Monetizing fitness and how to build a buisness

Let’s face it, the fitness industry is saturated and many want to be either a fitness model, sponsored athlete, instagram celebrity or just find a way to earn a living. But how do you do it? First of all, nothing just comes to you. You must work for it and create it! Originality and finding a nitch in this market is key. Social media is free advertising and should be utilized for any business in this day in age.  Networking with other like minded people and building relationships goes far.

If you asked me 10 years ago if I thought I would be doing what I am today, I would have said your crazy! I am a registered dental hygienist by trade and was very content with my lifestyle. When I began competing in 2013, coaching organically came next. As my coaching escalated, I decided to create my first business, Team Pulse. Team Pulse has grown over the years from one coach (me) to now four coaches guiding over 500 clients.

My second business, Santa Cruz Sports Nutrition was created in 2016.  My fiancé Chris and I wanted to bring a unique sports supplementation shop to our city offering nutritional guidance and top quality supplements. The latest development is our purchase of Santa Cruz Power Fitness (a well known gym in Santa Cruz, ca). This has been a huge accomplishment, and thrilled for the future plans.

None of this happened over night. It all started with an ideas and grew from there. It has required me to prove myself over and over again. Competing has certainly allowed me to open these doors. With out competing, I would not be here. It has allowed me to meet many people and build alliances and relationships.

So how do you start?

1) Identify your target market

2) build your brand. It should be a reflection of you and genuine. You must offer something that people want.

3) learn to properly market yourself. Utilize social media, hash tags and network! Build a website and tell people who you are!

4) offer something that is different from someone else or your own spin. For an example, one of our team pulse national Bikini athletes, Marlene Masters created a cold press juice company (Lokahi) focusing on “gut health” and prep friendly. With in two weeks of launching her brand, she had her product in 5 well known local grocery stores. One year later, her juice in high demand and grown substantially. This is a prime example of finding a niche and using her recognition in the industry.

5) have a vision and bring it to life. This can be difficult and require risks. It will take time and well thought out plans and business concepts.

6) produce content! People need constant reminders of you and your product. Utilize my stories, posts, hashtags and other social media sources to get your message across. I personally don’t like feeling like I am always “selling” something to my audience. To get around that, I have found offering informative posts and reviews on products a way to give helpful information that is not locked to one particular brand or product.

7) Take opportunities that come your way. This may start with a conversation, idea or meeting people. Keep good relationships with others and network (there’s that word again)!

8) evolve with time and trends. Don’t get stuck in one way. Business and trends are constantly evolving. The fitness industry changes often. Look at coaching for example. Diet trends and training styles are always changing. A couple years ago, IIFYM was very popular. Today, vegan diets are on the rise. You must adapt and learn to keep up and be creative with your approach.

9) take risks! When you see very successful people, all we see is their accomplishments. You don’t see the 10 times they failed before. Failure is a part of success. Embrace the failures and learn from them.

10) have fun. There will be days that are hard and most will feel very long, but you must have fun and keep things interesting!

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