3-Steps to Build an Oversubscribed Online Fitness Business from Scratch

How would you like to create an oversubscribed online fitness business from scratch, without spending any money on paid ads, or using complicated technology?

Because the truth is, so many coaches have been lied to that they think they need:

❌ thousands of followers on social media
❌ to drop £££ into Facebook ads
❌ use complicated funnels and technology
❌ send spammy cold DMs to strangers on IG

This is ALL false.

In this blog post, I will show you the exact process that has worked for me, and for the dozens of coaches I've mentored to grow a sustainable, fulfilling and financially rewarding online coaching business.

This process is so simple, it may seem like I'm hiding something - I'm not. It really IS this simple.

STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR NICHE AND DEMOGRAPHIC

This is undoubtedly the single, most important step and, ironically the one that is most often ignored.

Your demographic needs to satisfy three key requirements for long-term success:

• you are passionate about helping them
• you are world-class at solving their problems
• they value what you do and are willing to pay for your help

For a long time, I coached athletes in the sport of CrossFit, after owning an affiliate it was a natural progression. But, over time, it became less and less fulfilling for me, I found myself enjoying coaching coaches more and more, to the point where I now only coach fitness professionals.

Also, note that 'niche' and 'demographic' are not the same thing. Your demographic is the group of people you help, your niche is the intersection of the problem or problems, you help them to solve.

For example you might work with high-level CrossFit athletes (demographic) but you need to be clear on your niche (the problem you solve). Do you get them out of pain? Help them perform at the highest levels? 

For you to be world-class in your niche, you cannot help anyone to achieve everything.

I see so many coaches making this mistake (I have too!) and driving hard down the grey path of mediocrity where they want to be all things, to all people. 

This leads to 3 fundamental problems:

1. You don't know who you work with, the problems you solve and outcomes you create
2. Because you don't know, you have no way of telling your market
3. Because your market isn’t clear who you help and what you do, they don’t reach out to you

Spend some time refining your niche and demographic but remember this - it’s not set in stone!

I’d highly recommend picking a demographic and niche and sticking with it for a minimum of 90-days to research, test and get feedback, but it’s . The

• They never choose a niche because it’s “too hard”
• They go WAY too broad “I help CrossFitters”
• They pick a niche they have no authority in

STEP 2: FIND OUT WHAT YOUR MARKET WANTS AND NEEDS - THEN PROVIDE IT

Next up is a step that is so simple, yet so often overlooked in coaching - conducting extensive market research. 

This will help you to find out what your potential customers want and need, so that when it comes time for launching this new service - you can ensure it is positioned perfectly as the solution to the problems they are facing.

Done well, your market should feel like you are inside their head when you create content, reflecting back language and phrases that you’ve discovered through your market research is extremely powerful.

When it comes to this stage, most coaches will assume they know what the market wants, or worse yet, TELL the market what they need.

You do not know what your market wants unless you ask them. Period.

If you assume you know already, you will lose out to competitors who have the humility to ask what their market wants.

I talk about it using a model called the problem onion which consists of three major segments:

• Outer layer - Known & Spoken Problems
• Inner layer - Known & Unspoken Problems
• Core - Unknown & Unspoken Problems

Where I see many coaches fall down here, is they are aiming their messaging at the core problem to be solved, which, in some ways, makes sense, because in terms of coaching, it would make sense to address the root issue FIRST. 

However - you’ll see from the diagram above, that from your market's perspective, this problem is both unknown and unspoken. So if your market is unconscious to the problem, you first have to educate them on the problem THEN offer a solution.

To get more traction you NEED to speak to the symptoms and problems that your market expereince as a consequence of the root cause. The more you can meet your audience where they are at in your messaging, the more success you will have.

STEP 3: PRIORITISE BUILDING DEMAND vs BUILDING SUPPLY

Don't allow yourself to get caught up in building systems and technology before you have a proven demand for your service. In these early stages of business you have not validated your business concept with the market, in fact, many coaches will never get past the point of validation of their offer.

What provides validation of your offer and service? Sales.

This is one of the most common mistakes I see where coaches believe that becoming a better technician, pursuing mastery in coaching, will somehow miraculously grow their coaching business.

It won't.

I have worked with and know some of the best coaches in the industry who provide an incredible service, yet struggle to see the growth they want. I also know coaches seeing astronomical financial success whilst being largely incompetent when it comes to their technical ability.

Now, don't get it twisted - I'm a FIRM believer in the need for constant development and growth towards mastery as a coach...

BUT...

Ensure you're also learning more about the business of coaching, so you can ensure your longevity and have the time, money and resources to re-invest into your education.

It's all great to spend weeks refining your assessment process, onboarding and more, but if you have zero new clients coming into your business it's as effective as learning to swim on dry land. 

CONCLUSION

Throughout this process, keep one simple concept at the front of your mind:

‘Everything is a test’

You will get things wrong, you will miss the mark, you might even want to give up at times.

Good.

Nothing worth achieving should be easy, by definition growth comes from the experience of doing hard things.

There are stacks of 'fitpro business gurus' out there selling the six-figure lifestyle of living in Dubai and working on the beach...this is the EXACT same as "coaches" selling detox teas and six-minute abs.

Quick fixes do not work.

Now...

I know that most coaches reading this will fall into one of three buckets:

1. Bucket One - you're an information hoarder and won't implement anything from this article. It will be added to a long list of blogs you've read, podcasts you listen to and courses you take that gather dust, add to your overwhelm and never get implemented.
2. Bucket Two - you're an action taker. You'll use initiative to take this information and implement it into your business and see success as a consequence.
3. Bucket Three - you want to implement it but need some help and clarity on the exact steps to follow.

IF you're in bucket two or three and want some help in implementing this the perfect place to start is with our 5-day Online Coaching Foundations Workshop

BUT... IF you're currently in bucket one, I'll leave you with this...

You cannot consume your way to your goals. Focus less on information, more on action.