How to Be a Six-Figure Fitness Trainer WITHOUT Getting Your Head Kicked In

Guest Post by Zach Even-Esh

I was 16 years old, a senior in high school and I was walking heading into the local Quick Check to read the most recent bodybuilding magazines.

I remember 2 dudes staring at me when I was walking in, trying to look tough.

If they woulda started shit with me I woulda used my wrestling background for some ground n’ pound, or so I thought.

You see, things went a bit unexpected, because when I stepped outside 15 minutes later, there was a good 12 or so kids awaiting to kick my ass, 1 of them was storming the parking lot screaming, “we’re gonna fight, we’re gonna fight!!”

The dude who was staring at me when I walked in was suddenly much tougher with an extra 10 guys. He called me out so I turned around, he pushed me and I did the ONLY thing I knew to do…..wrestle.

I only had 1 thing I knew how to do.

Kinda like a trainer who only has 1 way to get clients.

In business, the number “1” is the worst number unless you are # 1.

In fighting, it helps to know more than 1 way to kick someone’s ass J

So, I hit the dude with a takedown, lifted him and slammed to the ground. I didn’t know what to do from there, I was lost.

He started screaming, “Help me, get him off of me!!”

I thought his friends would let us duke it out, you know, mano e mano, but that only works in the movies, so for the next few minutes I spent my time getting my ribs, head and face punched in…..until the cops came.

I learned the hard way. When MMA came full circle I signed up right away. Now, I might not be able to kick your ass, BUT, I have a lot more ammunition if a problem ever arises again.

In business, learning the hard way is NOT necessary. You see, guys like myself and Chris have been in the trenches, dead broke, tons of debt, embarrassing to our families.

Chris spent time behind bars.

I spent time (LOTS OF IT) paying American Express, Visa and Master Card. NOT Fun! I’m talking over $20,000 in debt. I thought I would NEVER get rid of my debt.

Learning the hard way, some people like to believe, helps build character. Sure, maybe it does, but if I could, I woulda used my money even more so to leverage my business knowledge, investing in more business coaches and mentors.

You don’t have to be in the line of fire to become a 6 figure trainer. So, let me tell you about the many ways I got my ass kicked in the business world and how you can learn from it, so you too can quickly become a 6 Figure Trainer (notice I did not say “easily).

Lesson # 1: YOU make the rules. That’s right, YOU make the rules. Stop letting your clients tell you how and when they will pay you, convince you to open earlier or later for them, or on weekends when you wanna chill with friends and family.

I still remember my first ever referral back when I was doing in home training for a friend of my parents. They referred me to a couple, who had plenty of cash. Their house was HUGE, I arrived and the Father was on the phone finishing up the closing details of a $ 500,000 house he was about to buy…..for his daughter.

Their treadmill looked like a Cadillac. But, once we got talking price and scheduling, they ran the show. They wanted me to train them in the morning, before I went to work.

They also told me I was too expensive, so they had me lower my prices on the spot!

I went home (I was living with my parents) and I was f***ing pissed off! My Dad told me those famous words: “You’re a great trainer, Zach, but you’re a shitty business man.”

He told me if I didn’t like the terms of business to cancel it entirely. I called them and fired them. But, I still felt like a complete moron.

From here on out, listen to me: YOU Make the Rules! Be a Maverick, not a Moron!

People want to be told what to do (expect people like you and I). You need to have strict rules in place for your training business in which your clients must follow.

If these rules are not followed, you fire them. Start running your business like you don’t need the money and you will quickly begin attracting the exact clientele you want to work with.

It sounds crazy, especially if you’re broke, but remember this: Normal Business = Normal Results. Get a little crazy and go beyond the norms and you will experience abnormal business results, in a good way!

Lesson # 2: Create a Simple System. Specific things should happen every time a new client signs up with you. In fact, before a client signs up with you (a prospect) you should have systems in place.

Don’t freak out on me here. I don’t have an operations manual or 3 ring binder sitting under the desk in my gym.

My employees have 1 sheet of paper with steps to follow for each day. Yes, you read that correctly, 1 sheet of paper. Simple.

The training my clients go through has a system. How they progress from 1 training phase to the next is a system. It’s simple to follow, BUT, the training is NOT easy.

The methods I teach my clients are simple for them to learn, simple for me to teach yet there is a HUGE return on results.

Stop creating some complex, insane, overly scientific assessment, program design methods and overly scientific jargon. You’re NOT impressing anyone, and, your clients / prospects don’t give 2 shits about your fancy assessment, they just want TWO Things:

One – A GREAT Time

Two – Results… FAST!

This is also critical so you can take vacations and step away from training people to do whatever it is you want. I recently stepped away for a full week while traveling on business and while away all clients payed on time and my Coach ran the show.

But, the results kick ass, the experience kicks ass and the show must go on, with simple and easy to follow systems. No need for complicating things!

Lesson # 3: Party Like a Rock Star!

If the training at your gym, bootcamp, etc sucks and bores the heck out of people, your business is dead in the water.

Every time I hold my Underground Strength Coach Certification, I bring in my athletes and the Coaches take them through a workout and then we do Q & A. They always ask my athletes why they choose to train here when they can go anywhere else.

The most popular answer is the experience.

They LOVE training at The Underground. They have built a family and they have also been placed in an environment that makes them feel special. Yes, it’s extremely tough when they train, and yes, some of them vomit in the streets after or during workouts, but they have formed a brotherhood.

They don’t realize that the training is infinitely better than any other place they would go to on their own, they realize the experience more than anything. Becoming a Bad Ass is just a side effect and they have expressed the experience and family relations to be more important than anything else.

So, if you have a business, you better be rocking semi private or bootcamp workouts, because bringing people together heightens the human experience. People spend most of their day (and sometimes their life) doing stuff they dislike or hate.

If you can build a place that gives them a great time, an AWESOME time, you will have a customer for life, regardless of how expensive you are!

Lesson # 4: Find a Mentor

I got my ass kicked and my head kicked countless times in business, and once on the street (hey, once is enough for me J

Even when I didn’t have money, I forked over cash and got me a mentor. I KNEW that if I could invest a few hundred bucks, I would convert that investment into a few thousand bucks.

My last Coaching Group was $8,000 – it helped me leave my full time job behind (which was paying me $93 grand plus pension, benefits, medical, etc.).

I learned about this back when I was 24, at a Tony Robbins event where I walked on Fire and did all kinds of craziness. I purchased a HUGE CD set while there and played it in my car over and over and over again.

He always spoke about finding a Mentor and how that is your fastest way to achieving massive success. Even Tony Robbins himself had and still has mentors.

Investing in my education also put pressure on me to make sure I turned that investment into something BIG.

Those with mentors and coaches always succeed 100 times faster than those without. Think about it. Your clients look to you as their Coach, as their Mentor. Because of you, they achieve HUGE success.

Now it’s your turn to take these lessons that I learned in the line of fire.

I also suggest you pass this blog post onto others, it’s called “Pay it Forward”.

Now go kick some ass!

Zach Even – Esh is the owner of The Underground Strength Gym, a place which is quickly becoming the hub for fitness professionals around the world who want to turn their passion into profits without breaking the bank. You can learn more about Zach’s coaching programs and his crazy life by visiting http://zacheven-esh.com/coaching.php as well as his blog at http://ZachEven-Esh.com

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