We built the Online Trainer Academy so it could help just about anyone.

Personal trainers, nutrition coaches, gym owners.

New and experienced trainers alike.

We’ve even had students apply Academy teachings to real estate sales, guitar instruction, and magic shows. (Seriously, these are all real examples.)

The framework we teach for building an online business is flexible. The best practices don’t change, but there are countless ways to apply them to your situation.

That’s how the Academy helps you build the perfect business for you.

That said, there are two types of people I don’t recommend the Academy for.

1. Coaches who really, really, really struggle with tech

Can you shoot a video on your phone and upload it to the internet?

If you can do that, you can certainly open a Gmail account and take credit card payments online.

You can create PDFs of your workouts and get them to your clients. You can set up Google sheets to track their progress. And you can keep in touch with them with texts and the occasional Zoom or Skype coaching session.

Those are the technical skills you need as an online personal trainer—things many of you have already mastered.

But if you can’t do any of those things, or aren’t willing to learn, online training probably isn’t for you. Which means the Online Trainer Academy isn’t for you.

2. Coaches who aren’t proactive

We don’t hold your hand.

We don’t assign each student their very own support coach.

We just aren’t set up for it. And if we tried, the cost would be prohibitive. The only trainers who could afford it would be the ones who probably don’t need it.

So if you’re the type of person who waits to be told what to do, I’m not judging! But there’s not much we can do to help you.

Now, we do have an incredible Facebook community where you can access the “mentors”—Academy graduates who went on to run successful online businesses—along with thousands of Academy students and alumni. You can reach out there anytime for help.

You can also upgrade to a mentorship, which includes as many calls as you need with your mentor, who is there to give you feedback and guidance.

But this is not a weekend certification.

At the end of the day, it’s on you to do the legwork and piece together your vision for an online coaching business that works for you and your clients. We can’t do that for you. No one can.

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Honestly, though, if you need to be told those things, you probably shouldn’t be starting your own business at all.

And that’s fine.

You can have a career in fitness without becoming an online trainer. You can train clients in person, coach athletes, or work in clinical settings.

You can have a powerful and lasting impact on people’s lives.

But if you want more control over your work and life, that requires time, effort, and commitment.

The Academy makes the process as easy to follow as possible.

All we ask is that you come to us with an open mind and a willingness to take action. You’ll be amazed at what you can do when you allow yourself to do it.

Learn more: Get answers to more online trainer questions here.