Module 2
Business & Income
Let’s get down to business!
Become an Instructor
You’ve done this part, and very well as you’ve passed. Yipee!
Picking a venue
You can go for gyms, village halls, church halls… The list goes on!
Become familiar/friendly with the staff at the venues. They will love to have such an amazing class at their venue – and are more likely to share your class on their website, social media and so on. If you speak with the gym/venue, and attend their other events/classes, this will get your name out there, and they will love you as part of their community and venue.
A few gyms will tell you that they only put on larger classes (as in, Zumba, Les Mills), so offer them a taster session and give it your all to show them how great you really are, and how much their members will love Turn’d Up Fitness. Ask us to send you marketing/promotional material and videos, send this to them, share their posts. You have to be pro-active to be part of their community!
Sourcing insurance and licence
Most venues (gyms especially) will have a PRS/PPL Licence, however if they do not – you must get a licence. PRS/PPL (they are now one company) are the best to go for, so make sure you get this sorted.
If you are teaching exercise sessions to the public you need to have appropriate insurance in place in case of any issues. The two main types of cover are (and both are essential):
Public Liability: This protects you from damages and costs arising from claims brought against you by a third party for injury, damage or other issue resulting from a lack of reasonable care. This damage could be to a person or to a facility, equipment or structure.
Professional Indemnity: This protects you from claims made against you in respect of a breach of professional duty. This could include your services or any advice you have given.
There are several companies who offer this type of insurance for fitness instructors and it offers peace of mind for a low annual cost. Remember that without insurance, any claims made against you could cost you thousands!
Disco lights and speakers
Amazon, eBay, Argos, Asda, etc etc etc!
Promote your class/build your Girl Gang!
For info on this, head to the Social Media & Marketing module, there are also tips in the Building & Keeping Your Girl Gang module.
Bring along your family and friends to your first few classes, this will not only show them how much fun Turn’d Up is, but it also will help coverage for your classes as you’ve already got girls in the room! Don’t be hesitant to ask them to keep returning, as you’ll have guaranteed members this way, and people are more likely to attend a class with members than none!
Running the class
Use your check-list for this – it is imperative to succeeding!
Have a float ready for each class as you may need to give change. If you’d prefer to run a booking system for online payments, you are able to do this, websites such as EventBrite can be used for this.
After class
Make sure you’ve accounted for who’s paid etc, if they’ve got a loyalty card, are they going to bring a friend next time? Ask for feedback, find out what they loved, what they want more of, what they found challenging. Connect, connect, connect!
Business FAQs
How many classes should I run weekly?
There is no set limit to how many or how little classes you should be running weekly. This is completely down to you.
If you work 40 hours weekly, you may only be able to put on 2-3 classes weekly, but if your schedule is a little more flexible and free, you could put as many as 7 on. Although, you must think about your health, doing a class a day might not only saturate the class for you but you will be very tired. So consider yourself when arranging this!
How much should I charge per class?
We recommend starting at £6, any lower and it may look as though you’re underselling yourself, if your venue will only allow £5, you are able to charge this. Again, there is no set limit on how much or how little you charge, however it makes sense to make a living out of the class, to charge a decent amount per member.
How do I grow my class?
As stated above – you must be pro-active when promoting your classes and gaining the trust of your new Girl Gang. Use outreach (literally go door-to-door, ask businesses to put up your flyers), go around your local village or town to promote. Social media is huge, we have a module on this, however as a business tip, be very active on social media (as much as you can around your own life).
What about tax?
To understand Tax further, please see https://www.gov.uk/topic/personal-tax/income-tax as this will explain fully and thoroughly what is required.
PART 2 – INCOME
Your should be aware of your income, outgoings and additional costs. Build a plan, a strategy and stick to it – this way you will have a consistent income and be aware of what is outgoing.
Example:
December 2019
Weekly Income:
£6 per head – Regular class (note down after each class how many came/paid)
£15 per head tickets – Masterclass (keep track of who is coming, who has paid)
£100 – £200 per hour – Childrens party
£25-£30 per head – Hen Party
£25 per head – Team Building session, corporate company
Outgoings:
£15-£20 – Venue (If you use the same venue 3 times a week, remember to add this to your outgoing “£15 x 3 – £45”)
£X – Insurance (This will vary – is it recurring?)
£X – Music Licence (This will vary – is it recurring?)
£10 – Disco lights (One off payment, not recurring)
£5 – £10 – Bottle of bubbly for the Hen (One off payment, not recurring)
– You must think of other outgoings: Do you need a speaker? More than one venue? Write up every outcome, weekly or monthly, and keep track on it.
Masterclasses:
Remember, Masterclasses should be treated differently to regular classes.
Example: build up a “hype” on your Instagram (“Announcement coming soon!”), they shouldn’t be often as this will saturate/dilute how special they are, you should be charging £10+ for these Masterclasses as the duration is longer than a regular class, and they are special!
The length of these is ideal as you can break down the routines and techniques.
Children’s Parties:
Things to remember with children’s parties:
You may require a DBS check.
You must ask that all parents sign a consent form prior to the party.
Remember that the playlist cannot have some of the more provocative routines (ie: Dirrty, Partition etc), please be mindful when picking the songs. There are plenty of fun ones to pick from, perfect for a Children’s Party!
Team Building sessions:
These are really fun ways to get the word of your class out there, and spend a day at a corporate company!
If you contact companies like British Gas, Legal & General, radio stations, companies surrounding you – they love team building sessions.
Create a package and offer it to them.
Example:
£25 per head, 1-2 hour class, goodie bags – whatever you want to offer, message their head of events/marketing/teams and offer this event for a session of 10-30 people (however many you want/they want).
You may have to organise a venue as some corporate companies don’t have a big space for a dance class.
The length of these is ideal as you can break down the routines and techniques.
Hen parties
Who doesn’t love a Hen party! Take the classic Hen party to a Turn’d Up party.
Again, create a package and whoever is organising the Hen – liaise with them. You can charge anything from £25 per head for these (or if you prefer, a bulk payment package instead of charging per head), you will have to organise a venue, unless the Hen party have booked one!
The length of these is ideal as you can break down the routines and techniques.
Below, we’ve given you a calculator to help calculate and account for all of your expenses! Hopefully this helps and gives you a bit of clarity.