Instructor Newsletter 24th May 2012

It’s Thursday already, how fast the weeks are flying by. Finally the sun has come out making everybody that we see much happier and our classes and clients buzzing along. It’s always a great opportunity, if possible, to take your classes outdoors and take advantage of this glorious weather, who knows how long it will last.

This week’s newsletter has some great articles from the usual contributors, Andrew, Cori, Claire, Jill, Katie and Jayne.   I’ve also been experimenting this week with audio blogging and if you are my friend on Facebook or Twitter you will see some examples of my motivational audio blogs. I’ve also included one below and would love to know what you think?

I’ve put together some quick and easy social media articles that I hope will inspire you to begin working SM more effectively and which will help build your online brand and presence.

My Fitness Predications for 2012 – You can listen to my audio about my Fitness predications for 2012, plus most days I’m doing a motivational audio on the Choreographytogo Facebook page, so click on the page to get the audio.

http://soundcloud.com/rachel-holmes/rachels-fitness-predications

The Dirty 30 Workout Club – Starts 1st June 2012

30 Workouts in 30 Days for £30 – I have 100 spaces on this new challenge, I’ve filmed the workouts and if you want to secure your spot then head over to the Dirty Thirty Page and sign up. You don’t have to be a FitPro to sign up; I’ve had a lot of interest from my old class members, friends and Facebook friends. You get a unique 10minute workout with me every day and don’t worry if you are on your holidays for some of the time, you will still be able to access the workouts.

Check out The Dirty 30 Page and jump in if you want to do some hard core training with me https://www.choreographytogo.com/the-dirty-30-club/ you can book today and the Facebook group will open next week all ready for you to kick of 1st June.

19 Day Online Fitness Business Jumpstart

This course starts tomorrow and it’s a great way to get your head around how to communicate your message, build your brand and understand technical info so you can create new products and services.

It’s been a really successful course and if you click on the page you can see loads of VLOGs by C2Go’ers who have completed the course with me. The videos are really inspiring.

https://www.choreographytogo.com/news/19-day-online-fitness-business-jumpstart/

The Fitness Pilates Wellness and Vitality Boutique Reopens  tomorrow and starts on Monday for 30 Pilates Instructors.

Facebook Shares

If you are an avid newshound like me, you would have witnessed the amazing Facebook shares spectacle. An incredible story over the last 8 years from inception to raising over $1 billion on the stock market, but what does it mean to us in the fitness industry and society in general?

Like it or not Facebook  and social media has revolutionised completely the way we do business, the way we communicate with our class members and clients, and opened up the opportunity to compete on a global level with global brands. By really understanding how Facebook works and how we can harness its power and reach,  we are able to have a much bigger platform on which to promote our classes, workouts, nutrition plans and all the other multitude of opportunities utilising Facebook can offer of us.

Personally, Facebook has completely been a game changer for Choreography to go and my own business. It enables me to communicate personally with many of you on a daily basis. We are able to connect, network, provide support by reaching and touching the lives of thousands more people.   I find this mind blowing!

For example, My KSFL 2012 programme,  19 day create your online fitness business, Coaching and mentoring programme and the Fitness Pilates Wellness and Vitality Boutique all use the  Facebook platform to accommodate virtual and online communities. Even a year ago this would not seem possible, yet now it is part of my everyday life and business. Instead of spending 3 hours driving to Bristol or where ever for a 4 hour workshop I can work with the group online, present my material and education on a daily basis, answer questions and tailor the information for individual needs.

Any instructor who has toiled for years teaching numerous classes, who has sweated it out year after year on poolside teaching Aqua, who has been paid poorly without any increase, who has had to put up with room hire going up, caretakers rattling keys, struggling to find community halls, etc, etc then taking time out to plan your online incarnation and understanding social media will seem a breeze.   Please, don’t get left behind, take advantage of these tools and realise the power you have.  Even if you’re not techy at the moment…….. learn! Because  Facebook and social media will continue to shape our lives, our businesses and the fitness industry.

I’d love to hear your thoughts; you can Facebook me, Tweet me  @RachelHolmes,  or e-mail me Rachel@choreographytogo.com.

Get on TV – Internet TV by Rachel

I bet if I did a poll of everyone reading this newsletter, and asked ” at any point in your fitness career would you like to be on TV?”

