21February 2013 Instructor Newsletter

This weekend saw Andrew Crawford and I present and film our new FLiP your Fitness Business DVD series. Locked away in a hotel for 2 days on a beautiful sunny weekend with the film crew, we have created step by step corporate DVD’s examining how to Franchisee, License, and Protect your business. Mr Crawford delivers all of the legal, technical planning and strategies and I present on how to set up a fitness franchisee using Kick Start Fat Loss ™ as a case study. All suited and booted we talk everything through in a comprehensive package.

I can’t tell you how tricky it is to talk in front of a camera, without grapevining!

TV presenters, weather presenters, news readers – they all make it look so easy, having to stand still and talk into a camera is intense when you don’t have an audience or class to bounce your energy off. But I think we cracked it.

We also filmed our Mentoring, Coaching and Consulting workshop which offers you the nuts and bolts of how to set up your own mentoring and coaching fitness business.

Becoming a coach and mentor is something anyone can do as long as you have been there, done it and know the topic inside out. A great coach or mentor has tread the path and can show the client exactly how to get the same result minus the heartache, emotion, roadblock and possible financial mistakes along the way.

It is my onion that you don’t need to have academic qualifications, it is life skills and results that count.

I bet you can do something or have done something that other people want to do. It could be a fitness goal, a weightloss goal, a business achievement or a skill that you can coach other people to do.

Coaching and mentoring can be an exceptionally lucrative and rewarding and you can do it from anywhere as long as you have a laptop. Brainstorm and see what you can come up with.

Rachel’s Top Tips to becoming a Quality Coach and Mentor

1.Know your subject inside out, back to front and upside down.

2.You MUST be successful in the area you are coaching in. You must be able to prove your success and have been there and done it.

3.Create a sound, robust and comprehensive training programme for your clients that has a clear start and end point.

4.Be able to help, share, support and love your clients. You may have to guide them through rocky times until they get on track so patience and understanding is paramount.

5.Work only with clients you click with to get the best from your coaching.

What Can You Coach or Mentor On?

Brainstorm your skills and achievements:

*Are you an amazing cook or chef? Could you do online cookery coaching?

*Have you lost a lot of weight and kept it off and can specialise in helping coaching people to go through your regime?

*Have you got a fitness business that is unique to you? Maybe you have taken on staff? Have created your own brand? Have you set up a successful business in the community? Could you coach others to do the same.

*Are you a whizz at editing videos? Could you coach people to edit their own videos or become more computer savvy?

I know these are all a bit random but I bet you have an amazing skill that you could coach others to do using the internet, social media, webinars and skype.

I am really excited about launching these DVD courses as I know they will help many C2GO’ers who are dying to franchisee their own brands and dive into the mentoring end of fitness but need the nuts and bolts of how to set it up.

Look out next week when I launch the DVDs and ebooks.

Social Media Overwhelm

I try to harness the power of social media to communicate with my customers and clients, tune into what’s happening in the industry, network with my peers, roadtest ideas, ask for feedback and have fun. But how do you stop social media being a time suck and how can you use it effectively to engage and communicate with existing potential customers. The biggest comment I hear from Fitpros about social media is the time it takes up and I do get that, because you do need a strategy otherwise your time will be eaten very fast.

Here’s my strategy to manage over 20k followers across my pages and groups on Facebook and 11k Twitter followers Plus INSTAGRAM and now KEEK!

When I’m working at my desk I spend 5minutes every hour posting, commenting and answering questions. I can skip through my groups, check for queries on my pages and post relevant comments for the day really quickly and easily. I really enjoy doing it.

These days I try less to automate. Don’t get me wrong I still use Hootsuite and Social Oomph to automate when I’m out of my office but generally I like to post things in real time, depending on the news of the day, how I feel, what I’m working on. I also like to read people who post in realtime as well, I want my feed to be current and vibrant and if I realise I’m reading automated posts I’m not as interested and I defriend and hide.?

Be LIVE – YOU are your brand and to continue to grow your brand and your potential clients and customers, be available live on social media. For your business to grow on social media it’s important your personality shines through in real time.

Are you KEEKING?

