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I am at a bit of a crossroads life-wise at the moment and I thought I may be able to get some input from some of you smart guys and gals on here.
A little history first and foremost. 27 years old. I've always done personal training(since 16ish). Opened a personal training studio 4.5 years ago and it's been smooth sailing since then. About a month ago my other trainer who I have had here since the beginning quit, opened her own studio about a block away from me(Yes, I am a huge dumbass for not having a non-compete signed, that is a product of my ignorance and counting her as a 'friend'.). That is a mistake I do not intend to repeat.
Demographically: I live in a town of ~16,000. We are primarily a 'oil-driven' town being in Central Kansas. As you can imagine this oil fiasco has hit everybody hard and of course it's trickling down. There are 2 other gyms in town, a family owned gym with pool/racquetball, all that 'health club' stuff, but no legitimate personal trainers. Also there is a Anytime Fitness with 1 trainer. In addition to that there is my studio, my ex-trainers studio, and a 'cross-fit' style gym.
I have primarily relied on word of mouth for the bulk of my advertising, as it seems the return is awful on advertising via radio or newspaper( I do enjoy Facebook advertising however).
Personally: I have my house paid off, all my equipment is free and clear. The only expenses regarding the gym are rent, water/gas/electric, business insurance. I do have a small car loan and am far from upside down, so am considering selling that and buying something older to have more liquid capital.
Since she has left I essentially took a ~$13,000 per year pay cut. She was paying 30% of her monthly training profit to me. I do not believe this will break the bank, but, I tend to over-worry about finances. I have considered finding another trainer but 1) my town lacks trainers who seem to have any clue what they are doing(I've worked with most of them) 2) none seem to want to put the kind of hours required in to make it profitable(I am here from 430am-7pm M-F and half a day Saturday).
With the oil hit it seems as if things have slowed down a bit since people are not sure what is coming in the future.
I have(what I consider) to be a good reputation in the community as being the one you go to when you've tried out the other trainers in town, so this decision is hard. I am contemplating selling my equipment, or having it sold via a 'equipment re-seller' but am not sure if the profit will be worth it. I believe I have ~60,000 in equipment but with depreciation obviously it is lower. Another option is to sell the 'business' to someone local wanting to start their own gig. My conundrum is I am honestly not sure what I would like to do in it's place. This is all I've ever done.
I am interested in Insurance Sales for some reason as the recurring payments would obviously allow me to take things a tad easier. I've got my associates degree in Business Management. Quite frankly there are times I feel extremely burnt out on personal training. Between the hours and the small percentage of people who are willing to put in the time to make it successful, I can understand why this field is filled with individuals who do it for a few years and move on. I imagine at some point in life I will want to have children, or at least a serious relationship, but at the end of the day I don't feel like I have the energy to even go out there and try meeting someone. I know a wife would not be cool with a father who is gone from 430am-7pm and never sees their children.
I feel like I am rambling. Maybe I am just looking for a 'suck it up and ride it out, chump' but honestly with this being my first business I want to make sure I am making the right decision. I obviously want the business to be profitable and for me not to lose everything I've saved up over the years on a business that is losing money. As I stated, it currently is not losing money, but I just feel the 'pressure' of it I guess.
A little history first and foremost. 27 years old. I've always done personal training(since 16ish). Opened a personal training studio 4.5 years ago and it's been smooth sailing since then. About a month ago my other trainer who I have had here since the beginning quit, opened her own studio about a block away from me(Yes, I am a huge dumbass for not having a non-compete signed, that is a product of my ignorance and counting her as a 'friend'.). That is a mistake I do not intend to repeat.
Demographically: I live in a town of ~16,000. We are primarily a 'oil-driven' town being in Central Kansas. As you can imagine this oil fiasco has hit everybody hard and of course it's trickling down. There are 2 other gyms in town, a family owned gym with pool/racquetball, all that 'health club' stuff, but no legitimate personal trainers. Also there is a Anytime Fitness with 1 trainer. In addition to that there is my studio, my ex-trainers studio, and a 'cross-fit' style gym.
I have primarily relied on word of mouth for the bulk of my advertising, as it seems the return is awful on advertising via radio or newspaper( I do enjoy Facebook advertising however).
Personally: I have my house paid off, all my equipment is free and clear. The only expenses regarding the gym are rent, water/gas/electric, business insurance. I do have a small car loan and am far from upside down, so am considering selling that and buying something older to have more liquid capital.
Since she has left I essentially took a ~$13,000 per year pay cut. She was paying 30% of her monthly training profit to me. I do not believe this will break the bank, but, I tend to over-worry about finances. I have considered finding another trainer but 1) my town lacks trainers who seem to have any clue what they are doing(I've worked with most of them) 2) none seem to want to put the kind of hours required in to make it profitable(I am here from 430am-7pm M-F and half a day Saturday).
With the oil hit it seems as if things have slowed down a bit since people are not sure what is coming in the future.
I have(what I consider) to be a good reputation in the community as being the one you go to when you've tried out the other trainers in town, so this decision is hard. I am contemplating selling my equipment, or having it sold via a 'equipment re-seller' but am not sure if the profit will be worth it. I believe I have ~60,000 in equipment but with depreciation obviously it is lower. Another option is to sell the 'business' to someone local wanting to start their own gig. My conundrum is I am honestly not sure what I would like to do in it's place. This is all I've ever done.
I am interested in Insurance Sales for some reason as the recurring payments would obviously allow me to take things a tad easier. I've got my associates degree in Business Management. Quite frankly there are times I feel extremely burnt out on personal training. Between the hours and the small percentage of people who are willing to put in the time to make it successful, I can understand why this field is filled with individuals who do it for a few years and move on. I imagine at some point in life I will want to have children, or at least a serious relationship, but at the end of the day I don't feel like I have the energy to even go out there and try meeting someone. I know a wife would not be cool with a father who is gone from 430am-7pm and never sees their children.
I feel like I am rambling. Maybe I am just looking for a 'suck it up and ride it out, chump' but honestly with this being my first business I want to make sure I am making the right decision. I obviously want the business to be profitable and for me not to lose everything I've saved up over the years on a business that is losing money. As I stated, it currently is not losing money, but I just feel the 'pressure' of it I guess.
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