Trying to figure out how much rent to charge

by Kathy
(Mobile, Alabama)

I am a owner of a small gym in Mobile, AL and were trying to figure out how much would be a fair amount to charge our personal trainer (who wants to go to rent) for rent in this area? She has about 2-5 years of experience and has a fair amount of clients. Can you please help me with some feed back? Also, what do you recommend if her business is slow and she can't afford her rent that month? What should we do if that happens?

Using the YMCA and/or Gyms when you are independent

by Lou
(Raleigh, NC)

I recently got certified by ACSM as a personal trainer. I would like to start my own business. I am a member of the YMCA. If my client is a member, can I train her there? If I get a client that is a member of another gym, can I train there? Do I have to pay a fee?

I have an exercise room in my house but I imagine some clients will belong to gyms and want me to go there. Help!

Setting up my boot camp business in someone else's gym

I have a new boot camp/personal training business. I recently agreed to work with a local gym, using their facility to conduct indoor boot camp training. The gym owner is pleased and wants me to schedule regular classes, but he wants to offer me only 50% of the client fee. he claims cost of gym, equipment, insurance, etc.

It sounds like I'd be his employee and at risk. I imagine he could dismiss me at any time and keep the clients for himself???

Is this fair? Should I expect a large share? How do I formalize the agreement to protect myself?

Percentage to pay to a gym for just using space and equipment

by Kay
(St Paul, MN, US)

I rent space from a small gym that has free weights available. I bring in my own clients and charge them separately. (I have my own clients and own business) Most of the clients that train there with other trainers train in classroom style setting. I have one on one or small groups. What percentage of my income generated should go to the trainer that leases the space from the building owner? My fees are competitive with the classes but are slowly increasing as I am trying to build a steady full client base. I take care of cleaning up after my clients and have some of my own equipment. I do not advertise on the trainers website as the others do and my clients have to work around the other classes or the cleaning of the gym if the trainer decides to vacuum when I am training. The space I use is minimal. Should I be charged per hour, per square footage used, or per percentage of what I charge?

Approaching a private gym with my services- what should I know?

by Dorothy
(Middletown, CA)

I became certified this year, and I have a small studio out of my home, and will start offering in-home training as well.

In addition, I want to approach a couple of local private gyms (not chain gyms) in my area, but before I go in, I want to be sure I'm not going in blind so I can get a good rate.

1) As a self-employed CPT, how should I approach a gym when I don't know how they work? I would like to keep the upper hand so to speak.

2) Should I quote my rates higher than normal so that when they tell me their cut, I get a good rate? Or just stick with my standard rate and let them add on?

3) Does one generally have to get a membership at the gym to be able to work with clients there?

I know some of this info I will just have to find out by going in or calling, but I thought some of you out there working for non-chain gyms might have some pearls of wisdom about private gym work as a self-employed contractor, and how to optimize income in this environment.

Thank you!

Renting Gym Space in a Hotel

by Chris K, NSCA-CPT
(Minneapolis, MN)

I am an NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer in the state of Minnesota. I was wondering, would it be unheard of to set up some kind of business deal with a building that has a gym, where I would be able to train clients independently while somehow paying them rent to use their gym space? For example, I'd ask a hotel if I could "rent" their gym space for training clients. This way I get some of the benefits of working independently, while still not having to make a huge investment in a private studio.

Independent contractor & local gyms/ facilities

I recently decided to start my own business with plans to see my clients @ parks & in their homes. Of course I can not train outdoors when its cold so I am looking ahead at other options/ places to train. I've also been looking into working out of local gyms but it seems that they want you to become staff but I don't see the benefits of me doing that.

Can anyone with previous experience in this area give me insight on contracting out to local gyms (liability insurance, negotiating prices), places to look to transition from outdoor training to indoors, and if there are any benefits of becoming staff at a local gym?

THANKS!!!