Probably not as yet as it’s only just catching on but it is an extension of Twitter where you can post 30sec video. I know, I know, another social media but video is really fun and easy to do from your phone and has the potential to be a really useful tool for Fitpros to send quick motivations, shout outs, workout and all kinds of great clips to enhance your business and brand. You can find me Keeking www.keek.com/RachelLholmes

Bristol Fitness Pilates Day is on Saturday at Hengrove Leisure Centre You can book a place here

New Download

Power Step and Tone Workout

Code: PST1
	I have created 4 basic Step combinations which include a power toning segment between each choreography block. Your class will do a step choreography block followed by 1minute of powerful plyometric toning moves, then another choreography block. This adds variety to your step sessions and makes it a intense cardio interval workouts with choreography. My classes are really enjoying this workout right now.
	2 Tokens	Length: 8 mins
	£ 3.99	Size: 60.0 MB

Click here to view

Is your business SSB or HIIB? Jill Gardner

I think running a business can be likened to training for fitness or sport. You get out what you put in, but also we are all different and we all respond to different types of training. Some of us lend ourselves well to long duration, endurance training and some of us do better with short bursts and sprints. The point I am trying to make is that we are all different and therefore what works for some, won’t always work for others. Which one are you?

Steady state business?

Like in steady state training, you pace yourself, you are consistent and put the hours in. You get fairly good return but think maybe you could do better if you tried hard enough. But frankly you are pretty comfortable working in this zone and you know where you are. You may plod along with a clear goal or just hope to get to a finish line at some point.

High Intensity Interval business?

This is someone who is working like mad one minute and then paralysed or exhausted the next. You have key moments of productivity and work all the hours. Your head is buzzing and you can’t wait to start new projects. But after a time, you have periods of procrastination or reflection. Or maybe you are less proactive or decide to just take it easier for a bit. For a sprinter when business is good, it’s very very good. When it isn’t good then you might feel despondent, unmotivated or less focused on your business.

I don’t believe there is a right or wrong way – a bit like in diets and fitness. It’s what works for the individual. Personally in fitness, life and business I prefer sprints! I have bursts of productivity or activity which is usually really focused and productive. But then it is followed by rest and recovery. I think it is unsustainable to be super productive in life ALL the time. Which is why athletes have periodised training. I think this is a good strategy for me and my approach to business.

But whichever approach you use, if it is working and you are happy, then stick with it. If it isn’t then maybe, like any stale training programme, maybe it’s time to try a new regime?

I’d love to know whether you are #HIIB or #SSB!

Big love, small tummies

Jill – The Fat Controller www.hateitchangeit.co.uk @itsjillgardner www.facebook.com/hateitchangeit

ummmm by Sally Ghafoor

It doesn’t happen often to me, but I have writer’s block for this week’s newsletter. So far I have started but unlike mastermind I haven’t finished writing an article on how to stop feeling overwhelmed, procrastination, social media and time management.

When I write I like to ask myself one question… Is this adding value to your day. Now I know it won’t for everyone but the people who I am targeting, will they read an article and be able to take away from it something that will add value to their day.

I do this for my social media posts, in fact every type of content I create. When I put up quotes on my business page, I know for some it will inspire them or help them, for funny pictures, nothing is better than adding value by making someone laugh. For blog posts and videos, is my content helping someone in their business. So just by writing this I have come up with what I am about to write about today… So my add value lesson one…. When you are stuck to find something to blog about/write about just start writing about anything, the inspiration may well come.

And in an instant – it’s gone, the kids have got up I have stopped, made breakfast and completely forgotten what my little spark of inspiration was. Add value lesson number two, when you get an idea – write it down.

Do you have a bank of questions you can refer to? Ahhhhh a lightbulb moment, off I go to my app on my phone where I list all the questions anybody asks me that I can turn into a blog/article. There we go… Add value lesson number 3 – create somewhere that you keep all your questions and ideas from your target market that you can use to write an article/blog/soundcloud about.

So here is mine….. Great question – Why do I get more interactions with class members on my private FB page v my business page?

This is a great question and it lies in YOU! People want to talk to you, they want to know about you, they want to laugh with you, they may have things in common with you. You need to transfer this over to your business page, let your personality shine through. Create interaction via your business page on topics that are relevant to your business but will also interest your audience. Give them a laugh, ask them a question that interests them. I asked a question the other day, I was just chatting to a friend about things we used to eat as a kid, I couldn’t remember the name of this chicken stuff my mum used to give us, so I asked if anyone could remember on my fitness class page…. well the response – enormous, within 3 replies someone had got it right, I replied with “that’s the one thank you”….. However, still as the day went on more and more people commented on what they thought it was, even though someone had answered.

