We've made pretty much every mistake out there as online coaches, which has taught us a lot when it comes to running an online business. We found that there are three pillars to follow when setting up this type of business, or even a business outside of this industry, that will help guarantee success.
This is how we’d do things if we could start PropaneBusiness again from scratch. .
Pillar #1: Decide what you want and how you want your week to look
The first thing to do is to decide what you want out of your life. How much do you want to make? How much do you want to work? What do you want your week to look like?
You need to have a clear idea of what you're working towards, or you risk building something that isn't enjoyable or fulfilling.
Think about what your end product will look like, and what this means for you.
Lots of people make the mistake of optimising for revenue, rather than profit. But if you opt for a high-ticket model, this can lead to small margins and high effort long-term in order to keep generating consistent income.
And if you throw yourself into building something based on this model, it could take years for you to realise that it’s not working out for you.
You’re much better off opting for a model that allows you to run a leaner operation, maximising profile and minimising stress. This also means that you’ve got more space to get a better overview of your business and figure out what you need to tweak to help things run more smoothly.
Using technology (and social media) to your advantage
From a coaching perspective, there are only so many units of time in a week. When you’re coaching clients face-to-face, you reach a point where you can’t deliver the same standard of training to every single client. And you’re limited to only working with a certain number of people.
Online, you can create content that solves the same problem for every single one of your clients. You only need to create something once, but it can be shared over and over again. And your clients are always getting the best version of you.
Creating content for social media is a great way for online coaches to build an online presence and amplify messaging about their brand, but we don't recommend trying to do everything at once. You’re better off picking one platform and dominating it.
Pick something that you find frictionless to create and generates the most leads. So, if you lean towards writing, Twitter and blogging might be the best fit, or if you enjoy creating video content, you could start with YouTube.
And the great thing about social media is that ads help you reach a much wider audience, getting more potential future clients onto your email list. So, when existing clients do leave, they’ll be replaced by those you convert. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to promote your social media platforms to those already on your email list. This all helps us to explore new channels while helping new people find us and engaging with existing audiences.
Pillar #2: Find someone to help you get the results you need
Once you've defined what you want and the model for achieving it, find a coach who can teach and get those results for you. A coach has already figured everything out themselves, so you’re saving yourself a lot of time and accelerating your journey by paying for their time and experience.
Finding a coach who matches your lifestyle and values will make a big difference to your success, so look for people who have achieved similar goals to yours and see what they have to say about the coach's methods. It’s also helpful to consider what the coach does most of the week and whether that aligns with how you want your own week to look.
Finally, look for a coach who has experience of dealing with setbacks, and can help you navigate challenges – and be wary of anyone who doesn’t have a plan for when things go wrong.
We wrote about some of the red flags to look for when choosing a business mentor in this article.
Pillar #3: Get your mind and your life in order
One of the main reasons people don’t succeed in their online business is that they’ve got too much going on at once. Maybe they’re juggling two different jobs, or they just don’t the right systems in place to be able to keep on top of everything.
Any internal chaos will play out in your business. And building a business will always have its challenges. So, do what you can to ensure that it’s as smooth a process as possible.
If you invest in yourself and your business, you’ll find it easier to convince other people to do the same.
What to do next
We hope this has been helpful in providing insight and advice for building a successful online fitness business.
Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your business to the next level, book a call with us if you’d like to find out how we can help.
Or, if you’d like to find out more about PropaneBusiness and how we work, you can access our free online training here.