Can setting goals earn you $1m+ in a year?
Want to be a personal trainer who earns a million dollar income? The secret to success starts with something amazingly simple: setting goals for yourself.
If you hear the term ‘goal setting’ and think, "I've done this before", or "Goal setting doesn't work for me", it’s time to check your growth and ownership mindset and finally set the time aside to give this topic your undivided attention.
If you feel excited about goal setting, that's great! It’s an amazing area to focus on because it will literally change your life.
Who wouldn't be excited about mapping out the future they want? Take a look at some fascinating evidence about the power of setting goals and how they apply to your career as a personal trainer.
Does goal setting work?
Short answer: yes.
A Harvard study found:
83% of the population does not have goals
14% have a plan in mind, but are unwritten goals
3% have goals written down
Not surprisingly, they also found:
The 14% were 10 TIMES more successful than the 83%
The 3% were another 3 TIMES more successful than the 14%
To be one of the three per cent, the first thing you have to do is spend an hour in front of a screen or with a piece of paper. This is time you get to devote to yourself… and you never have to share all your goals with anyone if you don’t want to.
Let’s apply the formula above to the fitness industry and base it on the average ‘lifespan’ of a personal trainer, which is 6 months.
Multiply that by ten (the 14%) = 60 months or 5 years (funnily enough this is what we see in gyms — less than two in 20 trainers last this long).
Multiply this number for the top 3% by 30 = 180 months or 15 years (again, this holds true in our experience seeing trainers in the gyms).
So if you’re wondering if your personal trainer career is going to last, you can already see that having goals is a way to make it last for as long as you want.
Let’s take it a step further…
The lower end average turnover for a personal trainer in Australia is $35k per year.
Just knowing where you want to go (10 x more money) = $350k per year (Pretty awesome, right?)
Having clear, defined goals, written down, and revisited frequently in theory (3 x more money) = $1.05m per year.
Before you say, "I’ll never turn over that much money", or "I don’t even want to make that much money,” remember your growth and ownership mindsets.
If you have a fixed belief, you’re counting yourself out from day one. Yes, it is possible. Others have done it, and then some. So don’t put the brakes on before you begin.
You might not have a goal to grow a $1 million per year business, and that is totally fine. However, if you want a sustainable, high performing $100k - $200k business that provides freedom to take holidays, raise a family or achieve anything else you want, the chances are you are going to need some clear and concise written goals.
Case study: Meet Dylan
Dylan had been a coach for 6 months before he started working hard on clear and concise goals. He started learning how to grow his business, recognised where he was going wrong, ‘flexed’ his growth and ownership mindset and made changes.
Dylan now runs a personal training business doing over 40 sessions per week. He has rebranded in alignment with his long term goals and is looking at bringing on his first coach.
Dylan operates his business with a clear vision. He no longer has issues acquiring clients and has a balance of time to work in his business and on his business. By 2022, there’s no reason Dylan couldn’t have two trainers, both in the gym and assisting clients online.
So what does this actually mean?
His current turnover is $130k+.
His new trainers will likely produce 80% of what he can (104 x 2 = $208k).
Plus, adding online training sessions to his service should add another $1,000 per week ($50k).
This will result in turnover of $388k per year.
Dylan has continuously looked over and revisited his goals. As his business changes so have his goals at a business and personal level.
The possibilities are there when you have intent and a long term plan. Don’t count out setting goals as a way to achieve so much more than anyone else around you.