Have you seen the 4 pictures, 1 word app on the iphone? Now these keep popping up in my newsfeed, someone will answer with what the answer is and then about 10 other people comment exactly the same answer again… We all have a need to answer questions even if someone else has answered.

So in a nutshell be you, get your audience interacting with you then you get your edgerank score up and when you do comment about your products and classes you will be actually getting into peoples newsfeeds as Facebook has recognised that due to their interaction with you, they are interested in what you have to say.

dDid you miss the webinar Sunday on exactly this type of issues – register here and when I send out the recording you can take a listen 🙂 http://ow.ly/hNR1H

www.facebook.com/fitnessbusinesshub

@fitbusinesshub

New Year’s Resolution in February! by Philippa Burnett

Well, January has been and gone in the blink of an eye! Actually, this was the first weekend that I have paused since the New Year. January is always a really busy time for us FitPro’s, we are usually inundated with enquiries, classes fill up, we’ve probably done some new and different things to start the year.

For me I ran my first online Pilates Detox Club, which if I do say so myself, was a huge success. The really interesting thing for me, was how the club evolved, how the people in the group helped to dictate the way it went. I used a fairly normal format, but spent a bit more time and effort on producing some thought provoking mindset audio’s. Wow, was I surprised by the feedback! For most, this was the icing on the cake, this was what they were all crying out for, yes they achieved their weight loss, yes they learnt so much about nutrition, yes they loved doing the daily exercise routine but what they all totally fell in love with was the guidance, the motivation, the challenge of thinking in a new way, many mentioned it was a life changing experience!! I was on cloud nine and it made me feel great to be able to help others like this 🙂

But, it did get me thinking, what do I actually do to take care of myself?? My life, probably like yours, is consumed with running my business, giving to my clients, and every spare minute is spent learning, developing and growing my business. This weekend, was the first time I paused for breath, I realised that I don’t actually do anything for me! When was the last time I went to someone else’s class, had a massage, a facial etc., when was the last time I did something not related to work, where are my interests outside of work? We had a fabulous sunny weekend and yes, I wanted to be outside whether it was cycling, walking, running (Ooops all fitness things!), but what did I do differently this time, instead of setting off on my walk listening to my audio books (all motivational/work related), I put my music on pretty loud and spent the next few hours blasting out my favorite tunes! Now, they really did make me feel good – rather than using it as a learning opportunity, I ju st did what I wanted!

I never set any resolutions this year for myself, too busy organising and supporting others to give it any thought! So, my New Year’s resolution, set in mid Feb, is to take more time doing things for me, no matter how small. We need to value ourselves like we would our clients, we deserve and need to be doing things for ourselves on a regular basis, it is so important, to just pause and slow down and make sure that we are actually doing ok too! Happier people make happier teachers!

Happy Teaching!

Philippa Burnett

www.pilatesbyphilippa.com

Jayne Nicholls

As jobs go we are in a very fortunate position really as it is the gift of the self or part employed person to be able to diversify and create opportunities that others simply cannot do should they find themselves out of work or in need of a greater income.

Absolutely everyone reading this newsletter has the power to turn their current skills into new ones with minimal effort, new target audiences and demographics are everywhere:

· Kids fitness

· Seniors

· Special populations

· Pre and Post

· Sport specific

· Rehab / referral

No to mention the types of classes from dance to H.I.I.T and remedial to hardcore.

With this in mind our need to stay in one place and pitch to the same people over long periods of time is pretty much madness if you think about it. It is healthy for people to change and move on, try new things and create new habits. If we expect them to keep returning to us, it is a pretty big ask.

The wider our circle of influence the greater chances we have of netting new business. The more things we do the more doors will open. It is human nature to want to try new things and test the very latest products. If people have money to spend they buy the best if money is tight, they work to a budget. You simply have to look at the chains to see how real thriving businesses accommodate their clients, Klick fitness have coffee machines and Virgin Active have Lattes, their products suit their market.

Right now the country is in need of help as we face the horse meat saga that is getting worse by the day. Now is the time to step in with nutritional information alongside your fitness classes. Make them feel better for having you in their lives. We must learn to use the media to our advantage and sell our services to suit the general public.

Our industry has offered us so many opportunities over the past few years, it is really time for us to sell them on wisely.

j a y n e

Grab Your Balls by Katie Bulmer

Hi C2Go’ers,

Hope all is good in your fitness hood!

This week I wanted to share with you something I’ve been doing in my community classes, here in Sunderland that has gone down a storm!

