Instructor Newsletter 12 January 2012

Good morning I trust you have had a great start to the year and classes are now picking up and you are getting back into your stride. Its a perfect January with no snow, nothing on the TV apart form Biggest Loser so there really is no excuse for anyone not getting to a class or booking a Bootcamp or PT sessions. This weeks newsletter contains articles from Cori Withell, Jill Gardner, Jayne and Andrew our resident tax expert has replied to many of the questions he received after last weeks article. Please do keep your feedback coming if you are tweeting your feedback use the #C2GO and then you can find what fellow Fitpros are saying about this weeks newsletter.

January JumpStart – KSFL 2012 for Fitpros (Kick Start Fat Loss 2012)

I opened the doors to the Online Kick Start Fat Loss 2012 last Friday and it went crazy!

I have never launched anything on C2GO that sold out so fast and in such high demand. Incredible, and the group is now rocking, we are all focussed and on track with the detox and training.

I have recorded a new workout for all 14 days which the group has to complete twice per day and I am so looking forward to telling you all about the results.

I’ve made the workouts short, but hard and intense and so there is no excuse for fitting them into your busy schedule. The Facebook group is a great way to keep you motivated and I post lots of tips and feedback throughout the day.

If you missed the start of KSFL 1 and are interested in getting on my next KSFL2012 Let me know on FACEBOOK and I’ll forward you the sign up details as I will be opening up group 2 tomorrow and starting the detox on Monday.

http://www.Facebook.com.RachelLHolmes

Fitness Pilates – The Next Level

I hit the M5 excited and nervous on Saturday as I trekked down to Bristol for the first date of the FP Tour. The first date of any tour is like staring up a very high mountain and kind of wondering how you will make it to the top. Of course, I have written, practised, researched and rehearsed the material a million times but until you present the first date you never know how it will all come together.

As I’m also showcasing new products I was especially nervous and the adrenalin was certainly flowing. I needn’t have worried, the new material was really well received and everybody loved The New FP Resistance Band Workout and The Grid.

I was ecstatic driving home and so looking forward to a full house in Guildford the following day. I must say that in Guildford we had one of the most fun and chilled out workshops I think I have ever taken. It was a pleasure to teach and share new information and ideas and again we had loads of fun with the bands and Grid and the new functional sequences went down a treat.

Thanks to everybody that came along. You will able to get a 10% discount on the Reebok Bands from Escape with an exclusive discount code that will be available on Friday. I’ll post it on the Choreographytogo Facebook page so make sure you check the page http://www.facebook.com/Choreographytogo This weekend I’ll be in Birmingham and looking forward to it already. If you would like to grab a last minute place click here to book many of the venues are now sold out so check the website for all of the updated details. If you check out my Facebook you will also see the videos and pictures from the weekend.

Get £5 Discount on your Music

As I announced last week I am now partnering with Pure Energy and if you use the code Holmes12 you will get a £5 discount. My CD of the week has to be The Funky House Mix and Im also loving the New Fresh Hits so do go and check it out http://www.pureenergydigital.com/

Free Choreography Quick Fix Choreography Clips

I am doing a Quick Fix Choreography Clip every week and here are what I have filmed so far; please do comment on the page and let me know what you think.

Quick Fix Choreography 4 Power Conditioning

Quick Fix Choreography 3 Step

Quick Fix Choreography 2 Hi Impact

Quick Fix Choreography 1 HiLo

 

Podcast – Everything you need to know about teaching Pre and Post Natal Fitness Classes with Claire Mockridge and Rachel Holmes

Listen to this highly informative and interesting podcast with myself and Claire Mockridge. Its 18minutes of top advice from Claire about the real nuts and bolts of Teaching Pre and Post Natal. Claire specialising in this client group and is dominating the market in the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire here she discusses business points that you may not of even considered when teaching this client group. You can get your level 3 Pre and Post Natal Qualification with Choreographytogo as an online/distance learning qualification Click here for Level 3 Pre and Post

Click here to listen to the Pre and Post Natal Podcast with Rachel Holmes and Claire Mockridge

 

Packed Classes – 12 Ways to Keep your New Class Members and your Community Classes Booming by Rachel Holmes

All your advertising is paying off. Your phone has been ringing of the hook with enquiries. It’s not snowed (yet!) and everyone seems to want to get into fitness .. HURRAH!!! Happy days for community classes.

BUT

How do you capitalise on this influx of new and returning members? How do you keep up the momentum and turn day trippers into regular, loyal long lasting customers?

