Most likely you came here because you run a business in the fitness industry. Or maybe you want to start it soon? In both cases, business is not only a mission and satisfaction.

It is supposed to bring money. Are you wondering how to earn more and more? We are going to present you a comprehensive guide on how to make money in the fitness industry. 

Is the fitness industry profitable?

The profitability of the fitness business can vary depending on:

• location, 
• target market, 
• competition, 
• business model. 

Yet, generally, fitness businesses can be profitable. The key to success is attracting effectively and retaining customers. It is also important to manage expenses and offer valuable services or products.

Interesting:
The global fitness industry was valued at $96.7 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $147.7 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 7.1% from 2020 to 2027. (Source: Allied Market Research)
Sounds inspiring?…

“How much do gym owners make?”

How to make money in health and fitness?

There are several ways to make money in the health and fitness industry in the USA. The ideas will depend on your skills, interests, and resources. Here are some of the possibilities:

1. Personal Training: Would you like to be a certified personal trainer? It is a fulfilling and rewarding professional path. You can work for somebody’s business at a gym or offer private sessions. You can also write your own fitness programs, intended for online selling.
   
2. Health Coaching: Obtain certification as a health coach. It enables you to assist individuals in enhancing their overall well-being. You’ll provide valuable advice on nutrition and exercise routines. Your lifestyle adjustments will help clients achieve their health goals.
   
3. Gym Ownership: Running and overseeing a fitness studio presents a rewarding business opportunity. But only when managed effectively. You can offer various classes, training programs, and memberships. It attracts a wide range of clients.

The information above is probably obvious to you as a fitness professional. Therefore, we want to give you more ideas below. They will be both surprising and effective.

Make money in fitness (in 6 steps)

In the following paragraphs, we show that making more and more money in fitness is a never-ending process. Below we present the main points, step by step. You can intertwine them with ideas from the “introducing new ideas” list. According to your skills and willingness, of course.

1. Find your niche

In the fitness business and every other company, the most important thing is to discover your idea and show it to the audience.

Niche markets within the fitness industry, such as boutique studios focusing on specific workouts like Pilates, spinning, or barre, have seen significant growth. Boutique fitness studios grew by 121% from 2013 to 2018. (Source: Health & Fitness Association, previously IHRSA)

What could be these unusual offers that customers are waiting for?

• breathings sessions, awareness sessions, 
• other ideas to develop the skill of body stress management,
• camps and excursions for fitness enthusiasts
• personal training sessions in crazy places: underground mines, meadows, city centers, submarine tunnels (enjoy the view of sharks floating above you, etc)
• fitness meetings, pilates, stretching for pregnant women

2. Get more customers

It is easier to retain customers than to acquire completely new ones. But everyone started somewhere. So let’s acquire a completely new client for a newly established fitness business.

• Offer trial sessions or free classes. This will give potential interested parties an idea of your approach, how you explain the exercises, and what the atmosphere is like.
• Collaborate with local businesses or influencers to reach a wider audience and attract new customers.
• Organize special events, challenges or workshops. They create excitement and draw attention to your fitness offering.

But, when you already have your clients, start a spiral of new customers that self-winds.

• Provide excellent customer service and personalized attention. This will make your current customers satisfied and willing to recommend your company to others. 
• More members may come to your location when they hear positive recommendations from your current customers.
• Use social media and your website to showcase customer testimonials about your fitness business.

3. Use gym management software

Remember that final revenues do not only result from higher incomes. Reducing costs is also a method to increase your monthly financial result. Saving time, which you can spend on other, more profitable activities, is an idea as well!

We suggest implementing a gym management software that saves time and money. According to our survey, WodGuru saves you an average of 30 minutes per gym member per month!

Technology is more and more important in the fitness industry. Innovation in your service will show your business as different and better from the competition. Some examples? Here you are! Fitness apps, virtual training, smart gyms and more. Check opinions of the fitness business owners who already have tried a gym management software

4. Increase prices

The prices of a typical personal training are surely quite constant in your surroundings. But you can suggest a higher price which will be accepted! When and how?! If you offer something brand new and fresh! This is why we wrote “find your niche” as the first, the most important point of today’s list!

5. Increase retention

What is meant by retention in fitness?

