Pro-climber Louis Parkinson shares his pro-tips to grow your personal training business 

Climber Louis Parkinson is a familiar face in London’s climbing walls. The ex-GB Bouldering Team member now heads up Catalyst Climbing – a training company he co-founded that’s making moves across the capital, as the popularity of the sport – and fitness in general – continues to grow.

Through Catalyst, Parkinson passes on his expertise to anyone looking to hone their climbing ability. And for this guide, he passes on his tips to anyone thinking about starting a personal training business of their own.

How to grow your personal training business – a guide

Step 1: Build a client base
Step 2: Don’t be afraid of healthy investment 
Step 3: Develop a unique training approach
Step 4: Promote as hard as you train
Step 5: Take breaks – your health counts too!
Step 6: Summary

Step 1: Build a client base

As any personal trainer will tell you; you can’t run before you can walk. And before starting a full-blown business, it’s important to build a network of initial customers. For Parkinson, he was able to do this organically. He started working at a climbing centre and began building up his own private coaching business. “It was just me and one other guy, giving cards out, and slowly, over a few years it got to the point where I was fully booked,” he says. “I was reaching my limit so I decided to get a team together.”

He adds: “A year and a half down the line, it’s all going rather well. We’re getting on to having about 20 coaches, working at 10 different walls and have about 2,000 people on our database. It didn’t use to feel like it but now it feels very stable.”

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Step 2: Don’t be afraid of healthy investment

Once you reach tipping point, it’s important to know when an investment will help you grow. It’s worth seeking advice from someone with experience in this. This was one lesson Parkinson learned the hard way. “A lack of experience on my part made things tricky,” he says. “I was super anxious about taking out a loan – I thought I could run the business sustainably without any risk.”

He adds: “Being nervous of taking risks slowed me down a while – because we had no investment we had to cut back on lots of things.” With this in mind, it’s worth thinking pragmatically about what resources you might need and mapping out how to use a loan or investment in the best way. If you’ve built up a client base and have some confidence in your business prospects, this is a probably a good time to take the plunge.

“I think I have the Catalyst logo on pretty much everything I wear all the time, which obviously gets the word out.”

Step 3: Develop a unique training approach

There’s a lot of competition in the personal training sector right now and it’s important to come at it as an individual – having a unique approach to training is a really good way to stand out. Parkinson certainly has as strong personality and is passionate about his sport, but he also approaches climbing in a very individual (and fun) way.

“I would describe the training we do as “unconventional””, says Parkinson. “Fingerboard training (hanging of small holds) is categorically the most effective way to build strength, but it’s boring and people are less likely to do it. All the training I do, and all the strength gains, are from various exercises I do on the climbing wall.”

He adds: “I try and develop real world applications of training. So instead of mindlessly hanging off an edge, I get to do varied moves and it’s more fun. It’s also safer and more accessible to beginner climbers. Training that’s fun and you enjoy means you’ll improve because you’re motivated to do it.”

Louis Parkinson’s top tips for better climbing

• Pretend all of the handholds and footholds are really fragile. It forces you to place your hand and feet more carefully, and will develop a more graceful and controlled climbing style.
• If you fall off a climb, Don’t get straight back on – have a think first. You can waste so much energy throwing yourself at something over and over again. Slow down and think more.
• The biggest killer to most people’s climbing is a lack of motivation. If you’re not finding it fun, take a step back and reassess – your climbing is unlikely to last if you’re not enjoying yourself.

Step 4: Promote as hard as you train

Promotion is another crucial element to think about. For Parkinson, branded t-shirts is one tactic he employs. “I think I have the Catalyst logo on pretty much everything I wear all the time, which obviously gets the word out,” he says.

Another is to promote through social media – as a pro-climber with a big following, this is fairly straightforward, but it’s important to be sensitive about how often you post. “A big advantage I have are my social media accounts, which have a big reach,” says Parkinson. “But I don’t want to alienate my fans by posting too much business stuff. If I post anything that’s not me doing a dyno people seem to switch off a bit.”

In fact, promoting in person can be the most effective. When he was starting out, he even paid coaches to hang out at climbing centres to get chatting to people and spread the word. Just as Parkinson grew his client base through working at a climbing centre, he continues to find a presence in actual venues helps things grow exponentially. “When training sessions are happening people see it, want to know more and book a session,” he says.

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Step 5: Take breaks – your health counts too!

A final (and very important) thing to look out for when running a personal training business is…yourself. “On a personal level, the biggest challenge was finding a balance managing my personal life, while training pro-athletes, coaching full time and running a business,” says Parkinson. “I went nine months straight working seven days a week constantly trying to fit everything in until I finally had a friend pull me to one side and say: ‘Are you sure you’re OK? You look pretty tired…”

Now Parkinson makes sure to reserve one day a week for himself (though he’ll still go climbing…!). If he could give one piece of advice to himself when he was starting out? “Chill out and take breaks,” he says.

Step 6: Summary

The first thing to do – as with any small business – is to build a client base. Do this organically and take advantage of your personal networks. Secondly; don’t be afraid to invest. There will be a point where you’ll need a boost to make sure you can grow. The next important consideration is do develop a unique approach – there’s a lot of competition in personal training and you should have a USP.  The fourth step is promotion; do this through merchandise, social media and having a human presence at sport centres. Finally; don’t forget to take breaks. You can’t help others get fit if you’re not looking after yourself.

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