42 Pros & Cons Of Starting An Online Fitness Coach (2024)

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

Traffic to your website

A online fitness coach gives people a reason to visit your website and to keep coming back to you!

Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a online fitness coach. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

High margins

The gross margins for your online fitness coach are typically around 60%, which is considerably high and allows you to grow your business and manage costs easily.

Pick & choose the clients you work with

Online Fitness Coaches have the ability to choose the clients they work with. You have the freedom to work with only a few loyal clients or with hundreds of clients!

Control of workload

With becoming an online fitness coach, you have the unique ability to choose how little or how much you want to work. You also have the freedom to decide which projects you want to work on, and can turn down the ones that do not interest you.

Gain exposure and experience

This career allows you to gain experience working for multiple different businesses - which will benefit your resume and also keep things interesting for you!

Unlimited income potential

With becoming an online fitness coach there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make.

Daily physical activity

Online Fitness Coach's typically involve a much greater degree of movement than other lines of work. Most days, you will spend your day walking, running errands for your business, and performing a multitude of tasks. This can have a positive impact on energy levels and your overall health.

Amazing perks and discounts

Working in the online fitness coach comes with its perks! As a seller for these products/services, you typically also get to enjoy industry perks and discounts.

You are your own boss!

With becoming an online fitness coach, you are the one to make decisions for almost all of the operations. Calling the shots can be empowering and liberating!

Predictable income stream

Your businesses income stream tends to be predictable based on the number of customers you have signed up. This makes financial planning and outlooks much more seamless!

Higher likelihood of getting referrals

This business is all about referrals, which can be a a very impactful way to attract and retain customers. It's critical that you have a great referral program in place that incentivizes your customers to tell their friends about your product.

Simple business model

A online fitness coach has the advantage of a simple business model, which makes launching and building the business more seamless.

Control your own destiny

Becoming An Online Fitness Coach allows you to control every aspect of your life and make your own dreams come true every day.

Greater Income Potential

With this business, the sky is the limit in regards to your income potential.

You get to do something you truly love

With starting a online fitness coach, you get to put your energy into something you are truly passionate about! You'll find yourself devoting as much time and energy as possible into the business to make it successful.

You can decide who you work with

Gone are the days of working in a toxic work environment with employees that you may not vibe with. As a small business owner, you get to decide who you work and surround yourself with.

Express your opinions

With becoming an online fitness coach, you can express your opinions and knowledge to your audience, which allows you to build your own reputation and identity.

You can work from anywhere!

Not only can you start your online fitness coach from home, you can also run your business from anywhere in the world. This is the entrepreneur dream.

Strong Demand & Relatively Recession Proof

The demand for online fitness coach is increasing year over year and the business is known to be relatively recession proof.

You get to inspire others

Your business is one that encourages and inspires others, which in itself, can be very fulfilling.

You establish yourself as an expert

With becoming an online fitness coach, you establish yourself as an expert in your niche, which builds your credibility. In return, customers are more likely to trust you and refer you to other friends and family.

Can build solid foundation of clients

It's unlikely you will have one-off customers as a online fitness coach. Typically, you have a solid foundation of clients that use your product and services regularly.

Low maintenance customers

In this industry, customers are known to be very appreciative and low maintenance. This can help with your stress levels and allow you to focus on growing your business.

Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

High employee turnover

In the online fitness coach, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment.

Taxes

As a online fitness coach, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

High overhead expenses

With becoming an online fitness coach, there are overhead expenses that come with selling a physical product. You will want to make sure you strategically budget for these overhead costs. We discuss this more in the startup costs section below.

Work can be repetitive

You may find creating the same product over and over repetitive and tiresome. One way of avoiding this is to diversify product lines and revenue streams - this will keep things interesting!

Churn

In this business, customers can cancel their membership or subscription for your services - which can make revenue forecasting challenging and unpredictable. It's important to focus on your churn rates and trends so that you can prevent this as much as possible.

Time commitment

With becoming an online fitness coach, all responsibilities and decisions are in your hands. Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business.

Difficult to build trust with your customer

With becoming an online fitness coach, there can be minimal face-to-face interaction, which means it can be a lot more difficult to establish trust with your customers. You'll need to go the extra mile with your customer to grab their attention and business.

Impatient customers

You may offer an engaging user experience for your customer, but customers expect a lot and may be impatient if they aren't pleased with your product or service.

Learning Curve

When you start your own business, you no longer have upper management to provide you with a playbook for your roles and responsibilities. You should know the ins and outs of every aspect of your business, as every decision will come down to you.

Equipment Breakdowns

Over the years, your equipment can get damaged, break down, and may need repairs which can be expensive. It's important you prepare for these expenses and try to avoid damages/wear & tear as much as possible.

Takes time to see results & make money

Results and revenue do not come overnight with a online fitness coach. Often times, it takes weeks, months or even years for your work to monetize.

Technical issues can be frustrating

Technical issues are common in this business. If you struggle with the technical side of things, you may want to consider outsourcing this responsibility to save yourself the time and frustration.

More challenging to earn passive income

It can be more of a challenge to make passive income in this business. Often times, the amount of revenue you bring in is limited by the amount of time you have in the day.