In this week's episode, Stuart sits down with Ben Pickard to discuss common challenges fitness businesses face. They explore why an increase in clients may not necessarily improve profitability, the viability of trainers opening their own facilities, and how owners can retain top staff. Ben also delves into the ethics of sales and the importance of financial planning, provides a comprehensive overview of tracking key performance indicators, and shares insights on the shifts in client behaviour following the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay tuned for valuable tips and strategies to help your fitness business thrive in 2023.     Timestamps  1:08 Why is Ben still in the fitness industry?  04:16 How can independent gyms keep their best staff?   08:16 Should trainers open their own facility?  10:54 Career trajectory for PT’s  14:01 How have potential clients changed post-COVID?   16:50 Is profit evil?   18:42 Ethics of selling: Self-Serving or Client Serving?   21:31 The Importance of Financial Management   26:25 Getting started with Systems  32:04 Getting started with KPI’s  39:43 What does it mean to have a better business?              Find Out More About Ben: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benjamin__pickard/?hl=en Business for Unicorns: https://www.businessforunicorns.com/      Find Out More About LTB: Website: https://liftthebar.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/? 14-Day Free Trial: https://liftthebar.thrivecart.com/ltb-membership-49 Free Newsletter: https://liftthebar.activehosted.com/f/16 

If you want more clients, you need to build relationships.   There are few better ways to do that than writing.   In this week's episode, Stuart interviews Ann Hanley. Ann is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Everybody Writes and Content Rules. They talk about how you can become a more natural, engaging writer so your future clients get to know the real you. You'll learn specific editing techniques which make your life easier and your content more engaging.      Timestamps:   Ann's first newsletter: 4:18  What is honest empathy? 9:13   Should you write the same way you speak? 14:53  Making every word count: 18:08  The importance of editing: 21:19  Why writing is a privilege: 23:55  Developing your writing voice: 25:06  Building a relationship with your readers: 31:45  Should personal trainers start a newsletter? 34:18  Ann's advice for her younger: 38:44                         Find Out More About Ann: Website: https://annhandley.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annhandley/ New Book: https://annhandley.com/everybodywrites/      Find Out More About LTB: Website: https://liftthebar.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/? Stuart's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stuart__aitken/?hl=en  14-Day Free Trial: https://liftthebar.thrivecart.com/ltb-membership-49 Free Newsletter: https://liftthebar.activehosted.com/f/16 

Personal trainers have a lot of different hats to wear. Business owner. Exercise specialist. Content creator. Nutrition expert.   Would it be best for everyone if they took off the nutrition hat?   In this week’s episode, Stuart talks to Alan Flanagan about how PTs should deliver nutrition advice. They also touch on how to assess whether other nutrition professionals are good sources of information, the importance of building a referral network, and the surprising link between studying law and studying nutrition.   Alan was previously a practicing barrister before turning to his passion for nutrition. He holds a masters and PhD in nutritional medicine. He is the founder of Alinea Nutrition and is also a contributor to Sigma Nutrition.       Find Out More About Alan: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenutritional_advocate/?hl=en      Find Out More About LTB: Website: https://liftthebar.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/? 14-Day Free Trial: https://liftthebar.thrivecart.com/ltb-membership-49 Free Newsletter: https://liftthebar.activehosted.com/f/16 

Most personal trainers who work in commercial gyms leave the industry within two years. Today's guest has beaten those odds.   Pete Yardley has been personal training in a Pure Gym for ten years. In this episode, Stuart talks to Pete about career longevity. They cover the best approaches to lead generation in a commercial gym, work-life balance and how a lump of chalk helped Pete thrive during lockdown.         Find Out More About Pete: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeteYardley.HF       Find Out More About LTB: Website: https://liftthebar.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/? 14-Day Free Trial: https://liftthebar.thrivecart.com/ltb-membership-49 S.Q.U.A.T.S Newsletter: https://liftthebar.activehosted.com/f/16 