Probably, most of us would raise a hand but in reality it’s much more difficult. Personal trainers and fitness instructors who do manage to reach the pinnacle of success usually train media execs,  have agents, go to castings and really set their stall out and go after that goal. And good luck to them too!

In reality you can build your own TV channel. You tube is more than just a website, it’s the new TV. However, you tube is better than TV because it’s free and user driven. You tube is in the most valuable tool for spreading your business brand awareness online.

Here are some easy ways to get exposure for your fitness business online. And believe me when I say I’m utilising these tips. It is most definitely true I upload videos daily to my channel.

Please subscribe for some examples of what to upload http://www.youtube.com/user/RachelLHolmes Rachel Holmes TV

1.  Keyword optimise –  YouTube is owned by Google and if you haven’t noticed videos rank highly, so make use of relevant keywords in your video title and description.

2.     Show your expertise. The key on YouTube is not to sell your products but showcase you and your expertise. Videos of you teaching, training, coaching or interviewing clients and class members makes great viewing. Put together your own workouts and upload to YouTube.

3.Show yourself in action. This is a must for all fitness entrepreneurs. Show the world what you teach, how you teach and how amazing your classes are.

4.    Short videos work the best. Your videos don’t have to be long. In fact, they shouldn’t be. Focus on making videos that are just a few minutes long or film short workouts of 5 to 10 mins.

5.   Socialise and subscribe. Remember YouTube is a social media site. Subscribe to other channels, watch videos, comment and make friends. Try to give your visitors the best user experience possible.

6.  Consistency. You don’t have to produce super slick videos; it’s the consistency that counts. Upload a minimum of 2 to 3 videos a week if you really are planning on building your brand online.

7. Put your videos all over your Facebook and Twitter. Embedding videos is as simple as copying the code and pasting it. You’ll get your videos seen by more and more people every day.

8. Make them laugh! Everybody wants to watch a video that is fun. It’s fun to put up your bloopers! Make your videos light-hearted and enjoyable and just enjoy yourself in front of the camera.

Videos really are the way of the future. It’s recently been noted that videos are 10 times more likely to get shared on Facebook than links.  Fitness is a people business and we buy from people. It is also great to watch. Isn’t it time you created your own you Tube channel and started now to harness the power of the video.  Feedback to me via twitter @ Rachel Holmes

Quick and Easy  Twitter tips by Rachel

Twitter is a major player now in social media and it’s continuing to gain momentum on a daily basis.   Whenever I post or write an article about twitter I  get loads of feedback from instructors saying, “but none of my clients are on twitter”  and ” there are very few local businesses in my area on twitter”.

Newsflash. Well, you need to get in there first then and start promoting yourself and engaging with millions of people who are on twitter.

Twitter is a platform no business or fitness instructor should ignore. Truthfully, you need to be there.   Let me share some quick and easy twitter tips.

1.  Follow the experts – Follow all of your favourite fitness presenters and experts. This will expand your network but give you ideas of what to tweet.

2.  Ask questions – engage with your followers even if you only have a few to start with.

3.  Comment on links and start dialogue with people.

4.  Make it personal – People not only want to know about your brand and your services they want to know about you!

5.  Post pictures and share interesting pictures.

6.  Value and Relevance – Whenever you are about to post anything think – has this got value and is it relevant to my followers?

7.  Don’t over promote, remember you are connecting, engaging and even providing customer service to your customers.

Twitter is such an amazing platform and it’s only going to grow. Again ask yourself the question “Do YOU want to build your business online? And if you are serious about it then Twitter MUST figure in the mix.

Jayne Nicholls

The past month has been a real eye opener as i have gone back to the very grass roots and basics of what we do. Choreography – music – people, making moves to music for people, creating material to great sounds of for people to enjoy. While it can often seem like a daunting task it is amazing how it stimulates all of my personal self awareness and the things that make me feel good about me and what I do. I just love it and truly know that i will never stop doing it. This week I have had to cancel my 4 Minute Fat Loss class and make no mistake i always try to organise meetings and business around my teaching slots so as not to disrupt our journey so the Friday team are coming to Thursday. When they ask if the class is different i can honestly say yes there is nothing similar about the 2 sessions. They have a different root, different sound, different look, different feeling and different result. Come and try it, you may or may not like it but it will be e a different experience.