1.Collect every new person’s email address, mobile number and postal address via a Par Q. Input these details straight away into a spreadsheet so you can email your newsletter and class info asap.

2.Giveaway a goody pack for first timers. Network with other local businesses for freebies and info that you can put into the goody pack and include your flyers, business cards and promotional details. Include details of your DVD/Book/ or anything else you upsell.

3.Introduce people to each other. One of your class goals is to create a loyal tribe, so ensure people know each other’s name, especially if they come alone.

4.Give away referral cards and classes so your new clients can bring along friends and colleagues.

5.Educate your classes – giveaway handouts, offer discounts for other local businesses eg Hairdressers, Nail Bars, Masseurs, Physios – Create a bank of allied professionals who you can all refer customers to with a small discount.

6.Orgainse a workshop or seminar. I’ve written about this extensively in past newsletters, but to recap. Hold a free event you can invite people to. It could be something like The Truth about Fat Loss or How to Drop a Dress Size, hire a room, prepare your talk with slides and at the end sell your classes and services.

7.Package YOUR classes and services. People love to buy into a brand, a club or a theme. Make sure your class is not just another Bootcamp or Legs Bums and Tums class or Body Blitz class or whatever it is. Brand it, design your lesson plans and hand outs, create a newsletter and be clear about who your class is aimed at. Remember most people are coming to a class to solve a problem. Develop a clear brand and image for each class you teach, how it will help your customer, which problems it will solve in a step by step methodical way.

8.Offer Value – Make sure you add as much value and extras to your service as you can. Film weekly workouts for Facebook/Youtube and put them on your website. Create recipe ideas, cookery info, home workouts, food shopping information ,so you become the one stop shop for every thing health, fitness and wellness for your clients.

9.Website – You HAVE to have a website in this day and age to survive and compete. BUT don’t let technology slow you down or even stop you. Don’t let technology be a headache for you so that you procrastinate. If you want a website talk to my web designer Paul Taylor. He will give you a great quote and help you find the right package for you. You can contact Paul here pt@paultaylor.co.uk

10. Communicate your message and the right time, to the right audience. Work on your classes and services first, then communicate your message to your audience though social media, local media, ezine newsletter, hard copy newsletter, flyers, joint ventures with other local businesses, A Boards outside your venue, banners and networking groups.

11. Answer all enquiries and follow up all enquiries. If someone calls you for info and they don’t show up in class give them another call, email or text, send them some information with a free trial class pass. Always follow up your leads. This is something we often miss in fitness. We feel scared that we may be hassling or chasing people. Don’t feel like that, many people just need more information or nudge in the right direction. You must always follow up your enquiries you will find these customers may become your most loyal long lasting customers as you took the time to help and encourage them to attend.

12. Build an exclusive Monthly VIP package for loyal customers. Offer customers who pay a monthly membership unlimited classes, bill it as something elite. You could call it your Premier Club or First Class Fitness Pass or something catchy like that. Create a membership card and offer additional benefits for signing up to monthly membership.

Get your Systems Right

On my Coaching and Mentoring courses the one thing we talk about a lot is systemising your business and putting the right systems in place to make you business run more smoothly

You should have a system for:

– 24/7 marketing action from at least 5 different places to begin with (eg. Local paper, referrals, local businesses, flyers, social media)

– Building your potential client database (eg. Using ALL marketing action to drive them solely to sign up to your database/mailing list )

– Converting your database into paying clients (eg. An email series or newsletter to build a relationship with them and allow them to know, like and trust you)

– Keeping in touch with paying clients to build relationships with them (eg. An email series and once a month get together

– Promoting upsells and offers to paying clients (eg. A monthly workshop, webinar for your best clients)

A system does 3 things.

1, It takes the guess work out. If you’re following a system, you’re following a set of rules. You just follow your rules and depending on how much the system has been tested you’ll get a consistent set of results

2. From an initial enquiry to a new person attending a class you have a set procedure of what happens every time. You create the customer path, exactly what happens from initial enquiry, to follow up call, to them attending your class, to you following up with a newsletter and them finally booking a course with you.

3, You can measure it. If you can measure something you can test what makes it better or worse. So if I have a ‘system’ that I follow when I’m trying to get someone who’s inquired about coming to one of my classes to actually come and commit to a course, I can change one element of that system each time I use it and see if I get a better or worse result. I can keep doing this until my results get better and better and then I just follow the same system each time I want to get the result of someone committing to a months worth of classes with me.

