Weathering the Slow Season: How to Build a More Resilient Business

While many health and exercise professionals see this profession as a calling and would give their services away if they could, we all still have bills to pay. Building a financially sustainable career in this industry takes more than passion alone.

When you first enter the industry, you need to make a name for yourself and build a client base, which can take time and persistence. And once you have clients, you’ll likely encounter financially lean seasons, especially during the summer months and holidays. Add economic uncertainty or other unexpected challenges to the mix, and it becomes clear why building a financially resilient business is so important to long-term success.

“We all got into this industry because we care deeply about helping people and making a meaningful difference in their lives,” says Sherri McMillan, MSc, owner of NW Personal Training and 2006 IDEA Program Director of the Year. “But the reality is, it’s very hard to do that and to build a sustainable, fulfilling career if we don’t have full schedules and a livable income.” Developing the business skills to attract and retain clients, manage fluctuations in income and plan for the unexpected can help health and exercise professionals build careers that are both personally rewarding and financially sustainable.

So, how do you build a sustainable, resilient business that survives lean seasons? One place to start is by questioning the assumption that slow seasons are inevitable. “I would say the most effective way to prevent ‘lean seasons’ is to stop treating your business as seasonal,” says Sue Hitzmann, founder of The MELT Method. “Health, well-being and longevity are year-round businesses. If you believe exercise is a ‘nice to’ but not a ‘have to’ in life, that’s where poor business mindsets begin. I find fitness professionals often unconsciously accept summertime and holiday dips as inevitable. However, you can engineer stability in your career by building predictable revenue streams that aren’t dependent on weekly attendance.”

Sometimes lean seasons may be self-fulfilling prophecies. “My first piece of advice is to stop assuming that summer and the holidays are automatically ‘slow seasons,’” says Whitney Meza, founder of Wellness Blueprint.

It’s also common for someone just starting a business, especially one they’re passionate about, to treat it more like a hobby. “I tell fitness professionals all the time to give themselves grace, but also to treat what they do like a real business—whether they own a brick-and-mortar facility, run an online business or train clients in their home,” says Mike Z. Robinson, ACE Certified Personal Trainer and owner of MZR Fitness. “When you treat what you do like a business, others will, too.”

And go for the long game, says Stephen Holt, CSCS, 2003 ACE Personal Trainer of the Year and owner of 29 Again Custom Fitness. “Stop thinking about 12-packs and short-term gains. Think about helping people for a lifetime. And make sure that philosophy comes across in all aspects of your business,” says Holt.

Building a Resilient Business

Resiliency doesn’t just apply to people. It’s a real thing in business, too. Even if you set your business up to thrive through the summer and holidays, there are still recessions, tough economies and times of illness or injury. And while many business owners adopt a scarcity mindset during lean times, Meza suggests going into problem-solving mode instead. And make your solutions service- and client-centered.

“Instead of asking, ‘What can we cut?’ I like to ask, ‘Who has a problem that we can solve right now? How do we make the business more adaptable?’” says Meza.

For example, Meza works with a lot of rock climbers. Summer could be a financial disaster for her, since that’s when most climbers are outside scaling rock walls and hitting the beach, not working out in the gym. But because she’s pivoted her mindset toward client-centered solutions, Meza is able to sustain her business through the summer season. “For a climber, summer can actually be a fantastic time to train for the fall season,” says Meza. “Someone may want to build strength, work on an injury, improve their conditioning or prepare for a bigger climbing objective. So instead of telling people, ‘Don’t take the summer off,’ we’re asking, ‘What would make your fall better if you worked on it this summer?’”

Hitzmann agrees and says that lean economic times require a shift from selling sessions to selling solutions and outcomes. “People still invest in their health, but only when the value is unmistakable. Frame your work around what people gain—less pain, better sleep, more energy—rather than what they do—classes, sessions, workouts. Outcomes survive recessions,” says Hitzmann.

And while people love a good sale, lean seasons aren’t necessarily the time to start offering deep discounts on your primary services. “There’s a big difference between, ‘Everything is 90% off!’ and ‘We created a simpler option for people who want X but don’t need Y,’” says Meza. “The first trains people to wait for a sale. The second creates an entirely new product and potentially an entirely new customer. A recession can force you to discover customers you weren’t paying attention to. Don’t assume that someone who can’t afford your current product can’t afford anything you offer.”

For example, Hitzmann suggests offering shorter sessions, small-group formats, virtual check-ins or hybrid programs. “Flexibility increases accessibility without lowering your value,” she says.

“I’d also encourage health and fitness businesses to think about alternative demographics rather than immediately looking to cut expenses,” says Meza. “If your usual customer is less likely to buy during a particular season, who is spending money? And who has a need you’re not currently serving?”

Meza suggests providing a variety of entry points into your services. “A 25-year-old professional or newer athlete might not be able to afford your highest-priced service today,” says Meza. “That doesn’t mean they’re not worth serving. Give them an appropriate entry point, provide a great experience, and let their relationship with your business grow as their needs and income change.”

