Description

A successful fitness business is about more than burning calories and building muscles. To be competitive in the business world, you need to know about strategic planning, accounting, marketing, human resources, customer relations, and more. The Fitness Business Management Program will prepare you to implement a successful business system in private or commercial health clubs, medically-based fitness facilities, community wellness centers, personal training studios, physical therapy clinics, YMCAs, JCCs, college centers, recreational settings, or corporate fitness centers. This program was developed to establish an industry standard in fitness management education.

By completing Fitness Business Management Program, you'll be able to:

• Identify the skill-sets and competencies that a fitness professional needs in order to be a successful entrepreneur, owner, or department manager Understand how to operate a fiscally successful business in the fitness industry
• Learn business concepts, including purchasing, contractual agreements, risk management and negligence, technology issues, and other fiscal concerns
• Identify how branding influences consumers and creates a demand for fitness services and products
• Understand customer relationship management methods
• Effectively use sales techniques
• Explore the profession as a potential career choice with the optional field internship experience
• Work as a fitness manager or business owner in the health and fitness industry

Outline

1. Business Development and Entrepreneurship in Fitness
   1. Business Fundamentals
   2. Being a Fitness Manager
   3. Understand Key Manager Skill-Sets
   4. Sales and Marketing
2. Financial Principles and Business Concepts
   1. Major Types of Financial Statements
   2. Budgetary and Forecast Spreadsheets
   3. Apply Financial and Accounting Principles to Start a Fitness Business
   4. The Basics of the Federal Tax System
3. Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service Management
   1. Consumer Buying Behaviors in the Fitness Industry
   2. Customer-Centric Focus
   3. Transform Customer Satisfaction to Customer Loyalty
   4. Why Customers Buy or Don't Buy a Particular Club Service
4. Fitness Management and Business Administration
   1. The Role of the Human Resources Department
   2. The Job Description of a Fitness Professional
   3. Staff Development
   4. How Staff Development, Business Development, and Customer Service Management Work Together
5. Elective Program: Optional Field Internship in Fitness Business Management
   1. Intern for a total of six weeks, 60 hours with professionals in the fitness and health industry for a practical experience working with members at fitness facilities and health centers
   2. Network and interact with professionals in the health and fitness industry
   3. Develop a professional goal statement and review career opportunities
   4. Improve your ability to obtain employment or operate your own health and fitness facility

Demo

The User ID and Password for this demonstration are provided below:

User ID: demobus
Password: bus

IMPORTANT: When exploring this demo, please do not change the User ID and Password. Thank you.

Additional Info

Languages

English

Course Length

260.00 hours

Duration of Access

All of our programs are self-paced and open enrollment, so you can start them when you want and finish them at your own pace. Most programs allow you 180 days after you register to complete them. If you need more time, a three month extension is available free of charge. Should you need more time beyond the three-month extension, a fee of $300 will apply.

Instructor

Ken Baldwin, Ph.D., is the program coordinator and an instructor for the Personal Fitness Trainer and Advanced Fitness Trainer Programs. He is the former chair of IDEA's National Personal Trainer Committee and chair of the Senior Fitness Subcommittee for the Massachusetts Governor's Committee on Physical Fitness and Sports. Ken is the senior editor, content expert, and lead author for ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer Textbook, Second Edition. He continues to serve on national committees for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), AAHPERD, and the Medical Fitness Association. He's been honored with numerous awards, including IDEA's Personal Trainer of the Year Award, presented at the IDEA International Personal Training Summit.

Ken has been involved in the fitness, wellness, and education profession for over 10 years. His background includes operating and managing a personal training company; training many types of populations, from children to seniors and beginning exercisers to athletes; and lecturing and consulting at corporations, public events, national conventions (ACSM Health and Fitness Summit, Club Industry, IDEA, International Council of Active Aging, and the Medical Fitness Association, to name a few), and international conferences. In addition to his industry experience, he's actively involved in working with national organizations and colleges and universities to develop educational standards for those wishing to enter the personal fitness training profession.

Dan Ritchie has a broad background in the fitness industry, including training and management in commercial, university, and hospital-based fitness, as well as in for-profit, not-for-profit, and educational facilities. His primary areas of expertise are in personal training for special populations, including athletes, and clients experiencing conditions such as pregnancy, blindness, stroke, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, fibromyalgia, and Alzheimer's. He has worked with Division I athletes and on state-funded research on exercise for severe dementia of Alzheimer's type. He regularly presents at national and regional conferences and has been active on committees for the American College of Sports Medicine. In 2007 he'll complete his Ph.D. in health and kinesiology at Purdue University.

Prerequisites/Audience

There are no specific prerequisites to enter this program, other than an Internet connection, an e-mail address, and basic computer knowledge. Students are required to have CPR certification and approval by the program coordinator prior to beginning the Optional Field Internship.

The Fitness Business Management Program offers essential educational pathways and career opportunities for:

• Current managers who are wishing to implement successful fitness management systems
• Current allied health and fitness professionals and personal trainers interested in establishing a fitness business or becoming a fitness manager
• Education directors of multi-site facilities or chains who focus on staff development for fitness professionals and fitness managers
• Companies that require the certificate program as a professional development program for employees to achieve key business goals, career objectives, and skills to advance beyond entry-level positions

Requirements/Materials Included

This program can be taken on either a Mac or a PC. Technical requirements include, but are not limited to, having Internet access with a 56K modem (but it's highly recommended that you have DSL or high-speed cable Internet access), 64 MB system RAM, 200 MB free hard-disk space memory or sufficient storage, reliable e-mail account access, CD-ROM/DVD capabilities, and a reliable Internet provider. Some individual programs may have additional software or hardware requirements.

These materials will be provided by Gatlin International:

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently
• Performance Management That Drives Results
• Harvard Business Essentials: Finance for Managers
• How to Win Customers and Keep Them for Life