Save Time and Money Searching for a Business Location

New business owners don't have a lot of the green stuff. You're either raiding your savings, taking bank loans, or borrowing from family and friends. Usually you are doing all three.

You must find space elsewhere if you can't run your business from home. It's a wise decision to have a budget in hand when you are looking for that perfect spot for your facilities. Yet many new entrepreneurs fail to budget for their location before setting out to look for the spot.

Why You Need A Financial Roadmap

A site budget is simply a small portion of your overall start-up financial plan. People have a tendency to raid the piggy bank to get things they want but do not necessarily need. Spending on a business location is no different. A good money management plan helps you focus on

• Space must haves vs. wants
• Prioritizing competing needs for your space
• Keeping it real by identifying over/under cost estimations
• Preventing you from overspending

Business Location Budgets Save You Time

The time spent on controlling your spending is well worth your effort. You have just knocked out a major portion of your start-up planning. Often small business owners will pre-determine a location by using a personal "gut" feeling. They may like a particular area of town because of the trees and wide streets or they see a lot of nice cars in parking lots or available space is so close to home they can walk to work. Having a spending plan narrows your search because you won't spend time looking in areas of town you initially can't afford. You know exactly where you should be looking.

Planning Considerations

A great deal of thought goes in to a location financial plan. Your usual options are renting vs. buying. The option you choose should financially benefit your business in the short-term, say two to five years. Then establish the following:

• The pros and cons of renting and purchasing
• How much can you afford to spend on a location
• Do you anticipate having to make improvements?

7 Steps to Setting a Business Location Budget

1. Write down how much you can afford to spend on the new location. Include the down payment if you are buying or the lease security deposit and the maximum amount you can pay for your mortgage note or lease.


2. Write down how much you can spend on improvements/build-outs either upfront or monthly note. Improvements are things such as plumbing and electrical upgrades; build-outs are more space planning - cubicles, offices, conference room.


3. How much you can spend for real estate agents, lawyers, accountant, or other consulting people, if needed.


4. Estimate how much money will be allocated for operating licenses and permits, build-out inspections, etc.


5. Call your local utilities and get estimates for security deposits and hookup fees. These can vary with location your city.


6. Estimate annual property tax. Your County Tax Assessor/Collector or Treasury Department/Department of Revenue should be able to help you if you have a specific property address or legal description of the property. Many times you can do this online.


7. Get estimates for insurance. You will probably need at a minimum general liability (casualty) and property (building structures, inventory, etc.).

Setting a good business location budget can be hard work, but is something that small business owners should not overlook. A little effort on your part up front can save you a lot of time and money in the long-term.

10 Possible Reasons Why Your Personal Training Business Is Failing

Many people retrain as a personal trainer following redundancy or some do it out of choice, but when they hit the job boards, it becomes increasingly apparent that there are not very many (if any) well paying personal trainer job roles, just freelance positions and courses. So the new Personal Trainer has a choice, go back to the job he hated or make a go on the self employed route. Its tough to know where your are going wrong when you have no experience in business, so below is 10 possible reasons why your personal training business is failing

1. You are reliant on "pay as you go" rather than monthly billing

This is bad news, your entire livelihood is based around if someone can make it to the gym or to exercise...worrying

2. You are embarrassed to ask for money

Its a business, your invested a lot of time and money to get where you got to and you should be compensated for it

3. You don't have systems in place for marketing and sales that you stick to

If you are just winging it month by month, you won't be able to plan for the future. Have a plan that you can duplicate success

4. You don't look for clients outside the gym

If you work out of a gym an you only market yourself within that gym, you are putting all your eggs in one basket, the gym could close down, get rid of you, change the personal trainer agreement, double your rent, you have to keep your options open

5. You don't run group training sessions

Relying on one to one sessions is a risky thing when you are just starting out. Have several group sessions underway

6. You're not that competent trainer that you can guarantee results

Why should people train with you unless you are that good that you can guarantee the results as long as they follow what you tell them

7. You take yourself too seriously

You got to have people skills and be able to manage people in a variety of ways and be able to have a laugh with people

8. You're not professional enough

The above being said, you need to be thoroughly professional at all times, its about striking a balance

9. You work too much on the wrong things

You need to focus on generating income...full stop. Anything else is a hobby

10. You don't know where to start when it comes to marketing and selling your services

Get training, buy some in and get to know it as well as, if not better than Personal Training.

Basic Blogging and Article Writing for Personal Trainers - Top 7 Tips

The more prevalent that the internet becomes in publicising a personal training business, the more of an essential skill it becomes when someone starts a personal training business. Writing articles and blog posts can be some of the most cost effective ways and efficient ways to drive traffic towards your website.

Some of the advantages could be that it costs nothing to get started, it can provide good link juice to your websites, you can optimise with keywords relevant to personal training and more specifically your personal training niche. Couple this with the fact that a good article website usually gets high traffic and has an option for other people to use your content on there site with the condition that they include a link back to your site.

Some disadvantages could be that it does take a considerable time and commitment to write the required amount of articles, its a long term strategy meaning there is no quick cash here and there is also the creative concern, how do you keep coming up with quality articles?

