My friend’s partner attends a private fitness studio. It’s been running for years and offers a mix of one on one, small group training and group fitness classes.
When the Victorian government announced that gyms would need to close their doors the studio’s worst fears came true as their members almost instantly began calling and messaging to cancel their memberships. Before they’d even had time to pivot to online.
Now, as you know, online training can be a fantastic way for clients to keep moving and keep socialising during this time. If their clients had just stuck around long enough to hear about what was next, it could have been a very different story.
It’s an unfortunate consequence of these times that sees people reacting in a fearful way and making snap, irrational decisions (eg. toilet paper shortage).
On the other hand I am hearing many stories from trainers who have transitioned all their clients and even picked up some extras. I was a little worried about what would happen with BootCraft subscriptions but as of yet there has not been a mass cancelling of accounts (in fact we’ve added about 20 new subscribers).
Now is a great time to look at what you’re using and what you’re not using. You should cancel the subscriptions and services that you aren’t actually using.
But, in the same way you want clients to keep paying you, don’t cancel everything in a panic.
You should keep subscriptions that help you run your business (things are challenging enough right now) and that support other local or small businesses (Amazon and Zoom are doing just fine right now).
Here are some small (and perhaps local to you) businesses are great subscription to keep for your business during this time:
Created by the Fitness Game Wizard, Dale Sidebottom, this database of fitness games is perfect for PE teachers needed to teach remotely now and trainers looking for more fun to add to their online sessions. Dale is also a small business owner based in Australia.
This fantastic client booking, tracking and business software is a small business based in New Zealand. Keep up your subscription with them through this time. The software still works well to schedule classes and track payments. If you don’t currently use them, now with your extra spare time it might be a great time to get set up.
Grocery Boxes
Find out if there is a locally run company that delivers boxes of fresh fruit & veg or other supplies to you (not to be confused with dinner services like Hello Fresh, this is just a box of groceries). Not only are you supporting local, you’re also saving time and avoiding the need to go shopping as much at the big box grocery store chains. We use a business called Island Grocer.
I’m very proud that I’m a small Australian business. The main way we keep the lights on here at Bootcamp Ideas is through our subscription website, BootCraft. Even though it’s a free site, I don’t put advertising on Bootcamp Ideas because I can’t stand ads on other sites.
I also don’t use things like Facebook Ads to promote my products because I don’t like that in order to use Facebook Ads means that Facebook can collect private data on my readers and customers. It means that Bootcamp Ideas stays smaller and marketing is all about building community and trust, but that’s okay with me because that’s the way I like to do business.
BootCraft has been a fantastic way to create an income while also providing a really useful service to people and keep Bootcamp Ideas free.
Who are you supporting?
I’d love to expand on this list with more small (and sometimes local) businesses people can support online. Please share with me in the comments who you’re choosing to continue to support financially during this time and I’ll add them to the list.
Kyle Wood created Bootcamp Ideas in 2010 when he was hunting around on the internet for workout ideas. He ran a successful bootcamp in Victoria, Australia and spends his spare time managing this site, adventuring (or lazying) with his wife and find new ways to make bootcamps even better.
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