Are you using your creativity and spreading your wings as far as they will go? Are you in control of trying new and daring class ideas or are you scared that your class may not like it? Changing the dynamic of how you feed your groups new and different information is all part of being a leader rather than an instructor. iIs time to take control and truly enjoy your role as a model for others to learn from and be inspired by.

Embrace change.

www.groupxtraining.com

Dont fear it face it by Sally Ghafoor.

Success or the road to success is full of scary moments, opportunities disguised as obstacles can throw people off balance and pushing your project on all of a sudden becomes rather a scary idea, what if it goes wrong?

Albert Einstein, was dyslexic, an obstacle? not for him, look at what he achieved

John Milton the famous poet, blind by the age of 43 yet he wrote his best work after this time

Helen Kellar – Deaf, blind and mute yet she went on to get a masters degree

Justin Timberlake suffers with ADHD and OCD, didnt stop him bringing his sexy back.

Michael Phelps the swimmer that took home 14 gold medals from the olympics – another ADHD suffer

Excuses real or not are an easy route out of cashing in your opportunities. Whatever the obstacle there is a way over it, more often than not the obstacle itself is the one thing that will bring you success.

Turn the I cannot into I can. Whatever is scaring you – look it in the eye and do it, You will feel so much better for it, the more you practice the easier getting rid of fear becomes. Sit and ask yourself, if i wasnt afraid of failure or rejection or ridicule would I push on, the answer would be yes. As humans we prefer to be liked over being respected. Choose to be different, stand out there and say what you think, dont go with the crowd. You were born different so stay that way. Get over the fear, get rid of the procrastination and excuses and get out there and do it!

Are you planning ahead? byKatie Bulmer

Hi C2Goer’s,

Hope you’re all rocking!

I’ve had a smashing time this weekend, delivering the warm up at the Race for Life event in Sunderland and the previous weekend in Gateshead. It’s such a fantastically unique atmosphere, with so many people coming together to raise money for a great cause!

As I stood on stage and looked out across the sea of pink that was nearly 3000 women, I thought to myself, that not only is this a great event for raising awareness and money for the charity, for many of the women it is also a great challenge and goal in a physical sense.

In the weeks leading up to the event I regularly read Facebook posts about training for the event, how tough it is and also a lot determination…for so many women, whether they walk, jog or run, this is a huge goal…and we, as fitness professionals can help!

The Race for Life is just one example, there are hundreds of fun runs and other similar events happening all over the country every weekend…and the biggest event of all is just weeks away…The Olympics!

So as fitness professionals are we making to most of these opportunities? Are we planning ahead? Are we running programs and promotions to tie in with both local and national events?

Here are my top 5 ideas:

Start small group training (SGT) for those wanting to run to Race for Life 5k
Hold your own Olympics themed group X class, either as a one off class or as a course
Run a class for ‘women against football’ (all the women whose husbands go to watch football every Saturday afternoon) at the same time as the match- I would definitely go to this!!!
Be really niche and start a SGT group for those just aiming to be able to walk the 5k/10k Race for Life
Have an awards ceremony for your clients, like the Olympics and give out awards for ‘best press up’, ‘greatest fitness gains’ etc. This is a great way for clients to meet and interact and boost client retention
Why not get a wall planner, and plot all the sporting/charity events coming up over the next 12 months and start planning for them now!

Hope this helps you and your business,

Katie x

Jill Gardner

We hear stories about lottery winners who blow their entire winnings. They are not prepared for or know how to behave in their new lifestyle.  So they end up going back to square one.  This is the have, do, be scenario.

Is this what is happening with people’s attempts at ‘weight loss’.  Is this why most people don’t succeed in the long term?

You have to learn to ‘be’ that person first, then you will start to ‘do’ the things that get you what it is you want to ‘have’!

I believe that in order to change people’s expectation from quick fix or away from their tendency to buy ‘protocols’ off the shelf we need to, as an industry, all be making an effort to become super coaches.  In other words…….

Coach a shift in mindset AND perspective.  Understanding the plan is one thing, but they then need to learn how to shape their environment, look at their barriers, their belief systems and their current skills.