Here are my top ten tips on writing articles and blog posts

1. Commit to writing 3 times a week. Accept it is going to take time and build your articles and blogs up gradually. The more articles and blog post with a link back to your page, the more your traffic and clicks will accumulate

2. Every time a Personal Training client asks you a question, make it into a blog post or article. You can also expand on each question e.g if a client asks you "how do I lose weight?" You could write about "how to lose weight" and another on "how to lose weight over 40" or "How to lose weight when you gain easily" etc.

3. Use your Articles and use them for inspiration for your blog posts, this saves time

4. Keep your articles to 400 words, keep your paragraphs short and easy to read and keep your style easy to read and relaxed.

5. Have your keywords in your article title wherever possible and in the text of the article, don't over do it once every 100 words should do

6. Don't forget to input your keywords, make sure they are relevant to your article and your niche

7. Always include a link to your site, remember the reason why we write articles and blog posts, its not to win journalistic awards but to drive traffic to your webpage and demonstrate your expertise.

What Is a Tenant Representative?

A tenant representative provides an outstanding service opportunity for a business. This professional is a commercial real estate agent who works exclusively for a tenant. In business, having the right location can make or break the company's success. A tenant representative works to ensure that your business avoids pitfalls and improves on its economic opportunities. He or she does this by ensuring the business is in the right location for optimum profit potential.

Space Selection for Your Business

One of the key things this professional does is to help the business to find the best location for a commercial lease. There are several reasons that the business may need to relocate.

1. The business that is struggling may need to relocate into a better economic situation to increase revenue. The tenant rep can help to find this location and help ensure that the business's location is not a downfall to profit potential.

2. The tenant representative may be able to point out specific locations where the business could profit better, even if the business is doing well right now. The tenant representative may provide recommendations prior to obtaining a new lease.

Finding the right space for operations is important because it affects how customers find the business, how they enter and exit it and how prominent the business is to the street. The goal with choosing the right space is to ensure the business gets the customer traffic it needs and a space that is adequate for business functions.

Negotiation at Its Best

Another way in which the tenant representative can help the business is to represent the business in negotiations for a commercial lease. If you wish to move into an office building, before signing an office space lease, the tenant representative will negotiate things like the following on your behalf.

· The location of the business

· The cost of leasing the space

· The onsite amenities and features of the space provided

· Parking for the business

· Frontage and signage options for the business

· Free rents

· Landlord's incentives

The goal here is to get the best bottom line for the business. This ensures the business owner has the optimal space and is paying the least amount possible to be in that space.

Why It's Critical

While most business owners are excellent at running their business, most do not have experience in picking a commercial location that is ideal for the type of business that it is. The tenant representative helps to find suitable office space or other space for the business. This professional commercial real estate agent works on behalf of the tenant to locate, negotiate and to create a lease specifically designed for the business's needs.

By using this service, the business reduces costs while increasing its potential for saving a significant amount of money.

Have a good day,

A Tip Sheet For Tip Sheets

Most everyone loves tip sheets. They're easy to read, they don't take more than a few moments to complete, and most often, they're fun to read. If you're an athlete embarking on your post-pro career or any other sports-related executive, a tip sheet is a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Here's how to write your own. You can easily write a simple list of tips to post on your website, blog, or social media sites.

1. Use a highly specific topic to center your tip sheet around. "Top 10 Tips on How to Lose 10 Pounds" is better than "How to Lose Weight."

2. Determine the purpose of the tip sheet. What do you want to use it for? To gather names? Market to prospective customers? To educate your current clients? A clear purpose will help you keep focused on the subject matter.

3. Keep your tip sheet consistent with the tone of your website and blog. If your writing is serious, don't try humor in a tip sheet. If your website has a casual tone, don't write a deadly serious tip sheet.

4. Create short, bulleted lists that appeal to media. Print publications and t.v. stations love short bulleted lists because they're ready-made and don't require editing.

5. Keep your tips to no more than 12 items. More than that and you'll lose your readers quickly.

6. Use numerals instead of spelling out numbers in your headline. Example: Use 10 Tips for... not Ten Tips for...

7. Write for humans, not for the search engines. Your readers are human and although keywords are important, don't stuff your tip sheet with non-essential keywords.

8. Use verbs in your tips. Action words tell your readers exactly what to do, eg: "Invest in gold with these 7 hot tips" or "Develop your business model by leveraging expert advice."

9. Write a series of tips on one topic. Example: Motivation - 5 Tips to Stay Motivated When you Work Alone, 10 Tips to Revive Yourself on Emotional "Dip" Days, 7 Ways to Motivate other Self-Bossers."

10. Publicize your books or reports with complimentary tip sheets. They're perfect instruments to draw attention to items you sell. It doesn't give away all your information; it simply provides a "teaser" to make your readers thirsty for more.

So, there you have it! Now, make a list of your topics and go to town writing your own tips. You can even make your tip sheets into a small booklet to give away to your clients.

