Speaker 0 00:00:00 Hey everyone, SK founder of Stratus. And in today's episode of the Fit Founders Podcast, we're doing our first ever solo episode where I'm gonna be answering questions that have been submitted to me on Instagram by trainers and coaches from around the world. Remember that the Fit Founders Podcast is powered by strategist all in one coaching platform for trainers and nutrition professionals who love their clients and wanna grow an amazing business. So go and check out a free trial of
[email protected] if you haven't done so already right now. Let's dive into the first question. So the first question is, how do you prioritize your work while being a dad? I don't prioritize my work while being a dad, being a dad is very much my priority. I work plenty. I generally work around, um, Ivy, who's my daughter. So I'll work when she's in school, which is let's say eight till two 30.
Speaker 0 00:00:56 So there's six and a half hours work per day Monday to Friday that I can do. She's asleep by 7:00 PM so I can usually do a couple of hours of work in the evenings. She has gymnastics on a Sunday, and she's usually at the house for three hours. So I'll do four hours work maybe on a Sunday, and then I'll work here and there throughout the week when she's an afterschool club or on a play date, a birthday party. And I make time for myself and my own things in those slots too. But I still have plenty of time for 50 hours plus of work per week without it remotely impacting my main priority, which is being a dad. So next question is, if you had to start from scratch as an online coach today, what would you do for the first three months? Which is a great question.
Speaker 0 00:01:40 Usually people ask, how would you get your first five clients? So how would you make your first X money? This is a really good question. So let's assume that I am qualified and I'm ready to start working with clients online. So, you know, I know how to program, for example. So what I would do for the first three months is I would be publishing content every single day on someone like Instagram and be having as many conversations as I can. So I have spoke about, um, daily non-negotiables in the past. So posting every day and your stories every day, um, highlighting who you are, who you help, how you can help them every day, having conversations with new people every single day on social media. So I'd be doing all of that stuff still. I'd be documenting my own journey in my content. So I would be per purposeful about creating some sort of transformation and documenting that.
Speaker 0 00:02:30 So whether it's a physical transformation, whether it's uh, sort of like a physique transformation or a, uh, training goal or something like that, I would document that in the first few months. I would try and achieve something like personally and document it in my content. I would probably look to create a number of case studies as well. So I'd probably work with a handful of clients for free friends, family or post on social media and see if you can get anyone to be a case study for you. Maybe local Facebook groups, wherever it needs to be. So maybe five, um,
Speaker 1 00:02:59 Clients who you work with for free. And then you can document the work that you're doing with them, um, as part of your content. And if possible, I would, if I could afford to, I would probably work with an established online coach so I could learn through working with them. So I would be a client to them. Uh, if I can't afford that, then what I would probably do is shadow or ask to shadow or ask to intern an establish online culture you respect, and then, you know, help them for free. So dedicate a few hours per week to supporting them in their business, um, in return for learning from them. So that's how I'd spend the first three months. And then, you know, that could be the first two months, you'd probably end up with a few clients off the back of helping those clients for free.
Speaker 1 00:03:44 So some of them would stay with you. When I did this, all of my free clients I started with stayed with me. Um, and then through the process of documenting your journey, um, creating content about what you were doing, having conversations every day, you'd go pretty grow pretty easily from there in terms of becoming a better coach. You'd grow from those experiences plus working with an established coach or interning from an established coach. Next question. How are you finding running a software company compared to running O F B or being an online coach? So o FB was my, uh, education and business mentoring company. So running a software company is completely different. I would class, uh, being an online coach, uh, or online personal trainer, and even the online education companies, online, uh, consulting agencies, business mentoring, all that stuff as more cash flow type businesses, a software company, isn't that at all?
Speaker 1 00:04:41 Um, so I'm actually earning less than I have for maybe a decade. I'm paying myself less now than I have for the last decade. Um, it, it requires so much cash and investment for the first few years compared to like being online coach where you can just be making like 90% margins plus straightaway, right? And you don't have to reinvest massively once you've got a, you know, your, your basics or your software and whatever else set up. You don't have to reinvest much, much into the running of the business. Same with O fb. Um, yes, we had overheads, but nothing like having to reinvest everything into the development of the company like you do with the software company. So the way I look at it is I'm pulling an elastic band backwards, right? So, um, I'm retracting now or pulling myself back and that's the building of the software company cuz I know at some point that rubber band I'll be able to let go of and I will launch Ford into a a, a kind of scale that's completely unachievable, um, through running a, like a, an online education or online personal training business.
