Being a PT as a side-hustle?

[GoodOne123]

Im bringing up this topic due to the fact that having one job for the rest of your life is not the smartest move nowadays. It's especially relevant now, because many people have been made redundant from their jobs due to corona.

I just wanted to ask your guys take on becoming a PT as a side-hustle?

I have personally never came accross a part time PT, but I know a few full time ones and they make decent money.

The main challenge I see in it is finding enough clients throughout the day. Most PTs find their clients on the gym floor, but thats obviously quite hard if you only have a few hours in the weekend to do so.

I also think the certifications will cost a decent chunk of money. So there is definitely a heavy investment upfront before you even start making money.

 

[ImTheDoubleGreatest!]

When you say PT, I don’t know whether you mean personal trainer or physical therapist, as I’ve heard it used as both before. Regardless, they all stem from similar things.

As it currently stands, anything in the fitness industry is currently saturated right now. In fact, I’d go on to say oversaturated, really. No one can really ‘make it big’ anymore because competition is already so high. Because of that, if you happen to go down that route, no one is gonna actually want you with one foot in the door (i.e. part time). They’d want you to go all in because that would give THEM the best odds of drawing in more customers (if you meant personal trainer, that means drawing in more customers to their specific gym since most of trainers work through a gym; if you meant physical therapist, that means competing against other rehab centers basically for the same reason, and also so that insurance companies favor you over others, though that can be dealt with through lawyer crap and shady business dealings).

If you haven’t noticed, most of these guys have to really have an upbeat and energetic attitude as well and that’s because they’re literally a walking advertisement. Marketing companies do the same **** in their ads to bring people to gyms (“hey you can be as energetic/look as good as this guy if you buy our product/go to our gym!”). But they do have to work for it, and it really is a drag for them at times because it’s forced. I’ve seen this with many trainers at my own gym lol how when they first get hired, they’re super enthusiastic, and then over time they just lose some of that fire (partially because most of their customers are fat, unmotivated, lazy people lol) which just disillusions them for the whole thing due to seeing how most human beings are just commoners that don’t strive for anything more. They do enjoy working with people who actually push super ****ing hard and are really motivated though.

The same goes for physical therapists, since most of their customers are old people, who more often than not can be described using the same words as the people above lol. Most physical therapists got disillusioned in the same way, and also because many old people are just so unrelatable due to the age difference. They probably all hoped to be with some professional sports team or something but didn’t realize the reality of it.

But yeah I’d personally find something else due to go the market is right about now. Especially because of this crash, I don’t think many are actually gonna go out to find a trainer/physical therapist to help them out with anything since most people would be low on money I assume.

 

[CBear]

When you say PT, I don’t know whether you mean personal trainer or physical therapist, as I’ve heard it used as both before. Regardless, they all stem from similar things.

As it currently stands, anything in the fitness industry is currently saturated right now. In fact, I’d go on to say oversaturated, really. No one can really ‘make it big’ anymore because competition is already so high. Because of that, if you happen to go down that route, no one is gonna actually want you with one foot in the door (i.e. part time). They’d want you to go all in because that would give THEM the best odds of drawing in more customers (if you meant personal trainer, that means drawing in more customers to their specific gym since most of trainers work through a gym; if you meant physical therapist, that means competing against other rehab centers basically for the same reason, and also so that insurance companies favor you over others, though that can be dealt with through lawyer crap and shady business dealings).

If you haven’t noticed, most of these guys have to really have an upbeat and energetic attitude as well and that’s because they’re literally a walking advertisement. Marketing companies do the same **** in their ads to bring people to gyms (“hey you can be as energetic/look as good as this guy if you buy our product/go to our gym!”). But they do have to work for it, and it really is a drag for them at times because it’s forced. I’ve seen this with many trainers at my own gym lol how when they first get hired, they’re super enthusiastic, and then over time they just lose some of that fire (partially because most of their customers are fat, unmotivated, lazy people lol) which just disillusions them for the whole thing due to seeing how most human beings are just commoners that don’t strive for anything more. They do enjoy working with people who actually push super ****ing hard and are really motivated though.

The same goes for physical therapists, since most of their customers are old people, who more often than not can be described using the same words as the people above lol. Most physical therapists got disillusioned in the same way, and also because many old people are just so unrelatable due to the age difference. They probably all hoped to be with some professional sports team or something but didn’t realize the reality of it.