Eg. A basic sales system for ANY fitness business whether its bootcamps, pilates courses, dance or PT would be:

– All Marketing Material drives people to a website where their only option is to sign up for a free report/video/training on whatever niche your fitness business is

Eg. If your niche is Fitness Pilates aimed at 45 -60 year old females the free report could be “The 5 things need to know about getting the results you want from Fitness Pilates” or you could film a VLOG and give away a free home workout video showcasing why FP will get them the results they desire and solve the problems they have.

– They sign up for that report because its useful to them

– You send them a series of emails that tells them about what you do and how you can help

them solve their problem

– In the emails you invite them to take up a 10 minute phone consultation with you where you discuss their interest in what FP can do for them.

– In the phone consultation you follow a script to find out if they are serious about signing up for a course.

– If they meet your criteria they are booked in for a free taster class

– At the end of the class they are offered a special deal if they sign up for a course of classes there and then

– If they don’t sign up they are sent a series of emails after the taster session reminding them to book for a course.

Now if I follow this exact system and 100 people sign up for the free report and 5 of those people end up booking onto my Fitness Pilates Course I can be fairly sure that if I send another 100 people to that same free report to sign up I will get another 5 bookings.

So if I want to make £1000 and my course is £40 I know I need to get 25 bookings and I need to get 500 people to sign up to that free report.

I can just follow the system and keep pouring people in at the top to get an expected result out at the end.

So all of a sudden making filling your classes and courses isn’t a dream its just a process, and you can keep going with your systems to fill your classes and course.

Good Luck!

 

Cooking up a storm in 2012? My top 5 add-ons to make your business grow and grow! by Jill Gardner

Hey guys! Welcome to the New Year. I hope things are going great and classes and clients are coming back in droves!

I had a great end to the year and want to continue that growth into the 2012. None of us can afford to stand still in our businesses. As modern life evolves so must we to meet that demand. Evermore people are more stressed and busy and need a more holistic lifestyle based approach to help solve their problems. My mission is to increase my brand awareness and keep networking with key synergistic businesses that will continue to help my business grow and help inspire many more to make positive changes. I have picked up some great ideas for those who specialise in fat loss and I thought I would share them with you. I hope you will find these helpful!

1. Be different! There are boot camps at every turn now and they don’t appeal to everyone. Think about your target audience. For example – why not call your 4-week boot camps a journey, mission or a course. These words are less intimidating for some and you can tailor it to suit. I use workshops each week to deliver presentations or I use a flip chart to get the information across. Try to meet all learning styles by using handouts, images and demonstrations. Taking in samples of foods or using props such as fake muscle or fat models. This again raises your profile and sets you apart from your competition.

2. Make the course so interactive, supportive and fun that they will literally bite your hand off to stay on as a monthly member (encourage this after the end of each course). Give them access to member’s only support forums via websites or facebook. Make them feel really special by giving them member’s only content and other offerings such as extra workshops or free copies of your recipe books. The key is to build a community on and off line with your members. Pretty soon they will be organising social events together and sharing their journeys! With a sense of belonging and community they will be bringing their friends and family along to join in.

3. Affiliate with as many relevant local businesses as you can to offer your members more value for their membership. By getting them discount at the local supplement store or hairdressers you can get them a special member card made up with your logo on and their name – this can be used at various restaurants, nail bars etc. My members get discount at the cookery school, local health food shops and special attention at an exclusive restaurant local to us to name a few.

4. Find a local cookery school, caterer or independent chef to set up cookery demonstrations, courses, evenings etc. You can seek the use of kitchens in the evenings at schools and colleges. Make sure your members get discount to add even more value if you choose to run regular courses. You could even base you fat loss courses here to make them even more interactive.

5. Team up with your local sport or health food shop to run shopping events. You can negotiate great discounts and free samples and use it as an opportunity to increase your profile with your local shops. Hold mini seminars on different niche topics. This is another way of building your profile locally.

So don’t stand still. Keep moving forwards. Keep networking and interacting with your members and local and national businesses. Let’s make it the best year in fitness yet!

Big love, small tummies

Jill Gardner – The Fat Controller – www.facebook.com/hateitchangeit

Transferring Your Sole Trader Business

To a Limited Company…..Follow Up

by

Andrew Crawford

After each article that has appeared in these newsletters I receive plenty of feedback……. but one especially touched me last week as I felt the words jump off the page and into my heart. With permission, I have reproduced an excerpt from it which I believe encompasses many people’s thoughts on the idea of transferring a sole trader business to a limited company.

The advice I gave back was private so will not be copied here.

I would also like to personally thank the sender of the following email, who took the effort to write to me and inadvertently helped me form the basis of this week’s article.

