be."

Highlights

Challenges:

  • Build confidence to set boundaries and make decisions as the CEO

  • Create a sustainable work schedule and business model

  • Move into a physical studio space so that clients could come to her

Solutions:

  • Develop a sustainable business model

  • Create a scalable offer to serve more clients in less time

  • Establish systems

  • Outline a marketing plan

  • Build belief

Results: 

  • Filled her 1:1 spots

  • Doubled her revenue

  • Is excited about her business again

Challenges

When Rachel first came to coaching, she felt stuck.  

And after almost a year of building her business, saying yes to nearly every request and filling her schedule with as many clients as she possibly could...

Her income was at a stand-still and intense feelings of burnout set in.

She says,

"I was working extremely long hours and felt that I had hit a ceiling with the amount of people I was able to help at one time. I also felt as though my income would forever stay the same unless I made a change, and I needed Rachel to help me figure out what that change would look like."

Build confidence to set boundaries and make decisions as the CEO

When we began working together, Rachel said, 

“I worry a lot about what people think of me. I fear letting people down (family, clients, friends), and not living up to the potential that I truly believe I have.”

As a result, she accepted new clients when her schedule was already full and resisted raising her rates because she felt guilty and worried that people wouldn’t be able to afford her services.

She also felt a bit paralyzed when it came to making decisions about her business.

And while she realized that her uncertainty and fears were holding her back, she needed some help to move past them.

Create a sustainable work schedule and business model

Rachel was accepting clients at all hours of the day, which sometimes led to 11-13 hour work days, working 6 days a week.

While she knew this schedule couldn’t last forever, she struggled to see how her business could continue to grow without taking on even more clients.

Move into a physical studio space so that clients could come to her

Traveling to her clients’ homes also added to the time and energy Rachel devoted to her business.  

By inviting clients into her own studio space, she could significantly reduce the amount of travel time in her schedule.

This had been a dream of Rachel’s for a long time, but it seemed impossible.

Solutions

Develop a sustainable business model

Before she came to me, Rachel was serving all of her clients 1:1, with some clients dragging out the purchase of a 5-session pack into 3-4 months (not a recipe for success)... 

Her approach was very tactical “show up to serve clients”.

Through our work together, she raised her rates and created packages that ensure she reaches her revenue targets, month after month.

Create a scalable offer to serve more clients in less time

Rachel had hit the limit of 1:1 clients she could serve. In order for her to continue growing, we needed to create an offer that could serve more than one client at a time. What came to be is VIA - a 12 week program that teaches women how to celebrate their innate strength, elevate their health and achieve the wellness goals they crave. 

I guided her through the process of identifying who it would be for, what it would cover and how it would be delivered. We created a pricing structure and marketing plan, and she’s out there launching it right now!

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Establish systems

Putting systems in place saved Rachel time and energy and ensured that the most important pieces of her business are always covered.

We worked through and established processes for navigating consults and onboarding, as well as systemizing client service delivery. We also created systems for Rachel to manage the finances in a way that empowered her with the information she needs to make projections and smart business decisions. 

Outline a marketing plan

With a new offer in the mix, Rachel and I worked together to really hone in on her ideal client.

This was not necessarily who she had been attracting, so we got really clear on who she actually WANTED to work with.  

Then, we created a simple plan to connect with her.

Rachel has a strong understanding of her client's struggles, as well as patience, empathy and encouragement for them, which all contribute to strong messaging and connection.

Build belief

This was a huge piece of the puzzle for Rachel (as it is for most entrepreneurs!).  

She came into coaching with a lot of guilt around turning clients away or increasing her prices.  

We challenged those thoughts of doubt, and Rachel learned to see the true value in what she provides…

A lifestyle transformation that goes far beyond the scale!

Results

Filled her 1:1 spots

Now, Rachel’s client roster is filled on a schedule she feels good about, helping clients that she LOVES while doing work that’s highly transformative.

Doubled her revenue

Rachel recently reported her highest-earning month ever!

After only a few months of coaching, Rachel’s revenue has nearly doubled AND she’s working fewer hours than before.

Is excited about her business again

This might just be the best part of all.

After facing burnout and feeling like she had hit a wall, Rachel is now excited about where her business is headed and she has a solid plan in place to scale it.

She’s in the process of growing her business into a studio, a long-time dream that seemed impossible not too long ago.

And she even feels like there’s time for a little vacation!

Are you next?

To learn more about Rachel Ballard and her new 12-week program, VIA, visit http://rballardtraining.com.

To learn more about getting these kinds of results in your business, schedule a call to speak with Rachel.