The secret to finding staff for your fitness business in 2023 with Simon Mcdonald 🙌

power of a community. Fitness business's biggest weapon and also its biggest risk is its community. You can thrive or die on that level of engagement you have with your members. And so for, for the 12 years that I owned that business, we definitely went through peaks and troughs where when the business was thriving, it was in large part to the strong community that we had.

Welcome back to the Marketing Muscle Up Podcast Show. I'm your host, Richard Turtungi, and in today's episode, we're going to be talking about the industry as a whole. We're also going to be talking— I mean, talking about the fitness industry as a whole, I should say. We're also going to be talking to somebody who is putting through a lot of people Through training courses, I want to talk about today around staff and the future of the fitness industry and how to find appropriate staffing. So I've brought along industry industry legend, someone who's been around the game for many years, over 12 years. Simon McDonald, welcome to the podcast, Simon.

Thank you for having me. Great to be here.

Good to have you here. We caught up. A couple weeks ago, seen each other around multiple times, and we had a good chat around around staffing and the future of the fitness industry. And I kind of just wanted to continue our conversation on a podcast. So because I think what's happening at the moment with fitness businesses and marketing and growth also happens in the early stages of becoming a personal trainer, be getting into the fitness industry, and I. And I want to kind of like, for those who don't know who you are, I just want to kind of pull everybody up to speed. So you've basically had a franchise for 12 years, like a one-on-one personal franchise. You sold the business April, I think it was 2020, and then joined AIF, Australian Institute of Fitness, as a lot of people will know it. And sorry, I want to stop there. Yeah. Your role, can I just— I'll just get that correct. Is it general manager? What's the title? Sorry, I

didn't get that. It's now general manager for business development. And I sold the business in 2021, but whether—

Oh yeah, I saw that thing. No, I've got 2021. She did actually update it. I thought she didn't update it. So business development. Okay, cool. And what's that mean, business development? Like, what's the—

So it's just leveraging all of the key industry partners at a senior level, looking at opportunities for growth in this space particularly.

Okay. That's great. Sorry, I'm just going to start again. Welcome back to the Marketing Muscle Up Podcast Show. I'm your host, Richard Toutounji. And today's episode, really excited for this one because I want to talk all about the future of the industry. And the reason why I say the future is because right now, And right now, what we want to do is we want to grow our fitness business through marketing, through sales, through retention. And something that keeps coming up is staffing. A lot of people are saying, Richard, I want to grow, want to market, I can't find good staff. Where are the staff? The staff shortages. So I've brought along with me Simon McDonald, the general manager business development of the Australian Institute of fitness. Some of it, some of you may know by AIF. These guys put thousands and thousands of people through Cert 3, Cert 4 massage courses, and the list goes on. And the good thing that I, I like about Simon, he's had a lot of industry experience. I wanna quickly read out his bio before I introduce the man. So Simon's been 12 years in the personal training game, specifically owning a fitness franchise. Sold it in 2021, and then joined the AAF. And I like that because really had so many, so much experience hiring personal trainers, growing teams, leading teams. And that's what I'm really excited to talk about today. You got a passion for health and fitness, stream of the early years, competitive sport, and then you transition to fitness business and you know moving into that journey. And really the pinnacle. When people want to leave their business, they're either going to sell it or they're going to let it sort of like, hello, run down and sell the equipment. You sold, a successful sale, and congratulations on that. So Simon, welcome to the podcast.

Awesome. So great to be here. Thanks so much. I'm looking forward to this.

Yeah, we caught up a few weeks ago at the AusActive Awards and Summit sessions, and we were talking about the subject of staff shortages because as you know, we do marketing and people come to us and say, Richard, I can market, but I can market. I can't really market because I can't find staff. I can't find people to fill the gaps. And I know AAF have been, I mean, I guess the pioneers we could say in this space for many, many years. And I thought, who better to touch base with someone like really in the field of what's actually happening in the marketplace? But I want to just go back a little bit, AAF. I know a lot of people sometimes get confused With all the initials out there, Simon,

I

don't know about you, but I certainly do, right?

We love a good acronym, that's for sure.

So can you just give us a 1-minute rundown of the AIF and why that's, you know, why you guys are number one in this space?

