How to set up a part time boot-camp business

by

Design and Marketing

• Have you put together a marketing strategy and if not is there anyone who could help you with that?

• Do you have any contacts within the fitness community of your local area who might be able to give you some impartial advice on moving your idea forward?

• Are there any sports/fitness related events taking place in your local area which might give you the opportunity to promote your business?

• How much are you going to charge for your classes?  Is this in keeping with your competitors and affordable to your key demographic?

• Do you plan on offering any special introductory offers or loyalty schemes to encourage return customers?  Many fitness classes offer *introduce a friend* discounts.

• How will you make use of social media sites?  Are you familiar with using social media?

• Are there any specific local publications/newsletter/ journals where you could advertise your bootcamp sessions to your target market?

• What promotional material will you need for your campaign e.g. business cards

• Do you plan on implementing a mailing system to inform previous clients of special offers and encourage return business?

• How will your clients pay you?  

Practicalities of running a part time business

The UK government defines a self-employed person as someone who makes all or some of their income by working for themself. If you qualify as self employed you are required by HM Revenue and Customs to pay your own tax and national insurance contributions.  Firstly you must register as self-employed with HMRC, this can be done very easily online and needs to be completed as soon as possible as failure to do so can result in a fine (the last thing you need!).

Most self employed people are required to pay class 2 National Insurance contributions (about £2.70 per week) however if you earn less than £5,752 per annum you may not be liable to pay.  You will need to keep stringent records of the business finances in order to complete an annual self assessment tax return which can be completed via post or online-this will allow the government to see how much you owe them.

Please also keep in mind, that here at Startacus we ain’t any finance or legal experts, so be sure to check out the HMRC page for all the up to date info you will need to make sure you stay on the good side of the law! And follow these pointers...

• Make sure that you keep detailed records of invoices for sales and purchases, business expenses and bank account activity (you may well be required to provide proof that your tax return is correct)

• Make sure that you are well versed with the legalities of running a fitness-bootcamp.  

• Check if there are any insurance practicals to sort out?  Will you be liable in the case that someone sustains an injury?

• Investigate if you need to get any permits from your local council?

As always this is in no way a definitive list of the things you need to consider before setting up and part-time fitness boot-camp, but we hope it helps you to move your idea in the right direction! Best of luck!

Check out the Startacus business toolkit for a growing directory of all the business bits-and-bobs, links and articles you may need - no matter what business you are considering starting and get working on your business idea in our virtual workspace...

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• #fitness bootcamp
• #start a business

Published on: 9th September 2013