Movin' on up: how to make it to the top as a fitness professional - includes related article on setting goals - Self-Esteem Section

American Fitness, Nov-Dec, 1993 by Diane Y. Chapman

What element of the fitness business gives you the most joy? Is it the challenge of creating new choreography? Is it the feeling you are helping someone else achieve an important goal? The top fitness professionals, whether they are club owners, instructors, managers or workshop presenters, are successful because they do what they love every day.

Everyone has a strong skill or characteristic on which they can build success. Oftentimes, that skill or characteristic goes hand in hand with what a person genuinely loves to spend time doing. Take time to focus on what you feel you were born to do. When you determine what gives you the greatest joy, concentrate and capitalize on that.

Dedication to your beliefs can be a career catharsis - especially in the fitness industry, according to Tamilee Webb, nationally known fitness professional. When things weren't going well early in her career she made a decision not to settle for setbacks. "I was living out of my car with my dog, because I was new in town and nobody would rent a place to me," says Webb, founder of Webb International and star of the "Abs of Steel" video series. "I was teaching my heart out at a local club, making very little money, but knowing what I was doing was right for me. I promised I would pick myself up, maintain my integrity and never forget those who helped me. Now, I have the personal reward of being able to help others achieve their goals."

Visualizing Your

Success

The top fitness presenters and club managers have goals which help them achieve their missions, and visualize how wonderful it will be to attain them. "I set both long-term and short-term goals," says Webb. "I always look within myself and do what feels right. I can honestly say I am accomplishing every goal I set for myself. I believe if you set your goals and stay focused, you will definitely reach them."

Many professionals create a mission statement to express a personal vision or belief. For example, if your mission statement is to become one of the most successful personal trainers in your community, some of your goals might be to:

* become certified through AFAA and other highly regarded organizations.

* network with the local fitness and health professionals to make sure they are aware of you and your services.

* create a marketing and promotion plan which will help you get the word out to potential clients.

* map out a plan of action for continuing education development.

* always offer the finest in customer service and assistance to your clientele.

The road to success is not a means to an end. It is, in itself, a journey to be lived to the fullest. Throughout that journey, the most remarkable fitness professionals are constantly pursuing their own developmental growth. Many instructors have access to a library of industry videos, audio tapes and books with state-of-the-art information to help them research and enhance their abilities. Others attend convertions and seminars and take a variety of classes for new ideas. "I believe continuing education is a must for any fitness professional," says Susan Dixon, M.S., co-owner of Studio 51 in Aliso Viejo, California. "The pursuit of fresh ideas is a definite indication of an instructor's commitment to professionalism."

Another way to forge forward in the fitness industry is to surround yourself with individuals you respect and admire. Network with instructors who exhibit the kind of professionalism you would like to display yourself. Find a mentor from whom you can learn or, at the very least, a role model you can study. Make it clear to them you are interested in becoming the most successful fitness instructor or club owner you can be. You will be surprised at how willing they will be to help you on your mission.

When you have identified your role models or mentors, examine their lives and find out how they achieved their successes. Talk to them, read about them and watch them. Immerse yourself in the positiveness of their success, outlook on life and methodical goal achievement. It can rub off!

Courage and Creativity

Is there a need among your clients or community that has not been met? Go the extra mile and follow your intuition to provide a needed product or service. Debbie Hillman started Aerobics To Go in Fort Worth, Texas in 1988, despite nay sayers who told her the town could not support an aerobics studio. "When people tell me I can't do something, that provides the motivation to do it," says Hillman. "My gut feeling was people would pay for a consistently high quality aerobics program."

Hillman went with her gut feeling and today owns one of the most successful fitness studios in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She keeps a constant finger on the pulse of her community. "We must always keep in mind the effect we have on people's lives in this business," she says. "Recently, a client came into the studio and told us she had just come from her 3-year-old nephew's funeral. |I have no more tears to cry,' she said. |I need to do something for myself, and this is it.' We are first and foremost a people business, and we must never forget that." If you go beyond what others are doing, you will be noticed and appreciated for it.