But yeah I’d personally find something else due to go the market is right about now. Especially because of this crash, I don’t think many are actually gonna go out to find a trainer/physical therapist to help them out with anything since most people would be low on money I assume.

This is true. Way too many people are certified personal trainers. The whole process is fairly easy but because of that fact, there are many people who are personal trainers who shouldn't be. Majority make terrible money because
1. Some work full time at a commercial gym instead of an independent one (they make much less working in a commercial gym).
2. They are certified but can't get any customers.

Basically it's a lose lose at the moment. You will spend a lot of money to get licensed and the result will leave you realizing it wasn't worth it. Only way to work around this is if you have a decent fitness social media following. In this case, you might as well not even get a license, just offer your services if you have something to offer and people will jump in.

 

[GoodOne123]

When you say PT, I don’t know whether you mean personal trainer or physical therapist, as I’ve heard it used as both before. Regardless, they all stem from similar things.

As it currently stands, anything in the fitness industry is currently saturated right now. In fact, I’d go on to say oversaturated, really. No one can really ‘make it big’ anymore because competition is already so high. Because of that, if you happen to go down that route, no one is gonna actually want you with one foot in the door (i.e. part time). They’d want you to go all in because that would give THEM the best odds of drawing in more customers (if you meant personal trainer, that means drawing in more customers to their specific gym since most of trainers work through a gym; if you meant physical therapist, that means competing against other rehab centers basically for the same reason, and also so that insurance companies favor you over others, though that can be dealt with through lawyer crap and shady business dealings).

If you haven’t noticed, most of these guys have to really have an upbeat and energetic attitude as well and that’s because they’re literally a walking advertisement. Marketing companies do the same **** in their ads to bring people to gyms (“hey you can be as energetic/look as good as this guy if you buy our product/go to our gym!”). But they do have to work for it, and it really is a drag for them at times because it’s forced. I’ve seen this with many trainers at my own gym lol how when they first get hired, they’re super enthusiastic, and then over time they just lose some of that fire (partially because most of their customers are fat, unmotivated, lazy people lol) which just disillusions them for the whole thing due to seeing how most human beings are just commoners that don’t strive for anything more. They do enjoy working with people who actually push super ****ing hard and are really motivated though.

The same goes for physical therapists, since most of their customers are old people, who more often than not can be described using the same words as the people above lol. Most physical therapists got disillusioned in the same way, and also because many old people are just so unrelatable due to the age difference. They probably all hoped to be with some professional sports team or something but didn’t realize the reality of it.

But yeah I’d personally find something else due to go the market is right about now. Especially because of this crash, I don’t think many are actually gonna go out to find a trainer/physical therapist to help them out with anything since most people would be low on money I assume.

Just to confirm I meant personal trainer.

I agree with this especially about how the market is saturated. It seems almost anyone into fitness is trying to become a Personal trainer now lol

I have seen a lot of PTs being super energetic and animated, and I just can't see myself acting like that. It's pretty cringey imo cos I can just tell they are faking it. Not for me.

I've been playing music/guitar since I was a kid so I might look into doing something related to that. Like a performer or teacher

 

[GoodOne123]

This is true. Way too many people are certified personal trainers. The whole process is fairly easy but because of that fact, there are many people who are personal trainers who shouldn't be. Majority make terrible money because
1. Some work full time at a commercial gym instead of an independent one (they make much less working in a commercial gym).
2. They are certified but can't get any customers.

Basically it's a lose lose at the moment. You will spend a lot of money to get licensed and the result will leave you realizing it wasn't worth it. Only way to work around this is if you have a decent fitness social media following. In this case, you might as well not even get a license, just offer your services if you have something to offer and people will jump in.

Yep the number of PTs nowadays is crazy.

I've seen a few people giving online training services, but most of them have a large instagram following, which takes a long time to grow in of itself.

Another thing I've realised is that it's extremely hard to train someone properly online. A lot of the stuff you can do in person can't be done online, e.g correct their form on an exersize, analyse their form, etc. What these online PTs usually do is give a cookie cutter workout and diet programme, and try to give them some advice through skype.