I just launched my first Fit Ball class! I used to teach this in health clubs a few years ago and it was really popular, so thought I would introduce it onto the community scene plus no one in my area is currently delivering it.

I advertised the class to my mailing list, current clients, on social media and also contacted ex-clients, offering a 4 week course for £16. The package also included a home fit-ball workout as a handout for clients to do between weekly classes.

The class, which runs on a Tuesday at 7-7.30pm is sold out at 22 people and has attracted a broad range of clients from my hardcores to new mams just returning to exercise and mother and daughters too. I also have 2 pregnant ladies, one is 25 weeks and the other 37 weeks (I’ve promised that if her waters break in class she can have a year’s worth of free classes) – so it really is accessible to everyone.

All clients provide their own ball, and I advise them on which size, and where to buy them from on my website, alongside info and pricing of the class (you can have a look over at www.katiebulmer.com/fitballclass)

The first class was an introduction to using the ball, with simple exercises and teaching them how to use their core to increase stability (this is the same format as the home workout). Next week I’ve planned a more intense circuit class and made cards that show me demonstrating the exercises.

I thoroughly enjoyed teaching it, and the class enjoyed it too – I’m already taking bookings for the next 4 week course.

Have a great week, and here’s to more fit ball classes popping up in the community.

KBC x

Katie Bulmer-Cooke

PE in Schools Caroline Dance Lady

Last week brought us the non-surprising report from OFsted of the state of Childrens PE in School: ?http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Society/article1211288.ece ?Comments such as ineffective lesson, too much time picking teams or lining up, children being concerned about physical reactions to exercising, such as sweating and breathing heavier make for depressing reading. However when you read further into it, it is not surprising that some PE lessons in schools are ineffective and disjointed due to the fact the average Primary Teacher receives as little as 6 hours tuition of how to plan, teach and co-ordinate a relevant and effective lesson. Coupled with the normal, I can’t find my PE kit, I need a wee!, etc. The lesson may possibly be taught by a teacher who has no interest in Physical development and enhancement. You will all have your own personal memories of PE lessons! I can still clearly see Mrs Dykes Brown dressed head to foot in a waterproof, windproo f ski suit, as her be-draggled bunch of pre pubestent girls ran around a HUGE muddy dog poo dotted sports field in gym blacks which had elastic so strong around the legs it almost stopped circulation and could easily be used as a weapon of mass destruction.

Now is as good as time as ever to approach your schools and offer your services. As a fitness professional you are able to offer effective, physical literacy sessions ticking all requirements. Although funding is non existent, Sports Partnership Funding should have been earmarked for Physical lessons and could be accessed, productive and creative Headteachers will always be happy to shuffle the budget to pay for quality providers to benefit the pupils. Most schools have a Healthy School week, find out when it is, offer a circuits, Aerobics, Stretch n tone session.

The NHS Guide Lines for Children s activity levels are as follows

Children under five

Children under five who can walk unaided should be physically active every day for at least 180 minutes (three hours), spread throughout the day, indoors or out.

If your child is under five, you should encourage them to do:

light activity, and

more energetic physical activity

Children and young people aged 5 to 18

Children and young people aged 5 to 18 should do at least 60 minutes (one hour) of aerobic activity every day. This should include a mix of:

moderate-intensity activities: this means your child is working hard enough to raise their heart rate and break a sweat, and

vigorous-intensity activities: this means they’re breathing hard and fast, and their heart rate has gone up quite a bit

As part of your child’s 60 or more minutes, they should also do activities that strengthen their muscles and bones.

As instructors we have far more than 6 hours of training for delivering fitness sessions, we are the professionals at this. It could be argued that it is almost our prerogative to be delivering these sessions as we are the people that hold the key towards the prevention of rising childhood obesity.

I would love to know if you have been inspired to look after the next generation!!

Caroline DanceLady

What Price Human Life? Guilty as Charged. Case Closed..!!

By Andrew Crawford

I didn’t touch on this last week but since the fiasco of the NHS has been doing the rounds, this came flooding back to my mind.

You may know or cannot remember (since the misinformation media has been flooding your mind with useless snippets) that a Police woman, whilst using a mobile phone, caused or was involved in an accident which left one man dead.

Verdict of the judge……

“…..the Crown Prosecution Service said there was no evidence she had committed an offence because the phone was on her lap and set to loudspeaker…….” Further

?”……A CPS spokeswoman said it did not have enough evidence to charge Miss Carpenter with causing death by careless or dangerous driving…….”

