Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Here's what I've gotten down so far.

Took a 1 Year Certificate course at Quincy College in Exercise Science

Passed my ACE (American Council On Exercise) certification exam.

Got CPR certified through American Red Cross

Purchased some liability insurance

Got some generic business cards with my contact and business name (Valhalla fitness)

Now here's the hard part, getting some clients, and getting some work experience. I have some experience training some younger and lower rank Karate and Hung Gar classmates, and have trained and educated members of my biological family. Unfortunately so far I guess that isn't enough experience for me to work for places like Bally Total Fitness, The Y, Equinox, MySportsClub, and other places like that. So far I feel that so far I think going the independent contractor route is best. Part of me wants to go back to school for Exercise Science, but I already have loans I need to pay off for the course I took at Quincy College, so for now at least, going back to school is not an option. It makes me wonder how do I really get the experience in order to show them that I have the experience. It's a complicated and frustrating process as you can tell.

I was wondering if there are any personal trainers or fitness professionals that can give me any positive advice/positive feedback on what to do?

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Like the Transformers there's more to me than meets the eye.

Advertise. Craigslist. You're welcome.

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High carb, low fat, whole foods. Any questions?

OK.
Have been a trainer for over 20 years. To me, when I needed cash in the past, it was like waiting tables. It has changed drastically over the years, and it IS competitive. Very. Craigslist is OK--but a LOT of trainers there.
Have you looked at IDEA's website? http://www.ideafit.com a LOT of great info with archived articles, etc..you can get a 30 day Free trial and access all the info there- and there is a whole section of ideas and ways other trainers have used to get their Independent business's going. I always wanted to( and never did) take a photo and send to all the major local news stations and offer a free on site training class- be creative---THINK big and outside the box--if your physique is good- that right there is a great calling card. I wear tank tops often ( I live in So Cal) and when I am a peak, I will get stopped a LOT and asked if I am taking new clients- still at 50, etc...find your thing, work it and advertise it.
Do you have a business plan? Do you have a gym/ equipment? Whats your angle? For years, I did rich moms from my kids pre school in their homes- even now, I could target 35 plus women and make a killing ...find your niche and WORK it. And like heck you couldn't work at Bally's...CHAIN clubs are the easiest to get hired at- and they offer a lot of pro's as well as con's..and/but you have a built in population of potential customers DAILY in front of you ( you still have to sell people and get them to commit)
Check out the sites of other people in your area- see what they are charging. Offer a free class/ training session/consult. You don't need a website to train, but people like to "see"...do something on wordpress.com and make a site. Build your platform, find your niche. Again, if you haven't checked out IDEA- do it. They even have a free registry for trainers to post their business and site. Like any other business you want to build- it takes time.

Wow that was very helpful!



Unlike our good friend HorseSense comment, I find this helpful.

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Like the Transformers there's more to me than meets the eye.

Sorry. Its just that I was in your shoes once and all it took was classifieds to get me started. That was it. Maybe I just had good luck.

Best of luck to you! Hope things go your way!!

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High carb, low fat, whole foods. Any questions?

I think it really varies on where you live, as regions and interests vary...climate, overall population, etc. Boston has a reputation of big city, chic, cutting edge....i am guessing its competitive-and no offense, but So Carolina is not So Cal- so what works for one, may not work as well for another.
Caveat: separate from insurance..do a liability waiver no matter what!!!!!

Good luck and happy selling (yourself)! Its a sales job without a doubt!

No offense taken. Was in NYC which is beyond by far anything Cali calls "competitive" and I thank God everyday SC is not So Cal.

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High carb, low fat, whole foods. Any questions?

Fair enough

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Like the Transformers there's more to me than meets the eye.

You could offer your services, free of charge, to some team - perhaps at weekends or a couple of nights a week. If you could improve their performance by increasing their fitness or strength you will be able to cite that as experience.

Or you could approach the local police and ask if they have any programmes to help delinquent youths to lead better lives. You could say that you could help by teaching them self-respect, self-discipline and motivation through fitness. You could gain a lot of good publicity - with carefully picked juveniles. The type who have gone off the rails but are not hardened criminals.

Those are the sorts of things I'd do in the UK. Not sure if they would work in the US.

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http://www.thesaucyvegan.com

Ye have little faith, it certainly won't be easy, but it's defiantly worth looking into here in the US as well as the UK.

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Like the Transformers there's more to me than meets the eye.

find a city park(may have to purchase a permit--prob cheap) and offer a bootcamp there for say twice a week for 6 weeks and charge $80. People here make a killing doing this kind of work. Post on Facebook, paper, hang up flyers, etc...

Dont go generic on the business cards! Get some made for your personality and business. Make it stand out from the rest!

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