Wondering how to make money in the fitness industry? There are lots of creative ways to generate an income or boost existing revenue. Whether you’re a fitness professional, gym operator, online business owner, or just looking for inspiration, you’ll find new ideas here.
In this article, we share 50 proven ways to make money in the fitness industry, whether you’re just starting or want to diversify existing revenue streams.
We’re a specialist fitness marketing agency with 15+ years of industry experience, so we know first-hand what works (and what doesn’t!). We’ve helped gym operators and online fitness businesses to make more money by increasing sales revenue. But we’ve got lots of other practical ideas to share beyond that…
How to Make Money in the Fitness Industry
If you’re passionate about health and fitness, then you might be wondering how to monetize your interest. What are the best ways to earn an income while doing something you love?
Or maybe you’re entrepreneurial and want to tap into the business potential of the fitness sector. It’s growing at over 7% per year, with segments like online training and workout apps exploding even faster. So, what are the options?
Learn which fitness marketing strategies produce the best results (so you can focus on what actually works).
There are lots of ways to make money in the fitness industry, from running a boutique studio or training clients online to selling gym equipment or becoming an influencer. Here are 50 proven money-making ideas in the health and fitness sector…
- Providing one-to-one personal training
- Operating a gym, health club, or boutique fitness studio
- Organising fitness holidays or retreats
- Inventing fitness equipment and selling patents
- Small group personal training
- Developing fitness apps
- Selling fitness supplements
- Franchising your existing club or class concept
- Health and fitness blogging
- Leading awesome group exercise classes
- Designing workout gear
- Creating fitness subscription boxes
- Selling fitness equipment to gyms or consumers
- Running online fitness courses or workout programs
- Reselling fitness watches and trackers
- Earning commission as a fitness affiliate
- Working in gym membership sales
- Becoming a fitness influencer
- Launching an e-commerce store that sells fitness products
- Book-keeping for fitness professionals
- Hosting an online membership community for niche fitness enthusiasts like triathletes
- Running fitness seminars or workshops
- Selling juices or smoothies
- Fitness business coaching and consulting
- Designing stylish workout posters and selling them online
- Creating fitness and workout planners, journals, or food diaries
- Selling online meal plans based on fitness goals
- Becoming a master trainer for big fitness brands
- Officiating sports events
- Selling gym membership software
- Tutoring in biology
- Fitness modelling
- Freelance writing fitness articles
- Getting paid to speak at fitness expos and conventions
- Creating sponsored fitness content
- Selling fitness photography
- Reselling used fitness equipment
- Creating workout music and playlists to sell online
- Combining two sports into one new class (e.g. surf yoga)
- Managing social media for fitness brands
- Leading a running club
- Fitness equipment maintenance and servicing
- Crafting unique gifts for fitness fans
- Selling digital ebooks about fitness topics
- Creating a range of water bottles, gym towels, or other merchandise
- Fitness product arbitrage through Amazon FBA
- Reselling vintage gym gear from second-hand shops and eBay
- Creating healthy recipe books
- Selling lockers to gym studios
- Creating a health and fitness podcast with advertising slots
The Most Profitable Way To Make Money In Fitness
As you can see, there are lots of creative ways to make money in the fitness industry beyond just personal training and running a gym.
Selling products to fitness businesses (like equipment, lockers, and software for health clubs) is one of the most profitable avenues. With a business-to-business (B2B) model you don’t need as many customers because the deals are worth a lot more money.
To make $5000 with coaching or gym memberships, you’d need 100 customers at $50 each. But with B2B, one customer alone can be worth $5000.
Learn which fitness marketing strategies produce the best results (so you can focus on what actually works).
Here are some examples of business-to-consumer (B2C) and B2B fitness brands so you can see how they differ…
- B2C – this is where you sell your offering to the individual people who will be using your wares e.g. Peloton, GymShark, Runkeeper.
- B2B – is where you sell to other businesses operating in the fitness industry e.g. Precor, Matrix, MindBody.
Whatever your experience and fitness interests, there are ways that you can monetize them. And if you’re ready to take the next step, then we have resources that can help…
- How to start your own gym or yoga studio
- Steps to starting an online fitness business
- Create a profitable fitness blog or online workout programs
- Business plan guides for gyms, yoga studios, and personal trainers
- Ways to make extra money personal training
Ways To Increase Fitness Revenue
If you’re looking for ways to make MORE money in the fitness industry rather than new revenue streams, then we’ve also got you covered. There are essentially two options…
- Increase the volume of sales – by attracting new customers, selling more products to existing customers, or getting them to buy more frequently.
- 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
We’re planning to create a new article that focuses solely on this topic soon so join our email newsletter to get notified when it launches.
Fitness Marketing & Lead Generation Roadmap
Your All-in-One Toolkit to Attract, Engage & Convert More Clients
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Your All-in-One Toolkit to Attract, Engage, and Convert More Clients – Tailored Specifically for Fitness Businesses Like Yours!
The Fitness Marketing & Lead Generation Roadmap is a comprehensive resource designed for gyms, personal trainers, and online fitness businesses. It’s packed with video workshops, marketing templates, step-by-step guides, cheat sheets, and more. We cover:
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