How to Transition from Training Clients to Building Your Online Business

There are basically two ways that you can go about transitioning your business.

The Sudden Switch

You can suddenly go all-in. This is where you tell your in-person clients: “You’re all done. I’m done, I’m no longer doing this. I’m quitting cold turkey and I’m only focusing on my online business.”

But unless you have a year’s worth of cash sitting around, I would avoid this method of transitioning.

Because without a steady stream of income, you’re basically going to be cutting your livelihood. That makes it really hard to buy groceries and pay your bills. I don’t think it’s the smartest way to approach the transition unless you have Daddy’s money to bank on.

The Smart Transition

The second way to move your business online is similar to what I did. I gradually backed off from one-on-one training, putting those hours instead into my online business.

Now, back when I was training clients full-time (almost 20 years ago!), I worked as many as 16 hours a day. Some days I was at the gym from 7 a.m. to as late as 10 p.m. Eventually I realized there was no way I could continue at that pace.

But here’s the thing: during those long days, I had occasional one- or two-hour breaks between clients. If you’re a trainer you know what I’m talking about.

Those down times are your opportunity to build your online training business.

When I first considered going online, my first thought was to give my existing clients a product to use when I wasn’t with them. But then I also wanted to be able to sell that same product to people around the world, people I didn’t even know.

It’s Not Rocket Science

The steps I took to create my business weren’t anything special or tricky.

Basically, during my time between clients, I locked myself into one of the gym offices and I documented the workouts I was doing with them.

I basically sat down and said to myself: ”I’m doing this with Alana, I’m doing this with Howard, I’m doing this with Jeff. How do I develop a program around this, or a series of workouts that I could turn into salable products online?”

And I started creating frameworks and systems that I could use online.

Meanwhile, most of the other trainers were still talking amongst themselves, gossiping and happy with the status quo. The funny thing is, a lot of those same trainers are still training in the same gym.

There is nothing wrong with that, but I am so much happier with the lifestyle that I now have, where I’m able to walk my kids to school and pick them up afterwards.

How to Create a Business That Suits Your Lifestyle

Now, I work about five to six hours a day. I’ve built a massively impactful business over the last 11 years online, and I’m at the point now where I don’t train clients.

However, if I wanted to, I could charge an extremely high premium because I don’t need to train clients.

The beautiful thing about moving away from the one-on-one and building more of a leveraged business is that there’s a big distinction between choosing to train clients, and having to train clients.

When you choose – when you want to because you don’t have to – you can charge 10 times as much, assuming you’re delivering amazing value.

It shifts your mindset from, “I need to train this client, therefore I’m going to keep my prices low so they can afford me.”

As a result, it becomes a very different playing field.

Use Your Time Wisely

Again, what you want to do is you want to start to taper down some of your training hours.

I started working on my online business during those time gaps, creating content to help move it forward.

And the other key thing I did was start to cut back on training clients with whom I didn’t feel like I was a good fit or didn’t easily “click” with. Over time, I said: “Listen, I don’t think this is working out anymore,” and I cut them away.

I ended up with about half as many clients, which allowed me to spend more of my time on my online business. So, instead of working 16 hours a day I worked with six to eight clients a day.

This was before I had kids, so I could take that extra time and stay up a little bit later at night to produce content, work on my products, build my list, and all that stuff that you have to do as you’re starting to get things going.

Help More People, Make More Money

And that’s the course I’d recommend to take, if you want to create an online business.

Recommended Reading: 

• 9 Overlooked Steps to (Successfully) Selling Information Products Online

First, transition from training people in-person or online, to moving to a leveraged online business. That’s where you’re taking your knowledge and creating content that is everlasting, or turning it into a product that you create one time that thousands of people can use all around the world.

That’s how you start to create more impact, make more money, and enjoy more freedom.

BONUS TRAINING: 3 Tips to Help You Start Your Online Health or Fitness Business

Below is a recent episode of HPTV Live which goes into even more depth about how to transition from 1-on-1 to 1-to-many with your online platform.

In this episode you’ll discover:

* 3 common business models you can deploy online…
* The 3 types of freedoms must entrepreneurs are seeking…
* How to start your “side hustle” even if you have no time…
* The EASIEST (and most effective) product you should create out of the gate…
* How to get more traffic to your site and become the sought-after expert in your niche…

Watch it here…