Starting Your Personal Training Business
It sounds great and an easy way to make money. So do you know what's involved and how to go about becoming a personal trainer?
Once you have a Personal Training qualification under your belt you can start to focus on the business side of things. Locking down the essentials at the start is the key to avoiding any unwanted surprises further along.
Essential Business Start Up Activities
· Register with the UK National Register of Personal Trainers
· Get Public Liability Insurance
· Open a Bank Account for your Business
· Register for National Insurance Contributions
· Get Tax Advice
· Register your business
UK National Register of Personal Trainers (NRPT)
The NRPT online personal trainer register has over 800 members nationwide. As a trainer register they provide qualified, insured (check out our personal trainer insurance page) and experienced personal trainers for gyms, studios, homes or in parks right across the UK
Managing Clients & Your Time
Once you're listed on the NRPT and receiving leads (along with all your word of mouth introductions of course), the next step is to then get yourself some decent software to help you run you business and clients. One such option is to check out exercise.com gym management software solutions.
There are others out there - but this has proven to be a worthy tool for the busiest of trainers over the years.
Get Public Liability Insurance
Public Liability Insurance covers you for death, injury or illness to others and loss of, or damage to, third party property. You must have this before you take your first gym session. You will need to look into all the options available to make sure you are covered for the service you are offering.
Open a Bank Account for your Business – basic book keeping
It is important to open an account specifically for your business so you can keep track of payments from clients and any business expenses or outgoings. Some local governments offer basic book keeping courses that are free and it is well worth getting this sorted from the start before you become too busy.
Register for National Insurance Contributions
All self employed people must contribute National Insurance to qualify for benefits including State Pension, Maternity Allowance and Bereavement Benefit. You will need to register yourself as self employed which involves filling in an application form that is processed by the HMRC. It can cost just £2.75 a week but it will depend on how much you earn.
Get Tax Advice
As well as registering for self employed National Insurance Contributions you need to register as Self Employed for tax purposes. You need to keep company records of transactions so you can fill out a Self Assessment tax return to work out how much tax you will need to pay.
It is well worth saving some of what you earn (20-25%) into a separate account so that you don’t get left with a big tax bill you can’t pay at the end of the year. You will have a personal allowance that is untaxed (£10,000 in 2014-2015 tax year).
Register your business
Within 3 months of the start of business you need to Register your business with HM Revenue and Customs. Unregistered or late registration of a business will incur a fine of £100. Registration is easy by phone on 0300 200 3504.
