Become a Personal Trainer
A Personal Training Business Plan Has Seven Parts, And The Level 3 Course Has You Write One Before Your First Paying Client
From the FASTER syllabus: this article is taught in full in The honest route from scratch to qualified →
In short: Criterion F/617/8598 2.2 on the Level 2/3 personal training course asks a learner to describe the components of an effective business plan. The course lists seven: an overall business goal, aims and objectives, milestones, key performance indicators (KPIs), unique selling points, a marketing strategy and financial targets. A new trainer can write all seven before the first paying client, and the plan then tells them what to do in week one.
A plan with seven parts fits on one page
Plenty of people finish a personal training qualification with the skills and no picture of how the first year will pay. The Level 3 course closes that gap early. Criterion 2.2 of the business unit lists the seven parts of a business plan, so the plan exists before the first paying client does.
One of the things you learn on our CIMSPA-recognised personal training course is how to turn "I hope this works out" into seven short answers you can write down.
The seven parts
The course says a personal trainer needs these inside the plan. Each one has a small job.
Overall business goal. One sentence on what you want from the business. The course asks for something clear, measurable and specific, because it guides every other decision.
Aims and objectives. Aims are the broader goals. Objectives are the specific steps that get you there. Two short lists do it.
Milestones. Markers along the way that you can point at and say "done".
Key performance indicators. The numbers you will keep an eye on. A notebook tally counts.
Unique selling points. What a client gets from you that they would not get from the trainer down the road.
Marketing strategy. How people find out you exist.
Financial targets. What you want coming in, so you can tell whether the business is paying.
Why a new trainer can write it
None of the seven needs a client. A first goal, two aims, a milestone for your first five clients, a tally, a sentence about what makes you different, a plan for where people will hear about you and a monthly income target all come from you, today.
The plan also does a quiet job on a Monday morning. It tells you what to do this week.
How the course teaches it
The FASTER course is visual and interactive. You read the lesson, listen to it, and answer in writing or by dictating your answers if typing is not your thing. The business plan is one you write about your own business, so the answer is yours.
Where to go next
PT Manager is free with any FASTER course and opens when you sign up. When your first clients arrive, it keeps the numbers your plan asked for in one place.
The honest route from scratch to qualified is on the become a personal trainer page. The business unit sits in the Level 3 Personal Trainer course.
The FASTER Journal shares the next teaching point first. Sign up at /newsletter.
You just read one answer. The course is all of them.
The honest route from scratch to qualified — taught by the people who wrote it, with free return access for life. The price is on the page, payment plans at checkout, no sales calls.
Also worth a look: Level 3 Personal Trainer, where the business unit lives.
See what the course covers →Frequently asked
What does criterion 2.2 ask for?
To describe the components of an effective business plan. The course lists seven: overall business goal, aims and objectives, milestones, KPIs, unique selling points, a marketing strategy and financial targets.
Do I need clients before I write a plan?
No. Every one of the seven parts can be written before the first paying client, and the plan then gives the first three months a direction.
What is the difference between an aim and an objective?
The course says aims are the broader goals and objectives are the specific steps taken to reach them.
Does the plan need to be long?
The course asks for the seven components, not a page count. A single page that covers all seven does the job.
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