Speaker 1 00:05:54 So it's very different.
Speaker 2 00:05:56 It's difficult, it comes with lots of challenges, um, that are, may be specific to, to myself and my team cuz we haven't ran a software company before. Um, so managing, hiring and managing developers and teams of developers, dealing with customers who want new features and expect upgrades and, and improvements. Constantly having to try and decide what is actually right to improve and change constantly and not, you know, my nature is I want to do all the things that I'm being told you learn really quickly that isn't actually the right thing to do. So I'm learning on the job, but the business is in a great place. It's growing quickly, um, and I've made the right choice. So next question. Favorite car you've owned? Really easy. My nine 11, my first nine 11. So I've been lucky enough to have some great cars. Um, Lamborghinis, Ferrari, Porsches, but the nine 11 was the car that I always wanted when I was a kid and I loved it.
Speaker 2 00:06:56 Drived it daily, drove it daily, perfect car. Biggest mistake you see other trainers making. Um, so this is a question that we ask on the podcast, so right question. So biggest mistake other trainers make is being in a rush to achieve things that they see other people achieving the line. The most successful trainers and coaches that I know have been so slow, it, it seems like they've done things really fast, but they've been so patient in getting there. So just be incredibly patient, slow down. Um, you don't have to rush to a revenue target, like take it slow. So stop rushing, be more patient. Stop copying what other people are doing, don't be a slave to the latest tactic that everybody's promoting. Learn the principles of marketing, selling and delivering your service to your clients. Yeah, a few mistakes. Biggest hate in the fitness industry.
Speaker 2 00:07:54 So the thing that I hate most, the thing that I hate in the industry is that the organizations that are meant to be driving it forward are fucking failing and they don't give a shit. So governing bodies are just milking the industry, uh, for cash, right? And they don't do anything. Course writers or accreditors, whoever's responsible for the curriculum of a personal training course, everybody knows that it's fucking terrible and doesn't prepare personal trainings for the industry and yet it just hasn't changed. And then the training qualification, the training providers or qualification companies themselves are churning out just terrible courses that again, don't prepare personal trainers for the industry. And despite that, every single day around the world, tens of thousands, maybe more of amazing personal trainers get up delivering amazing sessions for their clients, changing their lives, giving people the best hour of their day. And they're doing that despite the fact that these organizations who just throw awards ceremonies for their corporate
Speaker 3 00:08:55 Partners get money from the government that doesn't trickle down to the people that need it are in the way they're all blockers. So imagine if those people were doing their job, imagine the impact that personal trainers could have. Then imagine the careers that they'd enjoy, imagine how much better prepared they'd be. Imagine the impact for the general public who would work with more trainers and coaches, better trainers and coaches, trainers and coaches who are championed by these governing bodies. So yeah, I fucking hate that. Most important steps to being a successful business owner. Um, or most. I wanna change a slightly, um, maybe answer a slightly different question. So the most important aspects of being a successful business owner, again, go back to learning principles of marketing and selling and delivering whatever service or selling whatever product this person hasn't specified. Work hard, I think mindset is really important and, uh, and that causes a few different things.
Speaker 3 00:09:49 So pma, po uh, positive mental attitude, being able to move forward despite setbacks, despite challenges, despite failures. Being willing to try things day in, day out or a sustained period of time, even if they're not working. Being able to self-reflect and, and think, okay, that didn't work or that did work. How do I build from that? How do I improve? How do I change? How do I adjust? Why didn't it work? Why did it work? I think they're really important aspects, really understanding who you are selling to and who you're trying to help. Book recommendations. This is a really hard question. I don't actually like answering it because it depends on what you need help with and what you're ready to implement. But breakthrough advertising by Eugene Schwartz, this is very difficult to get a hold of. You'll probably fire on an eBay for a few hundred dollars influence by Robert Aldini.
Speaker 3 00:10:43 Oversubscribed, who's this buyer? Daniel Priestley. Daniel Priestley. And then a more recent one. A hundred million dollar offers by Homos or Alex Homos, um, I think is a useful book as well for um, people selling things online. So services online. Um, another book that changed my life cause I read it just before I opened a gym, is how to iFriend and influence people. And there's another one, a similar book called How to Speak to Anyone. I forget who wrote How to speak to anyone. Um, but those books are great, especially if you wanna get better at building relationship charge upfront or charge monthly, it really doesn't fucking matter, um, at all. The way I teach is you like, if I had to just be really general and broad and I'm speaking to an audience, I don't know who they are, usually start by charging monthly. Cuz you're probably probably not great at selling stuff. It probably makes you anxious the thought of it. So trying to charge a few thousand dollars or whatever it may be up front is just gonna add to that anxiety. It's gonna create an additional roadblock, just remove that charge monthly.