So there's probably a few reasons here. One is that we've been around the longest. So the Institute or AIF or the Australian Institute of Fitness, however you'd like to say it, Um, you know, it was formed back in the day when you could do a Cert 3 or Cert 4 in fitness within a couple of days, and that has progressed to the version of the training package that's in play at the moment. And where I think AIF really forged its, its path as a leader in this space is that we were super passionate about the industry and the education. So we most certainly see ourselves as experts in education And not only do we focus on how many people we can get into our courses, but it's how many graduate and what's the link to industry and really making sure that the, the people are put on the bus for success in their careers and the fitness industry benefits from it. So I think over the last 20 to 30 years, there's always been this focus on how the partnership works between an RTO and industry and getting that constant feedback. And then everyone benefits as a result. But I think that would give you an insight into sort of how we have viewed ourselves in this space and continue to evolve at the forefront of education with fitness professionals.

Yeah, and I mean, for those who really want to go to history, I recommend you going to fitness.edu.au. And there's been pioneers that started this off, Greg Hurst, Nigel Champion, to name a few. A few of you may recognize those names who have been in the industry for a while. Simon, over this space of, I mean, let's say 20 years, specifically over the last 10 years, there's been a lot of different ways to get educated. Obviously over the last 2 years, it's more online. Specifically, where do you find today the best place that people learn? Is it still face-to-face in a classroom, get 30 people there? Is it online? Is it a mixture? What What should we expect if we're hiring any graduates? Where are they getting their base from? I mean, I did my course back in the day. I remember my aerobics course, Simon. That was my favorite subject. I'm just joking. And yeah, it was a face-to-face experience then, but obviously times have definitely changed. How does it work now?

Yeah, well, I'll just provide a bit of context there. So I did my course with AIF in 2007. And back in those days, it was a 4-day, and that was classified as full-time. So it was Monday to Thursday, and the course took 9 weeks to get your full Cert III, Cert IV. Now, for some people, that might have been classified as the glory days because you had so many people enrolling in courses. PT was an emerging trend. Yes. It was sexy. It was still classified as a luxury. It wasn't a must-have like it is viewed now. So there was this real big shift in the market and the volume was massive. But as you said, times have changed and the way people consume education is so different now. Pair that back with a change in the way the training package, so the you'd call it the framework to which you can deliver a course has changed. So I go back to my 4-day-a-week, 9-week course has now morphed into— if you were to do the full Cert 3 and full Cert 4 back to back per training package requirements, it's about a year and a half.

Wow.

Now that, if you stop there for a second, really impacts one, the volume of people looking at enrolling in a course. Secondly, the lead time to industry, and then instantly you've got this gap that's formed without the impact of a pandemic, without the impact of a government that's focusing on aged care and disability care. So I think that that's where a podcast like this and opportunities to really educate industry on how education has changed and that these gaps have formed as a result of some of the decisions that have been made. But we need to adjust because of it, and we can still, you know, get our recruitment goals. We can still ensure that our businesses grow. It's just understanding the game that we're playing in now and what that looks like.

Yeah, totally different game. And that was something that I'm probably a little bit unaware of. I didn't realize that duration from what it was to what it is now. And obviously that means even, you know, before COVID— I want to touch on that— what happened through COVID in the industry, I mean, you've got— you really got to think about this being a career. You're not going to invest a year and a half into something that they go, just do it on the side as a hobby. Is that— is that what you're seeing more of, people that come in for careers?

Yeah, look, there is most certainly ways at which you can shorten that year and a half down. So I don't— don't mean to say that that is the only option, but I do say that those that are looking at becoming a personal trainer now really are doing it because of the love of the industry. I have seen a lot of career changes over the last couple of years, which is good in one aspect because it means you're getting people in it for the right reasons. And those that, that are in it for that duration of time, I think, end up becoming a better product at the end. I can certainly say that after 9 weeks, I knew this much about what it took to be a personal trainer. Yeah. And the ongoing education part that came over the next 12 years was critical for me to survive. But I think even now, if you look at even doing a 1-year course to try and do the majority of your Cert III, get your full Cert IV done, it means that you'll have someone who's more knowledgeable, has devoted time to study, and you'll get a better product at the end. Now, how that person consumes education, of course, as you mentioned before, there's going to be an online component. We know that. People are wanting their education on demand, so it fits around their schedule. It's not you're going to be in a classroom from 9 to 4, and then you're going to have this textbook to refer back to. It's I want to be able to download my content, watch it on the way to my gym session or taking my kids to school, or I want to be able to do it at night when the house is quiet, and then I'll do my assessments as it fits around my lifestyle. So the whole way in which this is done has definitely changed as well.

Well, you really got to be self-motivated to make sure you do that. That would've been good for me back in the day. I was just like, get me in a classroom. I need to learn and get out.

Get my highlighter. Yeah.

