admin, social media marketing and then of
course looking after my two children, 3 step-
children and partner!
And the hardest?
Creating space for me. It’s too easy to
accommodate others (clients, family etc)
and burnout is a real risk in this industry.
How much do you charge?
I charge $95 for an Initial Consult, after
which I only offer sessions in packs of 2
($115) or 8 ($460).
I don’t discount my bulk sessions. I decided
about a year ago that I needed to value
what I do more. We don’t expect discounts
from our other allied health professionals
and I started to question how it worked
for me. I offer two options for payment to
make it more manageable for clients who
find it easier for cash-flow purposes to pay
fortnightly. When I stopped discounting, I
explained my reasoning to my clients in a
newsletter and no one mentioned it to me. I
didn’t lose any clients over it, and now I have
a wait list of clients waiting to get a regular
slot with me, so I guess it’s worked, even
though it’s not conventional in our industry.
What’s the biggest misconception
about working in fitness?
The stereotype that you have to be young,
buff and bronzed.
Where would you like your career
to take you?
Do you ever turn clients away or
refer them to other PTs?
I have upwards of 50 clients. Rarely – they are usually coming to me
because they can’t work with other trainers.
Some of my clients joke that I train the
women that other trainers are scared to
work with!
How long do your clients stay with
you? What differentiates you from
other trainers?
How many clients do you have?
I have a significant number of clients that I
have been working with for more than two
or three years now. Sometimes they work
with me until they are feeling strong enough
in their recovery (postnatal, pelvic floor
dysfunction, birth injuries) to try other things,
which is great because I know that they are
then fully aware of their body and what it
needs in order to be able to do something
different. Other clients (especially prolapse
clients) stay working with me because they
know that I help them train intelligently for
their condition.
How do you get new clients?
Largely word of mouth, but also via my
website or social media pages.
Do you vet clients before you
agree to train them?
I always have a lengthy phone call with
clients before their initial consult. They
need to understand how I work and I need
to understand a little of their journey to this
point. I ask a lot of questions!
I am very clear about what I am and what I’m
not. I don’t try to be all things to all people.
I do what I do and I do it really well, and I
stick to my speciality. I think my clients
respect that. I also don’t promise quick-fixes
or magical, unsustainable weight loss. I do
promise that they will understand things
about their body they never knew before
they met me, that they will learn to listen to
what their body wants and needs, and that
they will always feel better after their session
than they did before.
I have three elements to Thea Baker
Wellness – being a specialist trainer for
women, a Transformative Wellness Coach,
and a presenter. My focus for the future is
on the coaching and presenting sides of my
business. I presented at FitEx last year, and
I’d love to present at FILEX one day!
What is your fitness philosophy?
Balance. Moving mindfully and being strong,
but also not being obsessive about any one
thing – whether that’s exercise or nutrition.
I’m big into meditation and rest these days.
What key piece of advice would you
give to someone starting out as a PT?
Walk the talk for sure, but be authentically
real. Figure out who you can offer most to
and craft that. Become an expert at what
you do and forget about the competition –
just focus on being excellent and being true
to your own moral compass and clients will
be drawn to you.
Follow Thea on Facebook fb.me/TheaBakerWellness
and Instagram @theabakerwellness
Want to be a future featured Real World PT?
For details email [email protected]
What do you do in terms of your
ongoing education?
In addition to attending FILEX and FitEx (in
NZ), I regularly attend any training that is
appropriate to my specialism, such as Pelvic
Floor First workshops, as well as online
training, and business development events
like Business Chicks.
What’s the best thing about being
a PT?
Being in a position to help women change
their lives and feel better in the skin they’re in.
NETWORK SPRING 2017 | 11