Have you always dreamed of being your own boss and opening a gym or starting your own business as a personal trainer? The path to self-employment is not easy and many fail sooner or later. So that this does not happen to you, you should inform yourself well in advance about everything you should bring with you and what you need to pay attention to. We answer some questions that are important for a start-up in the fitness industry!
What requirements should I have?
Legally, there are no specific requirements for opening your own fitness studio. Theoretically, anyone can open their own studio, but not everyone is qualified to do so.
First of all, to open a studio you need the necessary capital, which is not little here. Because you need a large area to accommodate all the equipment as well as classrooms, showers, toilets, changing rooms, offices, reception, counter and possibly a wellness area with sauna. And you will need to purchase the equipment itself. In order to save costs, you can fall back on used equipment, which you can get cheaply from many well-known manufacturers via fitnessmarkt.de.! In addition, you have to reckon with running costs, including rent, electricity, water, telephone and internet, and also your staff as well as fees to the GEMA for the for playing music you have to pay.
If you open a studio or start your own business as a personal trainer, it is also advisable to have already worked in the fitness industry and to have a professional qualification. In addition, it is of course advantageous to have some business management knowledge in order to be able to draw up a good business plan and to budget economically. Banks also attach importance to this aspect, because they will usually only invest in your project if you have the right qualifications.
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It is also important for your customers that you and your trainers are qualified, because this creates trust in your studio and your services. Generally, there is no specific qualification required for trainers - you as the operator decide what type of suitability you require from your trainers. You can search for suitable personnel for your studio, for example, in the fitnessmarkt.de job exchange where you can place a job ad free of charge.
Do I have to register a business?
A normal trainer activity, whether leading courses or on the training floor, does not require a business registration and can be carried out on a freelance basis. Registration is compulsory if trading - so you sell sporting goods, for example - or own premises. "Own premises" also includes only a small Cross-Training-studio or a Pilates room. You can get a business registration at the trade office of your city for about 30-40 euros. From a reported profit of 24,500 euros, you also have to pay trade tax.
Do I have to take out liability insurance?
A liability insurance is recommended for studio owners and personal trainers in any case! A self-employed or freelance trainer is liable for damages he causes to someone with his private assets. It does not matter whether he runs his own premises or not. Since this year it is possible to take out a trainer or studio liability insurance with a damage amount of up to ten million Euros - make sure you do so, because especially personal injuries involving professional disability can be very expensive. Studio liability insurance costs about 90 euros a year.
What are the economic aspects to consider?
Invoicing:
Every trainer who works on a self-employed or freelance basis must document their income - either via invoices or a cash book. Invoices are usually for work on the training floor or courses and must include details of the date, invoicing party (including tax number), invoice addressee, reason for the invoice, amount and an invoice number.
Sales Tax:
Sales tax is also an important consideration when becoming self-employed. As a self-employed personal trainer you can apply for the small business regulation at the tax office. In this case, you do not have to pay sales tax and do not have to pay it to the tax office. However, this regulation only applies if your turnover in the previous year does not exceed 17,500 Euros and your turnover in the current year is not expected to exceed 50,000 Euros.
Trainers who have higher income than expenses benefit from not having to pay sales tax. However, if you have just bought a studio, for example, your expenses are higher than your income for the time being - then you will benefit from reporting sales tax, as you will be refunded more tax than you pay out.
Tax return:
Business owners are required to file their tax returns with the IRS. Self-employed and freelance trainers have to submit the tax return form as well as the Annex S for work from self-employment. You can deduct further education, textbooks, sports equipment, telephone costs, professional liability and travel costs to work or to customers. As a rule, sportswear is not deductible, as this is not special clothing.
Are you now convinced that you are the right person to start a studio or to become a self-employed personal trainer? Then search fitnessmarkt.de for suitable equipment for your training area! By the way, you can also buy entire studios from us - take a look at our Fitness studio sales exchange!
Find your equipment now at an unbeatable price!
Editorial fitnessmarkt.de (SIS)
Published on: 23 May 2017