 

[CopperHead]

I would be a PM (project manager) as a side hustle. You can even have your own consulting firm on the side. All you need to break in is a CAPM certification, which is not hard to get. It's an untapped market that pays 75k-150k per job. I've told at least 10 people to do it on the side the past few years and they've all told me the same thing: Dude you were right. I quit my bartending/or whatever job and did some projects and now I have my own consulting firm making 6 figures.

Focus on a high income skill where you can do it for a short period of time and get paid a lot for it. Do a quick job search right now and you will see hundreds, if not thousands of ads from companies that don't have their own in-house project managers looking for someone and willing to pay close to 6 figures for a 3-6 month job. Look for the contract jobs.

Personally I have my own consulting firm with two cousins of mines. I don't do projects anymore because I have a full time job, but the firm has 10 employees and I just show up every now and then to give presentations on effective project management. I even developed my own course on Udemy and made some money off it (can't reveal the course to protect my identity). Once you become good at a high income skill, you can stop doing it and just teach it.

Like those damn financial experts on instagram trying to get you to buy their $10,000 "How to be a copywriter" programs.

I am working as a project manager for a building material supplier. I worked my way up from sweeping the floor. I am now at the point where I want to start looking for new job opportunities. I had not really considered getting a CAPM, but now want to start looking into it. Did you get yours online? How long does it take to get? Does it matter where you get it, or is it just having the piece of paper that counts? I would be interested in taking some courses as I am self taught through trial and error on the subject. I am confident in my abilities within my own scope of work at my company now, but I'm not very confident stepping into another industry.

 

[GoodOne123]

I would be a PM (project manager) as a side hustle. You can even have your own consulting firm on the side. All you need to break in is a CAPM certification, which is not hard to get. It's an untapped market that pays 75k-150k per job. I've told at least 10 people to do it on the side the past few years and they've all told me the same thing: Dude you were right. I quit my bartending/or whatever job and did some projects and now I have my own consulting firm making 6 figures.

Focus on a high income skill where you can do it for a short period of time and get paid a lot for it. Do a quick job search right now and you will see hundreds, if not thousands of ads from companies that don't have their own in-house project managers looking for someone and willing to pay close to 6 figures for a 3-6 month job. Look for the contract jobs.

Personally I have my own consulting firm with two cousins of mines. I don't do projects anymore because I have a full time job, but the firm has 10 employees and I just show up every now and then to give presentations on effective project management. I even developed my own course on Udemy and made some money off it (can't reveal the course to protect my identity). Once you become good at a high income skill, you can stop doing it and just teach it.

Like those damn financial experts on instagram trying to get you to buy their $10,000 "How to be a copywriter" programs.

Interesting stuff, thanks for the insight.

My full time job is an engineer atm. I've been doing it for a few years so I could potentially do my own thing with that.

Until then, I might have to settle with something like a bartending job in ten weekends. I've been looking into stocks and trading but that stuff seems to require a lot on knowledge and training.

 

[CopperHead]

You can get it online or a physical location. No recruiter is going to care how you got it. All you need is 1500 hours of experience leading projects OR 23 educational units in project management. It's the easiest entry level certification in any field that potentially yields big results.

For example, I have a masters in project management (an mba specializing in project management), but a random person who just graduated from high school can take an online course and get certified with a CAPM and be JUST as qualified as me. That's how insane it is. If you are open to traveling the country, you can open yourself up to unlimited amount of projects as a consultant. And it's even better if you have domain knowledge. I also have a bachelors in IT so I can do those jobs. Or anything in construction or even the medical field.

Employers nowadays are looking for SKILLS, not education. That's why there is a shift towards certifications in just every every field despite you already having a degree. And some people don't even have degrees and can get in front of you because they have actual high income skills.

This seems right up my alley. Two of my goals for this year are to start getting my resume out to different companies and to start looking for new places I would like to live. I didn't even think about the CAPM option. I am going to look into this a little a bit and see what I need to do to get started. This will give me something to do while we are on lockdown.

 

[ImTheDoubleGreatest!]

Only way to work around this is if you have a decent fitness social media following. In this case, you might as well not even get a license, just offer your services if you have something to offer and people will jump in.

This is definitely key if you actually want to make it as a trainer nowadays lol

 

[17 shots]

If you're good looking you can be successful, idc how many other people are doing it

 

[Infern0]

Just have a good physique and instagramand you can charge $$$

Nobody cares about some PT with a doctorate in personal training who doesn't look like he lifts (and that's most of them tbh)