Simon, you've been in this space for 12 years, actually as an owner of a successful franchise. I'd love to just talk about there, the ups and the downs of Anybody listening to this, a lot of studio owners listening to this, um, how do we continue running our studio for the duration that you have, Simon? 12 years. What do you need to know? I mean, if you could look back and go, okay, I wish I knew one or two things, what would they be for you, um, that really helped you to continue this, um, you know, continue your franchise for 12 years?

So there's probably two things that I'd mention there. The one is the power of a community. And I know that you talk about that a lot through your podcast and your series, that a fitness business's biggest weapon and also its biggest risk is its community. You can thrive or die on that level of engagement you have with your members. And so for the 12 years that I owned that business, We definitely went through peaks and troughs where when the business was thriving, it was in large part to the strong community that we had. I can still remember the referral campaigns that we used to run internally. And when it was done really, really well and we got the best clients and the best leads, it was because we had raving fans and advocates in the business. When it fell flat and the momentum just wasn't there, it was as a result of there being some gaps in how the community felt about the studio, its operations, the team. And so there's a very clear link with how a fitness business can leverage its community for its success. And so that was a lesson that I learned the hard way, most certainly. But now looking back, I think that that's something that if I was to do it again from the start, it'd be a huge focus point is make sure you get that community right from the outset, because that then just opens so many doors and just gives you so much opportunity.

Yeah, we, you know, with marketing, we always really want to force out the marketing. You know, the best kind of marketing is, we call it hero videos and, you know, case studies, success stories, putting those guys out in the front end. They have a lot of connections and communities in their local communities and so forth. Because really, when you're running a localized studio brick-and-mortar business, it's not an online business. And you can't stuff that community piece up, can you, Simon? Like, you it's gonna hurt you, right?

Yeah, it definitely hurts. And the community also then feeds into what your team looks like. And I've been, I guess you'd call it fortunate or unfortunate, to have experienced both sides of the coin. I've had a team that would run through brick walls for each other. And I can hand on heart say that they will look back on the time that they spent in that business and use that experience as a benchmark for every team that they're in, Going forward, I've also had a team that you classify as toxic, where there's lack of engagement, there's lack of support, and there is this this constant you know two steps forward, three steps back in terms of team culture. So that influences your community as well because your clients can see that, they can feel that, and in a service-based business where your people are key, you know that's a really delicate balance that you want to make sure that you're getting right because. If you're not focusing on it, you'll blink and all of a sudden you'll see that you've dropped members, you've dropped team members, and you've lost that momentum. So yeah, it's something that needs to be a constant focus point in a fitness business, potentially more so than what you're doing out in the community for local marketing initiatives. If you're focusing in the 4 walls, like, that's a really good place to start if you're feeling like I've got nothing to do. What are you doing inside those 4 walls?

Yeah, really good. And those 4 walls don't cost you any extra money when done right. Simon, let's talk about the current state of the fitness industry. Recording this end of 2022, talk about that and what should we, what should we be like looking for? I know there's a lot of talk about staff shortages. Is that getting better? What do we need to know and how do we employ staff? How do we get through this process in this period?

Yeah, look, it's a very interesting one. And as I mentioned earlier, there's a clear shift with a new government focusing on aged care, disability care as a big push for staff and skill shortages. And so it's evident that someone who loves fitness, loves health, could easily choose aged care, disability care. And that's nothing to say that there's anything wrong with those industries. Please understand, I think there's a great place to play. But the reality is that those free TAFE places, that government funding is going to take people away from our industry. So that's just the reality that we need to face. How do we combat that? I think it really is about a collaborative approach with industry. So big national employers that have clubs or studios or locations around the country, you know, there's really a big part that they will play with engaging with RTOs and really supporting the growth internally. So that's one way to look at how we can rebuild the industry and continue this momentum. Another one is I've always been a massive advocate for personal trainers being aligned with other allied health professionals.

Wow.

And really, and really giving the spotlight on the role that we play with health and obviously mental health. Now, I can still remember the first time a client entered my business asking if she could claim her PT sessions on her health fund, and I had no answer. And obviously the answer at the time was no. But I think in terms of really giving us an opportunity to grow and really giving a space for business owners to tap into a new marketplace, This is something that the governing bodies will continue to work on as an advocacy piece, really pushing us into that space where we can be upskilled in disability skills and what works with NDIS and what works with aged care clients and being able to link that with health funds. They're 2 really, really good opportunities for growth. My third one is—

Just on that for a second. So what I'm hearing a lot, and this is multiple times I've heard this, is that really you've got to be across the mark and not just aiming for the fitness people that want to get fit. There's a lot more people, a lot of trainers more that are open to NDIS, that are open to allied health, as you're saying. Be open to those relationships. Yeah. To, I mean, I guess 2 things. One, to generate new business. But how does that actually connect to, you know, filling up, like getting more, like getting better quality staff? Is it, is it because, you know, they're also other, you know, they're also coming to help out as, as other type of trainers too into your facility?