In other words, it’s the number of members who stay with you, compared with the ones who leave. The retention rate is formatted as a percentage. So, the perfect situation is 100% retention rate. Do you have it? 🙂

Here are some club membership retention strategies that may be useful:

• Know Your Members. Knowing everybody by the name, intimate atmosphere and the feeling of well-being, like at home – nobody will look for anything else.
• Engage Members. Integration meetings strengthen the groups. Customer involvement also includes mini competitions, e.g. holiday photography on social media.
• Provide Exceptional Customer Service. People like to feel special and cared for. Pure psychology.
• Offer Incentives. Referral rewards, loyalty programs, partner discounts, member appreciation events and many more.
• Communicate Regularly. It means asking, answering but also understanding what people say to you.
• Continually Improve. Customers come to you for quality.
• Understanding the Reasons Why Members Leave. You can either talk in person or ask for filling a form. But remember to take seriously what they say. Go back to the previous bullets if necessary!
• Use Technology to Improve Retention. Technology can help you gather the data and take improvement actions which are data-driven. Not theoretical. 

6. Upselling

Up-selling is a sales technique of engaging the customer into:

• a product of a higher standard
• a product with greater functionality
• something more than the one he is currently using/buying

If introduced unobtrusively, it allows you to increase the amount of sales.

In the fitness industry, upselling can be performed as:

• offering additional services or products that will intensify a client’s workout experience,
• suggesting nutritional supplements tailored to the client’s goals (protein powders or vitamins),
• offering membership upgrades (access to exclusive classes or personalized training sessions),
• using fitness apps with premium features. They can be: personalized workout plans or one-on-one coaching (for an additional fee).

14 New Ideas to Make Money 

Feel free to read the listing of ideas. In your business, they will be intertwined with the process described above. You can introduce the ideas, but you don’t have to use all of them. Choose by your intuition, taste, skills, interests, area of ​​expertise, etc.

7. Start an Online Fitness Studio

Interesting:
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to online fitness. The global online fitness business market size was valued at $6.04 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $59.23 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 33.1% from 2020 to 2027. (Source: Grand View Research)

Virtual reality (VR) fitness experiences are gaining traction, offering immersive workouts from the comfort of home. The VR fitness market is projected to reach $2.4 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 30.5% from 2019 to 2024. (Source: MarketsandMarkets)

8. Launch a Fitness App

Starting a fitness app is an exciting vision. But, before you begin! 

• Gain a deep knowledge about your target audience and the unique value your app will offer.
• Research existing fitness apps to see their features and areas for improvement. 
• User-friendliness in your app is the most important. 
• Consider incorporating features that are not offered by other fitness programs.
• Hire an IT professional to help you with the technological side. 
• Test your app with a small group of users before launching it to a wider audience. 
• Remember about continuous improvement and updates based on user feedback.

9. Work in Dietary Programs and Nutrition

Starting work in meal planning and healthy food has a huge potential for impact. But begin by educating yourself through reputable sources. Establish a solid foundation of knowledge.

Accredited nutrition courses or certifications are the values that you can show to your clients. And they will appreciate them. 

What also matters in a nutrition specialist’s work is having strong communication skills. You will have to sell meal plans and explain complex nutritional concepts to your clients. You will also motivate people to make positive changes in their diet and lifestyle. Can you do it?

The fitness industry intersects with the nutrition and supplements market. The global sports nutrition market size was valued at $15.6 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $37.16 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 12.9% from 2020 to 2027. (Source: Grand View Research)

10. Live Stream Fitness Classes

Who said that taking part in fitness online is not as effective as a face-to-face meeting? You have a mission of changing this common opinion!

When conducting online personal training, pay attention to the details. For example: the client’s posture when performing the exercise. It doesn’t matter if you can’t see the customer. Repeat several times, which is important for a given exercise and a given position.

11. Sell Downloadable Workout Plans

Fitness professionals also earn from selling workout plans and training programs. All you need to do is give yourself some time to build your brand online. Invest in promotion. Watch the quality of materials. The orders will come.

Sample WodGuru function: How to install a workout program for your customer 

12. Sell Your Favorite Fitness Products

Another brilliant idea to make money in the fitness area, even if you are not a personal trainer! Fitness products are a very wide category.

You can be a sales representative of machinery and equipment. You can sell nutrition drinks or bars, other functional food, but also clothes and accessories. What matters here is your seller’s skill. Do you know how to talk to people, convince them, identify their needs and propose solutions? This is the job for you!