“I have just read Andrew’s article in Rachel Holmes’ January newsletter. Very interesting…

Now, of course limited companies have their advantages (all those that Andrew detailed but also the limit on the accountability, which is important in this day and age) but they also have their disadvantages (from my viewpoint at the very least: more chance of investigations and thorough ones at that, with consequent stress, need for the bookkeeping to be “spot on“, accounting costs, banking costs and costs relating to setting up the company).

I would be interested to know how one can calculate whether moving from sole trader to limited company is a good choice or not for them at a certain point in time?

For instance, over the last few years I have always thought that my income levels (being so low!!!) do not justify the move, but I am interested in your thoughts on this.”

Now ….confronted with this email response ..one had to act…….and fast!!!

Although the email looks simple on the face of it, there are many issues wrapped up in there, each requiring a substantial explanation. However, I will only briefly touch upon them here.

Investigations / Inspections

Based on my personal experiences in practice and the guidance produced by the Inland Revenue, whether you are a Sole Trader or a Limited Company, the chances of an investigation are the same. However….the questions is…..are we ALL equal?

Why do I ask this?

Well…..you only need to look at the notices they advertise to the public ‘hidden in plain sight’ amongst the businesses pages, journals and specialised reading material and their own ‘easy to use’ website pages…..!!!

The Inland Revenue have set themselves a collection target of £7bn to be

brought into the treasury coffers…and they don’t care which sector it comes from..!!!!

The Government, with their blessings, gave the Inland Revenue millions of pounds in order for them to facilitate this….

However, on the flip side, the Revenue do not always play by the ‘set’ rules ….

“…Our tax chief had secret lunches with Vodafone and Goldman Sachs and then handed them billions in tax breaks – while keeping Parliament in the dark!

MPs are outraged, claiming we are owed over 25 billion pounds in back taxes from these and similar dodgy deals. But the tax agency has blocked an inquiry into the scandal and refuses to release documents to shed light on why these tax breaks were ordered in the first place….”

Most enquiries are generated by computer “risk profiling” and many are selected completely at random. As a result, The Revenue (HMRC) sometimes picks the wrong targets, Even if you have done nothing wrong, the taxman will not give up and will still try hard to find errors.

There are 2 types: Aspect or Full. They start with the Aspect then if need be go into the full.

Now…..the Aspect has been having 70% success rates, so they are doing more of those…Full Enquiries can last for years.!!….they haven’t got this time….!

However, whilst the Revenue are coming down hard on you, behind our very backs they are hiding details of things they want to hide from public knowledge.

Why else would they block a public enquiry…when it is in the best interest of the public? Think about that.

“….is extremely disappointing that senior HMRC officials were not prepared to cooperate with our inquiry in a spirit of openness.

It is absurd that we had to rely on the media and the actions of a whistleblower to find out about the details of individual settlements……”

So…yes there are advantages and disadvantages to either staying a sole trader or moving over to a limited. Additional paperwork is one disadvantage of running a company however, this is more than compensated with the things you can do with a company. I did list some good ones in the last newsletter just to give you examples.

Bookkeeping / Record keeping

Not just for companies but also sole traders. The Inland Revenue have also made up new penalties if records are not up to scratch. Whose scratch? Their scratch…!!

The maximum fine is £3,000 and HMRC will be carrying out an extra 50,000 random tax investigations with the hope of raking in more cash.

http://www.fitnessindustryaccountants.com/ard/enews_article.asp?ID=2704&AID=1987&CID=1

Here is a definitive guide as to what HMRC want you to keep…I suggest printing this out and filing with you business records….

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/factsheet/record-keeping.pdf

Make sure you are familiar with the HMRC record keeping toolkit, so if you do get investigated you can simply say that you have ‘followed’ their guidance.

‘Spot On’ / Errors

The new rules on errors apply equally to sole trader and limited company….please.don’t make ANY errors on the Tax Return….Why? More penalties.

Different levels of penalty will apply depending on the seriousness of the offence. The penalties are a percentage of potential lost revenue ranging from 0% – 100%

Moving from Sole Trader to limited is a Good Choice or not?

At which point does one think of moving?

I say that when your income is such that profits are now hitting the 40% tax rate mark (Profit over £35,000) or when one gets fed up with having to fund the payment on account charge (advanced tax).

Tax Rates for companies are low at 20% up to £300,000 profit. No payment on account..!!

So there is the comparison…just in case you missed it…….as a sole trader you pay 20% tax on profits up to £35,000 then 40% on profits over £35,001 plus don’t forget the additional Class 4 tax on profits in addition to the tax compared to a company who would pay 20% tax on profits up to £300,000.

