50 Ways To Make Money In The Fitness Industry

Wondering how to make money in the fitness industry? It may have a reputation for low pay and meager profit margins, but there are actually loads of creative ways to generate an income or boost existing revenue. Whether you’re a fitness instructor, business owner, or online start-up, you’ll find ideas here to help.

In this article – we share 50 proven ways to make money in the fitness industry, whether you’re just getting started or want to diversify existing revenue streams.

Exploring a variety of different ideas can boost your income and reduce the risk that comes with relying on just one revenue source. This is a great way to protect yourself from unpredictable events like recessions.

It can also make your fitness business more profitable. You might just discover an idea that compliments your existing setup and adds an additional source of revenue (without costing more in overheads). 

With many industry roles offering low-pay, these ideas can also help increase your fitness salary. They can provide supplementary income to take your pay beyond the $32,000 average for most fitness trainers.

 
Fitness Business Templates

Money-Making Approaches

Before we dive into the individual ideas, it’s worth spending a moment on the overall concepts. Broadly speaking there are two approaches to business in any industry and fitness is no different…

• B2C – Short for ‘business to consumer’, this is where you sell your offering to the individual people who will be using your wares e.g. Peloton, GymShark, Runkeeper.
• B2B – Also known as ‘business to business’ where you sell to other businesses operating in the fitness industry e.g. Matrix, IHRSA, MindBody.

Selling to these two audiences usually requires differing approaches, so it’s worth starting with just one to begin with. It’s also worth thinking about what it is that you want to sell in order to make money.

• Products – fitness equipment, gym membership software, workout clothing, digital templates, etc.
• Services – personal training, equipment maintenance, online coaching, consulting, etc.

Not everything will fit neatly into these categories and blending the two (for example, through productised services) is a great way to create new opportunities. But we think it’s useful to start with these concepts as a way to generate money-making ideas.  

Ways to Make Money in the Fitness Industry

Here’s a quick rundown of 50 proven ideas for making money in fitness, both online and offline…

1. One-to-one coaching in person or online
2. Leading a running club
3. Organising fitness holidays or retreats
4. Inventing fitness equipment and selling the patents
5. Small group personal training
6. Developing fitness apps
7. Selling fitness supplements
8. Franchising your club or class concept
9. Health and fitness blogging
10. Leading awesome group exercise classes
11. Designing workout gear
12. Creating fitness subscription boxes
13. Selling fitness equipment to gyms or consumers
14. Running online fitness courses
15. Reselling fitness watches and trackers
16. Earning commission as a fitness affiliate
17. Selling gym memberships
18. Delivering health food
19. Becoming a fitness influencer
20. Launching an e-commerce store
21. Book-keeping for fitness pros
22. Hosting an online membership community
23. Running fitness seminars or workshops
24. Selling juices or smoothies
25. Fitness business coaching
26. Designing stylish workout posters
27. Online meal plans
28. Fitness and workout planners or food diaries
29. Fitness equipment maintenance and servicing
30. Crafting unique gifts for fitness fans
31. Selling digital ebooks
32. Creating a range of waterbottles or gym towels
33. Fitness product arbitrage through Amazon FBA 
34. Reselling vintage gym gear from second-hand shops and eBay
35. Creating healthy recipe books
36. Becoming a master trainer
37. Officiating sports events
38. Selling gym membership software
39. Tutoring in biology
40. Fitness modelling
41. Freelance writing fitness articles
42. Getting paid to speak at fitness expos and conventions
43. Creating sponsored content
44. Selling fitness photography
45. Reselling used fitness equipment
46. Creating workout music and playlists
47. Combining two sports into one new class (e.g. surf yoga)
48. Managing social media for fitness brands
49. Selling lockers to gym studios
50. Creating a health and fitness podcast with advertising slots

So, now you have a comprehensive list of ways to make money in the fitness industry. Whatever your experience and interests, there’s bound to be a few ideas to inspire your own.

Ways To Increase Fitness Revenue

If you’re looking for ways to increase your income rather than new revenue streams, then we’ve also got you covered. There are essentially two options…

1. Increase the volume of sales – by attracting new customers, selling more products to existing customers, or getting them to buy more frequently.
2. Increase the value of sales – by raising your prices, upselling extras, or increasing the average purchase amount using bundles.

Focusing on these two areas is crucial for any business to succeed. There are also practical steps you can take that’ll gradually increase your income over time. These include…

• Improving your sales skills
• Asking for a pay rise
• Optimising your sales funnel
• Increasing prices
• Trying out new marketing ideas

So, now you know exactly how to make money in the fitness industry, both online and offline. The method you choose and steps you take next are up to you!

Fitness Business Templates

Take a look at our Fitness Business Bundle for ready-made sales templates. They take the time, hassle, and guesswork out of marketing and promotions… 
Fitness Business Templates

Our ready-made templates make it quicker, cheaper, and easier to promote your fitness business. They can improve the effectiveness of your sales and marketing campaigns. If you aren’t an experienced marketer, then templates also provide a useful guide for you to follow.

Whether you run a gym club, fitness studio, or personal training business, these templates will save you time and effort. They’ll help you to plan and organize your promotional activities so that you generate more revenue. You’ll get 40+ templates covering sales, marketing, and business start-up resources.