Yeah, I think it provides an opportunity for ongoing education. It provides opportunities for career progression. Because we know that when someone finishes their Cert III and Cert IV, they are not the finished product. They, they need to be guided and supported by industry, and that guiding and supporting can form many ways. And working with a new personal trainer and saying, you know, we've got a 2-year plan in place for you, this is how our business is going to evolve, this is how we're going to give you security, this is how we'll give you assurance that you can have a great career with us. I think it is tapping into these new markets that then gives someone that confidence that they can succeed. Now remember that the personal training, generally speaking, is a casualized workforce.

Yeah.

So the, the impact that, that, that has on someone's confidence where there's uncertainty about their position, you know, is really important to make sure that as a fitness business owner, you can provide that assurance for someone.

Yeah, really good point. Very good point there. Um, sorry I interrupted you. The third point you had, Simon?

Uh, the third point— you just lost my train of thought.

All good, let's come back to it.

Come back to it, we'll come back to it.

So, so that's really interesting, the future of fitness, like getting them in long term, uh, cutting off the, the short-term mentality of casual, casual. Should we be— uh, probably, probably get this question all the time— You know, as a casual workforce, people are used to paying contractors and they're, they're working in this facility and that facility. And should we be starting to, you know, go after more full-time or offer more full-time hours and be multi, multi things, multifaceted of what we can actually provide them?

It's, it's a great question. And I think we could go down a rabbit hole on, on the impact that the Fitness Award has on fitness businesses. And I think, yeah, we could do many, many series on, on that. I will say that there is a case to be made that a framework such as an apprenticeship and traineeship model that has worked in many trade sectors could be employed in the fitness industry. Now, we know that the age might be a limiting factor. So generally speaking, someone doing a traineeship and apprenticeship might be under the age of 18.

Yeah.

So are there many fitness business owners who would take on a 17-year-old for 2 years as an apprenticeship? Maybe, but I think that that's definitely an avenue to consider that'll help, again, build the industry with a pool of candidates that are qualified, they're passionate. But in that space, it means that you're definitely changing the way your financial model needs to work to be, willing to take on a level of risk, but also changing the way that you do business. So I think that that is one side of the equation. On the other side is most certainly the more opportunity for full-time employment or permanent part-time employment is an easy win to give your staff confidence and give them that one-stop shop.

Yeah, I love that.

Now, we know that there'll be people who love working 5 hours at this club, doing 3 classes over here, doing their park PT, doing their online. That person exists, and I think we need to encourage and acknowledge that that person can bring great value to the business, and we don't want to limit their ability to work in those multiple streams. But I think as a business philosophy, The more that we can focus on giving people a career and sustainable growth, it's not going to hurt us. That's for sure.

Yeah. I think that's a really good point. And I think that's something that we should all be focused as owners of businesses. We should all be focused around offering that. And I certainly think too, as a business owner, we focus our— one of our programs is Breakthrough. I'm focused at getting to our studios to $500,000. Then some would want to get to a million. And a lot of the time along the way is that the owner thinks they have to do everything themselves. And I also think that's the case of the fitness industry because we are focused on employing people for a class here and a class there, but we're not treating our business like any other business would be treated outside. We're thinking, oh, they're just going to be in, do the classes, then leave, and then we'll do everything else. And when we, when we compare a fitness business to another business, that's not really how it happens. You know, it's You might be full in the AM PMs, but the rest of the day is about ensuring that everything else works in the business and we grow in sales and marketing and admin. Yeah. So I think it's a super valid point that you share, and I'm really interested to hear from more people around that. And I know that's definitely— I personally think it's definitely the way forward. Now, AAF, how many people— I don't know if you know that number, but Maybe just in a yearly amount or overall, do you have any idea of how many people have been through an AAF course?

Oh, putting you on the spot here. It's a good question. Look, I know that on average— I'll do it this way— on average, we would graduate over 2,000 personal trainers every year.

