When it comes to running a small studio or boutique gym, you are inevitably going to run into some very specific bottlenecks that will restrict your growth potential. The good news is that the solution to all of them is significantly easier to implement than you might think.

So, what are these bottlenecks?

The first is obvious; all of your clients want to come in at the same time! It is very common to have to turn away paying customers because you are full at the only time slot that they can attend.

The second bottleneck is: finding enough trainers. To service 100 PT sessions a week, you need at least five trainers and they are inevitably going to have to work split shifts. This puts your trainers in the fast lane to burnout and you, always on the lookout for your next hire!

The third bottleneck is your inability to pay your staff enough. The amount you pay your trainer is directly related to how much revenue they can bring in per hour. Making $40-50 an hour is great at first, but with little to no room to grow because they are already charging $100+ a session, you may experience higher trainer turnover and inevitably a loss of clients for the studio.

The last major bottleneck is space and equipment. With five clients and five trainers all working independently, the amount of space and equipment you need to be profitable leaves the business overpaying in rent and struggling to fill the other 90% of potential hours.

Have you run into some or all of these bottlenecks yourself? If you’ve been in the game long enough, it is a certain you have seen at least some. So how do you solve them? At Greenlight Personal training, we found success by implementing a “Layered Personal Training” model vs. the traditional 1-on-1 personal training approach.  

Layered Personal Training is simply having multiple clients working on personalized programs under the supervision of a single trainer. The concept is simple, yes, but in order to maximize its potential and create an atmosphere for it to thrive, you need to do these 6 things:

1. Create Individual Workout Areas. Create 4-6 areas complete with all the equipment a client needs to work through their program without sharing with other clients.

2. Establish Coaching Access. Setup the stations so that the trainer can have clear lines of sight to all the clients during a designated block to provide cues and coaching during the sessions.

3. Use a Workout Delivery App. Clients should work off of a workout delivery App that has been programmed by the coach in advance. This can be done using their phones or a tablet provided by the studio.

4. Restrict Client Booking Access. This system only works if the trainer is layering clients in at a rate of 3 clients per session, and is best accomplished by removing the option for clients to schedule their own appointments and having the trainer manage it themselves.

5. Ensure the Trainer is Prepared. The trainer needs to know the programs of the clients in advance to efficiently manage them and still give the appropriate attention to each.

6. Ensure There Are No Distractions. This model is best employed when it is the only option for clients and the trainer does not have to manage anything but the programs being implemented.

So, if you have found yourself with an ever rotating team of trainers, stuck turning away clients for the best time slots, or receiving complaints from your clients and trainers because they do not have enough space, then consider implementing a Layered Personal Training model to get your business back on track!