How can you coach them to shape their environment to allow easier inclusion of easier habits – in other words coaching people the tools needed for long term fat loss and maintenance. Coach them back to innate self awareness.

YES be the catalyst to spark insight but their change involves persistent practice, hard work and discipline.  This doesn’t happen in 4-6 weeks!!

Permanent change is difficult when we try to do it from the outside in – We have to help them see the situation from the inside first before trying to change their external behaviors and this is just the very beginning of the process and journey!

I’d love to know what you think about this topic.  I think it would make a great discussion.

Big love, small tummies!  Jill – The Fat Controller

www.hateitchangeit.co.uk  @itsjillgardner  www.facebook.com/hateitchangeit

A quick round up of “Bridging the Gap”

By Claire Mockridge

Ante/Postnatal Fitness Expert

Hi there,

How’s everyone doing on this fine Thursday?  I’m very well.  The sunshine’s made a massive difference to everyone’s mood, hasn’t it?  It’s made a big impact on the number of enquiries into my Inbox from new mums too which is great.  Something I can’t complain about!

At the weekend, I delivered my first “Bridging the Gap” Pre/Postnatal Exercise and Marketing Workshop in Derby and I am still buzzing.  It was a huge success and it was such a pleasure to share some much needed practical knowledge with a very special set of dedicated Instructors.  In fact, they’re no longer Ante/Postnatal Instructors – they’re Ante/Postnatal Specialists!

On Day 1 of “Bridging the Gap”, after a quick introduction, I shared 4 hours’ worth of pre/postnatal exercise content.  On Day 2, we covered hints and tips on marketing, advertising, raising your profile, Blogging/Vlogging, setting up online products and lots of other secrets when building rapport, retaining customers and building trust.  As you can tell, it was pretty full-on, but these are the skills Ante/Postnatal Specialists require to make it in business.

I’d like to say a huge thank you everyone who participated in “Bridging the Gap”, it was truly amazing.  And, I hope, for those of you who attended have more confidence dealing with pre/postnatal women, but more importantly, now have the business acumen skills to enable you to make some positive changes not only to your business, but also your mindset too.

If you’re struggling with advertising and marketing to pregnant women or new mums, then I can most definitely help.  I know how frustrating it is to put your heart and soul into a new venture, only to watch it fail.  If you follow my marketing steps, you’ll enjoy full pregnancy and postnatal classes, with waiting lists in operation, just like me.

If working with pre/postnatal clients appeals to you, why not join my Private Facebook Group for FitPros who either: a) want to get qualified to teach pre/postnatal or, b) are already qualified, but want hints and tips on making their business more successful: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/clairemockridge/

Or, connect with me here:

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/clairemockridge1

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/clairemockridge

Blog: http://clairemockridge.wordpress.com/

Bye for now.

Claire Mockridge

Ante/Postnatal Fitness Expert

Fear or Threat….Who Wins?

By Andrew Crawford

The words ‘Fear’ and ‘Threat’ are routinely used by the media to unsettle the status quo. (Now that I have bought this to your attention, Look & Listen to how it’s woven into the ‘Daily Systematic Subliminal Brainwashing Media Manipulation Programme’…………News for short!

Those two, including the words ‘Terror’, ‘Disaster’ and ‘Crisis’ are powerful words that are also used to CONTROL you, the way you think and the ‘required action to take’ or ‘be submissive to what we have planned for you’…..

These are recent headlines you may have seen…………..

“…Fears Tax Shortfall May Lead To Road Tolls…”

“….Fears for girl 24 who got flesh-eating bacteria…”

“……..She blamed a fear that her marriage would break down on her decision to leave the series………”

Recently a site worker carrying a fake Semtex device was waved through by security staff as he carried it on the floor of his digger, only hours before the stadium officially opened.

“..The revelation will raise security fears after the construction worker was asked to take the ‘bomb’ into the stadium …………”

“…Clearly a tupperware box containing batteries, a moblie phone and some loose wires would not pose a security threat on a construction site…”

“….Biological Terror Attack  At The Games is ‘Feasisble’…..”