Things that make you go ummm…!!

Tax Planning

Tax Planning is individual. Not all tax plans will suit everybody, just like no weight loss program suits all.

That is why when confronted with ideas, it is up to you to consider if that particular one would suit you and can be utilised to benefit your individual situation.

Until next time…Eyes peeled …Ears Open…..

Andrew Crawford

Visit our website at: www.fitnessindustryaccountants.com for more FREE resources and articles.

‘Like’ our page at: www.facebook.com/fitnessindustryaccountants

Andrew Crawford can be contacted on twitter @tax4fitness or info@fitnessindustryaccountants.com

www.fitnessindustryaccountants.com like our facebook page : www.facebook.com/fitnessindustryaccountants

Questions to: info@fitnessindustryaccountants.com or www.facebook.com/andrewjamescrawford

 

Jayne Nicholls #Trending on Twitter

Hello all, because the role and the needs of the instructor keep changing and 2012 will only progress this change with us all being so much more pro active and in control of our teaching and business opportunities, I have decided to make my piece for C2GO much more interactive by using the most powerful tool at our disposal right now – TWITTER

This means that we want your reactions and opinions which is what the # is all about. So here is the formula:

· Read the piece

· Use our #phrase which is basically C2GO trending and copy it into your tweet

· Give us your tweets worth

You can then track every one else’s opinions and interaction by searching the #phrase.

Why do this? Good question – we become a much more vocal, solid, unified and serious organisation of professionals and join the other trend setters in Twitter land

So this week is all about #WouldYouSignThis

Would you sign a contract that has a clause included saying that if you cannot find cover for your class, the club can hire from an agency and you are liable to pay any part of the fee that is not covered by your rate of pay? For example if you are paid £20 to teach and need cover, the club can get me in at rate of £45 and you have to cover the £20 excess.

Is this a professional way forward or by signing such contracts are we further losing all control of our worth in a club setting where we are hugely responsible for membership sales and member retention?

So here’s the drill once again: Go to Twitter and post including #WouldYouSignThis with your view. Can’t wait to hear which way you would go on this – don’t forget to include @JayneNicholls & @RachelHolmes

Jayne Nicholls www.groupxtraining.com

 

Cori Withell Mindful Health and Fitness

With pressures of daily living ever increasing and the media portrayals of the costly ideal way to live, where do you draw the line? Where do you say actually I am happy with my lot and I do not want any more? I think it is far harder to achieve this sense of equilibrium than any of us truly realise.

You do not have to look too far before you are bombarded with messages along the lines of,

‘I can show you how to earn 6 figures’

‘Do you want to retire within 5 years.’

‘Be the best in your area and live the life of your dreams’

This last one really grates with me. How on earth do they know what the life of my dreams is??? I could go on but I reckon you get the gist.

Have we really become such a materialistic society that the only measure we have of success and happiness is how much we have in the bank, the fabulous holidays, the top of the range gadgets???

I am well known for my obsession with designer labels, particularly shoes but I certainly don’t measure my happiness by them! They are my present to me and my one indulgence.

I measure my happiness by how I feel when I wake up in the morning. The joy I get from small things like being able to walk 5 minutes from my house and be in the woods or walking along the River Itchen. Being able to walk the 7 miles to the next town following that river.

I spent over two years competing with local instructors trying to be better and make more money etc and it stressed me out beyond belief. Yes, I had a phenomenal couple of years and earned more than I could ever have imagined but I wasn’t happy.

Yes, I could go and buy the things I wanted and take the Caribbean holidays but it didn’t make me truly happy. Money simply isn’t everything.

So now, I have taken a slightly different approach.

I still strive to have a highly successful business that in time will run itself. I know exactly where I want to be and how I will get there – that to me is absolutely crucial. And money, we can’t avoid it. I know how much I need to earn every month to live the lifestyle I want to live but that has changed a great deal over the last two years.

So, take a deep breath, a step back and work out what you actually want and what will make you truly happy. Once you know that, the hard work begins and you can start on your plan of attack 😉

Looking after you and your mental health is so very, very important and one of the most overlooked areas in this industry, I am going to be very proud to announce my new online coaching programme in just two weeks – keep your eyes peeled 🙂

There will be some very useful articles and tips on the Mindful Health and Wellness Page on Facebook, why not take a look https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.249851658412867.61210.249851465079553&type=1#!/pages/Mindful-Health-and-Wellness/249851465079553

Follow me on Facebook www.facebook.com/coriwithell or Twitter www.twitter.com/CWFitness

 

 

Have a fantastic week

Love Rachel xx

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