Most personal trainers want to have a steady income. They also want to make a meaningful impact on their client’s lives. Focusing on one specific population of potential clients might help you do both.  Can you guess who it is? It’s our mums and dads. Our grandparents and maybe even our great-grandparents! The elderly are hugely underserved by the fitness industry. So, you’re not going to have much competition. More importantly, it’s incredibly rewarding to spend your time helping people maintain their ability to walk, see their friends and, ultimately, their independence.   Today Stuart welcomes Dr Janet Withall from the University of Birmingham. Dr Withall is an expert in healthy ageing. She focuses on helping elderly people maintain their activity levels and strength. In this episode, expect to learn how to attract elderly clients to exercise services, how those services should be designed to maximise results, and how physical activity can affect people’s disease risk.          Find Out More About Dr Withall: Email: j.withall@bham.ac.uk      Find Out More About LTB: Website: https://liftthebar.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/? 14-Day Free Trial: https://liftthebar.thrivecart.com/ltb-membership-49 S.Q.U.A.T.S Newsletter: https://liftthebar.activehosted.com/f/16 

Obesity is a choice. People should just choose to eat less and move more. This would make problems with weight disappear. Right?   This week Stuart talks to LTB staff member Alex Pearson about whether this common view of obesity is correct. Expect to learn about the causes of obesity, its relationship to health and why fat shaming is both ineffective and unethical.         Find Out More About LTB: Website: https://liftthebar.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/? Black Friday Offer: https://liftthebar.thrivecart.com/lift-the-bar-membership-4for4/   S.Q.U.A.T.S Newsletter: https://liftthebar.activehosted.com/f/16 

Do you throw a post-up on Instagram every so often and hope for the best? Well, it might be time to get a long-term social media strategy in place for 2023!   To give you a helping hand, Stuart welcomes returning guest Simon Mitchell onto the podcast. In this episode, they discuss how to build an email list from scratch, how to use email marketing and social media to compliment each other, and how multiple different platforms can work as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy!         Find Out More About Simon: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamsimonmitchell/?hl=en      Find Out More About LTB: Website: https://liftthebar.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/? 14-Day Free Trial: https://liftthebar.thrivecart.com/ltb-membership-49 S.Q.U.A.T.S Newsletter: https://liftthebar.activehosted.com/f/16 

You’ve dismissed Linkedin. After all, it is just for business-to-business networking. It would be a waste of time if you wanted to grow your client base…right?   Well, this week’s guest, Lea Turner thinks you're wrong!   Stuart and Lea have a revealing conversation about how Linkedin has massively under-utilised potential for reaching future customers. Expect to learn the best ways to set up a Linkedin profile, how to communicate with people on the platform and the type of content you should post. If you’re sick of Instagram and want a new way to grow your business, this episode is for you!         Find Out More About Lea: Website: https://leaturner.co.uk/      Find Out More About LTB: Website: https://liftthebar.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/? 14-Day Free Trial: https://liftthebar.thrivecart.com/ltb-membership-49 S.Q.U.A.T.S Newsletter: https://liftthebar.activehosted.com/f/16 

Hindsight is always 20-20, right? Well with this in mind, Stuart takes a trip in a time machine to talk about how he would change the beginning of his career. He gives us five key points which cover improving work-life balance, organising education and much more!             Find Out More About LTB: Website: https://liftthebar.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/? 14-Day Free Trial: https://liftthebar.thrivecart.com/ltb-membership-49 S.Q.U.A.T.S Newsletter: https://liftthebar.activehosted.com/f/16 

Hearing about the journey of an experienced personal trainer can be a great way to accelerate your career. With that in mind…in this week’s episode, Stuart talks to a long-standing LTB member, Jake Weekes. This wide-ranging conversation captures what “growing” as a personal trainer is like. You’ll hear Jake talk about almost every part of personal training life. He covers going freelance, helping clients learn to love strength training and the key lessons he has taken from years of CPD.        Find Out More About Jake: IG: https://www.instagram.com/leanerstrongerjake/?hl=en  Website: https://leanerstronger.co.uk/      Find Out More About LTB: Website: https://liftthebar.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liftthebar/? 14-Day Free Trial: https://liftthebar.thrivecart.com/ltb-membership-49 S.Q.U.A.T.S Newsletter: https://liftthebar.activehosted.com/f/16