“…..Remote-controlled aircraft carrying deadly poison could be used to launch a terror attack at the Olympics, a senior Army officer has admitted…”

Since then, both the number of guards required and the expected costs have roughly doubled, and LOCOG has renegotiated the contract, which now has a current estimated cost of 284 million pounds  Total security costs have risen from 282 million pounds to 553 million pounds in just a year.

I fear that figure will get even higher as the threat of an imminent strike from the ‘forces of evil’ loom over the city of London ……never seen….never heard..whispered in the Chambers of Westminster…..but …..threatening……it actually strikes FEAR into you doesn’t it??  …Booo!!!

Whenever any of those words are mentioned………….watch out for the Financial effect.

Don’t think of taking your viper equipment through Victoria Station either…because the machine gun clad Police Officers may mistake it for a grenade rocket launcher..and shoot the b*ll*x  out of you…!!!…Rat ta tat tat…

I’m not even gonna mention that Brazilian guy they murdered…..oopps..shot  eleven times (some in the back)…. they called him a ‘suspected terrorist’..he was carrying a newspaper..!!!

Strangely enough, none of the 100’s of  CCTV cameras, in, out and around the tube station ( used to catch muggers, rapists, bully boys and petty thieves) were working that day……or were conveniently filed……in the bin of fire…(allegedly)..Lord have Mercy…!!!

On a lighter note….

….I have lost another 4lbs on the KSFL programme…….

I fear I may have to buy a complete wardrobe full of new suits. There is a threat that I will have to challenge my wallet to give up the £50 notes in a bid to combat the crisis of not having anything to wear….What a disaster!!!

In addition, on the weekend I was at Body Power at the Excel…Wow what an event…!!

I was chewing the fat with a fellow Fit Pro Accountant…..the lovely Kelly Evans from over there in North Wales part of Delvin Clark’s Vibe Cycle Team & Brand…… who agreed with my last week’s article (Claim or Not to Claim)..by the way…..she aint grey suited either…in fact, she was in lycra…whoop whoop.!!

I was also taking and being an assistant photographer for our very own current UKBFF British Fitness Champion …the delightful distinguishable Cee Fit….

You can check her out and the photos here………

http://www.facebook.com/cee.oliver

In fact….I fear I felt like a spare part ….

So Andrew…..

What has Kelly Evans, Cee Fit…Fears, Threats, Disasters and Crisis got to do with Accountancy & Tax?

Well…..

Were you one of the millions of UK investors wanting, falling over themselves and gagging to relinquish yourself from your hard earned great British pound to purchase shares in Facebook??

One thousand millionaires were expected to be created by the flotation, excluding the likes of me or you, including a small number of the 100 London-based staff.

The sale of 421 million Facebook shares is thought to have netted up to 18.4 billion dollars (£11.6 billion) for the company.

However, Bono also cashed in on the flotation by turning his £56million stake into a £1billion windfall.

When trading started, 82 million shares changed hands in the first 30 seconds.

I fear….that if your were not in the States at that time and were still talking, Tweeting, Facebooking, Youtubing, Tweeting, LinkedIning, Myspacing, Digging, Friends Uniteding (erm….. and the Dating arm)….Googling, Grouponing, Texting , Emailing, High Fiving……….you were TOO late already…!!!!!

These are the people who ‘Really Own Facebook’…..

http://www.whoownsfacebook.com/index.html

Let me let you into a little secret…………..

When millions of pounds are involved in ANY investment, the Investor wants to know…

The time period of the investment
When their investment will be returned
Is it going to ‘float’

Floating is the ‘Exit Strategy’…SO…..the list of people you see in the link above ALREADY knew when the float was going to take place….You or I didn’t….we were the LAST to know….when it was TOO late.

I did say to a group…that it was BETTER to ‘Invest in YOURSELF PLC…as there is a BETTER Return On Investment…….

Be in Your in CONTROL of your own s***………………..Stuff…!!

Petrol vs Toll

I fear that because the Government is mentioning the increase in petrol costs or the introduction of road charges…that one or the other WILL come to fruition.

Apparently, there is a hole of some £13 bn in the transport budget which they need to fill. This is because you and I have been purchasing more economical vehicles, low fuel emissions etc…to ‘protect the environment’ from the fear of destruction of the ozone layer..yet…you will be ‘stung’ for following their advice for going ‘green’!!!