13. Generate Advertising Revenue 

There are popular and frequently visited places where advertisers would be happy to place their banner. It can be your website, social media channel, but also a club space or even a fence on a busy street. It is so easy to generate additional revenue streams by sharing space owned by you. 

14. Personal Training/ Coaching/ Consultations

Coaching services are getting popular among wealthy and self-aware clientele. If your personality aligns with that, it could be a perfect idea for your business.

Interesting:
Personal training remains a lucrative segment of the fitness industry. The average hourly rate for personal trainers in the United States ranges from $30 to $100, with top trainers earning six-figure incomes. (Source: PayScale)

15. Get into Fitness Modeling

Are you proud of your shape which you have thanks to exercise? Have you always dreamed of an interesting media adventure? A bit of fame?

16. Write About Fitness (Blog)

Do you like writing and have experience in your industry? Share your knowledge! High quality content will attract readers. You can also make money from your blog through advertising.

17. Talk About Fitness (Not Only Youtube!)

But maybe you don’t like writing. You prefer to show your face, smile and spread your energy. Then talk about fitness! Real fitness professionals can teach classes and give interviews. Recognized trainers sometimes get jobs as lecturers at physical education universities.

18. Writing applications, receiving grants

If you have a talent for paperwork, look for opportunities yourself. You can also use the help of companies that deal with this on a daily basis. You are most likely to receive money for educational and development initiatives:

• Grants for fitness events as health promotion
• Grants for organizing competitions and meetings

19. Fitness photography, painting, sculpture

You can cooperate with the fitness industry even if you are a specialist in a completely different field – an artist. Your photos, paintings or sculptures are an interesting, fresh offer. A personalized interior design element for the fitness branch. A great idea to make the interior of a fitness club more attractive and classy.

20. Wearables – the digital revolution

Fitness industry continues to embrace technology. The potential for innovation in fitness wearables is limitless. These devices track, analyze, and optimize every aspect of your customer’s fitness journey. There are:

• Activity Trackers
• Heart Rate Monitors
• Sleep Trackers
• GPS Watches
• Smart Scales
• Smart Clothing
• and many more

Interesting:
The popularity of wearable fitness technology, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches, continues to rise. The global wearable fitness technology market size was valued at $17.88 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $91.98 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 23.2% from 2020 to 2027. (Source: Grand View Research)

Key Takeaways:

• The most important for earning more in fitness is to follow an overall process.
  • 1. find your niche, 
  • 2. get more customers, 
  • 3. increase prices, 
  • 4. introduce upselling ideas and 
  • 5. increase retention. Then start from the beginning of the process. It’s a neverending story.
• In the meantime you can use new business ideas. They can be introduced according to your skills and passions: online coaching, nutrition plans, and many more personalized solutions.
• Don’t forget to implement a fitness management software, which will help you save time and money. The recommended solution on the market is WodGuru.

FAQ:

How to make money as a personal trainer?

You can earn money by performing one-to-one sessions, group classes, or online coaching. Additionally, selling digital fitness products like training guides or video tutorials can create passive income streams. Remember to make your life easier by implementing a fitness management software like Wodguru. It will help you save time and money. 

What can I do with my passion for fitness?

There are many things you can do inside the fitness area. The most typical ones are 

• establishing a gym/ fitness center,
• conducting outdoor exercise class or being invited to gyms as an outsource specialist,
• writing a blog / conducting a YouTube channel, having an advertising revenue
• starting your own fitness brand, connected with fitness products, clothing, equipment, nutrition, etc.

But also: 

• working on untypical projects, personalized offers and ‘crazy’ ideas 🙂 

How can I make money from my gym?

• Don’t let it stay empty – offer different training hours for different people (freelancers, shift workers can come in the mornings).
• Have a broad offer, so that everybody could choose something interesting.
• Be flexible, ask people what they need and adjust the offer.

What is the best career in fitness?

The best career in the fitness business is doing what you like and what is the area of your expertise. For some it will be running a gym, and for others it will be investing in themselves to win competitions and meetings.

How can I be successful in the fitness industry?

A successful fitness business consists of offering an interesting product, good advertising, acceptable prices or a unique product for which you can dictate prices. Monitor your competition and always be two steps ahead of them.