Working for yourself can often be a blessing and a curse. While you get to set your own schedule, be your own boss and set the limit on your income, many business owners put in more hours than before they were self-employed and struggle to turn their passion into a lucrative venture before burning out and going back to work for “the man.”
But what if there were an entrepreneurial path that allowed you to benefit from most of the things those of us who wish to be self-employed strive for? Lucky for you, there is and it’s called personal training.
With a nominal investment with a major accrediting body and some sweat equity put into helping you pass your personal trainer exam, you can start a career in this growing field and start helping people meet their goals while simultaneously meeting yours.
Let’s take a closer look at why personal training is the career of your future and why it just might be the perfect small business for you to enjoy flexibility and personal satisfaction.
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Personal Training Jobs are Forecasted to Grow to 300,000 by 2020
If sector growth is one of the things that you keep in mind when considering potential self-employed career paths, the forecast for this industry will mean that there will be plenty of work to go around. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the job outlook for personal trainers and fitness instructors is predicted to grow to 300,000 jobs over the next few years. With the brevity of on-the-job training required to become a personal trainer, you could be one of these lucky individuals in no time at all.
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Certified Fitness Professionals with Personal Training Backgrounds are in High Demand
A survey of Worldwide Fitness Trends for 2015 revealed that both accreditations from third-party associations and personal trainers (the specific act of having a professional guide your fitness routine) have remained in the top five spots of fitness trends globally. This is good news for aspiring personal trainers who also understand that getting accreditation is becoming more of a prerequisite from clients. Currently any “guy off the street” can say he is a personal trainer and provide these services so it means more to clients when they get coached by someone with a more formal education.
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Quality of Life Ratings for Personal Trainers are Extremely High
As we alluded to before, not all self-employment opportunities afford the quality of life that many people are after. But personal trainers are graded with A’s for both low stress and benefit to society and B’s for personal satisfaction and flexibility according to a 2012 evaluation of the best jobs in America. Oh, and by the way, personal trainers were ranked at the 18th spot out of 100 for best jobs. Not too bad.
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The Upper Tier of Personal Trainers Make $80k and some as much as $128k
A recent analysis of the median annual income of personal trainers by Salary.com reveals that full-time trainers can expect to make at least $55,461 and the top 10 percent as much as $80,000. The aforementioned best jobs in America reference indicated the top paid personal trainers bring in as much as $128,000 per year. Not bad for a career that does not require a four-year college degree and where a third-party accreditation can be obtained for around $500.
The steps to becoming a personal trainer are fairly straightforward: Start by getting certified, choose your specialty, set up a business and start to market it. The other good news for those starting out is that the top two fitness trends according to the survey mentioned in #2 – body weight training and high-intensity interval training – require little to no equipment and the exercises conducted can by performed at nearly any location. If you are good at motivating others, enjoy helping people reach their goals and transform their lives and are passionate about fitness, consider a career in personal training.