Serving clients with a range of needs and budgets can also help your business adapt when economic conditions change. “This creates a more resilient company,” says Meza. “You have different services, different price points and different customer demographics. If one segment slows down, the entire business doesn’t have to panic.”

Focusing on Client Retention

Part of resiliency is retaining clients over the long term. “Client retention is the key to longevity and success as a personal trainer,” says McMillan. “It’s expensive and exhausting to constantly chase new clients. None of us want to be a ‘revolving door’ trainer, where clients come and go every few months.”

Client retention doesn’t have to be complicated, either. McMillan says that the most successful trainers she knows deliver results, provide structure and accountability, make sessions fun and engaging, and highlight clients’ progress every single session. Refer to their goals often and talk about what they’ll be able to do in the future if they keep training with you. And get to know them. “Learn about their family, travel, interests and important dates,” says McMillan. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Maintaining strong client relationships sometimes means having difficult conversations, particularly when you notice signs that something may be getting in the way of a client’s progress. “Regular late arrivals, cancellations and no-shows are red flags. Address it early. Ask what’s going on, how you can better support them and adjust their program. Don’t wait until they disappear,” advises McMillan.

If a client decides to stop training, McMillan encourages health and exercise professionals to take the time to understand what is behind that decision before assuming the relationship has come to an end. You might acknowledge the progress the client has made and gently ask whether something has changed or if there are challenges you could help them work through. For example, you could say, “I’ve really enjoyed working with you, and you’ve made such great progress. Would you be comfortable sharing what led to your decision? I’d love to understand if there’s anything I can do to support you.”

Depending on the client’s response, there may be opportunities to offer alternatives. As McMillan suggests, if time or finances are a concern, reducing the frequency or length of sessions may make continued training more manageable. A client might benefit from meeting once a week or every other week, or switching from 60-minute to 30-minute sessions. If an injury is affecting their ability to participate, you might explore appropriate modifications or other activities they can safely perform while recovering, consistent with guidance from their healthcare provider. The goal is to find a solution that respects the client’s circumstances while supporting their continued progress.

Another idea for building clientele is having a referral program. “When clients love you, encourage them to bring in friends and family. If everyone they love trains [at the same facility], they’re not going anywhere else,” says McMillan.

Referral programs can also be business-to-business, what Hitzmann calls a partnership pipeline. “Build relationships with local businesses, medical offices and wellness centers year-round,” she says. “Referral streams don’t care about the calendar.”

Diversifying Your Income Options

Building a resilient business means looking for solutions, recognizing opportunities and exploring potential sources of income. Potential income streams include affiliate marketing and business partnerships.

“A trainer giving comprehensive service to their clients should find affiliate programs that, most of all, give better results for their clients and create additional income streams for the trainer,” suggests Holt. “If your client needs equipment, find an affiliate program. Help them find what they need to get the best results, then find a way to profit from it.” When participating in affiliate programs, be transparent about any financial relationships and make sure your recommendations are always guided by your clients’ needs rather than potential commissions.

Sometimes it helps to niche down, but other times, taking a larger view is necessary to see what other services your clientele might benefit from.

From Hitzmann’s perspective, restorative methods are a missing piece of the fitness puzzle. “It’s a missing element in most fitness professionals’ toolboxes,” she says. “Yes, stretching, rolling and days off seem fine to tell clients, but knowing how to create strategic restorative programming offers an entirely new revenue model and separates you from the regular personal trainer out there.”

Beverly Hosford, MA, CPT, urges pros to avoid putting all their business eggs into one basket. Hosford has several “arms” to her business, some of which aren’t fitness related. “I have very part-time jobs—two to three hours per week each—at a garden, as a cycling instructor and working at my husband’s retail store,” says Hosford. “This is alongside my private practice with clients, which I keep to under 10 sessions per week to avoid burnout, teaching at a massage school, and running my creative anatomy and biomechanics education company.”

Hosford says that when one part of her businesses is slow, she can pick up more hours in another area. “I keep just enough hours at these side jobs so that when my biomechanics and sleep practice and education businesses are quieter, I can pick up extra hours at these jobs,” says Hosford. “Having those positions in place creates peace of mind.”

Think about ways you can solidify and expand your business without having to put out a lot of money to make it happen. Other opportunities to generate income with relatively little upfront investment include affiliate partnerships, online sessions, workshops and events.

Workshops and events also double as marketing tools, as they introduce you to potential clients and give them a chance to get to know you. And don’t forget about past clients. They already know and like you. Reaching out to them might be all they need to come back.

“The best action we’ve ever taken as a business has been to diversify our revenue streams, and we’re 100% confident that this has helped us to grow swiftly,” says McMillan. “Our experience has found that during months when private training was slow, our business didn’t suffer because other revenue streams ramped up and pulled the weight.” 

These “other revenue streams” include small-group training, hosting workshops and conferences, and selling products.

“Ultimately, I think financially resilient businesses are flexible businesses,” concludes Meza. “They have multiple ways to make money. They serve customers at different price points. They aren’t dependent on one demographic. Their services can move with people’s schedules and circumstances. And they continue to experiment. Honestly, that’s a much more fun business to run!”