Speaker 4 00:11:52 And then one, if you get to a point where you are generate generating leads every single week reliably, and you are completely comfortable selling at a high price point or fully upfront, then change that if you wish. Um, but you don't have to. It doesn't, it doesn't fucking matter is what I'm getting at. Any business mentor who tells you that you have to do one or the other is uh, full of shit. How much should you charge for online coaching for training and nutrition? Um, again, the answer is it's entirely up to you. Doesn't really fucking matter. But to give you some kind of answer, I would say, as a minimum, 150 pounds per month or $200 per month, most of you will probably end up somewhere between 250 pounds or $300 US dollars to 350 pounds or 400 US dollars per month. Um, so somewhere between there is is the price point where you don't have to become a, an absolute sales shock to sell it.
Speaker 4 00:12:58 You don't have to learn advanced sales tactics. It doesn't really price anyone out who you, who you'd be marketing to and be finding your stuff. Um, so yeah, 250 pounds to 350 pounds per month if you're in the uk, in US dollars, probably somewhere between three and 400 US dollars per month is where most of you will probably end up or should be. Think you hate most about other mentors. Obviously I'm not a fan of ones who just scam people. Um, I'm not a fan of ones who threaten like debt collection or legal, uh, action against trains and coaches who just wanna leave their program. But I'm, I don't, this is a more of a pet peeve, not something that I hate. A pet peeve is business mentors who don't give people credit. Um, and this is something I've experienced, like we've had 30, 40 plus students or graduates of OFP who want to be business mentors.
Speaker 4 00:13:57 So few of them give credit to me when teaching my stuff to other people. Um, which can be frustrating when I, it pops up on my feed, I'm like, oh, I invented that, I created that and there's no credit. And I've seen other people recently who, uh, positioned themselves as thought leaders or mindset experts and their trainings are just things that I've read in a book from somebody else, or I've seen people write about it on Twitter and now they position it as their magical insights into their mindset and success. So that's more of a pet peeve. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Probably still running Stratus, but my, my goal is to get back to working with clients in person. So as a personal trainer or a small group pt, I'd love to do that as quote unquote retirement. So maybe a bit longer than 10 years where I just have maybe two sessions three times a week
Speaker 5 00:14:50 With three to five people in each. Um, that's what I would love to be doing professionally, personally, just being a dad, being a husband and enjoying same as what I'm doing now. What's the big hairy ass goal for strategist? We think we can have 10,000 plus trainers and coaches using Stratus and receiving our help at one time. So that's kind of what we want to get to. We want to help as many trainers and coaches help as many clients as possible. Um, we think we can get to a point where we have 10,000 trainers and coaches using the platform at any one time, not ever, which is what most of the platforms do. And they say, oh, 7,000 coaches trust stratus, when really it just means that many people may have tried a free trial over the past 10 years. We think we get to 10,000.
Speaker 5 00:15:40 Um, doing that, you know, from a revenue perspective is unbelievable. Um, we wanna help. So business goals ticked off through helping as many trainers and coaches as we can. How's Dubai life? I cannot complain. The weather is great. Lifestyle is great. My wife enjoys a great life. My daughter is enjoying a life that is far removed from how I grew up. Um, so right now we're incredibly happy here. It is, you know, an amazing city to live in where they're proactively trying to make it better and better for the people that live here and to attract more opportunity, more people. Um, so it's just a great place to be at the minute only downside is, uh, you know, not being closer to my family, especially my mom. Obviously my dad passed away last year. Um, it's actually his birthday. It would've been his birthday today.
Speaker 5 00:16:30 A time of filming this video. Um, so that was tough, not being home for that. But it's pretty simple for people to travel. We've got a baby on the way this year, so we'll be going home plenty with the new baby. My mom's coming already. She's bought to come twice. Amy's parents are coming. Um, so other than missing family, it's a great life and we're very happy here. And that is all the questions that I'm gonna answer today. Hopefully there's some value there, some insights. So just some interesting stuff, um, controversial opinions. I hope you've enjoyed it. If you've got any other questions that you'd like me to answer in the next solo episode, please do let me know. In the meantime, make sure that you subscribe, uh, if you're on YouTube, on YouTube or to whatever podcast listening platform you are on. Have a great day and be sure to tune in for the next episode.