Okay, so I would love to know from you then, out of, out of that, you're seeing 2,000 personal trainers, right? Okay. And there's always going to be the star. There's always going to be people that just won't work in the industry, and there's always going to probably be people in the middle. I would love to know, um, for, for new personal trainers listening to this, or anybody who's like budding, wanting to get to the top of the class, what classifies somebody who is a great personal trainer, especially when they're going through their courses and that learning phase? I'd love to know if there's 2 or 3 things that You can straight away see the stars of out of those 2,000 people a year. Do you have some points there?

Yeah, it's interesting. Just for those listening or those that have been through AIF, you remember our— was classified as our master trainer status. Now, with your master trainer comes a level of expectations that you could say to an employer, hey, If Richard has a Master Trainer with AIF, we know that he is a level above. Now, that's not to take anything away from a Cert III and Cert IV, but we just wanna make that elevation where you know that someone's punctual, they're professional, they're dedicated to their education. So Master Trainer is one way of acknowledging that this person has really leveled up or stepped up to the plate. Secondly, in our course, we've got what's called an Energizing Champion. They're the 2 standouts, and one is voted on by the coaches who deliver the course, and the other is voted on by the peers. And so one of the things that I've always loved about attending a wrap day at AIF, where you're sitting there in a classroom and you're seeing the students with smiles on their faces, it's their last day, they've finished their assessments, and you see the interaction with the group at the end. That's how you can see those that will be successful in the industry. where they've been really selfless in their study and the support of their peers and their acknowledgement that their success will come from the success of others. We really love that analogy of team, that for me to be the best version of myself, I need you to be the best version of yourself, and then we can then work together to create great things. So being an observer in a class setting where you're seeing these people being so celebrated for just being the best version of themselves, I think, is a really, really important message to not take away from the theory that they learned, but how their attitude was to that theory and how they've actually taken what they've learned and gone, okay, now it's time for me to shine.

Yeah, great. Very good insights there. Love that. And I think that shines on to the rest of their career there. One more question for you, Simon. I'd love to know your thoughts on the future. What's 2023 going to bring for the fitness industry, for anybody wanting to employ and for anybody who wants to get into the industry? What should we be looking out for?

Yeah, look, without going down a dark rabbit hole, we know that with a somewhat uncertain economy next year, there is the chance that fitness businesses will need— not a chance, sorry, I'll say it this way. I think there's an opportunity for fitness businesses to double down on the value they give their customers and really focus on that community. Because in an uncertain economy, there's a very good chance that discretionary spend is one of the first things that gets hammered. And so we want to make sure that our communities and our clients look at us as that essential service, which I know is a great message that has come out of the last 2 years of a pandemic is that fitness and personal trainers really should be in that same narrative of an essential service. So we want to keep as an industry, but also as businesses, and then even lower to personal trainers, view yourself as essential. Make sure that as you're talking to your clients about the results they're getting, that they see you as critical to their health, their mental health. We know that that's going to be a big message in the years to come. And so linking that to what we're doing in the 4 walls is going to be a big opportunity.

Well, I like that. Link yourself as essential.

Yep.

Got to do it. I think that's a huge value piece there. You left the golden nugget to the end. I love that. Yeah, very interesting because I think when it is essential, when we're not talking about just fitness, we're talking about mental health, we're talking about everything, Yeah, it definitely becomes— why wouldn't it be essential? You know, health is everything. This has been super valuable, Simon. Really appreciate your time and getting your insights into where you're sitting, because you see a lot of people who want personal trainers and also people that are coming in industry. So I look forward to catching up again and sort of seeing how next year progresses through and what people are wanting to find. But I just like that there's still, there's a lot of people that are wanting to get into industry. I think it's a great time to do so. And I look forward to hearing how this progresses over 2023. Thanks so much for your time.

No, thank you. Look, this is definitely the best industry and the future is bright. I think there's a really good opportunity for us to collaborate with the key stakeholders and also the single operators on the corner. So this is a collaborative approach that really will help us galvanize the career for personal trainer, but also the fitness industry and the value that we play to the Australian economy. So yeah, that's a big picture as well, but yeah, I'm excited for the future.

So good. Thanks, guys. If you're interested in In checking out the AF, just go to fitness.edu.au. And if you like these episodes and you want to hear more of that, go to our website, commarketing.com.au. And if you're wanting to generate a few extra clients with no money down on Facebook ads, we've got a new program we're running. It's called the Fast Lead Fitness Program. It starts next month. If you want to jump on in, you can go to our website, commarketing.com.au. and register and save your ticket. It's only $27 to get started today. Thanks, team. I'll catch you next time in the Marketing Muscle Up podcast show. Bye for now.

Thanks.