GOING IT
ALONE
The rewards: Our panel of trainers said their greatest reward
as a personal trainer included:
•
Being a master of your own destiny – Dave.
•
Seeing results in your clients. – Di Lehman
•
Knowing that you, literally, helped someone change their
life. - Bel
•
In addition to facilitating valuable change to people’s
health, the bond you can end up having with your clients,
where you enjoy their company as much as you would a
friend’s is the greatest reward. – Jonno
•
Doing what you love to do. – Paul.
by Analee Matthews
Our panel of trainers:
Dave Welch, 37, began his personal training business
six years ago. Catering to the general population, but
specialising in increased muscle mass, strength, aerobic
fitness and weight/body/fat loss, Dave established Dave
Welch Personal Training because he wanted to find a way to
provide a better life for him and his family. ‘I wanted to find
a job that I can call my passion, so I decided to step out of
my comfort zone and challenge myself to chase my dream.
I am also very lucky that I have a hugely supportive wife. She
has just gone back to work after three years of being a full
time mum to my two children.’
M
aking a leap of faith to start
your own fitness business can
be daunting. We spoke to
personal trainers who are at different
stages of their business lifecycle, to find
out the challenges, the rewards and their
secrets to success
Jonno Hook, 31, has been running his PT business for four
years. He says, ‘While working as the club administrator
at Fitness First, I saw a number of trainers come and go. It
allowed me to see what did and didn’t work and confidently
formulate a plan to run my own business. I studied my Cert
III and IV part time while still working full time and then
started as a franchised trainer at Fitness First. I viewed the
franchise arrangement as a comfortable and structured
way to transition from employment to being self-employed.
I used the 12-month franchise period to gain much-needed
experience and training through their development sessions,
training seminars and the mentor arrangement; and used it
much like an apprenticeship for working on my own.’
Di Lehman, 60, runs her PT and Zumba business as a
hobby. ‘I’ve been in the industry since 1999. About four years
ago I realised I wanted to stay in the industry, but because
I’m not getting any younger I knew couldn’t keep delivering
group fitness classes, so I completed my Certificate IV
with Australian Fitness Network as a way to enable me to
keep helping people. Working for myself outside the gym
environment has really exceeded my expectations. It’s hard
work, but extremely rewarding and an amazing sense of
satisfaction when your clients achieve their goals.
Be prepared to work hard, be committed to all
aspects of your job, want to make a difference
to people’s lives and always exude positivity!
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WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - AUTUMN 2013
Belinda Fong, 32, has been running outdoor bootcampstyle training sessions for around seven years, as a side-gig to
holding down two other fitness-based employment positions.
‘I started in a gym to get some experience writing programs,
eventually moved my way up to gym manager and group
fitness manager, then decided I wanted to train people
outdoors. After about five years, I took a job in the UK to
run bootcamps for one of the most successful female-only
fitness companies in London (Fit For A Princess). The owner/
manager Janey Holliday was always inspiring the trainers
to learn, and she was constantly teaching us new ways of
thinking about nutrition and exercise. You get stuck in a rut
sometimes, doing the same thing over and over, and she
really opened up my eyes to the importance of what works
best when working with women.’
Paul Walton, 31, is the co-owner (with Chrisian d’Astoli)
of CrossFit Athletic, wh ich is a three-year-old business
specialising in CrossFit training, personal training and sports
programming. ‘My best friend and now business partner
were lucky to be working at one of Sydney’s best gyms. We
had amazing trainers around us, so we learned from some of
the industry’s best. We knew for the longevity of our careers
we would need to go it alone, and after implementing
CrossFit in so much of our own training, we decided to open
a business specialising in CrossFit.’
Dave Welch
Jonno Hook
Di Lehman
Belinda Fong
Paul Walton
0434 027 566
0431 315 395
0409 675 829
0412 801 401
02 9939 0314
High retention, web-leads and referrals
make up the lion’s share of my
business.
WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - AUTUMN 2013
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