Top 10 Mistakes That Health Club Personal Trainers Make

A Popular route when you become a personal trainer is to take a position in a health club, leisure centre or gym, either as an employee (although there doesn't seem to be that many of them around) or as a self employed contractor paying rent to market their services and uses the facilities.

However, during my time at my current gym (2 years) I've seen 4 personal trainers come and go when things haven't worked out for them. Upon my observations, here are my top ten mistakes that Gym based Personal Trainers Make and hopefully by reading you can avoid them

1. Not having a Presence at the gym

I've said before that if someone doesn't refer to you as "part of the furniture" you probably aren't there enough. Especially in the early days. Be there at core times (Mornings, Lunchtimes and evenings) and look busy, this may mean doing free tasters or training a friend in the early days its better to look busy. Also, think about training yourself in your branded PT kit, as long as you are fit and do impressive training methods that "awe" others looking on, this can get you business

2. Not Marketing well enough

Make sure you tap into the different marketing vehicles you have at your disposal, this may include a PT Profile board, notice board, reception promotional area, lead boxes, posters, business cards, have three articles in the newsletter if your gym has one, do an informational article on your gyms website

3. Not Networking with members

Its not enough just being there, you need to talk to people, don't try and sell to them as this is a right turn off, get to know them as people and gently introduce the aspect of how you can help them, Be approachable and friendly

4. Only concentrating on Personal Training

In my opinion for most PTs starting out, personal training is a dangerous thing to bank your entire income on, you need to get your classes going on, sell nutritional supplements, do plans and diversify as much as possible

5. Only Marketing to Gym Members

Don't put all your eggs in one basket, make sure you maintain a good marketing presence outside your gym. You never know, your gym could kick you out, go bust or double your rent tomorrow. Market outside and bring people into the gym if you need to

6. Not Branding up

Wear your colours! Have your logo with "Personal Trainer" and your contact details on the back, it gets into people psyche eventually

7. Not differentiating themselves and their niche

Rather than trying to be all things to all people, specialise! Bodybuilding, Nutrition, Running, Fat Loss, Lower Back Pain, Bootcamp are all potentially profitable niche's to explore

8. Not Networking with staff

Reception and sales staff can make or break your business get to know these guys and get an arrangement where they refer people to you and get a payment if the referral books in

9. Not being visible when training clients

It maybe easier to train a client in an empty studio but who can see you? Be out and visible to other prospective clients when you are working

10. Not asking clients for referrals

People who come to the gym, usually have friends at the same gym. Ask for referrals and reward your clients for doing so.

7 Tips To Balance Your Personal and Professional Life

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life you can feel like you're in the Indianapolis 500 at full throttle. In your personal life you may have kids, a significant other, friends and family that you try to make time for. Then there is your professional life that can consume a large portion of your day and night depending on where you are in your career.

It is so easy to lose control of your life personally and professionally. The two begin to blend together and you wonder where one starts and one ends. Life has to have some balance to it in order to keep you healthy and sane. This can often seem so hard to do but with a few tips you can find that balance and harmony in your life.

Can you really balance the two? The answer is a simple "yes". Remember these tips:

1) Plan of Attack - Before you can even begin to get your life in balance you need to first know where your life is out of balance. Are you spending too much time at work and not enough time at home? Are you working on the weekends instead of spending time with friends and family? Ask yourself these questions to determine where you need some adjustment.

2) Family Obligations - Are you married, have kids or a significant other? If so your life then isn't just about you. So when working on balancing your life, they have to be a consideration as well. What are you missing in this area? Ballet recital for your daughter? Date night with your spouse or significant other? You have to balance life and it has to include these important people in your life. So take that into consideration.

3) Delegate - It's easy in business to do a lot of things yourself so the job gets done right the first time. However in doing so you are taking away from your personal life. This is where delegation is essential. Delegating is important to balance in your life. Delegate the things that can be done by someone else. Be sure to have good systems in place so that when you delegate there are clear instructions on what needs to be done.

4) Schedule Time for Yourself - This seems to be one of the hardest things for most people to do. It's also the last thing on most people's list. You have to take time for yourself even if it is only an hour here or there. It could be something as simple as just taking an hour to read your book for an hour or going on a run. No matter what you do, the goal is to take "some" time for yourself.

5) Prioritize - The key to finding balance is the ability to prioritize. You have to realistically know what needs to be done first and what can be pushed back to a later time.

6) The Art of Saying "No" - We often want to please others and so we take on more and more because someone has asked us to. By doing so you are throwing your life out of balance because sooner or later you're going to have too much to do and not enough time in the day to do it. Sooner or later you have to say no to some things in order to keep your life balanced and happy.

7) One Thing at a Time - Multitasking was once seen as the way to get things done but realistically it's easier to focus on one thing; finish it and then move on to the next thing. In some cases multitasking can be distracting. So stay on task, finish it and then move on to something else.

If you don't have a sense of harmony between your personal and professional life things can take a toll on you mentally and physically. Taking simple approaches like those listed above can help you get your life balanced out so that you can be productive at work and have fun with your family and friends.