Do you know your ideal client?
Do your current clients range from children to teenagers and all the way through to adults? Maybe you even have some classes and clients that you do not even enjoy teaching. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of being a ‘yes man’ when you’re self-employed and need the money- I totally get it, I’ve been there! We can feel overwhelmed with the amount of preparation involved when we feel like we have to offer an array of different classes to a range of clients. However, it doesn’t have to be this way!
Is it time to ditch the feeling of overwhelm?
It’s easy to only work with the type of client you want and not have to teach lots of different classes. This allows you to focus and succeed, giving you the confidence to start picking and choosing what you say yes to and the confidence to finally stop teaching for someone else!
For fitness instructors/professionals the norm is to work super hard to get all the qualifications under the sun in order teach everything out there. You’re doing this because you want to make yourself an all rounded instructor that everyone is in high demand for. However, not only do you struggle to then choreograph and plan all your classes, you will also feel overwhelmed and stretched! ‘I’ve got no time to spend with my friends and family’ is something which is often said in this industry. This is because not only do you need to teach this huge variety of classes… you also have to plan them! When you get to a point where you feel like you need to teach everything to everybody, this does our marketing absolutely no favours. If you teach 12 different classes a week to 12 different types of ideal client… you’ve got to do 12 different types of marketing (eek)! Unfortunately, 1 size marketing does not fit all.
For me, it’s about keeping it simple and choosing your ideal client wisely. I personally made the decision to work with women mainly over the age of 40 who hate going to the gym. When I heard the statistic that 75% of the population don’t want to exercise due to fear of being judged I knew I wanted to do something about it! I got really specific about who my ideal client was, what they spoke about, what their interests were, what they looked like and what their problems were. Whenever I sit down to write a piece of marketing, I have those specific people in my head. With my ideal client in mind, my marketing can speak to the conversation in their head which says ‘oh, they’re talking to me!’. As a result, not only are you helping yourself but you are also helping your ideal client to discover something which could be their perfect escapism.
Do you want to reduce your feeling of overwhelm, spend more time with family and friends whilst still teaching classes and running a business that is fun?
Don’t be afraid to be picky and be sure to choose your ideal clients wisely!
Katy x