We will have to choose the lesser of 2 evils….either 50% increase in the price of one litre of petrol or pay the toll road charges.

Why didn’t the Government give the banks LESS ‘bail out’ money then transfer the £13 bn to the transport budget….?? Or sell Northern Rock for a PROFIT  and not at a LOSS…basic economics Dear Watson!!!

According to reports, we would need to raise fuel duty from 58p per litre to 87p to fill the black hole….that’s a 50% increase…!!

For Fitpros who do not use your car often, this wouldn’t affect you as much as it would for those of us who use their cars extensively up and down the motorways.

I have found that if you do HIGH mileage, use the authorised mileage allowance  rates of £45p a mile.

Those of you with LOW mileage, use the percentage ( %) method…usually between 80% – 95%. NEVER do 100%…..right? (Unless of course you have a car/van ‘exclusively’ for your business).

Have you noticed that it was only recently that they increased the mileage allowance from 40p per mile to 45 per mile? It was at 40p for years.!!!

Finally

I want to send out a special mention in the ether to singing legends Robin Gibb & LaDonna Gaines better known as Donna Summer who left this life recently.

Cancer is no respecter of persons. Whether smoker or non smoker, meat eater or vegetarian.

Rest in Peace, your songs will be a reminder and legacy for years to come. My favourites are:

Bee Gees – How Deep is Your Love (Just Beautiful….there’s no shame in crying..!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBMriOspUvA

Donna Summer’s – Love to Love You Baby (Not for the faint hearted)

I fear this is the end of my article for this week, don’t threat it is not a disaster or there’ll be a crisis!

So…………….Who Wins?

“..’Fear Not’ Said He For Mighty Dread Had Seized Their Troubled Minds…..”

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

Toxicity by Cori

What does that word actually mean to you?  Do you automatically think about toxic friends, family, food?  How often do you think of your behaviour as being toxic?  Having spoken with many of you, not many!  Do you actually make negative situations worse (although seldom deliberately) by your actions or decisions?  I think all too often we can blame external sources, food, relationships, friends etc when actually the main culprit is ourselves.

We get caught up in negative behaviour patterns which we then unwittingly feed by our future behaviours, class choices, friendship choices – yes, it really does go that far.  Bear with me on this one and let me give you a simple example.

You are stressed out to the max, classes are not doing as well as you had hoped and you are beginning to panic.  Through this anxiety, your sleep patterns are disrupted and the quality of your sleep is poor so you are more tired.  Through this tiredness your food choices deteriorate as you just want a food that is quick to eat and that will get you through class.  You are mentally drained from having to be the life and soul for a barely attended class.  You may not be getting the support you want and need at home but fear a row or being told you are over reacting, if the topic is broached so you keep quiet and struggle alone.  Worrying about money, you start putting on extra classes in the hope this will solve it, you guess what your clients want because you don’t ‘have time’ to do the market research.  If these classes are poorly attended you start thinking you are a rubbish instructor.  You don’t look at any of the process that went into establishing the class or why you set it up in the first place; you only look at the end result.

So, let’s break it down.

Where, in any of the above, did you acknowledge and deal with how you were feeling?  Where did you do your research into why your business is not going the way you want it to go?  For many of us the reason is quite simply fear.  We don’t want to admit that there may be things that we are not any good at, we want to excel in everything – that is human nature and there is nothing wrong in that, BUT when you keep trying to do the same thing the same way then that is TOXIC.  The more you do it the worse you end up feeling, it ends up chipping away at your self confidence and your self belief, you share your thoughts less and less and ultimately end up shutting yourself away unless you have an excellent support network around you that wont let you do that.

I really believe that we need to start accepting the way that we are and looking at our behaviours to grow as people and to grow our businesses the way in which we want them to grow.  We cannot do that if our environment, our people and ultimately ourselves, are toxic.

Stop living in a world of entitlement and start living in a world of empowerment.

You can purchase The FitPro Mind which has received outstanding reviews at www.cwfitness.co.uk/shop/

You can also follow me on Facebook www.facebook.com/cori.withell Twitter ww.twitter.com/CWFitness and my blog www.cwfitness.co.uk/blog

Health and happiness x

Cori x

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY

Love Rachel xx