My simplistic view. …………Driver on phone. Crashes car into motorist. Motorist dead. What price human life? Guilty as charged. Case closed.

What about the NHS???

“……..Up to 1,200 patients are feared to have died at the trust unnecessarily between 2005 and 2009 while countless others suffered horrific neglect…….”

“…….Sir David has been accused of ignoring the warning signs and failing to intervene while head of the regional health board and later, the Department of Health………..”

“…….he had ignored warnings about a hospital trust now at the centre of a probe into high death rates…..”

“….. NHS whistleblower who claims he was paid £500,000 to keep quiet over patient safety last night said he feared he would “lose everything” by speaking out against the “culture of fear” in the health service…….”

My simplistic view. …..NHS forks out half a million pound of taxpayers money to bribe man to keep quiet. Warning signs ignored. 1,200 patients dead. What price human life? Guilty as charged. Case closed.

The first world war. 17 million dead. Caused by Non-Muslims (CBNM).

The 2nd world war 50 -55 million dead (CBNM)

Nagasaki atomic bombs 200,000 dead (CBNM)

War on Vietnam over 5 million dead. (CBNM)

The war on Bosnia/Kosovo over 500,000 dead (CBNM)

War on Iraq (so far) 1,200,000 deaths (CBNM)

Afghanistan, Burma etc (CBNM)

My simplistic view. …..Is it really War On Terror?? What price human life? Guilty as charged. Case…..??

So Andrew,

What has Guilty as Charged got to do with Accountancy and Tax?

Well…..I’m guilty as charged with frequenting Blackpool in March

If you are considering making that annual trip to Blackpool for the IFS in March 2013 why not let the taxman pay for it?

Remember, this is a training weekend therefore… for all you self -employed folks…this is tax deductible…..whoop whoop…!

If you are not self-employed yet but are still thinking about it, save your receipts and claim for the weekend in a few years time. You can put the whole cost of the event towards your pre-trading expenses.

Don’t forget that even if you are employed and work within the health & fitness industry, you can also make a claim. The claim can be set against your employed income…the result….a small tax refund…good eh?

I know it’s quite a distance for some of you but…..it’s fantastic once you get there. If you think your car won’t make it…hire one. Yes, this can be claimed as well so there’s no excuse not to be there.

Another thing…..if you get reimbursed for your mileage and it is not the full 45p per mile, you can claim the difference plus any parking or toll fees. Thanks taxman.

It’s worth mentioning that director’s of their companies can get an advance of £1,000 for their expenses. Make sure you account for it and spend it within 6 months.

It’s not a case of if you can afford it….can you afford to miss it……. Let the Tax Man pay…

The 10 Commandements of Tax Tips

Keep every single receipt you spend on the weekend.

Log your mileage or keep your petrol receipts to and from IFS 2013, claim the full £0.45 per mile.

If employed, claim expenses against your employment income.

If buying equipment on the weekend, you can claim up to £25,000 in full against your profits.

If you are the director of your business, get your company to reimburse all of your expenditure.

If you haven’t started to trade yet, the expenses incurred on the weekend can be claimed within 5 years before starting to trade.

If your buying items as a gift, you can claim up to £50 a year to each person, against your profits, as long as the gift advertises your business.

Drinks and meals away from home on the IFS 2013 training weekend are allowable deductions.

If self-employed ensure expenditure is wholly and exclusively incurred for your sole trader business.

If you have a limited company, ensure expenditure is incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily.

Finally

Rachel and I launched Fitness Business Development in order for you to ‘Kickstart Your Business in 2013’.

Watch out for the new DVD entitled ‘FLiP Your Business’. (Franchise Licence and Protect).

In this DVD we tell you exactly how the successful launch of the Revolutionary Kick Start Fat Loss Diet & Fitness Club was done and what you need to do to copy it.

This is not textbook, it is not theory, it is the actual steps and information used to launch the franchise.

A warning……..Beware the charlatans, the copycats and people who haven’t done it themselves.

You Don’t Need Permission…..

For women you need a pair of solid spherical objects

For men, a sturdy pair of bollox.

Guilty as Charged. Case Closed..!!

www.fitnessindustryaccountants.com

www.facebook.com/andrewjamescrawford

www.facebook.com/fitnessindustryaccountants

www.twitter.com/tax4fitness

www.fitnessindustrygossip.com

Have a wonderful Day