17 – Get Paid to Stay in Shape – Working as a Personal Trainer

Becoming a freelance personal trainer can open so many doors to a new career. First, you need to get legal in your area. Find you what is required for what you want to do and get that licensing and certification to make yourself fully legal. You can usually find out this information by contacting your local SCORE.org office.

Here are some ideas for ways to earn money as a freelance personal trainer once you are legal.

Do Personal Training at a Distance – You can use technology to offer personal training at a distance for your clients. Use apps or software like Facetime, Zoom, or other chat software to help you deliver your support and help to your clients on a one-on-one or one-to-many basis.

Start an Expert Blog – One way you can attract clients that you may want to work with one-on-one or in a group is to start a blog. The content you publish on the blog will attract potential clients, but it also gives you a more passive way to earn extra money via affiliate sales or recommendations of products.

Run an Expert YouTube Channel – In addition to your blog, you can start a YouTube channel. There you can talk about the facts surrounding exercise and your particular expertise and even demonstrate proper form on various exercises or what to do for a trouble spot. You can earn from ads that run on your channel, but also, people may want to hire you directly.

Get Your Social Media Active – It’s important that no matter what you’re doing that you are active with your advice and actions on social media. Promote what you put on your blog, other social media sites, YouTube, and so forth via all your social media platforms.

Start a Membership Site – You can add even more content that is direct and personal on a membership site. Add membership functionality to your website using software like Amember.com to turn it into a paid site. You can make money from membership fees, plus you can upsell more direct personal training to your members.

Work with Hotels and AirB&B – Get the word out about your offers by working with hotels and AirB&B’s. People like to offer vacationers extras like this and may be willing to pay your fee to offer this additional fun and education for their guests. They may also simply agree to promote your website to their guests.

Work with Assisted Living Facilities – Take your certification to your local assisted living and aged care facilities to offer your training and help. You can get paid from the company, or they can just offer space and allow their guests to pay you in addition.

Work with Daycare Centers and Preschools – Children also need to know how important exercise is as part of their daily lives. As a personal trainer, if you have particular expertise and certification with kids, this can be a lucrative way to earn another stream of income. The center often pays your fee and collects from the families.

Work with Large Employers in Your Community – Many large employers like to offer perks to their employees. Offer yourself as a perk for a fair fee to them per employee that takes them up on the offer. You can even offer group classes if the business has the space for it.

If you’re really into keeping yourself in great physical shape and have training and certification as a personal trainer, you can freelance in many ways as a personal trainer. You can work on your own and through other companies as a freelancer. This career can become a full-time career and not just a side gig if you think outside the box.